____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ August 11, 1991 ____________________________________________________ The Tulip Theory (Part Five) "The Perseverance of the Saints" by Tom Edwards We now come to our final lesson in our series that has dealt with the ``Tulip Theory.'' Today's article points out the fallacy of the Calvinistic belief referred to as the ``perseverance of the saints'' or, in other words, ``once saved always saved'' or ``once in grace always in grace.'' The adherents to this doctrine feel that after a person has become a child of God, salvation can never be forfeited nor lost -- even regardless of how wicked that person becomes. From a Calvinistic creed book we read: ``Those whom God hath accepted...called and sanctified...and given the precious faith...can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved...This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will; but upon the immutability of the decree of the election...And though they may...fall into grievous sins, and for a time continue therein, yet they shall renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end.'' This doctrine has harmfully influenced many people of our time and has, no doubt, weakened the resistance toward sin to not a few. The following, which is a statement by a Calvinistic preacher, will probably evoke various ideas as to where this type of teaching might lead; he asserts: ``If I killed my wife and mother and debauched (corrupted, TTE) a thousand women, I couldn't go to hell -- in fact, I couldn't go to hell, if I wanted to. If on the judgment day, I should find that my loved ones are lost and should lose all desire to be saved, and should beg God to send me to hell with them, He couldn't do it....'' As another Calvinistic preacher has affirmed, ``We take the position that a Christian's sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul...all the sins he may commit from idolatry to murder will not make his soul in any more danger....'' It seems that some people are getting a couple words mixed up which each convey an entirely opposite meaning: Jesus does not save one TO sin (so that one can), rather He saves one FROM sin (so that one won't). According to 2 Corinthians 5:15, the Lord ''...died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.'' Jesus had told the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to ''...go, and sin no more'' (Jn. 8:11). We need to keep in mind that it was Christians to whom Paul was addressing when he said, ``Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of SIN RESULTING IN DEATH, or of obedience resulting in righteousness'' (Rom. 6:16, emphasis mine). The term ``death'' is not with reference to ``physical death,'' for even the righteous will die. Rather, it pertains to a ``spiritual death,'' which will ultimately result in an eternal banishment from God, if the one in this condition does not repent and be restored while there is time. If a Christian could not sin so as to be lost then why do we find so many admonitions in the Bible for him not to, and which many of these are also coupled with an indication or a clear warning of punishment if one does? Take for an example Hebrews 3:12-14, ``Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called `Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,'' Without question, this passage shows that the Christian can become guilty of unbelief and must, therefore, strive to continually receive exhortation from God's word that will help him to overcome the deceptive nature of sin. The passage emphasizes that the precondition of being a ``partaker of Christ'' is that one maintains his confidence in the Lord, which is manifest by yielding to His word through faith and obedience. Man's salvation is based on quite a few ``if'' passages from the gospel which indicate the need to meet certain preconditions in order to obtain eternal redemption. To some ``Jews who believed Him,'' Jesus once said, ``If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.'' Merely accepting the deity of Christ is not enough. Take a look at the context of this passage in John 8:31-44 to see if these who ``believed'' Jesus had really met the preconditions to be saved by abiding in His word. Also, in 1 John 1:7, one must ``walk in the light'' IF he wants to have the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse him of all sin. Walking in the light is a figurative expression for obeying the commands of the New Testament. It is quite possible for the Christian to cease walking in the light, and if this occurs then that one will not have the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away sin. God's word teaches both explicitly and implicitly that salvation can be lost. Someone once pointed out that the Bible contains more than 2,500 warnings concerning man's falling away. Not only do we read of these warnings in the Bible that are designed to caution us, but we also have examples of some Christians who HAD FALLEN away. One such occurrence is recorded in Galatians 5:4. Here Paul states to some Christians, who felt that the Law of Moses must also be observed on an equal footing with the Gospel, that ``You HAVE BEEN SEVERED from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you HAVE FALLEN from grace'' (emphasis mine). Notice the phrases which describe these actions as being past tense. It is not just a warning of the possibility of falling, but it is an open censure that describes the state they are presently in. Let us also point out that one could not fall from something he was never in, nor could anything be severed from that in which it was not attached. Therefore, these individuals in the previous passage were Christians who had been in God's grace, but had now fallen from it; and they were once in Jesus, but now severed from Him. James, the half-brother of Jesus, gives the following admonition: ``My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins'' (Jam. 5:19,20). Let it first be pointed out that James is writing his letter to Christians, and he is speaking of those who would stray from the truth. Again, the only one who can stray from the truth is the one who had formerly been in it -- the child of God. If the one who strays is not reached and remains indifferent toward repenting of sins and obtaining restoration, this one's soul will not be ``save(d) from death,'' which is a spiritual death that will culminate in eternal punishment. Also in Peter's epistle, it is obvious that the following verses pertain to those who are saints, but have fallen away. Let us hear the matter: ``For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: `A dog returns to his own vomit,' and, `a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire''' (2 Pet. 2:20-22). In this passage, those who are referred to are the ones who have ``escaped the pollutions of the world'' by the gospel -- the redeemed. But notice what happens when they go back into the world of sin and become ``entangled'' therein: they are then in a state in which it would have been better for them to have never known the truth and become a Christian than after having learned it and become one, to then turn one's back on God and once again become marred by the defilements of iniquity. If ``once saved always saved'' were true, however, then it would be better to at least become a child of God before you start sinning again than to have never become one and remain lost in your sins. But this passage points out the contrary. The only thing that can make this so is the fact that salvation can be lost. Apparently, there will be quite a number in this category in the Judgment Day. Jesus expressed it by saying that many will be those ``who for awhile believe, and in time of temptation fall away'' (Luke 8:13). Though these had ``receive(d) the word with joy,'' they had not become firmly rooted, for they were likened to seed planted in the shallow soil that could not endure the scorching sun and were, therefore, ``temporary'' (Matt. 13:5,6,20,21). In Acts 26:16, the Lord declares that He had appeared before Paul in order to make him a minister and a witness of the things he had seen and that which the Lord would reveal. Yet, this same man, who was chosen by God, told the Corinthians, ``but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.'' Even though Paul was of the elect, he still needed to live his life in such a way so as to obtain the goal of everlasting life. Corresponding to this is Peter's exhortation in 2 Peter 1:10 to ''...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.'' When the Hebrew writer exhorted the Christians to not forsake the assembling of themselves together, he continued by saying, ``For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries'' (Heb. 10:26,27). God's elect during the Mosaical Age were the children of Israel. They had become a special people unto the Lord, but even though they were His elect, that did not provide them with eternal security. Many of these were destroyed in the wilderness because of their disobedience (1 Cor. 10:8-10). Joshua and Caleb were the only two fighting men of Israel who eventually entered the Promised Land -- the others had died in the wilderness, due to their rebellion. Jesus had said to the people of His day that ``unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins'' (Jn. 8:24). It made no difference that they were children of Abraham and part of God's elect. These passages we have considered would not even be in the Bible unless it is true that one's salvation can be lost; and that's exactly what they show. In view of this, the Calvinistic position of ``once saved always saved'' is false; and we must, therefore, realize that perseverance is an individual responsibility that the Christian must strive to make part of his life (2 Pet. 1:3-10). The ability to persevere is not some type of supernatural working in the Christian, but rather a determination that has been formed by one's faith in the Lord and his love for Him. Let us not be deceived by the false teachings of men when it comes to the ``perseverance of the saints'' nor any other topic, but rather we must look to God's word for the spiritual instruction we need. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________