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Why Saints Persevere | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reform Thinking, really glad you could join us
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for another deep dive. Yeah, it's good to be here.
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We, we try to take some big ideas, maybe complex sources,
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and really boil them down to what matters for, you know, for
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living out our faith. And today we're tackling
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something pretty central. I think it's that question of
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security. How secure is a believer,
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really? That assurance question, it
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comes up so. Often it does.
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How can we know, like really know that we'll persevere,
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especially when things get tough, right?
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So we're digging into Charles Spurgeon today, specifically his
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work All of Grace, looking at why Saints persevere.
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And this is a incredibly relevant if you've ever
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wondered, am I genuinely saved? Or maybe can I actually keep
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going in this faith until the end?
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Well, this deep dive should offer some solid ground.
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Solid ground. That's a good way to put.
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It yeah, we want to move past just, you know, hoping for the
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best. We're looking at God's
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character, what he's actually done.
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The whole point is to see our security isn't really about how
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strong we feel or even how strong we are, right?
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Not our feelings. Not our feelings, not our
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efforts. Ultimately, it rests completely
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on who God is and crucially, our connection, our union with him
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through Jesus. OK, so that's the goal today, to
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really grasp that foundational idea.
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God finishes what He starts. If He begins a work in you, He
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sees it through. That's a truth that well, if it
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should bring a lot of peace, a lot of confidence.
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Absolutely grounding us outside of ourselves.
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Exactly. OK, so let's get right into it.
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This whole idea of assurance, we wrestle with it, don't we?
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That little voice asking am I really going to make it?
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Constantly for some people. Yeah, and Spurgeon, he kind of
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cuts through all that internal debate.
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He points us away from, you know, how tightly we're holding
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on to how tightly God is holding on.
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He starts with Paul and the Corinthians.
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He asks why was Paul so sure, so convinced that these believers
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in Corinth would be confirmed unto the end?
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It's a great starting point because the Corinthian church
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wasn't exactly perfect, were they?
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No, not by a long shot. Lots of issues there.
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Right, so Paul's confidence couldn't have been based on
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their stellar performance or spiritual maturity.
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It wasn't about. Them.
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So what was it then? It was simple, really.
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Paul's answer, His whole basis for assurance for them was just
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this God is faithful. That's it.
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Wow, just those 3 words. 3 words, but they shift
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everything. The responsibility for our
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perseverance, our final security.
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It lands squarely on God's character, not ours.
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That's the true ground of our hope.
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And it's critical, like you said, that he doesn't say you
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Corinthians are faithful because when we look at ourselves, well,
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Spurgeon doesn't pull any punches there, does he?
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No, he certainly doesn't. He calls human faithfulness a
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very unreliable affair, even mere vanity.
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He describes us, our nature, as variable as the wind.
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I like that one. And frail as a spider's web.
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Weak as water? It paints a pretty clear
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picture, doesn't. It it does, I mean, think about
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trying to stick to a diet or an exercise plan.
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Most of us know that feeling of our own unreliability pretty
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well. Exactly.
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And Spurgeon makes a point that we can't place any dependence on
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our own natural qualities or even, you know, the spiritual
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progress we think we've made for sticking with it in the long
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run. OK.
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So that sets up the contrast, right?
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Our unreliability versus. Versus God's absolute
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reliability, His faithfulness. If we find ourselves still
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standing, still believing, years down the road, it won't be
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because we managed it. It it'll be because God
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continued His faithful work in US and for us.
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The whole weight rests there, right?
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So let's unpack that. Then God's faithfulness, the
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source says he abideth faithful. It's not like ours, which ebbs
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and flows. It's constant.
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How does Spurgeon break that down?
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What does God's faithfulness actually look like?
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Well, he shows how it permeates everything God is and does.
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Take his love, for example. OK, Spurgeon says.
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God's love knows no variableness, neither.
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Shadow of turning. That's drawing from James,
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right? Like the sun casts a shadow that
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moves and changes length throughout the day.
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God's love isn't like that. It doesn't shift, it doesn't
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flicker. It's absolutely constant fixed.
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It doesn't get warmer when we're behaving well and cooler when we
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mess up. That's huge.
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So it's not dependent on our performance at all.
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Not at all. It just is.
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His affection for his people is steady, unwavering.
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It's not a roller coaster based on our ups and downs.
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It's a stable, unchanging reality.
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OK, so his love is constant. What about his purpose?
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Does that have the same stability?
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Absolutely, Spurgeon says. God doth not begin to work and
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then leave it undone. This hits right at that fear,
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doesn't it? That maybe God started something
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good in me, but maybe I'll mess it up too badly, or maybe he'll
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just give up on me. Yeah.
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That's a real fear. But Spurgeon says no.
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If God genuinely initiates that spiritual work in a believer,
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drawing you, changing you, guiding you, he will see it
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through. He's not like a builder who
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starts a house and then walks away, leaving it half finished.
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Right, he completes his projects.
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He completes them. Every bit of grace, every nudge
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towards him, every internal change he starts.
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It's all part of a finished plan he intends to bring to
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completion. No exceptions.
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So this faithfulness also defines his relationships with
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us. Spurgeon mentions him as father,
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friend, creator. Yes, exactly as a father, the
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text says he will not renounce his children.
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Think about that. Even the best human parent might
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reach a breaking point, but God's fatherly commitment is
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absolute. Once you're adopted into his
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family through Christ, that's permanent.
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No take backs. No take backs.
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Your status as his child isn't conditional on your behavior.
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Then as a friend, he will not deny his people, doesn't ghost
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us when we're struggling or fail him.
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His friendship remains constant even when we're not being very
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good friends to him. And as our creator, he will not
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forsake the work of his own hands.
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You're not just some random accident, you're his deliberate
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creation. He values what he's made.
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He sustains it. You're not disposable in his
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eyes. That's comforting.
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He values his own work. He does, and think about his
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promises. We build our lives on those
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promises, don't we? We try to, yeah.
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Promises of forgiveness, guidance, strength, eternal
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life. And Spurgeon that God will never
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allow one of them to fail to a single believer.
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Not one single promise. Not to one single believer.
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That's incredibly specific. It is.
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It's not just a general hope that most promises will mostly
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come true for most people. It's an individual guarantee.
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Every promise God has made is backed by His infinite
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faithfulness for you. If you are in Christ, His Word
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holds. OK.
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And this faithfulness also applies to His covenant.
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The source mentions that that sounds weighty.
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It's extremely weighty. The covenant God made,
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established in Christ, was ratified with the blood of his
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sacrifice. Ratified with blood?
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What does that signify? In ancient times, and even
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biblically, ratifying, a covenant with blood was the most
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solemn, binding act possible. It signified that life itself
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was pledged to uphold the agreement.
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It made the covenant utterly unbreakable, non negotiable.
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So God's covenant with His people isn't just a contract,
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it's a sacred pledge sealed with the ultimate price, the
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lifeblood of His own Son. It signifies an absolute,
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irreversible commitment on God's part.
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It cannot be broken because the price paid is infinite and
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eternally valid. So God's bound himself by the
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highest possible standard. Exactly, and he's also faithful
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to his son, Spurgeon says He will not allow his precious
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blood to be spilled in vain. Meaning Christ's death wasn't
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just a potential salvation, it accomplished salvation for all,
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all those it was intended for. God's faithfulness guarantees
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that the purpose of Christ sacrifice, the securing of His
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people, will be fully realized. Every person Christ died for
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will be saved and kept. And finally, He's faithful to
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His people, directly to whom He has promised eternal life and
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from whom He will not turn away. You are the specific objects of
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His unwavering, faithful intention.
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OK, so tying this all together, this immense multifaceted
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faithfulness of God, Yeah. What's the direct consequence
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for our perseverance? For whether we'll actually make
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it? The direct consequence is this.
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The Saints shall persevere in holiness because God perseveres
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in grace. See the link.
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Yeah, OK. Our perseverance depends on his.
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Precisely. He perseveres in blessing,
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therefore believers persevere in being blessed.
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He continues to keep his people secure, therefore they continue
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enabled by him to keep his commands.
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Imperfectly, yes, but genuinely? So it's not about us mustering
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the strength to hold on, no. It's about His unwavering
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strength holding on to us. He keeps us, therefore we are
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kept. It shifts the entire burden from
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our weak shoulders onto his infinitely capable ones.
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That's the foundation for true, lasting peace.
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This makes perfect sense. With that phrase, Spurgeon uses
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all of grace. It's not just grace to get us
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started. Not at all.
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It's grace from start to finish, Spurgeon says.
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Salvation begins with free favor and infinite mercy, like bells
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ringing at the dawn of our faith.
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And those same bells, he says, ring melodiously through the
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whole day of grace, right up to the end.
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So the reason we're confirmed to the end isn't found in us at
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all? Nope.
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The reasons are exceedingly abundant, but they are found
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entirely in God, in His nature, His promises, His actions.
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Not in our works, not our feelings, not our spiritual
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disciplines, valuable as those are, as responses to grace,
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salvation, perseverance, glorification.
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It's God's work, God's gift, God's keeping all the way.
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OK, that is a really solid foundation.
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But you mentioned God's faithfulness isn't just a
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passive quality, it leads him to act, Spurgeon says.
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God has gone so far in blessing us that it is not possible for
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him to run back. He's committed himself through
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actions. What's the key action mentioned
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here? The key action highlighted is
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that God has called us into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus
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Christ. This isn't just, you know, a
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casual invite to a club. It sounds more decisive.
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It is. Decisive.
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This calling is a foundational, divine act.
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It's God actively bringing us into this relationship, this
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union with Jesus. Think of it less like an
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invitation you might RSVP to and more like a royal summons that
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changes your status permanently. And the source emphasizes this
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call cannot be reversed. It quotes scripture.
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The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
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What does that without repentance part really mean?
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Does it just mean God doesn't change his mind?
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It includes that definitely he doesn't change his mind, but
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it's deeper without repentance here means God never regrets his
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decision, never wishes he hadn't called that person, never takes
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back the gifts that come with that call, like salvation
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itself. So once he calls someone in this
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way, it's final. It's final, irrevocable,
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unchangeable. He's not looking at us thinking,
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oh, maybe I made a mistake with this one.
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No, the call signifies his settled, permanent intention.
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It's like an unbreakable seal he places on that person.
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He's committed. OK, so this isn't the general
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call of the gospel that goes out to everyone.
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Spurgeon makes a distinction. Yes, a crucial distinction.
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There's the common call, the general preaching of the gospel.
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Many are called, but few are chosen, Jesus said.
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Many hear that external call, but this is another kind of
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call. Spurgeon describes it as one
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that betokens special love. And here's the key.
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Necessitates the possession of that to which we are called.
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Necessitates possession, meaning.
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Meaning this specific internal call actually accomplishes what
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it offers. It doesn't just invite you to
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fellowship with Christ, it effectively brings you into that
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fellowship. It creates the faith, the
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desire, the ability to respond. Theologians often call it the
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effectual call because it always has its intended effect.
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It secures the person. Got it.
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So it's not an offer that might be refused, but a powerful,
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effective drawing by God to God. Exactly.
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It guarantees the outcome. And this seems to lock in a
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sequence. The source mentions this
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invariable divine procedure. Whom he called them, he also
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justified, and whom he justified them he also glorified.
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That sounds like steps that are guaranteed to follow each other.
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They are. Spurgeon presents this as an
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invariable rule. It's like an unbreakable chain,
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sometimes called the ordo salutis, or order of salvation,
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if God effectually calls you. Then justification is certain.
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Right, you are justified, declared righteous in his sight
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based on Christ's work, not your own.
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It's a done deal legally before God.
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And if you're justified. Then glorification is also
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certain. That's the final step, being
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made fully like Christ, completely free from sin, living
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in God's presence forever. It's the guaranteed endpoint for
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everyone who is called and justified so.
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It's not just call. Then maybe justification if you
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keep up your end, then maybe glorification if you finish.
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Well, it's called justification. Glorification guaranteed.
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Guaranteed by God's invariable procedure, this chain provides,
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as Spurgeon says, strong reasons for our preservation and future
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glory. Your future is locked in by
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God's own sequence of salvation. Wow.
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OK, that brings us right to the core, maybe the richest part of
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this unbreakable union, that fellowship with Jesus Christ.
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Being called into the fellowship of his Son means entering into
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partnership with Jesus Christ. That word partnership sounds
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very active, very involved. It is.
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It signifies a deep sharing and intimate joining.
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It's not like being distant business associates.
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It's being brought into the very life and resources and standing
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of Christ Himself, a vital living connection.
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And Spurgeon explores several facets of this partnership.
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The first one is joint ownership.
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Believers become joint owner with him in all things.
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We're one with him in the side of the Most High.
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What does that look like practically?
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Practically, it means his resources are effectively your
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resources. Spurgeon puts it bluntly.
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You are Christ and Christ is yours.
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You can't ultimately be poor while Jesus is rich.
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You can't experience ultimate want when you're a joint
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proprietor with Him who is possessor of heaven and earth.
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That's a staggering thought. It is.
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Think of a business firm. Even if one partner seems
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utterly bankrupt, that's us in our natural state.
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If the other partner, Christ, is inconceivably, inexhaustibly
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rich, the firm is secure. His wealth covers all
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liabilities. So this gives security against.
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Pretty much. Spurgeon mentions security
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against the depression of the times, the changes of the
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future, and the shock of the end of all things.
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Your ultimate well-being isn't tied to the stock market or your
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job security, or even your health.
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It's tied to the infinite, untouchable wealth of Christ.
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It changes your whole perspective on security.
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OK. That's joint ownership.
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Then there's representation. As Adam stood for his
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descendants, so does Jesus stand for all who are in him.
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This sounds more like our legal status it.
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Is it's about headship. Adam represented humanity in the
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beginning, and through his failure, sin and condemnation
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came to all. But Jesus is the second Adam,
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the new head of a new humanity. Representing those who are
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united to him by faith. Exactly.
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He stands in our place. His perfect life, His
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righteousness is counted as ours.
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We are justified in Him. Why?
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Because He bare your sins and His own body on the tree.
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He took our penalty. He became our substitute.
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So God sees us in Christ, clothed in his righteousness.
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Precisely. Our legal standing before God is
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perfect, not because of what we've done, but because of who
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our representative is and what He has done for us.
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Our acceptance is based entirely on Him.
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Then Spurgeon uses the analogy of marriage, a conjugal union.
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Yes, he speaks of being won by a conjugal union which can never
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be broken. This emphasizes the intimacy,
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the love, the commitment, the permanence of this relationship.
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Like a marriage vow, but unbreakable.
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Absolutely unbreakable. It speaks of a deep personal
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bond where Christ Christ cherishes his people as his
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bride and his interests become ours and our well-being is his
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priority. It's a union of love and loyalty
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that lasts forever. And there's another image being
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members of the body of Christ that sounds very organic, very
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interconnected. It is.
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This points to a loving, living, lasting union, like your hand is
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part of your body, sharing the same life source.
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You can't separate the health of the hand from the health of the
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body or the head. So our life is drawn directly
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from him. Yes, we share his life.
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Our spiritual vitality comes from our connection to him, the
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head. It's an inseparable bond that
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means we share his life now and his destiny forever.
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We're not just followers, we're part of Him.
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Which leads to the idea that we're made partakers of his
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nature, and given his immortal life, our destiny is tied up
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with his. This is really the ultimate
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security. If we share his nature, his
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divine life, then our future is as secure as his future,
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Spurgeon says. Our destiny is linked with that
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of our Lord, and until He can be destroyed, it is not possible
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that we should perish. And since he can't be destroyed.
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Then neither can those who are truly united to Him.
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His resurrection life is now our life.
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He lives forever. And because He lives, we will
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live also. That's about as secure as it
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gets. OK, so putting this all
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together, this union is calling into fellowship with Christ.
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It's described as the token and pledge of our being confirmed to
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the end. Yes, being brought into this
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union places believers into the place of infallible safeguard.
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It's not just a promise of safety, it is the place of
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safety. It's like God has put us inside
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an impenetrable fortress, that fortress being Christ himself.
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And Spurgeon uses that great illustration to make it vivid.
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Christ and the believing Sinner are in the same boat.
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Unless Jesus sinks, the believer will never drown.
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It's such a powerful image, isn't it?
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It captures that shared destiny perfectly.
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If you're in the boat with Jesus, you're as safe as he is.
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The boat isn't going down. He's got to sink first before we
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do. And that's impossible, Spurgeon
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says. Jesus must first be smitten,
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overcome and dishonored ere the least of his purchased ones can
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be injured. Our safety is guaranteed by his
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own invincibility. However rough the storm feels to
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us, the boat itself is secure because of who is in it and who
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is steering it. And one final image related to
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that partnership idea. His name is at the head of the
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firm. Right.
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This gives security against all dread of failure, because
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Christ's name, his reputation, His honor is tied to this
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venture of saving his people. So our failure would dishonor
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him. Exactly.
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And God will not allow His Son's name to be dishonored by having
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the firm go bankrupt, so to speak.
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He will ensure that every single person He has united with Christ
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makes it safely to the end. His honor guarantees our
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arrival. OK, so just to wrap this up and
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bring it all together for everyone listening, our
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security, our assurance that we will persevere.
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It doesn't rest on our own shaky faithfulness.
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Oh. Thank God it doesn't.
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It rests instead on God's absolutely unchanging character,
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His faithfulness. It rests on his decisive,
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irreversible act of calling us into fellowship with His Son.
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And it rests on that incredible, unbreakable union we have with
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Jesus Christ, being partners with him, represented by him,
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married to Him, part of his very body.
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Understanding these truths, really letting them sink in, it
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should take away a lot of that striving and anxiety about our
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spiritual performance, shouldn't it?
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It absolutely should. It gives you, as Spurgeon says,
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good solid ground to rest upon something utterly reliable
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outside of yourself. It frees you from that
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exhausting cycle of self doubt and fear.
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And the result shouldn't just be relief, but confidence, joy.
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Definitely, Spurgeon encourages believers to go forward with the
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utmost confidence knowing you are linked eternally with Jesus.
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That's a freeing thought. It really is, and it should lead
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to what He calls a full river of joy.
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Not just a trickle, but a river. It enables you to lean on Jesus
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more and more, not because you have to in fear, but because you
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get to entrust in delight. You see Him as this ever flowing
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well of delight. Our faithful God is an ever
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flowing well of delight. I like that.
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It's a beautiful picture of the Christian life grounded in his
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faithfulness, not ours. Which really brings us back to
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that triumphant question from Paul in Romans 8, echoing the
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truth we find here in First Corinthians.
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One who then, or what then, shall separate us from the love
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of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?
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Based on everything we've seen in God's faithfulness and our
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union with Christ, the answer is a resounding nothing and no one.
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A powerful truth to rest in.