Editing Perseverance of the saints (section)

==== Practical interpretation supporting an absolute assurance of salvation ====
[[File:Portrait of John Calvin, French School.jpg|thumb|Anonymous (17th century) Portrait of [[John Calvin]]|327x327px]]
Calvin heavily drew upon [[Augustinian soteriology]].{{sfn|McMahon|2012|pp=7–9|ps=. "This is why one finds that every four pages written in the ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' John Calvin quoted Augustine. Calvin, for this reason, would deem himself not a Calvinist, but an Augustinian. [...] Christian Calvinist, should they be more likely deemed an Augustinian-Calvinist?"}}{{sfn|McKinley|1965|p=19}} However, both [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] and [[Martin Luther|Luther]], an [[Order of Saint Augustine|Augustinian friar]], held that believers, based on their own understanding, cannot definitively know if they are among the "elect to perseverance."{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=213|loc={{zwnj}}|ps= "Unlike Calvin and those in the later Reformed tradition, however, Augustine does not believe that the Christian can in this life know with infallible certitude that he is in fact among the elect and that he will finally persevere."}}{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=216|ps= "Whether the believer, now in a state of grace, would remain in grace to the end was for Luther an open question."}}{{sfn|Christie-Murray|1989|p=89}} Despite Calvin's inability to offer a clear rationale,{{sfn|Calvin|1961|p=126|ps=. "Men preposterously ask how they can be certain of a salvation ''which lies in the hidden counsel of God''. I have replied with the truth. Since the certainty of salvation is set forth to us in Christ, it is wrong and injurious to Christ to pass over this proffered fountain of life from which supplies are available, and to toil to draw life out of the hidden recesses of God." (Emphasis added)}} he was more optimistic than Luther regarding this possibility.{{sfn|Davis|1991|loc={{zwnj}}|p=217|ps=. "Calvin, however, has greater confidence than Luther and the Catholic tradition before him that the believer can also have great assurance of his election and final perseverance."}} Calvin suggested that some assurance of being an elect might be possible.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=217|loc={{zwnj}}{{zwnj}}|ps="[For Calvin, when the Church father Gregory the Great] “teaches that we are aware only of our call but unsure of our election, he is badly and dangerously in error.”"}} This possibility of assurance, based on personal introspection, was also expressed by later Calvinist theologians.{{sfn|Keathley|2010|p=167|ps=. "The post-Reformation Calvinists and Puritans held to a [...] view which saw assurance as a grace given subsequent to conversion and discerned by careful self-examination."}} It was mentioned in the [[Heidelberg Catechism]] (1563){{sfn|CRC|1988|p=19|loc=Lord's Day 7, Q. 21|ps=. "True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit, through the gospel, that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation."}} and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646).{{sfn|Westminster Assembly|1946|loc=ch. 18, art. 2|ps=. "This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces [...]."}} In the 18th century,{{sfn|Ellis|2008|loc=ch. Conclusion}} [[Hyper-Calvinism]] encouraged introspection as a means for adherents to determine their election.{{sfn|Toon|2011|p=144|ps=. "Hyper-Calvinism led its adherents to hold that evangelism was not necessary and to place much emphasis on introspection in order to discover whether or not one was elect."}} The concept persisted into the 19th century.{{sfn|Britain|1827|loc=vol. 1|p=302|ps=. "Election, then will be like a threefold cord let down from heaven, which the believer has a right to view as his eternal security, never to be broken- and which will draw (not drag) him sweetly through sanctification of the Spirit, and a cordial belief of the truth, into the haven of eternal rest."}} This assurance forms the foundation of unconditional eternal security within Calvinist circles.

The process leading to [[eternal security]] unfolds as follows: Initially, the believer must embrace the Calvinist system, emphasizing [[unconditional election]] and [[irresistible grace]]. Subsequently, through self-examination, they must discern the spiritual influence of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. This [[introspection]] may lead to a faith in their own [[Predeterminism|predetermined]] election. In this context, the concept of the perseverance of the saints may prompt the believer to believe in their irresistible perseverance.{{sfn|Stanglin|2018}}{{sfn|Keathley|2010|p=172|ps=. "The later Calvinists and Puritans employed two syllogisms, the [[Practical syllogism (theology)|practical syllogism]] and the mystical syllogism, in their attempt to ascertain assurance by way of logical deduction. [...] The practical syllogism is as follows: Major premise: If effectual grace is manifested in me by good works, then I am elect. Minor premise (practical): I manifest good works. Conclusion: Therefore, I am one of the elect. But how does one know the minor premise of the practical syllogism is true for him? The Puritans attempted to answer this question by an introspective self-examination using the mystical syllogism. The mystical syllogism is as follows: Major premise: If I experience the inward confirmation of the Spirit, then I am elect. Minor premise (mystical): I experience the confirmation of the Spirit. Conclusion: Therefore, I am one of the elect."}}

Because this practical interpretation of the doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" leads to "eternal security", within Reformed Christianity, the term has become synonymous with the doctrine itself over time.{{sfn|Johnson|2008|pp=21-22|ps=. "It is common to hear the term “eternal security” used basically as a synonym for “the perseverance of the saints”. [...] However, the term “eternal security” is often used in a very different and unbiblical way [...] Hence, in common usage, the term “eternal security” can sometimes refer to a doctrine diametrically opposed to the Reformed doctrine of perseverance."}} By the early 20th century, "eternal security" was used as a strict synonym for "perseverance of the saints".{{sfn|USBC|1941|p=252|ps=. "The first change in the Articles of Faith dealt with the Calvinistic doctrine of "eternal security." It was changed from saying that "all who are regenerated and born again by the Spirit of God shall never finally fall away," to "all who are regenerated and born again by the Spirit of God, and endure to the end, shall be saved.""}} However, in broader Protestantism, "[[eternal security]]" often carries a distinct meaning.{{sfn|Johnson|2008|pp=21-22|ps=. "It is common to hear the term “eternal security” used basically as a synonym for “the perseverance of the saints”. [...] However, the term “eternal security” is often used in a very different and unbiblical way [...] Hence, in common usage, the term “eternal security” can sometimes refer to a doctrine diametrically opposed to the Reformed doctrine of perseverance."}} It's then important to differentiate the two due to their respective theological significance.{{sfn|Grudem|1994|p=860|ps=. "[W]e see why the phrase eternal security can be quite misleading. In some evangelical churches, instead of teaching the full and balanced presentation of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, pastors have sometimes taught a watered-down version, which in effect tells people that all who have once made a profession of faith and been baptized are “eternally secure.”"}}

Groups such as the [[Primitive Baptists]], originating in Georgia in the early 20th century,{{sfn|Kurian|Day|2017|loc=ch. Primitive Baptists}} officially embraced this form of eternal security due to their strong Calvinist beliefs.{{sfn|Garrett|2009|p=212}}