The forgiveness of God

Stephen Charnock: If God did delight in the death of Christ, it was not surely simply in his death; for could a father delight to tear out the bowels of his son? The afflictions of his people go to his heart; much more would the sufferings of his darling. God had more delight in forgiveness […]

Pardon from sin

Stephen Charnock: [When a sinner is pardoned] the greatest evil is taken away, sin, and the dreadful consequents of it. Other evils are temporal, but those know no period in a doleful eternity. There is more evil in sin, than good in all the creatures. Sin stripped the fallen angels of their excellency, and dispossessed […]

Sunday Leftovers — Beyond Forgiveness

Genuine and complete forgiveness is more than just transacting forgiveness. There are further implications when we forgive those who sin against us. Forgiveness means that we will go beyond what is “required” (Philemon 21). Remember, forgiveness is granted in two ways: forgiveness is transacted when a sinner confesses his sin to the one he has […]

He really forgives!

I was about eight years old. It was Saturday morning. My little brother was still in bed. Cartoons were on TV. All was right with the world. Except that while my eyes were looking at the television, they weren’t seeing the cartoons. My mind was preoccupied with a problem. What if I died? Would I […]

This isn’t hard to understand

Some books of the Bible are difficult to understand. In some Epistles, the flow of thought is somewhat obscured by complex structure. In some historical narratives, there are accounts of strange events that leave us wondering how to interpret and apply them (see Judges 19, for one example). In many of the prophets there are […]

Why God forgives

The sin of all men is great. We may choose to compare ourselves with others and suppose that we are “not so bad,” but set against the firm criteria of perfection (Mt. 5:48), all men are desperately sinful. There are no exceptions to that statement. The psalmist underscores that truth when he says, “If You, […]

A blessed life

Having suffered a knee injury while dancing a few years ago, Connie Munro of Juneau, Alaska underwent surgery. But the problem persisted. In her words, “it just wouldn’t loosen up….I thought I was permanently disabled.” And then she arrived for work at the state Education Department in downtown one morning, got out of her car […]

The cure for your disease

Knowing the cure tells you a lot about the gravity of the disease. In the cross we see what was needed to cure the wound of sin, and we see what lengths God was willing to go to cure it. Thus we see its true character as something so reprehensible to God, as something so […]

Meditate on sin…and forgiveness

Reading Psalm 51 this morning is a reminder of the power and pervasiveness of sin. And of the grace of forgiveness. We do well to meditate on both, as Thomas Watson exhorted in The Christian on the Mount: Meditate upon the FILTH of sin. Not only is the guilt of Adam’s sin imputed, but the […]

He’s about forgiveness

Some things never change. Ask the bystander on the street (or in the mall) about Jesus and it might be said that He was a wise teacher, or an inspiring model to follow, or a moderate political activist, or a social reformer, or a compassionate servant and healer. But few will address the reason Christ […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week or two: Ten “Wives Speak Out” about their role in marriage and their practice of submission in their marriages. I find myself gravitating more to biographies these days — and here are two new ones on theologian Charles Hodge that appear interesting. Kevin DeYoung takes a closer look […]

What your sin does for you

Here is one value of sin — redemption from it stimulates our heart to love Christ more deeply than those who are not redeemed: We are now capable of a joy which unfallen spirits could not have known: the bliss of pardoned sin, the heaven of deep conscious obligation to eternal mercy. The bonds which […]

Re-thinking forgiveness

For a word that is so deeply biblical, there is far too much unbiblical thinking and talking being done about forgiveness. And it is not only unbelievers who are communicating poorly about this rich truth. Believers also seem confused about the nature of forgiveness. This morning I came across two articles that address the topic […]

The power of the gospel

Of First Importance publishes a quote each day that relates to the power of the gospel. Here are a few recent ones that have particularly encouraged my heart: I never despair of anyone becoming a decided Christian, whatever he may have been in days gone by. I know how great the change is from death […]

Grab bag

There has been much discussion lately in the Christian blogosphere about Hell and its duration (more comments coming at a later date). As Desiring God noted this morning, this is not a new discussion. And it predates DG’s conference in 1990 by many centuries as well! Paul Tripp continues his thoughts about the grace of […]