Skip to content
Examined Doctrine

Tim Keller on Perseverance & eternal security

1950 – 2023 · PRESBYTERIAN (PCA)
STANDARD SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTAFFIRMS°
STANCE

No — the genuinely saved will certainly persevere

THE POSITION

Perseverance of the saints.

WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONOne quotation, on spiritual-warfare, taken from a machine transcript of a freely published 1992 sermon, and copyright is not what is stopping the rest. Nine of the other ten loci have had no primary-source pass at all. The tenth, scripture-authority, had one that read three freely published pieces in full and kept no excerpt from them — so what is missing there is a retained sentence, not permission. The books are in copyright, but he preached and published free for decades, and this map quotes MacArthur, Heiser and Sproul at length, all modern authors in copyright.

SCRIPTURE
JOHN 10:28-29 · BSB

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

18 OTHERS HOLD THIS

Voddie BauchamCalvinJonathan EdwardsThe Church of Eleven22 Statement of FaithCharles Grandison FinneyBilly GrahamJosh HowertonSecond London Baptist ConfessionJohn MacArthurGavin OrtlundJohn OwenJustin PetersJohn PiperR.C. SproulCharles Haddon SpurgeonWestminster ConfessionGeorge WhitefieldZwingli
Yes — real apostasy is possibleCHRYSOSTOM · M. HEISER · LUTHER · PHILIP MELANCHTHON · WESLEY
Perseverance is a distinct gift, not given to all the regenerateAQUINAS · AUGUSTINE · JOHN DUNS SCOTUS
See all 30 figures on perseverance & eternal security →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian, New York. Known for apologetics addressed to urban skeptics and for a notably winsome register.

1 OF 11 POSITIONS QUOTED
Everything Tim Keller holds →
Cite this page

"Tim Keller on Perseverance & eternal security", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/keller/perseverance (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/keller/perseverance).

How citation works here