Eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved" is the belief providing Christian believers with absolute assurance of their final salvation. Its development, particularly within Protestantism, has given rise to diverse interpretations, especially in relation with the defining aspects of theological determinism, libertarianfree will and the significance of personal perseverance.
Before the Reformation, belief in forms of eternal security were anecdotal. Besides, in the early 5th century, the Augustinian soteriology view of predestination by predetermination emerged, though it did not endorse eternal security. By the 16th century, this concept became integrated into the theology of John Calvin and other reformers. Calvinist circles initially embraced eternal security as one of the practical interpretations of the doctrine of "perseverance of the saints". Over time, the term became a synonym of the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance independently of its practical interpretations.
In the early 20th century, eternal security started to become a defining doctrine of the Southern Baptist traditionalism. Around the same period, it also became part of Plymouth Brethren theology. Those two forms represents its predominant forms today. In the 1980s, the Free Grace movement voiced this doctrine independently of the notion of personal perseverance, with subsequent variations emerging such as the "Hyper-Grace" teaching.
Definition and terminology
Definition
Eternal security is a doctrine providing believers with absolute assurance of their inevitable final salvation.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The concept of "eternal security" emerging around 1900 within different Evangelical groups,[7] represents its current prevailing form within Protestantism.[8] Indeed, the first documented occurrences of the terms supporting this concept were "security of the believers" in 1873 within Southern Baptist circles[9] and "eternal security" in 1913 within Plymouth Brethren circles.[10][11] This predominant form entails an unconditional eternal security which is not grounded on a Calvinist theology.[5]
Views
This doctrine's development within Protestantism has led to various interpretations, especially related to the significance of theological determinism, libertarian free will, and personal perseverance:
Eternal security based on the faith that regeneration leads to unconditional perseverance and then salvation.[5] (Non-Calvinist circles, majority view).[8]
Eternal security based on the faith that regeneration leads to salvation independently of perseverance.[14] (Non-Calvinist circles, currently growing Free Grace view).[15]
Because one practical interpretation of the Calvinist doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" leads to "eternal security",[8] over time, the term became synonymous with the doctrine itself.[17] By the early 20th century, "eternal security" was used as a strict synonym for "perseverance of the saints".[18] However, given the theological significance of the term "eternal security" in common usage, it's important to distinguish them.[19] Indeed, some Calvinist theologians reject the use of "eternal security" for their doctrine,[20] as do proponents of non-Calvinist forms of eternal security.[21]
The non-Calvinist forms of eternal security have been categorized by some theologians as "sub-Calvinist",[22] or "neo-Calvinist".[23] This terminology reflects their more recent emergence and their historical connection to Calvinist theology.[7]
Historical influences and developments
Manichean theological influences
Manichaeism was a Gnostic sect founded in the 3rd century.[24] It significantly influenced early Christian churches, introducing spiritual practices like asceticism and sacerdotalism.[25] Manichaeism adopted a dualisticworldview, contrasting a spiritual realm of good with a material realm of evil, anticipating the gradual restoration of light from the material to the spiritual realm.[24] In terms of soteriology, it maintained that God unilaterally selected the elect for salvation and the non-elect for damnation according to His will.[26] For instance, in 392, a Manichean presbyter said that "God [...] has chosen souls worthy of Himself according to His own holy will. [...] that under His leadership those souls will return hence again to the kingdom of God according to the holy promise of Him who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the door”; and “No one can come unto the Father, except through me.”".[27]
Augustine's doctrine of election by predetermination
Before his conversion to Christianity in 387, Augustine of Hippo (354–430), adhered to three deterministic philosophies: Stoicism, Neoplatonism and Manichaeism, being significantly influenced by them.[28][29][30][31][32] In particular, he seemed to adopt Manichean perspectives on various theological aspects, notably on the nature of good and evil, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and his dualistic theology.[33][28] After his conversion, he taught traditional Christian theology against forms of theological determinism until 412.[34][35][36]
However, during his conflict with the Pelagians, he seemed to reintroduce certain Manichean principles into his thought,[37][38][39][40] and was accused by his opponents for so doing.[41][42] Augustine's change in stance was notably influenced by the controversy over infant baptism with the Pelagians.[43] Augustine's early exposure to Stoicism, which emphasized meticulous divine predeterminism, further shaped his views on infant baptism.[44] Moreover, according to Manichean doctrine, unborn and unbaptized infants were condemned to hell due to their physical bodies.[45] He asserted that God predetermined parents to seek baptism for their newborns, thereby linking water baptism to regeneration.[46] It is then God who ultimately predetermines which infants are damned and which are justified.[47]
Augustine had to explain why some baptized individuals continued in the faith while others fell away and lived immoral lives. He taught that among those regenerated through baptism, some are given an additional gift of perseverance (donum perseverantiae) which enables them to maintain their faith and prevents them from falling away.[48][49][50] Without this second gift, a baptized Christian with the Holy Spirit would not persevere and ultimately would not be saved.[51] Augustine developed this doctrine of perseverance in De correptione et gratia (c.426–427).[52] While this doctrine theoretically gives security to the elect who receive the gift of perseverance, individuals cannot ascertain whether they have received it.[53][54][30]
Views asserting eternal security independently of perseverance
Portrait of Jovinian, c. 1700
Origen (185 – c. 253) in his day mentioned individuals who denied any future judgement based on works. He refers to them in his commentary on Romans 10:9. While not considered heretical, he rejected their views, emphasizing that faith must be expressed through the actions of believers to be meaningful.[55]
In Augustine's day, multiple viewpoints on the possibility of eternal damnation were discussed.[56][57] One viewpoint posited that being baptized and partaking in the Lord's body within the Church served as absolute assurance of salvation, extending even to those who became heretics.[58] Another viewpoint, emerging in the early church, advocated for forgiveness in salvation despite moral failings. According to this view, even if a Christian lived a life marked by significant disobedience, their salvation could still be guaranteed as long as they remained within the Church. Augustine disputed these ideas, suggesting they arose from a misunderstanding of God's compassion and a misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. This passage was used to argue that faith alone could secure salvation, even if one's actions were morally evil.[59] Augustine in his criticism of these views does not mention exact names. Nevertheless, both Jerome (c. 342–347 – 420) and Ambrose (c. 339–397) shared in the doctrine that all those who have trusted in Christ would eventually be reunited to God and saved sooner or later, even if they have sinned and fallen away.[60][61] An alternative interpretation suggests that Ambrose held Christian universalist beliefs.[62]
Jovinian (died c. 405) maintained that a genuinely regenerated person who undergoes baptism cannot be lost, writing: "Those, who are once with full faith born again by baptism, cannot be overcome by the devil". His theory is not directly tied to the Augustinian idea of perseverance but rather stems from his denial of works having merit.[63][64] A Pseudo-Chrysostom author from the 5th to 6th century suggested that Christians could enter heaven though without experiencing Christ's glory, even if they break his commandments, as implied by a commentary on Matthew 5:19.[65]
Eternal security based on election by predetermination
The Calvinist doctrine of perseverance of the saints
Portrait of John Calvin. In: (1909) Iconographie calvinienne: ouvrage dédié à l'Université de Genève
Orthodox forms of Calvinism view God's providence as expressed through theological determinism.[74][75] This means that every event in the world is determined by God.[12] Concerning salvation, Calvin expressly taught that it is God's decision to determine whether an individual is saved or damned.[76] Indeed, human actions leading to this end are also predetermined by God.[77] In accordance, he held to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints, contending for the unconditional preservation of the elect.[78]
Practical interpretations of the doctrine of perseverance of the saints
Practical interpretation rejecting an absolute assurance of salvation
According to Calvinism, apostasy is not possible for those who are true Christians.[79] However, being a true Christian is only demonstrated by perseverance to the end.[80] This arises because there are instances where individuals appear to come to God but later display definitive apostasy. To address this phenomenon, Calvinist theologians have postulated that common grace might include effects that cannot be distinguished from effectual calling and subsequent irresistible grace. About that issue, Calvin formulated the concept of a temporary grace (sometimes called "evanescent grace") that appears and works for only a while in the reprobate but then to disappears.[81][82][83][84][85] According to this concept, the Holy Spirit can create in some people effects which are indistinguishable from those of the irresistible grace of God,[86] producing also a visible "fruit" in their life.[87] Temporary grace was also supported by later Calvinist theologians such as Theodore Beza, William Perkins,[88]John Owen,[89]A. W. Pink[90] and Loraine Boettner.[91] This suggests that the knowledge of being a true Christian is theoretically not accessible during life.[92] Thus a first interpretation of the doctrine of perseverance of the saints acknowledges explanations of apparent apostasy like "evanescent grace," which avoids offering to the believer absolute assurance of salvation during life. Several Reformed theologians have expressed a non-absolute assurance of salvation view.[93][94][95][96]
Practical interpretation supporting an eternal security view
Calvin heavily drew upon Augustinian soteriology.[97][98] However, both Augustine and Luther, an Augustinian friar, held that believers, based on their own understanding, cannot definitively know if they are among the "elect to perseverance."[99][100][30] Despite Calvin's inability to offer a clear rationale,[93] he was more optimistic than Luther regarding this possibility.[101] Calvin suggested that some assurance of being an elect might be possible.[102] This possibility of assurance, based on personal introspection, was also expressed by later Calvinist theologians.[103] It was mentioned in the Heidelberg Catechism (1563)[104] and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646).[105] In the 18th century,[106]Hyper-Calvinism encouraged introspection as a means for adherents to determine their election.[107] The concept persisted into the 19th century.[108] This assurance forms the foundation of unconditional eternal security within Calvinist circles.
The process leading to eternal security unfolds as follows: Initially, the believer must embrace the Calvinist system, emphasizing unconditional election and irresistible grace. Subsequently, through self-examination, they must discern the spiritual influence of the Holy Spirit. This introspection may lead to a faith in their own predetermined election. In this context, the concept of the perseverance of the saints may prompt the believer to believe in their irresistible perseverance.[109][110]
Because this practical interpretation of the doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" leads to "eternal security", within Reformed Christianity, the term has become synonymous with the doctrine itself over time.[17] By the early 20th century, "eternal security" was used as a strict synonym for "perseverance of the saints".[18] Besides, in broader Protestantism, "eternal security" often carries a distinct meaning.[17] It's then important to differentiate the two due to their respective theological significance.[19]
Historical acknowledgment of the interpretations
In Calvinist circles, thus, two practical interpretations emerge regarding "perseverance of the saints": One interpretation accept explanations of apparent apostasy such as "evanescent grace," which does not offer believers absolute assurance of salvation during life. The other interpretation rejects these explanations, asserting that believers, through introspection, can know with absolute certainty that they are elect, thus allowing belief in eternal security. These two perspectives were already observed in the 16th century. Jacobus Arminius, (1560-1609), a pastor of the Reformed Church, encountered both perspectives stemming from the doctrine of perseverance of the saints. He labeled the first perspective "despair" (Latin: desperatio) and the second "security" (Latin: securitas).[109] This "eternal security" interpretation of perseverance of the saints was also explicitly condemned by the Council of Trent (1545-1563).[111][112]
Groups adhering to the view
The "eternal security" view related to perseverance of the saints globally persists within Calvinist circles to this day.[8] The Primitive Baptists, originating in Georgia in the early 20th century,[113] officially embraced this form of eternal security due to their strong Calvinist beliefs.[114] Eternal security is also defended in variations of Calvinist theology, such as its recent Molinist forms.[115]
Objections to the view
The doctrine of eternal security stemming from the perseverance of the saints, has faced criticism for its perceived inconsistency. According to orthodox Calvinism, though an elect possesses "eternal security," believers cannot know they are elect until they persevere to the end.[80] Regardless of the rationale given for the phenomenon of definitive apostasy, this reality undermines the practical utility of perseverance of the saints in a believer's life, hindering the assurance of salvation and eternal security. This critique has been advanced by proponents of non-Calvinistic forms of eternal security,[116] as well as various Christian groups opposing any form of eternal security, such as Arminians.[117]
Eternal security based on inevitable perseverance due to regeneration
In the 19th century, due to the rise of evangelism and missionary work, the doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" fell out of favor.[7] From the 1830s, a departure from strict Calvinism began in the Southern Baptist circles.[10][118] In this context, the first uses of the term "security of the believer" can be found as early as 1841.[9] In 1945, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), was founded.[119] Southern Baptist theology started to be modeled, notably by men such as James Robinson Graves and W. P. Bennett, who first used the terminology of "security of the believers" related to a non-Calvinist worldview, in 1873 and 1895.[9] Actually, Graves, initially a strong Calvinist,[120] later leaned toward libertarianism.[121] He also adopted dispensationalism and began to write on it in the 1870s.[122]
Further developments
Similarly, other SBC theologians from the early twentieth century also moved away from Calvinism theology, maintaining only the determinist concept of "perseverance of the saints" within a libertarian worldview.[123] This shift led to the popular phrase "once saved, always saved" to describe the idea of "security of the believer".[124] In the resulting hybrid theology, individuals have the libertarian freedom to choose faith through divine grace.[125][126] However, regardless of subsequent actions after regeneration, whether they continues to believe or cease, they will always end up being restored in their faith. Consequently, many Southern Baptists align with a "four-point Arminianism" perspective.[127][128] Furthermore, many Southern Baptists believe that the Holy Spirit preparation for faith, is exclusively through the gospel.[129] This narrower view than the Arminian one is included in the notion of Southern Baptist traditionalism.[129][130] Nevertheless, traditionalism is essentially characterized by a soteriology asserting eternal security for the regenerated individual.[131]
Adhesion to the view
The majority of Southern Baptists embrace a traditionalist form of Arminianism which includes a belief in eternal security,[132] though many see Calvinism as growing in acceptance.[133]
Dispensationalism provided a framework for reconciling the Calvinistic concept of perseverance of the saints with libertarian free will.[144][145][140] According to Henry Orton Wiley, the Plymouth Brethren's doctrine of sanctification, emphasizes believers being declared righteous and sanctified. Holiness is therefore imputed rather than imparted. This eternal "position" logically leads to the doctrine of "eternal security."[146] While initially embraced by Calvinists, dispensationalism was later adopted by Arminians, who retained the concept of "eternal security."[147] Moody's theology exemplified this specific synthesis between Calvinism and Arminianism.[148][149]
In this context, the term "eternal security" first appeared among the Plymouth Brethren in 1913.[11] In the 1920s, amidst the fundamentalist–modernist controversy, dispensationalism gained traction as a conservative, Bible-centered defense against liberal criticism, appealing to fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and others seeking to uphold traditional beliefs in the face of modern challenges.[150] One of the first non-Calvinist groups to adopt a dispensational orientation can be found among some Pentecostals in the mid-1920s.[150] Started in the late 1930s, by the 1980s, the purge of dispensationalism from Reformed Christianity was largely completed.[151]
Adhesion to the view
After 1845, internal disputes split the Brethren into Exclusive and Open Brethren.[152] The majority of Exclusive Brethren are moderate Calvinists.[152] Open Brethren are four-point Arminians, upholding the concept of eternal security.[153] This doctrine asserts that those genuinely regenerated will ultimately persevere. Harry A. Ironside can be mentioned as a notable advocate of this perspective.[154]
Objection to the views
This perspective on eternal security asserts the existence of libertarianfree will, alongside the inevitability of the final perseverance. However, the concept of inevitable perseverance raises concerns about human free will, potentially negating its libertarian nature and associated responsibility, a critique voiced by Arminians.[155][156] Calvinists view divine control as respecting human responsibility while ensuring final preservation, aligning with their semicompatibilist[157][158]theological determinism,[74][12] and affirming its more logical legitimacy.[159]
Eternal security based on regeneration independently of perseverance
Free Grace theology teaches that regeneration leads to salvation independently of personal perseverance.[169][14] Free Grace theologians generally interpret warnings such as is found in Hebrews as either referring to temporary discipline for disobedient Christians or to a loss of eternal reward at the judgement seat of Christ, instead of as referring to a loss of salvation.[170] Free Grace doctrine views the person's character and life after receiving the gift of salvation as independent from the gift itself, or in other words, it asserts that justification does not necessarily result in sanctification.[171] Some advocates of the Free Grace perspective argue that while works may always accompany saving faith, they are not necessarily its direct consequence, while others maintain that works are neither automatic nor essential.[172]
Joseph Prince at the Grace Revolution Conference (2015)
The term "Hyper-Grace" has been applied to a doctrine taught by some Charismatic Christians today, such as Joseph Prince.[175] Although the term was made by critics of the view, it has been embraced by some of those who teach it.[176][177] Hyper-Grace teaches a strong form of eternal security, views fellowship with God as unconditional and denies that Christians in eternity will have different degrees of rewards.[178] While resembling Free Grace theology, the latter differs by acknowledging the possibility of significant temporal consequences for sins experienced by Christians.[179]
Objection to the views
Views that downplay the importance of perseverance, holding that eternal security is solely ensured by initial faith regardless of one's actions, are indicative of antinomianism.[180][181] Many Christians argue that this perspective weakens the gospel message by neglecting the call for unbelievers to repent of their sins,[182] thereby offering a false promise of eternal life.[183] This criticism has been voiced across various Christian denominations, including by both Arminians and Calvinists within Protestantism.[184]
Theologies generally rejecting eternal security views
In Catholicism, Christians do not have eternal security because they can commit a mortal sin.[188] The Church teaches that Christians may undergo the cleansing process of purgatory to attain the required holiness for entry into heaven.[189]
Anabaptist theology shares certain soteriological similarities with Arminianism.[193][194] It traditionally teaches conditional security.[195] In particular, Mennonite soteriology has been historically consistent with Arminianism, whereas the doctrines of Calvinist soteriology have been rejected.[196] However in the 20th century, particularly in North America, some Mennonites, have adopted the doctrine of eternal security.[197]
Arminian theology
Arminianism upholds conditional security, affirming the possibility of apostasy. Arminians believe that a true Christian can fall from grace and be damned and oppose any concept of eternal security.[198] Moreover, they stress that justification alone is insufficient during Christian journey. This viewpoint, especially emphasized by Wesleyan-Arminians, underscores the necessary transformative process of sanctification.[199] In this framework, the believer's assurance rests solely on their present relationship with Christ by grace through faith.[200] In other words, for Arminians, assurance is grounded in the evidence of ongoing sanctification.[201]
General objections
Tension in the subject of faith
In the different views on eternal security, Arminians often note a tension between present faith in Jesus and faith in a past event.[200] In the Calvinist version, this event seems to be election.[101] In the non-Calvinist versions, the past event is regeneration.[154] Both types of faith in a past event appear to hold equal significance in ensuring final salvation alongside the present faith in Jesus.[4] Arminians contend that genuine faith should be unique and focused solely on Jesus.[202][203]
A form of Christian universalism
The different views on eternal security affirm the universal forgiveness of sins from birth to death for those truly regenerated. This parallels the concept of Christian universalism, suggesting the universal forgiveness of sins from birth to death for all humans.[204]
↑ Lehman 1956, . "Eternal Security, the doctrine that Christians can never apostatize after coming to faith [...]".
↑ McKinley 1965, p.45. "[...] (1) Some believe that if one does backslide it is sure evidence he was never truly converted. (2) Others believe that a soul once saved will be finally saved, though in the meantime he does fall away, for God will get him in some way and he will not be lost. (3) Still others believe that our sins, past, present, and future, are all forgiven and that we will go to heaven no matter what we do after conversion. All three classes argue that once a person is born again he can never be lost."
1 2 Picirilli 2002, p.193. "[A]ssurance is not dependent on a confidence that one cannot apostatize in the future. This may be the place to make a passing observation about those-especially sub-Calvinists who profess "eternal security" -who insist so strongly that they would have no assurance apart from believing that they can never again be lost. I submit that this is a misplaced assurance, an expression of confidence in a doctrine."
1 2 3 Olson 2004, p.238. "Many Evangelicals, -Especially Baptists- believe in unconditional eternal security of true believers without basing it on a Calvinist foundation. For them, belief that true believers will persevere or be divinely preserved from permanently falling away from grace is based not on systematic theology but on biblical promises."
1 2 Keathley 2010, p.175. "Three positions argue apostasy is not possible and the believer’s eventual salvation is guaranteed. The first position is the implicit universalism of Karl Barth based upon his view of election, while the Grace Evangelical Society advocates the second view—the Once-Saved-Always-Saved position—as a major plank of their doctrinal platform. Wayne Grudem argues for a third view, the Evidence-of-Genuineness position, which argues that saving faith manifests itself by perseverance."
1 2 3 Moody 1990, p.361. "By the nineteenth century, under the impact of evangelism and missions, the doctrine of perseverance of the saints was falling into disrepute. In two branches of evangelical Christianity the terms that began to replace "the perseverance of the saints" were "the security of the believers" and "eternal security"."
1 2 3 4 5 Purkiser 1972, p.74. "In the majority of cases, however, the doctrine of eternal security is not grounded on the Calvinistic dogma of unconditional predestination. While all who teach eternal security are frequently called "Calvinists," actually the greater portion of them are no more than 20 percent Calvinistic."
1 2 3 Moody 1990, p.362. "On August 5, 1841, a funeral oration on John 6:37 by Edward Steane, [...] was called The Security of Believers. The term was introduced into Southern Baptist Landmarkism by J. R. Graves whose editorial on May 3, 1873 rejected the term "the perseverance of the saints" and proposed the term "security of believers." This was the title of a book by W. P. Bennett in 1895."
1 2 Lehman 1956. "Eternal Security [...] as a special term was used by Walter Scott (Plymouth Brethren) as early as 1913 (Holness, 186). Under a section heading, "The Eternal Security of the Sheep," he writes, "Can my sins separate me from Christ or break the bond of eternal life? Impossible!"
1 2 3 Alexander & Johnson 2016, p.204. "It should be conceded at the outset, and without any embarrassment, that Calvinism is indeed committed to divine determinism: the view that everything is ultimately determined by God."
↑ McKinley 1965, pp.74–75. "[T]he original teaching of Augustine and Calvin was that some were elected or predestinated to be saved while others were elected or predestinated to be lost, from all eternity, and out of this predestination or election grows the doctrine of eternal security, viz., that the elect cannot apostatize."
1 2 Stanley 1990, pp.1–5. "Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy… believers who lose or abandon their faith will retain their salvation."
↑ Grudem 2016, pp.21–22. "[T]hat recent origin does not mean that the movement is insignificant. Although only a minority of Dallas Seminary professors held a Free Grace view, Zane Hodges was an exceptionally persuasive teacher, and every year some students adopted his view. Then, through these students, the Free Grace movement gained a remarkable worldwide influence, especially in discouraging Christians from including any explicit call to repentance in their presentations of the gospel."
1 2 3 Johnson 2008, pp.21–22. "It is common to hear the term “eternal security” used basically as a synonym for “the perseverance of the saints”. [...] However, the term “eternal security” is often used in a very different and unbiblical way [...] Hence, in common usage, the term “eternal security” can sometimes refer to a doctrine diametrically opposed to the Reformed doctrine of perseverance."
1 2 USBC 1941, p.252. "The first change in the Articles of Faith dealt with the Calvinistic doctrine of "eternal security." It was changed from saying that "all who are regenerated and born again by the Spirit of God shall never finally fall away," to "all who are regenerated and born again by the Spirit of God, and endure to the end, shall be saved.""
1 2 Grudem 1994, p.860. "[W]e see why the phrase eternal security can be quite misleading. In some evangelical churches, instead of teaching the full and balanced presentation of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, pastors have sometimes taught a watered-down version, which in effect tells people that all who have once made a profession of faith and been baptized are “eternally secure.”"
↑ Horton 2002, p.24. "In fact, eternal security itself is not a Calvinistic doctrine but, at least in the expressions with which I am familiar, rests on Arminian presuppositions concerning grace and free will."
↑ Hunt & White 2009, p.392. "[As Laurence M.] Vance says: It is the Calvinists who reject the biblical teaching of eternal security. The fifth point of the TULIP, as it was originally formulated and commonly interpreted, is at enmity with eternal security. Perseverance of the Saints...is not the same thing as eternal security."
↑ Picirilli 2002, p.184. "I must observe, however, that not all who hold the popular doctrine called "eternal security" are really Calvinists. The position of these whom -I am calling "sub-Calvinists"- [...]."
↑ Newman 1904, p.130. "Absurd and unchristian as this system [Manichaeism] seems to us, it claimed to be the only true Christianity, and by its lofty pretentions and the personal power of many of its advocates drew much of the intellect of the age into its ranks. We may say that with other influences; (a.) it stimulates the ascetical spirit, with the degradation of marriage, the exaltation of virginity, regarding the sexual instinct as absolutely evil and to be overcome by all possible means. (b.) The introduction of pompous ceremonial into the church. (c.) The systematization of Christian doctrine. (d.) Sacerdotalism, or the belief that men possess, by virtue of their office, extraordinary power with God. (e.) As a result of this sacerdotalism, the doctrine of indulgences (though in its development other influences can be distinguished) was introduced into the church."
↑ Latourette 1945, p.332. "The young Augustine for a time had fellowship with it [Manichaeanism). It seems to have left a permanent impression upon him."
↑ Mozley 1855, p.149. "When St. Augustine is charged by Pelagius with fatalism, he does not disown the certainty and necessity, but only the popular superstitions and impieties of that system."
↑ Haight 1974, p.30. "Infant baptism tended to be regarded as an initiation into the kingdom of God and the effects of Original Sin as mediated by society. Only adult baptism included the remission of sin. Augustine denied this traditional view: Man's nature is fundamentally disordered because of inherited sin and this involved personal guilt so that an unbaptized infant could not be save."
↑ Origen & Scheck 2009, pp.34–35, 38. "[Origen] rejects the view that justification is by faith alone, apparently because certain Christians were denying a future judgment based upon works [...] In 8.2 Origen again shows awareness of persons who do not seem to be heretics, but who do not understand the inextricable link between faith and good works. He refers to them as he expounds Rom 10.9, where it is evident that Origen rejects their theology, insisting that belief in Christ's resurrection and public confession of his lordship profits one nothing if his resurrection is not realized in the life of the believer [...] Gnostic and even some Christian exegetes used the 'faith alone' formulation to deny the doctrine of a future judgment according to works, but Origen repudiates this tactic."
↑ Kelly 2000, p.484, . "In Augustine's day a wide variety of opinions were in vogue [...] others that the intercession of the saints would secure their salvation, others that salvation was guaranteed for those, even heretics, who had been baptized and had partaken of the Lord's body or at any rate had received these sacraments within the Catholic Church, others that all who had remained Catholics, even if they had lived disgracefully, must be saved, others that only those sinners who had neglected to practise almsgiving when alive were destined to eternal chastisement. The motive behind these ideas, Augustine claims, is a misplaced conception of God's compassion, and Holy Scripture contradicts them: 'the everlasting death of the damned, i.e. their alienation from the life of God, will abide without term'."
↑ Augustine & Lombardo 1988, pp.1, 65. "These writings taught that good works were not necessary to obtain eternal life, that faith alone was sufficient for salvation. If a man had the faith and was baptized, he would be saved. Consequently, every man without exception should be admitted to baptism, no matter how evil his life, and even though he had no intention of changing for the better. Moreover, the instructions given to candidates for baptism should consist only in dogmatic truths, that is, only in those truths which one must believe as distinguished from those which one must put into practice.
According to Augustine, it seems that there were two causes which gave rise to this error. The first was a false sympathy for those men and women who were not permitted to receive baptism because they were living in adultery. Rather than see them die without the sacrament and thus suffer eternal punishment, those who sympathized with such persons argued in their behalf and in behalf of all evildoers that these persons could be saved in spite of their evil works, provided they were baptized and had faith. The second was a false interpretation of the words of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 3. 11-15."
↑ Augustine & Lombardo 1988, pp.64, 65. "Augustine, however, does not mention any names, and there is no evidence either here or in any other place that he is referring to these passages from the works of Jerome. Nevertheless, both Jerome and Ambrose seemed to have shared in the not uncommon error of their time, namely, that all Christians would sooner or later be reunited to God, an error which Augustine refutes here and in a number of other places"
↑ Kelly 2000, p.484, . "Jerome develops the same distinction, stating that, while the Devil and the impious who have denied God will be tortured without remission, those who have trusted in Christ, even if they have sinned and fallen away, will eventually be saved. Much the same teaching appears in Ambrose, developed in greater detail."
↑ Schaff 1997, ch. 4, § 46. Opposition to Monasticism. Jovinian. "Jovinian’s second point has an apparent affinity with the Augustinian and Calvinistic doctrine of the perseverantia sanctorum. It is not referred by him, however, to the eternal and unchangeable counsel of God, but simply based on 1 Jno. iii. 9, and v. 18, and is connected with his abstract conception of the opposite moral states. He limits the impossibility of relapse to the truly regenerate, who “plena fide in baptismate renati sunt,” and makes a distinction between the mere baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit, which involves also a distinction between the actual and the ideal church."
↑ Hunter 2007, pp.36–38. "[B]aptism was understood not simply as the regeneration of the individual, but also as the incorporation of the individual into the body of Christ, it is reasonable to conclude that Jovinian's emphasis on the indefectibility of the baptized Christian must have been rooted in a view of the Church itself as indefectible."
1 2 Helm 2010, p.230. "[I]t is reasonable to conclude that although Calvin does not avow determinism in so many words, he nevertheless adopts a broadly deterministic outlook."
↑ Calvin 1845, 3.21.7. "By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death."
↑ Sproul 2011, p.37. "If God has decided our destinies from all eternity, that strongly suggests that our free choices are but charades, empty exercises in predetermined playacting. It is as though God wrote the script for us in concrete and we are merely carrying out his scenario."
1 2 Grudem 1994, p.860, "[T]his doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, if rightly understood, should cause genuine worry, and even fear, in the hearts of any who are “backsliding” or straying away from Christ. Such persons must clearly be warned that only those who persevere to the end have been truly born again."
↑ Calvin 1961, p.66. "[T]hose who appear to live piously may be called sons of God; but since they will eventually live impiously and die in that impiety, God does not call them sons in His foreknowledge. There are sons of God who do not yet appear so to us, but now do so to God; and there are those who, on account of some arrogated or temporal grace, are called so by us, but are not so to God."
↑ Calvin 1845, 3:24:8. "Sometimes, however, he communicates it also to those whom he enlightens only for a time, and whom afterwards, in just punishment for their ingratitude, he abandons and smites with greater blindness."
↑ Calvin 1963, p.76. "[...] I do not see that this is any reason why He should not touch the reprobate with a taste of His grace, or illumine their minds with some glimmerings of His light, or affect them with some sense of His goodness, or to some extent engrave His Word in their hearts. Otherwise where would be that passing faith which Marks mentions (4.17)? Therefore there is some knowledge in the reprobate, which later vanishes away either because it drives its roots less deep than it ought to, or because it is choked and withers away."
↑ Calvin 1845, 3:2:11. "Experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect that even in their own judgment there is no difference between them. [...] [T]he Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption [...] Therefore, as God regenerates the elect only for ever by incorruptible seed, [...] there is nothing to prevent an inferior operation of the Spirit from taking its course in the reprobate. [...] Thus we dispose of the objection, that if God truly displays his grace, it must endure for ever. There is nothing inconsistent in this with the fact of his enlightening some with a present sense of grace, which afterwards proves evanescent."
↑ Calvin 1845, pp.478–479, 3:2:11-12. "[Some reprobates are] just as a tree not planted deep enough may take root, but in the process of time wither away, though it may for several years not only put forth leaves and flowers, but produce fruit."
↑ Keathley 2010, p.170. "The doctrine of temporary faith, a notion first formulated by Calvin but later developed by Beza and William Perkins, further intensified the problem of assurance in Calvinist and Puritan theology. According to them, God gives to the reprobate, whom He never intended to save in the first place, a “taste” of his grace. Based on passages such as Matt 7:21–23; Heb 6:4–6, and the parable of the Sower, Beza and Perkins attribute this false, temporary faith to an ineffectual work of the Holy Spirit."
↑ Gribben & Tweeddale 2022, p.402. "[...] Owen readily admits that the Spirit occasionally induces a partial illumination of the gospel truth, which might produce some conviction of sin and reformation of behavior. [...] For whatever its superficial resemblance to genuine conversion, it nevertheless falls short of that reality and explains the phenomenon of an apparently temporary illumination famously described in Heb. 6.4."
↑ Pink 2009, pp.18–19. "Scripture also teaches that people may possess a faith which is one of the Holy Spirit, and yet which is a non-saving one. This faith which we now allude to has two ingredients which neither education nor self-effort can produce: spiritual light and a Divine power moving the mind to assent. Now a man may have both illumination and inclination from heaven, and yet not be regenerated. We have a solemn proof of this in Hebrews 6:4-6."
↑ Boettner 1932, ch. 14. "In addition to what has been said it is to be admitted that often times the common operations of the Spirit on the enlightened conscience lead to reformation and to an externally religious life. Those so influenced are often very strict in their conduct and diligent in their religious duties. To the awakened sinner the promises of the Gospel and the exhibition of the plan of salvation contained in the Scriptures appear not only as true but as suited to his condition. [...] This faith continues as long as the state of mind by which it is produced continues. When that changes, he relapses into his usual state of insensibility, and his faith disappears."
↑ Walls & Dongell 2004, pp.201–202. "What is truly remarkable here is that persons who receive this partial and temporary illumination appear for a time to be truly elect but in fact aren't. They are deluded by a false hope. This dreadful possibility is what haunts Calvinists who struggle with the assurance and certainty of salvation."
1 2 Calvin 1961, p.126. "Men preposterously ask how they can be certain of a salvation which lies in the hidden counsel of God. I have replied with the truth. Since the certainty of salvation is set forth to us in Christ, it is wrong and injurious to Christ to pass over this proffered fountain of life from which supplies are available, and to toil to draw life out of the hidden recesses of God." (Emphasis added)
↑ Keathley 2010, p.171. "John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress has blessed multitudes of Christians, but his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, is disturbing. He recounts how, in his seemingly endless search for assurance of salvation, he was haunted by the question, “How can I tell if I am elected?”"
↑ Keathley 2010, p.164. "Michael Eaton [quotes the Calvinist preacher Asahel] Nettleton: “The most that I have ventured to say respecting myself is, that I think it possible I may get to heaven.”"
↑ Paton 2013b. "You ask me: Michael, do you know you are saved? My answer: yes. You ask me: Michael, do you have assurance? My answer: yes. You ask me: Michael, why do you believe you are saved? My answer: because today I am still believing. But I have to test this all the time, as I am not infallible. I could have a false faith, but I don’t believe I do. This ninety percent assurance will have to do."
↑ McMahon 2012, pp.7–9. "This is why one finds that every four pages written in the Institutes of the Christian Religion John Calvin quoted Augustine. Calvin, for this reason, would deem himself not a Calvinist, but an Augustinian. [...] Christian Calvinist, should they be more likely deemed an Augustinian-Calvinist?"
↑ Davis 1991, p.213, "Unlike Calvin and those in the later Reformed tradition, however, Augustine does not believe that the Christian can in this life know with infallible certitude that he is in fact among the elect and that he will finally persevere."
↑ Davis 1991, p.216"Whether the believer, now in a state of grace, would remain in grace to the end was for Luther an open question."
1 2 Davis 1991, p.217, . "Calvin, however, has greater confidence than Luther and the Catholic tradition before him that the believer can also have great assurance of his election and final perseverance."
↑ Davis 1991, p.217, "[For Calvin, when the Church father Gregory the Great] “teaches that we are aware only of our call but unsure of our election, he is badly and dangerously in error.”"
↑ Keathley 2010, p.167. "The post-Reformation Calvinists and Puritans held to a [...] view which saw assurance as a grace given subsequent to conversion and discerned by careful self-examination."
↑ CRC 1988, p.19, Lord's Day 7, Q. 21. "True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit, through the gospel, that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation."
↑ Westminster Assembly 1946, ch. 18, art. 2. "This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces [...]."
↑ Toon 2011, p.144. "Hyper-Calvinism led its adherents to hold that evangelism was not necessary and to place much emphasis on introspection in order to discover whether or not one was elect."
↑ Britain 1827, p.302, vol. 1. "Election, then will be like a threefold cord let down from heaven, which the believer has a right to view as his eternal security, never to be broken- and which will draw (not drag) him sweetly through sanctification of the Spirit, and a cordial belief of the truth, into the haven of eternal rest."
↑ Keathley 2010, p.172. "The later Calvinists and Puritans employed two syllogisms, the practical syllogism and the mystical syllogism, in their attempt to ascertain assurance by way of logical deduction. [...] The practical syllogism is as follows: Major premise: If effectual grace is manifested in me by good works, then I am elect. Minor premise (practical): I manifest good works. Conclusion: Therefore, I am one of the elect. But how does one know the minor premise of the practical syllogism is true for him? The Puritans attempted to answer this question by an introspective self-examination using the mystical syllogism. The mystical syllogism is as follows: Major premise: If I experience the inward confirmation of the Spirit, then I am elect. Minor premise (mystical): I experience the confirmation of the Spirit. Conclusion: Therefore, I am one of the elect."
↑ Routledge 1851, Session 6, ch. 16., Cannon 16. "If any one shall say, that he will for certain, of an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end, unless that he have learnt this by a special revelation; let him be anathema."
↑ Geisler 2002, p.68, n. 7. "Most strong Calvinists claim that full assurance in this life is possible. However, this is inconsistent with their other beliefs that one must maintain a life of faithful works to the end to be sure one is saved and did not really have "false assurance" during one's life and was, therefore, one of the nonelect."
↑ Purkiser 1972, p.74, "This turns out to be a curious sort of security. In effect one says, "If I am elected to eternal life, I am eternally secure. But I cannot, in the nature of the case, be sure that I am so elected."."
↑ Patterson 2012, p.67. "The doctrine of eternal and unconditional election, and reprobation as taught by Calvin, and assented to by many professed Christians, we utterly repudiate [...]".
↑ Garrett, Hinson & Tull 1983, p.98. "The only major writing theologian who influenced Southern Baptists prior to 1930 that espoused Dispensationalism was James Robinson Graves [...]".
↑ Garrett, Hinson & Tull 1983, p.98, . "The clearest surviving aspect of the earlier Southern Baptist Calvinism is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, known as the security of the believer or by less apt, but popular wording, "once saved, always saved.""
↑ Leonard 1990, p.67. "Indeed, revivalism in SBC, as in many evangelical denominations, served to "Arminianize" the churches toward greater emphasis on free will, individual choice and salvation for "whosoever will" believe."
↑ Walls & Dongell 2004, p.14. "The [Southern] Baptists are a particularly interesting case study because their theology is often a hybrid of Calvinism and Arminianism. [...] Most Baptists today are Arminian except for their belief in eternal security."
↑ Leonard 1990, p.67, . "[...] many Southern Baptists are on-point Calvinists and four-point Arminians. Although retaining perseverance of the saints and thus rejecting the possibility that one might fall from grace, Baptists otherwise generally reflect an Arminian understanding of election, atonement, and free will".
↑ Pokki 1999, p.38, . "[I]n American revivalism Calvinism and Arminian views gradually became combined. A clear-cut boundary between Arminianism and Calvinism gradually began to become blurred, especially among Baptists".
↑ Marsden 1982, p.46. "In fact the millenarian (or dispensational premillennial) movement had strong Calvinistic ties in its American origin. The movement's immediate progenitor was John Nelson Darby, who broke with the Church of Ireland and became the leader of the separationist Plymouth Brethern group."
↑ Hummel 2023, ch. Dwight Moody, a Premillennial Revivalist. "Moody adopted Brethern eschatology in the same years he embraced a new language of sanctification, the Higher Life mouvement [...]".
↑ Hummel 2023, ch. Dwight Moody, a Premillennial Revivalist. "A great upstick of religiosity in America uschered in by Moody's massive 1875-1877 revival circuit transformed the spread of Brethren teachings in two ways. the first was that Moody popularized premillennialsm to the masses [...]"
↑ Paton 2013, . "The significance of dispensationalism to the development of eternal security lies in the approach in which they divide Scripture. They viewed God as having a different plan of salvation in different times or "dispensations." This seemed to give sufficient allowance to accept the "Biblical" idea of irrefutable security and free-will at the same time. At this point the idea of a Gospel that allowed all men freedom to enter into eternal life while at the same time denying them freedom in their eternal destiny afterwards, has come to full acceptance within 20th century Christianity."
↑ Wiley 1940, pp.461–462. "The Plymouth idea of sanctification, like that of justification, is purely Antinomian. The believer is not only made righteous in Christ, he is made holy also. [...] Ethically, this Antinomian doctrine breaks down all the restraints that would hinder men from sin, as set up in Arminianism and the older Calvinism. Logically, it has its issue in the doctrine of final perseverance, or what in more modern times is wrongly known as eternal security."
↑ Sherling 2015, ch. Accusations against dispensationalism's view of God's sovereignty in grace. "[Reginald Kimbro states that:] The history of the twentieth century provides many examples of influential leaders embracing Dispensationalism while forsaking the consistent Calvinism of their heritage in the process. Except for retaining the misstated doctrine of eternal security, Dispensationalism embraced a thoroughly Arminian theology, though few of its adherents did so consciously".
↑ Marsden 1982, p.44. "John Nelson Darby puzzled over how Moody could on the one hand accept the prophetic truths concerning God's sovereignty in history, and yet inconsistently allow room for a non-Calvinist view of human ability when it came to personal salvation"
↑ Pokki 1999, p.40. "[M]oody wanted to synthesize Calvinism and Arminianism. Moody was a dispensationalist, [...]".
↑ Kurian & Day 2017, ch. Christian Brethren/Plymouth Brethren. "Open Brethren have tended to oscillate between Arminianism and Calvinism and seek to maintain the doctrine of eternal security."
1 2 Ironside 1934, ch. Eternal Security: Its Meaning. "When we speak of the eternal security of the believer, what do we mean? We mean that once a poor sinner has been regenerated by the Word and the Spirit of God, once he has received a new life and a new nature, has been made partaker of the divine nature, once he has been justified from every charge before the throne of God, it is absolutely impossible that that man should ever again be a lost soul. Having said that, let me say what we do not mean when we speak of the eternal security of the believer. We do not mean that it necessarily follows that if one professes to be saved, if he comes out to the front in a meeting, shakes the preacher's hand, and says he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, that that person is eternally safe."
↑ Olson 2009, p.73. "Determinism and indeterminism cannot be combined; we must choose one or the other. In the ultimate and final reality of things, people either have some degree of self-determination or they don’t. Calvinism is a form of determinism. Arminians choose indeterminism largely because determinism seems incompatible with God’s goodness and with the nature of personal relationships, which includes the very nature of salvation itself."
↑ Morrison 1940, p.5. "This Book unquestionably teaches the free moral agency of man, that is, his free and unlimited power of choice. [...] This power of choice is not destroyed, after he is regenerated. It remains with him. That is to say, he must exercise his power of choice every day, and decide whether he chooses to continue to fulfill the conditions whereby God conferred salvation upon him, or chooses to refuse to continue to qualify, and thus forfeits the grace he had received."
↑ Helm 2010, p.230, . "[Calvin] holds that this determinism is compatible with human responsibility."
↑ Alexander & Johnson 2016, p.4. "Calvinists are committed to saying that moral responsibility and any sort of free will that is necessary for moral responsibility are compatible with whatever sort of determinism is entailed by Calvinist views of providence."
↑ Olson 2013. "Many non-Calvinists believe this doctrine [of perseverance of the saints], but not because they believe the eternally secure person is sovereignty predestined by God. [...] Calvinists insist that’s inconsistent with free will, so perseverance of the saints belongs logically with the other points of TULIP."
↑ Chay 2017, p.28, . "First, there is a vast field of literature that advocates for and promotes a Free Grace theological perspective predating Hodges. Robert Govett (1860) was a fellow at the University of Oxford who wrote voluminous exegetical and theological works advocating Free Grace interpretations."
↑ Stanley 1990, p.80. "You and I are not saved because we have an enduring faith. We are saved because at a moment in time we expressed faith in our enduring Lord."
↑ Geisler 2002, p.104. "Some free grace proponents claim that works always accompany saving faith, even though they are not the direct result of it. Others insist that works are not automatic and not necessary at all."
↑ Street 2019, p.52. "Antinominianism, in its purest form, simply means "against the law". An antinomian is one who defines him- or herself as a Christian but believes that God has no definite law by which he or she should conduct him. [...] The slippery slope of antinomianism is the belief that there is nothing that one cannot do that will not be covered by grace."
↑ McKnight 2013, p.49. "Christians of all sorts tend to agree on this point: to be finally saved, to enter eternally into the presence of God, the new heavens and the new earth, and into the [final eternal] 'rest,' a person needs to persevere. The oddest thing has happened in evangelicalism though. [Free Grace] has taught [...] the idea of 'once saved, always saved' as if perseverance were not needed. This is neither Calvinism nor Arminianism but a strange and unbiblical hybrid of both."
↑ Oropeza 2000, p.13. "The church fathers would affirm the reality of the phenomenon of apostasy [...]".
↑ Bercot 1989, p.65. "Since the early Christians believed that our continued faith and obedience are necessary for salvation, it naturally follows that they believed that a ‘saved’ person could still end up being lost."
↑ John Paul II 1993, Part 1, section 1, ch. 3, art. 1, §3 The Characteristics of Faith, items 161-162; Part 3, section 1, ch. 1, art. 8, §4 The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin, items 1854–1864.
↑ John Paul II 1993, Part 1, section 2, ch. 3, art. 12, §3 The Final Purification, or Purgatory, items 1030-1031. "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect [...]".
↑ Bender 1953. "Mennonites have been historically Arminian in their theology whether they distinctly espoused the Arminian viewpoint or not. They never accepted Calvinism either in the Swiss-South German branch or in the Dutch-North German wing. Nor did any Mennonite confession of faith in any country teach any of the five points of Calvinism."
↑ Bender 1953, . "[I]n the 20th century, particularly in North America, some Mennonites, having come under the influence of certain Bible institutes and the literature produced by this movement and its schools, have adopted the Calvinist doctrine of the perseverance of the saints or "once in grace always in grace." In doing so, they have departed from the historic Arminianism of the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement."
↑ Peters 2015, p.391. "Justification is not enough for the Methodists. The Christian life cannot get along without transformation as well. Transformation is accomplished through the process of sanctification. "The one [justification] implies what God does for us through his Son, the other [sanctification] he works in us by his Spirit." The spiritual life of the Methodist ends up reiterating what the Roman Catholics had deemed so important, namely transformation."
↑ Purkiser 1972, p.74, "Their own faith is lacking because they will not —cannot— trust themselves completely to the love of God as expressed in the finished work of Christ, nor to the promises and privileges of either."
↑ Wynkoop 1967, chap. 6. "[Assurance] is a growing, deepening, expanding faith in Christ measured by a growth in love and obedience and which looks upward to Him, not backward to some past point, as important as this may be to the “entering in.”".
↑ Street 2019, p.50. "I attest that the teaching of eternal security is a form of Christian Universalism in that one is taught his or her sins are universally forgiven from birth to death."
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Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation, a schism in the Western Church. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, as well as parts of the Anglican and Baptist traditions.
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.
Perseverance of the saints, also known as preservation of the saints, is a Calvinist doctrine asserting that the elect will persevere in faith and ultimately achieve salvation. This concept was initially developed by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century, based on the idea of predestination by predeterminism. In the 16th century, John Calvin and other reformers integrated this idea into their theological framework. The doctrine of perseverance of the saints is rooted in this understanding of predestination and continues to be a central tenet of Reformed theology today.
Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time to faith by God, all others are reprobated.
In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.
Unconditional election is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God's law as outlined in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to his own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.
Limited atonement is a doctrine accepted in some Christian theological traditions. It is particularly associated with the Reformed tradition and is one of the five points of Calvinism. The doctrine states that though the death of Jesus Christ is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world, it was the intention of God the Father that the atonement of Christ's death would work itself out in only the elect, thereby leading them without fail to salvation. According to Limited Atonement, Christ died for the sins of the elect alone, and no atonement was provided for the reprobate. This is in contrast to a belief that God's prevenient grace enables all to respond to the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ Acts 2:21 so that it is each person's decision and response to God's grace that determines whether Christ's atonement will be effective to that individual. A modified form of the doctrine also exists in Molinism.
Irresistible grace is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to faith in Christ. It is to be distinguished from prevenient grace, particularly associated with Arminianism, which teaches that the offer of salvation through grace does not act irresistibly in a purely cause-effect, deterministic method, but rather in an influence-and-response fashion that can be both freely accepted and freely denied.
Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. It is also present in Reformed theology, through the form of an effectual calling leading some individuals irresistibly to salvation. It is also in Wesleyan-Arminian theology according to which it is dispensed universally in order to enable people to respond to the offer of salvation, though it does not ensure personal acceptance.
As a general term in theological use, assurance refers to a believer's confidence in God, God's response to prayer, and the hope of eternal salvation. In Protestant Christian doctrine, the term "assurance", also known as the Witness of the Spirit, affirms that the inner witness of the Holy Spirit allows the Christian disciple to know that they are justified. Based on the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, assurance was historically an important doctrine in Lutheranism and Calvinism, and remains a distinguishing doctrine of Methodism and Quakerism, although there are differences among these Christian traditions. Hymns that celebrate the witness of the Holy Spirit, such as Fanny Crosby's "Blessed Assurance", are sung in Christian liturgies to celebrate the belief in assurance.
The Five Points of Calvinism constitute a summary of soteriology in Reformed Christianity. Named after John Calvin, they largely reflect the teaching of the Canons of Dort. The five points assert that God saves every person upon whom he has mercy, and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or inability of humans. They are occasionally known by the acrostic TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.
Amyraldism is a Calvinist doctrine. It is also known as the School of Saumur, post redemptionism, moderate Calvinism, or hypothetical universalism. It is one of several hypothetical universalist systems.
Unlimited atonement is a doctrine in Protestant Christianity that states Jesus died as a propitiation for the benefit of all humans without exception. It is normally associated with Amyraldism, as well as Arminianism and other non-Calvinist tradition. It is a doctrine distinct from other elements of the Calvinist acronym TULIP and is contrary to the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement.
The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate begins in the early 17th century in the Netherlands with a Christian theological dispute between the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius, and continues today among some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. The debate centers around soteriology, the study of salvation, and includes disputes about total depravity, predestination, and atonement. While the debate was given its Calvinist–Arminian form in the 17th century, issues central to the debate have been discussed in Christianity in some form since Augustine of Hippo's disputes with the Pelagians in the 5th century.
Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the ordo salutis, is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life. Spiritually, it means that God brings a person to new life from a previous state of separation from God and subjection to the decay of death. Thus, in Lutheran and Roman Catholic theology, it generally means that which takes place during baptism. In Calvinism and Arminian theology, baptism is recognized as an outward sign of an inward reality which is to follow regeneration as a sign of obedience to the New Testament; as such, the Methodist Churches teach that regeneration occurs during the new birth.
Baptist beliefs are not completely consistent from one church to another, as Baptists do not have a central governing authority. However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches.
Free grace theology is a Christian soteriological view which holds that the only condition of salvation is faith, excluding good works and perseverance, holding to eternal security. Free grace advocates believe that good works are not necessary to merit, to maintain or to prove salvation, but rather are part of discipleship and the basis for receiving eternal rewards. This soteriological view distinguishes between salvation and discipleship – the call to believe in Christ as Savior and to receive the gift of eternal life, and the call to follow Christ and become an obedient disciple, respectively. Free grace theologians emphasize the absolute freeness of salvation and the possibility of full assurance that is not grounded upon personal performance. Thus, Free Grace theology allows for the salvation of an individual despite moral failings, although the disobedient Christian will face divine discipline. Norman Geisler has divided this view into a moderate form and a more radical form. The moderate form being associated with Charles Ryrie and the strong form with Zane Hodges.
Sola gratia, meaning by grace alone, is one of the five solae and consists in the belief that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something earned or deserved by the sinner. It is a Christian theological doctrine held by some Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, propounded to summarise the Protestant Reformers' basic soteriology during the Reformation. In addition, salvation by grace is taught by the Catholic Church: "By the grace of God, we are saved through our faith; this faith entails by its very nature, good works, always enabled by prior grace, without which this faith is dead."
Sovereignty of God in Christianity can be defined as the right of God to exercise his ruling power over his creation. Sovereignty can include also the way God exercises his ruling power. However this aspect is subject to divergences notably related to the concept of God's self-imposed limitations. The correlation between God's sovereignty and human free will is a crucial theme in discussions about the meaningful nature of human choice.
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