Ideas about the Kingdom of the Heavens around us and the unity of believers in Christ within it
Defines the common sets of terms pertaining to sin, offense, guilt, shame and honor, with a discussion of God’s work and initial comments on the importance of their confusion in maintaining the social order.
An index to the series of blog articles on the subject of repentance.
An abuse of God's image, Confession of Sin, Consequences, Desire to have our own way, Forgetting God, forgiveness and mercy, Free will, God is Love, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, patience, refusal to repent, Refusing to hear, Rejecting God, Repentance, self-serving worship, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Problem of Evil, To live in unity, What is sin?
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
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.
King Saul is an example of a leader appointed by God–at the rebellious insistence of the people–who followed his people’s idolatrous rebellion against God. Generally, in spiritual matters, worldly leaders follow their constituents rather than lead them. After God warned the people about the way their king would take, and sent a sign of his displeasure, they showed remorse–false, incomplete repentance–but did not change their ways. Ultimately, King Saul also followed their lead.