Colossians 1:23 “If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not
shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed
in all creation under heaven.”
I’m continuing through this
short Bible Study that I found on the first chapter of Colossians. This lesson
states that perseverance of the saints (those who have been sanctified) were originally
offered in response to five points from a group of seventeenth-century Armenians
in Holland. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “perseverance” as: In theology, continuance in a state of grace
to a state of glory; sometimes called final perseverance. Based on texts
such as Romans 8:38–39, the biblical doctrine of perseverance tells us that
everyone who is truly converted will remain a believer to the end and die in
faith. Believers may backslide, but will come to their senses, returning in
repentance to the Savior. Though we ourselves may not see fallen brethren return
to the faith, they will indeed come back to Christ if they have been converted
and transformed.
Biblical perseverance is not
the “once saved, always saved” teaching that puts hope for salvation in an
initial decision to follow Christ apart from the fruit of conversion. Too many
people today believe that they or their family and friends are saved because
they said a sinner’s prayer and went forward at an altar call, even though no
evidence of spiritual fruit has ever followed. It is impossible to be saved and
never submit to Jesus as Lord. Biblical perseverance is a cooperative work
between the believer and the Holy Spirit wherein the believer responds to the
admonitions of God through His Word and lives a life of repentance, returning
again and again to the gospel and its promises. This side of Heaven, we are
still in the flesh. Regeneration
guarantees that the called will make this response, and this response of the
called proves their regenerate state.
The doctrine of perseverance
explains why Paul asserts in Colossians 1:21–22 that believers have been
reconciled to God but then tells us in verse 23 that we are reconciled only if
we continue in faith. It is the consistent, continual possession of faith that
saves us, not its mere profession. Jesus’ parable of the Sower speaks to this. And
remaining in the possession of faith is accomplished as we heed the Spirit’s
call to remain “stable and steadfast” in what we have been taught, not going
after exotic promises of the “higher Christian life” that misguided people have
spoken about throughout the history of the church. The terminology behind Paul’s
exhortation to stay stable and steadfast in the hope of the gospel comes from a
Greek term that refers to laying the foundation of a building. Just as
architectural integrity is grounded in a solid foundation, salvation is
established in holding fast by faith to Jesus as He is presented in the
apostolic witness.
The
lesson concludes that even true Christians may wonder at times if they are
truly among God’s children, and one of the many ways to find assurance of one’s
salvation is to look for evidence of perseverance in one’s life. Do you find
yourself continually asking the Father for forgiveness for the sake of Jesus?
Are you endeavoring to put into practice the commandments of Christ in His
Word? As we do these things, we persevere and find assurance of faith.
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