Finally, we come to the “P” which is Perseverance of the Saints.
We often hear this doctrine called, “Once saved, always saved”. The Scriptures
teach that man has the ability to choose whom he will serve and that his
eternal soul will be judged on that choice. No one who believes in “Once saved,
always saved” would deny that Paul was one of the “elect”. Yet when we
read 1 Corinthians 9:27 we find that he
constantly “worked” to stay in that saved condition. We can also look to Simon
the Sorcerer (Acts 8) as one who was saved and then lost. Judas was another. He
was given the ability to do miracles like the rest of the disciples (Matthew
10:1). No one can deny that he was saved. Yet we know that he fell
away. It will be our actions that will be judged on the judgment day hence, we
decide whether we will go to heaven or hell by those actions (2
Corinthians 5:10).
The first and most glaring problem that this person has when it
comes to the perseverance of the saints is that, as with the other points of
doctrine already examined, he really doesn’t know what it means. Perseverance
of the Saints does not mean “once saved always saved.” Although the true believer
will endure to the end, what is often meant by once saved always saved is that,
regardless of what a person does once he has made a decision for Christ he will
be saved in the end (one of the many problems that the decisional salvation
model holds). Although many will reject that idea, in practice that is what
often ends up being taught. It is obvious that such is not what we believe. But
when we speak of the perseverance of the saints, we do not look at it from man’s
point of view as much as from God’s point of view. Let me explain.
