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By Hank Walker | Pastor at Peach City Fellowship

In this, our eighth article on the Ordo Salutis (Order of Salvation), we tackle the doctrine of the PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS.

The Perseverance of the Saints—or PRESERVATION of the Saints, as I prefer—is the biblical doctrine that addresses the questions of “Am I eternally secure as a Christian?” and “Can I lose my salvation?”

In Baptist circles (my tribe), this doctrine is often (erroneously) called “Once Saved—Always Saved” (OSAS). Now, if you’re a Baptist, before your head explodes, I’ll go ahead and acknowledge that a person who has been TRULY SAVED is, indeed, eternally secure; but, OSAS is a terrible misrepresentation of the biblical doctrine and leads many to have a false-confidence in a PROFESSION OF FAITH rather than “working out their salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), or “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Cor. 13:5a).

The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is best articulated by Jesus Himself: “But the one who perseveres TO THE END will be saved” (Matt. 24:13). But, this definition presents a problematic question: “Does this mean I, myself, have to do the persevering?” How one answers this question determines whether he or she gets the doctrine right—or not.

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess. The first principle for interpreting Scripture is called the Analogia Scriptura (“Scripture interprets Scripture”)—and lots of passages make it clear that ALL TRUE BELIEVERS will “persevere to the end.”

One of the best statements affirming Perseverance of the Saints is given by Paul in his letter to the Philippians: “And I am SURE of this, that HE who began a good work in you WILL BRING IT TO COMPLETION at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Moreover, ETERNAL life (i.e., life that begins at the moment of regeneration by the Holy Spirit and NEVER ENDS) is used to describe salvation FORTY-ONE TIMES in the New Testament!

BUT, we also have WARNINGS that a mere PROFESSION of faith does not constitute TRUE BELIEF. We must HEED these warnings: If you are not living like… looking like… laboring like… walking like… or LOVING like Jesus, YOU should have NO hope of salvation!

FRUIT (proof) MATTERS! (Gal. 5:19-24; Titus 1:16; Matt. 7:16-20; 21-23; 1 Jn. 2:15-17, 19; 3:6).

Grace and peace, y’all.

Soli Deo Gloria