The Tax Collector in the Temple

It will be obvious to everyone that it is just and right and moral and good and perfectly wondrous that you, the sinner, are the beloved blessed beautiful bride of Christ Jesus the Son of God.

The Good Samaritan

God loves the alien and the foreigner

1 Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name of […]

One Way Love

Our flesh is not that which refuses to serve God. Our flesh is that which refuses to receive God’s service. “The Son of God did not come to be served, but to serve.

Judgment and the Schizophrenia of God

Grace overcomes at the exact point where judgment has its power. Under the law, we cannot and must not let go of our capacity to judge. It is the one thing we have which is right! So we see, where judgment thrives, grace wins.

Jesus as a Serpent

Isn’t it strange that the same creature who bit and killed is raised up as a standard and becomes a symbol of healing? Why is that? Here is what I think: it is the judge who must be the seat of mercy. It is the giver of wrath who must be the healer.

Wine of Purification

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, […]

Belief as Transformation

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE […]

God the forgetful will not forget you!

18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. – Isaiah 1:18 NASB 25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, […]

You’re Not a Good Person

In numerous conversations recently, the idea has come up that we are each essentially a good person. Numerous people in our fellowship have expressed surprise that I teach against this idea that we are fundamentally good, and instead press the seemingly ugly idea that we are fundamentally sinful. Why is the assertion that we are […]

Gospel Imperatives

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They […]