Stop letting sin reign

The father had been busy all week and made a plan to have a special time with his son. So Saturday morning, off they went. First stop? The donut shop. A few minutes later they were headed down the road. “Dad, can I hold the donut holes?” An interesting proposition that was fraught with possibilities! […]

Sunday Leftovers: Unrighteousness is sin…all unrighteousness

In his first letter, several times John makes the statement that sin is unrighteousness. No where does he say it more clearly than in 5:17 — “all unrighteousness is sin.” Our tendency is to read that statement, reflect on it for a moment, devise a list of sins in our heads (some of which may […]

Sermon: Sin and Death…and Grace

Sin and Death…and Grace 1 John 5:16-17 August 17, 2014 I was listening to a couple of interviews of some pastors and counselors recently and the interviewer asked two different panels a question that I have asked others a great many times: “what do you think is the greatest need or problem in the church […]

Repentance and regret

There is an eternal difference between regret and repentance. Regret feels bad about past sins. Repentance turns away from past sins. Regret looks to our own circumstances. Repentance looks to God. Most of us are content with regret. We just want to feel bad for a while, have a good cry, enjoy the cathartic experience, […]

Who made David do what he did?

Late in David’s life, he make a foolish and sinful decision. You would expect a man to mature with age and his decision-making to become more God-honoring the older he gets, and in some regards, that was the way David lived. But not on this day. As David prepared to transition the kingdom of Israel […]

Have you seen your sin?

Anybody who lives beneath the Cross and who has discerned in the Cross of Jesus the utter wickedness of all men and of his own heart will find there is no sin that can ever be alien to him. Anybody who has once been horrified by the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus […]

The evil of sin works for good to the godly, part 2

In yesterday’s post, “The evil of sin works for good to the godly,” Thomas Watson addressed the good that comes out of sins that are committed against the believer. But then he also adds a second benefit that arises from sin: the benefit that is derived from our own sin against others (be sure to read […]

The evil of sin works for good to the godly

Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. We say we believe that, but often we resist the truthfulness of that statement. For instance, when others sin against us we pause before affirming Romans 8:28. And when others sin horribly […]

The sinner’s pathway – redirected

Neither a farmer nor a rancher am I. Yet for at least two weeks during a couple summers of my youth, I became a “temp” farmer, working on my uncle’s dairy farm. It was a time not only for a “city-slicker” to be exposed to some life realities, but also a fun time with my […]

The sinner’s pathway

Oops. Some parents had a great idea for their children’s special Christmas gift one year. They ordered a kit for a tree house from a mail order catalogue. On Christmas Eve, as the mother and father began to assemble the pieces, they discovered to their dismay that while they had received the plans for a […]

The first two sins

The first sins recorded in Scripture — Adam and Eve’s rebellion (Gen. 3) and Cain’s murder of Abel (Gen. 4) — provide two distinct examples of the way temptation and sin work in an individual’s life. They are a reminder that not every temptation is the same; sin and its origins are multifaceted and insidious. […]

The difference between Christians and non-Christians

Mark Dever, at the 2009 Desiring God Pastor’s Conference: The difference between a Christian and non-Christian: When a non-Christian is convicted of sin, he sides with his sin. When a Christian is convicted of sin, he sides with God, against himself.

Our sins sink as lead in the mighty waters of the Redeemer’s blood

Thomas Boston, Human Nature in Its Fourfold State: God the Father takes the pen, dips it in the blood of his Son, crosses off the sinner’s accounts, and blots them out of his debt-book. The sinner outside of Christ is bound over to the wrath of God; he is under an obligation in law to […]

Sunday Leftovers: Make sure no one deceives you

I led a pretty sheltered life growing up. I grew up in a home that loved and honored Christ and the Word of God. No matter where we lived participation in a local church was assumed and I was raised in several outstanding churches. I attended a Christian school in my elementary years. The dominant […]

Sermon: Sin, Righteousness, and the Believer, Pt 1

Sin, Righteousness, and the Believer, Pt. 1 1 John 3:4-10 November 17, 2013 I was in college the first time I remember reading 1 John seriously. I’m sure I read the book before my college years; but it was in my freshman year that I really began to grow in Christ in a significant way. […]