Perseverance of the Saints 2

The Light Shines in the Darkness...

All Scripture quotes are from the NASB:

Philippians 4:3

“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

Commentary:

Paul mentions that the names of Euodia, Syntyche, Clement, and others are in the Book of Life, the book containing only the names of the elect. However, according to those who deny eternal security no one can know with any certainty that they are of the elect. They even believe that not even Paul knew that he was one of the elect.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Commentary:

Paul says that Christ will preserve His saints complete until the Second Advent. The reason he gives is that Christ, the One who called them unto repentance, is faithful to bring it to pass. However, those who deny eternal security believe that Christ will allow some of His saints to be unpreserved, incomplete, and with blame at the Second Coming.

2 Timothy 4:18

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Commentary:

Paul tells his readers that the Lord will ensure that he enters the Kingdom of Heaven. However, those who deny eternal security believe that Paul could not have known that he was one of the elect while he still lived because he had the free-will to leave the faith or commit a ‘mortal’ sin before he died.

1 Peter 1:3-5

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Commentary:

Here, Peter tells his readers that Christ caused us to be born again and has reserved an imperishable inheritance for us in Heaven. He then tells his readers that those who are born again are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation (i.e. to receive the eternal inheritance in Heaven). However, those who deny eternal security believe that God cannot guarantee the protection and perseverance of true believers since they have a libertarian free-will outside of God’s power.

2 Peter 1:10

“Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.”

Commentary:

Peter tells his readers to be diligent to make sure that Christ has chosen to elect them (“choose you”). However, those who deny eternal security believe that no one can know with any certainty that they are one of the elect because one could exercise his/her libertarian free-will at any time before death and commit a ‘mortal’ sin.

1 John 1:7, 9

“…but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Commentary:

John says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. However, those who deny eternal security believe that the blood of Jesus does not cleanse Christians from ‘mortal’ sins.

1 John 2:1

“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;”

Commentary:

Here, John says that if a true Christian sins, he will have an advocate, Jesus Christ, with the Father so that we will have the forgiveness of our sins. However, those who deny eternal security believe that if a true Christian commits a ‘mortal’ sin, then Jesus Christ will not advocate on our behalf before the Father.

1 John 2:9

The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

Commentary:

John tells us that those who say that they are Christians but continually do evil are “are in the darkness until now” (emphasis mine). In other words, they were never in the Light to begin with. However, those who deny eternal security believe that one could have been in the Light “until now” and then lost the Light, a scenario that John never mentions.

1 John 2:19

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

Commentary:

John gives the reason for the apostasy of those who became Gnostics. The only reason that he gives for the apostasy is that those who left were never Christians to begin with, and he gives no other reason. He does not say that there were the two possibilities given by those who deny eternal security, they were never Christians or they were true Christians but lost their salvation, but only that they were never Christians.

1 John 3:6, 9

“No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him…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.”

Commentary:

John tells us the nature of a true Christian, no one born of God practices sin because he cannot sin (i.e. willingly continue in sin or commit apostasy). However, those who deny eternal security believe that one who is born of God can practice sin despite being born of God because men have a libertarian free-will.

1 John 4:4

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

Commentary:

John gives the reason why true Christians have overcome the false teachers. It is because the power of God is greater than that of the devil. However, those who deny eternal security believe that man’s libertarian free-will can tip the balance in favor of the devil, overpower the will of God, and as a result, be overcome the by world.

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

Commentary:

John tells us that we should not fear punishment because we have been forgiven of our sins. However, those who deny eternal security usually cite Philippians 2:12 (“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”) as proof of their doctrine. [They do so out of context, of course. This passage will be discussed in the article on a defense of perseverance. It must also be noted that Roman Catholics believe that all sins that they commit after baptism must be satisfied either by good works or punishment. This doctrine is clearly denied by 1 John 4:18.]

1 John 5:4

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.”

Commentary:

John tells his readers that those who are born of God (i.e. true Christians) overcome the world (i.e. do not fall into sin). However, those who deny eternal security believe that some of those that are born of God will not overcome the world but be dragged into it.

1 John 5:18

“We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”

Commentary:

Here, John is saying that the one who is born of God cannot sin (i.e. willingly continue in sin or commit apostasy) because “God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him”. However, those who deny eternal security believe that the one who is born of God can sin and that the evil one can touch him. They believe that God cannot ‘keep’ him because mankind has libertarian free-will and can overpower God’s will.

3 John 11

“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.”

Commentary:

In this letter, John tells us that those who do evil (i.e. willingly continue in sin or commit apostasy) have not seen God (i.e. were never born of God). However, those who deny eternal security believe that some of those who do evil now were true Christians and have “seen God”.

Jude 24

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy…”

Commentary:

Jude, the brother of the Lord, tells the Church that Christ is able to keep true Christians in the faith to the end so that they will stand before Christ blameless. However, those who deny eternal security believe that Christ isn’t able to keep them to the end since they have libertarian free-will to overpower God’s will.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, some helpful audio on this topic can be found at:

http://www.straitgate.com/aom/dl/99.htm (Feb. 13)

Some helpful online reading can be found here:

http://aomin.org/eternalsecurity.html

http://aomin.org/johnchapter6.html

http://members.aol.com/jasonte2/law.htm

http://www.the-highway.com/assurance_Ryle.html