Last year, I wrote a book and briefly hosted it on a website. Though that site is now offline, the message cannot be allowed to fade. The book is available for free download below.
The Non-Negotiable Call of the Hour
The approach of Christ is not a peripheral detail—it is the context that defines the believer’s present responsibility. Scripture does not leave us to drift or speculate as His return draws near. Instead, it issues a clear, covenantal summons: watch, guard, discern, and warn. These are not optional disciplines or pious suggestions; they are the very means by which we fulfill our calling as sons and heirs.
To neglect these is not merely to miss out on “extra” spiritual growth. It is to abandon the stewardship entrusted to us as those who have received the finished work. The vigilance demanded is not for the sake of anxiety or self-preservation, but because the inheritance is real, the promise is sure, and the enemy’s chief aim is to undermine assurance and sonship.
Watchfulness, Guardianship, Discernment, and Warning: The Tools of Covenant Faithfulness
God has not called us to passive observation or to be swept along by the tides of religious opinion. He has equipped us with specific tools for this hour:
- Watchfulness: Fixing our gaze on Christ, not on the distractions or threats that clamor for our attention. This is the posture of those who know their redemption is near.
- Guardianship: Actively protecting the deposit of the Gospel within us. The enemy’s strategy is always to shift our confidence from Christ’s finished work to our own performance—this is the root of all legalism and the collapse of assurance.
- Discernment: Testing every teaching and spirit, refusing to tolerate any doctrine that clouds the clarity of justification by faith or introduces a mixture of law and grace.
- Warning: Sounding the alarm when error infiltrates the flock. This is not divisiveness; it is covenantal fidelity. To remain silent as error spreads is to become complicit in the loss of what Christ has secured.
Paul’s words to the Thessalonians are not mere encouragement—they are marching orders for those who walk in the light:
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night… But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-5)
What Is Lost If We Refuse This Call
If we set aside watchfulness, guardianship, discernment, and warning, we do not simply become less “spiritual.” We forfeit the very ground of our inheritance. The Gospel’s assurance is eroded, the conscience is clouded, and the distinction between promise and performance is blurred. When error is tolerated, justification by faith is subtly replaced by justification by effort, and sonship is exchanged for servitude. This is not a secondary issue. To neglect this call is to allow the collapse of the very foundation of our confidence before God.
Standing in the Light—Holding Fast to What Is Ours
The call to vigilance is not a summons to fear, but to boldness rooted in grace. We are to be found abiding in Him, not shrinking back in shame or confusion when He appears. By watching, guarding, discerning, and warning, we remain anchored in the finished work and enjoy the present fruits of our justification: peace, joy, and rest.
This book is offered as a resource to strengthen you in this calling. May it equip you to hold fast to your crown, to stand unwavering in your inheritance, and to keep your eyes fixed on Christ until the day we see Him face to face.
