by Jason Wolfe » Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:47 pm
Hello, I have, as the title says, a question for Calvinists about false converts and, specifically, how they relate to the fifth point of Calvinism: Perseverance of the Saints. Okay, here it is, Reformed theology says that you must "persevere to the end to be saved", right? So, if you're saved, you won't "fall away from the faith" by becoming an atheist/agnostic or joining a different religion, etc., right? You also cannot lose your salvation, because God has already chosen you to be saved before he even created the world, right? So what do you do with people who "seemingly" (in the Reformed mindset) have faith, but then stop believing? These people are classified as "false converts", correct? And don't you guys always go to 1 John 2:19 to explain this phenomenon? "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." So you take this verse to mean that everyone who says they have faith, and seems to believe and be saved, who then falls away are people who God decreed would do that in order for it to be manifested that they were never really saved in the first place (unless it's someone who falls away, but then comes back later, like one of John Piper's sons? Does he have more than one son? I don't know), true? Assuming that I understand your position and have characterized it correctly, this is my question: Do you believe that it's impossible for someone who's a false convert to die before they fall away, and thereby have their false conversion manifested? Do you think that everyone who has died having persevered in the faith is definitely saved, or that some (or maybe many) of them could have actually been false converts who just died before their false conversion was made manifest? Has God decreed that every false convert will be made manifest before they die, or not? I hope my question makes sense, and I appreciate whatever response you have. Thank you.