10 Things You Should Know about the Presence of God
What does it mean that God condescended in Christ and dwells with us through His Spirit?
Articles on Sin
296 results found
Because of Christ, our sin does not have to separate us from God. In fact, when we confess it and believe in him, we are cleansed from our unrighteousness.
10 Things You Should Know about Christian Ethics
What is Christian ethics and what role should it play in the life of a believer?
What Did Jesus Teach about Homosexuality?
In a 2012 article for Slate online, Will Oremus asked a provocative question: Was Jesus a homophobe?
Pride is a sin because of its self-centered, rather than God-centered, perspective on life.
34 Ethical Issues All Christians Should Know
What does the whole Bible teach us about which acts, attitudes, and personal character traits receive God’s approval, and which do not?
16 Passages to Read to Help Fight Lust
When faced with temptation, arm yourself with these verses from the word of God about fighting sexual sin.
What Is the Sin that Leads to Death? (1 John 5)
What is the “sin that leads to death” and why does John not say we should pray for people committing such sin?
How Can We Know We'll Go to Heaven?
Hell is our default destination, but because Jesus Christ took our sin upon himself on the cross, we can have assurance that we will go to heaven.
10 Key Bible Verses on Idolatry
"Keep yourselves from idols" means to keep yourselves from trusting, obeying, revering, and following—that is, in effect, worshiping—anyone or anything other than God himself and his Son Jesus Christ.
4 Ways to Fight Sexual Temptation
We must choke temptation to death—it is the only way out. Here are four ways to fight when temptation strikes.
5 Questions about Homosexuality
When we choose to embrace sin, celebrate it, and not repent of it, we keep ourselves away from God and away from heaven.
How God Is Both Incomprehensible and Knowable at the Same Time
Scripture teaches that we can have a true and personal knowledge of God, but this does not mean we will ever understand him exhaustively.
10 Key Bible Verses on the Devil
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Why Was Satan Allowed to Torment Job? (Job 1)
What is curious is that God is impressed not by Satan’s extraordinary abilities but rather by Job’s character.
What is righteous vs. unrighteous anger? What does the anger of God look like? Glean insight about the right time and application for anger by reading these verses and commentary.
An Open Letter to Those Nonchalant about Their Sexual Sin
Are you living in sexual sin and darkness? Find motivation and hope for lasting change.
The realities of hell give us all the reasons in the world to persuade sinners to put their faith in the one who experienced hellish despair on the cross.
5 Lies Our Culture Is Telling Us
When it seems like we are living at ground zero of the Tower of Babel, when the whole world seems to have gone mad, we need to cling to Christ with courage.
5 Reasons to Obey the 10 Commandments
God gave the commandments that they might be obeyed—not to earn salvation but because of who we are, who God is in himself, who he is to us, where we are, and what he has done.
Heaven may not be our final home, but insofar as we are with the Lord, we will indeed be at home as we wait.
10 Things You Should Know about Reading the Bible
The Bible is a story, not simply a collection of religious sayings or an anthology of various people’s religious experiences. The Bible tells us the true story of the world, the way things truly are and should be.
Should Drinking Alcohol Disqualify a Pastor from Ministry?
“Not a drunkard” means more than just “Knows how to toe the line and stay within the legal limits.” It implies a positive vision. It calls for men who are reliable, ever vigilant, “ready in season and out.”
Which Sins Are Feeding Your Sin of Lust?
In ministry to someone who struggles with sexual darkness, you may get the breakthrough in another screening room, in an area that neither of you had noticed or considered to be related.
Christ suffered and died with purpose. Learn why.
10 Things You Should Know about the Danger of Media
Why do we seek spectacles? Because we’re human—hardwired with an unquenchable appetite to see glory.
A lot of misinformation exists related to abortion. Here are 5 common myths that many people—pro-choice and pro-life alike—often believe.
Porn is Satanic. Why do I say that? Because the world of porn is infested with lies. Porn needs lies and myths to keep going.
Did You Know that the Bible Commands Us to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry?
God made the world good. And no amount of being a Christian ever changes the fact that God put you in a physical world with hands and food and drink and culture and relationships and beauty.
The New Testament Epistles offer several characteristics of false teachers and those susceptible to their teachings.
7 Tips for Confronting a Friend in Sin
Cheryl Marshall, Caroline Newheiser
Scripture speaks directly to the Christian’s responsibility to address or confront sin in the lives of other Christians.
10 Key Bible Verses on Freedom
As Christians, we’ve been released from the power of sin and death by Jesus and his substitutionary death on the cross.
It is the devil’s work to promote a fear of God that makes people afraid of God such that they want to flee from God.
An Open Letter to Those Debilitated by Their Sexual Sin
If you feel debilitated by a past of sexual sin or by the ongoing presence of temptation, hear these words of comfort and encouragement.
The crass references to hell we hear in everyday conversation shouldn’t dull the agonizing awareness all believers should have of the pains of hell.
Why Do Christians Make Such a Big Deal about Sex?
The fundamental reason why Christians believe that sex belongs only in the permanent bond of male-female marriage is because of the metaphor of Jesus’s love for his church.
5 Idols Revealed through Hardship
Lamenting the toppling of our cultural idols can reorient Christian exiles as to what King and what kingdom we were supposed to long for.
6 Questions about Christ’s Heart for Sinners
We cannot present a reason for Christ to finally close off his heart to his own sheep. No such reason exists.
10 Things You Should Know about the Imagination
Matthew P. Ristuccia, Gene Edward Veith Jr.
We use our imaginations all the time, whether we are daydreaming, planning, remembering, or meditating.
Are Some Sins Worse Than Others?
John MacArthur, Richard Mayhue
Are all sins the same in God’s eyes, or are some sins worse than others? All sins are the same in the sense that each renders a person guilty and worthy of God’s wrath.
10 Key Bible Verses on Slothfulness
According to Scripture, laziness or sloth is considered a sinful indulgence. Learn more about what God values in kingdom laborers.
Losing your temper means you’ve placed anger in the saddle and you are now galloping along at its command.
This question is not easy to answer, and as such, it requires careful reflection, given the variety of issues involved.
How to Fight Well in the War against Porn
Many people believe they’ll flourish from the outside in, but we believe we flourish from the inside out. We believe the great things in life come not from our outward advantages but from our inward resources.
A Proper Christian Response to Sexual Sin in Our Culture
Sexual desire is often one of the most powerful, powerfully creative, and powerfully catastrophic forces within human history.
10 Things You Should Know about Marriage
Your marriage's biggest problem is not the imperfection of your spouse. No, it is what lurks in the recesses of your heart. Your biggest struggle is with your own selfishness.
10 Things You Should Know about Shame
Talking about shame allows the light of the gospel to begin to free God's people from its dark grip.
Does Rahab Show Us That It's Sometimes Okay to Lie? (Joshua 2)
Although sparingly told—or perhaps because it is sparingly told—the tiny drama has exercised a fascination out of all proportion to its size.
There are lots of people who are never really confronted by the wretchedness of their own hearts.
12 Passages to Read to Help Fight Laziness
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
10 Things You Should Know about Money
Money is an accurate window on what is truly important to us.
What Did Jesus Teach about Money?
We keep telling ourselves that the next thing will be what satisfies us, but it never does.
3 Pieces of Advice for Every Godly Man Fighting Porn
Prayer feels weak. We feel awkward trying. So we neglect prayer. But our prayers to God are not weak. They are powerful, because God is powerful.
Why It's Wrong to Take God's Name in Vain
One of the remarkable things about God is that no one ever named him.
John Piper on Profanity, Crude Joking, and Using the Word “Dang”
Christians are called to high standards with the words we speak. On the tongue’s use and misuse of words, four general principles guide us.
You need to understand that there are two parts of the Christmas story, and you need both parts to make proper sense out of the whole story.
Why Does Paul Tell the Church to Deliver Someone to Satan? (1 Corinthians 5)
God’s church must be unleavened or pure. Tolerating unrepentant sexual immorality ruins the whole church’s purity.
3 Causes for Political Tension between Christians
Jonathan Leeman, Andrew David Naselli
What is going on when a disagreements affects your heart’s posture or hinders fellowship with another person in your church?
How to Pray When You’re Tempted by Sexual Sin
Sexual sin is a matter of the heart. When it comes to sex, we all need to say that the biggest problem in our sexual lives is us.
5 Lessons from Shakespeare's Hamlet
Leland Ryken compels us to focus on both the content and the form of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Considering sin doesn’t have to mean conceding to it. Knowing this keeps you from being crippled by unnecessary guilt; it gives hope to keep fighting, even when temptation is raging.
The Reason We Don't Feel the Weight of Our Sin
Just as we can hardly fathom the divine ferocity awaiting those out of Christ, it is equally true that we can hardly fathom the divine tenderness already resting now on those in Christ.
The Greatest Danger That Any Human Being Faces
For sinners, God is the supreme terror, and when we rightly understand our situation, we are right to fear.
Gentle and Lowly: A 14-Day Podcast
Join Dane Ortlund for a 14-day audio devotional to discover the true heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers.
You Need Christ to Put Your Sin to Death
Christian salvation is fundamentally a matter of grace, rescue, help, deliverance—it is God invading our miserable little lives and triumphing gloriously and persistently over all the sin and self he finds.
Learn more from Scripture about jealousy, envy, and covetousness—and how to trust and lean on the Lord for help when we're tempted.
Why It Matters What We Do with Our Bodies
We might think it doesn’t matter what we do with our bodies, but the Bible repeatedly and powerfully shows us this is not the case.
How (and How Not) to Fight Sin
Fighting sin is spiritual warfare, and warfare requires a battle plan. If left to our own devices, we would have little success against our unseen enemy.
How to Pray for a Loved One Struggling with Mental Illness
When God gives us the right spirit in prayer—the spirit of hope, patience, and love—that will usually result in the right petitions.
Help! My Beliefs Are Viewed as Intolerant
As our world continues to speak about inclusivity, diversity, and tolerance, it can seem like Christianity is embarrassingly behind the times.
Is Homosexual Orientation Sinful?
The Bible is somewhat ambiguous about orientation as such, only because that language is relatively new language. Here's what the Bible does say clearly.
How Is Love of Money a Root of Evil?
The root system of the love of money runs deeper and wider through the soil of the human heart than we tend to think.
The topic of money can be tricky for Christians to navigate. What does the Bible say about it and how ought we to use it to honor God?
How to Pray When You’re Tempted by Anger
Here are five things you might focus on in your prayers as you seek to do the heart work necessary in your own circumstances.
5 Things to Consider When Confronting a Friend
Sin becomes public in three different ways: someone confesses it, we see it, or we are told about it. Here are some ways to enter into the discussion.
When Marriage and Motherhood Become Idols
When we moralize marriage and motherhood, we inadvertently create a hierarchy in the church with the moms on top (the more children the godlier) and the singles without children on the bottom.
10 Things You Should Know about Teenagers
Do teenagers confuse you? This article shares 10 things you should know about them.
Why It Matters How We Treat Unborn Children
How serious is it in God’s sight to intentionally cause the death of an unborn child?
You Become Like What You “Like”
Social media has become the new PR firm of the brand Self, and we check our feeds compulsively and find it nearly impossible to turn away from looking at—and loving—our “second self.”
Legalism: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself
Legalism is the tendency to regard as divine law things that God has neither required nor forbidden in Scripture.
How to Pray for Your Teenager’s Sexual Purity
Ultimately only the Lord can provide the help our teens need, which is why parents like me must pray for their teenager’s sexual purity.
The Remedy to Self-Condemnation
We’re called to leave the past behind, but that doesn’t mean that the scars of painful things are gone.
Rest in God’s Faithfulness, Not Yours
God not only forgives your sins and guarantees you a seat in eternity, but welcomes you to a radically new way of living.
What Jesus Saw When He Looked at Peter after the Rooster Crowed
When we peer into the word of God, we see who God is: his character is revealed to us. At the same time, we see who we are: we see ourselves in light of God’s character.
Jesus Is Not Ashamed of Those Who Are Hurting and Hopeless
Be amazed at the power of Christ to transform a helpless man; but also, marvel at the love of Christ that claims rebels like this as his own.
Atheism and the Problem of Evil
Can an unguided world governed by mere chance provide any sort of objective foundation or absolute definition of “good”?
Why Mourning Can Be Good for Us
Mourning sin—past, present, and future—is the first step in seeking and celebrating the hope of divine grace.
6 Gospel-Centered Leadership Values
If the primary driving force of leadership in local churches around the world was the gospel of Jesus Christ, we could avoid so much sadness in the lives of church leaders.
Jesus’s Troubled Family History
If you have no hope to be accepted into God’s family other than the perfect record of your righteous brother, Jesus, then you can be sure you’ve found your forever-family.
How to Pray When You’re Feeling Apathetic about Your Faith
If we take apathy seriously, as does God, we will be better equipped to recognize it when it threatens, avoid it, or at least escape from it earlier.
How to Embrace Your Emotions without Being Ruled by Them
Emotions can seem as unpredictable as the wind—apparently beyond your control. But we don’t have to live at the mercy of our emotions.
Seeing God’s Gracious Hand in the Hurts Others Do to Us
We need to know what Scripture says in general about God’s relationship to evil. Scripture declares that the Judge of all the earth will always do what is right.
The narratives contained in the book of Judges were written to “bear witness” or “testify” to the person and work of Jesus and the great salvation that he has achieved for his people.
In the Beginning God Created a King
You could argue that the theme of kingship is the central theme in the story of the Bible, the one without which the others simply cannot cohere.
How Can An All-Knowing God Not Remember My Sin?
Can an all-knowing, omniscient God ever truly forget? Is it not an essential element in being God that nothing ever slips his mind? Could God ever not remember?
The devil is a very real, very powerful opponent, far too powerful for us to take on in our own strength.
2 Traps that Lead to Ministry Failure
Realize you don't deserve anything, realize that it is a privilege, honor, and a mercy that you've even been called into ministry.
What Does It Mean to Be Your True Self?
Expressive individualism, like a lot of things, captures something of the truth. Human beings do have an inner life, and that inner life is very important to who we are.
Most of us like to think we’re basically good people. We know we’re not perfect. We sometimes do bad things. But at heart, we think we’re pretty good.
6 Questions about the Book of Job
The book of Job is realistic in the sufferings it sets before disciples of Jesus and full of glorious hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Disguising Ungodliness as Righteous Anger
Christopher Ash, Steve Midgley
Sometimes our imitation of God slides, ever so subtly, into replacement of God. We do that thing that we do. We take his place, and soon it is our honor that we are concerned about.
11 Passages to Read to Help Fight Anger
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
10 Things You Should Know about the Fall
Made for communion with God, Adam and Eve experienced alienation. Made for trust and hope and life abundant, they descended into sin and shame. They fell.
What Did Jesus Teach about Total Depravity?
The assumption of universal guilt before God is evident throughout Jesus’s teaching in the Gospels. Proof of this reality is manifold. Below are four evidences to support this claim.
‘Seinfeld’ Showed Me How We Got Here and Why I Don’t Care
The paradox of apathy is that we are captivated by the things we don’t really care about and are lukewarm to the things that, in our heart of hearts, mean the most to us.
How to Pray When Your Heart Feels Cold
Many Christians experience seasons of spiritual apathy when the heart seems miles behind what we know to be true in our minds.
5 Questions about the Sanctity of Life
What does the Bible really teach about abortion and the sanctity of human life?
Beware the Idol of Busyness at Christmas
We must be careful to guard the true meaning of Christmas, keeping it from becoming about busyness and bondage to creation.
3 Ways to Surrender Your Will to Christ
God seems extremely concerned that we learn to submit ourselves to authority, especially to the one whose lordship demands obedience from the heart.
3 Core Beliefs of the Transgender Movement
The transgender revolution is sweeping. Deeper understanding of it requires us to consider three core beliefs that underly it and make it possible.
Before we can fight our sin, we must know what sins are currently present in our lives
Why Is Temptation So Hard to Withstand?
Why do we need a shield to live the Christian life? The Bible is clear: because we have an enemy, who is poised ready to attack us.
It’s more difficult to think too much of yourself when you remember what is currently riveting the attention of the mightiest angels.
Does “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin” Still Work?
Christians who fail to note this shift are going to find themselves very confused by the incomprehension of, and indeed the easy offence taken by, the world around them.
5 Stumbling Blocks to Pastoral Honesty
Why isn’t humble candor more of a regular part of our ministry leadership culture? Why aren’t we more ready to confess spiritual discouragement or struggle?
Podcast: Making Sense of Transgenderism and the Sexual Revolution (Carl Trueman)
Why is our culture obsessed with gender identity and sexuality? Learn what history has to say about our modern times and how Christians can navigate this increasingly hostile issue.
Sanctification: An Often Painfully Slow Process
We have sin patterns that we battle for years, and we can have the sense that we're getting any better at this re-imaging thing.
3 Things to Remember about Your (Imperfect) Marriage
What are the essential wisdom perspectives that Scripture gives us that enable us to have realistic expectations for our marriage?
Why Study the Book of Numbers?
It is one of the great ironies of Scripture that the generation that saw God’s works most vividly became the epitome of those who refuse to believe him.
The Crushing Obligation to Keep Doing More and More
I understand there are lazy people out there who need to get radical for Jesus. I also know people like me, people who easily feel a sense of responsibility, people who easily feel bad for not doing more
You Might Be An Idolater If...
We need the Spirit to give us power over our idolatrous desires.
An Open Letter to the Christian Disheartened by Ongoing Temptation
D. A. Carson, John D. Woodbridge
That you are experiencing rounds of temptation is not as unusual as you might suppose. From the inception of the church believers have found this pilgrim way to be strewn with multiple temptations.
Why It Is Good to Be Poor in Spirit
Our culture is obsessed with wealth and riches. Why, then, does Jesus call the poor "blessed?"
An Open Letter to the Pastor Desiring Racial Reconciliation in the Church
Reconciliation—vertical and horizontal—is the goal of the good news. Gospel unity creates racial harmony.
What's So Wrong with a Little White Lie?
I believe God will always give an alternative by which we can do what is right in his sight.
Christ in All of Scripture – Genesis 1:26-28
This series of posts pairs a brief passage of Scripture with associated study notes drawn from the Gospel Transformation Bible.
Will God’s Wrath Come upon the Sexually Immoral? (Ephesians 5)
Not everyone who commits these sins is excluded from God’s heavenly kingdom. Yet, those who persistently give themselves over to them demonstrate that they are indeed excluded from eternal life.
Four Ways a Person Can Die in Their Sins
John MacArthur offers four elements from John 8:21–30 that show how a person can die in their sin.
How to Root out Apathy with the Power of Habit
Practicing spiritual disciplines may feel like work at first. Establishing new habits always presses against our apathy in uncomfortable ways.
What Happens When the Governing Authorities Are the Wrongdoers?
Some wrongful convictions are merely honest mistakes, the tragic results of criminal justice administered by well-intentioned but finite humans. But some are not.
Busyness is like sin: kill it, or it will be killing you. When busyness goes after joy, it goes after everyone’s joy.
3 Things God Will Never Do with Your Sin
When we interact one with another, all too often we let our response be guided or dictated by past infractions. But this is precisely what God will never do.
The 10th Commandment: Don’t Even Think about It
If contentment has been a losing battle for you, if coveting comfort or cash or companions has been your common state, let the good news sink in: contentment is learned.
John Piper on Gambling, the Lottery, and Fantasy Football
Fantasy sports are now a multibillion-dollar gambling industry in the United States, leading a young man to email and ask if a “rather modest” bet of twenty to fifty dollars per week is sinful.
Podcast: Does Jesus Really Like Me? (Dane Ortlund)
What does Scripture say about God's disposition towards us as redeemed sinners? What does it mean that Jesus is "gentle and lowly in heart"?
4 Prayers to Pray for the Lost
We can call on the Lord on behalf of those who don't know him—for he knows and cares for them.
Video: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
Pastor and best-selling author Kevin DeYoung answers a controversial question.
Do We Still Need the 10 Commandments?
There are many people inside the church—and especially outside the church—who would say the Ten Commandments are irrelevant or antiquated.
10 Things You Should Know about the J-Curve
Like the letter “J,” Jesus’s life descends through his incarnation and then death, and then upward into his resurrection and exaltation.
How Moms Can Model God’s Grace
One way to teach our children about our need for God’s grace in Christ is to appropriately confess our sin to them.
The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way
If we try to influence the world by using its methods, we are doing the Lord’s work in the flesh.
Help! I Love Jesus but Not the Church
Have you given up on the church? Shift your gaze from your hurt and disappointment and behold the church through the eyes of Christ.
The Idolatry of Spiritual Laziness
We can (and should) command repentance from sin, but it is grace that enables repentance and belief that accompanies it.
If Grace Abounds, Why Not Sin?
Paul makes it clear in Romans 6, those who are truly in Christ will not want to keep on sinning.
2 Big Barriers to Christian Hospitality
Too often, we're not honest with one another about where we hurt, how we struggle, and what we need.
An Open Letter to Women Straining under the Burden of Expectations
Are you worn down by the weight of the countless roles and expectations in your life? Are you feeling the pressure of doing more and striving harder to please the people around you?
Give Up on Your Own Self-Righteousness
There is a difference between a person in whom disappointment leads to self-reformation and someone in whom grief leads to heartfelt confession. We often confuse the two.
If My Sins Are Fully Forgiven, Why Must I Confess My Sins Daily?
There are a lot of Christians today who, amazingly, deny the importance of confessing our sins. It has to do with this distinction between eternal union and experiential communion.
4 Reminders for When You’re Hurt by Someone at Church
We live in a fallen world. As glorious and wonderful as life in the church is, God’s people have not yet been fully delivered from the effects of sin.
Take a Bold Stance against the Commonality of Porn
What if not just one man but a whole generation of men takes a bold stand against the new slave trade of our time—pornography?
10 Things You Should Know about Sexual Assault
If you were the victim of sexual assault, you were sinned against. Despite all the pain, healing can happen and there is hope.
7 Tips for Navigating Criticism as a Pastor
Receiving criticism is part of pastoral ministry. Expect it and be ready to learn from it so that you can grow in your walk with the Lord and in your service of the saints.
A Biblical Theology of Clothing
The provision of clothing makes the theological point that sin needs to be covered. And the language about uncovering nakedness is typically connected to a wicked act.
If the Good News Is So Good, Why Aren’t People Flocking to It?
Perhaps the most perplexing response we encounter in evangelism is not so much anger but apathy. This reaction may frustrate the evangelist, but it should provoke our compassion.
In the riveting stories of 1 and 2 Samuel we catch glimpses of who God is, what he does, what life is like with him and without him, and what life can become by his grace and in the power of his Spirit.
Each myth of missions, if left uncorrected, will likely tend toward a weakening of biblical missionary labor and a reliance on our own wisdom and methods.
Of course, every Christian faces difficulty—Jesus called us to a life of carrying our crosses as we follow him. However, the challenges of those in pastoral ministry are often more acute.
Jesus’s Love in the Midst of Sexual Sin
The unfailing love of Jesus is unspeakably glorious, sacred, and precious—especially right after sexual sin.
Squeezing Marriage into Our Kingdom of Self
Why do we have to marry flawed people? Wouldn’t it have been much easier if God had worked it out so that we would be fully sanctified, then married?
Do Christians Ever Need to Choose the Lesser Sin?
The notion that we sometimes have to choose the lesser sin is a dangerous and deeply harmful idea for the Christian life.
What the Early Church Can Teach Us about Living in This Strange New World
Traditional Christians are typically those who take history seriously. If only we might be able to return to ancient worlds, we tell ourselves, all might be well.
Help! I’ve Stopped Caring about the Things of God
I imagine all Christians sometimes feel like we don’t love God enough, don’t read our Bibles enough, don’t pray enough, don’t evangelize enough, and so forth. And there’s a sense in which we are largely correct.
Before You Gather, Mourn Your Sin
In our avoidance of sadness, we often numb ourselves to death with entertainment. Perhaps what we’re running from is not just sadness; perhaps we’re running from ourselves.
Help! I Find Myself Perpetually Discontent
Contentment is something that we, as Christians, must regularly work to cultivate. By not working on our contentment, we are working on our discontentment.
How God Saved David Powlison from Destroying Himself
Counselor David Powlison shares his testimony of how God softened his heart and brought him to repentance and faith.
How the Bible Talks about Corporate Responsibility and Repentance
Do we share some responsibility for the sins committed by those who were part of the same immediate family? What about the same religious family?
What Freedom from Sin Looks Like in This Life
It’s natural to feel frustrated that you’re still staring down the same habits of sin in your life.
Is “Mental Illness” a Helpful Label?
Labels can be helpful in beginning to describe or define what we are talking about, but labels can also cause difficulties.
Lent Ends in Jesus’s Death—and Yours
Everywhere you die, you will be resurrected to new life in that area. It is the continuing resurrection/ transformation/liberation work of sanctifying grace.
A faithful response to sin involves drawing near to God in faith through confession, repentance, and trusting the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Praying in Jesus’s name is an acknowledgement of our total dependence on his provision. We push away from any personal claim on God’s blessing and lean entirely on Christ’s provision.
God Doesn’t Love You Because You’re Special or Good
God loves his people despite their sin against him. He loves them before they love him back, and before there’s anything in them worthy of his love. But his love doesn’t stop there.
An Open Letter to Victims of Abuse
Justin S. Holcomb, Lindsey A. Holcomb
Disgrace is the opposite of grace. Grace is love that seeks you out even if you have nothing to give in return.
The Spirit’s Work of Conviction through the Conscience of a Sinner
The work of conviction of sin on those who expected it not, who desired it not, and who would avoid it if by any means possible they could.
The Surprising Truth about Legalism
The root of legalism is almost as old as Eden, which explains why it is a primary, if not the ultimate, pastoral problem.
Why Contentment Stems from a Thankful Heart
If the contentment goes and the giving of thanks goes, we are not loving God as we should, and proper desire has become coveting against God.
Sin is deceptive, both in its capacity to tempt us to follow its lead and in the way it confuses and clouds our thinking.
It is the Spirit’s work to help us see our sin. This drives us to Jesus for forgiveness, and this is very good.
Why You Should Be Thankful for Your Knowledge of Sin
Of all the blessings in my life, one is without a doubt the most wonderful blessing of all. Of all the things I most needed, but could never provide for myself, this was my deepest need.
What the Atonement Means for You
In our sin, we—who were created to know, love, and obey the God of all glory—stand guilty and condemned before him; we cannot save ourselves.
Podcast: Should Christians Fear God? (Michael Reeves)
What is the Bible getting at when it commands us to fear the Lord? Is it ever sinful to fear?
The Importance of the Gathered Church
Love is messy. You know what else? The gospel is messy. It means loving sinners—people like you and me.
Dear Pastor . . . Save Your Church from Yourself
Pastor, you also must keep a close watch on yourself. Neglect your own soul, and your public teaching, however seemingly fruitful, is a ticking time bomb.
Hopelessness Leads Us to the True Hope of Christmas
God created our lives to be propelled and directed by hope, and he meant our capacity for hope to drive us to him.
3 Questions about Christ’s Sinlessness
Temptation cannot be defined in terms of the capacity of the one tempted to succumb. Temptation is enticement to sin from whatever source.
However baptism is conducted, we go under the water as a picture of our death with Christ and we rise up from the water as a picture of our resurrection with Christ.
Dear Pastor . . . We Are Out of Balance
The world as God created it was designed with perfect balance. What is balance? It is everything in its right place doing what it was meant to do. We cannot even picture such a world.
Can we simply say “no” whenever we are tempted?
The Depressing Dead End of “Your Truth”
Your truth. Those two words are so entrenched in our lexicon today that we hardly recognize them for the incoherent nightmare that they are.
When human beings are delivered through pregnancy and birth pain, there is more going on than biological processes and physiological mechanics.
Work in the New Heavens and New Earth
This side of the sin at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, our work is ruined by all manner of afflictions moral, physical, emotional, and mental.
Life is a war for glory. Even those of us who have rested in Jesus to bring an end to our battle for glory still fight skirmishes in which we feel our reputations are at risk.
God gave his own Son as the final sacrifice so that your brokenness could be the only prerequisite to receiving God’s abundant mercy.
Grace Gives Us a New Way to Live
The most outrageous acts of penance in the world are powerless to do what needs to be done—radically transform your heart. So you and I are left with only one final option.
With our course marked out for learning contentment, let’s think about how we might evaluate where we are in our own personal progress.
The fact that you have a cesspool of sin down in your heart doesn’t mean you should camp down there because that’s precisely what God is trying to lead you out of.
Podcast: The Truth about Satan and Demons (Iain Duguid)
What does the Bible really teaches us about the devil and how can we avoid overestimating or underestimating his impact on the world?
Podcast: The Scoundrels of Scripture (Nancy Guthrie)
What can we learn from some of the less well-loved characters of Scripture? Why is Jesus's scandalous family tree good news for sinners like us?
No human marriage, no matter how good, can bear the weight of our expectations.
Dear Pastor . . . Pride Is a Subtle Enemy
How frequently does pride come with us into our studies and sit with us as we prepare our sermon? How often does it choose our subject and more often choose our words and ornaments?
Mundane with the Chance of Miraculous
The dirty dishes are not my biggest problem in life, even though it seems like they are. The biggest problem in my life and yours is sin.
Does Reflecting on Our Past Hurt Show a Lack of Trust in God?
Trying to write our future story can change our present story. But what about our past story? Can we get any help in the present from reading what’s already been written in our past chapters?
Why You Must Leverage Your Self-Despair
There is a strange though consistent message throughout the Bible. We are told time and again that the way forward will feel like we’re going backward.
Podcast: Diagnosing the Heart of Anger (Christopher Ash)
Christopher Ash discusses why anger is such a powerful, dangerous emotion for the Christian, walking through some of the key Bible passages that address the topic.
Joanne J. Jung, Richard Langer
These statements about leadership are endorsed by our culture, but may not be true. In fact, these statements may even be harmful to individuals and organizations and the missions they pursue.
Practical Atheism Comes Naturally to Us
Practical atheism is natural to man in his depraved state and very frequent in the hearts and lives of men. “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” He regards him as little as if he had no being.
Podcast: Thinking Biblically about Transgenderism (Denny Burk)
How should Christians think about transgenderism, and how should we talk to our kids about it? What does the Bible teach on gender and sexuality?
The Three Stages of Temptation
Temptation is typically gradual. There's more going on behind the scenes before one gives in to full-blown sin. Russell Moore explains the three stages of temptation.
The Fruit of the First Sin Was Shame
We feel shame when some fault, imperfection, or vulnerability of ours conflicts with what we think we should be. Finding this shameful, we attempt to hide.
6 Purposes for Plural Leadership
Leading in community puts us under a holy spotlight. But it’s all part of God’s plan and protection.
Make a Change from Me-ology to Theology
Me-ology prizes you and me. Theology prizes the God of the universe who holds everything together.
There is one kind of bad news that you and I often work to deny but that we desperately need to face. Facing this news is a matter of life and death, even though it is the worst news ever.
What the Church Today Needs to Hear from the Book of Revelation
This message to patiently endure persecution for Christ is a message our church needs today. And if where we are right now means we don’t need it today, maybe we will tomorrow.
Backsliding Stems from Indifference to the Necessity of Christ
There are reasons that are peculiar unto every especial instance of backsliding in any kind. We must not forgo the gospel, with our own experience, and ruin our souls.
The Demise of the Deified Self
Truly, we are lost in a darkness of our own making, and we got here by dethroning God and enthroning ourselves. We’ve deified ourselves. And it’s led to our demise.
How Stories Teach Kids about Sin
The calling to raise children to love God and hate sin is daunting, and Christian parents should avail themselves of all the help they can get.
Jesus Is Not Ashamed of Those with an Embarrassing Past: The Story of Tamar
While we may blush over our sin and our stories and our embarrassing past, we have a Savior who doesn't blush. He actually enters into the mess with us.
Jesus’s Troubled Family History
If you have no hope to be accepted into God’s family other than the perfect record of your righteous brother, Jesus, then you can be sure you’ve found your forever-family.
Stop the Spread of Infectious Anger
Christopher Ash, Steve Midgley
Anger is infectious. It is not a purely individual phenomenon; there is a corporate dimension. Here, we'll explore five biblical examples of infectious anger.
One Thing You Might Not Know about Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon possessed an ability to use humor from the pulpit and in his life as a weapon.
God’s People Are a Forgetful People
We human beings are forgetful by nature. I do not mean in a finite sense but in a fallen sense. We forget because we choose to forget.
Social Algorithms Are Today’s “Lady Folly”
Algorithms lure us into constant distraction by putting “suggestions” into our minds, waiting to pounce and consume our attention.
Does God Ever Give Christians Over to Their Idols?
When we’re committed to something else that doesn’t have the Spirit of God, we become as spiritually inanimate as that thing to which we are committed. We need the Lord to break through.
Have You Ever (Really) Read the Bible?
True understanding of Scripture comes when we set aside our earthly and sinful desires and instead seek God's glory.
That Idol That You Love Doesn't Love You Back
Everyone has to live for something and if that something isn’t the one true God, it will be a false God–an idol.
The problem with all of our desires to change is that they’re not ambitious enough.
Practical Suggestions for Cultivating Communion with God
We were made by God to find our greatest joy in fellowship and communion with God.
Admitting Imperfections and Turning Them for Love
In spite of having such a privileged role in the early church, Paul did not try to pull rank by hiding his weaknesses or his sins.
You Might Be an Idolator If...
Where is the line between a healthy enjoyment and an idol?
3 Characteristics of a Christian Response to Sin
The story of the prodigal son is an incredible illustration of sin, repentance, and forgiveness. Through the character of the son, the parable reveals three things that should characterize a Christian's response to his sin.
Podcast: Hear What God Has Truly Done with Your Sin (Sam Storms)
Sam Storms talks about how God deals with our sin, once and for all.
We live in an angry world, and most of it is obviously destructive. But anger is not intrinsically evil, essentially evil, or necessarily evil.
The First Step in Celebrating Divine Grace
It’s good to mourn, it’s healthy to be sad, and it’s appropriate to groan. Something is wrong with us, something is missing in our hearts and our understanding of life.
The Scoundrels of Scripture: A 6-Day Video Devotional
Learn from the stories of a handful of the Bible’s scoundrels and see more clearly the ways in which they reveal the generous grace of Jesus toward sinners.
Podcast: The Fight against Porn Is a Fight for Justice (Ray Ortlund)
We are royalty created in God’s image for a great and noble purpose. This has the power to free us from the dehumanizing lies of the porn industry.
Get Your Feet Out of Death’s Path and Live
May this generation turn from the greatest of wickednesses, the placing of any created thing in the place of the Creator, getting its feet out of the paths of death so that it may live.
Passionate about the Trivial and Apathetic about the Vital
The paradox of apathy is that, for the spiritually apathetic, there is an inverse relationship between the greatness of a truth and our emotional and practical response to it.
The Why behind Rapid Cultural Shifts in Gender Politics
Christians are often prone to focusing on symptoms rather than looking at underlying causes.
Before we address fighting sin, it is worthwhile to point out that the victory over sin has already been won in Christ.
Why Healing Requires More Than Self Help
We seek healing as if we have the power (and right) to obtain it, whereas it is our very weakness and lack of valid claim to such a cure which are defining characteristics of our illness.
Q&A: Ray Ortlund Answers Your Questions about Porn and Pastoral Ministry
Ray Ortlund answers your questions about how pastors can cultivate churches where honesty about porn thrives and repentance abounds.
Zach Eswine shares his own story of loss and the stunning realization that true faithfulness is not synonymous with ministry success.
How to Flourish in a Fallen World
When the man and woman sinned against God, they were expelled from his presence, driven out of Eden.
10 Key Bible Verses on Weakness
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
A Momentary Affliction in Light of Eternity
All Christians, especially those who are suffering, should be daydreaming about eternity on a regular basis.
Podcast: Why Your Physical Body Matters to God (Sam Allberry)
Sam Allberry talks about the eternal significance of our physical bodies, how it relates to our identity, and why our bodies matter here and now.
Podcast: Are You an Evangelical, a Pharisee, or Both? (Michael Reeves)
Michael Reeves talks about the Pharisaism that all-too-often takes root in our churches, our homes, and, ultimately, our hearts, challenging us to see how the sins of pride and hypocrisy are an ever-present threat to us as God’s people.
12 Notable Quotes from Enough about Me
Self-care may produce happiness and temporary relief from stress or hardship, but real joy comes when we stop serving ourselves and find meaning and purpose in something outside of ourselves.
The Believer’s Paradoxical Experience of Sin
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
Christians live in the painful paradox of salvation begun but not completed.
Your Words Will Change the World Today
Do you ever consciously and deliberately set your words to work, sending them off into the world and into someone else’s life to do them good?
Sin causes us to deny our need for God and others. Sin causes us to assign to ourselves the wisdom, strength, and righteousness we do not have.
Preview: ‘The Death of Porn’ by Ray Ortlund
Today, we are pleased to share a special hour-long audio preview of The Death of Porn by Ray Ortlund.
The true Christian is called to be a soldier, and must behave as such from the day of his conversion to the day of his death.
Our culture's understanding of freedom says when you break from the oppression of an external force, then you’re free to be who you want to be.
Only one Comforter is great enough: the infinite-personal God who exists—that is, the God of Judeo-Christian Scripture. Only He is the sufficient Comforter.
Fasting = Homesickness for God
Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of a superior satisfaction in God; it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away.
Experiencing conviction over sin should actually encourage rather than condemn us, because it is evidence of being alive in Christ.
God’s rebuke is never about giving up on us; it’s about investing in us once again. God rebukes us because we need it.
Podcast: Snakes and Satan in the Story of Scripture (Andy Naselli)
Where do snakes and dragons appear in the story of Scripture and what part do they play in the history of Redemption?
Answering Kids’ Hardest Questions: Does God Love Me More When I Obey My Mom and Dad?
Because we’re not God, our anger is imperfect anger at times, even sinful. But it doesn’t change our love for our kids.
The doctrine of the atonement reassures us with what Christ has done in the past, the doctrine of his intercession reassures us with what he is doing in the present.
Overflowing with Peace and Thanksgiving
When the buckets we carry are full of Christ, our lives are bathed with the peace of God in thanksgiving.
2 Responses to the World's Brokenness
If you mourn the fallenness of your world rather than curse its difficulties, you know that grace has visited you
Lament: An Open Door for Racial Reconciliation
Most Christians are not sure what to do about racial reconciliation. There are some whose hearts are sinfully closed, but I think most Christians simply lack the tools.
Podcast: Knowing Your Heart and When (Not) to Follow It (Craig Troxel)
What's the difference between a Christian and secular understanding of the heart, what are the heart's spiritual functions, and how we can think about them in terms of our minds, desires, and will?
How to Effectively Bring the Gospel into Your Parenting
Using shame to discourage children's sin isn't what they need—they need forgiveness and acceptance.
The Family Photo of God’s Family Is a Little Surprising
Imagine if we gathered together all of the believers throughout history and lined them up for a massive family photo. Whom would we see? What kinds of people would be there?
Jesus' Death Should Lead to Your Own Daily Dying
The death of Jesus is not just what cleanses you of guilt, but it is also the means by which you experience transformation.
Podcast: The Dehumanizing Habits That Social Media Has Normalized (Paul Tripp)
Paul Tripp discusses how we as God’s people should think about the reactive culture in which we live and how to make sure we're not part of the problem.
Why You Should Read John Owen Next Year
What Owen offers is not quick relief, but long-term, deep growth in grace that can make strong, healthy trees where there was once a fragile sapling.
How to Cast Out Impure Affection
The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one, and, by the love of what is good, to expel the love of what is evil.
This gospel meditation by Paul David Tripp laments the effects of sin’s curse on the world.
How Pride Undermines the Joy of Confession
Confession is like the gateway to freedom. As we confess, repent, and own the wrong things that we have done, we move forward with a lightness of heart.
Obey Even When You Don’t Understand Why
Whenever we take a rule from our Father and begin examining it apart from him—apart from his character, his fatherly affection, his authoritative goodness—we fall into sin.
Does America’s History Reveal a Common Consensus on Abortion?
Knowing abortion is murder is not something that is just a result of modern technology. It has been the common sense of people in America for centuries.
It happens sooner or later in every relationship: someone will let you down.
Don't Go through Life Overcome with Guilt
The Psalms give us language to pray to God when we are guilty and seeking forgiveness.
The One Essential Ingredient for Biblical Manhood
As men, we can fight the symptoms of a disquieted inner life—anger, lust, insecurity, anxiety, and the like. Such fights are necessary. Or, we can wage war against the bunker out of which these enemies come.
Podcast: Why Are We Apathetic about What Really Matters? (Uche Anizor)
Uche Anizor discusses seven deadly causes of spiritual apathy that we should all be on the lookout for and how to take steps back toward God when we realize we’re not doing well.
The root of idolatry is pride.
The Truth About Sexual Assault
Justin Holcomb shares some important statistics related to sexual assault in our country and around the world.
Living with the Enemy That Is Sin
The greatest victory in David’s life was not a victory of David’s at all, but, rather, God’s victory of grace over the sin that had captivated David’s heart.
Pride is, by definition, idolatrous and insurrectionist because it is rooted in ingratitude. It glorifies the creature over against the Creator and claims the inheritance rights of image-bearers without acknowledging that we have these things …
Zack Eswine explains how Ezekiel 18 provides a summary of the gospel in the Old Testament.
Facing the Painful Side of Redemption
Which is more painful? To live without hope or to catch a glimpse of hope only to have it disappear?
The nature of temptation is not random. There is strategy, purpose, and power involved.
Are Your Pleasures Worth More than Your Soul?
God is labouring to bring you back from sin and from Satan unto himself. Open the door of your hearts and the King of glory shall enter in.
Tim Chester explains how his book, You Can Change, unfolds.
If we’re going to defeat the sin of discontentment, we need to be able to spot its lies.
Podcast: The Cure to Our Polarization and Outrage: Humility (Gavin Ortlund)
Gavin Ortlund talks about misconceptions we often have about humility—that it corresponds to weakness or that it hides our abilities—and discusses how humility is so foundational for experiencing true joy in Christ.
Podcast: Embracing Spiritual Authority in the Face of Pastoral Failure (David Mathis)
David Mathis discusses the topic of spiritual authority—what it is, who has it, and how we should respond when that authority is abused.
Podcast: Answering Hard Questions about Predestination and Free Will (Andy Naselli)
Andy Naselli answers a few of the most common questions about the doctrine of predestination, including what the Bible really says about it and what impact this teaching may have on the idea of free will.
When Our Pursuit of Freedom Results in Slavery
Redemption: An Interview with Mike Wilkerson Mike Wilkerson (author of Redemption) sees that many addictions stem from past abuse. The scars of abuse turn to addictions as a means of coping with the pain. Though …
Make a Change from Me-ology to Theology
Me-ology prizes you and me. Theology prizes the God of the universe who holds everything together.
Podcast: The Misunderstood Doctrine of Total Depravity (Jonathan Gibson)
Jonathan Gibson answers common questions and engages with common objections that Christians often have about the doctrine of total depravity.
Matt Martens sets forth a distinctly Christian vision of criminal justice, highlighting how the great commandment to love God and love our neighbor should inform our approach to both the victim and the accused.