The Gift of perseverance is the doctrine of
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
that persevering in the faith is a gift given by God, but a person can never know if they have the gift. According to Augustine, without having the gift of perseverance a person is damned, even if he seems to have been elected by grace. Augustine himself also believed that
Cyprian
Cyprian (; ; to 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...
held a similar view about perseverance being a work of God, and thus foreshadowing the Augustinian view. Some Calvinists argue that the Augustinian view foreshadows the Calvinist doctrine of
perseverance of the saints
Perseverance of the saints, also known as preservation of the saints, is a Calvinist doctrine asserting that the elect will persevere in faith and ultimately achieve salvation. This concept was initially developed by Augustine of Hippo in the ea ...
.
Background
Augustine believed that one receives the
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
at their
baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
, which produces salvation. However, Augustine wanted to explain why some regenerate people
fall away from the faith, even though both groups had the Holy Spirit. Thus Augustine concluded that some people are given a second gift of perseverance, which is only given to some regenerate people.
Doctrine
Augustine defined perseverance as gift by which one perseveres up to the end of their lives, if a person dies as a believer they had been given the gift, but if one dies as an unbeliever, even if he used to once believe, he did not have this gift given. Augustine believed that the gift can be received through prayer, but when one person has the gift, they can't lose it.
[{{Cite book, last=Hwang, first=Alexander Y., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYf-8KImH6QC&dq=Gift+of+persevarance+Augustine&pg=PA131, title=Intrepid Lover of Perfect Grace: The Life and Thought of Prosper of Aquitaine, date=May 2009, publisher=CUA Press, isbn=978-0-8132-1670-6, language=en]
See also
*
Predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...
*
Eternal security
Eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved" is the belief providing Christianity, Christian believers with absolute Assurance (theology), assurance of their final Salvation in Christianity, salvation. Its development, particularly wi ...
References
Christian philosophy
Christian soteriology
Christian terminology
External links
On the Predestination of the Saints