Tag: Spiritual Maturity
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What is Now True Because of Jesus
The Apostle Paul notably quipped: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1.16) The “gospel” is the message – the “Good News” – about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and of the Kingdom in and over which he reigns.. Paul…
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Jesus Material Measure of Spiritual Maturity
In 2 Corinthians 8.7 the Apostle Paul challenges us to grow in the grace of generosity through giving: “But as you excel in everything -in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you – see that you excel in this act of grace also.” Within his textbook, Biblical Ethics,…
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How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself
Paul, in Colossians 2.6, instructs us: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him…” Simple words, but powerfully practical when unpacked. How did we “receive” Jesus? By faith and repentance – or by repentance and faith. We are not quite sure which comes first, but perhaps…
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5 Gospel Perspectives That Shape Lives
Tim Lane & Paul Tripp, in their helpful book How People Change, suggest that there are 5 Gospel Perspectives that shape lives. In other words when we understand these principles, and regularly consider our own lives in relation to them, we see change. These principles, considered collectively, cultivate the best conditions to see fruitful sanctification.…
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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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Benefitting in the Benefactor
Sinclair Ferguson offers this wise insight about the gospel-centered life: “…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…
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Slow Like Oak
In a culture conditioned to instant everything, perhaps we would do well to pause and consider these words from John Newton, author of the hymn Amazing Grace: “A Christian is not of hasty growth, like a mushroom, but rather like the oak, the progress of which is hardly perceptible, but in time becomes a great…
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Grace of Repentance
Today is Ash Wednesday. That does not mean much to many in my theological circles. But for many other Christians it is a day that launches the Season leading to Easter – the Season of Lent. This day is designated Ash Wednesday because of an ancient practice of marking believers with ashes as a symbol…
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Dynamics of the Spiritual Life
Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons – much less secure than non-Christians, because they have too much light to rest easily under the constant bulletins they receive from their Christian environment about the holiness of God…
