The New
Testament is filled with admonitions to exert effort in our pursuit of
salvation: run the race (Heb 12:1), fight the fight (1 Tim 6:12), make every
effort (2 Pet 1:5). It also promises rewards
for persevering in the faith (1Cor 3:12-14; Heb 10:32-39) and provides warnings
against failing to do so (Heb 4:1, 12:15; Rom 11:20). Many
believers struggle with how to understand these things in the context of a
by-grace-through-faith salvation for which we are being kept by the power of
God (Eph 2:8-9; 1 Pet 1:5).
Common
questions regarding perseverance and assurance that we struggle with include:
Do the reward passages of the NT
indicate that I earn favor with God?
Do the warning passages of the NT
indicate that I can lose my salvation?
Is it possible to possess stalwart
assurance of salvation?
Is there really such a thing as “once
saved, always saved”?
What is the best way to understand
the relationship between faith and works?
Our Bible
conference in 2018 will address the twin issues of perseverance and
assurance. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Thomas Schreiner, Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr.
Schreiner has written extensively on the questions above and is an obvious
choice to help us understand these things.
Additionally, he is a pastor,
which means that he comes at these questions from the perspective of a
shepherd, providing very practical, understandable answers. (Below is a short video of Dr.
Schreiner answering one such question.)
The
conference will be held at Providence Bible Fellowship Saturday and Sunday,
February 10-11, 2018. The Saturday
sessions will begin at 3pm. Please mark
your calendars. Childcare will be
provided for PBF members and regular attenders.
Please register here so that we know how many to expect. Hope to see you there!
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