jimmcneely, Author at Therefore Now Ministries

Outline of 1 John – Grace in Community Style

Christian Community Communal Attribute Reference Christian Manifestation Antichrist Manifestation Defined Fellowship 1:1-4 fellowship with apostles – Light 1:5-2:2 light/authenticity/fellowship/confession dark/pretense/isolation Commandment 2:3-11 keep commandments/loves hates Generation 2:12-14 children/youth/fathers – Distinguished What you Love 2:15-17 tempted, but incompatible compatible Spiritual Affiliation 2:18-29 of apostolic faith antichrist Hope 3:1-3 called children of God – Practice 3:4-10 practices […]

Cain and Abel – a Deeper Look

“Someone died for this slightly off-base irritating brother. He is Abel offering his blood sacrifice, and love says I count his offering as sufficient.” From the book Grace in Community by Jim McNeely I wanted to return to the very powerful and fruitful story of Cain and Abel as it pertains to the idea of […]

Remembering and Forgetting

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi8rBkdHfvI&w=560&h=315] I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25 For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 8:12 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our […]

Is Christianity harder than than we pretend it is?

We, as a group, are a community of sinners who have mercy and grace in His blood. We are new creatures in Christ, but sin still lives on in us as a kind of living dead zombie presence. We should be very very clear that the heart of the gospel is not that we are personally transformed. It is that we are justified. We are redeemed. We are reconciled.

“Radical” Grace is the Only True Gospel

So even if you affirm the truth of God’s wrath as a point of doctrine, you must come to the place where you celebrate it. You must see that He loves dearly and so He stands passionately and completely against anything that would harm us.

Images of Atonement

My contention is that ‘substitution’ is not a further ‘theory’ or ‘image’ to be set alongside the others, but rather the foundation of them all, without which each lacks cogency. If God in Christ did not die in our place, there could be neither propitiation, nor redemption, nor justification, nor reconciliation.

We’re Starting a Church!

We will be continuing to do all we can to expand the reach of Therefore Now Ministries as well; we see these two ministries as being very closely tied. All new study and speculation and out-loud thinking over theological issues will continue to happen on thereforenow.com, which is my main personal blog.

Shared Grace Is the True Transformation!

In the end the important transformation is that we enter the community of the beloved and redeemed. Anyone can be personally holy if they section themselves off from all society and influence. We are not called to the darkness and isolation of theoretical holiness, we are called to the light of relationship with real imperfect people.

New Series: Book of John

I’m starting a new study of the Gospel of John, so I thought I may as well post some of my work here as I go. This is just an outline and some other stuff like that. Nothing earth-shattering — yet! I hope this is helpful to someone out there, though. Outline of the Gospel […]

The Love of the World vs. the Love of the Father

The world says that you are not worthy of love unless you prove it — through morals, through money, through power, through fame. These are all relational currency. The cross says you don’t need currency to maintain relationship, because He paid everything. So the love of the world and the love of the Father are completely antithetical. They are opposite views of love.