If you cleanse yourself from wickedness, you will be a vessel for honor, made holy, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:21 We call the Bible holy not just because it is about God or because it is different from all other books. We call it holy because it is … Continue reading
What we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3 We are no longer alone! If we are being saved as we follow Jesus in the obedience of … Continue reading
Facets of Salvation #3—Eternal Life This is the will of my Father, that all those who look on me with respect, and believe in me, will have eternal life, and I myself will raise them up on the last day. John 6:40 Life is more than living, isn’t it? We can exist but not be … Continue reading
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you …. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. Ezekiel 36:26–27 Jesus saves us not just from our punishment for rebelling against God; he also saves us from our proclivity to continue rebelling. This … Continue reading
The biblical concept of salvation is a beautiful jewel, brilliant and complex. God’s saving work involves more than just providing a to forgive our sin. God’s goal for us is the ability to know and enjoy the fullness of his glory. Forgiveness, as crucial a component of salvation as it is, just gets us in … Continue reading
The biblical writers frequently remind us of the necessity to believe God. Hebrews 11:6 says, for example, “Without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” but this same book of Hebrews also stresses our great … Continue reading
One of the impressions I formed as I traveled around Afghanistan in 1974 was that the people seemed to build ruins. Because they used sunbaked mud for the walls of their structures, buildings that were not carefully maintained quickly disintegrated as they succumbed to the forces of nature. Similarly, it seems as if every dystopian … Continue reading
Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:17–18 Liberating Lord, I have never felt so free as when I am bound to you. … Continue reading
You are slaves of the one whom you obey. … Thanks be to God that you became obedient from the heart to his instruction so that, being freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness … indeed to God, from which enslavement you derive the benefit of sanctification and its end, eternal life. Romans 6:16–22 … Continue reading
Jesus said, “If you continue in my teaching, you are truly disciples of mine; and you will know the truth; and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31–32 At an early age our parents taught us about the nature of gravity. Youthful experiments designed to test the reliability of these lessons reaffirmed this truth, … Continue reading