Training · The 1689 Baptist Confession
Perseverance of the saints
That those God has accepted will certainly last - and what that does and does not rule out.
1 of 5
-
Card 1 of 5
Can a true believer be finally lost?
No. Those God has accepted, effectually called and sanctified can neither totally nor finally fall away, but will certainly persevere and be eternally saved.
The pair of words is doing precise work. Not totally, because the seed of God remains in them even at their worst; not finally, because whatever happens along the way, it is not where they end up.
I give them real, lasting life. They'll never be lost, and no one can snatch them out of my hand.
John 10:28Confession 17.1
-
Card 2 of 5
What does perseverance depend on?
Not on their free will, but on the decree of election, the merit and intercession of Christ, union with him, the oath of God, the Spirit remaining in them, and the nature of the covenant of grace.
Six grounds, and every one of them is outside the person. That is the entire argument. If it depended on anything in us it would already have failed, which is why the chapter is a comfort rather than a boast.
So when God wanted to make it crystal clear to those who would inherit the promise that he wouldn't change his mind, he guaranteed it with an oath.
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things - his promise and his oath, and since it's impossible for God to lie - we who've run to him for safety can be completely confident in the hope set before us.
Hebrews 6:17-18Confession 17.2
-
Card 3 of 5
Does perseverance mean a true believer will not fall into serious sin?
No. They may fall into grievous sins and continue in them for a time.
The confession is candid about the cost of it: God's displeasure incurred, the Spirit grieved, comforts impaired, hearts hardened, consciences wounded, other people hurt, and real consequences in this life. What it will not say is that such a person is lost.
But I've prayed for you, Simon, so that your trust in me won't fall apart. And when you come back to your senses, help your brothers stay strong too.
Luke 22:32Confession 17.3
-
Card 4 of 5
What does the confession say happens to a believer who falls into serious sin?
They bring God's displeasure on themselves and grieve his Holy Spirit, their graces and comforts are damaged, their hearts hardened and their consciences wounded, they hurt and scandalise other people, and they bring temporal judgements on themselves.
The list is the answer to anyone who reads perseverance as a licence. What the doctrine secures is the final outcome, and the confession is at pains to say that everything short of the final outcome is genuinely at risk - including, by the next chapter, the person's own assurance that they are saved at all.
Confession 17.3
-
Card 5 of 5
How does a believer who has fallen into serious sin come back?
They renew their repentance, and are preserved through faith in Christ to the end.
The doctrine does not promise that nothing will go wrong. It promises the return, and the return still runs through repentance rather than round it.
Confession 17.3