Calvinism - Preservation of the Saints (2)
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Calvinism: The Perseverance of the Saints
Intro.
1). We have been discussing the doctrine of Calvinism
A). We need to know how to answer this doctrine and be familiar with its tenets to be able to discuss it intelligently with our friends and neighbors
its tenets to be able to discuss it intelligently with our friends and neighbors
B). Denominations are currently battling Calvinism in their ranks.
2). Previous Lessons
A). Why study? The foundational principles of Calvinism (The Sovereignty of God and Man Has NOTHIGN to do with his salvation"
B). T- Total Inability or Total Depravity -
C). U - Unconditional Election
D) L - Limited Atonement
E). I - Irresistible Grace
3). Today we are discussing the final tenet of the TULIP which is
Perseverance of the Saints
I. The Doctrine Defined
I. The Doctrine Defined
This doctrine results from the tents that proceed it - “This doctrine does not stand alone but is a necessary part of the Calvinistic system of theology. The doctrines of Election and Efficacious Grace logically imply the certain salvation of those who receive these blessings. If God has chosen men absolutely and unconditionally to eternal life, and if His Spirit effectively applies to them the benefits of redemption, the inescapable conclusion is that these persons shall be saved.” (Loraine Boettner, op. cit., p. 182)
A. Expressed in a Variety of Ways and Terminology
A. Expressed in a Variety of Ways and Terminology
1). “Once saved, always saved"
2). “Once in grace, always in grace”
3). “Impossibility of apostasy”
4). “Perseverance of the Saints”
5). “Eternal security of the believer”
B. Doctrine Expressed by Advocates
B. Doctrine Expressed by Advocates
1). "They whom God has 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" (Chapter XVII Constitution of the Presbyterian Church, Pg. 79 1906 edition).
2). "We believe the Scriptures teach that such as are truly regenerate, being born of the Spirit, will not utterly fall away and perish, but will endure unto the end; that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (Standard Manual For Baptist Churches By Edward T. Hiscox, D.D. Pg. 67 XI).
3). Sam Morris, a Baptist preacher in a tract titled, "Do A Christian's Sins Damn His Soul?"
"We take the position that a Christian's sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatsoever to do with the salvation of his soul…..all the sins a Christian may commit from idolatry to murder would not put his soul in any danger!"
4) “All the prayers a man may pray, all the Bibles he may read, all the churches he may belong to, all the services he may attend, all the sermons he may practice, all the debts he may pay, all the ordinances he may observe, all the laws he may keep, all the benevolent acts he may perform will not make his soul one whit safer; and all the sins he may commit, from idolatry to murder, will not make his soul in any more danger. ... The way a man lives has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul.” (Do a Christian’s Sins Damn His Soul?)
5). Five Points of Calvinism - ““The elect are not only redeemed by Christ and renewed by the Spirit; they are also kept in faith by the almighty power of God. All those who are spiritually united to Christ through regeneration are eternally secure in Him. Nothing can separate them from the eternal and unchangeable love of God. They have been predestinated unto eternal glory and are therefore assured of heaven.
“The doctrine of perseverance of the saints does not maintain that all who profess the Christian faith are certain of heaven. It is saints—those who are set apart by the Spirit—who persevere to the end. It is believers—those who are given true, living faith in Christ—who are secure and safe in Him. Many who profess to believe fall away, but they do not fall from grace for they were never in grace. True believers do fall into temptations, and they do commit grievous sins, but these sins do not cause them to lose their salvation or separate them from Christ.” (Steele and Thomas, op. cit., p. 56)
II. Refuting the Doctrine
II. Refuting the Doctrine
A. Understanding the Real Issue
A. Understanding the Real Issue
1). The issue is not:
a). God’s power to save the believer.
b). God’s faithfulness to his promises.
c). The security of the believer.
2). The issue is:
a). Can a chid of God choose to lead Christ?
b). Will God disinherit his unfaithful children?
c). Can a believer become an unbeliever?
3). We are in general agreement that:
a). Unbelievers are lost
b) Those who have never been truly converted are lost;
c). The FAITHFUL child of God is secure (;
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
; ; ; )
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
and I give eternal life to them, 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.”
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
B. No Passage in the Bible Teaches That a Child of God
Can Commit Any Sin and Yet not Lose His Soul
C. The Bible Teaches That A Child of God Can Sin and Lose His Soul
in Hell
1). We can fall from grace -
You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
2). We can depart in unbelief -
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
3). Once sanctified - fear judgment -
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
4). Can make shipwreck of the faith -
keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.
5). Can err - danger of death -
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,
let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
6). Peter sinned - was condemned -
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
7) Simon sinned - lost -
But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
“You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
“Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
D. Warning Passages in Hebrews
1). Who is addressed in Hebrews?
A). “Brethren-
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
B) “Holy” -
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
C). Confessing -
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
D). “Partakers of the heavenly calling” -
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
E). Fellowship with God -
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
F). Confidence in faith and hope -
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
G) Enlightened - ;
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
H). Received the knowledge of the truth ()
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
“ ‘See to it, brothers’ introduces the author’s application of his text to his Christian readership. Neither here nor anywhere else in his letter did the writer betray the slightest suspicion that his audience might contain people who were not real Christians. Instead, they were regarded as “brothers” (as here) or as “holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling” (v. 1). The widespread view that he was concerned about mere professors of the faith as over against genuine believers is not found in the text (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (, ). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books).
2). What warnings are addressed to “Brethren”?
A).
1). “Beware” - suggests danger - genuine concern
2). “Lest ANY Of you” -
But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
A). “Become unbeliever”
B). “Depart from God”
3). We partake “IF we HOLD fast” -
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
4). Israel couldn’t enter their promised land because of “unbelief”
- Fear lest same thing happens to you -
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
5). Those saved must be diligent to continue in obedience to Christ -
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
6) “Hold fast our confession” -
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
B).
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
1). “BRETHREN” is being addressed-
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
2). Encouraged to:
A). Drawn near -
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
B). Hold Fast -
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
3). Why?
A). If we sin willingfully no more sacrifice -
B). A Christian CAN:
A). Turn his back on the means of his past justification -
B). Trampled the son of God underfoot -
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
C). Count the blood the covenant a common thing -
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
D). Insult the Spirit of Grace -
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
C). The apostate Christian will:
A). Experience the certain judgment of God - ,,
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
B). Experience the same fiery indignation that devours the adversary.
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
C). Experience worse punishment that those who rejected Moses -
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
III. Answering the Arguments
III. Answering the Arguments
A.
A.
and I give eternal life to them, 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.
1). The context is Jesus discussing his care for his sheep as the good Shepherd.
2). The argument: No one can snatch any of Christ’s sheep from out of the Father’s hand. Therefore, no one who has been saved can ever be lost.
3). Answer:
A) Who are the sheep?
1). They were believers -
“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
2). They listened to his voice-
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
3). They follow him -
and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
B). They have eternal life because of their obedience.
“Now it is evident that only those who have Christ living in and governing their souls, so that they possess the mind that was in him, are his sheep-are those that shall never perish, because they have this eternal life abiding in them: therefore to talk of a man’s being one of the elect-one that shall never perish-one who shall have eternal life-who shall never be plucked out of the hand of God, &c., while he lives in sin, has no Christ in his heart, has either never received or fallen away from the grace of God, is as contrary to common sense as it is to the nature and testimonies of the Most High. Final perseverance implies final faithfulness-he that endures to the end shall be saved- he that is faithful unto death shall have a crown of life.”
Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Accordance electronic ed. 6 vols.; (Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2004), paragraph 40934.
https://accordance.bible/link/read/Clarke’s_Commentary#40934
C). No one can snatch us from God’s hand but a sheep can
wander away on his own -
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
B.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1). The argument is that nothing can separate the elect from the love of God. Therefore, they can never be lost.
2). The Context of - No Condemnation in Christ
I. No Condemnation in Christ (vv.1-17)
II. Endure Suffering (vv.18ff)
3). The Love of Christ (V.35) seems to be a reference to the love that Christ has for us.
A). God gave us son for us - v.31
B). He died for us and rose again - v.34
C). “Him who loved us” - v.37
D). Love of God which is in Christ Jesus - v.39
4). External persecution and hardship cannot destroy that love. No one can separate us from God’s love by what they do or say.
a). Paul is saying not be discouraged by what you are facing and
undergoing it can’t effect your relationship to God.
b). Continue in Christ and you will be “more than conquers” - v.37
Nothing is said about the impossibility of one leaving the Lord
C.
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;
the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1). Argument- a Child of God cannot sin so it is impossible for him to lose his salvation
2). The answer:
a). “HE CANNOT"
1). The words “cannot “ means morally unable not that which is physically impossible
2). “And so the word in our verse does not mean that the child of God has come to the place where he is physically unable to do any wrong, but that he is morally restrained from it, just as a good man who is asked to join another in some crime would reply, ‘O, no, I couldn’t do anything like that.’” (E.M. Zerr, Bible Commentary, Vol. Six, p. 284)
wrong, but that he is morally restrained from it, just as a good man who is asked to join another in some crime would reply, ‘O, no, I
couldn’t do anything like that.’” (E.M. Zerr, Bible Commentary, Vol. Six, p. 284)
3). The reason - “the seed remains in him”
b). ‘“Does not Sin” - doesn’t make a practice of sin
“John does not teach that believers do not sin, but is speaking of a character, a habit. Throughout the Epistle he deals with the ideal reality of life in God, in which the love of God and sin exclude each other as light and darkness.” (Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 348) “
c). John plainly stats that he can sin if he choose to do so -
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Conclusion:
1). Many have a false hope that they can never loose their salvation.
2). God made us free moral agent who can choose to serve or or reject him. If we turn away then we will be lost.