The saints are Christians, the body of Christ, the church, or the elect of God (1 Cor. 1:2). They are mentioned many times in the Bible (Acts 9:13, 9:32, 26:10; Rom. 16:2; Eph. 4:12; etc.). Roman Catholics think of the idea of the “saints” in a completely different way which is unbiblical.
The elect are the saints, Christians who have believed in Jesus Christ, become justified and adopted as children of God, and are promised eternal life in heaven. They are not special people acknowledged by the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
PERSEVERANCE
Perseverance is “steady persistence [i.e., continuing existence] in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.”[1] The same dictionary defines it theologically as “continuous in a state of Grace to the end, leading to external salvation.”[2]
Berkhof defines perseverance as “that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the work of the divine grace that is begun in the heart, is continued and brought to completion.”[3]
The author of this article likes the provision in Berkhof that states the following, “The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is to the effect that they whom God has regenerated and effectually called to a state of grace, can neither totally or finally fall away from that state, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved.”[4]
Unlike Augustine, Reformed Theology holds that the elect receive eternal life but never completely fall into a state that results in a fall from grace. Regeneration creates and develops habits by way of sanctification that never entirely disappear. This is not an inherent quality of the elect either.
Perseverance is not the work of man but is dependent solely on the work of God.
CANONS OF DORT
In 1610, the followers of Jacob Arminius, a theology professor at Leiden University, submitted to the Synod of Dort a list of Remonstrances. The Arminians believed that five of John Calvin’s and the Reformed churches of the Netherlands’ doctrinal beliefs were false.
The response to the Remonstrances upheld the doctrinal position of Calvin and the Reformed churches. The decision of the Synod of Dort, which met in the city of Dordrecht, was referred to as the Canons of Dort. The Canons of Dort responded to all five Remonstrances as only four points, with the third and fourth points combined as one.
Under the fifth point, the Canons of Dort stated the following.
For God, who is rich in mercy, according to the unchangeable purpose of election does not take the Holy Spirit from his own completely, even when they fall grievously. Neither does God let them fall down so far that they forfeit the grace of adoption and the state of justification, or commit the sin which leads to death (the sin against the Holy Spirit), and plunge themselves, entirely forsaken by God, into eternal ruin.[5]
The Synod favored Calvin’s doctrine over the Arminian point of view. On this fifth point, they made it clear that God would not withdraw His grace once given and would not abandon His chosen ones.
SCRIPTURE
Jesus told Christians, “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” (John 10:27-29). He told us that he was God in verse 30. These verses tell us that if we believe in Christ, God will not let us fall away, and Christians will have eternal life.
Paul told the Christian Church in Philippi, “and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). And He wrote to Timothy saying, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day has been rusted to me.”
Scripture reveals that God promises eternal life if we believe in Jesus Christ, his Son
CONCLUSION
The Bible and Reformed Theology clearly show that God keeps his promises. Scripture provides ample passages that prove that the Christian will persevere until the end and make it to heaven.
As stated by Berkoff, I believe the following to be true. “The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is to the effect that they whom God has regenerated and effectually called to a state of grace, can neither totally nor finally fall away from that state, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved.”[6]
[1] Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (Deluxe Edition 2001), p. 1444.
[2] Webster’s, p. 1444.
[3] Berkhof, Louis, Systematic Theology, combined ed., (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2021), p. 568.
[4] Berkhof, p. 567.
[5] The Christian Reformed Church, The Canons of Dort, https://www.crcna.org/welcomebeliefs/confessios/canons-dort, accessed August 8, 2025.
[6] Berkhof, p. 567.
