Justice, the Purpose of Punishment, and the Atonement

The atonement we most need is the atonement that assumes we can do nothing to reform ourselves or ingratiate ourselves in some successful two-way relationship. It assumes, not that we are powerful and able to change, but that we are lost and hopeless, that we can do nothing to atone. It assumes, not that we can make up for our sins, but that our guilt is built up hanging over head like an eternal black cloud. It assumes that we need to be saved, not reformed.

Why is Marriage a Better Freedom than “Shacking Up”?

There are people close to me who have been through a series of broken relationships, where they have moved in with someone, lived together with them for a time, and then for one reason or another, they have broken up. I am really sad to watch them walk through the fallout from it all. I […]

Being Happy as the Cardinal Law

I lost my job recently. I’m actually not unhappy about it. The people there were wonderful, and it paid really well, and I think that what I did there really helped society. It ended well, and it really was time for me to go. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that I had that job. […]

The Cross of Christ Declares that Jesus is the Fulfillment of the Law for Me

Faith says that the blood of Jesus satisfies justice for every little thing we do wrong, all the time. Faith says that I always feel inadequate because I really am inadequate, but that I am saved through His cross from all of these judgements that daily accuse me. My thoughts are no longer bound up in the fear that I am inadequate and sinful and unworthy, but instead my thought is constantly that I am worthy of God’s death.

The Cross of Christ Declares that Jesus is the Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets

So we find the entire Jewish religious practice to be a picture of Christ. It isn’t simply that Jesus acted out a few isolated predictions from the Old Testament. It is that their entire culture was predicated on the coming of a Messiah who would be our savior through His own sacrifice. Their whole culture was law and gospel, morals and blood atonement.

The Cross of Christ Declares that Our Judgment is Finished

In every case, the question is this: is your salvation final? Are you eternally loved, forever accepted? Are there any conditions to your favor and acceptance by the Father? The cross of Christ declares that our judgement is complete and finished. Jesus Himself declared from the cross, that it is finished. You are now the one in the judgement seat, and God is on trial. Was He right, or was He wrong? Is the cross of Christ sufficient to save you? What deed of yours, good or bad, will you place above His death for you?

The Gospel is Forgiveness. Period.

The fact that Lordship Salvation proponents interpret the sayings of Jesus in a way that puts them at odds with the writings of Paul should be a huge red flag. When Paul specifically uses the word “gospel” (Greek – euaggelion, or happy word), he says it is the power of God for salvation, not a […]

The Cross of Christ Declares that God is a Father and a Son

Sometimes I wonder how I am part of the same family as my wonderful sons. I grew up very disinterested in sports; I was proud to be a bit of an egghead and a geek and a musician. They are consumed with football, basketball, intense workouts, and the like. They play sports-oriented video games and […]

The Cross of Christ Declares that God Believes in Propitiation

Propitiation, the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, is the central and primary doctrine of Christianity. The cross of Christ is meaningful and powerful because the propitiation is true. Our relationship to Christ’s propitiation on the cross is going to drive our walk and our teaching and our evangelism and our assurance and our relationships and everything else about us. There is nothing more important to get straight in your mind than Christ’s propitiatory death on the cross.

The Cross of Christ Declares that God has Wrath Against Sin

The wrath of God is a very good thing. The wrath of God says that we matter. The wrath of God says that we are important. We may try to work it out that the fear of God means “reverent awe”, but in reality when we read that Jesus went crazy in the temple and threw over the tables and drove out the sellers, we love it. We need a fearsome God, a God to whom things deeply matter. Own this: you love that God has wrath.