Sermon25-50 1Peter1 Guide

1 Peter 1:3-12 theme verse 1 Pt 1:5

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this forty fifth Sunday of 2025, on Pentecost Sunday, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, we looked at Human Conversion to God in the fourth doctrine of Canons of Dort, yet this week, we would like to look at the Doctrine of Perseverance of the saints through the fifth doctrine of Canons of Dort together.

1)    To summarize today's text first, in 1 Peter 1, Peter tells us four important truths about the fact that God has shared His eternal glory with us through Christ. First, Christians are born to receive God's glory, I mean, we are born again to receive His grace. In other words, Christians were chosen by God the Father before the creation of the world based on the covenant of redemption between Triune God in His love and grace. And then through the vicarious atonement of His Son on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit of calling, regeneration, and faith, we could accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, to be saved and granted the glory that God the Father gave to Christ and to us. Secondly, we Christians are protected by God so that we can receive His glory finally. I mean, God protects and strengthens us so that we do not fall from faith and can overcome sufferings for His glory. And thirdly, we Christians are being prepared to receive His glory. In other words, as we will be sanctified to become worthy of glory and being transformed into increasingly glorious beings. And finally, and even more astonishingly, this glory is not only for the future, but also we can enjoy it in the present time. Thus, we live the life that glorifies God by reflecting His glory, I mean, His glorious character, as He transforms us more and more glorious.

2)    That's why, verse 5 says, "(we) are guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Here the Greek word translated "guarded" is φρουρέω (phroureo), meant "to be protected or guarded by a garrison." So, it refers that God protects us so that we can maintain our faith and persevere. And the present participle indicates the ongoing nature of that protection and perseverance of God.

3)    Regarding this perseverance of the saints, the fifth doctrine of the Canons of Dort, Articles 1-3 state that even the saints who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit still have a sinful nature in them so sometimes they stumble due to their weakness. So each time they stumble, they became humble and rely more onto Christ and ask for help, then God protects them with His mercy and preserves them with His power. And then the articles 4-6 state that even though believers receive the grace of God's protection, they have to be awake and pray for the avoidance of the temptations of the desires of the flesh. But, if they do fall into sin, when they sincerely repent and turn from their sins, then the light of God the Father in His love will shine upon them again. And also it is said that even when believers are caught in serious sin, the Holy Spirit still dwells within them, preventing them from eternal destruction. And the Articles 7 and 8 affirm that the reason for this is because God protects the incorruptible seed of faith, not through human merit or effort, but purely by God's mercy. I mean, even though human beings may err and sin and change their resolve, God's promises never change, fail, or are revoked. And the Articles 9 through 13 talk about the assurance of faith of true believers. True believers can have assurance of God's election and perseverance of the saints. This assurance is grounded in God's promised word and the seal of the Holy Spirit. So true believers do not fall into pride or complacency, but rather live with humility, loyalty, true piety, perseverance, fervent prayer, patience, and joy. And then Article 14 states that the means of this perseverance are the preaching of the gospel, that is, the Word of God and the sacraments. So in the Article 15, it is said that the believers who possess this love of God, keep it as if it were a precious treasure, and offer glory and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity.

4)    But, regarding this doctrine of perseverance, Arminius raised objections that a) the perseverance of true believers is not an effect of election or a gift of God, but a condition of the new covenant which people have to fulfill by their free will. b) And even though God provides sufficient power, yet it still depends on the choice of human will whether or not to persevere. c)  And those who truly have been born again also can lose salvation. d) And apart from a special revelation, no one can have the assurance. e) And the faith of temporary believer is the same as saving faith. f) And after losing fist regeneration, one cannot be reborn. g) And Christ nowhere in the Bible prayed for an unfailing perseverance of believers

5)    So in response to these objections of Arminius, the council  of Dort condemned his claims since a) the claim that the perseverance of true believers is a condition of the new covenant, contradicts with Rom 8:17 “The chosen obtained it; the others were hardened.” b) And the claim that God provides sufficient strength, yet it still depends on the choice of human will whether or not to persevere, contradicts with 1 Cor 1:8 “It is God who keeps us strong to the end so that we will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” c) And the claim that the born-again believers can lose salvation and Christ nowhere prayed for an unfailing perseverance of believers, contradict with John 10:28 “I give eternal life to my sheep and they shall never perish” and Luke 22:32 “I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fall.” d) And also the claim that apart from a special revelation, no one can have the assurance, contradicts with 1 John 3:24 “We know that He remains in us by the Holy Spirit He gave us.”

6)    By the way, in this fifth doctrine of the Canons of Dort of "The Perseverance of the Saints," the word "perseverance" is used in the Chinese characters "堅(gyeon)" which means hardness and "忍(in)" which means steadfast endurance so that it means steadfast endurance. And also in English, it's translated as "perseverance," which refers to the "patience" or "enduring to the end." Therefore, it doesn't simply mean that God protects and guards us who did not make any effort on our own. Rather, it means that God's help enables us to persevere or endure to the end.

7)    In other words, this perseverance does not mean that God perseveres no matter what sin we continue to commit. Rather, it means that when we become awake and pray for not falling into the temptation of sin, God works in a way that He does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but in the temptation, He provides a way of escape so that we can endure it, as 1 Corinthians 10:13 says. That's why Herman Bavinck said that “Perseverance is a gift of God. But God, while guarding and caring for the progress and completion of the work of salvation, does not act apart from believers, but through them. … Perseverance is not a compulsion, but a gift of God, affecting humen in a spiritual way, by which God leads them, above all in a moral way, through exhortations and warnings, to heavenly blessings, and enables them, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, to persevere willingly in faith and love. … That is, the assurance does not render the means unnecessary, but is contained in the government of God, which is inseparably connected with the means. Thus Paul, although he knew with certainty that no one would lose their lives when the ship was wrecked, said, ‘Unless these, I mean, the sailors  stay in the ship, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 27:22, 31).

8)    As such, even with the grace of God that sustains us, we have to do our best as His saints. Then even though our patience certainly grows and our resolve is strengthened, but we continue to stumble due to the weakness of our flesh. In this process, we become more aware of our weakness and inadequacy, become more and more humble, and rely more and monre onto God. Then, with the grace of God, we are able to endure hardship for the final victory. Therefore, I pray that realizing the grace of God's perseverance that permeates in our salvation, we may always be alert in prayer with a humble heart to overcome the sufferings with the grace of God.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that even though we can stumble in our faith journey, God helps us to endure to have the final victory. So, after meditating on His grace of perseverance, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, we became to know that in His perseverance, God makes us awake in prayer and do our best to overcome the challenges by His power, not just making us have no challenge or pray. So after reviewing our life and checking whether we live in that grace, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.