Final Preservation
by Elder Brian Moore
“and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of
my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than
all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father’s hand.” John 10-28-29
Primitive Baptist, have long believed the bible
teaching of the preservation of the saints. This
essential teaching is more commonly known as the “P” in
the TULIP doctrine and is often associated with Calvin.
Although, John Calvin, often has his name associated
with the doctrines of total depravity, unconditional
election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and
preservation, these doctrines have their origin in the
bible and have always been a staple of the true
apostolic church. To say that these doctrines
originated with Calvin are a grievous error.
Nonetheless, for the sake of time and space in this
article I wish to look at the above quoted scripture
and explore the question, will the saints persevere or
be preserved?
In order to understand the doctrine of the final
preservation of the saints, one must first understand
that it does not stand alone as a doctrine but that it
is rather a necessary part of the theology of the
bible. In other words irresistible grace works hand and
hand with total depravity, while election works
harmoniously with limited atonement and so forth. In
fact any combination will check and balance the other.
The bible does not contradict itself!
When referring to the final preservation of the saints
you have probably heard someone say “once in grace
always in grace!” This is in reference to several
scriptures, to numerous to mention, which clarify the
sovereign work of almighty God. For example in John
6:37 we read “all that the Father giveth me shall come
to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out.” This scripture mocks the Armenian idea that one
can lose their eternal salvation. The scripture states
firmly that those that were given by the Father will in
no wise be cast out. In lay terms, nothing will cause
them to be cast out, their eternal inheritance is a
guaranteed promise and it is bound by the holy seal of
God. The Armenian idea that one can lose their
salvation is in part attributed to the fact that they
believe that a person had a part in their gaining
salvation, thusly, if you can obtain salvation on your
own then surely you can lose it on your own.
Another critical argument made by most Armenians, is
that the doctrine of Final Preservation is a licentious
doctrine and promotes a sinful lifestyle. I have heard
people say, “if I believed what you believed then I
would do just whatever I wanted to do since nothing
could separate me from God and eternal life.” My reply
to them has often been, once God performs a work in a
person they will not desire the old sinful things of
the world they then desire the things of the spirit and
not those of the flesh, in essence going to church, and
seeking the ways of God are exactly what a child of God
would want to do, they would not desire the wicked
things of the world, because they have been killed dead
to sin and folly. In writing this article, I in no
wise wish to promote such a doctrine that would promote
a sinful lifestyle. On the contrary we are to worship
God because of a genuine love for him and what he has
done for us. There are many “religious” zealots today
that, “worship” God, because they feel that it will
then obligate God to grant them eternal salvation. This
misconceived idea, also is contradictory to scripture
and does not harmonize with the doctrine of final
preservation.
The error that most Armenians make in their position
regarding perseverance rather than preservation is that
they attempt to literalize some scriptures to make it
applicable to their works doctrine. Remember, the bible
does not contradict itself, therefore when it appears
to do so either the reader is in error or he or she is
trying to misapply something by taking the text out of
context. When led by the Holy Spirit, there is a divine
light of understanding, which when given allows one to
see the wonders of Gods sovereign grace, the essential
truths of the T-U-L-I-P are perfectly in harmony.
Perhaps one of the greatest scriptures to support the
final preservation of the saints is Romans 8:35-39 “who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord.
When reading this passage it appears that anyone should
be able to discern that there is nothing, NO NOT
NOTHING, that can separate us from the grace of
almighty God. When one takes careful consideration of
the things mentioned above it is clear what Paul was
intending to convey. To the nay saying Armenian, I ask
the question; Do you think Paul believed “once in grace
always in grace?” Brethren, not only did he believe it
he affirmed it in his writings and the beauty of the
entire thing is the harmony by which it is linked with
the doctrines of election, total depravity and
sovereign grace.
In closing I would like to add that when reviewing the
doctrine of final preservation it is important to
understand that as sure as God is unchangeable so is
the guarantee that for those whom Christ died, heaven
will be there home. I encourage the reader to take time
and carefully read Psalms 89:30-34, which further
illustrates the secured promise of the preservation of
the saints.
BMoore4/20/06
