Podcast: Gospel in Life

No matter how long a sentence is, if you find the subject and the predicate, you can figure out the point of the sentence. In the original Greek, there are 202 words in this one sentence that spans from verse 3 to 14 of Ephesians 1. The subject of this great sentence is God and…

We’re looking at an astonishing claim. In the New Testament, the word “blessing” doesn’t just mean what we mean by it today. It’s closer to shalom. It means every joy and every benefit your heart and soul needs and longs for. And in Ephesians 1:3, we’re told if you’re a Christian you have already been…

Jonah’s spirituality was fine for his old world and his old situations. But when he’s faced with a new situation, it just collapses. Then, when he’s in the belly of the fish, Jonah begins to reflect and pray, and as the prayer moves along, we see he has a spiritual breakthrough. Now the new situation…

The point of Galatians is that Christians need the gospel, continually. So let’s bring the gospel to a subject that’s very relevant for us: self-image and self-esteem. Christianity brings you a way of understanding yourself that is so different than what anything else brings you. And it’s a paradox. In Galatians 6, Paul says we’re…

Our relationships are such hard work. People are always getting hurt. People are always getting disappointed. Relationships are a nightmare, but we can’t get along without them. As soon as we try to pull back from relationships, we lose our humanity. Because we’re made in the image of God. And the triune God—Father, Son, and…

Through faith in Christ, through the gospel, through the Holy Spirit, you can experience lasting, deep, radical, permanent change. If you’re going to make such changes, you need to understand the nature of Christian change. You have to understand the nature of it, the pattern of it, and the process of it. Galatians 5 shows…

When you become a Christian, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead comes into you spiritually, internally. You have the power to change. You have an unsurpassed power to change. So we have to ask ourselves right away, “Are we settling for too little?” I mean, how much have you changed so far?…

Freedom is the greatest value in the modern Western world. The secular model of freedom is basically freedom from something. It says, “I am only free when there’s nothing in my way.” When people come to Christianity, they would like inspiration and help, but they don’t want to give up their freedom. Very often, Christians…

How could the idea that you’re saved by grace alone be any incentive to live a good life? Paul says the gospel of salvation through free grace, not works, is actually a greater incentive to a life of honesty, sacrifice, and love than anything else. He’s talking about how we change the human heart, and…

Most people think the job of religion is to call people into a life of morality. But Paul says that’s not what Christianity is at all. Gospel transformation is completely different than moral reformation. In Galatians 5, Paul says there are two different reasons you could obey God—and the reason for your obedience makes all…