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E2R Turns 13 and It’s Time for a Change

February 2, 2023 // 35 Comments

I used to write about grace and nothing but grace. When I started writing Escape to Reality 13 years ago, I wrote about forgiveness and the unconditional love of God and how the cross changed everything. I wrote about eternal security and eternal rewards, healing and holiness, repentance and righteousness. But [...]

Can you Trust ChatGPT to Teach You about Grace?

January 27, 2023 // 17 Comments

ChatGPT, an A.I.-based chatbot that was released in November 2022, may be the biggest technological breakthrough to affect the church since the invention of the printing press. What does it do? It answers questions and writes essays. It also writes sermons, lessons, prayers, lyrics, dissertations, movie scenes, [...]

30 Ways Your Flesh Reacts to Trouble

January 20, 2023 // 13 Comments

You arrive at a moment of crisis. Perhaps you are in your boss’s office or the medical clinic. You’re fighting with your spouse or you’ve heard bad news. The heat is on and the pressure’s rising. What do you do? The smart thing to do is take five, lean into God, and see what he says. Let him guide you [...]

What Happens to Unbaptized Infants Who Die?

January 5, 2023 // 32 Comments

If the doctrine of original sin is true, and everyone is a born sinner on the wrong side of God, what happens to babies who die? Do babies go to hell? Do they go to heaven? Do they go someplace in between? Augustine of Hippo said babies go to hell for eternal punishment, but added that they get a mild sort of [...]

Feeling knocked down this Christmas?

December 21, 2022 // 13 Comments

What will be your highlight of 2022? I’ve got a bunch, but one that tops the list happened in September. It ranks right up there with Lazarus rising from the dead. Almost. We had received the sad news that a family friend had suffered a crippling stroke and was in a bad way. It was a real shock because [...]

What Does it Mean to Keep His Commandments?

December 8, 2022 // 11 Comments

Here’s a verse that can really trip you up: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. (1 John 5:3a) What commandments is John talking about? If you have not learned to read scripture through a new covenant lens, you might think he’s talking about the Ten Commandments or the Law of Moses. If [...]

Out today The Grace Bible: 1–3 John & Jude

November 30, 2022 // 10 Comments

If you have ever wondered, How do I read this scripture through a new covenant lens? The Grace Bible is for you. In The Grace Bible every verse is explained from the perspective of grace. While other study Bibles can leave you feeling like you’re not doing enough for the Lord, The Grace Bible reveals how much [...]

Patriarchy is not God’s Plan for Your Marriage

November 17, 2022 // 16 Comments

God intended for marriage to be between one man and one woman, but the fall of man opened the door to two evils; polygyny and patriarchy. Polygyny replaces partnership Adam’s offspring took multiple wives, a practice known as polygyny. (Polygyny is a kind of polygamy. The other kind—having multiple [...]

Has Original Sin Made you a Bad Parent?

November 10, 2022 // 10 Comments

One of the strangest things I had to get used to as a young father, was my children freely admitting to their sins. Adam and Eve hid when they sinned, but my kids bragged about it. One time I discovered crayon drawings all along the hallway wall. “Who drew on this wall?” I asked. “I did!” replied the [...]

The True Meaning of Holiness

November 3, 2022 // 15 Comments

When I was a teenager, I was involved in a band with some church friends. There were four of us in the band and I played the keyboard. One day, I got in an argument with the guitarist. It was an argument that Christian musicians have been having for centuries. My friend: “We’re a Christian band. We should [...]

How to Have a Perfectly Good Conscience

October 19, 2022 // 9 Comments

Many people struggle with guilt on a daily basis. They feel guilty for not spending more time with their kids and for not calling their parents. They feel guilty for working too hard, not working hard enough, and not working at all. They feel guilty for getting up too late, giving into cravings, taking meds, not [...]

Do Christians have a Sinful Nature?

October 6, 2022 // 41 Comments

Ever heard the one about how you have two natures wrestling inside you and the one that dominates is the one you feed the most? It’s not true. Christian, you do not have a sinful nature. One with the Lord, you have a new heart and a new mind with new desires (1 Cor. 2:16). As a new creation, you get to share in [...]