How Can We be Strong and Courageous
Where does courage come from in tough times?
The action might be ours, but the strength is not. It comes from the one able to fully command it and us: Jesus as Joshua, the one who leads his people, and resources them beyond their ability to the fulfillment of great things. It is precisely in our weakness that he is strong and courageous,... Continue Reading
Did We Kiss Purity Goodbye?
Calls for sexual purity were (and are) biblical and needed.
Where purity culture erred or was unclear, it wasn’t because Christian leaders called for sexual purity, but because sex and marriage threatened to become bigger than God. Wherever the messaging downplayed grace, or relied disproportionately on fear, or reduced purity to sexual ethics, it plundered the riveting and appealing beauty of purity in Christ —... Continue Reading
Are Christians Totally Depraved?
We are no longer what we were (totally depraved), yet we are not what we will one day be.
When we consider the full-orbed teaching of Scripture about the believer’s relationship with his or her sin, we will have a right understanding of what we were, what we are, and what we one day will be. And we will be able to say with Newton: I am not what I ought to be. I... Continue Reading
The Challenge Of Christian Celebrity
Well known Christian pastors, Christian musicians and Christian celebrities sometimes find themselves in sexual or financial scandals.
All of us struggle with the allure of notoriety. How many people liked my last post on Instagram? How many subscribers do I have on my YouTube Channel? How many followers on Facebook? Am I liked? Am I popular? Am I politically correct? Am I acceptable? Everyone wishes they had more likes, views, friends, or responses,... Continue Reading
Salvation and Seeing Your Sin
As our understanding of God’s holiness grows the gap between our sin and God’s holiness grows.
Christ came to save sinners, and He has surely accomplished what He set out to do. That salvation is not hypothetical; it is not contingent. It will not be undone when God realizes what big sinners we are. If you were to survey people about why Jesus came to earth, you’d probably get a... Continue Reading
The Church: Its Meaning, Members, and Means
Many professing Christians seek applications of the truths of Scripture for their own personal use without recognizing that God has first and foremost revealed everything in Scripture to the Church collectively.
Since the Church is the “body of Christ,” the “bride of Christ,” and the “children of God,” we should eagerly commit ourselves to the other members of Christ, recognizing that it is within the pale of the church that God is bringing His people to glory. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once made the following important... Continue Reading
Choosing God over College Basketball
Why one top player quit her team.
“When the coach came out with the list of causes the team would be supporting, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to compromise and go against biblical principles. I decided, in light of eternity, that basketball wasn’t worth it.” When Leah Church got into the University of North Carolina (UNC), she cried.... Continue Reading
The Offense of the Cross
Genuine Christianity is clearly offensive to the unregenerate mind.
Let us examine ourselves my brethren. Are we ashamed of the cross? Are we seeking to not offend the unregenerate all around us? Are we watering down the Gospel? For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. 7You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the... Continue Reading
Sexual Sin and The Golden Rule
Society is pressuring the church to accept homosexuality as a legitimate moral alternate lifestyle; the church must maintain God’s created order and ethical norms.
Jesus reaches out to sinners with love, but Jesus does not condone their sins. He offers sinners not a tolerance to live in their sins but deliverance from their sins. If we need an example to show us how to implement the Golden Rule, surely this example is found in Jesus as revealed to us... Continue Reading
Is Every Sin the Same in God’s Eyes?
We all know instinctively that some transgressions are worse than others.
Too many Christians have flattened the moral contours of revelation such that we no longer distinguish between falling into sin and running headlong into sin. This means that some of us are too hard on ourselves…some of us are too easy on ourselves…and many of us give up striving after holiness because we will never... Continue Reading
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