God allows the forbidden its full appeal. The pattern of sin runs right through the act, for Eve listened to a creature instead of the Creator, followed her impressions against her instructions, and made self-fulfillment her goal. The prospect of material, aesthetic . . . Continue reading →
Sin
More Than The Sinner’s Prayer
If potential converts (children or adults) are so unfamiliar with basic Bible doctrine that they can understand nothing more than “asking Jesus into their heart,” they probably should wait to make a commitment, until they understand the gravity of sin, and Christ’s . . . Continue reading →
Why Do Believers Still Sin?
Sin is greatly confusing for believers. The apostle captures this in Romans 7 when he says “the things that I will not, these I do.” How could the apostle seem to speak in such a defeated manner with regard to sin a . . . Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange On Man’s Free Will
CANON 13. Concerning the restoration of free will. The freedom of will that was destroyed in the first man can be restored only by the grace of baptism, for what is lost can be returned only by the one who was able . . . Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange On Death Through Sin
CANON 2. If anyone asserts that Adam’s sin affected him alone and not his descendants also, or at least if he declares that it is only the death of the body which is the punishment for sin, and not also that sin, . . . Continue reading →
We Are Like Nube
Someone from my part of town just reported that her gray cockatiel, “Nube,” just out the door toward the local high school. Continue reading
Two Dark Sides Of The Sexual Revolution (UPDATED)
Regular readers of this space may remember that I have been arguing for a while that we are in the midst of arguably the third great sexual revolution since the late 19th century. Let me borrow from that earlier essay: There have . . . Continue reading →
By Nature We Are Not Ill But Dead
One of the first and greatest differences between the Augustinian understanding of Paul and what became the dominant understanding of Paul. By the 7th century and for most of a millennium following, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Mark 10:29–37) became the . . . Continue reading →
God Does Not Re-Define Sin Or Righteousness
The words “felon,” “offender,” “convict,” “addict” and “juvenile delinquent” would be part of the past in official San Francisco parlance under new “person first” language guidelines adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Going forward, what was once called a convicted felon or . . . Continue reading →
The Wages Of Sin Is Death
God’s holy Law says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all he law and . . . Continue reading →
Continual Evil, The Ark, And God’s Restraining Mercies
Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And Yahweh regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to . . . Continue reading →
Sin: Disordered Inclinations, Unholy Desires, And A Lack Of Righteousness
Sin which does not thus reign, is that which the sinner resists by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It does not, therefore, expose him to eternal death, because he has repented and found favor through Christ. Such sins are disordered inclinations . . . Continue reading →
“I’m Not That Guy”
According to TMZ (hey, it’s a low-information age) actress Reese Witherspoon and her husband was recently arrested for a DUI. As part of her apology for threatening the arresting officer she wrote, “The words I used that night definitely do not reflect . . . Continue reading →
There Is Spiritual Evil in the World
Since the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut there have been numerous explanations offered to account for what happened. Television reporters and commentators have spoken about evil. One said that “evil rolled through” Newtown. It does not take particular genius to see that mass . . . Continue reading →
"How Dare You?"
That might be the spirit of the age. Road rage. One driver pulls sharply in front of another driver and the second says “How dare you?” In some cases violence ensues. Just yesterday a troubled student burst into his high school office . . . Continue reading →
What Does an Alcoholic/Addict Need?
The question came up recently about how Christians should think about the “12-Step” programs that treat alcoholism/addiction as a disease and that catechize alcoholics/addicts into deism. More than twenty years ago I began to try to address these issues in a paper. . . . Continue reading →