Perseverance of the Saints is the Calvinist belief that those who are elected by God for salvation cannot lose their election, and their salvation is guaranteed. While this may seem similar to the commonly discussed belief of once-saved-always-saved, the key distinction is how Calvinists arrive at this conclusion. Their assurance of salvation rests not on personal faith in Christ alone but on the presupposition of the TULIP system. The reasoning follows that if one is truly elect, and if God’s calling is irresistible, then an elect person must always remain elect and cannot do anything to lose their salvation.

Although the end result may resemble the once-saved-always-saved position, the path Calvinists take to reach this conclusion is where non-Calvinists find issues. Since there are differing views among non-Calvinists—some affirming once-saved-always-saved and others believing salvation can be lost—this critique will focus on why the Calvinist approach to perseverance, rather than the debate over eternal security itself, is in error.

The Uncertainty of Personal Election

Ironically, the Calvinist doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints, which is meant to provide believers with security in their salvation, ends up undermining that very assurance. The doctrine suggests that if someone is truly elect, their salvation is guaranteed. But how does one know if they are truly among the elect? This question brings about an unsettling reality for those who adhere to the Calvinist understanding of perseverance.

Perseverance of the Saints asserts that the elect will persevere to the end. However, the problem lies in knowing whether you are one of the elect. Calvinism creates a system in which a person may believe in Christ, yet still wrestle with doubt about their own election. A Calvinist can be sure that all of the elect will be saved, but they can never be fully certain that they themselves are part of that group. This is because the assurance of salvation in Calvinism ultimately relies on whether you are chosen by God—not on your faith in Christ alone. A Calvinist  can never truly know if they are involved in that process as a participant or merely as a spectator.

A Calvinist might have assurance that the Elect will persevere, but there is no assurance that they truly are one of the Elect.

In order to determine their election, Calvinists are forced to look to the "fruit" of their lives for evidence. They strive to demonstrate their election through their works and good deeds. However, this introduces a dangerous shift from relying on Christ’s finished work to relying on their own performance. As they inevitably encounter struggles, sin, and hardship, the Calvinists may begin to doubt their own election and their assurance comes into question—not assurance that the elect will be saved—but whether they are truly part of the elect. After all, would a truly elect person go through such a period of spiritual struggle that they are facing?

This leads to a performance-based mindset where a person’s sense of security in their salvation hinges on their behavior and works. Instead of leaning on the promises of Christ, they become fearful that they might not be one of the elect, no matter how faithfully they try to live. In essence, the doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints, meant to assure believers, actually causes them to lose the very assurance it seeks to provide. Instead of leaning on Christ's promise during these times, they become fearful that they are not part of that promise.

What about Apostasy

In everyday life, we all know of people who once claimed to follow Christ but later turned away, sometimes even entering apostasy, where they now openly reject Christ. When this happens, three possible outcomes are typically considered:

1. The person was saved and is still saved, even in their apostasy
2. The person was saved but has now lost their salvation
3. The person was never truly saved, and therefore was never one of the elect

There can be much discussion on each of these options, and we go into much more detail on these when discussing the difference between a Christian who is in apostasy vs the  carnal Christian . The authors of this website believe in once-saved-always-saved, which at first glance seems to support the Calvinist point of Perseverance of the saints.

The third option—"they were never truly saved"—is the one most Calvinists would agree with as well. There is even a formal term for when a person thought they were saved but then apostates called  Evanescent grace , which suggests that a person may appear to be a believer, and have even thought themself to be a believer, but was never truly regenerate. Their faith, while seemingly genuine, was shallow or incomplete. And although Non-Calvinists may agree with this outcome. This belief from the Calvinistic perspective raises a troubling issue: The apostates initial belief, a faith they would have at the time thought to be genuine, would have been ordained and predetermined by God. And God would have planned for the individual to believe they had faith and also ordained the individual to apostate. If someone who appeared to be a faithful Christian was never truly saved, how can anyone ever be certain of their own salvation. The thought can creep into the mind of even the most devout Calvinist, that they may actually only have an Evanescent Grace.

True Assurance in Christ

The biblical concepts of  Election  and  Predestination , when understood in their proper context, offer real assurance of salvation. When detached from the Calvinist system, election is not about God arbitrarily choosing some and rejecting others but about God’s gracious promise to save those who are in Christ. Scripture teaches that those who are "in Christ" are predestined for adoption and glorification(Romans 8:23, Ephesians 1:5), and this promise is sealed by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:5)

In contrast to the uncertainty of the Calvinist's understanding of perseverance, the Bible presents a clear and comforting assurance: 

• If I am in Christ, then I am one of the elect
  not
• If I am one of the Elect, then I am in Christ 

The Bible clearly teaches that  Those who go to Christ have Life .

Election  is not based on an arbitrary decision made before time began but it is part of God’s plan to save those who believe in Christ. Being in Christ is the condition, not the consequence, of election. God chooses to regenerate and glorify those who respond to the Gospel in faith, and it is God's decision to save those in Christ that was made before the foundation of the world.

The power of the Gospel lies in Christ’s death on the cross, which calls out to all people to repent and believe and  God Desires All to Be Saved . God commands everyone everywhere to repent, and His promise for His elect is true: those who believe in Christ will persevere to the end. Those who are in Christ have been predestined to live with Christ in Glory, and there is nothing the enemy can do to take it from us.

Romans 8:33-39: A Promise for the Elect

33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
   we are regarded 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 sure 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. -e

The promise of salvation is not based on a subjective evaluation of our own works or behavior, but on the objective truth of God’s love for us in Christ. When we choose to be in Christ, we can rest assured that nothing—no sin, no struggle, no hardship—can separate us from the love of God. This is the true perseverance of the saints: the security that comes from faith in Christ, not the uncertainty of wondering whether we are among the elect. And this is how a Non-Calvinist can believe in once-saved-always-saved but still reject the premise of Perseverance of the Saints. Although we might arrive at the same conclusion as our Calvinist brothers, the journey to get to our conclusion is so diverse that we must disagree with this point.