Aleksey Fomichenko’s Reviews > Maturity: Growing Up and Going On in the Christian Life > Status Update

People who do anything wholeheartedly usually experience a satisfaction in their activity that is unknown to the halfhearted, whether it be in the sphere of work, or play, or human relationships.

Only sinners see their need for salvation and therefore seek it. Only those who sense the depth and twisted-ness of sin will develop deep desires for holiness. Until we realize how great the weight of sin is, we will not make much progress in pursuing the holiness without which we will never see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).

If we do not see how serious sin is we will never see how wonderful the work of Christ is.

Learning how to keep your way pure as a young man will provide a firm foundation for your whole life. But fail here and at best you will be playing 'catch-up' for the rest of your life. You may never be able to recover the lost ground.

The way God's sovereign will unfolds for us is through our knowledge of, and submission to, his revealed will.
Understanding this helps to turn our gaze away from self and towards the Lord.

If we know that we are Christ’s, we have nothing to fear.

Such assurance is offered to us in the gospel. It is experienced only within the context of a consistent Christian life, by those who are conscious of the Spirit's witness, and have learned that all afflictions must first pass through the hands of their heavenly Father before they meet them.

Here are four cornerstones on which believers can build a lifetime of assurance. They will never be separated from Christ; they can never be condemned before God; no accusation can be made to stick against them; no opposition can ultimately overcome them.

Too often our minds are the slaves of our feelings. If so our wills will soon be captured by them too.
When we live on the basis of feelings that have never been trained and disciplined by God's word, we grow spiritually weak. True, we may feel strong; but if our lifestyle choices depend on what we feel' we are in fact weak.

God knows what he is doing in every situation in our lives, not least in our darker moments. Pain, times of disappointment or sorrow, all serve as his pruning knife. His providences at times seem to cut deeply; but his purpose is to enable us to grow strong enough to bear new fruit. He prunes with perfect skill. We are tested, but not beyond what we can bear (I Cor. 10:13).