John
10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no
one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I
and the Father are one.”
Those whom God has accepted
in his Son and has effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit can never completely
or finally fall out of their state of grace. Rather, they shall definitely continue
in that state to the end and are eternally saved.
This endurance of the saints
does not depend on their own free will but on God’s unchangeable decree of election,
flowing from his voluntary, unchangeable love. It also depends on the effectiveness
of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, on the indwelling Spirit and indwelling
seed of God in the saints, and on the nature of the covenant of grace. All these
establish the certainty and infallibility of their preservation.
Nevertheless, the
temptations of Satan, the world, and their old carnal nature, along with neglect
of the means of their preservation, may lead believers to commit serious sins
and to continue in them for a time. They consequently displease God and grieve
his Holy Spirit, have some of the fruit of God’s grace and his comforts taken
away from them, have their
hearts hardened and their
consciences wounded, hurt and offend others, and bring temporal judgments on
themselves.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith
