Saved by Grace Alone When he was a Roman Catholic "monk," Martin Luther would have said that grace alone was the "gasoline" that propels the car of salvation. However, the "Reformer" Martin Luther would have affirmed that Grace Alone was the "entire" car itself. In other words, all of salvation, from beginning to end, was by Grace Alone. For Luther, the issue of salvation...
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Running the Race of Life Together The writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you ...
Keep Reading Christ Alone is Sufficient for Salvation and Sanctification In C. S. Lewis' fictional masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape, an experienced demon, mentors his nephew, Wormwood (also a demon, but "in training") on the art of breaking down Christians. In essence, the devil's strategy is not to replace or remove Christ completely, but to promote a "Christ AND" ...
Keep Reading The Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture If you think about the Reformation "Solas" like a building, then the Foundation of the building was the great principle or truth of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). What did this mean? That Scripture Alone was the Ultimate and Final Authority in all matters of faith and practice, personally and for the church. It did not mean th...
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Knowing and Worshipping Christ Over the years, building Lego projects has been a fun and treasured time with my kids. Once, I helped one of my boys build his new Star Wars Lego spaceship. This was the biggest Lego building project of his (then) young seven-year-old life. So as much as I wanted the spaceship to be brought to completion within a 12-hour day, I wanted him to...
Keep Reading Serving Out of Gratitude Rather Than Obligation Some time ago, during the holiday season, I came across a Ralph's employee who, upon charging me for my items, said, "Looks like you are prepping for a big breakfast!" "Yes," I replied, "It's a family tradition." I looked at her name badge, and observed that she had been with Ralph's for 40 years. "Wow, Connie, you have be...
Keep Reading Teaching Truth and Refuting Error There has been a subtle shift in the last 20 years or so in various evangelical circles. It is not that "professing" Christians say that doctrine does not matter "at all," but that we should not just be defined by "what we are against." Instead, we should be defined more by "what we stand for." On the one hand, I would agree that we shoul...
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The Christian in the Workplace One of the suggested books from our "spiritual disciplines" series a couple of years ago was Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work, by Tim Keller. In his book, Keller states " in this book we will do what we can to help illuminate the transformative and revolutionary connection between Christian faith and the workplace." M...
Keep Reading Freedom to Love the Lord and Love Others One of the "privileges" that we enjoy in our great country is "freedom." Freedom of speech, freedom to worship publicly, freedom to have a certain sense of autonomy, and to pursue happiness as individuals along with our families. Each of us as Americans enjoy this freedom and ought to have a profound sense of gratitude for what God...
Keep Reading We love because He first loved us No, I am not talking about your "romantic" life (though some of us who are married, especially us men, would profit from considering this as well!). I am talking first and foremost, about your love for the Lord, for this is where it all begins, doesn't it? Writing to the church at Ephesus, the Lord Jesus utters this terrible indictment, ...
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