“once saved, always saved.” Concisely defined, the perseverance of the saints means that believers “will persevere in trusting Christ as their Savior.… Thus they will always be saved.”27 Berkhof defines perseverance as “that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the work of divine grace that is begun in the heart, is continued and brought to completion.”28 The doctrine is sometimes referred to as “eternal security,” which emphasizes the certainty of the salvation of the