Posts Tagged ‘sin’
God Hates Sinners? Really??
Last week we looked at the imprecatory psalms. This week, we are taking one step to the side and looking at a couple of specific statements from the psalms that are a bit difficult to understand or swallow. Several times over the past week, I have seen this concept floated, “Love the sinner but hate…
Read MoreTriplets of Sin & Triplets from God
More than once I have been involved in discussions with those who mistakenly assert that “sin is sin and all sin is the same; all sin is equal in the eyes of God.” While I agree that all sin is egregious and separates us from God,1 it is demonstrably untrue that all sin is the same.…
Read MoreVineyards and Wild Grapes
The vineyard is a staple metaphor throughout scripture. We see it in prophecy, in the parables of Christ, in Genesis accounts, in threats from foreign kings, in the Psalms, and even in the very words of Yahweh. The vineyard is everywhere. Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard:My beloved had a…
Read MoreThe Victory is Yours
In the twenty-sixth chapter of the book of Acts we find Saul/Paul standing before Agrippa, recounting his journey to Damascus to rage fury against the believers there. It is on this infamous journey that Jesus fell upon Saul as a bright light, knocking Saul to the ground and blinding him for three days. Toward the…
Read MoreOverrating the Tree
The bait and switch is a sales and marketing technique that is both widely employed and highly effective. You want X? Here, I’ll give you X for just $9.95 per month for the first twelve months – the bait. We take the bait and at month thirteen we find that the “small print” kicks in…
Read MoreWhat Jesus Really Meant Was . . .
Last week I found myself engaged in a rather contentious debate with a Twitter user who seemed incapable of understanding that Jesus taught us that sin is a matter of the heart, comes from the heart, and is overcome by gaining a new heart. What He Really Meant Was . . . Sometimes Jesus said…
Read MoreFoolish Vows & Seductive Dances
Last week, we saw Peter sleeping in prison while chained between two guards, and with two more standing watch at the prison gate. In relating the events of that story, I made mention of the Herod family but didn’t go into much depth. This week, I want to give you a history lesson on this…
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 MoreThey Are Not Adversaries – They Are Prisoners
Those of you who have followed my writings and speaking over the years will likely have heard or read my take on relationships. I believe we have only two types of relationships. 1. We have relationships with other brothers and sisters in Christ, other believers. We interact with them as brothers and sisters in Christ…
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