I posted yesterday about forgiving those who wrong us. It was a call to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. And while that call applies equally to those outside the church and to those inside the church, there’s a further, very powerful dynamic in play when it comes to forgiving fellow believers. Continue reading “Forgiving in light of eternity”
Forgiving as we’ve been forgiven
Some people have hurt us so badly that we can hardly think of them without thinking of the wrong they did us–though a long time ago, and feeling like it was just yesterday. We say we’ve forgiven them, but our being unable to think of them without recalling the injury and without having the heat of anger, bitterness, or resentment arise in our hearts all over again, reveals that we’ve not yet forgiven them as we’ve been forgiven, Eph 4.32. We’ve not yet forgiven them as a Christian should and can. Continue reading “Forgiving as we’ve been forgiven”
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Sin is still here
Nothing grieves me more than to discover every day that sin is still here. I don’t mean still here in this world; for I expect it to be here until Christ comes to eradicate it. This is, after all, a fallen world, a world under the curse of Adam’s rebellion against God. The Lord said “In the day you eat of it you shall surely die,” and the world of men has been under the curse of that death ever since. Nor do I mean still here in my family and friends; for I know full well that my wife and children, my dearest friends and loved ones, and every member of my church is a sinner living every day as pensioners of God’s grace and mercy. So what, then, do I mean? Continue reading “Sin is still here”
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Are you forgiven?
I’ve long enjoyed the Private Thoughts on Religion by Thomas Adam. It is arguably the most heart-piercing and soul-humbling book in print. His words reach the depths of the soul in a way that other writers do not. In fact, I don’t know of any other book that puts words in my soul’s mouth like his. Consisting of private reflections from his notes and diaries (published after his death), it’s a window into my soul’s wrestlings to confront my own sin, to live honestly before God, to live by faith in a sense-driven body and world, and to walk holily before God in all I do. I’d like to share with you what I read today. Continue reading “Are you forgiven?”
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Christianity in practice
We cannot be said to be true Christians until the religion of Christ becomes our animating motive and our predominating principle and pursuit as much as worldly things are the predominating motive, principle, and pursuit of worldly men. Thus no man ought to flatter himself that he is in the favor of God whose life is not consecrated to the service of God. Continue reading “Christianity in practice”
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No condemnation for those in Christ Jesus
I’m sure you’ve read Romans 8.1-3 countless times. It’s one of those passages in Scripture that we never tire of reading. “…no condemnation…set you free…from the law…he condemned sin in the flesh…” It’s rich from start to finish, full of soul-gladdening truth.
But it’s one thing to know the truth and it’s another to be comforted by it. I want to encourage you to look briefly at this text and to walk away from it with the comfort God intends you to have by it. Let’s walk through it together. Continue reading “No condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”
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Confessing our sins to our loving Father
One of the greatest struggles Christians have is against their own legalistic tendency to see our loving and merciful Father as a wrathful Judge when we’ve sinned against Him.
It is of course true that we Christians do sin. We sin everyday–to our grief and shame. But we no longer sin as a criminal in Adam before a Judge in God. Instead, being in Christ (Col 1.13-14), we sin as a child of God before a God in Christ. Continue reading “Confessing our sins to our loving Father”
