PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS?
The
fifth petal of the T.U.L.I.P. of Calvinism is Perseverance of the
Saints: Simply put, it means Christians cannot lose their salvation.
Nothing could be more dangerous to a Christian's salvation than to
believe this misconception.
Jesus
did not believe in, once saved always saved. Jesus exposes this false
doctrine of Calvinism in the seven letters to the churches of Christ;
His church.
Revelation 2:1-7 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:.......5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place---unless you repent... 7 let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'
The Christians at Ephesus were not, once saved always saved.
Revelation
2:8-11 "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:.....10 Do not
fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast
some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have
tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 ........He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'
Revelation 3:1-6 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: ....3 So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake, I will come like a thief , and you will not know what hour I will come to you.........5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life......
Jesus told those Christians at Sardis if they repented and overcame He would not erase their names from the book of life. There were conditions to keep their names from being erased from the book of life. They did not have eternal security.
Revelation 3:14-22 "To the angel of the church Laodicea write: ....16 So because you are lukewarm , and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ....19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ......He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne.....
Jesus did not preach, perseverance of the saints. Jesus never mentioned, once saved always saved. Jesus did not even hint of eternal security. Jesus told those in His church to repent in order to keep their names written in the book of life.
POINT: THE T.U.L.I.P of CALVINISM WILTS WITH EVEN ONE PETAL MISSING. THE TRUTH IS, NONE OF THE PETALS CAN STAND THE SCRUTINY OF SCRIPTURE.
“The fifth petal of the T.U.L.I.P. of Calvinism is Perseverance of the Saints… The church at Smyrna was not given a, perseverance of the saints, guarantee. Jesus said they needed to remain faithful in order to receive the crown of life.”
ReplyDeleteThey “needed to remain faithful?” That’s just saying that they needed to “persevere.” Same thing here:
Matthew 24:13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
I am always amused by people who rant “Perseverance of the saints is a lie! Christians must persevere to be saved!” So eager to argue with “Calvinism” that you say the silliest things…not to mention your disdain for that whole “bearing false witness” thing - you haven’t quoted any Calvinists who believe what you say – so who told you these lies that you are spreading?
“Once Saved, Always Saved” is NOT the same thing as “Perseverance of the Saints.” Christians are “eternally secure” but only under the biblical definition that true Christians will persevere/endure (and more, “must” endure) to the end.) That’s why TULIP refers to “perseverance” in the first place.
You believe that God does His part in man’s salvation but man gets part of the credit by making the right/wise/spiritual choices. Calvinists believe that God gets ALL the credit for salvation, from first to last.
Phil1:6…He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Heb12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...
1Cor1:7 …our Lord Jesus Christ: 8who shall also confirm you (“keep you strong”-NLT) unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
1Pet1:4To an inheritance...reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We are "eternally secure" because God began the work in us and will be faithful to complete it...we are kept by His power, not our own...we can do no other but endure to the end if His power sustains us.
There are so-called "free grace" ("weak grace" is more accurate) teachers who believe the sort of "Once Saved, Always Saved" doctrine that you discuss...but they are not Calvinists. They teach that you can say you are a Christian and live however disobediently you please...repentance is not necessary in their eyes and promises of "eternal security" are turned into license to sin with no concern about "persevering" to the end.
Be careful about telling lies about Calvinists like Charles Spurgeon, George Mueller (who ran orphanages on sheer faith), William Carey...or even pre-Calvin predestinarians like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, who also taught the same things. Calvinists wrote hymns like “Amazing Grace”, “Joy to the World”, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, and “Rock of Ages." The TULIP is entirely based on scripture, but you have to submit yourself to scripture...and you come across as very proud and divisive.