“Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
The psalmist is almost certainly talking about the lying lips and deceitful tongue of another person here, but if you’ll indulge me for a minute, let’s run in a slightly different direction. You have perhaps prayed for God to deliver you from the trouble caused by another person, but how about the trouble caused by…you? Read the rest…
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Paul was called to receive the gift of salvation so that others might come to a saving faith as well. We know this is true from Paul’s own testimony, but also from the example of his life. Do you know who else was saved so that others might come to a saving relationship with Jesus? You were! So was I. So was every person who is a follower of Jesus or who has ever been in the past. God gives us the gift of salvation not only for ourselves, but so that others might come to a saving knowledge of Him through us. In other words: If you have been blessed by God, the purpose of that blessing was so that you might be a blessing to others. Read the rest…
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship; created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (ESV – Read the chapter)
For anyone who would argue that our salvation has in even the tiniest of ways to do with our good works, this verse puts the lie to their position. Any individual, church, or even whole faith tradition that says otherwise is mistaken. That’s a pretty strong way to put it, but there really isn’t any other way around what Paul says here. Salvation comes by grace through faith and not by works. Period. We didn’t have anything to do with it being given to us beyond receiving the gift by faith. Read the rest…
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us…” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Have you ever wondered how and why our God could be such a merciful God? Perhaps not. Perhaps you’ve wondered more often why God seems like such an angry God. If that’s the case, you haven’t been taught very well about the character of God. That’s not your fault. It’s a symptom of our culture. Read the rest…
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Here, some 700 years before it would happen, Isaiah declares what is perhaps the deepest wonder of the cross. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins. All the things we have done wrong were placed on His shoulders. He took the punishment that should have been ours. And by ours, I mean everybody’s. The sins of the whole world living at the time, of those who had died before He did, and of those who have lived in the years of human history since were credited to His account. Read the rest…
The Nexus 