That a christian can have assurance that God will not fail to save those to whom He has promised salvation is important to every christian. God is not capricious, promising to save us one day, but changing His mind without cause the next. God is faithful to His promises, and this is widely taught in scripture. God is consistent, and will not change what He has promised to do: thus, "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him, if we deny Him, He also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:12). If any doubt that God's sure promises are conditional on our attitudes to Him in our daily walk they would do well to start by reflecting on the fate of the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:30-35).
Unfortunately this wholesome doctrine of our assurance of salvation has been caricatured. The idea that once someone has made a profession of faith in Christ, and is "saved", that person can never lose their salvation is a teaching which has achieved wide currency in parts of the church, especially in Reformed and Brethren circles. It is doubtless a comfortable teaching, but it fails to find any support from scripture, rightly understood, and violates the very many scriptures which emphasise the need for a continuing obedient walk with God. This note, does not attempt a comprehensive treatment of the subject of salvation, but simply examines the case made for the doctrine by a leading "Reformed" writer, to see if there is a case to answer.
Louis Berkhof is an authoritative writer on "Reformed" doctrine. His "A Summary of Christian Doctrine", first published in the USA in 1938, was republished in Britain by Banner of Truth in 1960. What does this influential writer rely on?
Berkhof defines his doctrine of perseverance as "that continuous operation
of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the work of divine grace that
is begun in the heart, is continued and brought to completion".
This statement would be reasonable, if it were balanced by recognising the
need for the "believer" to go on believing to make this effective, a balance
between the work of God and the work of man which is consistently maintained
in scripture (see e.g. Phil 2:12-13). Berkhof does not recognise the need
for such a balance but makes this God-centredness absolute, as if it were
solely God's responsibility. Given the over-emphasis in Reformed doctrine
on God's sovereignty at the expense of man's responsibility such an oversight
is perhaps not surprising. That the doctrine should find favour in the Arminian
culture of the Brethren, who put great emphasis on the free availability
of Christ to all and who place relatively little emphasis on God's part in
drawing men to salvation, is altogether astonishing.
Berkhof claims that the above doctrine is "clearly taught in Scripture, John 10:28,29; Rom 11:29; Phil 1:6, 2 Thess. 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12;4:18".
Let us examine each of these scriptures in turn.
These scriptures do give the christian who is walking with God the confidence to deal with all the circumstances in which he finds himself. The conditions are unambiguous, and they provide no comfort for those who wish to live in a worldly fashion.
Berkhof continues immediately after the above statement on perseverance: "And it is only when we believe in this perseverance of God that we can in this life attain to the assurance of salvation, Heb 3:14; 6:11; 10:22; 2 Peter 1:10."
It is true that the verses already considered have that effect for the christian who is walking with God. The verses quoted provide us with the assurance that God will not let us down, and that no third party can undo our salvation.
Berkhof cites the above verses for the sole purpose of showing that the concept of assurance exists in scripture: he seems to be simply relying on the presence of the word "assurance" in the first three of these verses, rather than on examining the truth the verses contain. On examination, they prove that the christian can have assurance of salvation when we approach God provided that we satisfy the appropriate conditions. Berkhof however, ignores entirely the associated conditions, which entirely demolish his suggestion that christians will be saved irrespective of their conduct, for they prove our need to "hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." (Heb 3:14) and, to use a lawyer's phrase, "show due diligence" (Heb 6:11), and "hold fast the profession of faith without wavering" (Heb 11:23):
The last scripture (2 Peter 1:10) makes clear we can secure our ultimate salvation through due diligence, but there is no promise there that somehow we can do a point action which will thereafter secure our salvation irrespective of what we do thereafter:
This tendency to ignore the conditions associated with the promises in scripture is, in my experience, characteristic of those who hold this doctrine.
Berkhof then continues: "outside of Reformed circles this doctrine find[sic] no favour. It is said to be contradicted by Scripture, which warns against apostasy, Heb 2:1; 10:26, exhorts believers to continue in the way of salvation, Matt 24:13; Col 1:23; Heb 3:14, and even records cases of apostasy, 1 Tim 1:19,20; 2 Tim 2:17,18; 4:10. Such warnings and exhortations would seem to assume the possibility of falling away, and such cases would seem to prove it completely. But as a matter of fact the warnings and exhortations prove only that God works mediately and wants man to co-operate in the work of perseverance; and there is no proof that the apostates mentioned were real believers. Cf. Rom 9:6; 1 John 2:19; Rev 3:1."
On the basis of Berkhof's writings we must conclude that there is really no case to answer. He admits that God works mediately and wants man to co- operate in the work of perseverance. If men fail to do so, then how can they be saved? If God can save them without and apart from such co-operation, what is the point of the hard and possibly unpleasant work of undertaking such co- operation?
The crucial significance of Berkhof's last point, his suggestion that the apostates may not have been real believers, must not be overlooked. Once this idea is accepted, the alleged purpose of the doctrine - to provide security comfort to the christian - is thereby completely vitiated. Most proponents of the doctrine are usually aware of people, like these apostates, who made a very good profession, and who walked closely with God for sometime thereafter, before going on to deny their faith completely. As in this case, such people are dismissed as having never been christians in the first place. This may serve to save the doctrine from repudiation, but this thereby eliminates any real assurance for those presently believing in Christ, for who can say whether he will not himself eventually turn out to one who denies the faith? It is "he who endures to the end who will be saved". (Matt 10:22, cf. Phil 3:2-16). Thus, we have shown that, not only is the teaching unbiblical, but it fails in its objective of providing the desired permanent assurance of salvation. The doctrine is not only a delusion, its purported benefits also turn out to be an illusion!
In summary, Berkhof proves that assurance of salvation exists. He assumes, but does not prove, that this means that no christian can lose his salvation irrespective of his conduct. He then assumes, but fails to prove, that once someone becomes a real christian then their "assured position" persists irrespective of their life-style and of their diligence in their continuance in the faith. Indeed the very verses he quotes disprove his case.
Louis Berkhof, a leading proponent of the doctrine of "Once saved, always saved" has been shown to rely on scriptures do not prove that doctrine, but instead show the true biblical doctrine of assurance, namely:
The main problem with the "once saved, always saved" doctrine, is that people come to rely on an experience which took place long ago. This often leads to a smug complacency, and, ultimately, stubbornness of heart.
We cannot be saved by a doctrine, nor by an experience: true assurance rests in our continuing relationship with a Saviour Jesus Christ, obeying the scriptural commands to continuously maintain and enhance a close walk with God, and adding to our faith those things which will make certain our call and election. Peter tells us if we do these things we shall never fall but enter His kingdom (2 Peter 1:4-11).