Lesson for November 12, 2025

Calvinism and Reformed Theology

Lesson 5

Tulip

P – Perseverance

The basic teaching of perseverance is that since God chose a person for salvation, that person will continue to believe, based on the evidence of their works. They say they believe that when a person is saved, they are saved forever. However, this is very misleading as to what the Calvinists really believe. Their true teaching is that believing in Christ and doing good works (persevering) is the only way a person can know they are one of “the elect” that God chose in eternity past. This is a false Gospel because it adds works to salvation. True eternal security comes from understanding that God is the One Who guards our salvation, not us. (John 10:29)

Christ’s sacrifice was complete and eternal. It was complete in that it never has to be repeated. Christ died once for all mankind. Any time a person attempts to secure eternal life by means of good works (before or after salvation), the Bible declares that they are, in effect, attempting to crucify Christ again (a blasphemous thought). Christ’s sacrifice was eternal in that the results continue throughout the history of mankind and forever. God’s righteousness had to be satisfied in order for Him to be fair in giving eternal life and the other spiritual assets to those who, of their own free will, chose to believe in Christ for salvation.

The false teaching by Calvinism excludes any assurance that a person who has believed in Christ has eternal life. This is based on the fact that no one knows except God who He chose until they die. The Calvinists would disagree with this statement, saying that you can know you are one of “the elect” because you persevere in doing good works. They say that a lifestyle of righteousness proves that a person is a believer chosen by God for salvation. However, the Bible does not teach this. The Bible teaches that a person’s lifestyle, whether “good” or “bad,” has absolutely nothing to do with their salvation either before or after salvation. The entire teaching of Calvinism is based on a person being one of “the elect.” If you are not one of “the elect,” then you will not believe in Christ. And, if you are one of God’s “elect,” you will know it because you live a righteous lifestyle of good works. The question is who decides what a righteous lifestyle consists of or how many good deeds are required to prove you are one of “the elect.”

The true meaning of salvation means a person who believes Christ died on the Cross and paid the penalty for their sin is saved and given eternal life, which can never be lost regardless of your behavior. There are three tenses of salvation:

1. Salvation means that a person is delivered from the past penalty and condemnation of sin. Because we are all born with a sin nature and Adam’s original sin, we arrive in this world spiritually dead. (Romans 3:23, 6:23; 8:1) Because Jesus Christ “became sin” on the Cross and paid the penalty for our sin, God is free to offer to everyone His righteousness and eternal life on the basis of grace. (II Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16) However, a person must use their own volition to decide to believe in Christ for salvation. (John 3:36; Acts 16:30-31)
2. Salvation means that we have the potential of being delivered in the present from the power of sin. Divine Viewpoint Thinking is the key to overcoming the power of the sin nature. When we begin to think the way God thinks, we will be able to recognize overt and mental attitude sins in our lives. Once these sins are recognized, we can acknowledge and isolate them. This, of course, can eventually break the power that certain sins have over us. However, we must constantly be on guard.
3. Salvation means that a person will be delivered from the future presence of sin in eternity. A result of the imputation of eternal life to us is that we are guaranteed a resurrection body. Theologically we call this Ultimate Sanctification, and it will occur at the Rapture of the Church. The resurrection body is said to be like Christ’s resurrection body. In our resurrection bodies, we will be able to produce only divine good. The imputation of eternal life assures us of an eternal relationship with God. (Philippians 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I Corinthians 15:51-57; I John 3:2)

There is sound doctrinal reasoning from the Bible for knowing that a believer’s salvation is secure forever. The most important fact to note is that eternal security depends upon God’s faithfulness, not man’s faithfulness. It is the life of God (eternal life) that He imputes (credits) to every believer at the moment of salvation, which assures us of an eternal relationship with Him. The Bible says that believers are guarded in the “hand of God.” (John 10:29)

Believers are given a guarantee in the Person of the Holy Spirit Who permanently indwells them at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit Himself is the One Who seals/secures forever our eternal life. Since salvation is a grace function and has nothing whatsoever to do with human effort or human merit, losing your salvation through sin would negate God’s grace – a blasphemous thought. (John 10:28-29, 14:16-17)

If a believer could lose their salvation or not be sure of it by committing sin, who is to be the judge of which particular sin cancels his salvation? If you merely have life until you sin again, then you do not have eternal life. A lack of understanding or believing in the doctrine of eternal security results in lack of confidence in God and His Word. Assurance of salvation should be dealt with in spiritual childhood and cease to be an issue once a believer has begun to learn and apply Bible doctrine. Confidence in God is a priestly function and is obtained by the consistent study and application of God’s Word. The more doctrine you learn and apply, the more you know about God and the more confident you become in His plan and purpose for you. (Romans 8:38-39; I John 3:21-22)

Once you have gained confidence in your salvation, you can relax, knowing that regardless of what people or circumstances do to you that you are eternally secure in Christ. This divine viewpoint mental attitude has the result of confidence towards God and courage towards other people. Since you are not trusting any member of the human race, including yourself, to secure your salvation, you can have complete confidence in the “powerful hand of God” to keep your salvation secure forever. And you do not have to wait until you get to Heaven to find out if you have eternal life. (Isaiah 41:10: John 10:28-29; I John 5:13)

As previously stated, a believer in Christ can never lose their salvation. Though sin is not an issue at salvation, it is an issue in the Christian Way of Life because it removes our fellowship with God (not our relationship) and grieves and/or quenches the Holy Spirit. Every believer commits personal sin after trusting Christ as Savior, but as you grow spiritually you should begin to sin less though you will never be sinless while in this body. Therefore, sin in the life of a believer cannot cancel the work of Christ on the Cross. God’s grace is so much greater than any sin you or I could commit. (I John 1:6-10; Ephesians 4:30; I Thessalonians 5:19)

It is actually God’s grace that not only saves us, but it is also God’s grace that keeps us saved. It is our standing (position) in grace that assures us that we can never be lost once our faith is placed in Christ as Savior. A person cannot attain a righteous standing before God and a person cannot maintain a righteous standing before God by his own merits. It is God’s job to keep the believer secure, and God always does His job. (John 6:37; Ephesians 2:8-10; Jude 24)

Since personal sins were dealt with at the Cross when Jesus Christ made the full payment for all sin once and for all, condemnation has been removed from those persons that by faith appropriate the free gift of eternal life. It is never sin that condemns a person, since Christ became sin for us. We are all condemned at birth through the imputation of Adam’s original sin and we remain condemned by our own volition when we reject the salvation solution found in Christ. (John 3:18; Romans 5:12, 8:1-4)

If a person could lose their salvation through personal sin, then there would be no need for the recovery system found in I John 1:9. If a person could lose their salvation, they would have to trust Christ as Savior over and over again each time they sinned. This type of system would make God a liar, a blasphemous thought. The Bible clearly states that eternal life is a gift. What kind of God would give you a gift one day and take it back the next? This, of course, is not the case. When God makes an unconditional covenant, such as the New Covenant (which is a covenant of grace), it is irrevocable. The New Covenant guarantees eternal life to believers on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary spiritual death. No one can reverse Christ’s payment for sin. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 8:6)

The power of God is unequalled by anything that a person can invent or manufacture. In Greek the word is “dunamis” (from which we get the word “dynamite”). It is this power that is securing forever a believer’s salvation. Translated in the Bible as “able,” God’s power is His ability to keep believers safe for all eternity. Since believers have obtained an eternal relationship with omnipotent (all-powerful) God, nothing can separate them from this relationship. As a member of God’s family, it is arrogant and irrational thinking to believe that you can remove yourself from His family by some failure on your part. (Romans 4:21; 8:14-17, 31-39; Galatians 4:4-7; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrew 7:25)

Not only are we, as believers in Christ, kept by the power of God, we have the most powerful advocate in the universe on our side, Jesus Christ. He is not only our advocate, but also our mediator and our intercessor. Christ is at the right hand of God the Father as our representative. No one can bring accusations against a believer that are not answered by Christ on a believer’s behalf. Even Satan attempts to discredit us before God, but Jesus Christ Himself stands up for us declaring that we are secure forever “in Him.” (I John 2:1; Romans 8:34; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:15; Revelation 12:10)

There is another power that assures our salvation forever and that is the power that raised Jesus from the dead (resurrection power). Because of the Resurrection, our eternal life and the confidence of receiving a glorified body like Christ’s have been secured for us forever. As a matter of fact, if Christ is not risen then we are still lost and on our way to the Lake of Fire. However, Christ did conquer death and the grave, and we become partakers in His resurrection at salvation. The entire Godhead (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) took part in the resurrection. As a believer in Christ, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit permanently indwell your body, which is just one more assurance of your eternal salvation. It takes a very arrogant person to think that he can undo all that God has done for him as a believer in Christ (a sure sign of an immature faith). (Romans 4:25; I Corinthians 6:14; 15:12-19, 51-57; Philippians 3:10; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:27; I Corinthians 6:19)

Assurance of our salvation is promised many times and in many ways throughout the Scripture. Therefore, believe God when He tells you that you are secure in Christ. Knowledge of God’s Word is the only assurance that a believer needs, and a lack of assurance is a sign that a person is still a “baby Christian.” God says you are secure and that settles it! (I Corinthians 13:11; Hebrews 5:11-14; 6:1-3; Ephesians 4:12-14)