Round the Sphere Again: Assurance

Scriptural
And in Hebrews, the book with the scary warning passages, no less. 

Ultimately, the believer’s security rests not with the believer but with the living God. His final promise in the letter, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you,” is wonderful assurance indeed. So then, “we may say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid, What can mere mortals do to me?’” (Heb. 13:5, 6).

But still there are those warning passages. How do we reconcile them with the words of encouragement and assurance? Read Collin Hansen’s whole interview with Peter O’Brien at The Gospel Coalition Blog.

Confessional
Kevin DeYoung looks at what two Reformed confessions, the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession of Faith, have to say about assurance of salvation. Both confessional documents say more-or-less the same thing: 

If you want to know if you are truly in Christ, forgiven of your sins, and sealed for eternal lifeyou should rest in the good news of justification by faith alone, listen for the Spirit speaking to your spirit that you are a child of God, and discern (with the help of others) that God is slowly but surely changing you from one degree of glory to the next. Different people at different times under different circumstances will need to hear about all three grounds of assurance.

(More on the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession of Faith.)

Thankful Thursday

When it’s warm in January in the Yukon, I’m going to be thankful for it even though it feels like every other Thankful Thursday post mentions the weather. So far this has been a good winter weather-wise and that’s a big blessing, because everything in life is so much easier when it’s not extremely cold. 

I’m thankful 

• for a little more daylight every day. 
• that grapefruit are in season, another January blessing. 
• for disagreeable jobs finished and crossed off my list. 
• for my health and my energy, gifts that should never be taken for granted. 
• for a jigsaw puzzle by the fire.

I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit inspired the book of Romans because it reveals so much about God’s saving righteousness—so much of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m thankful that through Paul’s writing, God revealed the most important news there is to us.

Green Eggs and Ham Again

James White has an article responding to Roger Olson’s use of what I’ve called the green-eggs-and-ham argument. Olson tells of being asked this question:

If it was revealed to you in a way you couldn’t question or deny that the true God actually is as Calvinism says and rules as Calvinism affirms, would you still worship him?

He goes on:

I said no, that I would not because I could not. Such a God would be a moral monster.

The green-eggs-and-ham argument disturbs me every time I hear it. You’ll want to read all of all of White’s response.