Sermon for October 30th, 2022
Romans 8:31-39
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints
A new captain became the leader of a company of soldiers. As he went around learning everything about his new post, he observed two soldiers guarding an empty bench. Now, the military is a place where symbolism is important and traditions of the past are honored, so the captain asked his sergeants about the bench. They told him they didn't quite know what it meant, but the previous commander had ordered that this bench should always remain guarded. So the captain called the previous commander, now a major, and asked him about the bench. The major remembered the bench, and had always suspected that some important meeting must have taken place there, but in any case, HIS previous commander had ordered that it always be guarded, so he made sure those orders were followed. Still curious, the captain called the previous-previous commander (now a Lt. Colonel), who told him he thought it might have been donated in memory of an important military or political leader, but that HIS previous commander had ordered that the bench always be guarded, so he never really questioned the order. Unsatisfied by this response, the captain went through the same song and dance a couple more times before finally getting to an old, retired four star general, who affirmed that he was, in fact, the one who originally gave the order. The captain proudly told the general that his order had been handed down through several changes of leadership, and is still honored right to this very day. There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, while the captain eagerly anticipated the answer to his mystery. And then finally, the bewildered old general said... "Is the paint STILL wet??"
Today, for us, is a day of honoring 500+ year-old traditions; a day of remembering our heritage, the birth of the Protestant Reformation and the Presbyterian Church. But unlike the story I just told, our faith ancestors in the 16th century actually wanted us to routinely call our traditions into question, to measure them against scripture and reason, and at the very least to understand them in the context of the time and place from whence they came.
This approach is embedded in the Scots Confession of Faith, which says, "We do not think that any policy of order of ceremonies can be appointed for all ages, times, and places; for as ceremonies which men have devised are but temporal, so they may, and ought to be, changed, when they foster superstition rather than edify the Kirk.
They also summarized this concept with a Latin motto: Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda secundum verbum dei. It means "The church--reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God."
For the past several weeks, this is the approach I've taken to the five core doctrines of the Calvinism, known by the acronym TULIP. We've looked at each doctrine in its classical sense, its original meaning, but I've also tried to present these doctrines through a fresh lens--that of evolutionary biology--or what you might call a 21st century update. The scriptural truths behind the doctrines remain the same, but the images and metaphors we use to understand them will necessarily change as our understanding of God and the natural world around us grows and changes, too.
Today we're going to talk about the last doctrine in TULIP--the Perseverance of the Saints. But first, a little refresher course on the others:
T is for the Doctrine of Total Depravity. In classic Calvinism, this is the idea that we have all sinned, and everyone falls short of the glory of God. We are so broken, that we are completely unable to save ourselves through any words, deeds, or even beliefs. We're like the four-foot tall kid trying to slam dunk the basketball on a regulation court. It's just not going to happen without divine (or at least outside) assistance.
U is the Doctrine of Unconditional Election. In classic Calvinism, this is the idea that for those whom God has chosen (or "elected") to save, God's choice is unconditional. No strings attached, no action required (or even possible). It's not because we were good boys and girls (we are not). It's not because we said the sinner's prayer or somehow "decided" to follow Jesus. In fact, God chose whom to save long before any of us were born, even before the universe was brought into being. We don't know who he chose, how many he chose, or why he chose them. We just know that it had nothing to do with them; his choice was unconditional.
L is for the Doctrine of Limited Atonement. In classic Calvinism, it's the idea that while God loves everyone, and Jesus died for everyone, that love and that sacrifice is somehow limited, not in its power or scope, but in its effectiveness: It only "works" or "atones" for those whom God has already unconditionally elected.
I is for the Doctrine of Irresistible Grace. In classic Calvinism, it's the idea that if you are among God's chosen, God's elect--you will eventually be drawn or attracted to God's grace, and you will be unable to resist. Contrary to popular belief, Calvin did actually believe in "free will." He just believed that in a contest of wills between you and God...God's always going to win, and his will prevails over yours.
For John Calvin and the 16th century reformers, the "perseverance" of the saints was not accomplished by the continued effort of the individual, but rather through the persistent effort of God, who gives his chosen ones the strength to endure trials and temptations throughout their lives and into eternity. This doctrine has been summed up with the catch phrase, "Once saved, always saved."
The Reformers looked to Paul's words in today's scripture passage, where he says for God's elect, nothing--"neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
But what about those who believe in Christ, but then later change their mind? Does it mean they were never really "saved" in the first place? And what about people who believe, but then experience frequent doubt (by the way, Mother Theresa was, by her own admission, in that category!). According to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, shouldn't God be strengthening their faith so that it's impossible for them to doubt or turn away?
In Classic Calvinism, the ultimate trajectory of a person's journey is more important than the twists and turns that happen along the road. And in any case, for the Calvinist, "choosing" whether or not to believe in God is NOT what makes a person "saved." It's GOD choosing YOU before the beginning of time itself--and if that happens, eventually God's "Irresistible Grace" is going to draw you to him, no matter how many detours you take along the way.
In Darwinian Evolution, I think that the "Perseverance of the Saints" finds its equivalent idea in the "Preservation of the Species." It's just a slight difference of where the immortality resides. For Calvin, some individuals die in their sins, while others through God's Unconditional Election are sanctified, regenerated, and receive eternal life. For Darwin, some species die out while others, through the process of Natural Selection, evolve, improve, and thrive for millions of years.
Another way of understanding the Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints comes from my friend and fellow Calvinist, the Rev. Bill Schlessinger. He explains it by saying that "once you see something, you can't unsee it." Once you experience something, you can't unexperience it. You may not have "chosen" to experience something, but you did, and now you are irrevocably transformed.
To me, the Perseverance of the Saints is about putting things into perspective...a broader perspective, or even an eternal perspective. Perhaps it is the eternity of the individual soul, perhaps it is the eternity we share a small part in as generations go by. I don't know.
Either way, when we take that longer view of things, it makes it easier to persevere through comings and goings, through times of stress, and through times of change. That kind of eternal perspective also makes it easier to slow down, pause, and recognize the moments of joy and beauty in the midst of it all.
And so we come to the end (of this series, and our 500 year celebration). From Total Depravity all the way to the Perseverance of the Saints, the five points of Calvinism remind us that every saint is a sinner, too, and through God's grace, even sinners can be saints.
People of First Presbyterian Church...saints, sinners, and spiritual seekers...may you...may we...PERSEVERE--for the next 500 years and more. Soli Dei Gloria. Glory to God alone.
