Preservation (Not Perseverance) of the Saints
Perseverance of the Saints vs. Preservation of the Saints — What Does the Bible Actually Teach?
The perseverance of the saints is the last letter in the Calvinist TULIP doctrine. A lot of people mistakenly think this is the same thing as what Bible-believing Christians believe about eternal security, but it is actually quite different.
The Bible does not teach the perseverance of the saints — it teaches the preservation of the saints. Jude 1:1: "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called." The Bible never says we persevere. It says we are preserved in Jesus Christ.
You might say — well, are not perseverance and preservation basically the same thing? No. They are spelled very closely to one another but they are completely different words with completely different meanings. Preservation means that God keeps us preserved. He keeps us safe regardless of what we do. Even if we commit a big sin one day, even if we really do something wrong, he keeps us safe. But what the perseverance of the saints teaches is basically that we keep ourselves safe — that we will be a good person until the day we die, that we will keep changing and improving, that our lives will never fall away from the faith. And if somebody ends up walking away and living a life of sin, Calvinists will say they were never saved to begin with. And that shows they do not really believe in eternal security, because whenever anybody commits any number of sins, they just say well, I guess that person was never saved.
Psalm 37:28: "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." The Bible talks about how God forsaketh not his saints, how we as believers keep our salvation and are eternally secure. But the reason why we are eternally secure is the fact that we are preserved forever. We did not keep ourselves safe — God keeps us safe. If I had to keep myself safe I would lose my salvation every day, because I am a sinner. I have not repented of all my sins. I still sin sometimes. I am not a perfect person. But these Calvinists are basically claiming to be.
What the Bible teaches is the preservation of the saints. No matter if we do live a life of sin, no matter if we commit some terrible sin one day — yes, we will reap what we sow in this life, but we are still saved forever. Because he forsaketh not his saints. Because we are preserved forever. So even if we do not persevere, we are preserved.
Calvinists like to say they believe in eternal security, and a lot of people think they do believe in once saved always saved. But when you really break it down, it is not the same once saved always saved that I believe, and it is not the same once saved always saved that any soul winner believes. The truth is we are preserved by God, we are kept saved — but we do not keep ourselves safe the way Calvinists teach with the perseverance of the saints.
Pastor Matthew Stucky
