In the year 410, Rome fell to Alaric and the Visigoths. In light of those events, Jerome would write, “My voice is choked, broken with sobs as I dictate this letter. The city that conquered the entire earth has now itself been conquered” (Nick Needham, 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power, 321). Romans, having enjoyed such…
Recently, another pastor and I were discussing the apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:25 where he writes, “be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” In the course of the conversation, he made the comment, “Do you want to know how to rent a room to Satan?”…
What can we learn from the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35? Forgiveness cancels a debt. The practice of canceling a debt serves as a metaphor for practicing forgiveness. Forgiveness presupposes that someone bear the cost of what is owed Forgiveness makes a three-fold promise: (1) I will not bring up this offense again or use…
