Grace
Is the Old Testament God the Same as the New Testament God?
If you have been a Christ-follower for any length of time, you have encountered that critic who decries the Bible as “inconsistent,” because the old covenant God is harsh and wrathful while the supposedly same God of the new covenant is all about grace and love. Almost like it’s two different Gods. I understand how…
Read MoreNo Equity Among Thieves
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.– John 10:10, ESV Years ago, I heard a man tell an intriguing story about four thieves. It was intriguing because though all four were thieves, each of the four met with a different fate.…
Read MoreSin is a Smooth Operator
Hyper-Grace Teacher? I speak and write a great deal about the freedom we have in Christ. Indeed, one of the most beautiful redundancies in the entire Bible is found in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” In Romans 5, the apostle Paul is expounding on the grace of God,…
Read MoreThe Logic of Suffering from 1st Peter
I am encouraged, comforted, and emboldened by the many faces of Peter. In Peter, we see impulsive and reckless behavior spawned by his desire to protect Jesus (John 18:10). In Peter, we see a dramatic reversal of his bold assertion that he was ready to die with Jesus (Matthew 26:35), as he sheepishly succumbed to…
Read MoreFive Gems of Salvation
My first year in full-time ministry, I worked with a small church in Ruston, Louisiana. I still recall one Sunday morning, walking into the church building and overhearing a lively discussion going on in one of the adult classrooms. With a loud slap of his hand on the table, a frustrated man shouted, “Dammit! I’m…
Read MoreIt is Grace Upon Grace
In the opening of the Gospel of John, we have a beautiful description of God incarnate, coming to “pitch his tent” among humanity. In the midst of that description is this beautiful, poetic line: “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” – John 1:16, ESV As though grace was not enough, we,…
Read MoreWashed Whiter Than
Isaiah opens his prophecy describing Israel as a terribly rebellious nation. We get no further than the opening statement before we have God’s lament, “Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me.” So extensive is their alienation from their creator that God says, “An ox knows its owner, and a…
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