In my last blog we defined the concept of 'folk' in general, and 'folk eternal security' in particular. I tried to make a distinction between it and what Eternal Security actually teaches, but I held off from showing exactley what this distiction involves until we could uncover who it is that teaches it (the subject of the current blog) and then what it teaches in contrast to the folk system we already hinted at.
Perseverance of the Saints:
The professional term for eternal security is Perseverance of the Saints and it is one of the five main tenants of a particular Christian belief known as Calvinism (named after its leader John Calvin). The five tenants of Calvinism are summed up (no matter how crudely) in the acronym T.U.L.I.P. (For the Calvinists model of T.U.L.I.P. 101 see R.C. Sproul’s book, Grace Unknown, ©1997, p.118 in particular) :
Tulip stands for:
Total depravity: We can never come to God apart from God’s first grace
Unconditional Election: God unconditionally elects some to heaven and some to hell
Limited Atonement: The atonement of the cross is limited to the elect only
Irresistible Grace: Whom God gives grace to is not able to resist salvation
Perseverance of the Saints: ‘Once saved always saved’
In the Calvinistic model above, 'Perseverance of the Saints' follows in logical sequence to the rest. Basically, if God wants to save you (unconditional election and limited atonement) he will make sure (irresistible grace) that when you are dead you will go to heaven (perseverance of the saints).
Arminians & Eternal Security
An Arminian (not to be confused with Armenian!) is someone who follows or at least agrees with the teachings of a Dutch Reformer named Jacob Arminius. Among other things, Arminius taught that humans have libertarian free-will, (defined as the ability to choose otherwise) to either accept the grace of God and thus be ‘saved’ or else reject the grace of God.
Now concerning the T.U.L.I.P. acronym, those who believe in libertarian free-will (such as an Arminian) accept the ‘T’ (Total depravity) but reject ‘U’ ‘L’ and ‘I’ and as a general rule they reject the ‘P’ as well. However, the latter one is not necessary. Some ‘Calvinists’ have abandoned the T.U.L.I.P. model as a whole while retaining the ‘T’ and the ‘P’ (Eternal Security). They still claim to be Calvinists (or Moderate Calvinists as they like to be called) but really they have jumped ship and become Arminians who happen to hold to the view of ‘Eternal Security’. Norman Geisler is such an Arminian who prefers the label ‘Moderate Calvinist’ (see his book Chosen but Free ©1999). Note: No such ‘blending’ of Calvinism and Arminianism is possible due to mutually exclusive belief systems. (For a full analysis of this see Arminian Theology ©2006 by Roger Olson and Why I Am Not an Arminian ©2004, by Peterson and Williams).
The point of all this is to say that while Arminians (those who believe that humans truly have libertarian free-will), at least some Arminians, may believe in Eternal Security, the doctrine itself is absolutely necessary for all Calvinists, in other words, from here on out I will refer to the doctrine of ‘Perseverance of the Saints’ or ‘Eternal Security’ as a Calvinist doctrine.
Recap:
Okay so let’s recap what we have so far: First of all, most lay Christians who hold to the doctrine of Eternal Security (otherwise know as Perseverance of the Saints) do not know what that doctrine truly teaches (I'll show this in my next blog). They have a folk understanding of eternal security, if you will, which is a caricature of its true teaching at best and a mutilation of it at worst. Secondly, the doctrine of Eternal Security is by and large a Calvinistic doctrine, the point being that the best way to express a particular view is directly out of the ‘horses’ mouth’ if you will. In other words, I as an Arminian may explain to you what Calvinists teach on the subject of Perseverance of the Saints, but anything I say could be tainted with bias. But what I love about many of the writings of Calvinists is their bluntness and clarity (usually) to stand behind a view no matter where it leads them (but not always). This will be the subject of my third and final part in this blogging series.
What is Eternal Security? Here it is as it is defined and understood by Calvinists…
Derek
www.pensees-derek.blogspot.com
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