I woke up dreaming about this, so I’m going to write it up. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as […]
Most churches would hesitate to label themselves as legalistic or law-centered. I want to take a look at a typical ‘seeker-friendly’ helpful life-focused practical sermon meant to help normal average people lead better lives. Let’s suppose our friendly and kind of cool pastor has chosen to do a series on marriage. This is a popular […]
It is strange but true that one of the biggest objections people have to the message of radical grace is that it doesn’t seem to emphasize holiness and repentance. This is due to several factors: They think grace and mercy means that justice is ignored. They think grace and mercy means means that sinful behavior […]
I wanted to quote an excerpt from a piece of writing by Robert Farrar Capon, a conservative Episcopal priest and prolific author, and a huge proponent of grace. I absolutely love the little stinger of a question at the end! 9 And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that […]
Unforgiveness is not so much an act which cannot be forgiven, but rather it is a sign that we have not left the universe of law and obligation. It is a sign that we have rejected the kingdom of God, which is a kingdom of grace. One of my foundational ideas is that the scriptures […]
When the flight attendant intones the usage of the safety devices on the plane, he or she always says to put the oxygen mask on yourself, that way you will be conscious to help your child. If you want to help your child, you have to have oxygen first. Many times in talking about mercy […]
In my sermon they let me give last Sunday, I talked about the Kingdom of Grace. Grace is for ME, Grace is for US, and Grace is for THEM. I’m skipping to something I want to share here from the Grace is for US section of that message. Consider this passage: 10 In this is […]
“The secularist, in throwing off the coercion of the law, unwittingly is responding to this need for grace, only to take on a new coercion that completely destroys our very personhood.” I was set to thinking about secular materialist ethics and Christian grace by reading a great post on one of my new favorite sites, […]
When Jesus was on the cross, suffering and dying, what was He thinking? When He said “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” did He really want to forgive them, or was He just saying that for posterity, while inwardly He secretly hated them for putting Him through all of that? On the […]
“It actually puts a power into your love of God which is not there if you’re half trying to save yourself.” [vimeo 6761910 w=400 h=300] Interview with Dr. Michael Eaton from Charlie C. Bing on Vimeo. This is fantastic. How great to hear a seasoned man of God articulate these great truths. This is well […]