Key Words of Salvation

Part Ten

Perseverance

Questions to be Covered

What does perseverance mean? Will a person who becomes a believer always remain one? Can a true believer loose their salvation once they have it? How can we know if we are truly saved?

Definitions

Perseverance means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as believers until the end of their lives. As believers continue to persevere, it is proof that their faith is genuine.

Perseverance is the doctrine that God secures in grace the salvation of true believers, keeping them from sinning as a practice and apostasy.

Perseverance is the work of God which guarantees that the gift of salvation, once received, is forever and cannot be lost.

The basis for the security of salvation does not rest with man, but with God. Believers are secure because of the work of the Triune God.

1. ALL WHO ARE TRULY BORN AGAIN WILL PERSEVERE TO THE END

a. The Believer is secure because of the purpose of God.

The Father’s eternal plan for the elect secures their salvation. His eternal purpose guarantees final perseverance, which is ultimate glorification in heaven.

Rom. 8:28-30 – And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

John 6:39-40 – And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.

b. The Believer is secure because of the power of the Father.

God the Father keeps the believer secure by His power. If it was left up to us, surely we would have lost our salvation by now.

Phil. 1:6 – For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Messiah Jesus.

1 Pet. 1:3-5 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

c. The Believer is secure because of the promise of the Son.

The Lord Jesus says that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. Those who have been given by the Father to the Son will not be lost.

John 10:27-29 – My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

d. The Believer is secure because of the prayer of the Son.

The Lord Jesus prays to His Father on behalf of true believers. We can be sure that all of His prayers are heard and answered.

John 17:11 – “And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are.

John 17:15 – “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

John 17:9 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine;

John 11:42 – And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me.

e. The Believer is secure because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The fact that all true believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit at the moment of their salvation is a guarantee that one’s salvation will last for all eternity.

Eph. 1:13-14 – In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

John 14:16-17 – And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.

Only Those Who Persevere To the End Are Truly Saved

2. ONE’S FAITH MUST ENDURE TO THE END

We are not saved by enduring to the end (that would be a form of works), but rather, our endurance manifests that our faith is genuine true saving faith.

John 8:31-32 – Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Col. 1:21-23 – And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach, if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Matt. 13:3-8 – And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Matt. 13:20-21 – “And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

1 Cor. 15:1-2 – Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Heb. 3:14 – For we have become partakers of Messiah, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.

1 John 2:19 – They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.

What is it that identifies one as being a true believer? And what is it that identifies one as not being truly saved? It’s their faith. Does it endure to the end?

A true believer who is persevering in faith will come to the place where they will begin enjoying the fruits of their perseverance. They will begin experiencing the assurance of their salvation.

Blessings of Assurance

The Word of God clearly teaches that true believers should enter into the blessing of being assured of their salvation.

1 John 5:13 – These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

A word of warning is in order. A person should not think that they are truly saved without evidence of its reality in their lives. We must examine ourselves.

2 Cor. 13:5 – Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus the Messiah is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?

What are some things that we should be looking for that would give evidence of true saving faith?

1. WHAT CAN GIVE A BELIEVER GENUINE ASSURANCE?

a. The witness of the Holy Spirit. (Internal Evidence)

The Holy Spirit’s ministry in our spirit has an assuring effect in our heart. One of His ministries is to bear witness of the reality of our being a true believer.

Rom. 8:16 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Gal. 4:6 – And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father!

b. Signs of new life. (External Evidences)

There are several things that will begin to manifest them-selves in the life of a believer. They will not be present in the same degree in all believers, but they will be present.

1. A present trust in Messiah Jesus.

If the only faith that can be pointed to is something that was present years earlier in someone’s life, their salvation is suspect. What kind of faith do they presently have? That is the question.

Heb. 3:14 – For we have become partakers of Messiah, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.

2. A heartfelt love for the one true God.

This does not refer to the God that we have conceived of in our own mind, unsaved people do that. This refers to loving the God of the Bible. Our love for God is manifested by our obedience to Him.

1 John 2:5 – but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him.

1 John 5:2-3 – By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

3. A growing hatred of and a genuine repentance from personal sin.

The way a person responds to sin after their profession of faith is an indicator of the kind of faith they possess. How do you deal with your sin now, in contrast to before you were saved? What does genuine repentance include?

Sorrow for sin, Confession of sin, Shame for sin

Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Ps. 119:104 – From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

Ps. 32:5 – I acknowledged my sin to Thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.

4. Genuine humility.

Humility is a characteristic that is contrary to human nature. What comes naturally is for us to be proud and self-centered. However, all who have been genuinely saved had to come to God with a humble heart.

Ps. 51:17 – The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

James 4:6 – But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

James 4:10 – Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

5. Devotion to God’s glory.

Prior to salvation, a person cannot do anything to glorify God. However, after salvation it not only becomes possible to Glorify Him, that is why He saved us.

Ps. 105:3 – Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

Ps. 115:1 – Not to us, O Lord, not to us, But to Thy name give glory Because of Thy lovingkindness, because of Thy truth.

1 Cor. 10:31 – Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

6. Separation from the world.

Prior to salvation, we are totally into the world system and it’s ways. When we get saved, we begin to realize that the world system and all that it stands for is our enemy. We begin to live a life that is contrary to it’s ways.

1 Cor. 2:12 – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.

James 4:4 – You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 John 2:15-17 – Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

7. Spiritual growth.

The normal pattern for a true believer is that spiritual growth be taking place. That’s not to say that there will not be times when we will not progress as we should. But, even in the dry times, we will be persevering.

Luke 8:15 – And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

John 15:5-6 – I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

8. Obedience

When we were unsaved we walked in our own ways. We did not take into consideration the desires of God and His will for us. We were consumed with our own lust and fulfilled the desires of our flesh.

1 John 2:4-6 – The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

We should not try to convince anyone of the fact of eternal security and assurance. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. However, if you are saved this is a blessing that God wants us to experience.