Transforming Grace

I’ve heard it said that the Puritans put too much emphasis on felt faith as the basis of assurance. This may be true and there is certainly evidence in the work of Thomas Watson of a high emphasis on experiential faith, with lines like:

The heart of a man lies under a curse. It brings forth nothing but the thistles and strife of contention. But when grace comes into the heart it makes it peaceable. It infuses a sweet, loving disposition.

It would be a mistake, I believe, to say that assurance was always found in felt faith. There was a place in Puritan thought for what Thomas Watson calls desertion. Here he answers the objection that it is unloving of God to allow his children to come under the “black clouds” of desertion.

First, Watson acknowledges the horror of desertion:

Concerning desertion, I must needs say that this is the saddest condition that can betide God’s children. When the sun is gone, the dew falls. When the sunlight of God’s countenance is removed, then the dew of tears falls from the eyes of the saints. In desertion God rains hell out of heaven (to use Calvin’s expression). ‘The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit, (Job 6:4). This is the poisoned arrow that wounds to the heart. …[Yet] There is peace and mercy in it. I shall hold forth a spiritual rainbow wherein the children of God may see the love of their Father in the midst of the clouds of desertion.

To answer the objection, Watson points to the cross and distinguishes between lack of vision and lack of union:

I answer: God may forsake his children in regard of vision, but not in regard of union. Thus it was with Jesus Christ when he cried out, ‘my God, my God’. There was not a separation of the union between him and his Father, only a suspension of the vision. God’s love through the interposition of our sins may be darkened and eclipsed, but still he is a Father. The sun may be hid in a cloud, but it is not out of the firmament. The promises in time of desertion may be, as it were, sequestered. We do not have the comfort from them as formerly, but still the believer’s title holds good in law.

Watson then brings the matter back to experiential faith arguing that desertion is an act of grace and mercy designed by God to strengthen faith and love:

(ii) I answer, God has a design of mercy in hiding his face from his adopted ones.

First, it is for the trial of grace, and there are two graces brought to trial in time of desertion, faith and love.

Faith: When we can believe against sense and feeling; when we are without experience, yet can trust to a promise; when we do not have the ‘kisses of God’s mouth’, yet can cleave to ‘the word of his mouth’; this is faith indeed. Here is the sparkling of the diamond.

Love: When God smiles upon us, it is not much to love him, but when he seems to put us away in anger (Psalm 27: 9), now to love him and be as the lime – the more water is thrown upon it the hotter it burns – this is love indeed. That love sure is ’strong as death’ (Canticles 8:6) which the waters of desertion cannot quench…

Secondly, it is for the exercise of grace. We are all for comfort… We are loath to be in trials, agonies, desertions, as if God could not love us except he had us in his arms…

(iv) I answer: when God hides his face from his child, his [God's] heart may be towards him…

I’ve noticed a difference between English conservative circles where emotions are held with a degree of suspicion, as if feeling anything too strongly might not be sound, and the Scottish evangelicalism in which I was converted. In England, the shifting sands of emotion are often suppressed because faith should be built upon the rock of the word. But there is a difference between not trusting our emotions and not nurturing them. Watson happily nurtured his affections for Christ through the word by the Spirit whilst recognising that God might withdraw the sense of his presence. When God hides his face he does so for the good of his children, to strengthen resolve, faith and love.

I’ve recently begun blessing my kids last thing at night. I use 24 scriptural blessings written by David Michael. One of the blessings is Numbers 6:24-26, which includes the line:

the LORD make his face to shine upon you

This raises the possibility that the LORD might not make his face shine upon me or my children and we need to be prepared not to confuse desertion with total rejection and abandonment.

Last year I read Puritan Reformed Spirituality by Joel Beeke whilst on holiday and was really encouraged and refreshed by it. I want to read something similar this year, but finding edifying books which aren’t heavy is difficult.

I think I’ve found this year’s holiday book. Expository Preaching with Word Pictures by Jack Hughes. It is an examination of the preaching of Thomas Watson and Jack Hughes’ style is just right. Here’s a snippet from the introduction:

Homiletics, which addresses issues related to sermon delivery, is the science and art of preaching. It is the preacher’s job not merely to preach the word, but to preach it in such a way that people hear, understand and remember…

…While in seminary I purchased the book ‘Heaven Taken by Storm’ by a Puritan preacher named Thomas Watson. Every time I read from the book it was like volunteering for open-heart surgery.

…The book was so practical and convicting that I could hardly read more than a couple of pages a day. My heart could not take any more. Watson had a way of getting into my head and heart, exposing my sin and hypocrisy…

…I enjoy giving Watson’s books to people because his writings are like spiritual grenades with the pin pulled.

…I thought to myself, ‘Why merely read him and be convicted? Why not learn to preach like he did?’ I determined in my heart to analyse Thomas Watson as I read his works.

…This book is the fruit of my labors. And it is my prayer that it will be a blessing to you just as researching and writing it has already been a blessing to me.

If anyone has followed my advice to read Watson’s exposition of the beatitudes and given up, then you are not alone. Here’s what my fellow Watson fan says about several of his friends’ attempts to read Watson:

A fellow pastor was going on a reading holiday. I dared him to see if he could read all of ‘Heaven Taken by Storm’ during that week. When he returned a week later, he had not finished the book. A person can only handle so much spiritual surgery in a week! Another time I gave The Godly Man’s Picture to seven friends for Christmas. Only two of them have made it through the book, and that was five years ago.

Watson seems to appeal to only some people. Call me a glutton, but I’ll probably take Watson’s The doctrine of repentance on holiday too.

I posted twice last week on children’s bibles and their unhealthy focus on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I was also preparing last week to speak at a men’s breakfast on the discipline of work. As I read Genesis 2 again, I was struck by the awkward syntax of Genesis 2:7-9:

Genesis 2:7-9 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Gordon Wenham states that some have surmised that there may have been only one tree at the centre of the garden in the original Paradiesgeschichte and that the other tree of Gen 3:3 was added at Gen 2:9 later:

This could be corroborated by the awkward way “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” is tacked on this verse.

Wenham also shows that this is not unusual syntax as it occurs elsewhere in Genesis and the Pentateuch:

Genesis 1:16 And God made the two great lights- the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night- and the stars.

Genesis 34:29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. [I'm not sure which one applies here]

Numbers 13:23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs.

Could it be that the syntax is deliberately awkward in order to highlight the primacy of the the first tree? The equivalent in English being something like “Sandra was at the party, oh yes, and so was Pete”, the story being primarily about Sandra.

If this is the way the Hebrew syntax functions then our accounts of the creation narrative should focus more heavily on the tree of life and how Adam and Eve missed what they were really meant to have; eternal life.

If you have a grasp of Hebrew, I’d be grateful for your comment.

Ros Clarke responded on her blog to the news of Willow Creek’s change of direction by asking:

It’ll be interesting to see how they respond when people start leaving the church as a result of the new onslaught of bible teaching.

The autobiography of the late William Still, Dying to Live, minister at Gilcomston South in Aberdeen, Scotland, gives the appropriate response. Mr Still went through a similar change of direction. He was appointed at Gilc in 1945 with the remit to “fill the kirk”, which he did “to overflowing, by the use of Redemption songs and fiery evangelistic sermons which soon set the town agog!” Billy Graham and Alan Redpath ran missions there and after 18 months over 2000 people attended on Saturday night rallies and Sunday morning services.

Mr Still writes:

It took a great struggle to come to the point where I knew that I had to call a halt to the Saturday night rallies in the church. …It was obvious that the necessity for maintaining a high level of novelty was too time-consuming and was taking up too much of our energies. I was tired of trying to be an evangelistic entertainer…

The change in direction was the same as Willow Creek’s, from attractive sub-culture to producing attractive “well rounded” Christians by applied, relevant, systematic bible teaching:

If I said eighteen months’ experience of ardent evangelistic work caused disillusionment, that was only part of the truth, and was really beside the point. The truth is, as I have said, that I was beginning to discover, almost by accident although I know the Lord has another name for it, the value of the systematic teaching of the Word of God. And as that took grip of me in the pulpit during the latter days and months of 1946, I saw that a commission was given me, which was to be my task for the rest of my life, rather than that of superficial evangelism which, alas, leaves so much of the glorious Word of God untouched. And if it is true, which I fervently believe (and with some experience to back up my opinion) that there is no part of the Word of God which can be left out if fully rounded Christian characters are to be formed, then there is no alternative to ministering the whole Word of God.

[My emphasis added]

The congregation dwindled from 2000 to around 500. Mr Still was accused of failure, burnout and there was concern for church finances. But out of that reduced congregation came 42 Church of Scotland ministers and over 300 missionaries, not to mention those who passed though and enriched other churches. Oh yes, and at least one Church of England minister.

After yesterday’s blog on kids’ bibles setting God up as a severe school master type in their accounts of creation, I’ve found one exception, almost.

The Lion Illustrated Bible for Children, written by Lois Rock, states:

Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the East. It was filled with beautiful trees that gave good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree of life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.

God placed the man in the Garden of Eden, so that it would be a home for him. “Take care of this place,” said God, “and it will provide you with all you need. Only take care not to eat the fruit from the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad, for if you do, you will die.”

This is so nearly very good. It makes God appear generous and it mentions the tree of life. What it doesn’t do is explain the function of the tree of life as it does the other tree. As both trees function as a means of ratifying God’s promise, it would be better phrased “In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives the promise of life forever and…” This way, the primary focus is on the promises of God with a secondary focus on the prohibition.

I’m relieved that my boys will soon be joining their sister in reading the International Childrens’ Bible.

It’s been a while since I wrote anything on the Garden of Eden. We have several children’s bibles which I read to my boys at bedtime. Every one of these picture bibles begins with creation and makes the same mistake, mentioning only one tree in the Garden, focusing only on God’s prohibition, “do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die”. Each time we begin to read a new bible my boys get the same wrong impression that Eve had of God; that he is a miserly, restrictive, severe school master sort of God.

Here’s some examples:

The Christian Focus Story Bible (Christian Focus)
“God told Adam that he was not to eat from the knowledge of good and evil. But Satan tempted Eve.”

First Bible Stories (Marks & Spencer)
“In the centre of the garden grew a special tree. It was called the Tree of Knowledge. God made it very clear that this tree was different from all the other trees. ‘You must not eat the fruit of this tree’, God warned Adam and Eve.”

Storyteller Bible (Lion)
“There’s just one more thing,” God said. “Do you see that tree over there? The one in the middle of the garden? Well, the fruit of that tree is not good for you.”

My very first bible (Lion)
The snake whispered what to do: they ate some fruit God had told them not to eat.

Meeting with God (Christian Focus)
He also gave them a very simple command to obey. He told them they must not eat from one tree that grew in their garden home, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or they would die.

Instead of simply reading these accounts, I discuss with the boys the fact that there were two trees in the garden with a promise attached to each. We focus on the goodness and generosity of God in offering Adam and Eve the promise of eternal life if they would show him their faith in his promise by eating from the tree of life. We discuss the horror of their choice to eat from the other tree, wanting what God had said they were not to have, knowledge of good and evil. Then we talk about the punishment God threatened if they disobeyed God’s law, the threat of execution by God.

Three things result. First, my boys get the gospel. They get that God is generous and good and that they need Jesus to keep the law and die by execution as their substitute. Second, they get the Lord’s Supper. If eating the fruit of the tree of life was the way Adam and Eve were to show God that they trusted his promise, then eating the Lord’s Supper is the way God’s people show they trust the promises of God in Jesus and so inherit the promise of eternal life. Third, they learn to read all secondary Christian literature with caution. If it is not in the grown up bible then it needs careful consideration before we take it as gospel truth.

My sons are five and three years old. If they can get the Garden of Eden then it is time our children’s bible writers got it too. Oh, and, what’s the reason kids can’t express their faith in Christ in his Supper?

I’ve recently posted on 8 biblical personality types, which describe all people. Narrowing the focus to Christian believers, I believe that 1st Peter provides four categories which define 13 Christian personality types. The four categories are:

1. Faith in Christ (1 Peter 1:7 the tested genuineness of your faith)
2. Affection for Christ (1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him)
3. Knowledge of Christ (1 Peter 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully)
4. Obedience to Christ (1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth)

These four categories, or aspects of Christian life, are distinct yet inter-relate:

The 13 sections of the above diagram can be named and described. The first 8 are simple, the last 5 need some description:

1. The dependent (faith) “I trust in Christ”
2. The romantic (affection) “I love Christ”
3. The academic (knowledge and study) “I know Christ”
4. The worker (obedience) “I serve Christ”
5. The Christ-centred dreamer (faith + affection)
   “I love and trust Christ”
6. The hard-working lover (affection + obedience)
   “I love and serve Christ”
7. The moral student (knowledge + obedience)
   “I know and serve Christ”
8. The clever closet Christian (knowledge + faith)
   “I know and trust Christ”
9. The tender-hearted soldier (faith + affection + obedience)
   “I love, trust and serve Christ but lack deep knowledge of him”
   This person exudes a warmth and unshakable confidence in Christ, they serve him at church and in the world but lack a depth of knowledge which appears naive others. This person needs to spend more time reading, thinking, studying to expand their knowledge of Christ. Many charismatics come across this way.
10. The unsure servant (affection + obedience + knowledge)
    “I love, serve and know Christ but lack confidence in him”
    This person comes across as sincere about Christ and yet is timid and unsure of him. People will ask, “why are you not more confident in Christ?”. This lack of confidence undermines both the pastoral work and evangelism of this person as promises which are not applied personally are unlikely to be applied to others.
11. The cold crusader (obedience + knowledge + faith)
    “I serve, know deeply and trust Christ but lack tenderness and love.”
    This person is strong, moral, trusting but emotionally stunted and therefore blunt. Many conservative evangelical men are like this.
12. The keen but lawless (knowledge + faith + affection)
    “I know Christ deeply, trust him completely and love him passionately but my sinful desires overpower me”
    This person needs self-control but lacks the desire to be obedient because their passions and desires are more pleasing to them than their desire to please God. This sort of person is not necessarily a liberal, but many liberals would fit this box.
13. The complete Christian (knowledge + faith + obedience + affection)
    “I know Christ deeply, trust him completely, love him dearly and overcome my sinful desires.”
    This is where all Christians should aim for. As John Piper says “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” by satisfaction I take it he means “fully trusting in Christ with complete knowledge of Christ which results in total obedience to Christ and deep, deep love for Christ and others.”

The startling thing about 1st Peter is the call to be the complete Christian in a hostile world. The question that arises from this for ministers like me is, “in which areas and in what ways am I lacking?” and then we must ask the same question for our congregations.

It seems that believe in God is on the increase. Lots of people I meet believe in God, have faith in the existence of God, but are not children of God because their faith is not saving faith. The distinction lies in the nature of faith as Thomas Watson explains:

1 What faith is. If faith instates us into son-ship (adoption by God), it concerns us to know what faith is. There is a twofold faith.

(i) A more lax general faith. When we believe the truth of all that is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, this is not the faith which privileges us in son-ship. The devils believe all the articles in the creed. It is not the bare knowledge of a medicine or believing the sovereign virtue of it that will cure one that is ill. This general faith (so much cried up by some) will not save. This a man may have and not love God. He may believe that God will come to judge the quick and the dead, and hate him, as the prisoner believes the judge’s coming to the assizes, and abhors the thoughts of him. Take heed of resting in a general faith. You may have this and be no better than devils.

(ii) There is a special faith, when we not only believe the report we hear of Christ, but rest upon him, embrace him, ‘taking hold of the horns of this altar’, resolving there to abide. …faith draws Christ into the heart and applies him there. …By this we are made the children of God, and wherever this faith is, it is not like a medicinal pill in a dead man’s mouth, but is exceedingly operative. It obliges to duty. It works by love (Galatians 5:6)

Ministry burnout was a hot topic a few years ago, especially around the time Peter Brain’s book Going the Distance was published in 2004. I believe there is a link between neonomianism and burnout. Uncertain of God’s acceptance, the neonomian drives himself hard morally and practically to win God’s approval and in doing so burns out.

By enjoying the love and acceptance of God though faith in Christ the pressure to perform for God is off. There is a danger, however, of swinging too far the other way and copping out. There is a balance to be struck between self-sacrifice and self-love. This balance is different for each person according to the way God has put them together. I get mentally tired quite easily and so need to be reminded to watch out for symptoms of burnout without copout. Here’s a list of symptoms of burnout and some checks and balances:

1. Exhaustion and easy tiring
2. Disenchantment with work
3. Feeling isolated–socially, psychologically, and/or physically
4. A growing apathy towards colleagues, customers, clients, family
5. Unprofessional feelings, attitudes or behaviour at work
6. Increase in cynical attitudes
7. An unhealthy increase in alcohol or food consumption or changing healthy behaviors for unhealthy ones
8. Lacking interest in client outcomes
9. Having persistent, recurring thoughts about whether you are in the right profession or about changing jobs
10. Missing work
11. Developing health problems
12. Being slow to return clients’ phone calls or to reschedule canceled meetings.
13. Showing pessimism about outcomes
14. Displaying less enthusiasm and intensity toward client
15. Feeling unappreciated
16. Loss of the ability to laugh or to see the “light side”
17. Dreading going to work
18. Having trouble sleeping

B. PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE & OVERCOMING YOUR OWN OR STAFF BURNOUT
The best way to avoid problems due to fatigue, overwork, and burnout is to prevent it. The following are some guidelines of guarding against burnout:

1. Arrange working and environmental conditions so that fatigue and burnout are not likely to occur
2. Schedule short “breathing spaces” during the day
3. Always take a lunch break
4. Develop a support system with other colleagues
5. Consult frequently with your supervisor
6. Arrange your office or work space in a pleasing manner
7. When not working, learn to engage in relaxing activities
8. Don’t bring your work home with you
9. Don’t dwell on what happened at work during leisure time
10. Let off steam about your feelings to an empathic listener
11. Change the size or type of load you carry
12. Take some time off from work (quiet days)
13. Do something each day that in some way is pleasing to you and meets your needs
14. Avoid being taken in by co-workers wanting to abdicate their responsibilities
15. Keep meetings brief and to the point. Have an agenda
16. Exercise selectivity in responding to emergency calls
17. Remind yourself you cannot control other people’s behavior
18. Realize that progress includes setbacks
19. Maintain your sense of humor
20. Avoid alcohol or drug abuse
21. Get adequate rest
22. Watch your physical health and nutrition
23. Get plenty of exercise
24. Keep abreast of current advances in your profession
25. Organize priorities in your work to maintain physical stamina
26. Learn to delegate authority
27. Learn to admit the need for help in the job
28. Limit the number of hours you work

(HT Carroll)

Yesterday I went to the annual Oak Hill school of theology where Tom Schreiner was speaking on the nature of warning passages in the New Testament. His four accessible and pastorally applied lectures were entitled:

> How to understand the warnings in scripture
> Persevering in faith is not perfection
> Persevering in faith is not works-righteousness
> Faith and assurance

Here’s my palmpilot notes from the day:

Lecture 1 - How to understand the warnings in scripture
Herman Bavinck - Reformed Dogmatics (Vol ?) - p266 does God uphold the gift of grace he began or can sin destroy grace? (full quote needed)

Often said “Once saved always saved? No matter what happens, no matter what you do you’ll always be saved.”
This statement is not helpful.

Passages exhorting the believer to persevere:
Acts 11:23 - be faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose
Acts 13:43 - continue in the grace of God
Acts 14:22 - encouraging them to continue in the faith
1 Thess 3:1ff - there will be troubles on the way

It’s not how you start but how you finish.

More passages exhorting an ongoing practice:
1 Pet 5:12 - stand firm in the grace of God
Jude 20,21 - keep yourselves in the love of God (balanced with v24,25)
Heb 12:15
1 Cor 6:1 - do not receive the grace of God in vain

Various views of these sorts of passages:
Arminian - passages addressed to believers, concerning salvation, apostasy is possible.
Grace evangelical society view - passages addressed to believers, not concerning salvation but rewards. Salvation secure. Rewards at stake.
Tests of genuineness view - passages addressed to almost believers, concerning salvation, those who fall away never had real faith.
Federal Vision - passages addressed to almost believers, concerning salvation, elect and non-elect members of covenant “believers” those who fall away not elect.

Passages relating the life of the believer to saving faith:
Matt 10:32 whoever denies me before men I will deny them.
Matt 10:22 persevere to end
Matt 10:37 love me

John 15:6 abide in me or be burned
Gal 5:2-4 turn to the law and you severed from Christ.
Rom 11:19ff provided you continue in his kindness
1 Cor 6:7ff - warning about wrongdoing.
Rom 10:12 - take heed lest he fall
Gal 5:
2 John 7,8 - watch that you don’t lose eternal life, abide and remain
Rev 2:7,11, - conquer or die
Heb - if we go on deliberately sinning we will not be saved

There is an undeniable link between how we live after conversion and salvation. So, Schreiner’s view is that the warnings are addressed to believers, concerning salvation and salvation is at stake.

Lecture 2 - Persevering in faith is not perfection

perseverance is not perfectionism because
1. we pray for forgiveness
none of us reach the point where we don’t need to pray this prayer (cessesionists believed in perfectionism 1 John 1:8 )
2. perfection is ours at the resurrection (Phil 3:12) Christ has made me his, so I persevere (no presumption of inability). Romans 8:10 - we are righteous yet in the flesh.
8:23 - first fruits (assurance) + groaning as we wait (perseverance)
3. exhortations to abstain from powerful desires of the flesh (1 Peter 2:11, Gal 5:17, Rom 7:21-23, 8:13)
4. even the best Christians can do better - Jas 3:1-2 we all stumble in many ways - tongue. Do not give excuses for sin (tired etc), just confess.
1 Thess 4:1 - do it more and more! Affirm people where they are an encourage them to do better
5. Perfection will be ours on the last day. Eph 5:27, Col 1:22, 1 Thess 3:12ff, 1 John 3:2
6. biographical examples - Zechariah in Luke 1:6 (blameless not sinless, sin = unbelief, he goes on sinning
Gal 2:11 - Peter sinned by pulling back and mixing only with the circumcision party (Christian law party), even Barnabas sins!

Lecture 3 - Persevering in faith is not works-righteousness

Persevering in faith is not works-righteousness.
Obedience is necessary for salvation.

Gal 6:8 - sows to the Spirit
Romans 15:18 - obedience
Jas 2: - works are necessary for salvation

obedience of faith (Romans 1:5)
obedience flows from faith (Romans 16:26)
Romans 2:6-7 - render according to works, 25ff inward circumcision done by the Spirit. This is the obedience of faith. Not hypothetical.
1 Thess 1:3 labour of love
Gal 3:3 - begun by Spirit (believing, trusting, resting in Christ) do not move on.
We disobey if we disbelieve Christ is our Saviour
Faith, faith, faith will always produce works (root and shoot)
Perseverance is not a call to try harder, focusing on our works, but to go on believing in Christ.
Apostasy is turning to the law and depending on it for salvation (legalism) rather than depending on the cross.
Heb 10:17ff Perseverance is a call to faith in the blood of Christ shed for sin.

The obedience of faith is an ongoing, day to day, humble dependence on Christ which is nurtured by the both the gospel and the warning passages.

Romans 8:33ff - assurance
John 10:29 - assurance

Lecture 4 - Faith and assurance

Warnings are not declarations nor are they descriptive of what is happening or what will inevitably happen. They are prospective not retrospective.

A coach shouts at the runner during the race urging the runner to keep going to finish the race. The runner will keep going and finish. Warning passages are not retrospective commentary “you didn’t finish because you…”

Warning passages are like marriage counsellor saying to a couple he is aiming to help “divorce would be disastrous for you as a couple”

A friend parked car on Tom’s drive. Unthinking and in a hurry, Tom reversed toward it, his friend shouted “Tom, stop”. Tom stopped and avoided crashing into the parked car. Warning stopped the accident from happening.

Acts 26:22-24 promise no one will die
Acts 26:31 warning to stay on board
warning functions as a means of fulfilling his promise

Mark 13:22-23 not possible for elect to be lead astray, but must be on guard.

Matt 7:21 - i never knew you
2 Tim 2:18 -
1 Cor 11:19 - retrospectively

warnings not to develop an attitude of introspection but action. “kids, don’t run into the road” designed to produce action not for the kids to ask “am i still alive? Does my daddy love me” Warning passages to exhort believer to go on hating sin and trusting, loving, obeying Christ NOT ask “do I still believe, am I a Christian, have I sinned too much, have I renounced Christ?”

Heb 6 addressed to believers to keep them in the faith not to generate introspection or judgement.

Warning passages a means of perseverance for the elect. Like the message on a bottle of poison “do not drink, this poison will kill you” I have no intention of drinking, so the warning passages say “do not abandon Christ and turn to other ways of salvation or you will die” I have no intention of turning from Christ but the warning is real.

Post-script: Please read James Oakley’s comments on this post and Matt Mason’s comments and Neil Jeffers’ comments on the new covenant and the elect.