How sinful is sin?

How sinful is sin? We read phrases like, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and nod in assent — “sure, we’ve sinned.” But we generally fail to recognize and affirm the horrid and disastrous nature of those words. That oft quoted verse refers to our acts of sin. […]

Why God is patient

Scripture speaks often about the importance and wisdom of being patient. (Consider Prov. 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; 19:11; 20:22; Col. 3:12; Js. 5:10; 1 Pt. 2:20ff as just a few examples). Scripture also speaks of the patience of God. God waits. One of the common New Testament words for patience is to be long-suffering (see Rom. […]

Overwhelmed by sin?

Are you overwhelmed by sin? Do you struggle repeatedly with the same sin, unable to see any significant progress against it? Has this sin entangled you for years? Is you conscience hounded by guilt? Grace to You has some biblical encouragement for you: First of all, consider that how you deal with the promptings of […]

How Satan tempts

His name means “adversary.” He is a slanderer, a liar, and a deceiver. He lives to lead people astray from the truth. He is crafty and cunning in all He does. Just as Christ is trustworthy in all that He does, so Satan is untrustworthy in all that he does. But how does Satan tempt […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: Clint Archer writes about “Celebrating Singleness” over at Cripplegate. His posts coincide nicely with what I wrote a couple of weeks ago on the same topic (“Four reasons for the unmarried to consider singleness”). Does church history confuse and bore you? Nathan Busenitz provides some insight and a […]

Dangers of unconfronted sin

We are prone to make many justifications for not confronting evident sin in a fellow-Christian. He won’t listen to me anyway. It’s too hard and too embarrassing for me to do something like that. Wouldn’t it be more gracious not to say anything? Isn’t that only the kinds of things radical churches do? It’s not […]

Carson on temptation

D. A. Carson talks about overcoming temptation — “it’s a worship issue…” This is a helpful follow-up to this morning’s post, “Gospel consequences.” HT: Desiring God.

Gospel consequences

What happens when people believe the gospel? Many times I’ve prayed with people who expressed an interest in trusting in Christ and after the prayer, they look up and say something like, “I don’t feel any different.” Perhaps they are expecting a warm and happy feeling like seeing a cuddly puppy or cute baby. That […]

When you are sinned against

You cannot keep people from sinning against you. You will be treated unjustly. You will be lied to and gossiped about. Ungodly accusations will be spoken against you — and said directly to you. Others will be angry with you — sometimes because they have misunderstood you and sometimes because they understood you. Sometimes people […]

The problem of trivializing sin

How often have you begun sharing the gospel with someone and when talking about sin had the person interrupt you and say something like, “I’m not a bad person…I mean, I’m not a murderer or anything…” By inference, the person is suggesting that he has an ability to stand before God self-justified because of his […]

Are you fearful?

Are you fearful? We live in a time when many kinds of fears dominate many kinds of people. Fear of financial woes, fear of exams and school, fear of music, fear of the dark, fear of clowns, fear of heights, fear of death, fear of commitment, fear of being alone, fear of speaking in public, […]

Do you love Jesus?

More than 25 years ago, Raye Jeanne and I met. Our relationship was progressing fairly rapidly and I was trying to sort out my thoughts about her and us while at the same time feeling an emotional pull in a particular direction. There was a topic I wanted to address with her, but knew that […]

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 […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles spotted recently: A lesson in truth-telling, and what makes Christians different: “Mike Daisey, Apple, and Our Culture’s Crisis in Truth-Telling.” “Temptation Is Not Sin,” writes Bill Mounce. He makes three points: 1. Temptation is not sin, 2. No one can make you sin, and 3. God is on your side. The question […]

The flesh is weak

The crucifixion of Christ would occur within hours. So Jesus went to the garden to pray and asked the three disciples in the “inner core” — Peter, James, and John — to also pray (Mk. 14:32-42). These were not immature or ungodly men. They loved Christ. Peter had just professed that he would die for […]