So I am picking up my story [click here for part 1] at the point when in California we were introduced to a new emphasis in teaching: Scripture assumed that certain behaviors would follow from genuine salvation. As I said before, the issue of false professions was not really explained or dealt with very much in the churches I grew up in, or even at Bible college for that matter.
1 John 2:19 was the verse the pastor pointed us to, which made everything fall into place for me. It became a key verse for me in more ways than one. The verse says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
This verse specifically deals with some false teachers (called “antichrists” by John) who eventually stopped fellowshipping with the believers John is addressing. These teachers seemed to be “of us” but they apostasized and John interprets that to indicate that they never truly had been “of us”. They never had genuine salvation. The verse becomes the “key” to interpreting all of the difficult stories one comes across with regard to salvation. So-and-so was at one time a fervent believer and really serving God, but now he denies Christ or he never darkens the door of church. John would have us assume that such a person was never truly saved. They did not lose salvation, they never really ever had salvation. This became a revelation to me. Real believers will persevere in their faith. Real believers will be the ones who are growing in their faith.
Before I go on to explain the ramifications of this, let me go to a few supporting Scriptures which concur with this interpretation of 1 John 2:19. One is from Jesus’ stern warning in Matt. 7:21-23. To those who claimed to do miracles in Jesus’ name and who called him “Lord, Lord”, Jesus says “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” It is not that Jesus at one time knew them, and then later disowned them because of their sin. No, he had never known them. Further attestation to this truth would be the promises to “overcomers” in Rev. 2 and 3. The promises are synonymous with being saved (for instance “will not be hurt by the second death” is one of the promises). And the promises are given to those who overcome, not to quitters. Along these lines the parable of the sower as interpreted in Luke 8:11-15 discusses people [rocky soil] who receive the word [seed] with joy yet only “believe[s] for a while” and later apostasize [shrivel up] due to tribulation [heat of the sun on a plant with no deep roots]. These were never truly saved. (Cf. Jn. 15:1-8).
This understanding of the nature of salvation led me to expect more from people who claimed to be saved. And for a time I became quite the fruit-inspector! I was quite judgmental and often suspected the worst of many people. This was due to some of my hyper-fundamentalist assumptions and confusions. It also led me to expect a lot from myself. (And indeed we need to “examine [our]selves, to see whether [we] are in the faith.” cf. 2 Cor. 13:5.) I came to see that many people’s salvation may well not be genuine and that God expects truly saved people to be traversing the high road.
Such an understanding led me in a time of crisis to get saved again. I had been dealing and struggling with a particular sin problem for a long time, and this struggle just didn’t jive with what I thought Scripture expected of believers. I had grasped the key, but was having trouble truly understanding and applying it. But thankfully the epiphany would only get clearer with time.
Eventually, as I started seriously evaluating Calvinism, I began to see how it fit with my understanding of 1 John 2:19. And as I began to grapple with many other verses such as Heb. 3:6; 3:12-14; 12:14; Col. 1:23; 1 Tim. 1:19; 6:12; 1 Cor. 9:27; Rom. 2:6-10; and Jude 21 among others, I began to understand the Calvinist doctrine of the “perseverance of the saints”. This doctrine teaches that true believers will persevere in their faith to the end because God is at work in them “both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). God will produce good works in his children by His power (Eph. 2:10, Tit. 2:14, Phil. 1:6, 1 Cor. 15:10).
Such a doctrine is one means God uses to prod us on to faithfulness and good works. It should warn us to not presume that we will make it. Rather we must fight sin, and cling to our Savior, resting in His work as our sure hope of eternal life. This teaching causes us to continue to believe and rest in Jesus, rather than presume upon a past time when we “believed” in Jesus. It produces “believing ones” not just “believers” (people who one time in their had believed). Such a doctrine does not teach that believers will be perfect and not struggle over sin, but rather that they will fight sin and not have a care-free attitude towards sin.
Such a doctrine is consistent with the idea of eternal security that I had so emphasized as a teenager. Yet it says more. It is not just that people who are “once saved” will be “always saved”. Rather it claims that people who were “once saved” will presently be believing and growing. Unlike the doctrine of eternal security [which gets stretched by many to allow current Christ deniers and perpetual sinners a place in heaven], it calls us to not assume that due to a one time profession of faith we are absolutely “saved”. 1 Cor. 1:18 captures the true meaning of the Greek when it says “to us who are being saved”. Salvation is in a real sense a work in progress. Positionally we are justified and as good as saved. But God is at work redeeming our bodies. Truly saved people are serious about fighting the fight of faith and forsaking sin. They don’t presume upon God but rest in God’s grace.
This doctrine should not, however, be misconstrued as a works based salvation teaching. We are to be trusting in Jesus alone and only His work accomplishes any bit of good works in us. And those good works are not at all the basis upon which we are justified.
Perseverance also shouldn’t frighten us. Rather it should encourage us. If we examine ourselves and see evidences of God’s work in our lives, if we see genuine faith and love for Christ, we have every reason to expect that God is at work in us and will be faithful to enable us to persevere in our faith. 1 John teaches that genuine believers will not have a nonchalant view of sin. They will be ones who strive for fellowship with God. If we are striving, that is most likely evidence that our faith is real
This teaching should also not call us to assume the worst of everyone either. Sometimes fruit is not visible to us “fruit-inspectors”. Humans with beams in their eyes are not the best judges, and in fact they won’t be the Judge (cf. Rom. 14:4, 10). Instead we can be encouraged by evidences of grace in people’s lives. We can hope the best for people. We should lovingly confront those who persist in sin, but we should let God pass the ultimate judgments.
I am not going to be able to answer all the questions in this one post. Remember even after my epiphany, it still took me a long time to really grasp this doctrine. My post “Once Saved, Always Saved?!?!” is another attempt to deal with this doctrine, and if you have questions check that post out for further help.
My pastor’s homiletical answer to the once saved, always saved question submits that we put the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLABle: It’s not “Once saved, ALWAYS saved,” it’s “Once SAVED, always saved!”
Like they said at Bible College, “That’ll preach, Brother!”
(and not only that, it’s even true!)
Amen, John.
Thanks!
There’s too many ‘cliches’ in Evangelicalism, and especially Fundamentalism, when it comes to the biblical understanding of the doctrine of the perserverance of the saints. Too little is implied in the statement “once saved, always saved” in that it is used by non-Calvinists to justify their position on eternal security. It’s difficult for me now to imagine that I once held to such shallow doctrine. The “P” in TULIP not only implies much more doctrinally, but it also assumes that the elect will persevere in their faith by fighting sin, following Christ, and allowing the believer to be empowered by a supernatural Holy Spirit to walk with God. Although Bob’s two posts on the subject are a concise summary, it covers the essentials of the biblical understanding of perserverance. Very well done in explaining, as well as contrasting, two teachings that seem/appear to be the same– when they’re not.
Thanks for the comments, Larry.
Blessings in Christ,
Bob
Of course, Larry’s right! I was amazed after I learned the Reformed doctrine of the perseverance/preservation of the saints, that the Articles of Faith of my particular fellowship (formerly BBF, most recently, IBF–based in Forth Worth, TX) had an article on “The Perseverance of the Saints” and defined it precisely as the Reformed teach it! I guess it is a left over from the heritage from which the Baptist tradition had fallen over the last couple of centuries.
Now both the BBF and the IBF are splits off of the WBF, so I’ll quote from the source:
“Section 15. Of the Perseverance of the Saints
“We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end, that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors, that a special Providence watches over their welfare, and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation.
“John 8:31-32; Col. 1:21; I John 2:19; Matt. 13:19-21; Rom. 8:23; Matt. 6:30; Psa. 121:3; Heb. 1:14; I Pet. 1:5; Phil. 1:6; John 10:28; John 10:29; John 16:8; Rom. 8:35-39.”
Considering the common state of “once saved, always saved” preaching, modern semi-pelagian Baptists demonstrate how irrelevant their articles of faith are. I suppose due to their misguided zeal for what I call “The Baptist Version of ‘sola scriptura.'”
(https://capthk.blogspot.com/2006/12/baptist-version-of-sola-scriptura.html)
About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staff was very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 1994, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.†I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages [England & Australia]. God LOVES me so much. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17].
Peace Be With You
Micky
Micky,
Glad to hear of what God has done for you. Such conversions are wonderful. May God fill you with a greater knowledge of His Word, as it is the Word which can build us up and encourage us in our life of faith.
Blessings in Christ,
Bob Hayton
[…] Sorry to do this to you, but you’ll have to stay tuned until next time for the rest of the story. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will look at what 1 John 2:19 says and how it reshaped my thinking. I am expecting to finish this tomorrow, but it may take one more installment. We’ll see. Go to Part 2. […]
Dear Mr. Hayton,
Hello, and thanks for your post on 1Jn. 2:19. I’d like to tell you (and other readers) about my own epiphany re. this verse. But first a comment on one of the logical and doctrinal problems with the Calvinistic understanding of perseverance.
The Calvinistic version conflicts with something else the Bible teaches: present assurance. If, as Calvinists argue, genuine faith necessarily endures, then logically I cannot know for sure that I’m saved *until* I’ve passed the final test: lifelong endurance.
The typical Calvinistic rejoinder is that the Bible teaches God will preserve our faith until the end, and so we can be confident we will, in fact, persevere. But this just doesn’t resolve anything, because it merely begs the question: Is my “faith” actually genuine, biblical faith–the type God sustains for a lifetime? After all, many, if not most of us have known professing Christians who (a) outwardly appeared to be genuine, and (b) *believed themselves* to be genuine–who later apostatized.
Before their apostasy, these types sincerely believed themselves to be saved, and could have accurately explained the Gospel and could have pointed to apparent manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. On an experiential level, what can possibly distinguish between their pre-apostasy experience of Christ and my current experience of Christ? I can’t think of anything. Therefore–if Calvinistic perseverance is true–I cannot know (until my earthly life is over) whether my “faith” is genuine or fake. Any “evidence” of genuine faith to which I might point would be the very same kinds of evidence to which pre-apostates would point. (Indeed, Calvin himself believed in “an inferior work of the Spirit” by which God actually produces spiritual fruit in false believers’ lives and which fruit mimics genuine fruit. Calvin’s rationale? That God would then have an even stronger basis for condemning these fakers, because they had the Spirit working in them but *still* didn’t truly believe.)
Now on to 1Jn. 2:19. My own epiphany was this: the realization that John is not (likely) talking about salvation and rank-and-file believers, but is instead talking about the distinction between false teachers, on the one hand, and John and his fellow apostles, on the other.
In the first place, “us” may not refer to the Body of Christ—but specifically the Apostles, a very narrow, select category within the larger Body (note the pronouns in 1:1-5; 2:7-8, 12-14). While it’s true that in the same passages John also uses “us” and “we” to refer to all Christians universally, nonetheless he switches back and forth between the larger referent and the Apostolic. Is it necessarily the case that the “us” in 2:19 refers to all Christians? This is how Calvinists virtually unanimously construe it–but is it contextually necessary?
Secondly the verb phrase “went out from”: such language can refer to individuals commissioned to perform some unique service (Gen. 41:46; Num. 27:17, 21; Deut. 31:2; 1Sam. 8:20; 18:5, 13, 16; 1Ki. 3:7; 2Ki. 18:7; 2Chr. 1:10; 15:5; Ezk. 30:9; Zec. 8:10; Jn. 8:42; Acts 15:24; Rev. 6:1, 4). John uses similar phrasing again in 4:1 to describe the activity of false prophets, as well as in 2Jn. 7; it’s used in a positive vein in 3Jn. 7. In the Greek of 1Jn. 2:18, two words are used: “out of” is /ek/. The verb “went” is /exerchomai/, used also in 3Jn. 7, for which the NET Bible editors have this footnote: “The verb gone forth (ἐξέρχομαι, /exercomai/) almost certainly refers to some form of missionary activity. This verb is used of Paul’s travels in Acts 14:20, and of his setting out on his second missionary journey in Acts 15:40.”
Notice John’s context in 1Jn. 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” In that sentence “but” is also very important; John’s telling his readers that even though these antichrists “went out from us”—which language would ordinarily signal missionary activity—nonetheless (or “but”) “they were not of us.” In other words: “they portrayed themselves as being on a mission from us, but we never commissioned them.”
This exact type of activity is seen in Acts 15: “we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions” (v. 24).
The phraseology there is virtually synonymous with 1Jn. 2:19; indeed, “gone out from us” is specifically identical in Greek with “went out from us” in John’s epistle. In addition, “out from us” is identical in Gr. to “of us” in 1Jn. 2:19. Most Eng. translations make it sound as if the second phrase means “belong to,” but that obscures what the Greek is saying. John literally says, “They went out of us [as if commissioned by us] but they were not out of us [i.e., we didn’t actually commission them].”
John then goes on to say, “But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” How did it “become plain”? It was demonstrated in the fact that these antichrists preached a “gospel” different from, and at odds with, the Apostolic message with which John launched the epistle in 1:1ff. If these men had been “out of” the Apostles—i.e., commissioned by them—they would have preached the same Gospel; “they would have continued [preaching the same Gospel] with us.” By their going off on their own, without a legit commissioning, it began to become publicly apparent that they subscribed to a different “gospel.”
John is addressing the exposure of these antichrists by scrutiny of what they preached. He is not addressing whether or not a genuine believer can apostatize.
God bless you, brother.
Interesting, I’ll have to look at this more closely and in the context of 1 John 2. Thanks for sharing.