I have fallen many times. But I literally cannot leave Christ. Every time I even have tried to leave, HE pulls me back to him. Not by me, but by HIS GRACE❤

I have spent the last two days watching this twelve part series and have had to stop numerous times to shed tears of joy and fall deeper in love the Father , and the Son , and the Holy Spirit. God bless you R.C. Sproul.

Wow. I'm going to actually make it! Because of Christ, who is in me, the hope of glory!

This man communicates Reformed Theology like no other. You'll never be the same.

R.C. my favorite theologian

Sproul is and was a gift from God

Praise the LORD for HIS work, let HIS will be done!

For the life of me, I don’t understand why anyone would argue against this idea or Calvinism in general. Every point is such good news! Every thought makes one cry out in thanks to Almighty God for gifting us with faith leading to repentance but guarantees to keep us safe.....amen

When you put it all together it is all God. We are God's workmanship. God is the author and finisher of our faith and He is faithful to finish the work He has begun in us. Thank you Father for blessing us with every Spiritual blessing and thank you for giving us your Spirit, saving us and transforming us into the image of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen

Nearly 10 years I've struggled to understand that moment where Jesus first called upon me, declaring that He is Lord. The sweet kiss of that holy anointing has never been more clear to me.. and all while I was an atheist, in open rebellion against Him. Praise His glorious name forever! Blessed is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world! JESUS IS LORD! 🙌🏻❤👑

Thank God for men like R.C, that have dedicated there life in digging into his word and explaining it to us in such a manner that a child can understand it. I’ve been truly blessed with this series.

These videos are the true blessing. R.C. Sproul is one of my favourite pastors-teachers. But we definitely are Christians firstly and then Calvinists. Knowledge is so important, but debating with the Arminian bretheren with love is more important. Greetings from Ukraine (Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian church of Odesa).

Perseverance and preservation of the saints. Praise God. Awesome teaching.

"Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." (Heb 7:25). If Christ prays for us, how can we fall from grace? Great lecture from Dr Sproul.

Learning my theology. Praise the Lord!

LOVE IT! Nobody teaches Reformed theology & the Bible like RC Sproul in today’s day & age. Miss him terribly but I know He’s up in Heaven with Jesus, which is an incredible thought to think! He’s in paradise!

Thank you very much for the preservation message sir.

Finished this series 😍 the ending is superb! Praise the living God!

This series transformed how I see Grace. it's not because of me, it's because of his sovereignty !! I've been blessed by RC!!

Thank you for these sermons!!!!! I have to listen and read the transcript simultaneously to get all the meat from his sermons!!! I also listen over again. What a fantastic man and thank you Legionier Ministries for saving them!!!!

Thank you Ligonier for this brief but invaluable introduction to RT. Born & raised a Baptist (Arminian) to Pentecostal (WOF(Arm)) to Salvation Army (Arm), to endure this has been a huge learning curb. I'm now in possession of a (NKJV) RC. Sproul SB & a RHSB (KJV) J Mac's Gospel Of Trilogy. My advice to those reading this: Learn about the biblical God the Father/Son/Holy Spirit, read all of the bible repeatedly, soberly analyse one's self in comparison to God's word, seek the strait gate, the narrow way, (Matthew 5,6,7: [13 & 21-23], Phil 2:12,13, 1 John [all], John [all], Romans [all], Hebrews [all], Ecclesiastes [all], Psalms [LSB all], personal favs), Pilgrims Progress both parts. Learning who God is in the OT and that He is immutable is priceless insight to the 'whole' gospel. It's mind blowing discovering I'd developed a God & Saviour of my own interpretation, and very scary, 'I never knew you, away from Me...' I couldn't think of a worse hell, especially the one to follow. Am I in or out? God will either be glorified in my life, or in my annihilation, the Lord's will be done. Thank You Lord for the privilege of knowing about You and Your most precious Son and please help me to recognise & bless Your elect for Your name's sake in these truly rotten times. Amen.

Thank you Lord, finally I understand the TULIP. What an incredible Son, the Holy Spirit, an opportunity and a teacher you sent us. 🙏

We are kept by the POWER of God. God Knows His ElECT He Elected. The ElECT has no knowledge of His or her status in Christ until the Father Draws them and reveal to them the Truth, You are a Chosen vessel unto me.

This is so beautiful. All GLORY and HONOR to our LORD Jesus Christ. We were dead in sin but He died for us and He rose from the dead to make us ALIVE and seated with Him in heavenly places so that when He returns, He will transform/resurrect our bodies to be immortal. In this way, it is CHRIST ALONE who does everything. 1 Corinthians 1 "4 I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; 5 that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge; 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. 28 God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist, 29 that no flesh should boast before God. 30 Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: 31 that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”

I love you Pastor Sproul ... Thks so much ...

I love the way RC Sproul has changed the "P" to preservation of the saints. Jude "22 On some have compassion, making a distinction, 23 and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh. 24 Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy, 25 to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen." 1 Thessalonianns 5 "23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it.

Hallelujah!!!

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this series.

This is absolutely beautiful

Praise God let His Will be done in my life 🙏

Excellent

I can be a sorry excuse and fail miserably, but God is faithful- even in my failure. Without God, I would not even know that I was alive, much less have the ability to think or move. Everything exists because of God and everything that we will accomplish is the result of His grace and mercy! Amen? I would love to hear your thoughts. To God be the Glory!

Praise The LORD ❤️

Rom 7 is the answer to preserving oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of death. I thank God thru Jesus Christ.

Kudos

Perseverance Of the saint's or saved is because their confidence is in the power of God through Jesus Christ to keep them. Period . We don't rely on how much we pray, how much we fast or what we do to stay or remain saved. That's true freedom power joy . unfortunately the legalists of Jesus day also felt offended when confronted with the truth. Too many legalist today get offended & egos get hurt . when they here their do's and dont's mean nothing. People confuse fruits with working for something. You work because of the gratitude you have that Jesus saved you and keeps you. Beware of those who say when I came to Christ I accepted Christ I do this in Christ I I I.

There is a War on the Saints. We need to "Abide in the Vine" (John 15:4-5) by spending time with our Father in the Secret Place (Matthew 6:6) in order to rightly divide the Word of Truth! (2 Timothy 2:15)

Amen

🙋Amen

Strength is given to the elect to run the race However not they that willeth or runneth but he who shows mercy The thief on the cross shows gods Mercy at the 11th hour!

Atheism taught me relative morality. Logical Positivism taught me metaphysical terms such as "sin" DON'T REALLY EXIST. But my heart says EVIL(sin) is Real and DOES Exist.

Jesus said; rejoice for our names are written in Heaven.

It is true that once a person is born again he/she can not be unborn again. (John 10:28-29 and Romans 8:38ff) In the natural realm can a person be unborn once they are born from their mother's womb? Absolutely not. The same is true in the spiritual realm. There are many verses which seem to suggest that a person can lose their salvation but that is impossible. However, not everybody who makes a profession of being saved is saved. We must remember passages such as Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus says: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." These verses are very sobering and should cause everybody who believes themselves to be saved to seriously examine their profession to see if it lines up with what the Bible teaches about how a Christian should live and if they are in fact following the truth as taught throughout the entire Bible. To do the will of God is to believe on both the Father and the Son. Believe is not just an intellectual exercise of thinking Jesus died for your sins but it is trusting in the atonement that Jesus accomplished on the cross and obeying every word that Jesus spoke. If we sin we know we have an advocate with the Father who intercedes on our behalf. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2:1 It is God's revealed will that we NOT sin. Too many professing Christians show little or no evidence for being born again. The new birth (also called regeneration) is a work of the Holy Spirit by grace through faith. The true believers in Christ will bring forth fruit. There's no such thing as a fruitless Christian. Jesus said: " \I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." The branches represent those who make a profession of following Jesus and in this sense they are in Christ but because some do not abide in Jesus they are cast forth as a withered branch and cast into the fire which is a picture of hell. The fruit of the Spirit will be evident in a person who has been saved. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved we are told in Romans 10:13 but this calling is not a one time only calling but a continual calling because only a child of God will have an abiding love for Jesus and the Father. He can not stray too far from the fold as one of the sheep but must be brought back by the loving hand of the savior. Now the scripture does continuously warn against the deceitfulness of sin, riches, an evil heart of unbelief etc. These warnings are given because many do fall away from the faith they profess to have. "Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present world." Was Demas saved? Good question. Paul seems to suggest that he fell from grace because you can not have a love of this world and a love of the Father. These contradict the work of the Spirit. 1 John 2:15-17 If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." This is another very sobering verse which cause us to examine ourselves to see if we are in Christ. Paul said "E xamine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" 2 Cor. 13:5 The doctrine of election and reprobation is seldom even taught in most local churches today because it is considered too controversial and most pastors instead of loving and teaching the truth as too busy gathering large numbers of followers who will put their money in the offering plate to help build a mega church if possible. As one brother put it: " A person whom God has chosen for salvation cannot be unsaved, unredeemed, unreconciled, unforgiven, lost, forsaken, abandoned, or thrown away. Good works and obedience cannot earn salvation, and neither can a lack thereof result in the loss of salvation. The biblical truth of once saved always saved puts the focus of salvation where it should be - on the holy

We should always disagree respectfully as Christians no name calling. Learn from each other share with those who'd listen in love. I was once Armenian in some doctrinal teachings till one-day I asked Jesus to help me I was confused & depressed feeling burden trying to keep something by works. Tell the lord liberated me with 1 scripture. After wondering for 3 year's if I was truly saved i say that 1 scripture set me free & I was truly saved that night by God's mercy. John 17:12 word Kept. He keeps us.

I wonder too, if the difference between Old Testament and New Testament is that the Holy Spirit ONLY dwelt in believers temporarily in the Old Testament, but He dwells permanently in believers in the New Testament (Covenant)

Heretical prayer: O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou art the dispenser of all the gifts which God grants to us miserable sinners; and for this end He has made thee so powerful, so rich, and so bountiful, in order that thou mayest help us in our misery. Thou art the advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners who have recourse to thee: come to my aid, for I recommend myself to thee. In thy hands I place my eternal salvation, and to thee I entrust my soul. Count me among thy most devoted servants; take me under thy protection, and it is enough for me. For, if thou protect me, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me the pardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than all hell together; nor even from Jesus, my judge, because by one prayer from thee He will be appeased. But one thing I fear: that in the hour of temptation I may through negligence fail to have recourse to thee and thus perish miserably. Obtain for me, therefore, the pardon of my sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace ever to have recourse to thee, O Mother of Perpetual Help. This is a legit Roman Catholic prayer, look up "O Mother of Perpetual Help" if you want to know if it’s legit. This is super heretical. This doctrine of invoking departed saints doesn’t seem just like "hey it’s like praying to a friend.". . :)

The problem truly is not limited atonement, because it is possible that it is limited to to people, some of whom however will eventually go astray as also Jude 1:5 seems to indicate... 🤔

I went out from freewill/arminianism because I wasn't of them because God effectuially was working the will and the to do in me all about for His good pleasure

“So, how do we judge people who have made a profession of faith in our presence, perhaps, and then we see them later repudiate it. Well, the first thing you do is make a judgment of charity because you don’t know the real state of their souls” (14:34). So much for perfect confidence of final salvation!

❣️

Sproul: “If you have genuine faith and are in a state of saving grace-If you have it, you will never lose it. And if you ‘lose’ it, you never had it” (5:38). Also Sproul: “We [true believers] fall and we fall away from grace” (10:40).

hey! thanks for the response. I do like r.c. sproul I also disagree with so of the things he's saying here. I was just writing to reply to the explanation given of philippians 1-6. Think it's pretty clear what Paul is saying. Thought my post was pretty clear to. little confused by what you both posted could you please explain it a little clearer. thanks!

I wonder, according to this advocacy how to deal with 2 Peter 2:1. Please if anyone understand, this is my challenge with the doctrine of perseverance of all saints. How do you answer this question that there are people bought by Christ who eventually denies Him. Well, I don't think we can say they were never bought, because the Bible says they were. Please anyone?

Truly Samson and King Saul did persevere to the very end!

Being a Christian is like being in a boxing match where you cannot be knocked out but you’re knocked down every day. Just gotta keep on getting back up to win the match.

See from 9:00 regarding sin and King David

These people can read English. There are so many texts that warn against falling away. Hebrews 6:4, 10:26, Roman's 8: 13-14, 1 Corinthians 11:1-14. John 15:2. People, just read the parable of the sower. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.etc,etc,

As much as I like Sproul, though I am not a Calvinist, I see, or saw him as a Christian brother who had a strange idea about some of the scriptures. I do not question Brother Sproul's absolute salvation, although he sees things a bit differently than a very literal Bible reader like myself sees things. God is and always will be God, and Christ the Lord is in him, of him and one with him, as is The Spirit! The Westminster Confession is written by men, 1,600 years after Jesus the Christ, our Savior had been risen from the grave. To think that only those who are called "specifically" by Our Father are the only ones who will enter His Kingdom throws cold water on the many words of Jesus Himself, that boil down to the paraphrase: "Whomsoever will, may come". There is no limit on that concept. John 3:16, AND to expand on that, John 3:14 tru 18. These are the words out of Jesus' own mouth, which is also the mouth of Almighty God. They are one in the same. Bless you all, Christian family. We all make small mistakes in interpreting The Word. Calvin made one that was not so small, though nevertheless the message and hope leading to the promise (of God) is not diminished.

The faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the start. Steven j lawson

If you have it you never lose it.. and if you lose it you never had it.. so, how do you really know.. how can you truly really know.. that you are one of the elect of God? Because, currently you think you are.. well what if your deveived and it is just a thought.. what if God thought differently and that you were never one of these chosen ones.. how do you ever truly have assurance..

In these comments, I see a lot of assumption that the perserverance of saints is a work toward salvation. As I have come to perserverance it is your daily walk and relationship with God, through Jesus. It is loving Jesus enough to be conscious about your turning from sin and your"old" life. Repent basically means to change your mind, change your direction. So the old things your turn away from. If you were a 12 pack a day beer man after work, you no longer drunk bet beer. Likewise for any other obvious sin you know about in your life, your do the same, that's an attribute of the perserverance of the saints. Another is, how often do you take the time to read the Bible? How often do you pray, other than those moments of " God help me out of this, and I will...( fill in the blank)" The perserverance is daily showing your Love For Jesus as you are able. In essence that's asv action, it is a work; but it's not an action toward salvation, for everyone saved, that's already a done deal. It is instead a work of gratitude, thankfulness and a desire to do that which is right. In conclusion, Perseverance is not a saving work ; We cannot do any work that would save us. It is instead a fruit of our faith, that shows in the manner of action. Hopefully that makes some sense.

Y'all need to question the assumptions & go listen to Tulip Season by Randy White!

The "falling away" describes believers, ie. the church...

Does anyone on here know the reference to where the incestuous man was restored? I've looked, but couldn't find it.

am i still being kept if i once trusted and believed but now struggling to trust and believe? after about 4 months of being saved and having a worshipful heart i first learned about election I denied God saying "there's no way this is you or I wouldnt believe this about you" but i had a wrong perspective of election and thought it was unfair or evil and i took my eyes of the cross by ignorance over time and immediately i entered spiritual dryness and i think i deceived myself to think that the holy spirit left me, i was concerned with my dryness at first but i was assured by other believers that its a normal thing and the fact that i was concerned was a good sign, but after that i started to become less worried and stagnate about it. but right now im trying to confess to God my failures in my walk with him and im trying to believe that my sins are forgiven by the cross as I once believed. i'm trying to have faith and trust but i keep looking back in my past. i know faith isnt a feeling but i feel like im not believing in the cross and struggle to trust that i belong to God, ive been praying but he is Quiet, ive seen him answer other prayers in my life but im still struggling to believe

REFORMED THEOLOGY NEEDS TO BE REFORMED!

But doesn’t Paul Say it Roman’s we can be cut off ?

Lieutenant Colombo 😅 ? "Just one more thing !"

As this lecture bears witness, no Scripture teaches that true believers who fall into serious sin necessarily repent and are finally saved? This Calvinist presupposition is read into Scripture, not read out of it.

How could David have been regenerate and have had the Spirit living within him when John 7:39 declares, "the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified"?

James chapter 2 is not written to Christians but to the 12 tribes of Israel concerning the tribulation period So those verses have no bearing on me and my salvation they applied to a different group of people and their salvation which is not the same thing as mine in the age of Grace were saved by faith alone without works of any kind in the past and in the future after the age of Grace is over it'll go back to being grace through faith plus works until then it's grace through faith alone Romans 4:5-6 Romans 11:6 Ephesians 2:8-9 2nd Timothy 1:9 Titus 3:5 makes this clear

Reformed Christians would be on much more solid biblical ground if they taught the perseverance/preservation of the elect. But Scripture nowhere teaches that all believers are elected. In fact, it constantly warns that those in good standing with God can forfeit this status: 1. One in favor with God can lose favor with God (Gen 3:17). 2. A righteous person can turn away from his righteousness (Ezek 18:24). 3. One can be in the promised land and then be exiled from it (2 Kgs 17:23). 4. One who is a son of the kingdom can be cast out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 8:12). 5. One can be part of the flock and then go astray (Matt 18:12f). 6. One who is a brother can be excommunicated (Matt 18:17). 7. One can receive the kingdom and then have it taken away (Matt 21:43). 8. One can enter the wedding feast of the eschatological king and then be cast out of it (Matt 22:13). 9. One can believe for a while and in time of testing fall away (Luke 8:13). 10. One can receive an inheritance and then squander it (Luke 15:12f). 11. One can enjoy supernatural life and then die supernaturally (Luke 15:32). 12. One can be a disciple and then be one no longer (John 6:66). 13. One can be a branch of Christ, the vine, and then be taken away (John 15:2). 14. One can become God’s consecrated temple and then be desecrated and destroyed (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:15-19). 15. One can be grafted on to the tree and then be cut off (Rom 11:22). 16. One can be set free and then submit again to a yoke of slavery (Gal 5:1). 17. One who is in Christ can then be severed from Christ, falling from grace (Gal 5:4). 18. One can set sail and then make a shipwreck of one’s faith (1 Tim 1:19). 19. One can arrive to the faith and then depart from it (1 Tim 4:1). 20. One can become enlightened, taste the heavenly gift, share in the Holy Spirit, taste the goodness of the word and the powers of the age to come, and then fall away (Heb 6:4-6). 21. One made clean can be defiled again (2 Pet 2:20-22). 22. One can love at first and then abandon this love (Rev 2:4f).

2 Corinthians 11:4 King James Version (KJV) 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Listen to him at the 5:50 mark and you will hear him add works to one's salvation. He says that "perseverance" is a bad choice in Calvinism's TULIP, and says "preservation" is a better term, then turns around and states that "anyone who departs from the faith never had it in the first place". Apparently he doesn't understand that when one first believes on Christ, they are saved APART FROM WORKS even if they fall away at a later time. Our salvation is about what CHRIST ACCOMPLISHED, and HIS FAITHFULNESS, not ours. If we can keep ourselves, we could have saved ourselves.

Taking liberty with personal interpretation. Jesus said he did not lose any but one. He did not say he did not lose any as RC Sproul stated. To claim that we are puppets and God forces us to remain in him simply is not true. We must endure to the end. We must abide in Christ. We must walk in the righteousness of the Law. Jesus does not do it for us. He empowers those that love God to be able to endure and abide and turn from sin. Why would we need any armor to fight the good fight if we cannot lose our salvation? Why would we need to fear the second death, condemnation, if we cannot fall away? Yes, there is no condemnation for those who are and who remain in Christ Jesus. This is not a door we go through it is a straight and narrow path that we must stay on. Remember the sabbath day, the day you came to faith in Christ, and keep it holy, do not turn to sin and pollute it lest you lose it. The 4th commandment is a warning. It is not just about one day in the week. That was the shadow of its true meaning. Read Hebrews 3 and 4 and you will see it. We must labour to endure. It is not just Christ labouring for us. He is labouring with us and he is all for us. Hebrews 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Who is working out their salvation with fear and trembling? Is it us or Christ? It is us with his help if we ask for it. It is never just God forcing us to love him. Good children will love their family until the end. Does God need to force them to love their families? Why would he need to force us to love him? Shouldn't we love him more than our families? It is the "will of the Father" that all men repent and believe in his Son. It is the "will of the Father" that all that are called are raised up. It is not the decree of God that all are raised up as RC Sproul stated. Don't get me wrong. I love RC Sproul. He teaches obedience to God's will, his law, which is why we were created in the first place. It is our worship to his glory. I just think he is mistaken on what it means that we are righteous because Christ was righteous and that men can turn back to sin and be lost. He that practices righteousness is righteous just as Christ was righteous. Christ was not righteous for us. He was righteous as a perfect Lamb was required to justify us before God by cleansing our sins. We are either righteous, walking in the Spirit, or of the flesh, unrighteous. The flesh hates God, is wicked, and cannot be under the Law of God, Romans 8. Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. God does not condemn us for turning to sin that we want to repent of or confess. It is willful sin, when we completely abandon the faith that first saved us, that will condemn us. The wages of sin is death. Paul was preaching to the church, not the unbelievers.

He completely took Philippians 1-6 out of context...common problem with a lot of calvanist...Paul is speaking here to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:... Now read the verse in context: 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Paul here is addressing the entire church at Phillipi as a whole!!!! This verse has nothing to do with god's work inside every believer, but rather that they as group of believers together partook of the gospel he preached since the first day he preached it...Meaning they did not deviate from what Paul first taught them...Again this has nothing to do with personal on-going sanctification.

Radical fall but never final fall? Good for Peter being restored. What if after a radical fall you end up dead before you could ask for forgiveness? Eternal security is a false doctrine. Mark 9:45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It's better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.

There are so many problems with this false system of Calvinism. R C Sproul assumes that all believers will persevere to end, this is a presupposition. Believers may or may not grow at all, because of freewill (Romans 6:16). Lot didn’t live a changed life, yet he was saved since he was called righteous and just (II Peter 2:7-8). No where in the Bible does it say that a believer must endure or will endure to be saved. These Calvinists redefine faith, faith means to trust or be fully persuaded of the object you are trusting in. The moment a person believes in the gospel and trusts Jesus Christ as Saviour, they are saved (Ephesians 1:12-13). It is a one time event and not a continual process (I Corinthians 1:18, Acts 16:31). Even if a believer looses his faith, he is still saved (II Timothy 2:13). He completely sugar coated the term to make it sound more better, that is unbelievable. The perseverance of the saints heresy is a subtle way of adding works to the gospel of grace and a back door of putting a person in a system of works salvation. Calvinism is a satanic system founded by a man during the reformer days. Since Calvinism is man-made, they have to teach it to you since it’s not found in scripture.

Sproul making things up lol. Calvinists are funny. How much pride does one have to have to say they are a part of the elect?

"Perseverance of the Saints" is the 5th lie of the Calvinistic "tulip". This false teaching again spawned from Augustine in his "City of God" heretical writings. Calvinism's false teaching of "PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS " comes from various chapters of Augustine's "City of God" book under "On Rebuke and Grace", Chapter 10 - "All Perseverance is God's Gift." Augustine falsely teaches that even "perseverance" is a gift from God in addition to "faith" itself being a gift of God bestowed upon the "chosen elect few". A) Augustine states in Chapter 10, "Who could be ordained to eternal life save by the GIFT OF PERSEVERANCE? And when we read, He that shall persevere unto the end shall be saved; Matthew 10:22....." "And no one need doubt, but that whosoever prays from the Lord that he may persevere in good, confesses thereby that such "PERSEVERANCE IS HIS GIFT." B) Chapter 11, "They Who Have Not Received the Gift of Perseverance, and Have Relapsed into Mortal Sin and Have Died Therein, Must Righteously Be Condemned." "If, then, these things be so, we still rebuke those, and reasonably rebuke them, who, although they were living well, HAVE NOT PERSEVERED THEREIN; because they have of their own will been changed from a good to an evil life, and on that account are worthy of rebuke; and if rebuke should be of no avail to them, AND THEY SHOULD PERSEVERE IN THEIR RUINED LIFE UNTIL DEATH, THEY ARE WORTHY OF DIVINE CONDEMNATION FOR EVER." My comment - In other words, Augustine is falsely teaching that if saved Christians fall into sin and persist and fail to "persevere" in the faith to the end of their lives, then they will be subjected to "divine condemnation forever", meaning that they lose their salvation and go to hell. This blatantly contradicts John 5:24, John 10:28-29, Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 1:13, 2 Timothy 2:13. The examples of King Solomon and Samson at the end of their lives refutes this false teaching. The Bible teaches that Christians who persist in sin and unfaithfulness will be chastised in this life as a wake up call - Proverbs 3:11-12, Proverbs 15:10, Hebrews 12:5-11. If they don't respond positively to the discipline, then God will terminate their PHYSICAL LIVES here on earth and take them home prematurely, BUT they are still eternally saved and His children - 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, 1 John 5:16-17, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. They will also experience a forfeiture of eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:10, BUT they are still saved - 1 Corinthians 3:15. C) Chapter 15 - "Perseverance is Given to the End." Augustine states, " And of how steadfast a perseverance even to the end THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE GIFT, let them follow on to say: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, Because for your sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. But in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that has loved us. For I am certain, that neither death, nor life, nor angel, nor principality, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. My comment - In other words, Augustine is falsely teaching that the promise of Romans 8:38-39 ONLY applies to those Christians who have the "gift of perseverance". This of course, makes eternal security conditional and contingent upon the continued performance of the Christian. D) Chapter 16 - "Whosoever Do Not Persevere are Not Distinguished from the Mass of Perdition by Predestination" Augustine states, "But they who are not to persevere, and who shall so fall away from Christian faith and conduct that the end of this life shall find them in that case, beyond all doubt are not to be reckoned in the number of these, even in that season wherein they are living well and piously. For they are not made to differ from that mass of perdition by the foreknowledge and predestination of God, and therefore are not called according to God's purpose, and THUS ARE NOT ELECTED; but are called among those of whom it was said, Many are called, not among those of whom it was said, But few are elected. And yet who can deny that they are elect, since they believe and are baptized, and live according to God? Manifestly, they are called elect by those who are ignorant of what they shall be, but not by Him who knew that they would not have the perseverance which leads the elect forward into the blessed life, and knows that they so stand, as that He has foreknown that they will fall." My comment - In other words, Augustine is saying that those Christians who don't persevere are no different from those who are "predestined" for hell. He is saying that those who don't persevere are not elected, therefore, are not saved. Again, this is false teaching. Whether or not we persevere has no affect on eternal salvation which is a free gift apart from works. Failure to persevere in this life will incur God's temporal chastisement and will cause a forfeiture of eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ which is a future aspect - 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, but we are still saved. E) Chapter 19 - "God's Ways Past Finding Out" Augustine states, "As, then, they are constrained to confess that it is God's gift for a man to end this life of his before it can be changed from good to evil, but they do not know why it is given to some and not given to others, so let them confess with us that PERSEVERANCE IN GOOD IS GOD'S GIFT, according to the Scriptures, from which I have already set down many testimonies; and let them condescend with us to be ignorant, without a murmur against God, why it is given to some and not given to others." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My comment - Augustine, again falsely teaches that perseverance is a "gift" from God given to some and not to others. Perseverance is a human exercise. Whether or not a Christian perseveres is up to them. There are many Christians who stop persevering in the faith because of anger, discouragement, disillusionment, disappointment in the faith, illness, etc, BUT that does not affect their positional standing in God, but only their fellowship with God. Luke 8:13-14 clearly indicates saved Christians who do not persevere in the faith, but are clearly saved because eternal life germinated. Because of certain hindrances in their lives, they are in a state of spiritual atrophy/stagnancy, BUT they are still saved nonetheless. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F) Chapter 20 - "Some are Children of God According to Grace Temporarily Received, Some According to God's Eternal Foreknowledge" Augustine states, "Nor let it disturb us that to some of His children God DOES NOT GIVE THIS PERSEVERANCE." "And, again, there are some who are called by us children of God on account of grace received even in temporal things, yet are not so called by God; of whom the same John says, They went out from us, but they were not of us, because if they had been of us they would, no doubt, have continued with us.1 John 2:19 He does not say, They went out from us, but because they did not abide with us they are no longer now of us; but he says, They went out from us, but they were not of us,- that is to say, even when they appeared among us, they were not of us. And as if it were said to him, Whence do you prove this? He says, Because if they had been of us, they would assuredly have continued with us. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My comment Augustine is clearly taking 1 John 2:19 out of context by deliberately leaving out 1 John 2:18. Verse 18 is talking about anti-Christs that have left the church. Saved Christians who leave the church out of anger, discouragement, disillusionment, apostasy, etc, are NOT considered "anti-Christs."

Perserverance, preservation...A tulip by any other name is still a wilted doctrine (Calvinism). Love ya RC, you have taught me much, but this bulb (tulip doctrine) is not enlightening (pardon the pun) and goes against scripture.

*Perseverance of the saints is a big lie of the devil.* The apostasy is a real danger. Read the Bible without Calvino's glasses and you will see. We need to finish the race! Just one salvation moment in the past doesn't make you save if you return to your old life.

If "No free will to choose" were true then the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment (which haven't happened yet) would be a joke. Think on these things:. how could souls be judged and held responsible if their actions had been predestined with no free will? That would be such a cruel and unjust God. Predestination makes God a Machiavellian: the end justifies the means, no matter how devious or unjust!

The faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the start. Steven j lawson