Tag: Grace
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Gospel-Driven Sanctification
by Jerry Bridges Early in my Christian life I heard someone say, “The Bible was not given to increase your knowledge but to guide your conduct.” Later I came to realize that this statement was simplistic at best and erroneous at worst. The Bible is far more than a rulebook to follow. It is primarily…
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Ways of Grace
We will never find God unless he first seeks us, but we should remember that he can do so in very different ways. Sometimes, God jumps on us dramatically, as he does with the younger son, and we have a sharp sense of his love. Sometimes he quietly and patiently argues with us even though…
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The Determining Factor
In his magnificent and practical work, Spiritual Depression, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides this wonderful description of the dynamics of genuine Christianity: “The determining factor in our relationship with God is not our past or present, but Christ’s past and present.” ‘How then does it work?’ It works like this. God accepts this righteousness of Christ,…
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A Key to Vibrant Prayer
We are not desperate to pray because we are self-deceived. We are blind to our depravity. We don’t see ourselves as we really are. Do you want to learn to pray more? Learn of your sin. Ask God to show it to you, to give you a glimpse of your need. Ask him to show…
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Living By Grace
What an awesome insight from Brennan Manning: “To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.”
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Scandalous Freedom
I have been listening to Steve Brown‘s Scandalous Freedom podcasts over the past couple weeks. For those not familiar with Steve, let me issue a warning: Don’t listen to him if you take yourself too seriously or think Christianity is about putting a stamp of approval on your goodness. I guarantee that if you think that…
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The Advent of Humility
The following article, by Tim Keller, first appeared in the December 2008 edition of Christianity Today Magazine. In this article Keller explains why the Advent of Jesus gives us reason to stop concentrating on ourselves. *** Innumerable Christmas devotionals point out the humble circumstances of Jesus’ birth—among shepherds, in a crude stable, with a feed…
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Gospel from Mars Hill
The gospel is like a multifaceted jewel. Descriptions of it vary but the substance is never altered. Our appreciation for it’s beauty is enhanced by viewing it from it’s different aspects. We also see things fresh through the eyes of others, as we understand what they are seeing. For that reason I value whenever I…
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Portrait of a Recovering Pharisee
by Nancy Scott When Sally first heard the gospel at age eleven, she understood immediately that God’s grace is what saves us. She already knew her heart was full of evil and that she had nothing to bring to God. It made perfect sense that God would have to do the saving, if any saving…
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In the Valley
A beautiful song of prayer based on the title from Valley of Vision. The music and arrangement are by Sovereign Grace Music.
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The Old Man and the Flesh
by Robin Boisvert What actually changes when one becomes a Christian? Confusion about this is common, especially when we realize that we continue to struggle with sin and temptation even after conversion. Paul tells us in Galatians that we have a war that goes on within us after conversion: “For the desires of the flesh…
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Effect of Coming Empty Handed
“As we come to Christ…empty-handed, claiming no merit of our own, but clinging by faith to His blood and righteousness, we are justified. We pass immediately from a state of condemnation and spiritual death to a state of pardon, acceptance, and the sure hope of eternal life. Our sins are blotted out, and we are…
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Gospel-Driven Sanctification
The first thing to remember is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual but from the New Testament’s point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their…
