Perseverance: Fitting the Comfort and Warning Together

As you read about the warning and comfort of this doctrine, you may be thinking I am engaging in some crafty form of doublespeak.  It may sound like these two points (warning and comfort) contradict one another.  But remember that the doctrine teaches us that we persevere in the faith because God preserves us.  So, a person who is truly saved will persevere till the end (the warning reminds us of this responsibility), and a true Christian is secure because God keeps those who belong to him so that none are lost (the comfort reminds us of this truth). 

God has ordained the ends (our salvation) and the means (how he causes us to persevere).  He uses means such as the fellowship and accountability we have with other believers in the church (Hebrews 3:12-13), the knowledge we get from his word (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and the strength we gain from prayer (Matt. 26:41).  He even uses the warning passages of Scripture to call us to preserve (Hebrews 10:26-30).

Let me draw your attention to one passage in particular to illustrate these truths.  Hebrews 12:3-11 makes it clear that the true child of God will not wander from God indefinitely.  The reason is that God, as a good Father, disciplines his children. 

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons (vv. 7-8).

Sometimes we joke about God striking us with lightning for disobeying him.  What is scarier, however, is if the lightning never comes.  If God allows a person to go on in sin without bringing discipline then that person is an illegitimate child and not a son, which is to say that God is not his Father.  God disciplines those who belong to him.  A true child of God will persevere till the end because his loving, heavenly Father keeps him securely.

So, it is not a contradiction to say that this doctrine provides both a warning and a comfort.  Both are true and biblical.  A genuine Christian can sin severely, but the difference is that he or she cannot live a habitual life of sin without God bringing discipline on him or her.  The true Christian perseveres because his Father preserves him.