by Tom Stegall
Must faith endure for salvation to be sure?1 I trust by now you are convinced from Scripture that the answer is an emphatic “No!” God’s Word is clear and consistent in its testimony that all who have trusted in Christ for salvation will be kept secure forever, not because of their imperfect obedience but because God’s saving grace is always undeserved, Christ’s work on the sinner’s behalf stands perfect and complete, and God is faithful to fulfill His promise to keep and preserve each one of His children despite their unfaithfulness to Him.
But as reassuring as these biblical truths are, this book would not be complete or biblically balanced without an exhortation to persevere in the faith if you are a child of God. While the Bible is clear that not all children of God will necessarily persevere, it is equally clear that every child of God should persevere. Even though perseverance is not required to be saved from hell to heaven, there are many reasons why you should persevere in the faith if you have been born eternally into God’s family.
The Love and Grace of God
First, God’s infinite love and amazing grace toward you are reason enough to persevere in the faith. The apostle Paul knew this love, and it drove him to live for Christ and not for himself: “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15). When Paul wrote that “the love of Christ compels us,” he did not mean that our love for Christ motivates us to serve the Lord; rather, it is Christ’s incomparable love for us that should motivate us. Which is greater: our love for God or His love for us? “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
The love that God has for His own is truly unfathomable and life-transforming. For this reason Paul prayed that the Ephesian Christians would be rooted and grounded in God’s love for them, that they may be “able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19). God’s love for the believer in Christ is without limit—infinite, just like God Himself.
Do you realize what this means practically? If you are God’s child, He cannot love you any more or any less than He already does! God does not love us on the basis of our spiritual performance (Rom. 5:8) but for His Son’s sake since we are in His Son, where He has “made us accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6)! Since He loves us for His Son’s sake and not on the basis of our abilities or achievements, nothing can separate us from His love (Rom. 8:38-39). This kind of love and acceptance provides a powerful incentive to love and serve Him eternally in return. The dreadful prospect of not enduring to the end and missing final salvation should never be our motive in serving Him. On the other hand, His unchanging, unconditional love and the guarantee of eternal life provide a powerful motivation to continue serving Him.
While some consider fear of hell a valid stimulus to serve the Lord, serving Him on that basis is inconsistent with His unconditional love and grace, and it is an affront to the finished work of His Son. The apostle John writes, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:17-19). In essence, the Christian life ought to be one big “thank you” note of gratitude to God for His undeserved favor and kindness procured by Christ’s perfect work on our behalf. With grace comes not only thanksgiving but encouragement to press on, and by doing so, to receive an even greater, glorious future reward.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Cor. 4:15-18)
Provision for the Race
A second reason every believer should persevere in the race of the Christian life is because God has provided us with everything necessary to successfully run the race and cross the finish line according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:3; 3:8, 16). The apostle Peter tells us that “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). When God sends out His soldiers to the spiritual battlefield, they are fully equipped with every means necessary to achieve victory over every foe. The believer has a position in Christ in which he has already died to the sin nature (Rom. 6:4-6), so that “we should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). This walk is possible because Christ’s resurrection power is constantly available to us as we go through life (2 Cor. 1:8-10; 4:7-14; 12:9-10; Phil. 3:10). Every believer now has the third person of the Triune Godhead permanently indwelling him as the internal dynamo to empower him to accomplish God’s will (Zech. 4:6; Rom. 8:1-4; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:18). The believer also has the Word of God as his spiritual sword (Eph. 6:17), which is quick and powerful (Heb. 4:12). If all this were not enough, the believer is also on the winning team simply by virtue of his spiritual standing or position in Christ as a victor in the spiritual war of the ages—a war whose ultimate outcome of victory is already certain (John 16:33; Rom. 8:37; 1 John 4:4; 5:1, 4).
Fullness of Joy
A third reason you should persevere to the end of your Christian life is because this is the only life that offers true joy and fulfillment. The carnal Christian surrenders this great blessing for a mere mirage dangled in front of him by his flesh, the world, and the Devil. While a believer cannot lose his eternal salvation by sinning, he can lose the joy of it, as David wrote in repentance after committing adultery, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Ps. 51:12). It is possible “to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25); but that is all it is—a “passing” thrill. Sin never produces real, lasting happiness. It only deceives, robs, and destroys. It always promises more than it delivers, costs more than we are willing to pay, and keeps us longer than we want to stay. While there is some degree of momentary pleasure in sin; invariably it results in death (James 1:15-16) or separation from fellowship with God (1 Tim. 5:6) and a hard life—“the way of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13:15, KJV).
In contrast, Jesus Christ came not only to provide salvation but an abundant life of rich fellowship with Him. The Good Shepherd declared, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:9-10). When believers walk by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16) in fellowship with God (1 John 1:7), this results in the Spirit’s fruit of joy in their lives (Gal. 5:22)—and not merely joy but fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11; John 15:11; 16:24). While the Christian life is certainly no “Easy Street” since it involves trials, opposition, and at times suffering for Christ, you can still experience tremendous joy as a believer amidst tribulation (1 Thess. 1:6; James 1:2), “for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). Do you have this joy? This joy can be yours as you abide in fellowship with Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3-4).
Christ-like Character
A fourth reason every believer should persevere in the faith is because spiritual growth and conformity to the character of Christ depends on it. According to the unfailing plan of God laid out in Romans 8:28-30, God’s revealed will is that all believers be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Ultimately, this will occur for all believers at glorification, but before that time arrives the Lord wants to transform our characters to be like His as part of the process of spiritual growth and sanctification, which will be richly rewarded in glory.
The vital relationship between perseverance and character can be seen in Romans 5:3-4, which says, “knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” The Lord loves us too much to see us remain in our sinful state, so He desires to conform us to the likeness of His Son. This passion is reflected in the apostle Paul’s statement to the Galatian Christians, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). This forming process requires trials and our perseverance (James 5:10-11). The Lord knows that without trials or tribulations in life, our faith would not be tested, and we would not grow or persevere; and without perseverance our characters would not be transformed. James understood this well when he wrote, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3-4).
While God supplies the trials, His Word, and His Spirit in order to accomplish our growth and inner transformation, the believer’s responsibility is to behold Christ by faith in the Word of God (Rom. 12:2) and let the Spirit of God do His internal, transforming work to the glory of God. This uniform process intended by God for every member of Christ’s body is summarized by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The Lord desires this transformation for all believers. The question is, do you? Are you willing to yield yourself to the sanctifying process of the Holy Spirit in transforming you into the character of your Savior?
Testimony to Others
A fifth reason every believer should persevere in the faith is for the sake of his or her testimony to others. By giving up in the race, we lose our testimony to the lost and fail to fulfill our God-appointed role and privilege of being ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). The apostle Paul knew well the direct correlation between his own perseverance and his witness to others. He wrote, “Therefore I endure [hypomenō] all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10). The reason Paul endured was not to attain his final salvation but for the eternal salvation of others through Christ! Elsewhere he testified, “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience [hypomōnē], in tribulations, in needs, in distresses” (2 Cor. 6:3-4). The words translated “endure” and “patience” are simply the verb and noun forms of the same word. These passages show that quitting the race not only adversely affects us but also those to whom we should minister and witness.
Eternal Reward
A sixth reason believers should persevere is because God has promised a glorious, eternal reward in heaven for their perseverance. Paul knew his martyr’s death was fast approaching when he penned his own epitaph in his last epistle: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). Throughout the New Testament, there is a close correlation between perseverance and rewards (Phil. 3:11-15; Heb. 6:10-12; 10:35-39; 11:6, 35; James 1:12; Rev. 2:10, 26b; 3:8-10a). James 1:12 contains one of the most explicit connections of these two themes, stating, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (NASB). Crowns in the Bible do not speak of the free gift of eternal life but of an earned reward. Our magnanimous God delights to bestow both.
Though the believer’s perseverance or failure to persevere cannot change his already perfect salvation by God’s grace, the prospect of receiving a greater degree of reward definitely provides a tremendous incentive to lead a Christ-honoring life. Throughout history believers have faced intense persecution and pressure to compromise; but the promise of a potentially greater reward has encouraged them to persevere in faithfulness. This is likely the meaning of Hebrews 11:35, which recalls how believers of the past “were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.” Since believers will be “repaid” for their faithfulness to Christ at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:14), believers can make that payday “better” by persevering in faithfulness to God’s will. It will be worth it all when we see Christ!
The Glory of God
Finally, though your faith need not endure for your eternal salvation to be sure, you should still persevere for the highest purpose of glorifying God (2 Cor. 4:15-16). I have saved this reason to persevere for last since it is the greatest of all motivations. Reformed theology is right on the mark about one thing—that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We were created and born anew for the express purpose of glorifying our God in all that we do (1 Chron. 16:28-29; Ps. 96:7-8; Rev. 4:11), as 1 Corinthians 10:31 exhorts us, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If even the mundane acts of eating and drinking may glorify God, certainly our perseverance in the faith as a whole should as well. May the doctrine of salvation that we believe and the life of perseverance that we live give honor and glory to God! ■
1. This article is taken from the final chapter of the book by Tom Stegall, Must Faith Endure for Salvation to Be Sure? A Biblical Study of the Perseverance vs. Preservation of the Saints (Duluth, MN: Grace Gospel Press, 2016), 437-43.
Tom Stegall is an associate pastor at Duluth Bible Church and publication director for Grace Gospel Press.