living under grace

Satan Desires to Sift You

April 20, 2017 // 47 Comments

Here’s a verse that frightens many people: Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. (Luke 22:31) Here are three conclusions people draw from these words of Jesus: Satan needs permission to attack us God gives Satan permission to attack us God and Satan are colleagues in the business of [...]

The new song of grace

October 14, 2015 // 31 Comments

This week our baby girl received her Australian citizenship certificate in the mail. She just became a little Aussie. This despite the fact that she has never been to Australia, she can’t name the six states or the prime minister, and she doesn’t know what a lamington is. She’s never read “The Man from [...]

Sowing, reaping and the golden rule

August 13, 2015 // 53 Comments

From the beginning of time there have been two worldviews, two trees, and two ways live. One is karma (you reap what you sow), and the other is grace (you reap what someone else has sown). This world runs on karma: Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad. But the kingdom of God runs on grace: God is good to you. [...]

What is the Law Written on our Hearts?

April 23, 2015 // 132 Comments

Six-hundred years before Jesus came, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant that God would make with his people: This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they [...]

Jesus and divorce

January 22, 2015 // 115 Comments

In the past year I’ve had a couple of friends go through divorce and each time it has torn our hearts. I won’t go into details, but what has struck me is how some in the church have responded to these divorces. Let’s just say there has been an aroma and it has not been the fragrance of Jesus. Divorce seems [...]

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 [...]

What Happens When we Fall from Grace?

March 27, 2014 // 64 Comments

I am so glad the book of Galatians is in the Bible because we can learn a lot from other people’s mistakes. The Galatians lost their liberty in Christ by allowing themselves to be enslaved to the yoke of the law. In their case the issue was circumcision, but for us it could be anything that puts a price tag on [...]

The Root of Obedience

March 26, 2013 // 30 Comments

The other day I was walking with my two little girls to a playground. We were walking along a road that is sometimes used by goods vehicles. My girls were ahead of me and with all the noise and excitement they didn’t notice a van approaching from the right. In a loud voice I told them to stop and they did. Like [...]

Is Grace a License to Sin?

September 24, 2012 // 60 Comments

Grace-preachers attract sinners and that is a good thing. If you consider yourself a sinner you have come to the right place! Sinners are welcome in the House of Grace. I wish our churches were magnets for sinners for that would be a sure sign that we are preaching the true gospel of grace. If this scandalizes [...]

Beware “Practical Holiness”

July 27, 2012 // 67 Comments

Life under the old covenant was so much simpler than the free and confusing world of grace. Back then if you wanted to stay on the straight and narrow, you just had to keep all the rules. But in the kingdom of grace, there are no rules (1 Cor 6:12). A good marriage doesn’t need them. For those unacquainted with [...]

Why Was the Seventh Day Holy?

June 1, 2012 // 87 Comments

When God made the heavens and the earth, everything he did was good. And yet none of the six days of creation was considered holy. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. (Genesis 2:3) Have you ever wondered about that? God made the stars and planets and it was good – but not holy. God made the [...]

Romans 7: The flesh test

August 18, 2011 // 36 Comments

Have you seen the pearl of wisdom hidden in Romans 7? Many miss it because they view the chapter as “not written for me” or as a mere prelude to chapter 8. This is a shame because if you can grasp what Paul says in Romans 7, it will save you a world of hurt. “Just remind me, what’s Romans 7 about?” I [...]