Perseverance of the Saints

Philippians 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 Timothy 4:18 “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

We now bring to an end our five articles on TULIP with the Perseverance of the Saints. If we understand that God has before the world predestinated all things to be and that God chose His beloved sheep before the world began, and with the understanding that salvation is of God then we must also believe that none can be lost. Paul said “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:” how can one have confidence without assurance, and how can one have assurance without Perseverance of the Saints. If we sin or if we trip in life then doesn’t that cause one to fall from grace, and if we fall can we not be renewed? The writer of Hebrews said “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (5.) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, (6.) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” Hebrews 6:4 – 6 if it is “impossible… If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance” then without Perseverance of the Saints we will all go to hell because we are all going to sin after we are saved. The central thought here is “…seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” Because Christ died once for sin and if it wasn’t for all of our sins then He must be crucified again and that is impossible. A repeat of salvation is not scriptural neither can be because it is simply a lie. Paul said Perseverance of the Saints is our confidence in God that since He has saved us then we will never loose that salvation, Paul went on to say in the last part of Romans 8 that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, not even ourselves. We had nothing to do with our salvation and we do not have the ability to cast our salvation asunder.

Once saved always saved, is a myth in that it leaves too much room for error. I do not know where this quote came from but it is not a good saying. I must admit I have used it many times but without a slip I shall never use it again. Once God has saved us then we are eternally saved and Preserved until the day of Jesus. We must understand that there are countless millions who have admitted that they are saved Christians but in truth they are not, they have simply made a confession of faith. One Puritan writer of old once said “Perseverance of the saints does not teach this. Perseverance of the saints teaches that once God has renewed the heart of a sinner through the application of the redemption wrought by Christ upon the cross, he will continue to be saved and show forth the fruits of that salvation.” This is so true, once saved, then we are servants of God for life, then for eternity. People use this quote “once saved always saved” to justify their not attending church or tithing or working for the Lord Jesus Christ, this is not Perseverance; this is being lost. When God saves sinners then they want to work for the Lord Jesus Christ, James said “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James 2:18 we are all saved for a purpose and that purpose is to work until Jesus returns. Those not working for Jesus Christ and His beloved church may not truly be saved. Thomas Watson once said; "God’s decree is the very pillar and basis on which the saints' perseverance depends. That decree ties the knot of adoption so fast, that neither sin, death, nor hell, can break it asunder."