Second London Baptist Confession on Perseverance & eternal security
No — the genuinely saved will certainly persevere
Those whom God hath accepted in the beloved, effectually called and Sanctified by his Spirit, and given the precious faith of his Elect unto, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved.
THE POSITION
Chapter 17.1 takes Westminster's sentence and expands it into a paragraph: those accepted in the Beloved can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace. Paragraph 17.2 grounds that not in the believer's free will but in the decree of election, the merit and intercession of Christ, union with him, the oath of God, the abiding Spirit and the nature of the covenant of grace. Paragraph 17.3 concedes grievous and protracted sin without conceding apostasy — 'yet they shall renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end.'
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.
15 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
The confessional standard of the Particular Baptists, first printed 1677 and adopted by the London General Assembly of 1689. It takes over the Westminster Confession chapter by chapter and rewrites it at four points that matter: the covenant (ch. 7), the gospel and the extent of its grace (ch. 20, which Westminster has no counterpart to), the church (ch. 26), and baptism (ch. 29). This entry rests on the 1677/1689 printing with its own Scripture proofs, read against the Westminster text clause by clause.
Cite this page
"Second London Baptist Confession on Perseverance & eternal security", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/lbc1689/perseverance (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/lbc1689/perseverance).