Hebrews 10:32-39: The Perseverance of the Saints

The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is a misunderstood doctrine, but is central to the book of Hebrews. When many hear that Reformed folk believe that a true believer cannot lose his salvation but will persevere to the end, they miss what is being emphasized. Many wrongly conclude that we are promoting a ‘once saved always saved’ notion. That you pray the sinners prayer, get your ticket to heaven, now no matter how you live, even if you backslide and live in sin until you die, you will still go to heaven. No, that is not what we believe, the bible clearly promises judgement and death for those who sow to the flesh. No the perseverance of the saints has an important emphasis found in that word perseverance. We do believe that God saves you when He justifies you; your judgement day verdict is brought forward, there is no more judgement day wrath to be dealt out to your sins, past, present or future because Jesus has paid it all. Many wrongly conclude from this that this gives us a license to sin, and that holiness does not matter. Wrong. Imagine the two points of justification and glorification in your mind. The moment you are saved, and the moment you are resurrected. What lies between these two points? There is a path called sanctification. Now the bible clearly says that those who whom God justifies He will glorify. Your justification is a guarantee of your glorification. But there is still this path of sanctification that must be walked. We would say as the bible says that this path is necessary, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. And this is where many get confused. What is the nature of this necessity? We are not saying that this path of sanctification is necessary as merit, as a way of earning the reward of glorification. Well, then why is perseverance necessary? Why is it that it is those who endure to the end, those who are holy will see the Lord? Doesn’t this seeming conditionality; this necessity seem to imply that we can fall away; and not every saint will persevere? No! forgive the big word but this is where we talk about ordinative necessity. This simply means it must be so because God has appointed it to be so. God has ordained that the path between justification and glorification is a path of sanctification. Not for the purpose of buying glorification but as an appointed path along which the saved must walk. Why? God has purposes other than merely justifying and glorifying you. God also has purposes to sanctify you, to make you into the image of Christ and we know that this life of suffering and trial is a refining furnace where God on this side of eternity begins to conform us into the image of His Son. Many have spoken about how God is vindicated in the eyes of men and angels and demons, because those who are forgiven, are also transformed. God’s holiness which seems to be in question when He seemingly covers over our sin in justification; making it appear as if He does not take His own holiness seriously. Now in our sanctification vindicates His holiness as He commands us to be Holy as He is; His Spirit, the Spirit of Holiness Himself given as an in-house resident to do the will of God in making us holy. God glorifies Himself through our sanctification as many see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. Because sanctification; good works and perseverance are necessary do not automatically assume that they are meritorious, or that the true believer will not persevere. Now that verb persevere, or as our portion puts it ‘endurance’ v35 is key. Yes God has justified you; Yes God has promised that all those He has justified will be glorified. But God has also appointed that every truly born again Christian walk this path of good works, of sanctification, or perseverance, or endurance. What we need to appreciate is that God has appointed the path of perseverance, a path of strenuous activity, of endurance as the path along which all believers are to walk. Many think that if the end is guaranteed that we don’t have to make an effort—false. God has appointed to save you not without endurance but by it; not because it is meritorious, but because it is the appointed way in which sanctification takes place on this path between justification and glorification. For this reason some have controversially called good works, ‘the path to salvation.’ Not because it merits the salvation but because it is the appointed path the saved are called to walk for the purposes of sanctification. The book of Hebrews is all about encouraging you based on your justification and the finished work of Christ, to persevere until the end. Both the encouragements and the warning being the means by which we are enabled to persevere.