The Grace and Duty of Perseverance

The Grace and Duty of Perseverance

By Jay Wegter

INTRODUCTION: When we study the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Madam Curie, or Jonas Salk, one unifying factor is evident; each of these famous individuals achieved their accomplishments by means of extraordinary levels of perseverance. If such endurance and perseverance is needed to accomplish temporal earthly goals, are we to assume that the grace of God negates the need for perseverance to enter heaven? The Apostle Paul would tell us otherwise. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

We will investigate in this article the need for perseverance. And, we will address the common misconception that the biblical doctrine of eternal security eliminates the need for perseverance.

I. The reality of perseverance

The Christian life is running, enduring, striving, holding fast, fighting, and guarding. The English word, perseverance, is defined in one dictionary as follows: to continue doing something in spite of difficulty and opposition. Our Christian life, especially as it touches discipleship, has been described by one author as “long obedience in the same direction” (Eugene Peterson). John Flavel states, “[Perseverance] is a steady and constant continuance of Christians in the ways of duty and obedience, amidst all temptations and discouragements to the contrary” (Flavel, An Exposition of the Assembly’s Catechism, in Works, 6:206).

A. Perseverance is necessary because the Christian’s life is a ‘fight’ (2 Tim 4:7).

1. At the end of Paul’s life, he speaks of having persevered: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). Paul goes on to say in the next verse, “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).
2. Perseverance is needed because there are many enemies which seek to keep us from being saved in the end. The world, the flesh, and the devil all oppose the Christian’s progress toward glory. Therefore we must not be surprised when our Christian life seems filled with resistance, setbacks, and sins. True believers persevere to final salvation in spite of these obstacles (Sam Waldron, A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, p. 218).

B. Perseverance is a gift of God’s grace to the elect.

It is because of God’s grace that the truly saved will persevere to the end. We, true believers, persevere because God perseveres in keeping us. “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1). Those given the gift of perseverance are described in several ways: the redeemed are accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:3-6). They are the effectually called (Rom 8:30). They are sanctified by God’s Spirit (Rom 15:16). They are given the precious gift of faith (Phil1:29). They cannot lose their salvation—“For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable”

(Rom 11:29). God perseveres in preserving His own, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).

1. Believers are eternally secure because God preserves His saints and keeps them secure by means of perseverance in faith (1 Pet. 1:5). What is important about this verse is that God does not keep us apart from faith, but through faith. In other words, God will not believe and repent for you, but gives His elect the grace to keep believing and repenting. It is God’s power that does the keeping, but that divine power is manifested in the saints’ endurance and obedience (2 Thess 2:13).
2. When Jacobus Arminius of Holland opposed the teachings of Calvin’s followers regarding the predestination of the elect, the Dutch Calvinists responded by affirming that God is sovereign in dispensing saving grace (Ex 33:19).

The Dutch Calvinists organized the doctrine of God’s predestinating grace at the Synod of Dort into five points which form the acrostic TULIP. Those five points are: Total Depravity; Unconditional Election; Limited Atonement; Irresistible Grace; Perseverance of the Saints. Our doctrine in this lesson, Perseverance of the Saints, forms the “P” in the TULIP acrostic. (The Synod of Dort took place in 1618-1619. John Calvin lived from 1509-1564.)

C. The doctrine of the believer’s security is often called ‘eternal security’. This is an unfortunate term because it suggests that security is NOT joined to perseverance.

The Bible stresses the believer’s security, while at the same time calling for diligence and perseverance. “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13). Rather than a ‘trembling’ induced by a constant fear of falling away, the fear spoken of here alludes to the reverence commensurate with the plan of God to make us like Christ in holiness.

The Holy Spirit who lives in the true child of God is intimately involved in prompting holy thought and affections. Therefore, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling is to exercise the proper awe that God is at work in us. We are to cooperate with the Spirit’s purposes by not grieving Him or quenching Him as He seeks to advance our sanctification (Eph 4:30; 1 Thess 5:19; Jas 4:5).

God has provided believers with all the resources necessary to make growth possible (2 Pet 1:2-4). In light of these divine resources, Christians are commanded by God to match their calling and resources with growth in practical holiness. To “apply all diligence,” is to persevere in godliness; it is to keep striving for growth in Christian character (2 Pet 1:5). God requires that our faith be translated into moral excellence (2 Pet 1:3-8).

1. In Scripture, God’s preservation of believers is never separated from the believer’s perseverance; there is an unmistakable link between the two. The person savingly joined to Jesus Christ will persevere in faith, holiness, and obedience and he will not abandon the means of grace (baptism, prayer, the Word of God, corporate worship, fellowship, and the Lord’s Table).

2. Preservation and perseverance operate together. “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me” (Jer 32:40). God’s promise is to preserve His people, “I will not turn away from them.” His promise to preserve is joined to the gift of perseverance—“they will not turn away from Me.”

In John 10:26-29, the believer’s safety is joined to a disposition to know the will of God— “they hear His voice.” And it is linked to a disposition to do the will of God—“they follow Me.” It is God’s keeping grace which gives us this disposition in both our hearing and our doing the will of God (Ernest C. Reisinger, The Faith of the Saints, The Assurance of the Saints, the Perseverance of the Saints, pp. 46-47, Mt. Zion Pub.).

3. Our duty and God’s grace are nowhere opposed in the matter of sanctification said Owen. God gives us His grace unto this end, “that we might rightly perform our duty” (Owen, Pnematologia, in Works, 3:384). “Our responsibility to work out our perseverance does not nullify God’s promise to work perseverance in us, but instead depends upon it” (Phil 2:12-13) (Joel Beeke, A Puritan Theology, p. 606). “Granted, [believers] must strive to enter the narrow gate (Lu 13:24), must hold fast the Word preached (1 Cor 15:2), must be diligent to make their election and calling sure (2 Pet 1:10), but they can only do these things in Christ, by the power of God” (Ibid, p. 605).

II. What does it mean to persevere?

A. To persevere is to continue in faith, hope, repentance, and joy in the Gospel.

It is ongoing faith in the truth of God’s Word that sanctifies us (Jn. 17:17). When God’s truth is believed and loved, it translates into ethical action. Faith in action makes the believer an overcomer. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith” (1 John 5:1-3; 4-5).

1. The believer’s relationship to God’s truth goes far beyond agreement and admiration. The true Christian loves the truth so as to be transformed by it (Rom 12:1-2). Transformation by the Word of God takes place when the truth is central in one’s life—governing thoughts, affections, and decisions. True believers are constantly renewed by the truth—they practice ongoing repentance (Eph 4:23). By ‘ongoing repentance’ we mean that our affections and behavior are in constant need of being conformed to the truth of God. Thus when we keep repenting, we are readjusting our behavior to what God requires of us. It resembles a course correction made by a navigator of a ship or plane.

2. “Overcoming the world” is the final condition of conquest in the Christian life. “He who has an ear, 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” (Rev 2:7). We overcome through Christ’s work of overcoming. Every true believer ‘participates’ in the victory over the world which Christ has won for His Church (Rom 8:37). Christ came to destroy the works of the devil—to break sin’s dominion (1 Jn 3:8). He came to earth to be ‘Overcomer’ for the sake of His bride. He gained the victory over sin, death, and hell in order to give this victory to His church. To ‘overcome’ is another way of saying that the believer has persevered to the end of his earthly life.

3. The victory Christ won is the rightful property of His church. Everything Christ endured from His birth to His ascension was for His people. His vicarious life was for His people— to give them life, righteousness, sonship, pardon, holiness, adoption, and victory. He gave His life to make you an overcomer. His conquest over the enemies of our souls was not merely an example to follow—His conquest and victory belongs to us as believers. By faith and obedience, we participate in His conquest. We enter into His conquest by faith—it is a conquering of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Victory is obtained by disciplining our thought life through Scripture truth (appropriating gospel promises by faith).

How do we participate in Christ’s victory? When we allow the Word of God to dominate exceptionally in our lives its power carries over into our daily obedience. We find that more and more of our affections belong to the Lord. We love the brethren, we stop making a provision for sin, we keep mortifying sin, and we serve whole-heartedly in the Body of Christ.

B. Victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil is not an option; it is the condition necessary to finish the race.

The citizens of heaven are said to be overcomers (Rev 21:7). Those who live by faith in Christ are said to be overcomers (1 Jn 5:4-5). Overcoming is set up in stark contrast to those who are overcome by the world instead. Scripture refers to them as ‘cowardly and unbelieving’ and not heirs of eternal life. What a cause for sober reflection. According to Scripture, those who do not overcome, but instead are ultimately overcome by sin and the world, will not enter heaven (Rev 21:8; 2 Pet 2:18-22; Eph 5:6).

1. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). Preaching the gospel to myself is the way in which I am to live out the victory Christ won for me. Co-crucifixion with Christ is the ‘staging area’ from which the practical work of mortifying sin takes place. I reckon who I am and what I am in Christ—a child of God who is dead to sin—THEN from that perspective of co-crucifixion I make my forays against temptation and indwelling sin (Rom 6:11-13).

2. How can I live consistently as an overcomer? The only possible way to live for God is to ‘die with Christ’—this is exactly what happened—our sin natures were judged in the body and soul of our Savior 2000 years ago so that we would no longer live for self; but for Him who died and rose on our behalf (2 Cor 5:14-15). By reckoning these truths (or spiritual realities) by faith, they are worked into our daily walk so that they become inseparable from our progress in godliness in the Christian life.

C. To persevere is to continually put sin to death (Rom 8:12-13; 6:11-14; Col 3:1-5). Christians are under obligation to be active at putting sin to death by the power of God (Rom. 8:12-17). They are to put to death the deeds of the flesh and reckon themselves alive to God and dead to the misdeeds of the flesh (Rom. 6:11-13).

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us. He communicates the benefits of Christ’s life and death to us. The power of the cross is active in both our justification and sanctification. Faith accepts Christ’s work as the ground of both (See Romans 6, 1 Cor. 1:30, Heb. 2:11; 12:2). We are dependent upon Christ for our sanctification (See Romans 6, 1 Cor. 1:30, Heb. 2:11; 12:2). As we cry to Him who is our merciful High Priest, He gives us new measures of mercy, sanctifying grace, and power to resist temptation (Heb 4:15-16; 2:18; 1 Cor 10:13).

D. A summary of the reasons why the Scriptures call for perseverance:

• Perseverance is necessary because the Christian life is a fight (Jas 1:12; Heb. 3:6; Acts 14:21-22). We are called to be overcomers—living out Christ’s victory in our life and walk (1 Pet. 2:21; Rev 2:11; 1 Jn 5:1-5; Heb 6:11-12). “The righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity” (Prov 24:16). The difference is the righteous man gets up and perseveres in righteousness.
• Perseverance is necessary because it is a vital safeguard against presumption, or assuming that all is fine with your spiritual state when actually the fruits of faith may be absent (1 Cor 6:9-10). Believers are warned against the prospect of self-deception (Eph. 5:1-6).

• Perseverance is necessary because hypocrites walk for a time, become careless, then fall away (Matt. 13:18-23). Christ warned that only those who endure to the end shall be saved (Mt 24:10-13; Jn 8:30-32).
• Perseverance is necessary because God uses exhortations and warnings to admonish, to awaken diligence, and to instill holy fear in the saints. Scripture gives us sobering warnings about the potential for neglect, drift, hardened hearts, sluggishness, and unbelief (Heb 2:1-3; 3:12; 4:1-2; 6:12).

• Perseverance is necessary because it is such a clear revealer of a person’s relationship to God’s truth (Col. 1:9-14; 2 Thess 2:8-12). Perseverance is the proof of genuine faith. Our faith is made visible through our perseverance in obedience (James 2:14-26).
• Perseverance is necessary because when Christ returns, He will find His people ‘dressed in readiness’ (ready to meet Him)—they will be pressing along the path of duty and using the means of grace (Luke 12:35; 21:34-36; 1 Pet. 4:7; 1 Jn 2:28).

• Perseverance is necessary because God has promised to keep us safe and preserve us through perseverance. God protects His own by means of the grace gift of perseverance (1 Pet 1:5; 2 Thess 2:13-15; Rom 6:22).

• Perseverance is necessary because it makes ‘visible’ the genuineness of our faith in Christ (Jas 2:18). Edwards powerfully states the necessity of perseverance in this summary statement, “He that to his utmost endeavors to persevere in ways of obedience, finds out that his obedience and righteousness is true; and he that does not, discovers that ‘tis false” (Edwards, Miscellanies, no. 84, in Works, 13:249, in Beeke, A Puritan Theology, p. 615).

III. The foundation, or ground of the saints’ perseverance

A. Believers are called by God and given faith because of the unchanging decree of election. We need to hear about the Lord’s sovereign choice of His people. The doctrine of perseverance is not us holding on for dear life, but it is us holding the hand of the Almighty who has chosen us and who holds us. The Christian may draw great comfort from the unchangeableness of God’s gracious choice of us in Christ. God’s eternal gracious purpose in Christ preceded the action of our wills in receiving Christ (Matt 24:31; Jn 15:16). Our persevering does not rest upon our decision to choose Christ, our perseverance rests upon God’s gracious choice of us (Eph 1:4). Every true believer is elected to glory, therefore he cannot finally fall away (2 Tim 2:19).

B. The elect have been chosen ‘in Christ’—He is their covenant of life—in Christ all the conditions for life are satisfied.

As our perfect Representative, Christ has assumed our debt to God’s Law. In Him we are ‘complete’ (Col 2:10). We have a God-approved righteousness in Him; we have an unchanging status of sonship in Him (2 Cor 5:21). Christ intercedes for us proving that ‘God is for us’ (Rom 8:33-34).

The New Covenant in Christ’s blood cannot be broken; it guarantees the salvation or perseverance of those within it (Jer 31:33-34; 32:40; Heb 8:7-8; 10:11-18). Our union with Christ, once formed, can never be broken. The living power of Christ in the believer will cause the Christian to persevere. Believers are kept by the power of God; they cannot perish (Jn 10:28-29). Christ will lose nothing of what He has purchased by His blood (Jn 6:39; Heb 9:12; Titus 2:14) (Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, pp. 280-283).

C. Believers are permanently indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has sealed the believer as God’s own possession forever. We can never change ‘owners’ again (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30).

1. The Greek idea of sealing contains several concepts: authenticating as genuine (Jn 6:27); protecting from tampering (Mt 27:66); marking out as one’s possession (Rev 7:3-4; 9:4). When applied to perseverance, these ‘dimensions’ of sealing assist us in understanding the Holy Spirit’s role in preserving us as God’s own (Waldron, p. 219).
2. The Spirit is also described as an earnest, a deposit, a pledge, or down payment (2 Cor 1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:14). These terms attest to God’s promise of faithfulness—He will not allow a true believer to fall from grace. How marvelous is this promise, that to possess the Holy

Spirit as God’s pledge, or ‘first installment’ is the guarantee of all the eternal blessings to follow (Rom 8:23; Eph 1:2:6-7).

IV. Believers are responsible to exert effort in persevering

A. God preserves us so that we may persevere.

Believers must be diligent so as to avoid neglecting the means of their preservation. According to God’s Word, some of these means of grace are: prayer (Eph 6:18; Luke 22:46); hearing the Word (Jn 15:5-7; James 1:21); fellowship with believers (Heb 10:24-27); serving one another (1 Pet 4:8-11); abiding in Christ (1 Jn 2:28). The believer’s comfort and consistent assurance flow from a life of diligent attendance to one’s calling (2 Pet 1:10-11; Eph 4:1ff.; 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Thess 1:11-12).

The Spirit’s comfort and a clear conscience operate together in our persevering. Paul urged Timothy (and all true believers) to maintain a clear conscience (1 Tim 1:19). “There is no greater riches, no greater pleasure, no greater safety, than a good conscience. Let the pressures of the body, the hurry of the world, the affrightments of Satan (frightening agitations) be ever so great, they cannot reach the conscience . . . There is no more profitable means, no surer testimony, nor eminent conveyer of eternal happiness, than a good conscience” (Samuel Annesley in Beeke, A Puritan Theology, p. 616).

B. Believers ‘backslide’ when they neglect the means of their preservation.

o A backsliding believer grieves God’s Holy Spirit and incurs God’s displeasure (Ps 38:1-8; Is 54:5-9; 1 Thess 5:19). Our sins affect those around us (Titus 2:5; 1 Cor 8:9-13).

o A backsliding believer will find his comforts and graces are impaired (Ps 51:10-12).

o A backsliding believer will experience God’s discipline and correction (Gen 19:30-38; 2 Sam 12:14-23; 1Cor 11:27-32; Heb 12:4-13).

o A backsliding believer hardens his own heart and wounds his own conscience. He tends to lose his tenderness toward God and his sensitivity to sin (Ps 32:3-4; 73:21-22).

C. True believers are diligent; they are always renewing their faith and repentance in Christ. To renew faith and repentance is to always be turning from sin to God with a determination to serve Him with all of our being.

1. Our hearts are restless, tending toward truancy. It is our duty to engage in perpetual watchfulness and prayer; and to resolve to recover from any backsliding (Prov 4:23; 2 Jn 1:8; 1 Thess 5:17). Therefore, we must not become weary in well-doing 1 Cor 15:58; Gal 6:9). The Lord requires of us that we be faithful; that we run the race with endurance (Heb 12:1-4; 10:36).
2. We must be active and not passive in our fellowship with other believers. We are to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24-25). We are to always be considering how to edify members of the Body of Christ (Eph 4:25-32).

D. Consider the great benefits of diligence in our perseverance:

• You will walk in step with the Holy Spirit and live consistent with your calling (Gal 5:16).
• You will take delight in God’s gracious promises, and you will find that the world’s allure and appeal is increasingly diminished (Gal 6:14-15).
• You will develop Christian character that will make you useful in Christ’s service (2 Tim 2:21).
• You will enjoy confidence, comfort, and assurance in great measure as you make your election and calling sure (2 Pet 1:8-11).
• You will enjoy the Lord’s presence as you commune with Him which will result in more spontaneous worship (Jn 14:21).

• You will greet the Lord in confidence instead of shame on the last day. Your works will survive the judgment seat of Christ (1 Jn 2:28).
• You will experience a clear conscience which is necessary to enjoy God’s love (Heb 9:14; Acts 24:14-16; 1 Jn 3:18-23).

CONCLUSION: One of the most misleading errors of ‘easy believism’ is to associate the doctrine of perseverance with legalism. Nothing could be further from the truth of Scripture, for perseverance is both a grace and a duty. Is there evidence that the church today is losing its biblical grasp of this essential doctrine? We believe that to be the case.

Joel Beeke argues that if the fruits of perseverance be weak, then it indicates a lack of understanding of this biblical doctrine. Perseverance is lived out through a “diligent use of the means of grace, perseverance in heartfelt obedience to God’s will, desire for fellowship with God, yearning for God’s glory and heaven, love for the church and intercession for revival” (Beeke, A Puritan Theology, p. 617). Where these fruits are waning, it is clear that a biblical understanding of the doctrine must be weak. The needed solution is to proclaim afresh the full-orbed gospel of Christ, for the doctrine of perseverance “enables the church to walk both in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (Ibid.)

“A Christian’s main comfort depends upon this doctrine of perseverance. Take this away, and you prejudice religion, and cut the sinews of all cheerful endeavors”

(Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity p. 279, in Beeke, p. 617).