Survey of the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 17)

Survey of the Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter 17

Of the Perseverance of the Saints

(Part  3)

III. Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God’s displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.

In this paragraph, as we noted earlier, the Confession deals with the matter of believers who are overcome by sin for a season. Having put forth the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and having made such a strong case for this teaching, the writers naturally were obliged to explain how our continuing susceptibility to sin fits into the picture.

Notice that the end of the previous paragraph speaks of “the certainty and infallibility” of this doctrine. If our perseverance is “certain and infallible,” then how do we explain those times when, for a while, some believers seem to slip into a state of unbelief? There are instances¾sometimes prolonged instances¾where a professing Christian denies by his actions what he previously professed. How can such events be explained given the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints?

There are two observations to be made here: First, the writers of the Confession do not say that such a person reverts to a state of unbelief. Their use of the phrase “for a time” indicates that they have in mind a lapse of some kind, not a return to an unconverted status. Indeed, the definition and theological ground of the doctrine of perseverance would not allow such a conclusion. The doctrine of perseverance exists because of the permanency of the state of salvation and the permanency exists because the salvation is grounded in God’s unchangeable decree.

Second, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints has more to do with final destiny than day to day experience. This doctrine is chiefly concerned with the ultimate destination of the saint and less concerned with his apparent destination at any one point in his journey.

With this background, therefore, the Divines explain that various elements can so influence the believer that he “falls into grievous sins” for a time. These elements are: “the temptations of Satan and of the world”; “the prevalency of corruption remaining in them”; and “the neglect of the means of their preservation.” These three sources of opposition cover the subjects of temptation and sanctification entirely.

A believer may be induced to sin by the manifold temptations that he faces in this life. Some are direct and obvious; others are indirect and less obvious. Whatever the case, ever temptation, if followed through, puts the believer in a position of momentarily denying his redemption.

Moreover, the believer must deal with the corruption that remains in his flesh following regeneration. While we often think of temptation as originating outwardly, the Divines acknowledge that a significant sinful influence is our own flesh. It seems that the New Testament, in particular, speaks of this threat to our spiritual well-being much more than the temptations of Satan and the world.

The nature of this negative influence, of course, makes it more dangerous; it is with us, so to speak, at all times. And the truth is, if we master the corruption remaining in us, we are far more likely to deal successfully with temptations that arise from without. After all, such temptations depend on our sinful flesh.

The third source of opposition to a saint’s consistent walk is his own neglect of the means of his preservation. This, we think, is an interesting observation. It implies that believers don’t have to wait until temptation arises before responding to it. Believers can arm themselves in advance, we might say, by tending to whatever means God has appointed for their spiritual strengthening and preservation.

These means would include: the Word of God, prayer, and the sacraments. Believers who fail to maintain a consistent study of the Word so that they are learning and maturing throughout life run the risk of falling to temptation. Believers whose prayer life is weak or inactive face the same danger. Prayer is a vital element in a healthy Christian life. The Confession states that prayer increases and strengthens our faith (14-1).

Regarding the sacraments, let us quote from Chapter XXVIII: “Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ and His benefits; and to confirm our interest in Him; as also, to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to His Word.”

Further, the chapter says: “There is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified…” In Reformed theology, the sacraments are viewed as more than bare rituals; we believe that the covenant of grace is administered through the sacraments (7-6) and that faith is increased and strengthened by the administration of the sacraments (14-1). That is, the sacraments manifest what is true about our relationship to God and one another. There is an individual and corporate level of testimony going on when the sacraments are administered. The sacraments “speak” of our personal standing before God, but they also testify to our relation to the whole Church.

With this view, we can understand why the Confession says that believers who neglect the sacraments are depriving themselves of spiritual aid. If baptism is delayed, for example, for either a professing Christian or the infant of believing parents, then the truths of baptism remain unconfirmed in the manner appointed by God.

Similarly, when the Lord’s Supper is infrequently observed, the truths that it symbolizes go unconfirmed in the manner that God has chosen. This doesn’t mean that the sacraments cause what is signified to occur, it means that they are visible testimonies to those truths, testimonies in a form that aid our comprehension. The sacraments are designed to explain through our senses what is true in a spiritual sense; they are aids to our understanding and as our understanding increases, our convictions are strengthened, and our duties are emphasized.

When such temptations from Satan and the world, or when our remaining corruption causes us to stumble or when, through the neglect of the means appointed by God for our strengthening are neglected, the writers say we are likely to fall into sin and “incur God’s displeasure,” “grieve His Holy Spirit,” experience a period of spiritual turmoil and “even hurt and scandalize others.” We must not think that the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints in any way implies that sin is not a serious matter in the life of the saint; nor ought we to conclude that God takes a less disapproving view of sin because we are His.

On the contrary, the sin of believers is most destructive and more opposed to their redeemed status. Saints who engage in sin can and should expect to suffer the consequences. The doctrine of perseverance says that they will certainly end up in heaven, but it does not mean that their sin in this life will be without the most dreadful of consequences.

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