The sorrow of the world is deadly because it indulges in self-justification. It fuels resentment and resistance to God. Like Cain, the self-pitying soul feels no genuine remorse for evil. He merely whines, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!”
The change we need is more radical than we can yet undergo; we must be willing to wait for our perfection in Christ. In the meantime, being a “new creation” in Christ requires that we accept, however painfully to our pride, what grace really means.
Love, obedience, and worship are powerful concepts — but we must be careful. Given our tendency to focus on some things to the exclusion of others that are equally important, we need to be warned against cutting any of these off from the others.
To those who are willing to come to Him in His Son, ready to trust Him and obey His word, God is willing to grant as much of Himself as can be granted to us right now in our frailty. But we desire more. And much more will be possible, in His time.
Even in Christ, we can’t see and know God as Adam and Eve did. But the hope of Christianity is that, through Christ, what was lost in the Fall can actually be regained. The time comes when those who have truly sought God “shall see His face.”
We should set ourselves the goal of improving our thinking about God a little bit each day. There is no question that our lives will be governed by some sort of thinking about God. The only question is what the quality of that thinking will be.
Consider the concept of “laziness” in regard to spiritual growth. Numerous texts in Proverbs speak of the general undesirability of being a sluggard (6:6-11). But sluggishness is more than a minor character flaw. It can kill us spiritually.
The first thing necessary was for the people to repent of the sins for which they sought God’s forgiveness. So the only preaching that could have prepared them for the ...
In practical terms, a person’s burial and resurrection in baptism marks the beginning of a new life, so much so that it can be said that a new person has ...
We can deplore Israel’s lack of trust when they backed away from God’s command, but do we do any better? When it comes to obeying the gospel of Christ, do ...
If Jesus’ tomb was empty, we must decide whether its emptiness means He was resurrected. And most importantly, we have to decide whether, if Jesus was resurrected, that means “God ...
Psalm 110 is a powerful prophecy of the Messiah — every part of it meshes seamlessly with Jesus Christ. No wonder the New Testament writers saw in David’s words clear ...
The apostles played a pivotal role in the NT period. No one since then has possessed Christ’s authority as they did, and their teaching will always be the benchmark against ...
If it is our pride that is the root of our sin, there can be no deliverance for us if we won’t humble ourselves before our King. But are we ...
The messianic titles in Isaiah 9:6 (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace) are epithets that could apply only to a divine ruler, a King worthy of receiving ...
Writing to Christians, Peter used all of the ideas in Exodus 19:5,6: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that ...
Abraham is the prime example of how salvation works: the forefather of all who trust in God’s promises enough to actually walk by faith. And when the whole host of ...
“It is to [the coming Prophet] you shall listen,” Moses had said in Deuteronomy 18:15. And when Jesus was transfigured and seen talking to Moses and Elijah, God spoke from ...
When it comes to the most important parts of life, the broken heart is not a problem; it’s a blessing (Matthew 5:3,4). As long as sin is a reality in ...