Daron Roberts

(1/3) Some claim the Reformers admired Thomas Aquinas. William Tyndale? Not so much: “Then came Thomas de Aquino, and he made the pope a god with his sophistry; and the pope made him a saint for his labor, and called him doctor Sanctus . . .

How do you find out you’re good at this? What’s the conversation look like

Especially when they regularly claim that assurance comes “only through Christ” without explaining the claim. What are we to make of the various warning passages (2 Cor 13:5; Col 1:22-23; Matt 24:13) that seem to indicate the potential of a true child of God apostatizing? Wouldn’t this approach tend to foster an unhealthy introspection, external performance, and ultimately weakened assurance? No! God has created us in Christ Jesus and prepared long ago that we should walk in good works, YET the ordained means by which He brings about our preservation is the manifold commands, admonitions, encouragements, and calls to faithfulness. We might look at the matter in this way: Eternal Security → Promises God’s faithfulness, Describes God’s securing power, Explains God’s sovereign purposes, Ascribes to God exclusive glory Assurance → Grows with Christian faithfulness, Manifested by increasing holiness, Shaken by a ravaged conscience, Fades with patterns of neglect and rebellion God will do what He promises, but we are warned to practice what He commands (Heb. 10:23). God’s warnings against unbelief are intended to forge an active and passionate growth in His grace, to prevent the self-deception of false security, to test levels of faithfulness, and to cause sober reflection on the dangers of unbelief. These warnings will have different impact, depending upon the maturity level of each believer: For the strong Christian– Warnings offer a reminder to press on all the more, and an abiding confidence that one has obeyed these cautions. For the weak but willing – Warnings provide a graphic deterrent to future patterns of sin. They display the specific care of God in pointing to dangers; They engender a greater dependence on grace. For the weak and stubborn – Warnings bring instant clarity to trouble (chastening); They bring greater conviction to the conscience; They expose unbelief as the source of all stubbornness. For the hardened – Warnings call for the justice of God, thereby upholding holiness; They confirm the traits of apostasy; They declare the absence of true conversion.