Knowing that we are truly forgiven should naturally give rise to real joy and genuine happiness. When forgiveness is real, having been secured by those contrite sinners who have thrown themselves on the grace and mercy of our forgiving God (who has paid the ultimate price in…
God’s forgiveness is complete. Because God is too pure to approve or tolerate what is evil (Hab.1:13; Ps.5:4-5; et al.), to say that we are God’s beloved children because we are accepted by God in Christ, is to make a gigantic claim that assumes that our…
We are motivated to boldly proclaim the gospel when we understand the horrendous problem of sin and death, prizing the gracious forgiveness God made possible through the risen Christ.
In this season of giving and receiving gifts, let us never lose our focus on the incomparable grace that was bestowed on us when God decided to give us everything that was needed to free us from the consequences of our sins through the life and death of Jesus Christ. It would seem only right…
Our theology regarding justification is often revealed by how we embrace God’s forgiveness when we sin. On the one hand, we may say that we heartily affirm the orthodox doctrine of justification by faith (i.e. that we are accepted as perfectly righteous before God by our trust in Christ, without the aid of good works), but on the other hand…
We must see the importance of being a highly-committed and fully-invested participant of a healthy (albeit imperfect) church knowing it is an indispensable part of the Christian life.
We shouldn’t be surprised at pushback from people when we faithfully deliver the gospel, because God always uses it for the unpleasant work of exposing sin and guilt before he uses it to save.
We, like Peter, must proclaim the offer of forgiveness in Christ by calling people to repentance and the hope of a promised future inheritance in God’s coming kingdom.
Essential to developing, cultivating, and maintaining a vibrant love for God is the practice of continually recalling and affirming the profound expressions of love God has demonstrated toward us.
One of the most heartfelt Psalms as David cries out to God for forgiveness after he is confronted by Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba. Be encouraged by the forgiveness we have from God when we confess our sin to him and are made white as snow.
We are vulnerable to so many harmful effects of being sinners and living in a deceitful and sinful world, but Christ grants real life, daily provision, and ultimate protection from the consequences of sin.
God is rich in mercy to all, but shows the magnificence of his grace in bestowing favor to the penitent who deserve nothing but his unmitigated justice.
The perfect and infinitely valuable life of Son of God fully paid the just demands of the Father’s holiness by incurring all the painful punishments our sins deserve.
Peter’s denials certainly remind us that our best intentions to follow Christ will be punctuated by stumbling, but they should also motivate us to quickly get up, confident that God uses imperfect servants to do great things.
The triune God demonstrated love for us in the most costly transaction imaginable; in response we ought to eternally thank him and sacrificially obey all that he commands.
Christ’s institution of the Lord’s supper in the presence of Judas should lead us to a vigilant introspection as we regularly and actively remember Christ’s death and coming kingdom.
The biblical Passover celebration provides us a helpful picture of the eternal redemption that has been provided for us by the eternal and divine Lamb of God.
Dig into the key verse for Book of Luke. We should rejoice in our salvation and pursue our sanctification knowing that when God works repentance in our lives his forgiving grace entirely covers our sins and permanently redirects our lives.
We should regularly ponder the great privilege it is to be a Christian, having received the grace of God to have hell cancelled, heaven secured, and all of our sins paid in full by Jesus Christ.
We must identify and thank God for his many acts of mercy toward us, remembering that these are small foretastes of the ultimate mercy of the eradication of our debt of sin by his cross.
We must remember that our friends’ sanctification is flawed, just like our own, and so we must continue to graciously forgive them when they sin and be wholeheartedly restored to them when they repent.
Christians should regularly examine and contemplate the amazing grace of God that provides our salvation so that we might rightly worship and sincerely thank him for it.
Because for now our Christian friendships will be periodically marked by insensitive actions and sinful transgressions, we must for Christ’s sake resolve ahead of time to reflect God’s patience and forgiveness.
Pastor Mike answers questions on the Bible, God and Christianity Questions in this service: 1. Must a special person perform a baptism? There is no mention in Bible. 2. How does a man define kindness (from a wife)? 3. Scriptual decision on using the name Asa in the geneology in Matthew 4. Question on tongues …
While the hard realities of God’s just retribution of the lost in hell should sober us, we ought to sincerely rejoice in the gracious realities of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf to free us from that penalty.
For those of us who believe Christ’s teaching and continue to trust in him, God promises to release us from the eternal penalty of sin, helping us now to increasingly overcome the corrupting power of sin in our lives.
Understanding that God is able to be gracious toward us because his perfect justice was satisfied on the cross should prompt us to be profoundly grateful and extraordinarily gracious toward others.
We can pray the powerful prayers of a righteous person that are spoken of in James 5:16 when we are careful to sincerely confess our sins and wholehearted turn from them.
