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Perseverance of the saints, also known as preservation of the saints, is a Calvinist doctrine asserting that the elect will persevere in faith and ultimately achieve salvation. This concept was initially developed by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century, who formulated the idea of predestination by predeterminism. In the 16th century, John Calvin and other reformers integrated this idea into their theological framework. The doctrine of perseverance of the saints is rooted in this understanding of predestination and continues to be a central tenet of Reformed theology today.
The doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints asserts that the elect will persevere in faith until the end of their lives and ultimately achieve salvation. Those who are truly born again are the elect who will persevere to the end. [1] [2]
The alternative term "preservation of the saints" emphasizes God's role in determining the elect's perseverance. Conversely, "perseverance of the saints" highlights the human act of perseverance, which is a consequence of God's preservation. [3] [4] [5]
Because one practical interpretation of the Calvinist doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" leads to "eternal security", [6] over time, the term became synonymous with the doctrine itself. [7] However, given the theological significance of the term "eternal security" in common usage, it's important to distinguish them. [8] Indeed, some Calvinist theologians reject the use of "eternal security" for their doctrine of perseverance, [9] as do proponents of non-Calvinist forms of eternal security. [10]
Before his conversion to Christianity in 387, Augustine of Hippo (354–430), adhered to three deterministic philosophies: Stoicism, Neoplatonism and Manichaeism. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] After his conversion, he taught traditional Christian theology against forms of theological determinism until 412. [17] [18] [19]
During his conflict with the Pelagians, however Augustine seemed to reintroduce certain Manichean principles into his thought, [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] a shift notably influenced by the controversy over infant baptism. [26] His early exposure to Stoicism, with its emphasis on meticulous divine predeterminism, also shaped his views. [27] According to Manichean doctrine, unborn and unbaptized infants were condemned to hell due to their physical bodies. [28] Augustine asserted that God predetermined parents to seek baptism for their newborns, linking water baptism to regeneration, [29] and ultimately predetermining which infants are damned and which are justified. [30]
Augustine had to explain why some baptized infants continued in the faith while others fell away and lived immoral lives. He taught that among those regenerated through baptism, some receive an additional gift of perseverance (donum perseverantiae) enabling them to maintain their faith and preventing them from falling away. [31] [32] [33] Without this second gift, a baptized Christian with the Holy Spirit would not persevere and ultimately would not be saved. Augustine developed this doctrine of perseverance in De correptione et gratia (c. 426–427). [34] While this doctrine theoretically give security to the elect who receive the gift of perseverance, individuals cannot ascertain whether they have received it. [35] [13] [36]
Between the 5th century and the Reformation in the 16th century, theologians who upheld Augustinian soteriology, included: Gottschalk (c. 808–868), [37] Ratramnus (died 868), [38] Thomas Bradwardine (1300–1349), [39] Gregory of Rimini (1300–1358), [40] John Wycliffe (1320s – 1384), [41] Johann Ruchrat von Wesel (died 1481), [42] Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498) [43] and Johannes von Staupitz (1460–1524). [44]
John Calvin among other Reformers, was deeply influenced by Augustine soteriology. [45] [46] The soteriology of Calvin was further shaped and systematized by Theodore Beza and other theologians. [47] It was then articulated during the Second Synod of Dort (1618–1619) in response to the opposing Five Articles of Remonstrance . [48] [49] The Calvinist doctrine of perseverance is present in Reformed confessions of faith such as the Canons of Dort [3] and the Westminster Confession of Faith. [5]
The Five Points of Calvinism |
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(TULIP) |
Total depravity |
Unconditional election |
Limited atonement |
Irresistible grace |
Perseverance of the saints |
Orthodox forms of Calvinism view God's providence as expressed through theological determinism. [50] [51] [52] This means that every event in the world is determined by God. [53] As the Westminster Confession of Faith put it: "God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass." [54]
Concerning salvation, Calvin expressly taught that it is God's sovereign decision to determine whether an individual is saved or damned. [55] [56] He writes "By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death." [57] Indeed, human actions leading to this end are also predetermined by God. [58] In accordance, Calvin held to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints, contending for the unconditional preservation of the elect. [59]
According to Calvinism, apostasy is not possible for those who are true Christians. [60] However, being a true Christian is only demonstrated by perseverance to the end. [61] This arises because there are instances where individuals appear to come to God but later display definitive apostasy. To address this phenomenon, Calvinist theologians have postulated that common grace might include effects that cannot be distinguished from effectual calling and subsequent irresistible grace. About that issue, Calvin formulated the concept of a temporary grace (sometimes called "evanescent grace") that appears and works for only a while in the reprobate but then to disappears. [62] [63] [64] [65] According to this concept, the Holy Spirit can create in some people effects which are indistinguishable from those of the irresistible grace of God, producing also a visible "fruit" in their life. [66] [67] Temporary grace was also supported by later Calvinist theologians such as Theodore Beza, William Perkins, [68] John Owen, [69] A. W. Pink [70] and Loraine Boettner. [71] This suggests that the knowledge of being a true Christian is theoretically not accessible during life. [72] Thus a first interpretation of the doctrine of perseverance of the saints acknowledges explanations of apparent apostasy like "evanescent grace," which avoids offering to the believer absolute assurance of salvation during life. [73] [74] [75] [76]
According to Augustine, the gift of perseverance is granted only to certain regenerated individuals. [33] Therefore, both Augustine and Luther, who was an Augustinian friar, held that believers, based on their own understanding, cannot definitively know if they are among the "elect to perseverance." [77] [78] [13]
Calvin is known to heavily drew upon Augustine soteriology. [45] [46] However, despite Calvin's inability to offer a clear rationale, [73] he was more optimistic than Luther regarding this possibility. [79] Indeed, Calvin suggested that it might be possible to have some assurance of being an elect. [80] This possibility of assurance, based on personal introspection, as expressed by Calvin was also expressed by later Calvinist theologians, [81] for instance in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646). [82] In the 18th century, [83] similarly, Hyper-Calvinism encouraged introspection as a means for adherents to determine whether or not one was elect. [84] This assurance forms the foundation of unconditional eternal security within Calvinist circles.
The process leading to eternal security unfolds as follows: Initially, the believer must embrace the Calvinist system, emphasizing unconditional election and irresistible grace. Subsequently, through self-examination, they must discern the spiritual influence of the Holy Spirit. This introspection may lead to a faith in their own predetermined election. In this context, the concept of the perseverance of the saints may prompt the believer to believe in their irresistible perseverance. [85] [86]
Because this practical interpretation of the doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" leads to "eternal security", within Reformed Christianity, the term has become synonymous with the doctrine itself over time. [7] Besides, in broader Protestantism, "eternal security" often carries a distinct meaning. [7] It's then important to differentiate the two due to their theological significance. [8]
In Calvinist circles, thus, two practical interpretations emerge regarding "perseverance of the saints": One interpretation accept explanations of apparent apostasy such as "evanescent grace," which does not offer believers absolute assurance of salvation during life. The other interpretation rejects these explanations, asserting that believers, through introspection, can know with absolute certainty that they are elect, thus allowing belief in eternal security. These two perspectives were already observed in the 16th century. Jacobus Arminius, (1560-1609), a pastor of the Reformed Church, encountered both perspectives stemming from the doctrine of perseverance of the saints. He labeled the first perspective "despair" (Latin : desperatio) and the second "security" (Latin : securitas). [85]
Arminians argue that God, in His sovereignty and omnipotence, has endowed humanity with libertarian free will, allowing true Christians to fall away from sanctifying grace. Thus, they advocate for a conditional preservation of the believers, unlike the unconditional view in Calvinism. [87]
Arminians find practical interpretation of "perseverance of the saints" that leads to some assurance of salvation inconsistent. In orthodox Calvinism, while the elect will persevere to the end, believers cannot know they are elect until they persevere to the end. [61] Regardless of the rationale given for the phenomenon of definitive apostasy, this reality undermines the practical utility of "perseverance of the saints" in a believer's life, hindering any assurance of salvation. [88]
The 22nd Canon of the Decree Concerning Justification of the Council of Trent (Sixth Session, 13 January 1547) has this to say regarding perseverance: "If anyone says that the one justified either can without the special help of God persevere in the justice received, or that with that help he cannot, let him be anathema." In this canon, the Council reaffirmed that perseverance absolutely requires divine help—a divine help that is fully sufficient.
Respecting these parameters, Catholics can have a variety of views as regards final perseverance. On questions of predestination, Catholic scholars may be broadly characterized as either Molinists or Thomists. The views of the latter are similar to those of Calvinists, in that they understand final perseverance to be a gift applied by God to the regenerated that will assuredly lead them to ultimate salvation. They differ from Calvinists in but one respect: whether God permits men to "fall away" after regeneration. Thomists affirm that God can permit men to come to regeneration without giving them the special gift of divine perseverance, so that they do fall away. Calvinists, by contrast, deny that an individual can fall away if they are truly regenerate.
As the Calvinist, confessional Lutherans view the work of salvation as monergistic in that "the natural [that is, corrupted and divinely unrenewed] powers of man cannot do anything or help towards salvation", [89] and Lutherans go further to say that the recipient of saving grace need not cooperate with it. Hence, Lutherans believe that a true Christian – in this instance, a genuine recipient of saving grace – can lose his or her salvation, "[b]ut the cause is not as though God were unwilling to grant grace for perseverance to those in whom He has begun the good work […] [but that these persons] wilfully turn away […]". [90]
Free grace advocates believe that believers are promised eternal security, but that God does not promise perseverance. [91] However, those who do not persevere will face temporal discipline and loss of rewards. [92] Free grace advocates criticize perseverance of the saints, because they claim that perseverance puts assurance in good works. [93]
Calvinism believes Free Grace maintains the permanency of justification while radically divorcing the ongoing work of sanctification from it. [94] Reformed theology has uniformly asserted that "no man is a Christian who does not feel some special love for righteousness" ( Institutes ), [95] and therefore sees Free Grace theology, which allows for the concept of a "carnal Christian" or even an "unbelieving Christian", as a form of radical antinomianism.
Some challenge the Calvinist doctrine based on their interpretation of the admonishments in the book of Hebrews, including several passages in the Book of Hebrews, [96] but especially Hebrews 6:4–12 and Heb 10:26–39. [97] The former passage says of those "who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come" that, when they "fall away", they cannot be "restored to repentance." [98] The latter passage says that if one continues in sin, "no sacrifice for sins" remains for that person but "only a fearful expectation of judgment." [99] The author of Hebrews predicts grave punishment for one who "has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace." [100]
The debate over these passages centers around the identity of the persons in question. While opponents of perseverance identify the persons as Christian believers, Calvinists suggest several other options:
In general, proponents of the doctrine of perseverance interpret such passages, which urge the church community to persevere in the faith but seem to indicate that some members of the community might fall away, as encouragement to persevere rather than divine warnings. That is, they view the prophets and apostles as writing "from the human perspective", in which the members of the elect are unknowable and all should "work out [their] own salvation" [101] and "make [their] calling and election sure," [102] rather than "from the divine perspective", in which those who will persevere, according to Calvinism, are well known. The primary objection to this Calvinist approach is that it might equally be said that these difficult passages are intended to be divine warnings to believers who do not persevere, rather than a revealing of God's perpetual grace towards believers.
Hebrews 6:4–6 is said by some [103] to be one of the Bible's most difficult passages to interpret, and may present the most difficulty for proponents of the Eternal Security of the Believer. The passage is understood by some to mean that "falling away" from an active commitment to Christ may cause one to lose their salvation, after they have attained salvation either according to the Reformed or Free Grace theology. However, numerous conservative Bible scholars do not believe the passage refers to a Christian losing genuinely attained salvation.
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
This table summarizes the views of four different Protestant beliefs.
Calvinism | Lutheranism | Arminianism | Free Grace |
---|---|---|---|
Perseverance of the saints: the eternally elect in Christ will certainly persevere in faith. [109] | Falling away is possible, [110] but God gives gospel assurance. [111] [112] | Preservation is conditional upon continued faith in Christ; with the possibility of a final apostasy. [113] | Falling away from the faith is possible, however God promises eternal security. [93] [91] |
Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation, a schism in the Western Church. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, as well as parts of the Anglican and Baptist traditions.
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.
Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time to faith by God, all others are reprobated.
In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.
Unconditional election is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God's law as outlined in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to his own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.
Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. It is also present in Reformed theology, through the form of an effectual calling leading some individuals irresistibly to salvation. It is also in Arminian theology, according to which it is dispensed universally in order to enable people to respond to the offer of salvation, though it does not ensure personal acceptance.
As a general term in theological use, assurance refers to a believer's confidence in God, God's response to prayer, and the hope of eternal salvation. In Protestant Christian doctrine, the term "assurance", also known as the Witness of the Spirit, affirms that the inner witness of the Holy Spirit allows the Christian disciple to know that they are justified. Based on the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, assurance was historically an important doctrine in Lutheranism and Calvinism, and remains a distinguishing doctrine of Methodism and Quakerism, although there are differences among these Christian traditions. Hymns that celebrate the witness of the Holy Spirit, such as Fanny Crosby's "Blessed Assurance", are sung in Christian liturgies to celebrate the belief in assurance.
The Five Points of Calvinism, occasionally known by the mnemonic TULIP, constitute a summary of Reformed soteriology. Named after John Calvin, they largely reflect the teaching of the Canons of Dort. The Five Points of Calvinism assert that God saves every person upon whom he has mercy, and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or inability of humans. They have been summarized under the acrostic TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints.
Eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved" is the belief providing Christian believers with absolute assurance of their final salvation. Its development, particularly within Protestantism, has given rise to diverse interpretations, especially in relation with the defining aspects of theological determinism, libertarian free will and the significance of personal perseverance.
Unlimited atonement is a doctrine in Protestant Christianity that states Jesus died as a propitiation for the benefit of all humans without exception. It is normally associated with Amyraldism, as well as Arminianism and other non-Calvinist tradition. It is a doctrine distinct from other elements of the Calvinist acronym TULIP and is contrary to the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement.
The idea of corporate election expresses a Christian soteriological view that understands Christian salvation as based on "God choosing in Christ a people whom he destines to be holy and blameless in his sight". Put another way, "Election is the corporate choice of the church 'in Christ.'" Paul Marston and Roger Forster state that the "central idea in the election of the church may be seen from Ephesians 1:4": "For he [God] chose us [the Church] in him [Christ], before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." William Klein adds:
Here [in Ephesians 1:3-4] Paul states that God chose Christians in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. The "chosen ones" designate the corporate group to whom Paul writes with himself included: God chose us. The focus is not on the selection of individuals, but the group of those chosen. As Westcott notes, "He chose us for Himself out of the world." Paul specifies the timing of this choice—it was pretemporal, before the world was created. God made the choice "in him". In other words, Christ is the principal elected one, and God has chosen a corporate body to be included in him."
The Five Articles of Remonstrance or the Remonstrance were theological propositions advanced in 1610 by followers of Jacobus Arminius who had died in 1609, in disagreement with interpretations of the teaching of John Calvin then current in the Dutch Reformed Church. Those who supported them were called "Remonstrants".
The conditional preservation of the saints, or conditional perseverance of the saints, or commonly conditional security, is the Arminian Christian belief that believers are kept safe by God in their saving relationship with him upon the condition of a persevering faith in Christ. Arminians find the Scriptures describing both the initial act of faith in Christ, "whereby the relationship is effected", and the persevering faith in him "whereby the relationship is sustained." The relationship of "the believer to Christ is never a static relationship existing as the irrevocable consequence of a past decision, act, or experience." Rather, it is a living union "proceeding upon a living faith in a living Savior." This living union is captured in the simple command by Christ, "Remain in me, and I in you".
The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate begins in early 17th century in the Netherlands with a Christian theological dispute between the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius, and continues today among some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. The debate centers around soteriology, or the study of salvation, and includes disputes about total depravity, predestination, and atonement. While the debate was given its Calvinist–Arminian form in the 17th century, issues central to the debate have been discussed in Christianity in some form since Augustine of Hippo's disputes with the Pelagians in the 5th century.
In Christian theology, conditional election is the belief that God chooses for eternal salvation those whom he foresees will have faith in Christ. This belief emphasizes the importance of a person's free will. The counter-view is known as unconditional election, and is the belief that God chooses whomever he will, based solely on his purposes and apart from an individual's free will. It has long been an issue in Calvinist–Arminian debate.
Apostasy in Christianity is the repudiation of Christ and the central teachings of Christianity by someone who formerly was a Christian (Christ-follower). The term apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia meaning "rebellion", "state of apostasy", "abandonment", or "defection". It has been described as "a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christianity. Apostasy is the rejection of Christ by one who has been a Christian. …" "Apostasy is a theological category describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ." "Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion."
Free grace theology is a Christian soteriological view which holds that the only condition of salvation is faith, excluding good works and perseverance, holding to eternal security. Free grace advocates believe that good works are not necessary to merit, to maintain or to prove salvation, but rather are part of discipleship and the basis for receiving eternal rewards. This soteriological view distinguishes between salvation and discipleship – the call to believe in Christ as Savior and to receive the gift of eternal life, and the call to follow Christ and become an obedient disciple, respectively. Free grace theologians emphasize the absolute freeness of salvation and the possibility of full assurance that is not grounded upon personal performance. Norman Geisler has divided this view into a moderate form and a more radical form. The moderate form being associated with Charles Ryrie and the strong form with Zane Hodges.
Augustine's Influence on John Calvin describes how Augustinianism shaped Calvinism, particularly in its soteriological aspects and understanding of divine providence. Both Reformed theologians and John Calvin himself acknowledged the profound impact of Augustine of Hippo, the fourth-century church father, on Calvin's theology. Augustine's debates with the Pelagians provided the occasion for him to develop his own soteriology, which was notably influenced by his pre-conversion adherence to Stoic and Manichean teachings.
The Gift of perseverance is the doctrine of Augustine of Hippo that persevering in the faith is a gift given by God, but a person can never know if they have the gift. According to Augustine, without having the gift of perseverance a person is damned, even if he seems to have been elected by grace. Augustine himself also believed that Cyprian held a similar view about perseverance being a work of God, and thus foreshadowing the Augustinian view. Some Calvinists argue that the Augustinian view foreshadows the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance of the saints.
People can fall from faith. The Bible warns, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall" (! Corinthians 10:12). Some among the Galatians had believed for a while, but had fallen into soul-destroying error. Paul warned them, "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Galatians 5:4). In his explanation of the parable of the sower, Jesus says, "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in time of testing they fall away" (Luke 8:13). According to Jesus a person can believe for a while and then fall away. While they believed they possessed eternal salvation, but when they fell from faith they lost God's gracious gift.
We cannot contribute one speck to our salvation, but by our own arrogance or carelessness we can throw it away. Therefore, Scripture urges us repeatedly to fight the good fight of faith (Ephesians 6 and 2 Timothy 4 for example). My sins threaten and weaken my faith, but the Spirit through the gospel in word and sacraments strengthens and preserves my faith. That's why Lutherans typically speak of God's preservation of faith and not the perseverance of the saints. The key is not our perseverance but the Spirit's preservation.