I'm Afraid the Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is Grossly Misrepresented by Arminians and Antinomians Alike

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The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is no doubt always getting grossly misrepresented by both Ariminians and Antinomians. The cartoon above is from Dan Corner's deplorable site Evangelical Outreach to which he continues his battle against eternal security. Corner is partly right about Antinomianism but he sure is wrong about eternal security. Then you've got Antinomians (directly or indirectly) such as Jacksmack77 and David Tutty Fleming who say that you can get saved and remain the same - which is also not biblical. 

Theopedia defines the perseverance of the saints in the following way:

Perseverance of the saints is the Calvinist doctrine that those who are truly saved will persevere to the end and cannot lose their salvation. It doesn't mean that a person who is truly saved will never lose faith or backslide at any time. But that they will ultimately persevere in faith (inspite of failures) such as not to lose their salvation. 

The doctrine of perseverance is rooted in God's unconditional election and predestination. That is, since God is the One who chose and predestined the elect to salvation, therefore the elect will be saved. They might turn away from faith and give appearance of losing their salvation, but if they really are elect they will repent and ultimately return to faith, because God is the One ensuring their salvation. 

This doctrine is also closely related to the doctrine of justification and adoption. Because God is the One who justifies the elect, no one can bring any condemnation on them. In the same way because those who truly believe in Christ are adopted as God's sons, they cannot be condemned to eternal punishment (although subject to God's loving discipline as a Father).

For some, the doctrine of the perservance of the saints in the quasi-Arminian context (those who still believe in a limited free will to believe) disregards unconditional election. Yet, they end up saying, "Yes, we believe that endurance to the end is a sign of true faith." It's really that kind of attitude that can get a fundamentalist to embrace a Calvinist as a brother or sister in Christ and vice-versa. So far, some Calvinist pastors like John F. MacArthur have honored some non-Calvinist preachers such as Harry A. Ironside, J. Vernon McGee, and Aiden W. Tozer. Tozer and Ironside taught eternal security whilst rejecting Calvinism. McGee also didn't have the right understanding of what lordship salvation was but still taught it. 

The late Robert C. Sproul Sr. (God bless his soul) has also said this about the term "perseverance of the saints":

I think this little catchphrase, perseverance of the saints, is dangerously misleading. It suggests that the perseverance is something that we do, perhaps in and of ourselves. I believe that saints do persevere in faith, and that those who have been effectually called by God and have been reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit endure to the end. However, they persevere not because they are so diligent in making use of the mercies of God. The only reason we can give why any of us continue on in the faith is because we have been preserved. So I prefer the term the preservation of the saints, because the process by which we are kept in a state of grace is something that is accomplished by God. My confidence in my preservation is not in my ability to persevere. My confidence rests in the power of Christ to sustain me with His grace and by the power of His intercession. He is going to bring us safely home.  

So, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints can be stressed out with these quotes:

What it is, is a sad admission to the amount of confidence we have in the power of our message and in the keeping power of God. If God has saved them, God will keep them. If they're born of God, they'll never die. If he's begun a good work in them, he'll complete it to that Day. If he is the author of their faith, he'll be the finisher of their faith. He's able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him. He's able to keep them from falling and to present them faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Jesus said no one will pluck you from my Father's hand. - Ray Comfort, "Hell's Best Kept Secret"

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. Those whom God has accepted in the Beloved, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; and though they may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Church, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. - Paul Washer 

Scripture teaches that genuine believers may stumble and fall, but they will persevere in the faith (1 Corinthians 1:8). Those who later turn completely away from the Lord show that they were never truly born again (1 John 2:19). In contrast, easy-believism teaches that a true believer may utterly forsake Christ and come to the point of not believing. - John MacArthur

Some things worth asking for both Arminians and Antinomians are the following:

  1. For Arminians, did any of the men above say that you can sin all you want just because you're eternally secure or did they actually make warnings against people who claim to be saved but are living differently? If you say salvation can be lost then what about verses that say that God will certainly finish what He started?
  2. For Antinomians, did any of the men above say that you needed good works to be saved or that good works are evidence of being saved? If you say salvation can be changeless then where's your verse to say that?
Just to verify, I'd like to say the following as I affirm the perseverance of the saints:
  1. I persevere not to be saved but because I'm saved.
  2. I believe that I will persevere even if I do fall away at times because God's grace is there to help me persevere.
  3. I submit to the lordship of Christ because I'm saved.
God bless!

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