Forgiveness and communion

The practice of communion is not only a fundamental activity of the church, but it is also an indicator of the spiritual health of a believer — including his fellowship with other believers and his trust in God’s work in his life in past events. Your willingness to forgive is directly related to your remembering […]

When should I confront a brother?

A few days ago, I came across a question, “when is an issue important enough to correct someone?” The issue in that post seemed to be centered on correcting incorrect information (e.g., if something is not true, how often and when should I attempt to correct it?), and in that regard was helpful. However, that […]

Does God get disappointed in believers when we disobey?

Does God get disappointed when we believers sin? Here is a thoughtful and helpful answer from David Powlison: The statement I found particularly helpful: “Being not under wrath but under grace does not mean God is now somehow indifferent and does not respond appropriately to our sins.…There is a fatherly displeasure that God’s revealed in […]

Grab bag

A few things spotted on the web that have caught my interest of late: I’ve been thinking more about the relationship between social justice and evangelism lately. Here is a brief video interview with John Piper on the topic. The Gospel Coalition has several brief articles on the same topic of social justice and evangelism […]

Who is like God?

This morning I read this question that the prophet Micah directed towards God — “Who is a God like You?…” (7:18). The prophet further went on to define the character and nature of God — He is a God “who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession.” What […]

How specific should confession be?

Using David’s sin with Bathsheba as an illustration, David Powlison answers the commonly asked question, “how specific should my confession be (particularly with sexual sin)?” Summary: There should be no doubt about the nature of the sin — it is crystal clear what happened and allow the reality of the sin to be faced. There […]

How much sin is too much for Christ to forgive?

Even a few minutes of honest reflection and self-examination will convict a man of a vast expanse of sin in his life. Even a redeemed individual will see regular influence of the flesh and ungodly desires in the actions of his life and motives. Sometimes glimpses into the darkness of the soul will leave one […]

Today’s Quote – Sin and Grace (Lundgaard)

Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within: …[the] first and most wretched attack [of the flesh] is to abuse God’s grace to make sin seem less sinful, less dangerous, less threatening. You must understand this: the flesh weakens conviction against sin by separating the remedy of grace for the design of grace.… The flesh works to make […]

Today’s Quote – Forgiveness of Self (Challies)

Tim Challies, The Spiritual Discipline of Discernment: It must be noted that while Scripture does not explicitly forbid self-forgiveness, it also does not require or endorse it. It seems, then, that we do not need to forgive ourselves, nor should we make this our practice. If we struggle with guilt or shame, forgiving ourselves may […]

Today’s Quote – Forgiveness (Piper)

John Piper, Battling Unbelief: …one powerful way of overcoming bitterness and revenge is to have faith in the promise that God will settle accounts with our offenders so that we don’t have to.

Today’s Quote – Forgiveness (Sande)

Ken Sande, The Peacemaker: Forgiveness can be a costly activity. When you cancel a debt, it does not just simply disappear. Instead, you absorb a liability that someone else deserves to pay. Similarly, forgiveness requires that you absorb certain effects of another person’s sins and you release that person from liability to punishment. This is […]