Christianity
Why the good news is better than you think it is.
Jesus spoke of the joy that erupts in heaven when a sinner repents and comes to believe in the good news. We might imagine they have something like a birthday party to celebrate the new birth, but in reality it’s the rejoicing that accompanies a wedding. It’s a celebration of a new life wedded in union with
[...]From time to time people ask me to write about the parables of Jesus. This is something I enjoy doing because I love the parables. The parables of Jesus are launch pads to revelation and if we have ears to hear they reveal the wisdom of God. Especially this one: What do you think? There was a man who had two
[...]“Hyper-grace preachers say the words of Jesus are not for us. They have no authority and are irrelevant to the modern church.” One of the strangest claims made against hyper-grace preachers is that we are dismissive of the pre-cross teachings of Jesus. In point of fact, hyper-grace preachers are the only ones
[...]In a couple of months Escape to Reality will be five years old. Five years isn’t a long time, but my goodness, a lot of water has gone under that bridge. Truly grace is a fast-flowing river that will take you a long way in a short time. Here’s a comment I received from a kind reader: “I have learned more
[...]My new book, The Gospel in Ten Words, has just been released. Ta da! What’s this book about? – It’s about the good news most of us still haven’t heard. – It’s about the good news that was supposed to bring great joy to all people but hasn’t. – It’s about the good
[...]“Are you saying that Adam is greater than Jesus?” This is a comment I often hear from those who preach universal salvation. It usually comes at the end of a conversation like this: Me: Jesus died and rose again so that we might have new life, His life. Repent and believe the good news! They: No, everyone is
[...]“If you’re suffering, you must have done something bad. God must be punishing you.” That must be one of the oldest lies in history. Here’s another. “God is using these hard times to teach you humility.” These lies can be traced back to one of the oldest and most misunderstood stories in the Bible –
[...]In his book Mystical Union, John Crowder writes that there is a new mysticism on the rise, one coupled with a new reformation. Identifying himself as a “reformed mystic,” Crowder argues that the mystics need the reformers’ faith, while reformers shouldn’t reject the mystics’ experience. The
[...]Two classic signs of covenant confusion are: (1) you interpret repentance as turning from sin and (2) you think repenting will get God to forgive you. God does not need your permission or even your repentance to forgive you. He forgave you before you were born in accordance with the riches of his grace (Eph 1:7).
[...]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 after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. (Hebrews 10:26) Whoa, that looks scary! Let’s take a quick
[...]How do you tell an unbeliever about the gospel? There are two basic approaches. The first approach, which is based on fear, poses hypothetical questions like, “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would go? You could go to hell!” I don’t doubt that this approach is effective in getting people
[...](Note: I wrote the following review 6 months ago but never got around to publishing it. Lately several people have asked me if I’ve read Sit, Walk, Stand – it seems this book is enjoying a renaissance among grace folk.) A few weeks ago I posted some thoughts on Watchman Nee’s book The Normal
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Escape to Reality 