God’s purpose for us

Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural) — Part 2

Ian Johnson May 12, 2022 1 Comment

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from John and the shorter Pauline Epistles.

Confession and Repentance, Confession of Sin, Discipline or Correction, God was never our enemy, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Repentance, Repentance in community, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Salvation, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, To live in unity

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The Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 1

Ian Johnson May 5, 2022 3 Comments

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians.

God was never our enemy, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Rejecting God, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, self-serving worship, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, What is sin?

disbelief, faith, God, heart, heart attitude, human heart, Jesus, not of faith, rebellion, sin, sins, unbelief, way of life, wrong acts

The Implications of Jesus’ Humanity, Revisited

Ian Johnson April 24, 2022 2 Comments

Jesus came as a man–fully human–and lived under the control (“filling”) and power of the Holy Spirit, in exactly the same way we can, if we will permit him to do it. In this respect, the only difference between Jesus, as a human, and us, is that Jesus was never anything but fully under the Spirit’s control. Jesus invites us to live as He did, obeying the Spirit’s direction and living by the Spirit’s power.

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Related Keys to Psalm 37:4-5 and Psalm 51:3-4

Ian Johnson April 17, 2022 1 Comment

God’s intention is that, as we take delight in him, he will put his desires within us. This will make us progressively more able to trust God, do good, and avoid sin. It will also make us increasingly able to discern when our guilt doesn’t come from God.

A God who Speaks, Confession and Repentance, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, His Children, missing the mark, On speaking terms again, Reconciliation, Refusing to hear, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, Through Jesus, To be in his image, What is sin?

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God gave the Gentiles repentance, Acts 11:18

Ian Johnson February 6, 2022 2 Comments

When God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house, what this showed the Jewish believers was that God had given them repentance leading to life.

A God who Speaks, Divisions in the Church, God Acts by Speaking, Jew versus Gentile, Repentance, To live in unity

Acts 10, Acts 11:18, Cornelius, Gentile, God, Holy Spirit, Jew, Peter, repentance

The Prophets Nathan and Gad Deal With King David in His Sins

Ian Johnson November 26, 2021 2 Comments

On both of the occasions when David is said to have sinned in his administration as king, God sent prophets to correct him. God corrected David’s great sin, the one involving Bathsheba and Uriah, by sending the prophet Nathan to confront him. By contrast, in the matter of the census David recognized he had sinned and asked God’s forgiveness as soon as the census was completed. The prophet Gad was sent to him not to bring him to repentance, but to give him a choice of public consequences for not honoring God in the census and instructions concerning how to rectify his error. David repented and was forgiven of both sins, but the first one nevertheless had severe long-term consequences.

A God who Speaks, Angels, Confession of Sin, Desire to have our own way, Events and Signs, Forgetting God, Free will, God Speaks to Us, Pride in accomplishments as our own, Prophecy, Sin, The Problem of Evil, To be in his image, To live in unity, What is sin?

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“Repent and be Baptized,” in Acts 2:38

Ian Johnson October 24, 2021 1 Comment

After Peter preached his first sermon, on the day of Pentecost, his hearers asked “what must we do to be saved?” His answer was “repent and be baptized.” Those who believed his message repented by giving up their claims of self-ownership and self-reliance and starting to live in community with each other, sharing freely as any had need.

Changed treatment of each other, Desire to have our own way, God's purpose for us, Repentance, Repentance in community, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Salvation, Sin, To live in unity, What is sin?

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Repeated sins, repeated repentance and repeated forgiveness in Luke 17:3-4

Ian Johnson October 17, 2021 2 Comments

Jesus uses unforgiveness as the prime example of a stumbling block we can place in the way of a fellow believer, bringing judgment. Therefore he warns us that we must be careful to freely forgive those who come to us expressing repentance for harm they have done to us by missing the mark of either our own, or God’s, expectations for their behavior.

Confession and Repentance, Confession of Sin, Divisions in the Church, Forgive as we forgive, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Repentance, Restoration of our Relationships, To live in unity

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Joy in Heaven Over One Sinner Repenting: The Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son

Ian Johnson September 11, 2021 3 Comments

The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coins and the two lost sons, one of them the “Prodigal son,” in Luke 15 show our value to God, God’s search for us, and our returning to him, or not, in repentance, and teach why we should not be judgmental toward those who appear great “sinners.”

Changed treatment of each other, Divisions in the Church, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Free will, God's purpose for us, His Children, Leaving Our First Love, Merit, Repentance, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Salvation

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Debts, debtors and paráptōmata in the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ associated saying on mercy towards others’ weaknesses–Matthew 6:12-15 and Mark 11:20-26

Ian Johnson August 12, 2021 2 Comments

In the Lord’s Prayer and the parallel teaching about mercy, Jesus tells us that we are to ask God to release us from the consequences or resulting debts of our sins as we release others from the debts we imagine they owe us. While praying, we are to show mercy upon the flaws (paráptōmata) that led them to sin, because the Father will show us mercy in the same measure.

Confession and Repentance, Divisions in the Church, Forgive as we forgive, forgiveness and mercy, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Reconciliation, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, To live in unity

by the same measure, debts, flaws, forgiveness, Jesus, Lord's Prayer, mercy, paráptōma, release, sins, unforgiveness

Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural) — Part 2

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The Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 1

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The Implications of Jesus’ Humanity, Revisited

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Related Keys to Psalm 37:4-5 and Psalm 51:3-4

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God gave the Gentiles repentance, Acts 11:18

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The Prophets Nathan and Gad Deal With King David in His Sins

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“Repent and be Baptized,” in Acts 2:38

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Repeated sins, repeated repentance and repeated forgiveness in Luke 17:3-4

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Joy in Heaven Over One Sinner Repenting: The Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son

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Debts, debtors and paráptōmata in the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ associated saying on mercy towards others’ weaknesses–Matthew 6:12-15 and Mark 11:20-26

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