Sin

  • The Seriousness of Sin

    Joshua 7

    By our obedience to God’s commands we can by no means earn our place in His kingdom. Nevertheless, that does not mean that our faithfulness to His law is unimportant. As those converted by His Spirit through the preaching ...Read More

  • The Seriousness of Sin

    Matthew 18:7–9

    Dr. John MacArthur echoes Jesus’ somber warning in Matthew 5:29: “Sin must be dealt with drastically because of its deadly effects” (The MacArthur Bible Commentary, p. 1,131). Refraining from speaking privately with a certain person might be what ...Read More

  • The Sin Offering

    Leviticus 4:1–5:13

    That an intentional sin is not always a high-handed sin is seen in God’s willingness to forgive sins that were clearly intentional (2 Sam. 11–12). Only those who are unconverted may sin with a high hand, for a ...Read More

  • The Slavery of the Flesh

    Galatians 4:8–11

    Martin Luther writes, “Whoever then seeketh righteousness by the law, imagining that God being angry and threatening must be pacified with works, can never find so many good works as are able to quiet his conscience, but still desires more ...Read More

  • The Struggle With Sin

    Romans 7:13–25

    How is your personal walk with the Lord? Have you become calloused to the evils of sin manifest in you own life? Have you forgotten to spend time with Him? It is as we love Him more and more that ...Read More

  • The Suppression of Truth

    Romans 1:18–23

    Why do we seek to suppress the truth? Why do we seek to keep God from our thinking? Remember this passage when the secular world seeks the moral high ground in terms of “objectivity” and “open-mindedness.” Seek also to see ...Read More

  • The Temperament of the Heart

    Ephesians 4:31

    Putting sins of the tongue to death requires more than just the cessation of slander, as important as that is. More fundamentally, there needs to be a mortification of the ungodly anger and malice that so easily well up within ...Read More

  • The Unforgivable Sin

    Matthew 12:24–32

    Pastors both past and present agree that a person who worries that he has committed the unforgiveable sin has not really done so. Those who do the unforgivable act are so calloused that they do not care about their spiritual ...Read More

  • The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

    Ephesians 2:2-3

    Paul makes a subtle shift in Ephesians 2:1–3 from “you” (the Gentile Ephesians) to “we” (Jews like Paul and the Gentiles), indicating the universality of sin. John Chrysostom writes, “All are included. It is not possible to say ...Read More

  • Tracing the Development of Sin

    How is the first temptation, “You will be like God,” evident in temptations you have faced or are facing? What should be your response?Read More

  • Unable to Pay

    Luke 7:36–50

    Paul wrote that the Mosaic law served as a “captor” or “custodian” (NASB) until Christ came (Gal. 3:23), since one of its aims was to accentuate sin and drive people on toward faith in God for forgiveness. None of ...Read More

  • Understanding Free Will

    Is your heart open to the needs of others? Is it responsive to spiritual things? Ask God to keep your heart soft and pliable to His divine will and purposes.Read More

  • Understanding the Basic Conflict

    Thank God that you no longer walk according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air.Read More

  • Understanding the Nature of Corruption

    Examine your personal life. Are you grasping for autonomy? Refusing to let God rule your life? Trying to be as God?Read More

  • Unraveling the Mystery

    Spend some time in worship, thanking God for the eternal destiny He has planned for you.Read More