Perseverance of the Saints
Definition: The Perseverance of the Saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God's power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again.
Did John Calvin teach this doctrine? Absolutely.
Calvin’s Commentary on I John 3:9
1 John 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning,
for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been
born of God.
“And he cannot keep on
sinning”
Here the Apostle ascends higher, for he plainly declares that the hearts of the godly are so effectually governed by the Spirit of God, that through an inflexible disposition they follow his guidance.”
Later on:
“John speaks here far otherwise; for he not only shews that we cannot sin, but also that the power of the Spirit is so effectual, that it necessarily retains us in continual obedience to righteousness. Nor is this the only passage of Scripture which teaches us that the will is so formed that it cannot be otherwise than right. For God testifies that he gives a new heart to his children, and promises to do this, that they may walk in his commandments. Besides, John not only shews how efficaciously God works once in man, but plainly declares that the Spirit continues his grace in us to the last, so that inflexible perseverance is added to newness of life.
And finally:
But here a question arises, Whether the fear and love of God can be extinguished in any one who has been regenerated by the Spirit of God? for that. this cannot be, seems to be the import of the Apostle's words. They who think otherwise refer to the example of David, who for a time labored under such a beastly stupor, that not a spark of grace appeared in him. Moreover, in the fifty-first Psalm, he prays for the restoration of the Spirit. It hence follows that he was deprived of him. I, however, doubt not but that the seed, communicated when God regenerates his elect, as it is incorruptible, retains its virtue perpetually. I, indeed, grant that it may sometimes be stifled, as in the case of David; but still, when all religion seemed to be extinct in him, a live coal was hid under the ashes. Satan, indeed, labors to root out whatever is from God in the elect; but when the utmost is permitted to him, there ever remains a hidden root, which afterwards springs up. But John does not speak of one act, as they say, but of the continued course of life.
This is my favorite statement from Calvin:
I, indeed, grant that it may sometimes be stifled, as in the case of David; but still, when all religion seemed to be extinct in him, a live coal was hid under the ashes.
A live coal was hid under the ashes? That is a great
statement. How often I feel far from God, lost in the wilderness, searching for
reminders of my salvation.
Not that I have lost my salvation, but the ash of my
remaining sin seems at times….unbearably deep. Yet, by His persevering grace, I
hear the Spirit speak. Sometimes it is through the rebuke of a friend. Sometimes
it is through His Word. Sometimes it is through divine discipline that reminds
me of my adoption (Heb. 12:7).
Thank you God for constantly reminding and assuring me of my
living hope, who is the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
I guess the old maxim is still okay with me: “Once saved,
always saved”.
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