discipleship

Keeping God’s Commands

March 3, 2016 // 131 Comments

The apostle Paul said we are under grace, not law. To live under the law is to insult Christ who died to free us from the curse of the law. So why did Paul write this? Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. (1 Corinthians 7:19) Someone who is confused about [...]

Believing in Vain (1 Corinthians 15:2)

February 12, 2015 // 43 Comments

“How do I know if my belief in Christ is in vain?” When a reader asked me this question recently, she was referring to Paul’s warning here: Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you [...]

How to Read the Commands of the New Testament?

December 4, 2014 // 73 Comments

How should we read the commands of the New Testament? A legalist will insist we read them as commands that must be obeyed. After all, didn’t Jesus say, “If you love me, you will obey my commands?” He did, but he wasn’t preaching law-based obedience. He was saying obedience is a fruit of a [...]

The commands of John

April 4, 2013 // 57 Comments

A year ago I made a bunch of people mad by saying John never mentions the word “repent” in his gospel. To this day I still get messages from angry folks who say things like, “Well even if John didn’t preach it, you should! We need more preaching on repentance.” Actually I think we need more preaching on [...]

An Open Letter to Hot-Blooded Young Men

August 21, 2012 // 72 Comments

Grace attracts sinners. Since I am someone who preaches radical grace, I often hear from people who are fooling around. Some are looking for help in overcoming sin, but most want an assurance that God will continue to love them despite their bad behavior. More often than not, these messages come from young men [...]

12 Biblical Examples of Walking in the Spirit

August 29, 2011 // 14 Comments

The Bible describes two kinds of life and two ways to live. You are either in the flesh or in the spirit (Rom 8:9) AND you can walk according to the flesh or according to the spirit (Gal 5:25). The sinner lives in the flesh and walks according to the flesh. The Christian is in the spirit and ideally walks after [...]

12 Infamous Examples of Walking After the Flesh in the Bible

August 16, 2011 // 14 Comments

“…and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (Jdg 17:6) Since most of us have grown up with a works-based view of salvation, we tend to think of sin as doing bad things. If we avoid doing bad things we’ll avoid sin. But the Bible has a different definition of sin. “Whatever is not of faith is [...]

John 14:15 – The commands of Jesus

June 3, 2011 // 38 Comments

If God loves us unconditionally, how do we account for those scriptures that link his love with our obedience: If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15) A legalist reads this backwards: “You will keep my commandments if you love me.” In other words, we prove our love for God by doing what he [...]

What is a disciple?

April 1, 2011 // 3 Comments

With all the hoopla about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, I am grateful for Don Miller‘s simple, back-to-the-Bible take on what it means to be a [...]

The 3Rs of Christianity

February 6, 2010 // 4 Comments

At the risk of overlooking some liberating truths, the basics of following Christ can be reduced to 3 Rs. 1. Righteousness The gospel reveals a righteousness that comes from God and is received by faith from first to last (Rms 1:17). This kind of righteousness can be distinguished from self-righteousness which is [...]