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Sin Nature

In Blog, Common Questions, Theology on
May 24, 2021

Is Everyone a Child of God?

Christian music artist Tauren Wells released a song called “All God’s Children” this past December. It’s a beautiful song that brings awareness to the human trafficking that is happening all around the globe and reminds us that no person, and especially no child, deserves this kind of treatment. Every person is created in God’s image and worthy of love and freedom. The song goes,

“We are all God’s children, made in His image. Perfectly loved, worthy of freedom. All God’s children, made in His image. Perfectly loved, worthy of freedom. Held and treasured every soul together. All God’s children, made in His image. Perfectly loved, worthy of freedom.”[1]

“All God’s Children” really is a great song with a great message. But is it actually biblically and theologically accurate? You may be thinking, “Well, of course it is!” After all, loving people who are created in the image of God is something we are commanded to do in Scripture (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Galatians 5:14). But is everyone a child of God?

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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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In Blog, Common Questions, Theology on
November 30, 2020

Do Small Sins Deserve to be Punished?

Everybody sins. We all make mistakes. You don’t have to teach a toddler to say “no” or to disobey their parents. You don’t have to teach a child to cheat on their tests or be mean to their friends. We have an innate desire to sin, and that innate desire never goes away. Throughout our entire lives, we are tempted and lured by sins. And it is only by God’s grace that we are able to resist these temptations.

But we will never be able to fully escape sin while we are living on this earth. So, as a way to justify our sins or assuage our guilt, we often rank our sins. Sins like murder, rape, and abuse are big, terrible sins that surely deserve to be punished. But sins like gossip, envy, or pride are just “small” sins that can just be swept under the rug. They’re seemingly not that big of a deal, and they’re not really hurting anyone. Therefore, many people, including many who claim to be Christians, believe that these little sins don’t deserve punishment.

In their 2020 State of Theology survey, Ligonier Ministries found that sixty-six percent of American adults disagree with the statement, “Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.”[1] But is this belief – the belief that small sins shouldn’t send someone to hell – backed up by Scripture? Do small sins deserve to be punished?

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In Attributes of God, Blog, Theology on
September 21, 2020

He is Immutable

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The only guaranteed thing in life is change”? The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote a very similar saying around 2,500 years ago.[1] This profound insight proves to be true even to this day! How we look changes. How we talk changes. How we think changes. How we make decisions changes. Our styles change. Our preferences change. Our relationships change. Where we live changes. Where we work changes. What we do for fun changes. Seasons change. Our situations change. The economy changes. Seemingly everything in our lives changes!

But, there actually is something in our life that NEVER changes. Or, rather, Someone-

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In Blog, Common Questions, Theology on
July 20, 2020

Does God Accept All Religions?

“Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.”[1]

You’ve probably heard something similar to this before. This quote was written by the Buddhist monk Ikkyu, and it basically means that you can reach God and salvation through whatever religion you choose to practice. Our culture today loves and embraces this idea. They preach that you should be able to believe and practice whatever you want to believe and practice and that what’s true for you may not be true for somebody else. In fact, the Ligonier State of Theology Survey found in 2018 that sixty-five percent of American adults agree with the statement that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”[2] But can this really be true? Does this statement agree with the truth we find in the Word of God?

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