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FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE
THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS
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ARTICLE
1
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THE REGENERATE NOT FREE FROM INDWELLING
SIN
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Jn 8:34
Rom 6:17
Rom 7:21 to 24
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Those whom
God according to His purpose calls into the fellowship of His Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, and regenerates by His Holy Spirit, He certainly
sets free from the dominion and slavery of sin, but not entirely
in this life from the flesh and the body of sin. |
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ARTICLE
2
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DAILY SINS OF WEAKNESS
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1 Jn 1:8
Col 3:5
1 Tim 4:7
Phil 3:12,14
Rev 5:6,10
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Therefore
daily sins of weakness spring up and defects cling to even the best
works of the saints. These are for them a constant reason to humble
themselves before God, to flee to the crucified Christ, to put the
flesh to death more and more through the Spirit of prayer and by
holy exercises of godliness, and to long and strive for the goal
of perfection until at last, delivered from this body of death,
they reign with the Lamb of God in heaven. |
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ARTICLE
3
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GOD PRESERVES HIS OWN
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Rom 7:20
1 Cor 10:13
1 Pet 1:5
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Because
of these remnants of indwelling sin and also because of the temptations
of the world and of Satan, those who have been converted could not
remain standing in that grace if left to their own strength. But
God is faithful, who mercifully confirms them in the grace once
conferred upon them and powerfully preserves them in that grace
to the end. |
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ARTICLE
4
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SAINTS MAY FALL INTO SERIOUS SINS
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Eph 1:19
Mt 26:41
1 Thess 5:6,17
Rom 2 Sam 11
Rom Mt 26
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Although
the power of God whereby He confirms and preserves true believers
in grace is so great that it cannot be conquered by the flesh, yet
the converted are not always so led and moved by God that they cannot
in certain particular actions turn aside through their own fault
from the guidance of grace and be seduced by and yield to the lusts
of the flesh. They must therefore constantly watch and pray that
they may not be led into temptation. When they do not watch and
pray, they not only can be drawn away by the flesh, the world, and
Satan into serious and atrocious sins, but with the righteous permission
of God are sometimes actually drawn away. The lamentable fall of
David, Peter, and other saints, described in Holy Scripture, demonstrates
this. |
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ARTICLE
5
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THE EFFECTS OF SUCH SERIOUS SINS
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Rom 2 Sam 12
Eph 4:30
Ps 32:3 to 5
Num 6:25
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By such
gross sins, however, they greatly offend God, incur the guilt of
death, grieve the Holy Spirit, suspend the exercise of faith, severely
wound their consciences, and sometimes for a while lose the sense
of God's favour - until they return to the right way through sincere
repentance and God's fatherly face again shines upon them. |
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ARTICLE
6
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GOD WILL NOT PERMIT HIS ELECT TO
BE LOST
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Eph 1:11
Eph 2:4
Ps 51:13
Gal 4:5
1 Jn 5:16 to 18
Mt 12:31,32
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For God,
who is rich in mercy, according to the unchangeable purpose of His
election, does not completely withdraw His Holy Spirit from His
own even in their deplorable fall. Neither does He permit them to
sink so deep that they fall away from the grace of adoption and
the state of justification, or commit the sin unto death or the
sin against the Holy Spirit and, totally deserted by Him, plunge
themselves into eternal ruin. |
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ARTICLE
7
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GOD WILL AGAIN RENEW HIS ELECT TO
REPENTANCE
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1 Pet 1:23
1 Jn 3:9
2 Cor 7:10
Ps 32:5
Ps 51:19
Phil 2:12
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For in the
first place, in their fall, He preserves in them His imperishable
seed of regeneration, so that it does not perish and is not cast
out. Further, through His Word and Spirit He certainly and effectually
renews them to repentance. As a result they grieve from the heart
with a godly sorrow for the sins they have committed; they seek
and obtain through faith with a contrite heart forgiveness in the
blood of the Mediator; they again experience the favour of a reconciled
God and adore His mercies and faithfulness. And from now on they
more diligently work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. |
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ARTICLE
8
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THE GRACE OF THE TRIUNE GOD PRESERVES
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Ps 33:11
Heb 6:17
Rom 8:30,34
Rom 9:11
Lk 22:32
Eph 1:13
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So it is
not through their own merits or strength but through the undeserved
mercy of God that they neither totally fall away from faith and
grace nor remain in their downfall and are finally lost. With respect
to themselves this could not only easily happen but would undoubtedly
happen. But with respect to God this cannot possibly happen, since
His counsel cannot be changed, His promise cannot fail, the calling
according to His purpose cannot be revoked, the merit, intercession,
and preservation of Christ cannot be nullified, and the sealing
of the Holy Spirit can neither be frustrated nor destroyed. |
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ARTICLE
9
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THE ASSURANCE OF THIS PRESERVATION
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Rom 8:31 to 39
2 Tim 4:8,18
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Believers
themselves can be certain of this preservation of the elect to salvation
and the perseverance of true believers in the faith. And they are
indeed certain according to the measure of their faith, by which
they firmly believe that they are and always shall remain true and
living members of the church, and that they have forgiveness of
sins and life eternal. |
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ARTICLE
10
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THE SOURCE OF THIS ASSURANCE
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Rom 8:16,17
1 Jn 3:1,2
Acts 24:16
Rom 8:37
1 Cor 15:19
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This assurance
is not produced by a certain private revelation besides or outside
the Word, but by faith in the promises of God, which He has most
abundantly revealed in His Word for our comfort; by the testimony
of the Holy Spirit, witnessing with our spirit that we are children
and heirs of God; and, finally, by the serious and holy pursuit
of a clear conscience and of good works. And if the elect of God
did not have in this world the solid comfort of obtaining the victory
and this unfailing pledge of eternal glory, they would be of all
men the most miserable. |
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ARTICLE
11
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THIS ASSURANCE NOT ALWAYS FELT
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2 Cor 1:3
1 Cor 10:13
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Scripture
meanwhile testifies that believers in this life have to struggle
with various doubts of the flesh and, placed under severe temptation,
do not always feel this full assurance of faith and certainty of
perseverance. But God, the Father of all comfort, will not let them
be tempted beyond their strength, but with the temptation will also
provide the way of escape, and by the Holy Spirit will again revive
in them the certainty of perseverance. |
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ARTICLE
12
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THIS ASSURANCE IS AN INCENTIVE TO
GODLINESS
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Rom 12:1
Ps 56:12,13
Ps 116:12
Tit 2:11 to 14
1 Jn 3:3
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This certainty
of perseverance, however, so far from making true believers proud
and complacent, is rather the true root of humility, childlike reverence,
genuine godliness, endurance in every struggle, fervent prayers,
constancy in suffering and in the confession of the truth, and lasting
joy in God. Further, the consideration of this benefit is for them
an incentive to the serious and constant practice of gratitude and
good works, as is evident from the testimonies of Scripture and
the examples of the saints. |
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ARTICLE
13
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THIS ASSURANCE DOES NOT LEAD TO
CARELESSNESS
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2 Cor 7:10
Eph 2:10
Ps 63:4
Is 64:7
Jer 33:5
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Neither
does this renewed confidence produce carelessness or neglect of
godliness in those who have been restored after their fall; rather,
it produces in them a much greater concern to observe carefully
the ways of the Lord, which He prepared beforehand. They observe
these ways in order that by walking in them they may retain the
certainty of their perseverance. Then shall the face of their gracious
God not turn away from them again because of their abuse of His
fatherly goodness, with the result that they would fall into still
greater anguish of spirit. Indeed, to those who fear God the contemplation
of His face is sweeter than life, but its withdrawal is more bitter
than death. |
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ARTICLE
14
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THE USE OF MEANS IN PERSEVERANCE
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Deut 6:20 to 25
2 Tim 3:16,17
Acts 2:42
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Just as
it has pleased God to begin this work of grace in us by the preaching
of the gospel, so He maintains, continues, and perfects it by the
hearing and reading of His Word, by meditation on it, by its exhortations,
threats, and promises, and by the use of the sacraments. |
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ARTICLE
15
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THIS DOCTRINE IS HATED BY SATAN
BUT LOVED BY THE CHURCH
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Rev 14:12
Eph 5:32
Ps 33:10,11
1 Pet 5:10,11
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This doctrine
of the perseverance of true believers and saints, and of their assurance
of it, God has most abundantly revealed in His Word for the glory
of His Name and for the consolation of the godly, and He impresses
it on the hearts of believers. It is something which the flesh does
not understand, Satan hates, the world ridicules, the ignorant and
the hypocrites abuse, and the heretics attack. The Bride of Christ,
on the other hand, has always loved this doctrine most tenderly
and defended it steadfastly as a treasure of inestimable value;
and God, against whom no counsel can avail and no strength can prevail,
shall see to it that she will continue to do so. To this God alone,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be honour and glory forever. Amen. |
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REJECTION
OF ERRORS
Having explained the true doctrine
of the perseverance of the saints, Synod rejects the following
errors:
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1. Error:
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The perseverance
of the true believers is not a fruit of election or a gift of God
obtained by the death of Christ, but a condition of the new covenant,
which man before his so-called decisive election and justification
must fulfil through his free will.
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Refutation:
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Holy Scripture
testifies that perseverance follows from election and is given to
the elect by virtue of the death, resurrection, and intercession
of Christ: The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
Rom 11:7. Also: He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him
up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him? Who
shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies;
who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus who died, yes, who was raised
from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes
for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Rom 8:32-35. |
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2. Error:
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God does
indeed provide the believer with sufficient strength to persevere,
and is ready to preserve this in him if he will do his duty. But
even with all those things in place which are necessary to persevere
in faith and which God will use to preserve faith, it still always
depends on the decision of man's will whether he will persevere
or not.
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Refutation:
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This idea
contains outright Pelagianism. While it wants to make men free,
it makes them robbers of God's honour. It conflicts with the consistent
teaching of the gospel, which takes from man all cause for boasting,
and ascribes all the praise for this benefit to the grace of God
alone. It is also contrary to the testimony of the apostle: It is
God who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Cor 1:8. |
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3. Error:
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True regenerate
believers not only can fall completely and definitely from justifying
faith and also from grace and salvation, but indeed they often do
fall from them and are lost forever.
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Refutation:
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This opinion
nullifies the grace of justification and regeneration and the continuous
preservation by Christ, contrary to the clear words of the apostle
Paul: God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by His
blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God,
Rom 5:8, 9. And contrary to the apostle John: No one born of
God commits sins; for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot
sin because he is born of God, 1 Jn 3:9, and also to the words
of Jesus Christ: I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father,
who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able
to snatch them out of the Father's hand, Jn 10:28, 29. |
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4. Error:
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True regenerate
believers can commit the sin that leads to death or the sin against
the Holy Spirit.
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Refutation:
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The same
apostle John, after speaking of those who commit the sin that leads
to death and forbidding prayer for them, 1 Jn 5:16-17, immediately
adds: We know that any one born of God does not sin (namely,
with that kind of sin), but He who was born of God keeps him,
and the evil one does not touch him, v. 18. |
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5. Error:
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Without
a special revelation we can have no certainty of future perseverance
in this life.
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Refutation:
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By this
doctrine the sure comfort of true believers in this life is taken
away, and the doubting of the followers of the pope is again introduced
into the church. The Holy Scriptures, however, always deduce this
assurance, not from a special and extraordinary revelation, but
from the marks peculiar to the children of God and from the very
constant promises of God. So especially the apostle Paul declares
that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, Rom 8:39. And John
writes: All who keep His commandments abide in Him, and He in
them. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which
He has given us, 1 Jn 3:24. |
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6. Error:
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By its very
nature the doctrine of the certainty of perseverance and salvation
causes false security and is harmful to godliness, good morals,
prayers, and other holy exercises. On the contrary, it is praiseworthy
to doubt.
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Refutation:
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This error
ignores the effective power of God's grace and the working of the
Holy Spirit who dwells in us. It contradicts the apostle John, who
teaches the opposite with these clear words: Beloved, we are
God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but
we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself
as He is pure, 1 Jn 3:2, 3. Furthermore, it is refuted by the
example of the saints in both the Old and the New Testament who,
although they were certain of their perseverance and salvation,
nevertheless continued in prayer and other exercises of godliness. |
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7. Error:
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The faith
of those who believe for a time does not differ from justifying
and saving faith except with respect to its duration.
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Refutation:
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In Mt 13:20-23
and Luke 8:13-15 Christ Himself clearly indicates, besides this
duration, a threefold difference between those who believe only
for a time and true believers. He declares that the former receive
the seed on rocky ground, but the latter in good soil, or in a good
heart; that the former are without root, but the latter have a firm
root; and that the former are without fruit, but the latter bring
forth fruit in varying measure, constantly and steadfastly. |
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8. Error:
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It is not
absurd that one, having lost his first regeneration, is again and
even often born anew.
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Refutation:
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This doctrine
denies that the seed of God, by which we are born again, is imperishable,
contrary to the testimony of the apostle Peter: You have been
born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, 1 Pet
1:23. |
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9. Error:
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Christ did
not pray anywhere that believers should unfailingly continue in
faith.
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Refutation:
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This contradicts
Christ Himself, who says: I have prayed for you (Simon) that
your faith may not fail, Luke 22:32. It also contradicts the
apostle John, who declares that Christ did not pray only for the
apostles, but also for all who would believe through their word:
Holy Father, keep them in Thy Name, and, I do not pray
that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst
keep them from the evil one, Jn 17:11, 15, 20. |
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