Perseverance of the Saints
A Sermon on the Perseverance of the Saints from Psalm 73:24
Scripture
24You will guide me with Your plan,
And afterward receive me to glory.
24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
Sermon Description
If it was God’s grace that saves humanity, will it not be God’s grace that keeps His people? This message is good news for the backslider. In this sermon on the perseverance of the saints from Psalm 73:24, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones highlights the grace of God in the believer’s future salvation. This doctrine, known as the perseverance of the saints, belongs at the bedrock of the faith. Dr. Lloyd-Jones begins with a proper understanding of God’s grace. God’s grace saves, restrains, and restores. The backsliding Christian will be restored because God is a God of grace. His grace is the reason all Christians are, remain, and we will be saved. Nothing, therefore, can separate the believer from God’s love. First, this doctrine is rooted in God’s own character. When God starts a work, He completes it. One finds His rest in this unchangeable person of God. The true believer cannot slide too far from God’s saving grace because God’s work of redemption doesn’t change. Second, this doctrine stems from God’s purpose. God has intended to save humanity from their sin for God’s own glory. Since saving them from sin is God’s purpose, the weak Christian will indeed be saved. Finally, this doctrine rests in the power of God. Listen and know that God not only desires His children to be saved, but He has the ability to save.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.