The Perseverance of The Believer.

Can a person be sure that they are going to heaven? Can we be assured of our salvation? To those that believe that you can lose your salvation, the answer has to be no. This is because they believe God is trying to save all believers, but is not able to save all. They believe man, by his efforts can thwart the purpose of God in the salvation of their souls. If we were to look at things superficially, we might think this. After all, many claim to be Christians but fall away after some time, having no more interest for Christ. However, we can be assured of our salvation now because if we are truly and genuinely saved we cannot lose our salvation.

The teaching of the "perseverance of the believer" teaches that we remain faithful to God by his power. He will cause us to remain faithful and keep us from turning from him. This teaching does not teach that all who claim to be Christians are sure to be saved. Rather, it teaches that all who have been given a living faith so that they persevere to the end will be saved. Effort is definitely involved here, but God supplies all the power so that they keep on keeping on. So just as we are saved and believe by God's power we also remain faithful by his power. This is why we pray to him for help and strength to be obedient. Otherwise, why would we bother praying to him if it depended on our own strength?

So, then what about those people that claim to be Christians but after a while fall away? The Bible clearly teaches that salvation involves commitment. Those that fall away and do not return to the Lord for restoration were never saved to begin with. The Bible says in 1John 3:6, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." This verse, first of all, is not teaching that if we are saved we never sin again. If that were true, no one would ever be saved. Notice that it says "keeps on" and "continually." It is teaching that if we are saved, we do not keep on sinning like the unsaved, or "the world" as verse 1 puts it, but we now strive to purify ourselves, fighting with the sinful tendencies that remain in us. The end of verse 1 says the world "did not know him" (that is, God). Verse 2 says, "Dear friends, NOW we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known." (Meaning now we are saved but have not been made perfect and sinless yet) "but we know that when he appears we shall be like him." (Perfect and sinless) "for we shall see him as he is." And verse 3, "Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, Just as he is pure."

To summarize these 3 verses, the world, or the unsaved, do not know Christ. They have no personal relationship with him. But for us, NOW, we are saved! Now, you are not like that anymore. You purify yourself, but are not sinless yet. When we are with Christ forever, then we shall be sinless like him. If we truly believe this we will purify ourselves. Verse 4 tells us we all break the law, believer and unbeliever alike. Verse 5 tells us Christ came to take away our sins. If we become saved, he pays for our sins. The penalty is paid for (remember like cash!) It is now as if the sin never existed, it has been taken away. Verse 6 says that no one that is saved keeps on sinning like the unsaved do. We are busy purifying ourselves from the sin that remains in us as verse 3 said. No one who is saved continues to sin like the unsaved do. (God will not allow it) Verse 9 says no one who is saved will continue to sin like the unsaved do, because God's seed remains in him. He can't live like the unsaved because he has been born of God. If you relate this back to Ephesians chapter 2, we can't live like the unsaved because God's seed remains in us -- we are spiritually alive. Alive people cannot be the same as dead people. And if we are saved, this remains in us.

If someone claims to be saved and falls away, not returning to God, or not receiving severe chastisement by his hand, (as did Samson) it is impossible that they were saved in the first place. The fact is, anybody can get religious and hang in there for awhile -- fewer still can remain religious all their lives, but only those who are truly saved can gladly follow God's word all their days. Contrary to the views of some, salvation is not a matter of intellectual knowledge and lip service. It is a matter of growing in the knowledge of him and living for him from the heart. Of those who fell away it must be said that they never truly accepted the gospel from the heart. Maybe their pride would not let them see themselves as guilty before God. Maybe they refused to repent of certain sins they especially liked. Who knows? Each person's experience is different, and the possibilities are numerous.

The teaching that saved people cannot lose their salvation comes straight from the Bible. Romans 8: 38-39 says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Also Romans 5:9 says, "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" Again 2Timothy 4:18 says, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." These are just a few of the verses that tell us of this comforting teaching of the Bible. Do you have faith that will persevere unto the end? It is available.

Lastly, if it is true that we can lose our salvation, salvation is no longer of grace. This is because, according to this perspective, God is trying to save all equally. The only thing that could cause you to lose your salvation therefore is your own effort. Your salvation is given to you not out of an act of unmerited and undeserved favor (which is the definition of grace) but out of debt: God owes you his favor now that you have fulfilled the requirement. This is salvation out of debt, not of mercy. God saves you because you were better than the ones that did not remain saved. All of this is of your own achievement, rather than God providing you the strength to persevere and you would take credit for what is rightly God's. God would wind up being a respecter of persons, saving only those that are worthy in themselves, the spiritual elite.

May God be gracious to those that are mistaken on this point and may it be that in spite of their teaching they do not trust in themselves but look to and depend on our Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

Bible Readings: John 10:5, John 10:28-29, Romans 8:9-10, 2Corinthians 1:21-22, Philippians 2:12-13. Books on these subjects are available from: P&R Publishing, PO Box 817 Phillipsburg, NJ 08865