What Does it Mean that Judgment Begins at the House of God?
Yesterday I heard from a pastor who is a long-time Escape to Reality reader. He asked me about a particular scripture, and I directed him to the relevant page on the Grace [...]
judgment
Judged for Our Work and Living in Fear
A reader asked me how to read the following verse through a new covenant lens: If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct [...]
The sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
For the past ten years I have hammered one nail again and again: Jesus not only saves you, he keeps you. The good work he began in you he will carry on until completion. This [...]
The Bema Seat (2 Corinthians 5:10)
“One day you will stand before the judgement seat, the books will be opened, and there will be a reckoning. If your good works outweigh your bad, you’ll be safe. But if [...]
The axe at the root (Matthew 3:10)
A ravenous wolf, such as Jesus described in Matthew 7, is someone who uses threats to extort money or service from others. If you were such a person, God forbid, you might to [...]
Judged for what we have done
The good news of heaven declares that everything comes to us as a free gift from our heavenly Father. But the bad news of earth says you better work baby, because there’s [...]
What about Ananias and Sapphira?
Recently in Connecticut, a pastor stood in front of his church and confessed to the sin of adultery. Then the pastor fell down dead, right in front of everyone. [...]
Judged by the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)
Are you good enough to take communion? To me, this is an absurd question, like asking whether you are good enough to hear the gospel. But to many it is not an absurd [...]
Herod’s death and the wrath of God
The Old Testament writers record a brutal history of divine wrath that came to an abrupt end at the cross. Before the cross, wrath was poured out on… – a world [...]
Conversations about Hell
[The following are extracts from conversations I’ve had in the past month.] Paul, you’re opposed to inclusionism and you’re skeptical about universalism. Why [...]
The Parable of the Beaten Servants
There are only two ways you can respond to Jesus; positively, in faith, or negatively, with unbelief. Consequently, it makes sense to speak of people dividing themselves into [...]
Are there degrees of judgment?
Jesus once told a parable about servants getting beaten up and cut to pieces by their master. It sounds like a sadistic version of Downtown Abbey. And it’s a story that [...]
What is the Greater Condemnation? (Matthew 23:14)
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matt. [...]
Who Dares to be a Teacher? (James 3:1)
Recently I read something that made me sad. It was a Facebook note penned by a noted Bible teacher and it went something like this: “I’m a teacher of the gospel, but [...]
The wrath of God has come upon them at last (1 Thess 2:16)
In our ongoing series on the wrath of God, there is an important scripture we have not yet looked at. It’s this one: For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches [...]
Why did Jerusalem fall?
Ever had someone come up to you and say, “Why do you think Jerusalem fell in AD70?” That’s probably never happened to you. But it speaks to the circles I move in that I [...]
What is the “Coming Wrath”?
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (Luke 3:7) When John the Baptist said this to the Pharisees and Sadducees, what did he mean? What is the [...]
What provokes God’s wrath?
As we saw in our last post, the wrath of God is a reaction to something – but what? In the old covenant, God reacted to sin. He had to. God cannot be God and let sin go [...]
Alternatives to Hell
You may have been raised with a picture of judgment that says sinners go to hell where they are tormented for eternity. Unless you say the magic words of a formulaic prayer, [...]
What about Hell? 10 things to know
A few people have asked for my views on hell. I have never written on hell before. Like the weather on Uranus, hell is not a subject I think much about. I’m unlikely to [...]
Can Unbelievers Take Communion?
Communion ought to be a time of celebrating Christ’s finished work on the cross. It ought to be a time when we proclaim his victory over sin and sickness. Yet for many, [...]
Where was God in the Connecticut School Shooting?
Yet another school shooting has resulted in the loss of innocent lives in America and now questions are being asked: Where was God? Why didn’t God stop this? Why didn’t [...]
Hebrews 10:26
I get asked more questions on Hebrews 10:26 than any other verse in the Bible. Evidently, this is a verse that troubles many Christians: If we deliberately keep on sinning [...]
It’s Time for Judgment to Begin with the House of God (1 Peter 4:17)
For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Pet 4:17) This [...]
Escape to Reality 