Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture
If we are honest, the fact that we are not moral train wrecks has more to do with God’s grace than our ability to live out the Christian life. So why not extend that same grace to others?
Grace combined with even a modicum of mercy will have a powerful effect.
In reading through the Gospels, I am reminded that it is possible to take a strong stand against sin while honoring and loving those who participate in it. A paragraph that I read in Learning Evangelism from Jesus captures this thought well: “But Jesus was a different kind of holy man and teacher. We have … Read more
Some have expressed surprise and dismay that Christian leaders have been found to have their names on the list. But I don’t think that we should be surprised. The church is not filled with people who have it all together. We know this because they let us in and we do not have it all together. Whether our failures are obvious to others or not, we all fail.
The Church of Jesus Christ should be the most gracious place on the planet but often it is not. If we are not consistently preaching the Gospel, if we are not reinforcing our need for a savior, if we are not intentional about living under grace, then we will become what the world thinks we are.
“Luther preached that there was nothing more important for a person than to see that he or she could contribute nothing whatsoever to one’s own salvation. We can be fully accepted and counted legally righteous in God’s sight through faith in Christ, solely by free grace. To understand and grasp this is to finally know … Read more
We all want grace, but sometimes struggle to give it when it is most needed. We are in constant danger of offering selective grace by offering it to some and withholding it from others.
In responding to the question, “how can you identify a grace based church?” I came up with 5 identifying marks of such a church. See if you agree with these and add your own in the comments section.
In the recently released movie, Les Misérables, two characters were touched by Grace and were not the same as a result. It was almost as though God put a brand upon them. They were branded by Grace.