I’ve been reading through a nice little edition of The Apostolic Fathers recently put out by Moody Press. Today, I came across a section in The Shepherd of Hermas that sounds a bit like what John Piper might say. I’m not endorsing everything in The Shepherd of Hermas, there are plenty of reasons why it [...]
Continue reading about Quotes to Note 14: Christian Hedonism in The Shepherd of Hermas??
I continue to hear from readers about how the story of my journey out of extreme fundamentalism has been a blessing to them. From time to time, my readers share some of their own stories. Recently, a young woman named Becca shared her story with me, and I received permission from her to share it [...]
Within fundamentalism, as in other areas of Christianity no doubt, there is quite a bit of confusion over fighting sin. The thinking goes like this: if we erect a big enough fence, or hedge people in with enough rules, we will prevent them from falling into sin. Sadly, this tactic most often fails, to one [...]
Author: Jerry Bridges
Publisher: NavPress
Format: softcover
Publication Date: revised edition, 2008
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9781600063053
Stars: 4 of 5
In Trusting God, Jerry Bridges tackles some big and important questions. How are we to approach the hurdles life throws our way? How can we trust God in spite of difficult circumstances? How are we to trust him even [...]
Continue reading about Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges
Author: Joshua Harris
Publisher: Waterbrook Multnomah
Format: hardcover
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 241
ISBN: 9781601421517
Stars: 5 of 5
In today’s world, doctrine and orthodoxy get a bad rap. Many sincere Christians assume studying doctrine is primarily a waste of time. Doctrine usually leads to cold and dead religion, or else it promotes a divisive and bitter spirit that splits [...]
Continue reading about Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters by Joshua Harris
Some of you have made New Year’s resolutions. Others have resolved to make one soon! And if you haven’t made one this year, you have other years. We all think there is wisdom in setting our mind to something and trying to achieve it.
I’m all for this kind of determination and hard-work. The problem comes [...]
Continue reading about Don’t Forget the Gospel This New Year’s
I stumbled across a great blog post that relates with the theme of our last several posts: the Gospel’s work in believers. The post actually was first an article for Discipleship Journal. Let me quote a relevant portion of it here, but encourage you all to go over and read the whole thing. It’s also [...]
Continued from part 2.
We have seen that the Gospel has many purposes for believers beyond initial conversion. It is as much for believers as unbelievers. I’d like to start this final post by quoting Tim Keller once more at some length. (I should mention that the quotes from Keller in this series come from this [...]
Continue reading about The Gospel's Work in Believers, Conclusion
Continued from part 1.
So, in the gospel, as unbelievers we found acceptance through Christ and forgiveness from sin. But as believers, don’t we rely on that acceptance as we work out our salvation? Don’t we need to be constantly challenged to obey more and be more faithful to God? Does our spiritual life depend in [...]
Continue reading about The Gospel's Work in Believers, Part 2
The following is taken from an adult SS lesson I taught this past Sunday. I thought it would be a blessing to share it by means of my blog for a wider audience.
1 Thess. 2:9-13 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a [...]
Continue reading about The Gospel's Work in Believers, Part 1
Recent Comments
Thanks for the kind words, JJ. What I mean is that because we were ordained to eternal life, we ...
Nicely done, Bob! I think I agree with 95% of it... and I don't usually agree with 95% of ...
Thanks Matt. Good thoughts.
Great summary Bob! Short yet lacking nothing. Thanks. Regarding the freedom of the will no one choose that goes against their ...
Thanks Cris, I'll check it out.