Was It Loving to Affirm My Sin?
Years ago when I abandoned God and embraced sin, several Christians demonstrated their “loving like Jesus” by affirming my right to make my own choices, rallying around me as a “caring, non-judgmental” support system, and never once confronting my sin (or even implying that my adultery, drunkenness, and the like were sin). If someone accidentally […]
Resisting the Lure of Legalism
“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?” (Mark 7:18, NIV) Let’s talk about legalism. I know about legalism because I used to be a legalist. At the time, I didn’t believe legalism was really a thing. I’ve actually said to people, […]
God Can Do Anything? What God Can’t Do & Why It’s Good News
Tennis can be fun unless you’re playing against someone way better than you are. When you’re playing against someone quite a bit better, they can hit the ball in ways that have you running all over the court. They might hit the ball way to your right so you have to sprint to make the […]
What Does the Bible Say About Jealousy? An Introduction to the Scariest Sin
Why does “do not covet” make it into the Ten Commandments? To covet is to strongly desire what someone else has. What’s an internal compulsion to want someone else’s stuff doing in a lineup with murder, theft, and perjury? Did God get to nine and need to bring in a lesser sin to get to […]
Original Sin or Ancestral Sin?
A nearly universal assumption we make as human beings is that we can do right and wrong things, good and evil things. This article isn’t about the basis for determining “right” or “wrong,” or “good” and “evil,” but about the human predicament we all find ourselves in: Why do we sin? The Christian scriptures offer a […]
Abraham, Jacob, and Generational Sin
When reading through the Old Testament, we find many common themes. One common theme is that there are specific sins shared among generations. This can appear as an older generation doing something and a younger one being punished for it. Generational sin also takes the form of sin habits being passed down to the next […]
Short Prayer to Fuel Big Love: See Sin as Sinful (Part 2)
Jesus said that outsiders will know that we are His disciples by our love. So how do we welcome and cultivate God’s love in a way that goes beyond just being friendly and polite? How do we become a people who are known for our sacrificial love? Well, a great way to fuel big love […]
How Can I Be Forgiven When I Sin Again and Again?
The Bible teaches that God loves to forgive our sins. All we have to do is to confess them and, where necessary, turn from them (Luke 15:18–22). The most common sins for those with genuine faith are sinful actions that are not premeditated. They involve moments of weakness. Other sins are more deeply rooted and, […]
