Defending Calvinism (P= Perseverance of the Saints)

The last of the five point of Calvinism is probably the least controversial of them all, and most Protestant sects would affirm, Perseverance of the Saints. Perseverance of the Saints, or as I would prefer to call it Preservation of the Saints, states that those who are truly saved will persevere to the end and will not lose their salvation. While all Christians will backslide from time to time, those who are truly in Christ will never fully fall away.

All the five points of Calvinism work together in harmony. Because man is dead in sin (Total Depravity), he can not come to God on his own and must depend on God to draw him near (Irresistible Grace). Those that God draws near are those he chose to save (Unconditional Election) and he sent his Son to die for all the sins of those people (Limited Atonement). Because God begins the process of sanctification and it is the work of God in salvation, God will not lose those that are in him (Perseverance of the Saints).

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37-40) Jesus explains that it is the Father's will that he will never lose any of those given to him, so that they will not perish. Those that come to Jesus will never be cast out. Never is a very definitive to word and does not leave any room to negotiate at a later date.

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) Here, Christ is speaking specifically of his sheep, the believers. A few verses prior, Christ identifies the sheep by those who hear his voice, and he knows them. The sheep are given an eternal promise and a guarantee that there is no one or nothing that can snatch them from God's (Father and Son) hand.

"I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." (John 17:9) In the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prays specifically for those that have been given to him from the Father. By declaring those that were given to the Son, are also property of the Father is very comforting. The Creator of the world will surely never lose anything that belongs to him. "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24) Later, Jesus also asks the Father to let those given to him be with him in the glory of the Father. The idea that Christ's prayers would go unanswered seems ludicrous.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) Our persevering to the end depends upon the grace of God. When Christ returns, 'the day of Jesus Christ', he will raise his people from the dead, and they will reign with him.

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39) The Apostle Paul makes a very strong claim and assurance for the believer that nothing can separate them from God. While there may be people who are against us on Earth, those that attack us do not have the ability to attack our faith and salvation, as that is protected by God.

"...So that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,  who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:7-9) Paul gives believers assurance that God, who began the work of sanctification in them, will complete it. He uses another definitive word by saying "...Christ, who will sustain you to the end..."

It should be noted that just because someone professes to be a Christian, does not mean that they are really a Christian. You will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16-20). A true Christian does not produce bad fruit. So does this mean that someone who once professed faith, but is now out of the faith, lost their salvation? Absolutely not. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." (1 John 2:19) "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23) 

The teaching of "once saved, always saved" is not the same as Perseverance of the Saints, and is not Biblical. "Once saved, always saved" is a product of "easy believism" and many modern evangelical churches teach this. This teaching is not saving anyone, but rather is leading many today who once walked the aisle at church, and said a prayer straight into Hell. If someone continues to live in sin, has not repented and turned to Christ, and isn't producing "good fruit", then they will be among those that Jesus will declare, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." A Christian can not continue in their sins. While the Christian will still sin and may occasionally fall into deep sin, the gift of repentance will be exercised. If they leave the Church, and don't return, they were never a part of the flock to begin with.

As with all of the Doctrines of Grace, the five points of Calvinism, the doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints is beautiful because it displays God's sovereignty, and with that sovereignty believers can rest assured that their salvation will be preserved. If left to man to work out his salvation by himself and to maintain his salvation, there can be no doubt that no one would be saved. Our entire being- our heart, mind soul, and body- is infected with sin. There is no way we could keep ourselves in right standing before God. Thankfully, we have an advocate who assures us that nothing can snatch us from his hands.

"Therefore, while we all labour naturally under the same disease, those only recover health to whom the Lord is pleased to put forth his healing hand. The others whom, in just judgement, he passes over, pine and rot away till they are consumed. And this is the only reason why some persevere to the end, and others, after beginning their course, fall away. Perseverance is the gift of God, which he does not lavish promiscuously on all, but imparts to whom he pleases. If it is asked how the difference arises – why some steadily persevere, and others prove deficient in steadfastness, we can give no other reason than that the Lord, by his mighty power, strengthens and sustains the former, so that they perish not, while he does not furnish the same assistance to the latter, but leaves them to be monuments of instability."- John Calvin,  "Institutes of the Christian Religion"

Defending Calvinism (I= Irresistible Grace)

If man is fallen, and every aspect of man is enslaved to sin, how can man freely choose to follow God? How can a dead man, make himself alive, and choose to follow Christ (Ephesians 2:1)? These questions are difficult to answer if we believe in the sovereignty of man in salvation and his ability to choose Christ on his own. The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace (of the five points of Calvinism) gives all glory to God in salvation. Irresistible Grace, or Efficacious Grace as it is also known, states that God's saving grace is given to the elect at the time of his choosing, and in doing so, God draws the elect to himself. Man's natural disposition is at war with God, so God overcomes the sinner's opposition to Him, and calls the sinner to repentance, thus saving the sinner. All of this is done by the work of God, and the sinner is simply the recipient of God's saving grace.

Much of modern American evangelism is more similar to Roman Catholicism than it probably realizes. Both would argue that the sinner has the ability to choose God or not. Both would say that salvation requires the cooperation of God and the sinner, (synergism). Ultimately, they would both say that God can be resisted. While it is true that God can be resisted, those that God calls will come to Christ.

Those who are saved in Christ, are not because they desired Christ, but because God saved them in spite of themselves. They are not saved because they were "smarter", or "better" than anyone else. They are saved because they were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, thus changing their disposition to one that does desire God and turns to God for salvation.

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:37-39) These are the very words of Jesus and his statement was very definitive- "All that the Father gives me WILL come to me..." Jesus did not leave much room for a cooperative relationship required for salvation. Those that the Father gave the Son WILL come to him, and he will lose none of them.

Jesus goes on to say in a few verses later, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.  It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—" (John 6:44-45). Jesus makes it clear that no one can come to him unless God the Father draws him. He then gives us the guarantee that those who come to him (who can't come to him unless drawn by the Father), he WILL raise up on the last day. Again, very definitive statements by Jesus about who can come to him, and what Jesus will do for those who come to him.

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30) In these two verses, the Apostle Paul writes about what is known today in theological circles as the Golden Chain of Redemption. Notice the actions God takes in the redeeming of his people- Foreknew->Predestined->Called->Justified->Glorified. It starts from before the creation of the world, God foreknew and predestined those the elect to salvation. In order to achieve this, God calls them, then justifies them, and they will be ultimately glorified. But look back at what Paul say about those God calls. He writes that they were predestined, and those called are also justified. No where can we find anything about someone who was called, but was not justified, etc.

Much of a person's view on Irresistible Grace will be based on if they believe salvation is by God alone, or does man's "free will" play a part? Can God's will be frustrated? Does God actually save sinners, or just attempt to save sinners? It is clear from Scripture that when God sets out to do something, it gets done.

                                "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." (Deuteronomy 30:6)

 "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) 

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

We do not argue that an external call from followers of Christ to the world can be resisted. Obviously, since man is naturally at odds with God, many will resist this call. We argue that once God draws a sinner to himself, man will come to God, not kicking and screaming and against his will, but his heart will have been changed and he will suddenly love and desire that which he used to hate. A conversion so drastic must be initiated and followed through by God alone. Only God could perform such a miracle in a wretched, fallen man.

Sola Gratia!