At one juncture in my life, I may have been one of the world's biggest proponents of OSAS (Once-saved always saved). In fact, I will admit that it probably was the driving force behind my theology. From there, it is only a short step to Reformed Theology, which is the only system where OSAS even makes sense. Of course, in Reformed Theology, OSAS is a term they do not like to use; instead preferring the Perseverance of the Saints. I am using Reformed Theology in a narrow sense here, referring strictly to the 5 points of Calvinism.
Now as a Lutheran, I reject this teaching. Truth be told, it was the hardest thing for me to give up as I transitioned from Calvinism to Lutheranism. There are indeed promises all over Scripture that Christ will preserve us and keep us unto salvation.
But there are also all sorts of warnings in Scripture about falling away, grieving the Spirit, willfully sinning, being disqualified, and so on.
So, how do we reconcile these? Actually, I think when it boils down to it, it is not too difficult. The promises are directed to the new man that is created in regeneration. In Christ, we are secure forever. By the means of grace, which give us faith and strengthen it, we are more than conquerors, as St. Paul puts it.
In Christ, we are heirs of glory. And the best thing is, that in Christ, He alone does the entire work. He did it at Calvary, and He does it by grace in our lives through Word and Sacrament. Salvation is pure monergism. God's work alone. We cannot add to it or cooperate with it to make it better or more full. We only cooperate insofar as God has made us partakers of the divine nature, and this cooperation does not ensure, add to, or enhance our eternal stance in Christ.
All of this is given freely and the promises belong to the new man; the regenerate man.
But what of all those pesky warnings? What of the unrepentant? What of falling away from the faith? What of St. Paul writing that even he could be disqualified?
Many theologies assume way too much when reconciling these texts. For instance, Reformed Theology sets up a distinction between the visible and invisible church (with varying degrees of validity), essentially saying that the warnings refer to people who did not persevere in Christ and thus were not saved in the first place, despite being part of the visible church. Arminianism implies the opposite. That is, since we can fall away and spurn Christ by our own free will, therefore we can be saved by it too. Not to mention, the most consistent would be Roman Catholicism in this regard, slinging cooperation in everything into the mix.
I think it's pretty straightforward though. The promises (Gospel) are aimed at the new man. The saved man with the imputed righteousness of Christ. The warnings and the falling away are aimed at the old man who still exists. That old sinful nature of ours.
We will carry that sinful nature around until the day we die. And if anyone says that our old sinful nature is not capable of the grossest sins -including completely rejecting Christ and His gifts after they have been received- then they are certainly underestimating our sinfulness.
God alone feeds us, gives us faith, and strengthens our faith. We alone push Him away.
It's not that's difficult.
Pax
Showing posts with label Perseverance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Perseverance. Show all posts
3/6/15
10/23/14
Lutheranism and Election
Much has been written about the doctrine of election in Christian circles. It is clearly one of those topics that divides entire church bodies. Generally the topic of election and predestination gets presented as a wrangle between Calvinists and Arminians. But this is not the only way to see the doctrine. In fact, every church body has a stance on the issue. And well they should, considering it is in Scripture.
We do believe, as Confessional Lutherans, that both the Calvinists and the Arminians rationalize the doctrine in opposite directions, both deviating from Scripture in some aspects. Calvinists affirm the biblical teaching of election, but then go too far and concoct a parallel doctrine of reprobation. In some circles, they even hold to a crazy doctrine called Equal Ultimacy, which is essentially Hyper Calvinist. So, we should paint all Calvinist doctrine as holding to Equal Ultimacy. That would be not only unfair, but crass misrepresentation. On the other hand, the Arminians completely redefine the doctrine of election and in essence deny it altogether in favor of human choice. At the far end of the spectrum in the human choice camp are the Pelagians who deny original sin and the Open Theists, who deny essential attributes of God taught in Holy Scripture.
From my perspective, I would tend to see Open Theism (and Pelagianism) and Equal Ultimacy as equal and opposite errors. Both are dreadfully wrong because they both do away with attributes of God.
Confessional Lutheranism sees all of these as deviations from clearly revealed Scripture. Both the double predestination of Calvinism (not to mention Equal Ultimacy...shudder) and the denial of the doctrine altogether by redefinition of Arminianism (and Open Theism and Pelagianism...yuck) are erroneous.
The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord answers this well.
Solid Declaration, XI, 13-22
Therefore, if we wish to think or speak correctly and profitably concerning eternal election, or the predestination and ordination of the children of God to eternal life, we should accustom ourselves not to speculate concerning the bare, secret, concealed, inscrutable foreknowledge of God, but how the counsel, purpose, and ordination of God in Christ Jesus, who is the true Book of Life, is revealed to us through the Word, 14] namely, that the entire doctrine concerning the purpose, counsel, will, and ordination of God pertaining to our redemption, call, justification, and salvation should be taken together; as Paul treats and has explained this article Rom. 8:29f ; Eph. 1:4f , as also Christ in the parable, Matt. 22:1ff , namely, that God in His purpose and counsel ordained [decreed]:
15] 1. That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless [innocency] obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life.
16] 2. That such merit and benefits of Christ shall be presented, offered, and distributed to us through His Word and Sacraments.
17] 3. That by His Holy Ghost, through the Word, when it is preached, heard, and pondered, He will be efficacious and active in us, convert hearts to true repentance, and preserve them in the true faith.
18] 4. That He will justify all those who in true repentance receive Christ by a true faith, and will receive them into grace, the adoption of sons, and the inheritance of eternal life.
19] 5. That He will also sanctify in love those who are thus justified, as St. Paul says, Eph. 1:4.
20] 6. That He also will protect them in their great weakness against the devil, the world, and the flesh, and rule and lead them in His ways, raise them again [place His hand beneath them], when they stumble, comfort them under the cross and in temptation, and preserve them [for life eternal].
21] 7. That He will also strengthen, increase, and support to the end the good work which He has begun in them, if they adhere to God's Word, pray diligently, abide in God's goodness [grace], and faithfully use the gifts received.
22] 8. That finally He will eternally save and glorify in life eternal those whom He has elected, called, and justified.
There are a few important things we can pull from Concord here. First, God's election is carried out by specific means (the classical Calvinist would affirm this too). These means are not to be sought in God's decree (which is hidden) but in the Word and Sacraments. Therefore, God elects people through Baptism, the preached Word, Holy Absolution, and the Eucharist. This the classical Calvinist would have a hard time affirming due to their doctrines of the Perseverance of the Saints and Limited Atonement.
This is to say that while God elects in eternity past (Eph 1:4), this is carried out temporally through the finished work of Christ being delivered to us objectively in Word and Sacrament. God elects in Baptism, in the preached Word, in the Eucharist. And this is all God's working, completely monergistic. It is God who saves us in our baptism. In fact, baptism of infants is the perfect example of divine monergism at work. A helpless infant, completely dependent on others for its well-being, is saved unilaterally by God in their Holy Baptism.
In short, the Formula is compelling us to look to Christ and the effective gifts that he gives for our election. Look outside of ourselves to that finished work of Christ on the cross given to us in Word and Sacrament and rooted in the immutable character of God and His promises, for God does not lie and His Word means what it says.
Yet, we also must affirm the other side of the coin. The Saxon Visitation Articles, an appendix to the Book of Concord, are not an official confessional document, but nevertheless address the flip side of the coin. They are written contra-Calvinism.
Here is what is affirmed in the Saxon Visitation Articles regarding predestination.
1] That Christ died for all men, and, as the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the whole world.
2] That God created no man for condemnation; but wills that all men should be saved and arrive at the knowledge of truth. He therefore commands all to hear Christ, his Son, in the gospel; and promises, by his hearing, the virtue and operation of the Holy Ghost for conversion and salvation.
3] That many men, by their own fault, perish: some, who will not hear the gospel concerning Christ; some, who again fall from grace, either by fundamental error, or by sins against conscience.
4] That all sinners who repent will be received into favor; and none will be excluded, though his sins be red as blood; since the mercy of God is greater than the sins of the whole world, and God hath mercy on all his works.
Thus, while affirming eternal election in strong terms in the Formula, we also affirm the following aforementioned doctrines. Christ indeed died for everyone. Yes, even Judas and Pharaoh. He also desires to save everyone. In the third article we reject the Calvinist doctrine of Perseverance.
And here is what we reject regarding Calvinism's doctrine of election.
1] That Christ did not die for all men, but only for the elect.
2] That God created the greater part of mankind for eternal damnation, and wills not that the greater part should be converted and live.
3] That the elected and regenerated can not lose faith and the Holy Spirit, or be damned, though they commit great sins and crimes of every kind.
4] That those who are not elect are necessarily damned, and can not arrive at salvation, though they be baptized a thousand times, and receive the Eucharist every day, and lead as blameless a life as ever can be led.
We reject limited atonement. We reject double predestination. We reject the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance. And we reject the idea that predestination is carried out apart from means.
In short, God's election, while done in eternity past, is carried out temporally through Word and Sacrament. And since Christ died for YOU, you can know with certainty that the Sacraments are also for YOU. Limited Atonement points a person to themselves, since Christ's death is only for certain people.
Here is the kicker: These means of grace are universally available to everyone. (Titus 2:11) God desires to save everyone (2 Pet 3:9, 1 Tim 2:4).
Paradox? Yep. but Scripture teaches both. This is where God's Word stands and speaks. We had best affirm both sides of the coin, lest we deviate from the Holy Scriptures.
+Pax+
We do believe, as Confessional Lutherans, that both the Calvinists and the Arminians rationalize the doctrine in opposite directions, both deviating from Scripture in some aspects. Calvinists affirm the biblical teaching of election, but then go too far and concoct a parallel doctrine of reprobation. In some circles, they even hold to a crazy doctrine called Equal Ultimacy, which is essentially Hyper Calvinist. So, we should paint all Calvinist doctrine as holding to Equal Ultimacy. That would be not only unfair, but crass misrepresentation. On the other hand, the Arminians completely redefine the doctrine of election and in essence deny it altogether in favor of human choice. At the far end of the spectrum in the human choice camp are the Pelagians who deny original sin and the Open Theists, who deny essential attributes of God taught in Holy Scripture.
From my perspective, I would tend to see Open Theism (and Pelagianism) and Equal Ultimacy as equal and opposite errors. Both are dreadfully wrong because they both do away with attributes of God.
Confessional Lutheranism sees all of these as deviations from clearly revealed Scripture. Both the double predestination of Calvinism (not to mention Equal Ultimacy...shudder) and the denial of the doctrine altogether by redefinition of Arminianism (and Open Theism and Pelagianism...yuck) are erroneous.
The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord answers this well.
Solid Declaration, XI, 13-22
Therefore, if we wish to think or speak correctly and profitably concerning eternal election, or the predestination and ordination of the children of God to eternal life, we should accustom ourselves not to speculate concerning the bare, secret, concealed, inscrutable foreknowledge of God, but how the counsel, purpose, and ordination of God in Christ Jesus, who is the true Book of Life, is revealed to us through the Word, 14] namely, that the entire doctrine concerning the purpose, counsel, will, and ordination of God pertaining to our redemption, call, justification, and salvation should be taken together; as Paul treats and has explained this article Rom. 8:29f ; Eph. 1:4f , as also Christ in the parable, Matt. 22:1ff , namely, that God in His purpose and counsel ordained [decreed]:
15] 1. That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless [innocency] obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life.
16] 2. That such merit and benefits of Christ shall be presented, offered, and distributed to us through His Word and Sacraments.
17] 3. That by His Holy Ghost, through the Word, when it is preached, heard, and pondered, He will be efficacious and active in us, convert hearts to true repentance, and preserve them in the true faith.
18] 4. That He will justify all those who in true repentance receive Christ by a true faith, and will receive them into grace, the adoption of sons, and the inheritance of eternal life.
19] 5. That He will also sanctify in love those who are thus justified, as St. Paul says, Eph. 1:4.
20] 6. That He also will protect them in their great weakness against the devil, the world, and the flesh, and rule and lead them in His ways, raise them again [place His hand beneath them], when they stumble, comfort them under the cross and in temptation, and preserve them [for life eternal].
21] 7. That He will also strengthen, increase, and support to the end the good work which He has begun in them, if they adhere to God's Word, pray diligently, abide in God's goodness [grace], and faithfully use the gifts received.
22] 8. That finally He will eternally save and glorify in life eternal those whom He has elected, called, and justified.
There are a few important things we can pull from Concord here. First, God's election is carried out by specific means (the classical Calvinist would affirm this too). These means are not to be sought in God's decree (which is hidden) but in the Word and Sacraments. Therefore, God elects people through Baptism, the preached Word, Holy Absolution, and the Eucharist. This the classical Calvinist would have a hard time affirming due to their doctrines of the Perseverance of the Saints and Limited Atonement.
This is to say that while God elects in eternity past (Eph 1:4), this is carried out temporally through the finished work of Christ being delivered to us objectively in Word and Sacrament. God elects in Baptism, in the preached Word, in the Eucharist. And this is all God's working, completely monergistic. It is God who saves us in our baptism. In fact, baptism of infants is the perfect example of divine monergism at work. A helpless infant, completely dependent on others for its well-being, is saved unilaterally by God in their Holy Baptism.
In short, the Formula is compelling us to look to Christ and the effective gifts that he gives for our election. Look outside of ourselves to that finished work of Christ on the cross given to us in Word and Sacrament and rooted in the immutable character of God and His promises, for God does not lie and His Word means what it says.
Yet, we also must affirm the other side of the coin. The Saxon Visitation Articles, an appendix to the Book of Concord, are not an official confessional document, but nevertheless address the flip side of the coin. They are written contra-Calvinism.
Here is what is affirmed in the Saxon Visitation Articles regarding predestination.
1] That Christ died for all men, and, as the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the whole world.
2] That God created no man for condemnation; but wills that all men should be saved and arrive at the knowledge of truth. He therefore commands all to hear Christ, his Son, in the gospel; and promises, by his hearing, the virtue and operation of the Holy Ghost for conversion and salvation.
3] That many men, by their own fault, perish: some, who will not hear the gospel concerning Christ; some, who again fall from grace, either by fundamental error, or by sins against conscience.
4] That all sinners who repent will be received into favor; and none will be excluded, though his sins be red as blood; since the mercy of God is greater than the sins of the whole world, and God hath mercy on all his works.
Thus, while affirming eternal election in strong terms in the Formula, we also affirm the following aforementioned doctrines. Christ indeed died for everyone. Yes, even Judas and Pharaoh. He also desires to save everyone. In the third article we reject the Calvinist doctrine of Perseverance.
And here is what we reject regarding Calvinism's doctrine of election.
1] That Christ did not die for all men, but only for the elect.
2] That God created the greater part of mankind for eternal damnation, and wills not that the greater part should be converted and live.
3] That the elected and regenerated can not lose faith and the Holy Spirit, or be damned, though they commit great sins and crimes of every kind.
4] That those who are not elect are necessarily damned, and can not arrive at salvation, though they be baptized a thousand times, and receive the Eucharist every day, and lead as blameless a life as ever can be led.
We reject limited atonement. We reject double predestination. We reject the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance. And we reject the idea that predestination is carried out apart from means.
In short, God's election, while done in eternity past, is carried out temporally through Word and Sacrament. And since Christ died for YOU, you can know with certainty that the Sacraments are also for YOU. Limited Atonement points a person to themselves, since Christ's death is only for certain people.
Here is the kicker: These means of grace are universally available to everyone. (Titus 2:11) God desires to save everyone (2 Pet 3:9, 1 Tim 2:4).
Paradox? Yep. but Scripture teaches both. This is where God's Word stands and speaks. We had best affirm both sides of the coin, lest we deviate from the Holy Scriptures.
+Pax+
9/14/13
Lutherans, Calvinists, and Arminians: Perseverance
This is the final installment in the 5 part series in which I have sought to compare Lutheranism to both Calvinism (the doctrines of grace) and Arminian Remonstrants. The final overview needed is regarding the doctrine of perseverance in the three camps. Keep in mind, just as with the other 4 comparisons, these are not the only views on the topic out there within the realm of Christendom. We have to a very large extent overlooked two very large elephants in the room throughout this series: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, from the outset, my goal has been to compare Confessional Lutheranism as laid out for us in Scripture and the Book of Concord to these other two major Protestant camps.
If you're paying attention, I have followed the Reformed Calvinist convention through these blogs. That is to say, I have addressed the topics in order of the Calvinist TULIP. Only the P remains to be addressed.
Again I will make a plug for Pr. Cooper's excellent synopsis. If you are looking for a quick, short, and spot-on Lutheran evaluation of the 5 points of Calvinism, my friend Pr. Jordan Cooper has done an excellent short work on this topic over at his blog. The work can be found here:
Lutheran Evaluation of the 5 Points of Calvinism - Pr. Cooper
Likewise, the first 4 blogs I put together on this topic can be found at these links:
Depravity of Man
Predestination and Election
The Atonement of Christ
The Grace of God
And there they are, in all of their glory. Once again, the 3 camps have different views on the topic at hand.
Perseverance in Calvinism
Calvinism's doctrine of perseverance is a direct result of the rest of the TULIP. It relies heavily on the Pactum Salutis (Covenant of Redemption between Father, Son, and Spirit) along with the doctrines of unconditional election and limited atonement. Calvinism's doctrine of perseverance is rooted in the idea that man can do nothing, so God alone must save him completely apart from themselves. Lutherans say amen to this, by the way. However, in Calvinism, since man can do nothing and God elects, *only* the elect are ever atoned for and given the inner call of the Holy Spirit. Thus, *only* the elect are ever regenerate, and no one else. Thus, the elect are saved, cannot fall away, and them alone, while the rest are passed over, not elect, never regenerated, and not atoned for. We must be careful here though. While Reformed Theology does indeed hold to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints (the P), it is not the same thing as the 'softer' doctrine of "once saved always saved." Although they do believe that, there is much more to it than just that.
Westminster Confession, XVII, 1-3
I. They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.
II. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
III. Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.
"To lose our salvation, we would have to return to a condition of spiritual death. Of what sort of regeneration would the Holy Spirit be the author if those whom he has resurrected and given eternal life are capable of dying spiritually again?" (Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back Into Grace, p. 210)
"When Paul says nothing can separate us from God’s love, he means that even we cannot snatch ourselves from His hand. If we have true faith, we will maintain that faith until the end. Times of doubt may arise, and it is even possible to fall into grievous sin. Yet if we belong to Christ today, we will belong to Him forever." (R.C. Sproul, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/secure-in-the-love-of-god/)
And there is Calvinism. A person is saved by God alone (Amen!) and kept by God alone (Amen!) and every person ever regenerated (born again) is finally saved. Only the elect are ever regenerate.
Perseverance in Arminianism
Although the early Remonstrants were unsure on the doctrine of perseverance, Arminianism today nearly universally affirms that a Christian can fall from grace and be lost. The one exception to that rule might be Arminian-leaning fundamental baptist churches. In Arminianism, salvation is synergistic. That is, it is a cooperation between God and man. Thus, a person must choose to be born again or choose to reject Christ and either not be born again or stop being born again. It is important to note that Arminians affirm that the Spirit alone is the agent of regeneration. But He does not do so apart from the individual's free will decision coming first.
Remonstrants - Article V:
That those who are incorporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, as a result have full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Spirit; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no deceit or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of neglecting grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, before we ourselves can teach it with the full confidence of our mind.
Constitution of the North American General Conference (Wesleyan)
We believe that after we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to fall into sin, for in this life there is no such height or strength of holiness from which it is impossible to fall. But by the grace of God one who has fallen into sin may by true repentance and faith find forgiveness and restoration.
Arminianism, with the exception of the original Remonstrants who were undecided on the topic, is pretty plain that a person can fall out of grace by sin or rejection of Christ. This is to say, a person can be regenerate and then not regenerate.
Perseverance in Lutheranism
Augsburg Confession, XII, 1-10
Of Repentance they teach that for those who have fallen after Baptism there is remission of sins whenever they are converted and that the Church ought to impart absolution to those thus returning to repentance. Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance.
They condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified can lose the Holy Ghost. Also those who contend that some may attain to such perfection in this life that they cannot sin.
The Novatians also are condemned, who would not absolve such as had fallen after Baptism, though they returned to repentance.
They also are rejected who do not teach that remission of sins comes through faith but command us to merit grace through satisfactions of our own.
The words, “Ye are fallen from grace,” must not be taken lightly. They are important. To fall from grace means to lose the atonement, the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness, liberty, and life which Jesus has merited for us by His death and resurrection. To lose the grace of God means to gain the wrath and judgment of God, death, the bondage of the devil, and everlasting condemnation. (Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians)
This is really all we need from the Lutheran point of view. In short, the Augsburg Confession, XII, 7 says: "They condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified can lose the Holy Ghost."
The Lutheran stance is very clearly that a person can fall from grace who is actually regenerate and be lost. The AC says that and Luther says that in his commentary on Galatians. In Lutheranism, it is a law and gospel thing. The gospel saves us and keeps us saved. Only God can do that. We, however, can throw this away.
So, "losing" salvation is not a term I particularly like, because it's not so much a loss as it is a complete throwing away. And on a personal note, I used to despise this idea that a person could be saved and then lost. I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave Christ, but it does happen. We have all seen it. I'll even go as far as to say that Calvinism is forced to deny other sacramental truths (like baptismal regeneration) because the core dogma in Calvinism is the P. So, in this sense we actually agree with the Arminians. However, we agree with the Calvinists on the positive side of salvation for the most part. It is God alone who saves us and keeps us saved. As the Calvinists, we are monergists. However, our monergism is universal, theirs is limited to the elect alone. Our atonement is universal, theirs is limited to the elect alone. And yes, we hold to election, even as a cause; and we are not synergists. God does this through Word and Sacrament, by Himself. Not because we made a choice (contra Arminianism), but because He gave and continues to give freely and generously. God is a merciful God.
In short, the only thing we can bring to the table is our sin and our rejection of Christ's work on our behalf. We can do negative things pertaining to salvation, but not positive. We can condemn ourselves by rejection but we cannot attain salvation by 'acceptance.' We must receive God's grace, and this is all God's doing, not ours. He does this through the Word given to us in preaching, absolution, baptism, and the Sacrament of the Altar.
God alone saves and God alone keeps us saved, through Word and Sacrament. We need continual forgiveness from God. That's why we have a corporate absolution at the divine service every Sunday and also why we are frequent partakers of the Eucharist, which Our Lord says is "for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt 26:28). That's Lutheranism. But, we are able to spurn this grace and throw it away and reject Christ altogether. That's Lutheranism too. God does not kick us out. In fact, He promises to keep us in grace by His Word. We can add nothing to this. Not our works, not our choice, not our acceptance; nothing.
The Holy Scriptures teach both of these things. Believe them.
If you're paying attention, I have followed the Reformed Calvinist convention through these blogs. That is to say, I have addressed the topics in order of the Calvinist TULIP. Only the P remains to be addressed.
Again I will make a plug for Pr. Cooper's excellent synopsis. If you are looking for a quick, short, and spot-on Lutheran evaluation of the 5 points of Calvinism, my friend Pr. Jordan Cooper has done an excellent short work on this topic over at his blog. The work can be found here:
Lutheran Evaluation of the 5 Points of Calvinism - Pr. Cooper
Likewise, the first 4 blogs I put together on this topic can be found at these links:
Depravity of Man
Predestination and Election
The Atonement of Christ
The Grace of God
And there they are, in all of their glory. Once again, the 3 camps have different views on the topic at hand.
Perseverance in Calvinism
Calvinism's doctrine of perseverance is a direct result of the rest of the TULIP. It relies heavily on the Pactum Salutis (Covenant of Redemption between Father, Son, and Spirit) along with the doctrines of unconditional election and limited atonement. Calvinism's doctrine of perseverance is rooted in the idea that man can do nothing, so God alone must save him completely apart from themselves. Lutherans say amen to this, by the way. However, in Calvinism, since man can do nothing and God elects, *only* the elect are ever atoned for and given the inner call of the Holy Spirit. Thus, *only* the elect are ever regenerate, and no one else. Thus, the elect are saved, cannot fall away, and them alone, while the rest are passed over, not elect, never regenerated, and not atoned for. We must be careful here though. While Reformed Theology does indeed hold to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints (the P), it is not the same thing as the 'softer' doctrine of "once saved always saved." Although they do believe that, there is much more to it than just that.
Westminster Confession, XVII, 1-3
I. They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.
II. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
III. Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.
"To lose our salvation, we would have to return to a condition of spiritual death. Of what sort of regeneration would the Holy Spirit be the author if those whom he has resurrected and given eternal life are capable of dying spiritually again?" (Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back Into Grace, p. 210)
"When Paul says nothing can separate us from God’s love, he means that even we cannot snatch ourselves from His hand. If we have true faith, we will maintain that faith until the end. Times of doubt may arise, and it is even possible to fall into grievous sin. Yet if we belong to Christ today, we will belong to Him forever." (R.C. Sproul, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/secure-in-the-love-of-god/)
And there is Calvinism. A person is saved by God alone (Amen!) and kept by God alone (Amen!) and every person ever regenerated (born again) is finally saved. Only the elect are ever regenerate.
Perseverance in Arminianism
Although the early Remonstrants were unsure on the doctrine of perseverance, Arminianism today nearly universally affirms that a Christian can fall from grace and be lost. The one exception to that rule might be Arminian-leaning fundamental baptist churches. In Arminianism, salvation is synergistic. That is, it is a cooperation between God and man. Thus, a person must choose to be born again or choose to reject Christ and either not be born again or stop being born again. It is important to note that Arminians affirm that the Spirit alone is the agent of regeneration. But He does not do so apart from the individual's free will decision coming first.
Remonstrants - Article V:
That those who are incorporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, as a result have full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Spirit; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no deceit or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of neglecting grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, before we ourselves can teach it with the full confidence of our mind.
25 Articles of Religion (Methodist): Article 12—Of Sin After Justification
Not every sin willingly committed after justification is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after justification. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here; or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.Constitution of the North American General Conference (Wesleyan)
We believe that after we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to fall into sin, for in this life there is no such height or strength of holiness from which it is impossible to fall. But by the grace of God one who has fallen into sin may by true repentance and faith find forgiveness and restoration.
Arminianism, with the exception of the original Remonstrants who were undecided on the topic, is pretty plain that a person can fall out of grace by sin or rejection of Christ. This is to say, a person can be regenerate and then not regenerate.
Perseverance in Lutheranism
Augsburg Confession, XII, 1-10
Of Repentance they teach that for those who have fallen after Baptism there is remission of sins whenever they are converted and that the Church ought to impart absolution to those thus returning to repentance. Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance.
They condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified can lose the Holy Ghost. Also those who contend that some may attain to such perfection in this life that they cannot sin.
The Novatians also are condemned, who would not absolve such as had fallen after Baptism, though they returned to repentance.
They also are rejected who do not teach that remission of sins comes through faith but command us to merit grace through satisfactions of our own.
The words, “Ye are fallen from grace,” must not be taken lightly. They are important. To fall from grace means to lose the atonement, the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness, liberty, and life which Jesus has merited for us by His death and resurrection. To lose the grace of God means to gain the wrath and judgment of God, death, the bondage of the devil, and everlasting condemnation. (Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians)
This is really all we need from the Lutheran point of view. In short, the Augsburg Confession, XII, 7 says: "They condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified can lose the Holy Ghost."
The Lutheran stance is very clearly that a person can fall from grace who is actually regenerate and be lost. The AC says that and Luther says that in his commentary on Galatians. In Lutheranism, it is a law and gospel thing. The gospel saves us and keeps us saved. Only God can do that. We, however, can throw this away.
So, "losing" salvation is not a term I particularly like, because it's not so much a loss as it is a complete throwing away. And on a personal note, I used to despise this idea that a person could be saved and then lost. I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave Christ, but it does happen. We have all seen it. I'll even go as far as to say that Calvinism is forced to deny other sacramental truths (like baptismal regeneration) because the core dogma in Calvinism is the P. So, in this sense we actually agree with the Arminians. However, we agree with the Calvinists on the positive side of salvation for the most part. It is God alone who saves us and keeps us saved. As the Calvinists, we are monergists. However, our monergism is universal, theirs is limited to the elect alone. Our atonement is universal, theirs is limited to the elect alone. And yes, we hold to election, even as a cause; and we are not synergists. God does this through Word and Sacrament, by Himself. Not because we made a choice (contra Arminianism), but because He gave and continues to give freely and generously. God is a merciful God.
In short, the only thing we can bring to the table is our sin and our rejection of Christ's work on our behalf. We can do negative things pertaining to salvation, but not positive. We can condemn ourselves by rejection but we cannot attain salvation by 'acceptance.' We must receive God's grace, and this is all God's doing, not ours. He does this through the Word given to us in preaching, absolution, baptism, and the Sacrament of the Altar.
God alone saves and God alone keeps us saved, through Word and Sacrament. We need continual forgiveness from God. That's why we have a corporate absolution at the divine service every Sunday and also why we are frequent partakers of the Eucharist, which Our Lord says is "for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt 26:28). That's Lutheranism. But, we are able to spurn this grace and throw it away and reject Christ altogether. That's Lutheranism too. God does not kick us out. In fact, He promises to keep us in grace by His Word. We can add nothing to this. Not our works, not our choice, not our acceptance; nothing.
The Holy Scriptures teach both of these things. Believe them.
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