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CHAPTER 10 PERSEVERANCE I. Statement of the Doctrine WCF 17.1

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CHAPTER 10 PERSEVERANCE I. Statement of the Doctrine WCF 17.1 CHAPTER 10 PERSEVERANCE I. Statement of the doctrine WCF 17.1 “They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”1 1Phil. 1:6; 2 Pet. 1:10; John 10:28, 29; 1 John 3:9; 1 Pet. 1:5, 9. Perseverance applies only to those who are elect, justified, and now in the process of sanctification; it does not apply to all professing Christians. Perseverance refers to the estate of grace, not to the attainments of grace; “backsliding” is possible (WCF 17:3). “Perseverance of the saints” is a better phrase than “eternal security,” for it emphasizes the necessary human effort and responsibility. “Eternal security” often places undue dependence on the initial experience of salvation, instead of the continuing life of saving faith. II. Scriptural support for perseverance A. Perseverance is God’s work through us (WCF 17:2) 1. The Father sets us free and places his unchangeable love on us. Jer. 31:3, “the LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” 2 Tim. 2:19, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2. The Son paid to save us, and now he prays for us. Cf. Lk. 22:32 (Jesus prays for Peter) Jn. 10:28, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Jn 17:24 “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” Heb. 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Rom. 8:33-39, nothing able to separate us from God’s love in Christ, because Christ died for us. 3. The Holy Spirit abides in us. Jn. 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Also 1 Jn. 2:27 B. The Scriptures expressly state that the elect will persevere and be saved eternally. Rom. 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom SURVEY of THEOLOGY II, p. 48 he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Php. 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” 2 Tim. 1:12, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 1 Pet. 1:5, 9, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” 1 Jn. 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (seed possibly the Holy Spirit in believers, or believers who abide in God.) C. The terms of the covenant of redemption, sealed with Christ’s blood, demand the final salvation of all the elect. All five points of Calvinism hang together (cf. WCF 17:2). Jer. 32:40, “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them [the New covenant], that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” Heb. 9:12-15, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Heb. 10:14, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Heb. 13:20-21, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” III. Backsliding According to our standards (WCF 17:3), our experience, and our understanding of Scripture, we must recognize that Christians can to a large degree fall away from the pattern of Christian life and sanctification. Two well-known biblical examples are David (one year’s duration, 2 Sam. 11:27; 12:14) and Peter (one evening. Mt. 26:70, 72, 74). The Confession lists four possible causes for this backsliding: 1) temptation of Satan 2) temptation of the world 3) remaining corruption in ourselves 4) neglect of the means of grace Likewise, the Confession lists seven results of backsliding: 1) God’s displeasure, 2 Sam. 11:27; Isa. 64:5, 7,9. 2) Holy Spirit grieved, Eph. 4”:30 3) Losses of grace and comfort, Ps. 32:3-4; 51:8, 10, 12. 4) Heart hardened, Isa 63:17 5) Conscience wounded, Ps. 32:3-4. SURVEY of THEOLOGY II, p. 49 6) Others hurt and scandalized, 2 Sam. 12:14; 1 Cor. 5:1. 7) Temporal judgments, 2 Sam. 12:14; Ps. 89:31-32; 1 Cor. 11:32. To these consequences of backsliding, we may add an eighth, loss of reward in the kingdom, 1 Cor. 3:12-15. Backsliding in a Christian is characterized as being temporary, and not complete. VI. Objections to perseverance considered A. Verses that introduce a condition in perseverance Col. 1:22-23, “In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” 1 Thess. 3:8, “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” Heb. 3:6, 14, “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” Rev. 2:10, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The Calvinist recognizes in these verses the doctrine of human responsibility – just as we are responsible to believe and commanded to believe, so we are responsible to persevere and commanded to persevere. This truth does not contradict the equally clear fact that God alone causes us to believe. The Lord uses these encouragements to faithfulness as means whereby we are confirmed in our perseverance. B. Verses that state a possibility of falling Ez. 18:24, “24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” 1 Tim. 1:19, “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.” 2 Pet. 2:20-21, “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” Rev. 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” The last of these verses is similar in thrust to those under B above.
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