Browsing Tag:

Repent

In Biblical Theology, Blog, Theology on
October 23, 2023

Pierced for Our Transgressions

Sometimes it’s the smallest of things that hurt the most. Brushing a hand along a page and getting a paper cut, feeling its sting whenever you flex your finger. Grabbing onto a piece of wood only for it to give you a splinter, leaving you sore and swollen with the possibility of infection. Hearing an unkind word from a friend that ruins your day or perhaps even ruins that relationship.

Reaching for a beautiful rose to only be pricked by a thorn.

These are all little things, but they all can leave us in significant pain, whether physical or emotional. When Adam and Eve took a bite of that forbidden fruit in the Garden, it probably seemed like such a small thing to them. After all, it was just a piece of fruit. It appeared to be delicious, something that would appease both their physical hunger and their thirst for knowledge. But their seemingly small act of disobedience brought the Fall, affecting the entire world and everything in it.

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In Bible Study, Blog, John on
October 17, 2022

Jesus Draws Near to the Sinner

Have you ever been filled with so much guilt and shame over your sin that you wondered how God could ever forgive you?

I know I have.

Several years ago, I went through a season filled with severe shame over the temptations and sins I was struggling with. I was drowning in guilt and the depression that came with it. I was consumed by my failures and shortcomings, and I would rehearse them over and over in my head, day in and day out until I began to question God’s mercy, God’s love, and God’s forgiveness. How could a righteous, all-powerful God show me mercy? How could a holy, all-knowing God love me? How could a just, sovereign God forgive me, especially when I continued to sin daily?

I’m sure you’ve had one of these seasons. All Christians do at some point during their journey of faith. How can we overcome this shame that threatens to suffocate us, this guilt over past (or present) sin? We can discover this answer in John 8, where Jesus encounters a guilty, shame-filled woman.

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In Blog, Salvation, Theology on
February 7, 2022

Real Repentance

“Say you’re sorry!”

We’ve all seen it. A child hits a classmate, says something mean to a friend, or steals a toy from a sibling, and the offended child runs to tell an adult. Then, the parent or teacher goes over to the offending child with, “Say you’re sorry!”

But how many children who mutter a begrudging “I’m sorry” are actually sorry? How many of these children will turn around and do the exact same thing again? These children may say that they’re “sorry,” but they’re often just sorry that they got caught, not that they did a bad thing. Because they are not truly sorry, they will go right back to hitting classmates, saying mean things, and stealing toys.

Adults do this, too. We confess to God and say we’re sorry for doing things like gossiping about a co-worker, putting ourselves first, and being envious of what others have. But then we turn around and do these exact same things the very next day. Why do we do this? Why do we continue to commit the same sins we just apologized for? Because we have not really repented.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Revelation on
August 23, 2021

Lukewarm Laodicea

For a lot of people, Revelation is a scary and daunting to book to read. It talks of various seals, bowls, trumpets, angels, and plagues. It describes a dragon, a prostitute, and a leopard-ish, bear-ish, lion-ish beast with seven heads and ten horns. It speaks of much death and destruction, but also of the final victory of Jesus and the beauty of the New Earth. The book of Revelation is difficult to understand and difficult to interpret, so many try to avoid it at all costs.

But these people often forget that not all of Revelation is filled with frightening images and confusing apocalyptic language. They forget that the first three chapters of Revelation are actually letters from Jesus to seven first-century churches. While these short letters were written almost 2,000 years ago, they are still very applicable to the Church today. And one letter that is particularly relevant for the American Church is the letter to the church of Laodicea.

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In Blog, Theology, Worldview on
March 1, 2021

A Christian Worldview

I got glasses for the first time three years ago. Growing up, I had great vision and never had any need for glasses. But in high school, I started noticing that it was getting more and more difficult for me to see things like information written on classroom whiteboards, sermon notes on the screen at church, and street signs when I was driving. I went to an optometrist, and sure enough, I needed glasses. When I put on my first pair of glasses, everything was so clear and bright, and it was almost like I was seeing a whole new world.

A person’s worldview is a lot like a pair of glasses. One’s worldview is the lens through which they view the world. Just like different eyeglasses prescriptions or sunglasses tints will alter how you see the world around you, different worldviews will alter what you believe about the world. Whether they realize or not, everyone has a worldview. Everyone, even those who claim to be non-religious, holds a set of beliefs that determine how they see the world. And every person’s worldview answers seven key questions about the world – the question of origins, the question of identity, the question of purpose, the question of morality, the question of the problem, the question of the solution, and the question of destiny.

It is important for believers to hold a Christian worldview, to answer these questions in a way that agrees with Scripture and glorifies God. If we don’t, we can easily fall into belief systems that are sinful and worldly and built on lies. Therefore, we must search the Word of God to figure out what a Christian worldview looks like and how it answers these seven key questions.

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