Comments on Warnings, Admonitions, and Confidence

The gospel that promises salvation to all who obey its urgent call also marks out the pathway that will lead us from where we are already to the place of salvation to which we have not yet arrived (Hebrews 5:9). This is the function of warnings and admonitions. Warnings function as signs that caution against the multitude of dangers that lie on every hand. They warn us lest we take pathways that lead to eternal death. Admonitions function as signs that point us to the right path--the path that leads to eternal life--as they exhort us to press forward in order that we may enter into God's kingdom and inherit the life that has been promised (cf. Hebrews 6:12). These admonitions and warnings function, not to cause us to doubt our justified standing before God in Christ Jesus, but rather they elicit faithful obedience to Jesus Christ who speaks from heaven (Hebrews 6:13-20; 12:25-29). This faithful obedience is the only means by which we may have confident assurance that we shall truly persevere to the end and be saved (Hebrews 10:19, 35-36).