Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. I continue to be perplexed at the anger and rejection that so many Christians heap on people whose sin is obvious and public. What befuddles me is that this is about as far from doing what Jesus did as you can get. I look [...]
Archive for the ‘forgiveness’ Category
Blessed are the Merciful: The Irony of Angry Christians
Posted: February 18, 2011 in forgiveness, The BeatitudesTags: angry christians, Beatitudes, Christ, Christian, God, Jesus, Lord, Matthew 18, Parable of the unforgiving servant, Sin
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Blessed are Those Who Mourn
Posted: July 5, 2010 in forgiveness, The BeatitudesTags: blessed are those who mourn, Matthew 5:4, Sermon on the Mount, the beatitudes
So in the first Beatitude Jesus tells us we are spiritually bankrupt. Okay so now what do you do with that? Simple: You mourn. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 Jesus said that those who recognize that they are “poor in Spirit”, what I called spiritually bankrupt, will in [...]
Provocative Bible Verses: Treat Them Like an Unbeliever
Posted: January 9, 2010 in forgivenessTags: forgiving others, grace, Matthew 18, mercy, pagans and tax collectors, treat them like an unbeliever
There is a history in much of the church that calls for shunning people who do not repent of sin. In part that practice is picked up from the words of Jesus in Matthew 18 where he says that if a person refuses to repent after a process that involved three different encounters calling for [...]
Why Be Good if I am Forgiven?
Posted: May 15, 2009 in Christian Living, forgivenessTags: forgiveness, If you love me you will keep my commands, John 14:15, Why love God?, why obey God
If we are forgiven by Jesus as a free gift of grace and our salvation does not depend on being good enough to get to heaven, then what is our motivation for doing the things God commands? It is an understandable question. The answer that is usually given is that when you have been forgiven [...]
Provocative Bible Verses: Judge Not Lest You Be Judged
Posted: April 6, 2009 in forgiveness, loving your neighbor, UncategorizedTags: hypocrisy, judge not, judging others, log in your own eye, Matthew 7, Matthew 7:1, Sin
It may be the most often quoted and yet most misunderstood verse in the whole Bible. People who have never even cracked open a Bible have heard and quoted this verse. “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” Matthew 7:1 Usually that verse is used like a hammer to immediately stop any [...]
Forgetting is Not Forgiving
Posted: March 18, 2009 in forgivenessTags: forgive and forget, forgiveness, John 21, Peter do you love me, the bible and forgiveness
How many times have you heard the statement, “I can forgive, but I can’t forget”? When I hear those words they are nearly always spoken with a tone that says, “I am holding on to the pain and I will deal with the offender accordingly”. What seems to be said is, I forgive, therefore I [...]
What Can Lord of the Rings Teach Christians about Community? Pt 1
Posted: January 16, 2009 in forgivenessTags: community, fellowship, forgiveness, greater love has no man, Koinonia, lay down your life for a friend, Lord of the Rings
The classic trilogy written by J.R.R. Tolkien has been dissected countless times as people have sought to plumb its philosophical and theological depths. There have been volumes written on the world view presented by Tolkien, on the nature of good and evil, on the place of sacrifice and honor, on courage and fear, and a [...]
Forgiveness: Our Most Difficult Calling
Posted: August 20, 2008 in forgivenessTags: Colossians 3:13, forgiveness, forgiving others
“Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you have against each other. Forgive as the Lord forgives you” Colossians 3:13 As Christians we are usually very in tune to having been forgiven by Christ, at least when we first come to faith in Him. What is much more difficult is forgiving people as we [...]
