Day 232

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 3.

“… hurt, and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves: yet shall they renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end.”

Scripture Lookup

2 Samuel 12:14
Luke 22:32,61,62

Reflection

Sin has consequences. It is not simply a “me and Jesus” thing. Not only does it grieve God and harm yourself, sin has the ability to wound others physically and spiritually. Temporal judgments may result due to your sin, for the Lord disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6).

God has been very severe with his people when they have sinned; it has cost them dear….Repentance is a costly thing. It is disgrace, sorrow and pain to a man, even though it is a grace and duty.

-Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin

When those who profess Christ fall, it is so easy to dismiss them as never truly believing. Scripture tells us, though, that those whom God has accepted in the beloved can fall badly, and fall for a time, and yet will renew their repentance and persevere to the end. When we hear of fallen Christians, we may automatically assume they were never truly regenerate. “If they were real Christians”, we think, “They would’ve known better”. Our standards are higher for our brothers and sisters in Christ than for unregenerate people – and well they should be – but we must be ready to admit that although Christians should not do “x” sin, it is possible to be a Christian and do said sin. There are those who profess Christ right now who are in gross sin. Are they truly saved? We do not know. Only when they repent is there hope that they are regenerated and will persevere.

Watch the news and view a litany of sin. All of that is possible for a believer to fall into. Currently white supremacists are receiving attention by the media. Some of these who think such vile thoughts claim to be Christians. Surely no true Christian commits such a sin as hate? Yet one would think that true believers would never commit premeditated murder. Or deny Jesus. David, a “man after God’s own heart,” deliberately put Uriah on the front line of battle. Peter vehemently denied knowing Jesus. Their repentance was accompanied by much weeping. What makes those of us who believe any different? May we soberly pray that we may be kept from sin!

Brethren, there is no guarantee that any one of us will not fall into such sins apart from perpetual watchfulness. -Samuel E. Waldron

We should weep for those believers who fall into sin, and tremble that we could fall into that same sin. Flee sin, and be quick to repent. Thankfully, our greatest comfort is that we belong to Jesus. Through Him only shall we persevere to the end.

Questions to Consider

• Have you ever considered the link between perseverance and repentance?

Day 230

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 3.

“And though they may through the temptation of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of means of their preservation fall into grievous sins, and for a time continue therein; whereby they incur God’s displeasure, and grieve his holy Spirit,…”

Scripture Lookup

Matthew 26:70,72,74

Isaiah 64:5,9

Ephesians 4:30

Reflection

Perseverance of the saints doesn’t make you perfect. Perfection does not happen until we are in glory. The elect sin. We tend to understand this – after all, nobody’s perfect, right? Sometimes the elect sin badly. This one is harder to understand. Our fellow believers are supposed to be joyful, loving brothers and sisters in Christ. Many times they are. Yet sometimes our fellow believers fall into grievous sin, and we are shocked and saddened. How could this happen, we wonder, forgetting the remaining corruption that lurks within all the elect.

Forgetting the strength of our remaining sinful flesh is a main reason why believers fall into sin, or “backslide”.  Sometimes we think we can do this Christian walk just fine on our own.  We lessen our reliance on Jesus, assenting with our minds that “He’s got this”, while our hearts are drawn towards the world. We fail to heed His commands, including the means He has given for strengthening us. Neglecting His word, neglecting prayer and the assembling of the saints leave us vulnerable to the siren call of the world, flesh, and devil.

Seeing brothers and sisters in Christ fall into grievous sin should cause us to respond fearfully and humbly. If it can happen to them, it can happen to us. Cling to Christ. Take full advantage of His provisions for growth in godliness.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

– 1 Corinthians 10:12 

Questions to Consider

• Are you neglecting the means given for perseverance?

Day 229

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 2.

“…and the nature of the Covenant of Grace from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.”

Scripture Lookup

Jeremiah 32:40

Reflection

Election by the Father, intercession by the Son, and the abiding of the Spirit all give great hope that those who are in Christ will persevere to the end. All of these actions by God are the unfolding of the Covenant of Grace. What is the Covenant of Grace? It was defined for us in chapter 7:

…it pleased the Lord to make a Covenant of Grace wherein he freely offereth unto Sinners, Life and Salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them Faith in him, that they may be saved; and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal Life, his holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe.

How do we know that we will persevere to the end? Because the Covenant of Grace insures it. God has deigned to save a people, and has entered into covenant with those people. In this covenant none shall be lost, for the Lord Himself guarantees that He will save them. It is impossible to be a part of the Covenant of Grace and break away from it – for that to happen would prove God impotent and a liar, characteristics utterly foreign to His being. Instead, the power and word of God carry the believer to eternal salvation. Not a one will he will lose (John 6:39).

This is why all exhortations to believers to do good works, to flee from sin, to press onward, must be grounded in the reality that perseverance is assured by God through His covenant. No matter how hard we strive, our own actions can only be a result of God working in us to will and do that which is good. There is no room for pride on our part. Looking to Him who is able to keep us from stumbling, we find strength to do good, for He is able to make us stand in the presence of His glory. All the glory belongs to Him!

Questions to Consider

• How does knowing about the Covenant of Grace aid you in your Christian walk?

Day 228

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 2.

“…the oath of God, the abiding of his Spirit and the seed of God within them,…”

Scripture Lookup

Hebrews 6:17,18
1 John 3:9

Reflection

God does not lie. He does not intentionally craft words so that He can be misconstrued. He does not flatter anyone. He does not promise something and fail to deliver it. When God promises to save His people, He swears by Himself that it will happen. The unchanging, infinite, eternal, almighty God gives His oath that His unchanging, infallible promise will be executed. It will be done, and it shall be done by the One who has the will and power to do it. Thus God alone is the one who ensures the perseverance of the elect.

The oath of God is enough for the believer to rest confidently that we shall receive eternal life. Yet it is not God’s word alone that gives us this hope. Not only has He said we will receive an inheritance of eternal life, but He actively works to accomplish this salvation. The Father elects us, the Son redeems us and intercedes for us, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Through the work of the Spirit we are sanctified and produce good works, conforming us more and more to the image of Christ.

We can have perfect confidence that those who are in Christ will persevere to the end. God’s word is as unchanging as He is; He will never go back on it. The Holy Spirit abides with those born of God, and will never leave them nor forsake them. With such persons of the Trinity working toward the same end, the elect’s eternal salvation is assured.

Questions to Consider

• How does knowing that all three persons of the trinity ensure your perseverance affect your life right now?

Day 227

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 2.

“This perseverance of the Saints depends not upon their own free will; but upon the immutability of the decree of Election flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ and Union with him,…”

Scripture Lookup

Romans 8:30, 9:11,16

Romans 5:9,10

John 14:19

Reflection

So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. -Romans 9:16 (NASB)

Imagine if your perseverance depended upon you! Waking every morning, constantly reminding yourself, “Do better. Try harder.” Crawling into bed every night, reflecting on the day, we would either succumb to despair over our performance or preen with pride at our supposed success. How does God get glory in such a situation? He does not, for if perseverance is dependent upon me, then I become the focus of my Christian race, not Jesus. Rather than being the perfecter of my faith, He becomes my support. When our theology fails to give God His rightful place as sovereign, faith becomes the crutch unbelievers accuse it of being.

Thankfully, our perseverance is not dependent upon the strength of our will, but upon the steadfastness and power of God. God’s decree of election does not change. You are not in one day and out the next. Those who are His have been chosen since the foundation of the world. Not only has God decreed thus, it is through Him that we persevere. Jesus’s life and death on our behalf is abundantly beyond what is needed for our salvation, and His intercession ensures our preservation. Found in Him, we need not fear being cast out.

Running the race of this Christian life, therefore, cannot be done looking at ourselves. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, we are encouraged to press onward, knowing that our victory is secure. Not because of our will, but because of His.

Questions to Consider

• Are you looking to Christ for your preservation, or to yourself?

Day 226

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 1.

“… yet he is still the same and they shall be sure to be kept by the power of God unto Salvation, where they shall enjoy their purchased possession, they being engraved upon the palm of his hands, and their names having been written in the book of life from all Eternity.”

Scripture Lookup

Malachi 3:6

Reflection

Why is it that those who are in Christ endure? Why do we persevere to the end?

We persevere because God does not change. “For I, the LORD, do not change;…” (Malachi 3:6). If God were as fickle as we were, we should have great reason to fear that we would not persevere to the end and be eternally saved. Thankfully, God is immutable. What He says, He will do. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it?” (Numbers 23:17) And what is it that He says? “…these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:30)

We persevere because we are His, bought with a price. That price of His own Son, who suffered, bled and died for us. Who also rose and intercedes on our behalf. We will not be found defective and returned to our sinful state. Eternal salvation will be ours because it has been bought and paid for by Christ Himself.

We persevere because God has decreed it. He chose a people from eternity past to everlasting glory through Jesus Christ. His purpose is eternal and immutable. It is fixed.

God does not change. His purpose does not change. His steadfast love never ceases. If we are in Christ, our perseverance is assured.

Questions to Consider

Can anyone in Christ not receive eternal salvation?

Day 225

Of Perseverance of the Saints.

Chapter 17, Paragraph 1.

“Those whom God hath accepted in the beloved, effectually called and Sanctified by his Spirit, and given the precious faith of his Elect unto, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved, seeing the gifts and callings of God are without Repentance, (whence he still begets and nourisheth in them Faith, Repentance, Love, Joy, Hope, and all the graces of the Spirit unto immortality) and though many storms and floods arise and beat against them, yet they shall never be able to take them off that foundation and rock which by faith they are fastened upon: notwithstanding through unbelief and the temptations of Satan the sensible sight of the light and love of God may for a time be clouded and obscured from them,…”

Scripture Lookup

John 10:28,29

Philippians 1:6

2 Timothy 2:19

1 John 2:19

Psalm 89:31,32

1 Corinthians 11:32

Reflection

There are times when we as believers don’t really believe that strongly. When friends turn fair-weather, when we are laid off and can’t find a new job right away, when blow after blow of bad news seems to lurk around every corner, we can find it difficult to say that the joy of the Lord is our strength. The temptation is strong to question whether Scripture actually speaks what is true, or if it is simply a means of suppression dreamed up by men. Giving up our faith dangles before us as an option.

And yet, we do not give up faith in Christ. Indeed, we cannot give up faith in Christ. For those who are accepted by God because they are in Christ shall endure to the end. It is God who calls us, God who regenerates us, God who justifies us. It is God who sanctifies us, God who enables faith in us, God who grants the grace of repentance in us. It is God who works in us to do and to will His good pleasure. God never repents of those saving graces He alone bestows. He will never take them back. They are ours to keep until our life in this world ends.

We may be beaten down time after time in our walk as Christians, but we will never be defeated. Our union in Christ ensures us of this.

Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end! -J. Wilbur Chapman

Questions to Consider

• If salvation is all of God, how can anyone who truly believes fall away?