Sin

  • The Army of the Lord

    Joel 2:1–11

    John Calvin comments on Joel 2:1–11, reminding us that its final end is not to preach judgment for judgment’s sake but to warn people to turn from sin: “The object of the narrative, then, is to make ...Read More

  • Hearing What we Want to Hear

    Micah 2

    Leaders continue to take advantage of the nations they are supposed to serve, using the legal system to their advantage at the expense of the powerless. In the United States, we see this all the time when unscrupulous businessmen lobby ...Read More

  • The Drama of Redemption

    Psalm 85:10

    Today’s passage contains the beautiful imagery of justice and peace (or mercy, as other translations put it) kissing each other. Our Father graciously restores peace between Himself and us in Christ Jesus. This peace is permanent, for it is ...Read More

  • The Need for Atonement

    1 Corinthians 2:1–5

    In other religions, such as Islam and Judaism, God simply waves sin away, not requiring payment for transgressions in order to forgive. This idea betrays a view of a Creator who is not really all that holy, who ultimately is ...Read More

  • The Foolishness of Idolatry

    Isaiah 44:6–20

    Every form of idolatry manifests our doubts that God really has the ability to save. Counselors have long understood, for instance, that one of the main reasons people become drug, alcohol, and sex addicts is because they are looking for ...Read More

  • Holiness and Justice

    Leviticus 10:1–3

    Many people complain that the doctrine of election is unfair and deny it because they think fairness demands that we all have the ability to believe the gospel. But if we are sinners, the one thing God would be fair ...Read More

  • Dealing With Anger

    Proverbs 14:29

    We can avoid expressing our anger sinfully if we stop to think about how we are being treated and the relative importance of the situation. Often, we are so quick to show our ire that we forget that others may ...Read More

  • When Anger Destroys

    1 Samuel 25

    Uncontrolled anger is not merely a vice that can be overlooked. Instead, it can destroy lives, and we all know people who have impacted their futures for ill because they could not control their tempers. Sin always creates damage in ...Read More

  • Be Angry, Do Not Sin

    Ephesians 4:25–32

    It is easy for us to think we are being righteously angry when we are really just manifesting unjust ire. It is also easy for us to get so wrapped up in a righteous cause that we forget to pray ...Read More

  • Idolatry Defined

    Philippians 3:19

    Anything or anyone can become an idol in our lives because whatever we love more than the Lord is, by definition, an idol. Because our hearts are idol factories, as John Calvin taught us, we are all continually tempted to ...Read More

  • Repenting of Our Righteousness

    Isaiah 64:6

    Today’s passage reminds us that God does not grade on a curve. We may consider ourselves better than others on a human level when we evaluate ourselves by imperfect human standards of justice, but the Lord evaluates us by ...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

  • Exposing the Darkness

    Ephesians 5:11-14

    Matthew Henry comments, “We must witness against the sins of others, and endeavor to convince them of their sinfulness in our words; but especially by the holiness of our lives.” Our holy living has consequences not only for our own ...Read More

  • The Deception of Empty Words

    Ephesians 5:6

    There are men and women struggling with sexual sin in all of our congregations. They want to please God and are seeking to mortify the flesh, and we should do all that we can to help them. This means creating ...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