XLVI THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE
SAINTS PROVED (Part 1)
To me, the following
considerations seem to establish the truth of the doctrine of perseverance
beyond a reasonable doubt. From
eternity past, God has resolved to save all the elect.
A
This
I already showed you. Not one of
the elect will ever be lost. God
gave the elect to Christ from eternity past, as a seed to serve Him. God will secure the conversion,
perseverance, and final salvation of the elect. The grace of God in Christ Jesus will
prevail through the gospel to influence the free will of the elect to bring
about their conversion, their perseverance, and their salvation. The Bible’s instructions, promises,
threats, and warnings, with all the influences that surround them, are the
instruments that the Holy Spirit uses to convert, sanctify, and save God’s
elect. At every step, as Fletcher
acknowledges, “grace goes in front of them with free will.” First, God comes to and moves on the
sinner; but the sinner never comes to or moves towards God. God first draws, and then the sinner
yields. God calls and the sinner
answers. The sinner would never
approach God if God did not draw him.
1 Although
God calls, He never calls irresistibly.
But, God’s call is enough to enable the sinner to yield. The sinner does not yield to and answer
a slight call. In fact, some wait
for the Holy Spirit to draw them harder, and for the Spirit to call them louder
and longer than He calls others.
However, no one really comes to God until God effectively persuades him
to do so; that is, until he is effectively hunted from his refuges of lies and
drawn with such a great and powerful a drawing that it overcomes his voluntary
selfishness, and influences him to turn to God and to believe in Christ. That the sinner is completely unwilling
to obey, up to the very moment in which God persuades and influences him; there
can be no doubt. His turning, as we
already know, is an act of his own free will, but the drawing of the Holy Spirit
is what influences him to turn.
2 Everyone
who was ever truly converted knows that his conversion cannot be attributed to
himself in any other sense than that he finally consented after the Holy Spirit
drew and persuaded him. The glory
belongs to God, because the sinner only yielded after, perhaps, lots of
resistance, and never until after he was so convinced that he had no more
excuses or apologies for sin. The
sinner would not allow God to save him until the Spirit, by means of truth,
argument, and persuasion, broke through his hard heart, and constrained, but not
forced him to submit. This is a
brief statement of the facts connected with the conversion of every soul that
ever became converted to God. This
is true of the conversion of all the elect of God; and if others besides the
elect are ever converted, this is a true account of their conversion also.
3 The
same is true of their perseverance in holiness, in every situation, in every
act. The saints persevere, not
because of some constitutional change, but because of the abiding and indwelling
influence of the Holy Spirit. “Free
grace is always in advance of free will”; that is, the will never obeys in any
instance, not even for one moment, except as the will is persuaded to obey just
like it did the first time conversion took place. The Holy Spirit continues the work it
began by continuing to work in the saints to will and to do of His good
pleasure. Saints do not begin in
the Spirit, and then become perfect through the flesh. There is nothing holy that we can do
that cannot be attributed to the grace and to the influence of the Holy
Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit
is just as important after conversion as it is during conversion.
B
The
saints do not convert themselves, in the sense that they turn or yield, until
the Holy Spirit persuades them. God
converts them in the sense that He effectively draws or persuades
them. They turn themselves, in the
sense that their turning is their own willful act. God turns them in the sense that He
influences or produces their turning.
The same is true of the saints’ entire course of obedience in this
life. The saints keep themselves in
the sense that all obedience is their own; all their piety consists in their own
voluntary obedience; but God keeps them in the sense that in every instance and
at every moment of their obedience, He persuades, enlightens, and draws
them in order to secure their voluntary obedience. In other words, God draws and they
follow. He persuades, and they
yield to His persuasions. He works
in them to will and to do, and they will and do. God always anticipates all their holy
exercises, and persuades the saints to do them. This is so abundantly taught in the
Bible, that to quote scripture to prove it would be a waste of time. They say the saints are not only
converted, but also sanctified and kept by the power of God.
C
No
saint keeps himself, except as far as the grace, Spirit, and power of God keeps
him. There is therefore no hope for
any saint, and no reason to count on the salvation of anyone, unless God
prevails to keep him from falling away and perishing. All who are ever saved, or ever will be
saved, are saved by and through free grace prevailing over free will, that is,
by free grace securing the voluntary cooperation of free will. God does this with all the elect. It was on the condition of the foreseen
fact that God could secure this result by the wisest administration of His
government, that God elected them to eternal salvation, through sanctification
of the Spirit, and belief in the truth.
Now, please notice how the elect are saved. All the threats, warnings, and teachings
of the Bible are addressed to them, as well as to the whole human race. If there are any saints, at anytime, who
are not of the elect, the Bible nowhere mentions any such people, or speaks of
them as any less or more secure than the elect.
1 The
Bible nowhere represents or implies that anyone is converted other than the
elect. The Bible does not represent
anyone anytime, other than the elect, as coming to Christ with all their heart,
or as being regenerated or born of God.
The Bible nowhere acknowledges two groups of saints, elect, and
non‑elect. But, if there were two
such groups, and the salvation of the elect was certain, as it really is, and
that of the non‑elect not certain, it is incredible that the Bible never
revealed this fact.
2 Instead
of recognizing or implying any such distinction, the Bible everywhere implies
the opposite. The Bible divides the
entire human race into two, and only two groups, and it sets one group up
against the other. These groups are
distinguished by their names, saint and sinner; people of God, and people of
this world; children of God, and children of this world or children of the
devil; the elect and the reprobate; the chosen and the rejected; the sanctified
and the unsanctified; the regenerated and the unregenerate; the penitent and the
impenitent. No matter what names
the Bible uses, it is clear that there are only two groups. The elect of God is a common name for
the saints or the people of God. I
cannot find in the Bible any evidence, that anyone other than the elect were
converted at any time.
The elect includes
everyone who is or ever will be converted and saved. If you want to argue and insist that
others exist who have been converted, the burden of proof is on you. Prove it if you can. But in order to prove this, you must
establish the fact that truly regenerated people are lost. But the Bible assures us that not one of
the elect will ever be lost.
Because I am taking the initiative, I must bear the burden of showing
that only the elect are recognized in the scriptures as saints; and because I am
talking only about the salvation of the saints, I will take it for granted, that
all those who were from eternity chosen to eternal salvation, through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth, will certainly be
saved.
3 Now,
if we can prove, that some saints have really been lost, it will follow that
some have been converted who were not of the elect. And, on the other hand, if we can show
that no saint has been, or will be eternally lost; but, on the contrary, that
all the true saints are, and will be, saved, it will follow that only the elect
are converted. For all who are, or
will be, saved, are saved by God, and saved according to God’s eternal plan, and
of course they were elected to salvation from eternity
past.
D
I
have already said that it is incredible that nowhere in the Bible does it
distinguish between elect and non‑elect saints. We cannot say that the Bible purposely
hides from all saints the fact of their election lest it should be a
stumbling‑block to them. This is
not true. In fact, there are some
situations where the elect knew they were elect.
E
But
some say, that Peter exhorted the saints to “be even more diligent to make your
calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10); from which it many conclude, that
they did not know that they were elect; and furthermore it might be that,
although they were real saints, not all of them were of the elect. The words referred to here, are spoken
in the following context:
“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have
obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior
Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and
of Jesus our Lord, as His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain
to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and
virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,
that through these you may be partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving
all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge
self‑control, to self‑control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to
godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and
abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For he who lacks
these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was
purged from his old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and
election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” (2 Peter 1‑10)
On this passage,
please let me say that the fact that Peter addressed this epistle to all true
Christians is seen from the first verse.
He addressed this epistle no one by name, but left it open for everyone
to be sure that he had faith. He
then proceeded to exhort those who had “obtained like precious faith” to grow in
grace and peace, assuring them that, if any one did not grow in grace and peace,
he had forgotten that he was purged from his former sins. In other words, if any one lacked “these
things”, it would prove that he did not have true faith, or that he had
backslidden. Then he added in the
10th verse: “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and
election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble”. The apostle clearly
assumed:
1 That
those who are called and elected will be saved;
2 To
make their calling and election sure was to make their salvation sure;
3 That
only the called and elected are saved;
4 The
only people that Peter considered as Christians, or as those who had true faith,
were those who were called and elected; because Peter was not exhorting
unrepentant sinners to become Christians, but exhorting Christians to be sure of
their calling and election.
a
This
shows that Peter considered all Christians as called and elected. To be sure of their calling and election
was to be sure of their salvation.
The apostle did not exhort them to add to the number of the elect, for
this number has been settled from eternity past. However, he exhorted them to secure
their salvation by diligence and growth, or, by diligence and growth, prove or
demonstrate their calling and election.
Peter also meant to admonish them when he said that although they were
called and elected, their ultimate salvation was still conditioned on their
diligent growth in grace and perseverance in holiness to the end of their
life. He therefore exhorts them to
make their calling and election sure, which is the same thing as calling them to
secure their salvation. He speaks
of calling and election as permanently connected. Calling either comes from election, or
election comes from calling. We
have seen that election is eternal; therefore, election cannot result from
calling, but calling must result from election.
b
Christians,
saints, the children and people of God, the disciples of Christ, and the elect,
all appear to be regarded throughout the Bible as being basically the same.
c
Christ
says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me
I will by no means cast out. This
is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” (John 6:37, 39)
d
Here
Jesus says that all who are given to Him by the Father shall come to Him, and
that of those that come to Him, it is His Father’s will that He should lose no
one, but that He should raise them up, (that is, to eternal life), on the last
day. Jesus does not say here, that
no one comes to Him who is not given to Him by the Father, but this is plainly
implied, for He says, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and the
one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” What Jesus means by not casting them out
is plain from the 39th verse: “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that
of all He has given Me I should lose no one.” By not casting them out then, Christ
intends that He will surely save all who come to Him. But if He saves them, they must have been
given to Christ and have been elected.
If they were not elected, or given to Christ by the Father, they will
never be saved, unless some are saved without God’s designing or choosing to
save them. If any are saved, God
saves them, through or by Christ.
If He saves them, He planned to save them. But if He planned to save them, He has
from eternity planned it. So then,
it appears, that all who come to Christ were given to Him by the Father; and
that He will lose none of them, but He will raise them up at the last day. My present purpose however, is not to
insist that no one who comes to Christ will be lost, but only that those who
come to Christ are those who were given to Him by the Father, or are the
elect.
e
Listen
to the words of Jesus. “All that
the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no
means cast out. This is the will of
the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up at the last day.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will
raise him up at the last day. It is
written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and
learned from the Father comes to Me.”
(John 6:37, 39, 44, 45)
f Here it appears that no
one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him. Everyone who the Father effectively
draws comes to Christ, and no one else.
The Father draws to Christ only those whom He has given to Christ; for
these, and only these, are the children of God. “All your children shall be taught by
the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” (Isaiah 54:13) From these passages, we see that only
those who the Father draws come to Christ and that the Father draws only those
whom He has given to His Son. These
are the elect. And of those who are
thus drawn to Christ, it is the Father’s will that He should lose none, but that
He should raise them up on the last day; that is, that He should save them. I will now establish the fact that no
one comes to Christ except those who God gives to Christ. I will also establish the fact that
everyone who God gives to Christ shall come to Him. Only the people who the Father
effectively calls and draws are given to Christ. God calls everybody, in the sense that
He earnestly and honestly invites them, with all the Divine persuasion that He
can wisely address to them. But,
those who God does not give to the Son cannot be persuaded and effectively drawn
to where they yield their hearts and lives to the outstretched arms of our
loving Savior.
F
Many
other passages in the teachings of Christ strongly imply this same truth. For example, Jesus says: “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the
same is a thief and a robber. But
he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the
sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. And when he brings out his own
sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his
voice. Yet they will by no means
follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of
strangers.’ Jesus used this
illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to
them.” (John 10:1‑6)
G
Jesus
then proceeds to explain the parable.
He is the good shepherd taking care of His Father’s sheep. He says: “Most assuredly, I say to you,
I am the door of the sheep. All who
ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear
them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be
saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy. I have
come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the
sheep. But he who is a hireling and
not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and
leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters
them. The hireling flees because he
is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My
sheep, and am known by My own. As
the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the
sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and
there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take
it again.” (John 10:7‑17)
1 Jesus
had other sheep that were not yet called.
They were not of this fold.
In other words, they were not Jews, but Gentiles. These He must bring. To the unbelieving and objecting Jews He
said: “But you do not
believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me. And I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone 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
My Father’s hand.” (John
10:26‑29)
2 Here
it is clearly implied, that all those sheep who were given to Him by the Father,
would surely hear and know His voice and follow Him, but those sheep that were
not His, or were not given to Him by the Father, would not believe. Jesus says in verse 26: “But you do not believe, because you are
not of My sheep, as I said to you.”
What Jesus says here amounts to this: “all My sheep are given to Me by My
Father. All My sheep given to me by
my Father, shall and will hear My voice and follow Me, and no one else
will.” Only those who the Father
gives to Christ come to Christ.
These are the elect. Many
passages either clearly teach, or strongly imply this truth. In fact, it seems, to me, to be the
doctrine of the whole Bible. “And
we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Here Paul represents those who love God
as “who are the called according to His purpose.” In other words, those who love God are
called according to, or because of their election. All who love God love Him because God
has effectively called them according to the purpose or election of God. This passage seems to settle the
question, especially when we view this passage with the understanding that all
who ever love God are of the elect, and that God prevails on them to love God in
conformity with their election.
H
Later,
we will examine the context that we find this passage in, to show that God will
save all who truly come to love Him anytime. I have only quoted this twenty‑eighth
verse for the purpose of showing, not just that all who love God at any time
will be saved, but that they are of the number of the elect, from which fact
their ultimate salvation must be inferred.
1 The
apostles considered regeneration as conclusive evidence of election. The way that they addressed Christians
seems to put this beyond any doubt.
Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians, says, “But we are bound to give
thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the
beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and
belief in the truth”. (2 Thess.
2:13) Here the apostle speaks of
all the brethren at Thessalonica as beloved of the Lord, and as being from the
beginning, or eternity past, chosen to salvation. He felt called on to give thanks to God
for this reason, that God had chosen them for salvation from eternity past. This he represents as true of all true
Christians in the church. Indeed,
the apostles everywhere spoke as if they considered all true saints as being the
elect, and the fact that they are saints is evidence of their election. Peter, in writing to the Christians in
his first letter, says:
2 “Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in
heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith,
being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire,
may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom
having not seen you love. Though
now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and
full of glory, receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your
souls.” (1 Peter 1:1‑9)
3 Here
it is clear that Peter regarded all who had been born again to a lively hope as
elected, or as chosen to salvation.
I might pursue this argument indefinitely, but I must attend to other
considerations that support the doctrine of perseverance.
I
Well,
right now I must bring this particular subject to a close by reminding you that
Christ has clearly stated that no man comes to Him except the Father draws
Him. That the Father draws to Him
those whom He has given to Christ, and that of those, whom the Father has given
to Christ, Christ shall lose not one but He should raise them up on the last
day. This is the Father’s
will. I think you can clearly see,
that when Christ proclaims that it is His Father’s will, that of those whom the
Father has given Him He shall lose no one, but shall raise them up on the last
day, He intended to say, that His Father not merely desired and willed this, but
that this was His plan. That the
Father planned to secure their salvation, we will examine in more detail in the
near future.