Jesus's understanding of forgiveness was so radical because he did not need people to repent before he accepted them. He did not require a change in behavior before he loved, respected, and related to them. Yet, it was precisely this unconditional love and forgiveness...
My biggest regret in 53 years of ministry is that I didn’t do my own personal exegesis sooner on the 4 passages used to restrict women. Shame on me. I wasted those 4 yrs of Greek in college & seminary. When I finally did my proper “due diligence”, laying aside 50...
We Christians paint such a fragile picture of Jesus when we act as though his will is somehow threatened by every political and cultural shift. We Christians paint such a codependent picture of Jesus when we act as though he needs a political party, a president, and a...
A degenerate tradition that can’t adjust but stays rigid and authoritarian—or a reactionary tradition that won’t adjust but becomes defensively fundamentalist—refuses Jesus’ call to continuous repentance. from A Thicker Jesus
If we Christians don’t acknowledge our damaged reputation in our culture, we won’t be able to lament the brokenness it has caused. If we Christians don’t lament the brokenness it has caused, we won’t be able to confess the sins that led to such brokenness. If we...
Repentance is not when you cry. Repentance is not when you promise. Repentance is when you change.
REPENTANCE is not seen in tears; it is not seen in words; it is not seen in emotion. Repentance is long, slow, consistent change over an extended period of time because it is from the heart outward. Heart change is supernatural work.... REPENTANCE of habituated sin is...
The prodigal stayed away from his Father's house and endured pigpen poverty because he feared his actions had changed his identity from son to slave, only to return and find his fears had no basis in reality. Fear keeps us in a slave mentality and robs us of our very...
Repentance isn't about blame, or avoiding the cost of being blamed. It's about putting on a new mind, that is, seeing the familiar with fresh eyes, changing one's opinions and behaviors in order to come closer to God's desire. Repentance seeks change, not blame....
We do not always think of repentance as worship, but it can be much easier to sing a rousing hymn than to turn away from our favorite sin. A sinful act involves worship of the wrong kind, submitting ourselves at that moment to serve the appetites of our pride or lust,...