Debunk (verb): “to show that an idea, a belief, etc., is false; to show that something is not as good as people think it is” —Oxford English Dictionary
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The other day I was researching about the Calvinistic doctrine of “The Perseverance of the Saints” and I came across a statement by Charles Spurgeon that I’ve never seen before. It’s the statement when he says: “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”[1]
At first glance, the quip about the snail reaching the ark might seem to support Calvinism, specifically in reference to the Calvinistic doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. After all, it must have taken perseverance for the snail to reach the ark, right? But as I thought more about it, I realized that in reality it doesn't support “The Perseverance of the Saints” but actually argues strongly against it! The quote does have a superficial plausibility until you think about it for five minutes and realize that it doesn’t hold up biblically to what the Bible teaches.
What do I mean? Think about it: if the snail by perseverance reached the ark, then in order to support the Calvinistic doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, the ark would have to represent the end of the Christian life. But biblically, the ark doesn’t represent the end of the Christian life, but the beginning! The ark is a picture of Christ and the salvation He provides to those who are under the sentence of judgment. Therefore, the quote simply shows that God “is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Spurgeon even affirms this. For example, in his article titled “The Ark: A Type of Christ’s Salvation,” Spurgeon concludes by saying: “the ark receives all who come!”[2] And in another sermon Spurgeon says:
“The story of Noah’s preservation [notice that Spurgeon doesn’t say “perseverance of the saints” but instead he says “preservation”] in the ark, is a suggestive representation of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is, we think, especially intended to depict that part of our salvation which lies in the washing of regeneration.”[3]
This is true! When a sinner first believes in Christ for salvation, he or she is placed “in Christ” and is thus kept safe from God’s wrath and judgment that is coming on the unsaved (see Rom. 8:1).
Walter L. Wilson also affirms that the ark is a type of salvation in Christ, specifically picturing “His Calvary experience....by which we are saved.” Notice what Wilson says in his classic book Wilson’s Dictionary of Bible Types, under the heading “Ark” (Gen. 6:14-18):
“This boat may be taken as a type of the Lord Jesus in His Calvary experience. As the ark was under the deluge of the downpouring rain, so the Lord Jesus suffered under the rolling billows of God’s terrible wrath. This experience of Christ He calls a baptism in Luke 12:50. As those who were in the ark were saved from drowning, so those who are in Christ Jesus are saved from the wrath of God. It is the baptism of the Lord Jesus under God’s anger and wrath, as described in 1 Pet. 3:20-21, by which we are saved. We are saved by baptism, but it is Jesus’ baptism, and not ours.”[4]
So this is why I say that the statement “By perseverance the snail reached the ark” really argues against the Calvinistic “Perseverance of the Saints” doctrine, because it shows that from the very first moment of entering into the Ark, the sinner is safe and secure! In other words, whoever is in the ark can have assurance of salvation from the very moment he or she first enters! They are safe the very moment they enter the Ark. They don’t have to wait to be safe; they don’t have to persevere to be safe. Actually, Spurgeon even affirms this! Notice what he says in his sermon titled “Waiting Changed for Believing”:
“Christ has built the ark for us, we have nothing to do with building that; but when was Noah saved? Does any one say, ‘He was safe after he had been in the ark a month and had arranged all the things and looked out on the deluge and felt his danger’? No! the moment Noah went through the door, and the Lord shut him in, Noah was safe. When he had been in the ark a second he was as secure as when he had been there a month.”[5]
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that Christians shouldn’t persevere, indeed we should (see 2 Pet. 1:5-9): but not in the Calvinistic sense of “The Perseverance of the Saints” doctrine that teaches that true faith will persevere until the end in order to reach Heaven. No! True faith is true faith because of one look at the Savior, not because of a lifetime of perseverance! Spurgeon even affirms as much when he says in the same sermon: “there is life in a look at Jesus”![6]
There is life for a look at the Crucified One.
There is life at this moment for you!
Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved!
Look unto Him who was nailed to the tree.
Look! look! look and live!
There is life for a look at the Crucified One,
There is life at this moment for thee.[7]
APPENDIX 1
The Meaning of Matthew 24:13:
“But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.”
In regards to the meaning of Matthew 24:13, I’d like to begin with an excellent quote by Dr. Thomas Ice of the Pre-Trib Research Center. The following statements by Dr. Ice are from his article titled “An Interpretation of Matthew 24-25”. The footnote citations (numbers 9, 10, and 11) are from the original article. Commenting on Matthew 24:13, Dr. Ice writes the following:
The exact meaning and implications of “the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved,” is a hotly debated passage. Some use this passage to teach a Christian doctrine known as [“]the perseverance of the saints.” While others believe that it refers to a physical deliverance. I hold to the latter position, primarily because it is the only view that makes sense in this specific context.
The first issue that must be dealt with in this matter is the meaning of the term “saved.” Because the word “saved” is used in the New Testament to refer to the time when one becomes a Christian (the moment of justification as in), many just plug that meaning into this passage. The leading Greek lexicon of our days says that the basic meaning of this word is “save, keep from harm, preserve, rescue.”9 [“William F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), p. 805.”] This word can be used in relation to the doctrine of salvation (Matthew 1:21; Acts 16:31; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 1:19; Titus 3:5; etc.), or it can simply refer to physical deliverance or rescue (Matthew 8:25; 14:30; 27:49; Acts 27:31; Hebrews 5:7; Jude 1:5; etc.). The exact nuance is determined by its context. “The problem begins with the superficial hermeneutic of giving ‘saved’ the same meaning in every context, which is not true of any word,” declares Glasscock. “Words have no specific meaning apart from context. Here, ‘saved’ (sozo) means basically to ‘deliver’ or to ‘rescue’—from what and in what manner is dependent upon the context.”10 [“Glasscock, Matthew, p. 466.”]
Many commentaries on this passage fail to consider the contextual factors before they start sermonizing on endurance in the Christian life. They make this into a passage that teaches the Christian doctrine of endurance, even though it is not supported by the specific factors in the text.11 [“An example of one who turns this passage into a sermon on Christian endurance is found in John MacArthur, The New Testament Commentary: Matthew 24-28 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), pp. 28-29.”] Truly, there is a Christian doctrine of endurance taught in the Epistles (Romans 12:12; 1 Corinthians 13:7; 2 Timothy 2:10, 12; Hebrews 12:3, 7; James 1:12; 5:11; 1 Peter 2:20). This doctrine teaches that one of the many character qualities that believer is to have is endurance. Why is this so? It is true because endurance under suffering produces character (Romans 5:3-4). Yet, none of those references to the Christian doctrine of endurance speak of “enduring to the end.” Instead, passages that speak of enduring to the end all occur within the same context—the tribulation (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; Luke 21:19; Revelation 13:10; 14:12).[8]
Contrary to what the Calvinists want us to believe, Matthew 24:13 does not support the doctrine of “The Perseverance of the Saints” and here’s why. First of all (as Dr. Ice has pointed out), look at the context of Matthew chapter 24. It has to do Israel and Christ’s return to the earth after the Tribulation (see Matt. 24:20-21, 29-30). Matthew 24:1 says, “And Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.” The Jewish temple was for the Jews under the Law, not for the church in the dispensation of grace! J. Vernon McGee has well said: “You see, back in the Old Testament [under the dispensation of Law], they brought a little lamb [to the temple]. And I’m sure you don’t take a little lamb to church to sacrifice. Today it would be sinful to do that [because it would be like trampling underfoot the Son of God and regarding as unclean His once-for-all sacrifice on the cross, Heb. 10:29]. But back then, before Christ came, it was required; the Law required it.”[9] In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus is answering the disciples’ question about the end of the age (v. 3), that is, the end of the Law age related to the nation of Israel. This has to do with the 70 “weeks” (or seventy units of seven years) spoken of through Daniel the prophet (Matt. 24:15; cf. Daniel 9:24-27): “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place” (Dan. 9:24). Prophetically speaking, the first 69 “weeks” have already taken place; there is but one more “week” remaining: the coming seven-year Tribulation. This is the context of Matthew chapter 24. It is related to Israel's 70th “week”, the seven-year Tribulation period: “the time of Jacob's trouble” (Jer. 30:7). It is in this context that Jesus says in Matthew 24:13: “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” This statement is pertaining to those who are left behind after the Rapture of the church. Jesus is saying that those Israelites (notice the reference to the “Sabbath” in v. 20) who persevere to the end of the Great Tribulation will be saved, i.e. physically delivered. The word “saved” in verse 13 is in reference to physical deliverance. Jesus uses the word “saved” again in Matthew 24:22 in the same way, as meaning physical deliverance: “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect [i.e. Israel] those days shall be cut short.” John F. Walvoord, the second president of Dallas Theological Seminary, affirms this interpretation of Matthew 24:13. Walvoord writes:
“those that endure to the end (Mt 24:13), that is, survive the tribulation and are still alive, will be saved, or delivered, by Christ at His second coming. This is not a reference to salvation from sin, but rather the deliverance of survivors at the end of the age as stated, for instance, in Romans 11:26, where the Deliverer will save the nation Israel from its persecutors. Many, of course, will not endure to the end, in the sense that they will be martyred, even though they are saved by faith in Christ, and the multitude of martyrs is mentioned in Revelation 7:9-17.”[10]
In conclusion, I agree with Dr. Charlie Bing of GraceLife Ministries when he says in regards to Matthew 24:13: “This passage should never be used to teach a doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints.”[11]
References:
[1] Charles Spurgeon, The Salter-Cellars: Being a Collection of Proverbs (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1889), p. 89. Note: In quoting the proverb about the snail reaching the ark, Spurgeon apparently was not trying to illustrate the Calvinistic doctrine of “The Perseverance of the Saints”. This becomes clear in light of the fact that immediately after quoting the proverb, Spurgeon goes on to write: “No doubt the snails start early, and by keeping on they entered the ark and were saved as surely as the greyhounds.” So according to Spurgeon, entering the ark was a picture of salvation. In other words, Spurgeon wasn’t saying that the snail had to persevere after that in order to get to heaven. Other Calvinists have used the proverb that way, but Spurgeon did not. Thus, the proverb about the snail reaching the ark simply highlights the biblical truth that: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NIV). This is not to say that Spurgeon didn’t believe in the Calvinistic doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Indeed he did! For example, see his sermon titled “Enduring to the End” (Sermon 554), which is based on Matthew 10:22. It should be noted that the context of Matthew 10:22 is similar to that of Matthew 24:13. Both passages are related to the Jew and pertain to physical deliverance. For more information see Appendix 1.
[2] Charles Spurgeon, Flashes of Thought; Being One Thousand Choice Extracts (London: 1874), p. 11.
[3] Charles Spurgeon, “The Rainbow.” The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, June 28, 1863.
[4] Walter L. Wilson, Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1958), p. 33.
[5] Charles Spurgeon, Sermons of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1883), pp. 240-241. Note: The quote is excerpted from Spurgeon’s sermon titled: “Jesus at Bethesda; or Waiting Changed for Believing”.
[6] Ibid., p. 242.
[7] Amelia M. Hull, “There is Life for a Look” (circa 1832). See Isaiah 45:22; compare Number 21:4-9 with John 3:14-17.
[8] Thomas D. Ice, “An Interpretation of Matthew 24-25” (2009). Article Archives. 2.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch/2
[9] J. Vernon McGee, Romans: Chapter 1-8 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), p. 72, comment on Romans 3:25-26. Note: Reprint. Originally published: Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. 1975.
[10] John F. Walvoord, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come, comment on Matthew 24:13.
[11] Charlie Bing, “The Salvation of Those Who Endure to the End in Matthew 24:13” (GraceNotes, Number 61). https://www.gracelife.org/resources/gracenotes/pdf/gracenotes61.pdf
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