Is There Really Nothing to Do?

It is the idea that we can do nothing but trust that is particularly troubling to me.  I believe with the psalmist – and Nehemiah and Paul – would say, “Man’s part is to trust and work.”  Or perhaps it is more helpful to say, “Our part is to work, but to do so in [...]

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Three Words That Describe Our Duties as Christians

The Apostle Paul summed up our three-directional duties of the Christian life in three words: self-controlled, upright, and godly.  The context of his moral description of God’s saving grace, however, is a whole series of moral exhortations from Titus 2:1-3:2.  – Bridges, Jerry; The Disciplined of Grace:God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of [...]

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It Was the Very Essence of Paul’s Christian Life

In the same way, believers are united to Christ in such a way that, in the words of the Apostle Peter, we “participate in the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4).  That is, just as the branches share in the live of the vine, so we share in the very life of Christ Himself.  That is [...]

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Consider the Example of the Apostle Paul

Consider the example of the Apostle Paul.  He not only referred to himself as the least of the apostles, not even deserving to be called an apostle, but he considered himself less than the least of all God’s people (I Corinthians 1:15-16, Ephesians 3:8).  And toward the end of his life he referred to himself [...]

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This Is the Real Antidote to Self-Righteousness

The proper preaching of the law and the gospel is the real antidote to self righteousness of every stripe. It is interesting when the apostle Paul had to write a disciplinary letter to the Corinthian church for it’s sexual immorality, hypocrisy, strife, and pride, he began by telling them the gospel all over again. He [...]

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Even Paul Did Not Offer Christ as the Path to Your Best Life Now

So it is surprising that when the apostle to the Gentiles was given a spot at the philosophers’ forum in Athens, he did not offer Christ as the best path to “your best life now” but told the story of how God is the Creator who needs nothing from us but has stooped to save [...]

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To Interpret Jesus Any Other Way

The Christ of Paul was not merely a great teacher, an example of a great man, or a symbol of man’s noblest aspirations; he was Lord and Savior.  To reinterpret Jesus any other way is to bleed Christianity of its point. – Brennan Manning, The Importance of Being Foolish: How to Think Like Jesus, HarperOne, [...]

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That For Which We Should Pray For Above All Else

The second way we express our dependence on the Spirit is to pray for holiness.  The Apostle Paul prayed continually for the working of God’s Spirit in the lives of those to whom he was writing.  He told the Ephesians that he prayed God would “strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner [...]

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If You Diligently Pursue Holiness, Often You Will Need to Flee

You, too, if you diligently pursue holiness, must often flee to the Rock of your salvation.  You flee there, not to be saved again, but to confirm in your heart that you are saved through His righteousness alone.  You begin to identify with Paul when he said, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full [...]

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Vision Begets Action

Vision begets action.  God gave Noah the vision of an ark, and he built it.  God gave Nehemiah a vision of a city wall and he repaired it.  God gave Paul the apostle a vision of evangelizing the whole world, and he covered the earth with the message of Christ.  God gave David Livingston a [...]

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