Categories
sin

I’ve Sinned; Now What? Eleven Reminders For Dealing with Sin

On this side of eternity we will sin. I’m not saying we must sin. Sin is not necessary to human life but it is part of human life. On this side of eternity we will struggle with it. We will sin.

Indeed, there will be times in lives where we think we’re doing okay, where things seem to be going fine, and then we hear a sermon or see a passage in the Bible, or read an article, or hear an argument where we find ourselves convicted of sin. We wind up convicted of some specific thing that we thought was okay but now we see it is wrong.

Perhaps there is a specific sin that we keep slipping into, like a well-fitting sweater or comfy shoes.  Or the sin we’ve committed a long time ago, before even thinking it was a sin, and now we see it for what it is.  We’ve sinned.

In the blogging vogue, here are eleven things (to limit it to a readable number) to keep in mind in regards to sin.

Categories
apologetics church personal

How People Are Allured By False Teaching

Here is an old joke that I vaguely remember my Father using: People tell me that on every public bus there is always one nut-job. A complete wacko. An absolute loon. Look around, they’d say, and you’ll always find one. So I keep riding the bus to find out, constantly looking for the one nut-job. I could never find him.

I’m going to be honest here. Just like the joke about being the one nut-job, I’m afraid of being the false teacher Scripture warns about. It is a creeping fear crowding behind me right up until I walk towards the pulpit.  Then, even when I open my mouth, I can feel the fear behind me whispering a warning: don’t fall into the false teacher’s trap.

Now, don’t start telling everyone “Rey says he’s a false teacher.” Hear me out.

The reason for my fear is that false teaching has an attractive pull in (at least) two directions. It not only draws hearers but it’s attractive to those who are handling the truth. And because it’s strong allure, I think it’s more pervasive than we think.

Categories
philosophy pray

Does God Hear Sinners?

hearsinners-01

This is one of those questions that, at first blush, have an easy answer. Some folk might automatically say, “Yes, surely God hears sinners. God loves his children!” Others might respond “Of course not: God is holy!”

The question “Does God hear sinners” is actually very complex not because of the terms (we’ll look at that in a second), or hidden assumptions in the question, but because of the unknown baggage carried in by the questioner.  Who knows what’s the theological ideas behind it and, nowadays, theological common ground can’t be assumed.

All that being the case, I want to look at the large network of ideas that undergird this issue by addressing it in at least three levels: philosophically, Biblically, and theologically.

Categories
quotables

Tweet Blog: False Illumination

Just because our eyes have acclimated to the night doesn’t mean that we should defend the dimness of this present darkness.

Categories
human sin

Christian Ideals and the Reality of Sin

I like to look at situation and, no matter how rough, consider what would be ideal. I think that’s important.  In circles with friends or family I have convincingly argued for The Ideal and then stood there as someone asks “That’s awesome; how do we get there?” only to shake my head and respond “I don’t know.” Now the fact is that I do know that the impending ideal of a dawning future reality will establish a system that we, of our own power, can’t possibly implement. But people don’t get that so I want to talk about why that’s important.