As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
This is a series of brief devotional articles on The Orthodox Catechism (“OC”), a Particular Baptist document written by Baptist pastor Hercules Collins in 1680. Read the series.
No matter who you are, who your parents are, how much education you have (or don’t have), this one thing is true—God’s law tells us that we’re each in very great trouble (see Answer 3). The obvious thing is to figure out how to fix this problem.
Collin Hansen talks with Hans Madueme, author of Defending Sin: A Response to the Challenges of Evolution and the Natural Sciences. - TGC
“everything is not fine for many godly people and I want to convince you, whether you are one of those people or one of their leaders, that internal anguish and powerful inward temptations are actually normal according to the Bible’s account of Christian experience.” - London Lyceum
“We should recognize and live in accordance with our redeemed identity in Christ…. Yes, we are covered by the righteousness of Christ. We are His saints, His holy ones. But there are three tenses of salvation” - Randy Alcorn
“The assumptions embedded throughout redemptive history make clear that some sins are worse than others. Consider several examples.” - Kevin DeYoung
The woman at the well: “It’s Christ’s mercy through his exposure of her sin that leads her to grasp his identity as Savior. The result isn’t fear but joyful excitement.” - TGC
Related: Lost in Translation: How to Speak about Sin in a “Sinless” World - Word by Word
“There are no easy answers here. In thinking about the juxtaposition of mental-health issues and church discipline, we want to be wary of two extremes.” - Desiring God
Problems in our behavior can be both mental health problems and “sin problems.” Part of the confusion on the topic of mental health among conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists is the assumption that a life problem has to be one or the other.
Consider a physical health analogy: Suppose I lose a leg in an accident. Because it’s a lot harder to walk now, I lay on the couch excessively, experience a lot of unhealthy weight gain, and neglect important duties.
“By His work, Jesus not only takes our guilt and exchanges it for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), but He also takes our shame and exchanges it for His honor.” - Breakpoint
An article at Proclaim & Defend last week raised the question “Do We Still Believe in Backsliding?” For me, the answer is, “Yes, but not in the way you mean.”
In general, we should describe the Christian life using biblical language in a biblical way. When we do that, we avoid a lot of misunderstanding or misemphasis. So, considering the topic of backsliding, we should start with three questions:
Discussion