Tag: Sin
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Spiritual Pride
Here is a great insight from Jonathan Edwards as relevant today as it was in his Colonial American culture: The first and worst cause of error that prevails in our day is spiritual pride. This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of…
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Broken Down Houses
Paul Tripp further expounds the thoughts conveyed in this viedo in his book: Broken Down Houses.
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Pure As the Driven Snow
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who enjoys “old” snow – you know, the snow that has been around a few day, has blackened from plowing, is choppy from people playing in the yard. I know that’s not the type of snow my duaghter enjoys looking at. After the snowstorm this past Friday night,…
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Pretentious Piety
The more things have changed, some things have remained the same. Such is the case for Christians in a typical church. When Samuel Blair assumed the pulpit of Faggs Manor Presbyteran Church in 1740 he found a congregation in a spiritual condition not uncommon even in our day. Blair wrote that when he came…
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3 Responses to Sin
“When we as Christians sin, we can react in one of three ways: 1) We can become hardened to our sin. 2) We can sink into utter despair and say, ‘Its all over.’ I’ve known Christians who have spent twenty years despairing over one sin…. [T]he only right course of action for us as Christians…
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Respectable Sins
One of the books on my bedside table is Respectable Sins, by Jerry Bridges. The subtitle of the book is: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate. The theme becomes self explanatory. In his preface Bridges explains the motive behind the book: “The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative…
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The Gospel & Parental Sin
Last week I became rightfully angry at one of my children. (I won’t say which one.) But in my anger I sinned against him. (Okay, the ‘him’ narrows it down some.) I had neglected the counsel of King David, who wrote: “In your anger do not sin.” (Psalm 4:4) In my reprimand I was way too…
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Scarlett Letter Today
Inspired by an analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlett Letter, on NPR’s All Things Considered, my friend Nathan Lewis probes beyond the literary and sociologic interests offered from the program. Nathan asks two striking questions: “Have we learned from Hawthorne’s scathing presentation of hypocrissy?” “Would Hester [Prynne] be welcome in our community of faith?” I want to…
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Which Way?
Your life hangs on how you relate these two statements: “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous” (1 John 2:1). “Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Do you experience the first one weakening the second? Or do you experience the first one…
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My Sin is Ever Before Me
‘My sin is ever before me’ -Psalm 51.3 A humble soul sees that he can stay no more from sin, than the heart can from panting, and the pulse from beating. He sees his heart and life to be fuller of sin, than the firmament is of stars; and this keeps him low. He sees that…
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Sin Boldly
I’m going to start a new category: Graffiti. This categtory will offer some great quotes. I don’t know many that would top the following from Luther: “If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin.…
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What is the Gospel?
Gospel means “good news.” The good news is: you (and I) are more sinful and flawed than you (or I) ever dared believe, yet you (and I) can be more accepted and loved than you (or I) ever dared hope at the same time, because Jesus Christ lived and died in our place. As the…
