The Art Of Grace

One of the hardest things about communicating the grace message to religious people is getting them to see they’re not believing in Jesus for what He promised. That can be hard because they often do believe in Jesus for something—but for something less than what He is. Do you know what supplemental health insurance is? […]

A “hostile takeover” refers to “the acquisition of one company by another corporation against the wishes of the former.” If the Christian life is a kind of takeover, is it hostile? Jesus is Lord and wants to exercise that Lordship over your entire life—over your every thought, word, and deed. However, making Jesus “Lord of […]

In Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis used the term “deeper magic” as a metaphor for the gospel. He didn’t explicitly put in a Christian sermon, but the concepts still rang out clearly in the story. Likewise, if you listen carefully to culture, you’ll hear echoes of gospel themes—echoes of that “deeper magic”—present in secular […]

Paul almost makes a very serious spiritual mistake in Romans 7:18. As we’ll see, he avoids it. But if you don’t understand the error, chances are you might make it. Here’s what Paul wrote, For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is […]

God created men and women to live by faith. He also made us with emotions. Faith and feelings are two essential aspects of our humanity. But somewhere along the way, they can get out of order, negatively impacting your Christian walk. Paul wrote: For we know that our old self was crucified with him so […]

Someone said, “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.” What makes you feel confident? And more specifically, where do you put your confidence in living the Christian life day by day? Even when you believe in Jesus for salvation and know for sure that you’ll spend eternity with God, where do you put […]

Can you overemphasize Jesus’ death on the cross? That’s hard to imagine, but one way comes to mind. I love preaching the cross. It’s central to everything I believe about Jesus, God, and the way of salvation. I consider myself a “theologian of the cross.” But there's a danger there. How so? You can put […]

Do you want people to notice the good things you do or not? Jesus said two things about that question that might appear contradictory, but the harmonization is both simple, and it reveals something crucial about Christian living. On the one hand, Jesus said He wanted His disciples to do good works that other people […]

If you belong to a religious tradition that mixes grace and law, or faith and works, you’ll probably lack assurance of your salvation. After all, if salvation depends on what you do, and you know that you’re undependable, you’ll never be sure that you’ve done what it takes to be saved. You might hope to […]

I often wake up around 3 am. If I can’t fall back asleep immediately, I’ll get up to read, write, or pray. But sometimes, I wake up with my mind racing. Late last month, I woke up, and worries flooded my mind, my chest tightened, and I started overthinking all the potentials, possibilities, and pitfalls […]

The Old Testament is full of examples of godly men and women who got the victory by resting in faith in the promises of God. If you’ve ever wondered how you can live a life of faith—a life of rest—then I will be exploring these wonderful heroes and heroines of the faith. For example, think […]

Do you depend upon Christ moment-by-moment—for big things and little things? Two weeks ago, while backing out of the driveway, we ran over a child’s scooter with a loud crunch and a pop. We blew a tire. The next day I went to the tire store and found that all the remaining tires were in […]

People sometimes ask me how to get started in preaching. Well, I didn’t get started in preaching by preaching, but by witnessing. A few months after I was born again, I started telling people about Jesus and the first group I remember going to were the kids at the Muslim Student Association. (That was an […]

I believe in sanctification by grace, not by law. However, does that mean grace-based parents shouldn’t discipline their kids? Does grace require you to let your kids run free without rules or consequences? To paraphrase Paul, “Absolutely not!” Grace doesn’t eliminate the law—it clarifies the role the law plays. That was a significant emphasis in […]

Your vocabulary matters. The words and phrases you use shape your understanding of what it means to live a normal Christian life. There are many ways that our Christian vocabulary—our Christianese—can obscure the saving message. But it can just as quickly obscure essential sanctification truths. For example, at the beginning of a church service, have […]

People who believe in salvation by works often wonder about the difference between true believers and false believers. In part, I think they ask that question because they lack assurance. They wonder, “Am I really a believer? How can I know?” Since they think salvation depends partly on how you act, they often think the […]

The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked (1 John 2:6). Quick question: How did Abraham get from Ur to Canaan? Step by step. How did the Israelites go from Egypt to the Promised Land? Step by step. And how do you live the Christian life? The same way. […]

I often hear this objection to eternal security: “If you can’t lose your salvation, how do you explain Satan falling away? And what happened to Adam and Eve?” What happened to Satan, Adam, and Eve was tragic, but here are five reasons they didn’t lose their salvation. First, salvation didn’t exist before the fall. Some […]

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders (1 Timothy 4:14, emphasis added). The Holy Spirit gives every believer a spiritual gift, and as Paul implied to Timothy, you can neglect it. Why would you do […]

Every generation needs to be evangelized—and that starts at home. Parents and grandparents are responsible for telling their kids that Jesus died for them on the cross, rose again from the dead, and now offers them everlasting life simply by believing in Him for it. You’ll have to tell them more than once before those […]

Have you heard that one in four “practicing Christian millennials” believe the church is irrelevant? A quarter! And those are kids in the church. Proverbs says: Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds (Proverbs 27:23). Parents, teachers, and pastors need to know the “condition of their flocks.” If young […]

“The more I did, the less happened,” Major Ian Thomas reflected. “Thus by the age of nineteen, I had been reduced to a state of complete exhaustion spiritually, until I felt there was no point in going on” (Edman, They Found the Secret, p. 169). Major Thomas remembered his early years as a Christian when […]

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people (Luke 2:52). You will notice that Jesus grew on four different levels. The boy from Bethlehem grew up to become the man from Nazareth, and He matured and experienced normal development along the following lines— First, He grew intellectually in […]

God is holy, righteous, and just. Each of those terms spells out a different response to sin. Because God is holy, He hates sin. For example: “Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all this”—this is the LORD’s declaration (Zech 8:17). Because God is […]

God has plenty of prodigal children. How can they get back on the right path? Prodigals need to realize that you can't live without your Father. In the parable, the prodigal son tried to live his life on his own terms, based on his own resources, dreams, and desires (Luke 15:11-32). And what happened? Everything […]