Always Reforming

Over the last two weeks the Internet has been abuzz with news of the final season of Game of Thrones.  Some have hailed GoT as a cinematic masterpiece, while others have labeled it as pornography.  Some have warned of the graphic nature of the show, whiles others have ardently defended their Christian freedom to watch it.  Many have fallen somewhere in the middle. As I've seen so many Christians express their enjoyment of GoT, and even recommend it to other people, I have been a little disheartened.  The issue has sort of stuck in the back of my mind as I try to think of how to engage with my fellow believers on this topic in an edifying way.  The other night, as I prayed the Lord's Prayer with my daughters before bed, I thought, "How can a Christian pray 'Lead me not into temptation,' and choose to watch GoT (maybe we need to get back to praying the Lord's Prayer!)?  How can we genuinely pray this petition and then turn around and place temptation before...

Legalistic. Licentious. Judgmental. Worldly. These are just some of the censorious terms tossed around when Christians discuss ethical standards.  The pendulum seems to swing between extremes.  Some people want to condemn you straight to hell for any failure to obey God's Word (or, usually, for any failure to abide by their own interpretation if it), while others use God's grace as an excuse for their sin. As is normally the case, the truth is somewhere in the middle.  The Bible proclaims God's grace for those who repent of their sin, assuring the penitent that there is no condemnation for those who believe in Jesus Christ, but we are warned against  abusing  the grace of God and we are unambiguously called to live in a way that is consistent with our calling as Christians.  That means that, for the Christian, "this won't send me to hell" is not a valid excuse for indulging in behavior that is dishonoring to God.  Christians don't look for...