What are the characteristics of God’s forgiveness? God’s forgiveness is gracious. He offers forgiveness freely. This is not because forgiveness is free in terms of cost. It is a very expensive gift that can be offered freely because, motivated by love, God send his one and only Son to pay the price for it. God’s…
In Thomas Watson’s book The Doctrine of Repentance he gives several aspects of true, biblical repentance. For a free PDF copy of his book click here. Observation of sin (Acts 26:18; Luke 15:17). Without a sense of sin there is no humiliation; that without humiliation there can be no repentance; and that without repentance there can be…
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 reveal the seriousness of exemplifying a worldly remorse or sorrow over against a godly remorse or sorrow. A worldly sorrow brings regret that leads to death, whereas a godly sorrow does not bring regret and leads to salvation. Barnett in his Second Corinthians Commentary writes, “the structure of Paul’s…
This post was originally posted at Desiring God on August 20, 2014. The original post can be found here. Every summer the same thing happens to my inbox. I open it to find a steady stream of emails from concerned parents, youth pastors, and older siblings, asking me to check in on so and so…
In Kenneth Samples’ book Seven Truths That Changed the World: Discovering Christianity’s Most Dangerous Ideas he makes the following statements that I found helpful regarding sin and its consequences in the life of a non-Christian and wanted to pass along: God may use evil and suffering to get a nonbeliever’s attention and ultimately draw that person…
Guilt: God’s law shows me both the holiness of God’s character and that I have failed to meet his moral standards. This awareness (made possible through the Holy Spirit) then leads me to confession of sin and a desire for genuine repentance. Grace: the gospel (good news) then teaches me that Jesus Christ sided on…
Salvation – the notion of salvation carries with it the idea of being healed or liberated and conveys the concept of being freed from danger or released from captivity. Legal Substitutionary Sacrifice – Jesus assumed the identity of sinners and died as their substitute sin-beader and in the process of his sacrifice on the cross,…
At one point in the Gospel of John, the people directly asked Jesus what they must do to please God: “’What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus Answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’” (6:28-29). True belief is not a probationary test drive;…
Have you ever thought about the truth that thinking about eternity can help you in your fight against sin? Most people haven’t and I confess it doesn’t cross my mind as much as it should. In his book Sex and Money, Paul Tripp gives several truths about eternity that can help us walk in freedom…
Proverbs 18:1 reads, “whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” Bruce Waltke in his commentary on Proverbs says this, “the fool alienates himself from society by his self-indulgent pursuit and bares his teeth against the sage’s proficient thinking.” The person who isolates himself can also be translated antisocial…
Theology Along the Way 