Always Reforming

It seems no one likes to talk about sin anymore.  We want to hear about it even less.  After all, we don't want some holier-than-thou hypocrite in a pulpit making us feel bad for all the things we like to do!  Many preachers are left as little more than self-help gurus and/or CEOs.  Here's the thing: the Bible talks about sin, so any preacher who would faithfully proclaim the Word of God has to talk about sin, too. One of the reasons the Bible says to avoid every form of sin  is that, not only does all sin offend God, but also sin is cumulative in nature.  Sin grows.  It refuses to remain static.  It gets bigger, deeper, and stronger.  What might seem like an insignificant moral decision today may eventually lead to a conscience that is seared  and slavery to sins that before seemed unimaginable.  If we allow sin to plant roots in our hearts, we will have a difficult time cutting down the poisonous trees that issue from them.  Let's look at a few examples. Anger .  It i

Much alarm was raised when the director of Disney's new live-action Beauty and the Beast  stated in an interview that the film contains a " gay moment ."  He has now said that the story has been overblown, but I suspect that that may have been his intent all along.  Christians have reacted in many different ways, finding every step on the spectrum from hysteria to apathy.  Some have called for boycotts, while others have praised the film.  I personally have no particular fondness for the original (or really any Disney film that doesn't feature Phil Collins' music), but I took note because my wife and children will probably want to watch it.  After all of the debate, it seems as if this has all been much ado about nothing, yet it brings up an important point.  How are we as Christians to respond to Hollywood's attempts to impose the homosexual agenda on our children?  Let me offer a few suggestions. 1) Lovingly .  I believe homosexuality is a sin.  The Bible

So, one of my guilty pleasures is the huge pop/rock band OneRepublic.  I enjoyed some of their music growing up, but I never really loved them until I saw them live.  That experience impressed upon me their surprising musicianship and the depth of Ryan Tedder's songwriting talent.  When their most recent album, Oh My My , came out, I eventually gave in and bought it.  It's not my usual style, featuring quite a bit of dance/pop tunes, but I actually enjoyed it very much. One song especially interested me, track 11 entitled " Human ."  OneRepublic is no stranger to songs with spiritual/religious content, but their last few albums seem to be demonstrating a cooling of their religious zeal.  This song demonstrates both their continued religiosity and the ambiguity thereof, as the lyrics  show a belief in God but a reluctance to define much about who He is or what He requires of us.   Analyzing the spiritual state of Ryan Tedder  is not my goal here today.  What I real

Suddenly I awoke, finding myself In the back of a run-down hearse, I am not ashamed to admit that I  Was more than a little frightened, I knocked, I banged, with all my might I tried To free myself, but all I heard Was the reply of a straightforward type, The driver, sordid but cheerful, "Don't fight it," he said, "it won't help, you see "The doors are locked from the outside," "Where am I?" I replied, startled and stunned, "And how on Earth did I get here?" "Well," he said, "this is Life, and you were born "Here just like everybody else," "Where are we going?" I queried, afraid To hear the answer he would give, "We're on our way to the grave," he explained, "For an appointment we can't miss, "Sometimes I take a shortcut, sometimes I "Take the long way, but I'm never "Late, and, no matter how long the trip takes, &quo

Ethics is one of the most controversial topics in modern times.  Each religion (sometimes even each denomination within a religion) has its own code of ethics, some irreligious people piece together a make-shift ethical code based on their own vague standards, and many atheists go so far as to deny altogether the objectivity of ethics.  The ethics of Christianity, specifically New Testament ethics, is not totally distinct from that found in the Old Testament (some would argue that the former is a summary and/or intensification of the latter), but Christian ethics does have its own particular set of emphases.  As I continue to study the New Testament and weigh the relationship between the Old and New Covenants, I am becoming increasingly more aware that New Testament ethics is fundamentally concept-based as opposed to being based upon particulars.  The New Testament dedicates more space to general motivations and character traits than to the particular applications thereof (though certa