Contents:
The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is stated in the
Westminster Confession in the following words: “They whom God hath
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.”1 Or in other words we believe that
those who once become true Christians cannot totally fall away and
be lost, --that while they may fall into sin temporarily they will
eventually return and be saved.
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. And,
historically, this doctrine has been held by all Calvinists, and
denied by practically all Arminians.
Those who have fled to Jesus for refuge have a firm foundation
upon which to build. Though floods of error deluge the land,
though Satan raise all the powers of earth and all the iniquities
of their own hearts against them, they shall never fail; but,
persevering to the end, they shall inherit those mansions which
have been prepared for them from the foundation of the world. The
saints in heaven are happier but no more secure than are true
believers here in this world. Since faith and repentance are gifts
of God, the bestowing of these gifts is a revelation of God’s
purpose to save those to whom they are given. It is an evidence
that God has predestinated the recipients of these gifts to be
conformed to the image of His Son, i.e., to be like Him in
character, destiny, and glory, and that He will infallibly carry
out His purpose. No one can pluck them out of His hands. Those who
once become true Christians have within themselves the principle
of eternal life, which principle is the Holy Spirit; and since the
Holy Spirit dwells within them they are already potentially holy.
True, they are still exercised by many trials, and they do not yet
see what they shall be, but they should know that that which is
begun in them shall be completed to the end, and that the very
presence of strife within them is the sign of life and the promise
of victory.
In regard to those who become true Christians, but who, as the
Arminians allege, fall away, why does God not take them out of the
world while they are in the saved state? Surely no one will say
that it is because He cannot, or that it is because He does not
foresee their future apostasy. Why, then, does He leave these
objects of His affection here to fall back into sin and perish?
His gift of continued life to these Christians amounts to an
infinite curse placed upon them. But who can really believe that
the heavenly Father takes no better care of His children than
that? This mistaken doctrine of the Arminians teaches that a
person may be a son of God today and a son of the Devil tomorrow
that he may change from one state to another as rapidly as he
changes his mind. It teaches that he may be born of the Spirit,
justified, sanctified, all but glorified, and that even then he
may become reprobate and perish eternally, his own will and course
of conduct being the determining factor. Certainly a sovereign
loving God would not permit His ransomed children to thus fall
away and perish.
In addition to this, if God knows that a certain Christian is
going to rebel and perish, can He love him with any deep affection
even before his apostasy? If we knew that someone who is our
friend today would be led to become our enemy and betray us
tomorrow, we could not receive him with the intimacy and trust
which otherwise would be natural. Our knowledge of his future acts
would in large measure destroy our present love for him.
No one denies that the redeemed in heaven will be preserved in
holiness. Yet if God is able to preserve His saints in heaven
without violating their free agency, may He not also preserve His
saints on earth without violating their free agency?
The nature of the change which occurs in regeneration is a
sufficient guarantee that the life imparted shall be permanent.
Regeneration is a radical and supernatural change of the inner
nature, through which the soul is made spiritually alive, and the
new life which is implanted is immortal. And since it is a change
in the inner nature, it is in a sphere in which man does not have
control. No creature is at liberty to change the fundamental
principles of its nature, for that is the prerogative of God as
Creator. Hence nothing short of another supernatural act of God
could reverse this change and cause the new life to be lost. The
born-again Christian can no more lose his sonship to the heavenly
Father than an earthly son can lose his sonship to an earthly
father. The idea that a Christian may fall away and perish arises
from a wrong conception of the principle of spiritual life which
is imparted to the soul in regeneration.
Dr. Charles Hodge says,
Concerning the salvation of the elect, Luther says,
The more we think of these matters, the more thankful we are
that our perseverance in holiness and assurance of salvation is
not dependent on our own weak nature, but upon God’s constant
sustaining power. We can say with Isaiah, “Except Jehovah of hosts
had left us a very small remnant, we should have become as Sodom,
we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” Arminianism denies this
doctrine of Perseverance, because it is a system, not of pure
grace, but of grace and works; and in any such system the person
must prove himself at least partially worthy.
3. Though Truly Saved The Christian May Temporarily Backslide And
Commit Sin
This doctrine of Perseverance does not mean that Christians do not
temporarily fall the victims of sin, for alas, this is all too
common. Even the best of men backslide temporarily. But they are
never completely defeated; for God, by the exercise of His grace
on their hearts infallibly prevents even the weakest saint from
final apostasy. As yet we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the exceeding greatness of the power (or the glory) may be of
God, and not from ourselves, (2 Cor. 4:7).
Concerning his own personal experience even the great apostle Paul
could write: “The good which I would I do not; but the evil which
I would not, that I practice. But if what I would not, that I do,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. . . . I
find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see a
different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my
members. Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the
body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So
then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but
with the flesh the law of sin,” (Rom. 7:19-25). In these lines
every true Christian reads his own experience.
It is, of course, inconsistent for the Christian to commit sin,
and the writer of the book of Hebrews says that those who do sin
“crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an
open shame” (6:6). After David had committed sin and had repented
he was told by the prophet Nathan that his sin would be forgiven,
but that nevertheless through it he had “given great occasion to
the enemies of Israel to blaspheme,” (2 Sam. 12:14). David and
Peter fell away temporarily, but the basic principles of their
natures called them back. Judas fell away permanently because he
lacked those basic principles.
As long as the believer remains in this world his state is one of
warfare. He suffers temporary reverses and may for a time appear
to have lost all faith; yet if he has been once truly saved, he
cannot fall away completely from grace. If once he has experienced
the inner change which comes through regeneration he will sooner
or later return to the fold and be saved. When he comes to himself
he confesses his sins and asks forgiveness, never doubting that he
is saved. His lapse into sin may have injured him severely and may
have brought destruction to others; but so far as he is personally
concerned it is only temporary. Paul taught that the life work of
many people should be burned since it is constructed of wrong
materials, though they themselves shall be saved “so as by fire,”
(1 Cor. 3:12-15); and it was this teaching which Jesus brought out
in the parable of the lost sheep which the shepherd sought and
brought back to the fold.
If true believers fell away, then their bodies, which are called
“temples of the Holy Spirit,” would become the habitations of the
Devil, which of course would make the Devil rejoice and insult
over God (1 Cor. 6:19). “The Christian is like a man making his
way up hill, who occasionally slips back, yet always has his face
set toward the summit. The unregenerate man has his face turned
downwards, and he is slipping all the way,” --A. H. Strong. “The
believer, like a man on shipboard, may fall again and again on the
deck, but he will never fall overboard.” --C. H. Spurgeon.
Each one of the elect is like the prodigal son in this, that for a
time he is deluded by the world and is led astray by his own
carnal appetite. He tries to feed on the husks, but they do not
satisfy. And sooner or later he is obliged to say, “I will arise
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight.” And he meets with the same
reception, tokens of unchanging love; and a father’s welcome voice
echoes through the soul, and melts the heart of the poor returning
backslider, “This my son was dead, and is alive again; and was
lost, and is found.” Let it be noticed that this is a thoroughly
Calvinistic parable in that the prodigal was a son, and could not
lose that relationship. Those who are not sons never have the
desire to arise and go to the Father.
Our judgments may at times be wrong, as was that of the bewitched
Galatians (3:1); and our affections may cool, as in the Ephesian
Church (Rev. 2:4). The Church may become drowsy, yet her heart
awakes (Song 5:2). Grace may at times seem to be lost to a child
of God when it is indeed not so. The sun is eclipsed, but regains
its former splendor. The trees lose all their leaves and fruit in
winter, but has fresh buddings with the spring. Israel flees once,
or even twice, before her enemies, and yet they conquer the land
of promise. The Christian, too, falls many times, but is finally
saved. It is unthinkable that God’s elect should fail of
salvation. “There is no possibility of their escaping the
omnipotent power of God, so that, like Jonah, who fled from the
will of God, which was to carry the message to Nineveh, yet was
pursued even into the belly of the fish by the power of God until
he willingly obeyed God’s command, so they will eventually return
to the Saviour, and after confession receive pardon for their sins
and be saved.”4
We have no great difficulty in disposing of those cases where
apparently true believers have gone into final apostasy. Both
Scripture and experience teach us that we are often mistaken in
our judgment of our fellow men, that sometimes it is practically
impossible for us to know for certain that they are true
Christians. The tares were never wheat, and the bad fish were
never good, in spite of the fact that their true nature was not at
first recognized. Since Satan can so alter his appearance that he
is mistaken for an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), it is no marvel
that sometimes his ministers also fashion themselves as doers of
righteousness, with the most deceptive appearances of holiness,
devotion, piety and zeal. Certainly an outward profession is not
always a guarantee that the soul is saved. Like the Pharisees of
old, they may only desire to “make a fair show in the flesh,” and
deceive many. Jesus warned His disciples, “there shall arise false
Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and
wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect,”
(Matt. 24:24); and He quoted the prophet Isaiah to the effect
that, “This people honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is
far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their
doctrines the precepts of men,” (Mark 7:6, 7). Paul warned against
those who were “false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning
themselves into apostles of Christ,” (2 Cor. 11:13). And to the
Romans he wrote, “They are not all Israel, that are of Israel:
neither, because they are Abraham’s seed are they all children,”
(Rom. 9:6, 7). John mentions those who “call themselves apostles,
and they are not,” (Rev. 2:2); and a little later he adds, “I know
thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art
dead,” (Rev. 3:1).
But however effectively these may deceive men, God all the time
knows “the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are
not, but are a synagogue of Satan,” (Rev. 2:9). We live in a day
when multitudes claim the name of “Christian,” who are destitute
of Christian knowledge, experience, and character, --in a day
when, in many quarters, the distinction between the Church and the
world has been wiped out. Like Samuel, we are often deceived by
the outward appearance, and say, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is
before us,” when if we really knew the motives behind their works
we would conclude otherwise. We are often mistaken in our judgment
of others, in spite of the best precautions that we can take. John
gave the true solution for these cases when he wrote: “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 they
might be made manifest that they all are not of us,” (1 John
2:19). All of those who fall away permanently come under this
class.
Some persons make a great profession of religion although they
know nothing of the Lord Jesus in sincerity and in truth. These
persons may outstrip many a humble follower in head-knowledge, and
for a season they may quite deceive the very elect; yet all the
time their hearts have never been touched. In the judgment day
many of those who at some time in their lives have been externally
associated with the Church will say, “Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy
name do many mighty works?” And then He will reply to them, “I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity,” (Matt.
7:22, 23); which, of course, would not be true if at some time He
had known them as real Christians. When every man shall appear in
his own colors, when the secrets of all hearts shall be manifest,
many who at times appeared to be true Christians will be seen
never to have been among God’s people. Some fall away from a
profession of faith, but none fall away from the saving grace of
God. Those who do fall have never known the latter. They are the
stony-ground hearers, who have no root in. themselves, but who
endure for a while; and when tribulation or persecution arises,
straightway they stumble. They are then said to have given up or
to have made shipwreck of that faith which they never possessed
except in appearance. Some of these become sufficiently
enlightened in the scheme of the doctrines of the Gospel that they
are able to preach or to teach them to others, and yet are
themselves entirely destitute of real saving grace. When such fall
away they are no proofs nor instances of the final apostasy of
real saints.
Mere church membership, of course, is no guarantee that the
persons are real Christians. Not every member of the Church
militant will be a member of the Church triumphant. To answer
certain purposes, they make an outward profession of the Gospel,
which obliges them for a time to be outwardly moral and to
associate themselves with the people of God. They appear to have
true faith and continue thus for a while. Then either their
sheep’s clothing is stripped off, or they throw it off themselves,
and return again to the world. If we could see the real motives of
their hearts, we would discover that at no time were they ever
actuated by a true love of God. They were all this while goats,
and not sheep, ravening wolves, and not gentle lambs. Hence Peter
says of them, “It has happened unto them according to the true
proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that
had been washed to wallowing in the mire,” (2 Pet. 2:22). They
thereby show that they never belonged to the number of the elect.
Many of the unconverted listen to the preaching of the Gospel as
Herod listened to John the Baptist. We are told that “Herod feared
John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him
safe. And when he heard him he was much perplexed; and he heard
him gladly,” (Mark 6:20). Yet no one who knows of Herod’s decree
to put John the Baptist to death, and of his life in general, will
say that he was ever a Christian.
In addition to what has been said it is to be admitted that often
times the common operations of the Spirit on the enlightened
conscience lead to reformation and to an externally religious
life. Those so influenced are often very strict in their conduct
and diligent in their religious duties. To the awakened sinner the
promises of the Gospel and the exhibition of the plan of salvation
contained In the Scriptures appear not only as true but as suited
to his condition. He receives them with joy, and believes with a
faith founded on the moral force of truth. This faith continues as
long as the state of mind by which it is produced continues. When
that changes, he relapses into his usual state of insensibility,
and his faith disappears. It is to this class of persons that
Christ referred when He spoke of those who receive the Word in
stony places or among thorns. Numerous examples of this temporary
faith are found in the Scriptures and are often seen in everyday
life. These experiences often precede or accompany genuine
conversion; but in many cases they are not followed by a real
change of heart. They may occur repeatedly, and yet those who
experience them return to their normal state of unconcern and
worldliness. Often times it is impossible for an observer or even
the person himself to distinguish these experiences from those of
the truly regenerated. “By their fruits ye shall know them,” is
the test given by our Lord. Only when these experiences issue in a
consistently holy life can their distinctive character be known.
A consistent Arminian, with his doctrines of free will and of
falling from grace, can never in this life be certain of his
eternal salvation. He may, indeed, have the assurance of his
present salvation, but he can have only a hope of his final
salvation He may regard his final salvation as highly probable,
but he cannot know it as a certainty. He has seen many of his
fellow Christians backslide and perish after making a good start.
Why may not he do the same thing? So long as men remain in this
world they have the remnants of the old sinful nature clinging to
them; they are surrounded by the most alluring and deceptive
pleasures of the world and the most subtle temptations of the
Devil. In many of the supposedly Christian churches they hear the
false teaching of modernistic, and therefore unchristian,
ministers. If Arminianism were true, Christians would still be in
very dangerous positions, with their eternal destiny suspended
upon the probability that their weak, creaturely wills would
continue to choose right. Furthermore, Arminianism would logically
hold that no confirmation in holiness is possible, not even in
heaven; for even there the person would still retain his free will
and might commit sin any time he chose.
By comparison the Arminian is like the person who has inherited a
fortune of, say, $100,000. He knows that many others who have
inherited such fortunes have lost them through poor judgment,
fraud, calamity, etc., but he has enough confidence in his own
ability to handle money wisely that he does not doubt but that he
will keep his. His assurance is based largely on self-confidence.
Others have failed, but he is confident that he will not fail. But
what a delusion is this when applied to the spiritual realm! What
a pity that anyone who is at all acquainted with his own tendency
to sin should base his assurance of salvation upon such grounds!
His system places the cause of his perseverance, not in the hands
of an all-powerful, never-changing God, but in the hands of weak
sinful man.
And does not the logic of the Arminian system tell us that the
wise thing for the Christian to do is to die as soon as possible
and thus confirm the inheritance which to him is of infinite
value? In view of the fact that so many have fallen away, is it
worthwhile for him to remain here and risk his eternal salvation
for the sake of a little more life in this world? What would be
thought of a business man who, in order to gain a few more
dollars, would risk his entire fortune in some admittedly
questionable venture? In fact, does it not at least suggest that
the Lord has made many mistakes in not removing these people while
they were true Christians? The writer, at least, is convinced that
if he held the Arminian view and knew himself to be a saved
Christian he would want to die as soon as possible and thus place
his salvation beyond all possible doubt.
In regard to spiritual matters, a state of doubt is a state of
misery. The assurance that Christians can never be separated from
the love of God is one of the greatest comforts of the Christian
life. To deny this doctrine is to destroy the grounds for any
rejoicing among the saints on earth; for what kind of rejoicing
can those have who believe that they may at any time be deceived
and led astray? If our sense of security is based only on our
changeable and wavering natures, we can never know the inward calm
and peace which should characterize the Christian. Says
McFetridge, in his very illuminating little book, Calvinism In
History, I can well conceive of the terror to a sensitive soul of
dark uncertainty as to salvation, and of that ever-abiding
consciousness of the awful possibility of falling away from grace
after a long and painful Christian life, which is taught by
Arminianism. To me such a doctrine has terrors which would cause
me to shrink away from it forever, and which would fill me with
constant and unspeakable perplexities.
To feel that I were crossing the troubled and dangerous sea of
life dependent for my final security upon the actings of my own
treacherous nature were enough to fill me with a perpetual alarm.
If it is possible, I want to know that the vessel to which I
commit my life is seaworthy, and that, having once embarked, I
shall arrive in safety at my destination. (p. 112.)
It is not until we duly appreciate this wonderful truth, that our
salvation is not suspended on our weak and wavering love to God,
but rather upon His eternal and unchangeable love to us, that we
can have peace and certainty in the Christian life. And only the
Calvinist, who knows himself to be absolutely safe in the hands of
God, can have that inward sense of peace and security, knowing
that in the eternal counsels of God he has been chosen to be
cleansed and glorified and that nothing can thwart that purpose.
He knows himself to be held to righteousness by a spiritual power
which is as exhaustless and unvarying as the force of gravitation,
and as necessary to the development of the spirit as sunshine and
vitamins are to the body.
6. Purpose Of The Scripture Warnings Against Apostasy
Arminians sometimes bring forth from the Scriptures the warnings
against apostasy or falling away, which are addressed to
believers, and which, it is argued, imply a possibility of their
falling away. There is, of course, a sense in which it is possible
for believers to fall away, --when they are viewed simply in
themselves, with reference to their own powers and capacities, and
apart from God’s purpose or design with respect to them. And it is
admitted by all that believers can fall into sin temporarily. The
primary purpose of these passages, however, is to induce men to
cooperate willingly with God for the accomplishment of His
purposes. They are inducements which produce constant humility,
watchfulness, and diligence. In the same way a parent, in order to
get the willing co-operation of a child, may tell it to stay out
of the way of an approaching automobile, when all the time the
parent has no intention of ever letting the child get into a
position where it would be injured. When God plies a soul with
fears of falling it is by no means a proof that God in His secret
purpose intends to permit him to fall. These fears may be the very
means which God has designed to keep him from falling. Secondly,
God’s exhortations to duty are perfectly consistent with His
purpose to give sufficient grace for the performance of these
duties. In one place we are commanded to love the Lord our God
with all our heart; in another, God says, “I will put my Spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” Now either
these must be consistent with each other, or the Holy Spirit must
contradict Himself. Plainly it is not the latter. Thirdly, these
warnings are, even for believers, incitements to greater faith and
prayer. Fourthly, they are designed to show man his duty rather
than his ability, and his weakness rather than his strength.
Fifthly, they convince men o their want of holiness and of their
dependence upon God. And, sixthly, they serve as restraints on
unbelievers, and leave them without excuse.
Nor is any more proven by the passages, “Destroy not with thy meat
him for whom Christ died,” (Rom. 14:15); and, “For through thy
knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for whose sake
Christ died,” (1 Cor. 8:11). In the same manner the influence of a
particular person, when looked at merely in itself, might be said
to be destroying our American civilization; yet America goes ahead
and prospers, because other influences more than offset that one.
In these passages the principle asserted is simply this: Whatever
their divine security, the responsibility of the one who casts a
stumbling block in the path of his brother is not decreased; and
that anyone who does cast a stumbling block in the way of his
brother is doing all he can towards his brother’s destruction.
The Scripture proof for this doctrine is abundant and clear.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or
sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded 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
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Rom. 8:35-39).
“Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law,
but under grace,” Rom. 6:14. “He that believeth bath eternal
life,” (John 6:47). “He that heareth my word, and believeth Him
that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but
hath passed out of death into life,” (John 5:24). The moment one
believes, eternal life becomes a reality, a present possession,
and not merely a conditional gift of the future. “I am the living
bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread,
he shall live for ever,” (John 6:51). He does not say that we have
to eat many times, but that if we eat at all, we shall live
forever. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall
become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life,”
(John 4:14).
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work
in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ,” (Phil.
1:6). “Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me,” (Ps.
138:8). “The gifts and calling of God are not repented of,” (Rom.
11:29). “The witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life,”
(1 John 5:11). “These things have I written unto you that ye may
know that ye have eternal life,” (1 John 5:13). “For by one
offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,”
(Heb. 10:14). “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and
will save me unto His heavenly kingdom,” (2 Tim. 4:18). “For whom
He foreknew, He also foreordained. . . . and whom He foreordained,
them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified;
and whom He justified, them He also glorified,” (Rom. 8:29).
“Having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ
unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” (Eph.
1:5).
Jesus declared, “I give unto them (the true followers, or ‘sheep’)
eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch
them out of my hand. My Father, who hath given them unto me, is
greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the
Father’s hand,” (John 10:28). Here we find that our security and
God’s omnipotence are equal; for the former is founded on the
latter. God is mightier than the whole world, and neither men nor
Devil can rob Him of one of His precious jewels. It would be as
easy to pluck a star out of the heavens as to pluck a saint out of
the Father’s hand. Their salvation stands in His invincible might
and they are placed beyond the peril of destruction. We have
Christ’s promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against
His Church; yet if the Devil could snatch one here and another
there and large numbers in some congregations, the gates of hell
would to a great extent prevail against it. In principle, if one
could be lost, all might be lost, and thus Christ’s assurance
would be reduced to idle words.
When we are told that “There shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, who shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead
astray, If possible, even the elect,” (Matt. 24:24), the
unprejudiced believing mind readily understands that it is
impossible to lead astray the elect.
The mystic union which exists between Christ and believers is a
guarantee that they shall continue steadfast. “Because I live, ye
shall live also,” (John 14:19). The effect of this union is that
believers participate in His life. Christ is in us, (Rom. 8:10).
It is not we that live, but Christ that liveth in us, (Gal. 2:20).
Christ and the believers have a common life such as that which
exists in the vine and the branches. The Holy Spirit so dwells in
the redeemed that every Christian is supplied with an
inexhaustible reservoir of strength.
Paul warned the Ephesians, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in
whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption,” (Eph. 4:30). He
had no fear of apostasy for he could confidently say, “Thanks be
to God who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ,” (2 Cor. 2:14).
The Lord, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah said, “I have
loved thee with an everlasting love,” (31:3), --one of the best
proofs that God’s love shall have no end is that it has no
beginning, but is eternal. In the parable of the two houses, the
very point stressed was that the house which was founded on the
rock (Christ) did not fall when the storms of life came.
Arminianism sets up another system in which some of those who are
founded on the rock do fall. In the twenty-third Psalm we read,
“And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” The true
Christian is no temporary visitor, but a permanent dweller in the
house of the Lord. How those rob this psalm of its deeper and
richer meaning who teach that the grace of God is a temporary
thing!
Christ makes intercession for His people (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25),
and we are told that the Father hears Him always (John 11:42).
Hence the Arminian, holding that Christians may fall away, must
deny either the passages which declare that Christ does make
intercession for His people, or he must deny those which declare
that His prayers are always heard. Let us consider here how well
protected we are: Christ is at the right hand of God pleading for
us, and in addition to that, the Holy Spirit makes intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, (Rom. 8:26).
In the wonderful promise of Jeremiah 32:40, God has promised to
preserve believers from their own backslidings: “And I will make
an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from
following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their
hearts, that they may not depart from me.” And in Ezekiel 11:19,
20, He promises to take from them the “stony heart,” and to give
them a “heart of flesh,” so that they shall walk in his statutes
and keep his ordinances, and so that they shall be His people and
He their God. Peter tells us that Christians cannot fall away, for
they “by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a
salvation ready to be revealed at the last time,” (1 Pet. 1:5).
Paul says, “God is able to make all grace to abound unto you; that
ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto
every good work,” (2 Cor. 9:8). He declares that the Lord’s
servant “shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make
him stand,” (Rom. 14:4).
And Christians have the further promise, “There hath no temptation
taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, and will
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with
the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to
endure it,” (1 Cor. 10:13). Their removal from certain temptations
which would be too strong for them is an absolute and free gift
from God, since it is entirely an arrangement of His providence as
to what temptations they encounter in the course of their lives,
and what ones they escape. “The Lord is faithful and will
establish you and guard you from the evil one,” (2 Thess. 3:3).
And again, “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that
fear Him and delivereth them,” (Ps. 34:7). Amid all his trials and
hardships Paul could say, ‘We are pressed on every side, yet not
straightened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not
forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; . . . knowing that He
that raised up the Lord Jesus Christ shall raise us also with
Jesus,” (2 Cor. 4:8,9,14).
The saints, even in this world, are compared to a tree that does
not wither, (Ps. 1:3); to the cedars which flourish on Mount
Lebanon, (Ps. 92:12); to Mount Zion which cannot be moved, but
which abideth forever, (Ps. 125:1); and to a house built on a
rock, (Matt. 7:24). The Lord is with them in their old age, (Isa.
46:4), and is their guide even unto death, (Ps. 48:14), so that
they cannot be totally and finally lost.
Another strong argument is to be noticed concerning the Lamb’s
book of life. The disciples were told to rejoice, not so much over
the fact that the demons were subject to them, but that their
names were written in the Lamb’s book of life. This book is a
catalogue of the elect, determined by the unalterable counsel of
God, and can neither be increased nor diminished. The names of the
righteous are found there; but the names of those who perish have
never been written there from the foundation of the world. God
does not make the mistake of writing in the book of life a name
which He will later have to blot out. Hence none of the Lord’s own
ever perish. Jesus told His disciples to find their chief joy in
the fact that their names were written in heaven, (Luke 10:20);
yet there would have been small grounds for joy in this respect if
their names written in heaven one day could have been blotted out
the next. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Our citizenship is in
heaven,” (3:20); and to Timothy he wrote, “The Lord knoweth them
that are His,” (2 Tim. 2:19). For the Scripture teaching
concerning the book of life, (see Luke 10:20; Phil 4:3; Rev. 3:5;
13:8; 17:8; 20:12-15; 21:27).
Here, then, are very simple and plain statements that the
Christian shall continue in grace, the reason being that the Lord
takes it upon Himself to preserve him in that state. In these
promises the elect are secured on both sides. Not only will God
not depart from them, but He will so put His fear into their
hearts that they shall not depart from him. Surely no
Spirit-taught Christian can doubt that this doctrine is taught in
the Bible. It seems that man, poor, wretched and impotent as he
is, would welcome a doctrine which secures for him the possessions
of eternal happiness despite all attacks from without and all evil
tendencies from within. But it is not so. He refuses it, and
argues against it. And the causes are not far to seek. In the
first place he has more confidence in himself than he has any
right to have. Secondly, the scheme is so contrary to what he is
used to in the natural world that he persuades himself that it
cannot be true. Thirdly, he perceives that if this doctrine be
admitted, the other doctrines of free grace will logically follow.
Hence he twists and explains away the Scripture passages which
teach it, and clings to some which appear on the surface to favor
his preconceived views. In fact, a system of salvation by grace is
so utterly at variance with his everyday experience, in which he
sees everything and person treated according to works and merits,
that he has great difficulty in bringing himself to believe that
it can be true. He wishes to earn his own salvation, though
certainly he expects very high wanes for very sorry work.
1 Chapter XVII, Section 1.
2 Theology, p. 690.
3 Systematic Theology, III, p. 112.
4 F. E. Hamilton, Article, “The Reformed Faith in the Modern
World.”