So far we have seen that all of mankind are totally depraved and as such have a total inability to come to God. Yet before the creation of the world God chose an elect who would be saved. Jesus died on the cross to pay the punishment for the sins of the elect and the Holy Spirit works inside the elect to bring them to the full experience of salvation Hopefully you will have been convinced by the many Biblical references that I used to support these doctrines of grace. If you are then you will find the truth of the perseverance of the Saints a lot easier to grasp. Fundamentally it the truth that once saved a believer will never fall away from God. Having been saved it is impossible for a person to become unsaved. An elect of God bought to a true experience of salvation by the Holy Spirit, whose sins are cast away by the death of Jesus Christ, this person has Jesus’ personal assurance that they will never be allowed to fall away. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” John 10 v 28 - 29 Notice what this verse says: to suggest that true believers can fall away is blasphemy because to make such a suggestion is to imply that God the Father is not greater than all. Those who Jesus saves remain saved. Fact. Undeniable. Does that mean we get an easy ride? No, not by any means. As Jesus says: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16 v 33 This has a warning, Christians will face trouble, and a promise, Jesus has overcome the world. Why do Christians face trails? “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1 v 2 – 3 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5 v 3 – 4 Perseverance is one of the main works of a Christian; we are called to persevere in our faith, to plod on regardless of trails and tribulations. Where does this perseverance come from? Where does any good gift come from? God provides his saints, his elect, with the strength to persevere through their given trails. There are too many Bible references to this to quote them all – Psalm 91 being a particular favourite of mine. But here are a few others: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. “ Isaiah 43 v 2 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18 v 12 - 14 And of course we have God’s great promise to struggling Christians: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10 v 13 The Bible is quite clear on the matter: the elect once saved will remain saved. To suggest otherwise is to imply that God will break the promises of his word. What about backslidden Christians? In saying all the above it is entirely possible for a Christian to backslide. That is it is possible for a Christian to fall into gross sin and for a time almost appear to be back in the world again. The Bible is not short on examples the classic one being David’s sin in adultery and murder. Consider also the three times Peter denied Christ. And then consider Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter in John 21! Backslidden Christians will always, eventually, return to Christ. Or rather, Christ will always bring his sheep back to him. That said; it by no means is an excuse to become backslidden. No! As Paul writes: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” Romans 6 v 15 But what about Judas? This is an altogether more complicated affair. Judas is theologically known as an apostate. An apostate is someone who has shown signs of regeneration (that is the work of the Holy Spirit) but who turns away from the gospel. Jesus says about Judas: “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” John 17 v 12 We also see apostasy described in the parable of the sower where the seed falls in the ground, takes root then is strangled by thorns and thistles. However, just because the seed took root does not mean that the person became a true believer. "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."” 2 Peter v 20 – 22 We see from this passage that despite outward signs of conversion if no true salvation experience has taken place then apostates will return to the world and to sin. The key point being is that they were never truly converted and therefore they were never part of God’s elect. The warnings of the Bible about apostasy are grim indeed. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, becauseto their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” Hebrews 6 v 4 – 6 If we examine this closely we see some important truths. First is the danger of knowing the truth (enlightened) but not obeying the truth with your heart. The second is that just because someone has spiritual gifts does not mean they are converted and show spiritual fruit. To use a Biblical example then King Saul prophesied but his later life shows him to be apostate. How can we tell if someone has had a genuine conversion experience or not? This question is tricky as we know that only God full knows who and who is not a true believer. There is a difference between head knowledge of salvation and the living union of the heart that comes with true repentance. We need not to concentrate on spiritual gifts but on spiritual fruit. It is not the gifts that a man has that prove him to be a believer but the godly life that he lives. Additionally apostasy is rare – there were 12 disciples and only 1 was apostate. Thirdly if you are concerned you are apostate then it is actually a good sign that spiritually speaking you are alert to your failings and sins and therefore it is more a sign of a true conversion than of apostasy. The importance of perseverance Seeing then the terrible fate of the apostate then we must make doubly sure to persevere. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1 v 3 - 11 And we can only do this through the working of the Holy Spirit in sanctifying our lives. We can persevere only because God works to keep us. On our own we would falter but as members of God’s elect we are unshakable. Final thoughts It is easy to get too hung up on apostasy (serious though it is) so I leave you with the verse I quotes at the beginning: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” And a new verse: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54 v 10 And with the words of a classic hymn “How Firm a Foundation You Saints of the Lord”: When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow; For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to its foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake. And that's it! Calvinism at its most basic. I may write a conclusion tomorrow or may move onto other things. I hope you've enjoyed learning the glorious truths of God's word.
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