Voice of Reason Ministries

Unworthy rebels, redeemed by the King of Kings and made servants fit for His use.

Tag: Forgiveness

Repentance and Forgiveness in an Age of Digital Relationships

February 19, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Two of the most important aspects of the Christian faith are repentance and forgiveness. They are the foundational elements of how one even becomes a Christian for it is through repentance (turning from sin) and faith (turning to Christ) that one is forgiven. There is no Christianity apart from these two elements. This is why Christ commands repentance from all persons everywhere and throughout all time (Acts 17:30) and directs Christians to grant forgiveness to those who seek it (Matt. 6:14-15). Just as one cannot call oneself a Christian if he or she lives in unrepentant sin, neither can we claim to follow Christ if we refuse to grant forgiveness to those who ask it and seek to make amends for their offense.

In the setting of the local church, this is demonstrated when a person comes before another, confesses their guilt, repents, makes restitution, and asks for forgiveness. It is personal, upfront, and can be aided by the elders of the church when called upon. We can see the guilty party’s actions and work with them through the process of forgiveness and reconciliation. While the aggrieved person may truly forgive, the one who sinned still must demonstrate a willingness to change their thoughts and behaviors to keep from such behavior in the future. In the physical presence of many brethren, those who give mere lip service to repentance, who make no real changes to their thoughts, words, and deeds, will be quickly exposed. This can result in further counseling or even church discipline when required. In a church where these matters are taken seriously, there is little room to hide behind words alone.

Yet, in the 21st century, Christians are not isolated from relationships that occur solely in the presence of the local church. With the explosion of digital technology and social media over the last couple of decades, relationships no longer are confined to one’s local community. We are connected with people around the globe and can build relationships with people we may never meet face-to-face. Furthermore, these relationships exist 24/7. We can communicate with virtually anyone at any time with little to no restraint. Christians can build virtual communities with each other and never have to experience the limitations set by schedules, jobs, childcare, uncomfortable group settings, and more. It is little wonder why so many people live much of their lives in these virtual settings. While seemingly more comfortable than living with one another face-to-face, virtual relationships face many challenges as well. The ability to create echo chambers, to block anyone who creates obstacles to our comfortability, and to be swept up in an antagonistic mob mentality is all too easy when those you interact with are pixels on a screen rather than a flesh and blood person. Therefore, just as in the real-life arena, Christians can and do sin against one another in the digital world. The question becomes how one addresses sin, repentance, and forgiveness in this environment.

The unique nature of social media gives every user a modicum of anonymity. Usernames and profile pictures can be purely fictional, never revealing the truth about a person’s identity. Even when someone is willing to use their true name and image, the lack of physical presence before others makes it easier to curate his or her appearance in the virtual world. We show the online community only that which we want them to see. And, with that sense of anonymity, we can easily set aside the fact that we are dealing with physical people on the other side of the screen. Compassion, kindness, and grace are all too easily discarded because we do not see the impact of our words and behavior toward others. Mistreatment, lying, bullying, and even defrauding others can become justifiable because we are only dealing with screen names, not real people. Sin becomes so much easier in such an environment. With that in mind, the idea of holding someone accountable for their sins suddenly feels daunting. When others are simply pixels on the screen, the certainty over the conviction of sin, repentance, and the ability to forgive appears to be impossible to discern.

Difficult though it may be, Christians are still obligated to address sin as they see it in their midst, virtual or otherwise. Passages such as Matthew 18:15-20 and James 5:19-20 require Christians to confront sin, call on their brethren to repent, and seek reconciliation. This may be more difficult in a virtual setting, but it is not impossible. First and foremost, the confrontation for sin must occur. Ideally, this could be done through private messaging or phone/Zoom-style calls. This allows for person-to-person contact outside the view of others. If such contact is rebuffed or repentance is rejected, then as Christ commanded, trying to mediate with other persons may become necessary. This is not done to shame or gang up on the person, but to hopefully help the sinner see the seriousness of their behavior online and to provide oneself with witnesses that these attempts are being made according to Scripture. If repentance is further rejected, it may be necessary to seek out the sinner’s church, if this can be determined, and provide the elders with documentation of all efforts so they can address the matter themselves. If such information is not available, and all other avenues are exhausted, it is advisable to step away from further contact so that we do not provide the person further means to sin in the same manner. Furthermore, one may need to warn other online users if the sin involves lying, theft, or defrauding in order to protect them from harm. None of this is to be done to shame, bully, or even dox the sinner. This is all done because we desire the repentance and reconciliation of one’s brother or sister in Christ.

If the person found to be in sin confesses and seeks forgiveness, we can forgiven and rejoice, yet we should desire to see genuine repentance occur. Where the sin is public (and it almost always is on social media) the confession should be public as well. It should also be immediate, for when sin is left to hide in the dark corners it is all too easy for someone to later mitigate, minimize, and even justify their behavior. Genuine repentance expresses a willingness to be seen by others and to be held accountable for future acts. Those giving lip service are less likely to publicly admit their wrongdoing even though they showed no such resistance to their public sin. They should also be encouraged to stand before their own elders and seek biblical counsel on why they sinned, what drove such thoughts and intents, and how they might seek to avoid sin in the future. If the sin involved some kind of defrauding of others, the person should be called upon to confess to all the aggrieved parties and make restitution where necessary. Lastly, it may be necessary to urge the person to cut themselves off from all social media use that is not watched over by the elders of their church. Christ made it clear that whatever gives us the means to sin should be removed from our lives (Matt. 5:29-30). While sin is a matter of the heart, if social media is the means of temptation, then repentance requires that it either be removed or heavily monitored. Those who refuse any and all such steps, or who seek to minimize the sin, claiming such repentance is unneeded, are likely exhibiting guilt over the consequences of sin rather than over the sin itself. It may be necessary to walk away from any further association with such a person and hand the matter over to God, trusting He will deal rightly with them.

The virtual world is distinct from the real world, yet it exists alongside and is used by flesh and blood people. Sin will occur in both arenas and Scripture calls upon us to address sinners so that repentance and forgiveness may occur. When we do this rightly, it pictures the gospel to all who are watching. If we fail to do it, then, not only do we allow sin to run rampant among professing believers, but we also communicate to those impacted by those sinners that sin does not matter much to us, or God. Both should be unacceptable to Christians. Let us be a people who desire to see our brethren conform to the image of Christ by calling on one another to live in obedience and to be repentant when we fail, both in the real and digital worlds.

Note: This article was also published on X.com

That Person Can’t Be Saved!

April 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

A New Christian?

Recently, a now former “Only Fans” model known as Nala made a public profession of having become a Christian. She has reportedly pulled down her pornographic images and videos as well as having engaged in many public interviews and statements about changing things in her life in order to live as she believes God desires for her.

There has been no end of debate regarding Nala’s public profession of faith. Many have argued against the validity of her profession given that her images and videos remained active initially.

Still, others have pointed out that we cannot know or judge her profession given the fact that is only a recent occurrence. Therefore, Christians are being told to not declare her unsaved simply because she is not showing the level of repentance we personally deem necessary.

The point of this article is not to determine whether or not Nala is truly a Christian. That is a discussion best addressed at another place and time. The concern for this piece is to address a concerning development in the overall debate. While this matter is specifically Christian in nature, the issue of genuine salvation, there are those within the sociopolitical right, those engaged in the current culture war, who have waded into the matter with their own take.

The reason this should concern Christians is that, more often than not, cultural and political conservatism finds itself in alignment with Christian values. This has resulted in collaboration between the two camps. While being conservative does not necessarily mean one is a Christian, the bleedover between the two is extensive. Therefore, what the politically conservative movement says publicly can, and often does, impact the Christian church. To that end, I would like to discuss two public postings from the website “X” that specifically address Nala’s conversion testimony and why Christians should be concerned.

On April 6, 2024, conservative journalist, Laura Loomer, wrote a post in response to Nala’s interview on “The Michael Knowles Show.” Ms. Loomer wrote, “These Only Fans girls can ‘pray’ their slutty behavior away all they want. They will never be respectable no matter how much they cry to God. Praying to be a respectable person doesn’t work once you do sex work. It’s best that we shun women like this from society forever.” A number of persons on the site did take Ms. Loomer to task for this post and pointed to the transforming of the power of the gospel. Ms. Loomer dismissed these objections on a post the following day by stating “I’m not a religious person. I am focused on my investigative reporting and exposing people.” She further added, “People should just be grateful I am honest and upfront about who I am instead of trying to change me.”

Ms. Loomer’s post makes it clear she believes she can wade into matters of faith, despite not being religious. Because of the vile nature of Nala’s prior sinful work, and because she is now publicly professing faith in Christ, it appears Ms. Loomer sees it necessary to openly denounce her as part of her work in exposing people. In her effort to engage in politically conservative journalism and to push back against “sex work” as part of the culture war battle, she openly dismisses the transforming work of the gospel. Ms. Loomer declares Nala to be unfit for society and is unsavable because her sins are simply too vile to be forgiven.

Another such public statement was made by an account going by the name of “Neo” (@ControlledNeo). In this case, on April 8, 2023, Neo, whose X bio states “Relationships, female nature, fitness and geopolitics,” weighed in with his post which stated, “Christians believe this woman can truly be saved, The naivety of conservative Christis is driving more people towards atheism and Islam. The same naivety that is making your society crumble. ‘Accept everything and fall for anything.” On April 9, Neo made another post where he said in part, “Truth is not all people deserve forgiveness.”

In these two posts, Neo, who clearly rejects the Christian faith, wades into the waters of Christianity to determine just who can and cannot be saved by God. He has determined that there are some sins that are simply unforgivable and that any society that believes otherwise is doomed to destruction. Neo is a man attempting to engage in the cultural battle and seeks to drag down not only a newly professed believer in Christ but the system of faith to which she ascribes in order to change society.

In both the cases of Ms. Loomer and Neo, what we see are people who fundamentally fail to understand God and His gospel message. They view themselves as capable of judging the depth of a particular person’s sin and being able to determine she is not only unsavable but also undeserving of even the slightest grace from God. With this view in mind, they have consigned her to banishment from the culture, leaving persons such as themselves as icons to be respected and emulated.

Such Were Some of You

At stake in this current discussion is the very nature of the gospel itself. According to Scripture, mankind is dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Through Adam’s sin in the garden, sin entered the world and all mankind was affected (Romans 3:10-12 and 5:12). We are conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5) and we are enslaved to sin throughout the entirety of our lives. Furthermore, because God is a holy God who cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13), He will judge all sin, and the wages for our sin is death (Romans 6:23). In the eyes of God, sin is a serious assault upon Him and He will not let the guilty go free.

Yet, our God is not only a just God but a loving, kind, and gracious God. Though we are all deserving of His righteous wrath, God made a way of forgiveness possible, through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself, who took on human flesh, that God can be both just and the justifier (Romans 3:26). Jesus came to earth and lived a life of complete obedience to the Father, never sinning in any manner. In all this, Christ lived the life were are commanded to live but fail at every single day. Then, at the time of His choosing (John 10:18), Jesus willingly went to the cross, enduring an unjust trial where he was declared guilty of crimes he did not commit, never once speaking in His own defense (Matthew 27:14). He did so in order that the promise of His death on behalf of sinners would be fulfilled. He was crucified, died, and was buried. Then, on the third day, He rose Himself from the grave (John 2:19 and 10:18) defeating the power of sin and death. Now, those who turn in repentance and faith in Christ’s completed work are redeemed and given eternal life.

It is through this gospel message that sinners have a promise of forgiveness of their sins. And more than that, they are promised that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, will come and reside in them (John 14:23). Because of this, the believer is freed from the power of sin and becomes a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). With this new nature, while the believer may be tempted by sin, he or she is no longer bound to sin. Believers have a new nature and a new heart, one inclined to seek to love and please God over pleasing self.

This is why Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, “And such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Paul had just explained that the unrighteous, those who lived enslaved to the power of sin, would not inherit the kingdom of God. He lists such persons saying, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (6:9-10). Yet, to the Christians, he writes “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v. 11). The believer is no longer part of the unrighteous, at war with God, he or she is now an adopted child of God whose sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Because God has purchased us through Christ, because we are made new in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are justified, made right in the eyes of God. And we are sanctified, set apart from the world for His good purposes. Furthermore, God also continues to sanctify us by exposing our sins before us, bringing us to a place of ongoing repentance and seeking to be conformed in our thoughts, words, and deeds to the image of Christ. This walk is not a perfect walk, for we often stumble and fall into sin. Yet, these stumbles do not negate the perfect work of Christ whose sacrifice paid for all sins, past, present, and future. While God may discipline us for our sins, He will not judge us into eternal hellfire for Christ has paid that penalty for us.

It is imperative that the Christian understand that there are no sins for which Christ’s propitiation does not pay. According to Christ Himself, there was only one unforgivable sin, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31). And given that no modern-day sinner was present to observe the signs of Christ, where it was undeniable that He was the promised Messiah, and attributed those works to Satan, it is unlikely anyone today would face such a curse. So, when Christless conservative culture warriors choose to deny the saving work of Christ in the life of any sinner, simply because they object to the nature of that person’s sin, they are warring against all of Scripture itself. They are denying that God could love a particular group of sinners because their sin is just too vile in their own eyes. Yet, it was the apostle Paul himself who wrote, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

There is no place for any person to believe that some sinners are savable while others are clearly undeserving. For any person to do so is tantamount to saying that God is wrong. But, then again, perhaps the issue is a failure to see oneself rightly before God to begin with.

“I thank you I’m not like…”

In Luke 18:9-14, we read the following,

“To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus exposed his hearers to the hypocrisy of self-righteousness and pride from the very people they thought were the most holy before God, the Pharisees. These were the conservative religious leaders of the day who were concerned with rightly understanding the Scriptures and seeking to teach people to obey them. However, over time, they had added their own traditions to the law and had become puffed up with their ability to outwardly appear holy.

Now, their sin was not that they held a high and strongly conservative view of Scripture. On many points, they were right in their teachings, which is why Jesus told his followers to “observe whatever they tell you” (Matthew 23:2-3). But, in their pride, they added increasing works onto the people while doing nothing to aid them. Furthermore, they elevated themselves to a higher position than the people, not holding themselves to the same standard. This is why Christ then told the people to not “do the works they do. For they preach but do not practice” (v. 3-7).

Therefore, when the Pharisee in the parable prays “God I thank you that am not like the other men…” he reveals a heart swelling with self-righteousness. He believes himself to be better than the rest and that his accomplishments will buy him merit in the eyes of the Almighty. That, even if or when he does sin, it bears little to no resemblance to “other men.” The Pharisee simply believes he is good just as he is, and that there is nothing he needs to fear before a holy God.

Yet, it was not the Pharisee that went away justified, but the tax collector! Why? Because the tax collector understood who he really was before God, a wicked sinner deserving nothing but judgment. He did not appeal to anything good he might have done in his life because he knew nothing in him was good when compared to a holy God. Instead, he humbled himself before his Creator and cried out for mercy. He deserved judgment, yet because he surrendered himself in humility, he received mercy and grace from God. This is such an amazing picture of the gospel at work.

It is this picture taught by Christ Himself, that helps us understand the Laura Loomers and Neos of the world. They think far too much of themselves. They see their place in the current culture war as vital, as people leading the charge against the wicked depravity being poured out on the world. And, while this depravity is indeed vile, it is not worse than the sins of Ms. Loomer or Neo. Nala’s pornographic and lust-filled sins are not worse than their sins, they are just sins that were further down the line of progression.  Romans 1 reveals God will pour out judgment on a people who continually reject Him. Chief among the sins that indicate a people being given over to debased thinking is sexual depravity. But, just as those who gorge themselves on sexual depravity will face the wrath of God on judgment day, so will those who seem less sinful in their own eyes.

As we saw above, Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 6 numerous types of sins that will not inherit the kingdom of God. Such sins include greed, drunkenness, and reviling. We also read in Revelation 21:8 that, “the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.” Cowardice, unbelief, and lying too will be judged for they are sins for which God will have no mercy, only righteous wrath.

When people like Ms. Loomer or Neo dismiss the Christian faith because it offers forgiveness to a woman who engaged in “sex work,” they fail to see their own wickedness rightly before God. They too desperately need His mercy and grace lest they fall into His just wrath. There is no person deserving of God’s forgiveness. All of us have fallen short and stand guilty before Him. Therefore, we must never fall into the trap of thinking there is something better about us because our sins are not as bad as someone else’s. Such flippancy could find us in the place of the Pharisee under judgment while the adulterous may enjoy the merciful forgiveness of Christ.

In Conclusion

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). It is the only way in which mankind can be made right with God. There simply is no other hope for us, no way we can please God, apart from repentance and turning to Christ in faith. It is a glorious message that should never be taken for granted. Laura Loomer, Neo, and countless others fail to grasp the significance of this message because they only see a tiny sliver of the real battle going on around them. While engaging the culture war is necessary, if the battle were won in this world yet all our souls were condemned to hell eternally, it would be a most shallow “victory.” Therefore, the Christian can never neglect the spiritual war going on around us, we can never be so quick to dismiss God forgiving the vilest among us. Understand, if God cannot forgive a vile, pornographic adulterous, neither will He forgive you. The gospel is just that important.

(This article was also published at X.com)

If God Is Real, Why Is Your Life So Hard?

October 21, 2022 / / 4 Comments

Recently, someone I know was asked “if God is real, why is your life so terrible?” Sadly, this is an all too common question that is loaded with presuppositions. It assumes that for God to be real, life cannot be difficult. It assumes that I should never have to deal with difficulty. It assumes that I am such a good person that I deserve for life to go well. It assumes God owes me a good life. And it assumes God can only be real if He does everything possible to make my life easier.

As Voddie Baucham once said, this is the wrong question. I don’t get to ask a question like this loaded with all the wrong presuppositions and then conclude God cannot be real because He did not meet my standard. Rather, I must look at the question from God’s perspective.

Who decides whether my life should be one of ease or difficulty? Who decides what constitutes my being a good person? Who decides on the basis of the “good person criteria” what I deserve? Who decides what I am owed? And who decides but God if intervening in a time of tribulation will really be best for me?

The truth is, the answer to these questions is that God is the one who decides these things, not me. God is the sole standard of what is right and good. He is morally perfect and righteous. It is against Him that one can determine if they are a good person. And for the record, not a single one of us is good. We are all morally bankrupt and evil when compared against the righteous and holy God.

Knowing that we fail to come even a micrometer close to God’s goodness, knowing that He is a perfect and righteous Judge, how can we possibly think we deserve even the slightest good thing from Him? Determining God’s existence on whether or not my life is difficult is like a criminal deciding Courts cannot be real and have no authority over him because he had a hard life.

We are God’s creation and have rebelled against Him. The fact that we continue to breathe air despite the multitude of sins we commit against Him daily rather than being struck immediately to Hell testifies of His patience and longsuffering. What God owes us is His judgment. Not reward and ease, but His wrath, immediate and without relenting. Yet, God patiently allows us life in this world until the day we must all stand before Him. He does so because God desires that all men everywhere repent and come to faith in Christ.

In other words, God gives us time. Time to see Him for who He is and to recognize ourselves as the sinners we are. Time to turn from our sin and turn to Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. God graciously gives us time.

Will all men turn to Christ? No. Yet, even in this God is gracious because He sends forth His gospel message through His people. Then, God kindly brings to faith and repentance all those whom He will save, because apart from this work, none would turn to Him.

What about those who do not? They will never be able to say they do not deserve His wrath. Creation and conscience testify to the truth of God’s existence and the reality of their sin. They know He is real and will hold them accountable. And they have His Word readily available to find the truth. They will be judged, condemned eternally to Hell and there is no defense. And, in this, God too is glorified.

Therefore, when we see life is difficult, when trials are painful, we are reminded that sin is at work in the world and that judgment is one day coming. God does not owe us a life of ease, rather, these trials testify that we deserve far much worse.

Yet, He has given us time. Time to admit we have sinned against Him, to turn from that sin, and to turn to Christ for eternal life. Trials then show us that this life is but a vapor, a time we must endure, be faithful, and serve. Then we will spend eternity with the One whom we had once rebelled against yet, in His kind mercy, He adopted us as His children.

God owes us nothing but His wrath, we do not deserve His kindness. But, God is merciful and will use even the most difficult of lives to demonstrate His goodness.

Is Roe the End?

June 24, 2022 / / 1 Comment

A Historic Moment

Today, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In this monumental decision, the Court ruled there is no constitutional protection for abortion and returned the matter to the States. In other words, each State must now decide whether to make abortion illegal, legal, or restricted in some capacity. This means it is not a full ban on the horrific practice despite what commentators, media personalities, or politicians have claimed.  Nor is it a removal of a Constitutional protection enshrined in our founding document. There has never been any such protection in the Constitution. What Roe v. Wade did is interpret that laws banning abortion were unconstitutional. That decision thus prohibited states from making laws outlawing the act. In today’s decision, the Supreme Court reversed that finding and determined no such protection existed. You cannot remove something that was never there.

What Now?

What happens next? All 50 States in the Union must now determine what laws they will pass with regard to the act of abortion. Some states have already passed legislation that would be triggered once the decision was handed down. Other states already have laws protecting the practice of abortion and will continue to stand by them. Ultimately, each state’s laws will be based on the votes of its citizens and the representatives they place in State political offices. This is not the end of abortion, but it most certainly limits the ability of people intent on murdering their babies. The fight to end abortion is far from over, but a major victory has been won.

What does this mean for the church? As Christians, we recognize that Scripture declares murder to be a sin. God knew us before we came into being.  He declared when would be born and would die.  He determined the path our lives would take. And He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. We are made in His image and likeness. God has declared the willful murder of such image-bearers to be a sin, one which has not only temporal but eternal consequences. Therefore, the church must continue to proclaim to the world at large that the murder of babies is a sin. That those who promote, affirm, endorse, and engage in this willful rebellion will face His just and righteous wrath. We must call on the world to repent of such heinous sin and turn to Christ whereby the only hope of forgiveness can be found. We must not equivocate on this matter. We must firmly, authoritatively, and with great love, proclaim this truth to the world.

What Cannot Be

But we must not fall prey to the language of the world on this matter. We must not seek to soften the blow that abortion is a sin by telling people that abortion is only thinkable because we have failed to provide for the needs of women. That abortion only happens because social justice has not yet been achieved. This is patently untrue. Murder occurs because people are sinners. We commit sin because our hearts are enslaved to sin. That sin will be shown in a myriad of ways, including the murder of babies in the womb. We can justify our sins all day long with hundreds of reasons but it is still sin. We cannot remove the guilt of sin because life is unfair or difficult.

We must also not fall prey to the redefinitions of terms. It has become passé to rephrase pro-life to mean “pro-whole life.” In other words, that protecting infants from murder is not actually being pro-life. To be pro-life, you must be willing to have the secular government at large provide and care for life from womb to tomb. We are told we must authorize the government to so organize society through financial incentives, social programs, and health care to ensure that every life born has every single thing it needs. In this redefinition, you cannot possibly be pro-life without this provision. To reject it means you are “pro-birth” and could not care less what happens after.

Those actually aware of the history of the church know that Christians have created numerous resources for hundreds of years to care for children and families in need. Through local church donations and care in the community – and through the creation of charities, pregnancy centers, hospitals, adoption agencies, and more – the church has always stepped up to the plate to provide for those children in dire need. It is a lie from the pit of Hell to say that Christians do not care what happens after a child is born. And by adopting the language of “pro-whole life” we deny the truth that countless Christians in history have actually done the work of caring for those in need.

Do Not Forget Our Primary Mission

Finally, we must not assume this particular victory means our work is done in the culture. Even if all abortion was banned today (may we see that day soon) evil hearts that desire to murder their children are still enslaved to sin. The very hearts that want to fight to restore abortion to legal status are still speaking vile words that spew forth from evil hearts. Their standing before God has not changed even if the law were changed completely. Sinners bent on evil still need the gospel of Jesus Christ.

While we rejoice and worship God for His mercy on this matter, we must almost recommit ourselves to the command to make disciples of every nation. We must confront hearts with the truth of Scripture that they are enslaved to sin and will stand before God on Judgment Day. That the only hope of forgiveness, even for those who have already murdered children in the womb, is Jesus Christ. We must confront them with their sins, warn them of the danger to come, and plead with them to turn to Christ alone.

Christians, Roe is not the end. While the fight has been long and arduous, it is not yet over. And it would not be over even if we could put an end to this abdominal act. The first and primary mission of the church is the proclamation of the gospel and the winning of souls to Christ. We can fight and win culture wars but still lose souls to Hell. Let us fight the one without neglecting the other. No, Roe is not the end. It is a time of humble rejoicing to be sure. But, it is also a reminder of the great God we serve and the mission He has given us. Let us go forth and serve our King this day and every day till He brings us home.

Obedience from Love

September 5, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Recently, my pastor taught from Romans 7, speaking of Paul’s inability to keep the law of his own accord and his realization of his need for a Savior. In the culmination of his teaching on the law, my pastor made a wonderful application about our obedience to God’s law: out of Christ, we cannot obey the law to merit God’s favor due to our sin nature; inside of Christ, we cannot be more loved of God by trying to prove how good we are through our obedience; thus our obedience can have only one motivation, our love for our Savior.

The Purpose of the Law

Scripture teaches us that the law is our guardian, or schoolmaster, leading us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). It is the reflection of the perfect nature of God Himself. God does not give us the law simply because He had the desire to make up a list of dos and donts. In order to be in fellowship with God, we would have to be perfect as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Thus the law is God’s standard of perfect righteousness. Anything less than utter moral perfection keeps us from His presence. This is because He cannot look on sin without judging it. To do so would be a grave injustice. In His divine forbearance, he allows us to continue in this earthly existence until the time of deaths. But none will escape His perfect justice on that day.

However, we often try to think of the law as something we can achieve, a means of meriting the favor of God. We see this played out in the gospels as Jesus took the Pharisees to task for adding their traditions to the law. Ceremonial cleansings, Sabbath limitations on what was considered work, tithing and more were subject to extensive writings by the Jewish leaders. They defined every aspect of the law to such an extent that they believed it was actually possible to merit the salvation of God by their very works. Christ repeatedly rebuked them for their traditions as it actually laid further burdens on the Jews, but did nothing to lessen the load. In doing so, the religious leaders barred the way of salvation to those who followed them.

The purpose of the law is not that we can achieve moral perfection before God. Scripture is again clear that, outside of Christ, every person is a slave to sin (Romans 6: 17, 20). We were born with a sin nature, therefore, we cannot help but sin. It has been said that we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. Christ made this evident when He spoke of the fact that it is not what is outside of ourselves that we take in that makes us unclean. Rather, it is that we are unclean in our hearts which works itself out in what we think, say, and do (Mark 7: 18-23). That is why He taught that it is not only the outward acts of adultery and murder that were sinful but also the very inward lusts and anger that we feel as well (Matthew 5: 21-22, 27-28). Therefore, the law’s purpose is that it exposes our utter inability to be morally perfect like God. For every command we fail to follow, we only expose that the condition of our heart is evil continually.

Thus the point of the law is not to give us the “how to” of making it to Heaven. Instead, it is the means by which we come to know we are utterly incapable of meriting the favor of God and are deserving of His wrath. Unless we have Someone who intervenes on our behalf, the law only illuminates that we have no hope of eternal life. Thus, it is the spotlight which points us to the Cross of Calvary where there is One who took the penalty for our sins.


In Christ Alone…But We Can Still Earn It, Right?

The cross is the place of the great exchange (Romans 5: 12-20). Jesus, the Son of God, fully God and fully Man, willingly laid down His life, taking the full wrath of God for sinners. It is at the cross where justice and mercy meet. Christ had no sin of His own for which He was crucified. He was perfectly sinless, having always obeyed the will of His Father. Yet, Christ allowed sinful men, who were deserving of His condemnation, to whip Him mercilessly and nail Him to a cross to die. This was a penalty for the worst of criminals. It was not only the most painful means of capital punishment but the most humiliating. Why would the Son of God endure such ignominy? Because such is the wages of our sin (Romans 6:23). It is what we deserve for the rebellion we have committed against our Creator.

In His love for us, while we yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). His perfect love for us was played out in that Jesus took on Himself the full wrath that we deserve for our sins. And after being in the grave for three days, He rose again, defeating sin and death. Those who see the vileness of their sin through the law and repent, putting their full faith in the completed work of Christ, receive forgiveness for their sins. Not through any merit of their own, but because not only took our sin on Himself but because He gives us His righteousness. Now the believer not only has his sins paid in full, but he is made perfect in the eyes of God. It is as if the believer perfectly kept every aspect of the law, down to the smallest detail, because Christ Himself has done so.

When we receive salvation from Christ, we are receiving the full and perfect love of God Himself. We can never be more loved by God now or in the future because the Father’s love for the Son is perfect. And because we now have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, we have the perfect love extended to us. This is the beauty of the cross, the great exchange that makes us the beloved of God.

The problem with us as Christians is that, while we have a new nature, we tend to still struggle with our old way of thinking. Where we once may have thought we could merit salvation from God through works, we now think that we can coax God into greater love or blessings by being really, really good. James teaches us that faith without works is dead (James 2: 20). And Paul made it clear the law still has a place in the life of the believer (Romans 3: 19, 6: 1-2). So it is indeed necessary that we seek to live our lives in obedience to the commands of God. Yet, we tend to think that our obedience earns us some kind of approval from God.

We can tend to believe that our times of study, prayer, worship, discipleship, etc. make God happier with us. As a result, we will credit any blessing in our lives to the fact that we have been obedient in these areas. Yet, when we fail to adhere to the spiritual disciplines we attribute any tribulation in our lives to these failures. As a result, we tend to think God blessed us because we were obedient, and gave us a smack down when we’re not. We find ourselves in another form of legalism that leads us to wrongly believe that God can still be bribed into blessing us through our good works.

This is not to say that God does not demand our obedience, or that He will not discipline us in our times of sin. Most certainly God desires to have us be conformed to the image of His son. And He will bring discipline into our lives when we sin against Him (Hebrews 12: 6). However, this is not a matter of quid pro quo. God isn’t nicer to us when we’re good and mad at us when we’re bad. He already loves us perfectly and has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Thus, His discipline is to draw us into a close relationship to Himself, purifying us and purging us of the sin that lingers in this flesh. We must disregard the notion that we can buy a greater love from God by our works. Christ already purchased that in full at Calvary, therefore, we are free to enjoy his great love and mercy now and into eternity.

So Why Should We Worry About Obedience?

In his letter to the Romans, Paul called on the church to pursue holiness and forsake unrighteousness. He rightly asked how believers, who had once been slaves to sin, continue in the very transgressions from which Christ freed them (Romans 6: 15-19). Continual repentance and the pursuit of holiness is not a work in which we merit salvation or approval from God. It is the conforming of ourselves to Christ, of whom we are now servants. And our desire to do so is motivated by our deep and abiding love for the One who set us free.

When Christ willingly surrendered His life at the cross, He took the wrath that we godless rebels deserve for our sins; past, present, and future. In other words, the price He paid for our salvation was the full wrath of God against every sin we would commit in our lifetimes. Every single one of them. Therefore, how can we have any desire to commit the thoughts and deeds, or speak the words which cause our Savior to be tortured and crucified? If we have no desire to obey the commands of our God, then we have no concept of what He did to redeem us. In the greatest act of love in all of history, Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself to save those who were yet in their sins. The only proper response to this act should be deep humility and undying gratitude from those who name Christ as Savior. Obedience should then be the result of our unceasing desire to be made like Him who died to purchase us.

When a condemned sinner turns from his lifestyle of sin and commits himself wholly to Christ in faith alone, He promised that the Holy Spirit would enter into that person and make them a new creation (2 Corinthians 5: 17). They are given a new heart, with new desires. The Holy Spirit then goes through the process of sanctifying the new man, conforming him to the image of Christ. The outworking of that sanctification should be that the Christian then pursues, out of love and humility, obedience to the commands of our Lord and Master. Thus, our good works are an extension of our salvation and sanctification, showing that God Himself has indwelt and changed us. Christians should care about obedience to God’s commands because it is that which helps us to see that we are bearing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5: 22-24).

If there can be one takeaway from this article, it should be that you cannot in any way merit God’s redemption or approval by the works you commit through your own effort. However, if you are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, one evidence of your saving faith is that God has worked in you an abiding desire to grow in your obedience toward Him. You will abhor the sin that condemned you more and more, and you will find yourself desiring to become more holy, just as He who saved you as holy. Christian, pursue good works, not that you may bribe God with some token effort, but that you may be conformed to Him that saved you by His precious shed blood.

“I’m Offended!” – The Anti-Intellectual Argument

August 16, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Postmodern philosophy declares that all truth is valid truth. Since every person’s particular definition of truth is considered to be, in fact, true, there can be no competing ideologies. In other words, everyone can hold to their own personal ideology, regardless of whether or not it can be proven true, because it is true in the mind of the beholder. Since it is true to the person holding it, it is not necessary to actually prove or defend said truth, as it does not have to be true in the eyes of any other person. This results in creating a personal echo chamber wherein truth holders surrounds themselves with only that information which affirms their belief and never allows anything in that could challenge their thoughts.

The problem with the postmodern belief system is that it still allows other persons or groups to belief and espouse truths that contradict our own. Despite the fact that multitudes of people attempt to live in their personal echo chambers, opposing belief systems will ultimately crash into each other. To use an extreme example, if a person believed that traffic laws did not apply to them, and that they could drive on any side of the road they chose, a person who believed the opposite would one day have a face to face meeting with them. Likewise, our individual belief systems impact how we think, speak, and act. No matter how much culture says your beliefs can only be your own, and hence, should not impact others, the reality is that we will act out on our beliefs in our interactions with other people. Therefore, our personal echo chambers cannot filter out other belief systems no matter how hard we try to plug our ears.

Once we are confronted with truths that contradict our thinking, especially if we hear those truths espoused en masse, we are forced to defend what we believe. This is one of the most difficult aspects of the post modern philosophy to deal with in practicality. We cannot isolate ourselves from the rest of society, so we must live with the reality that ideas have consequences. Our personal truths do not exist in a vacuum. They impact our lives in how we live, how we work, how we vote, and so forth. When people are allowed to pursue whatever truth they wish, they ultimately we live out those truths around us. They will speak to us and act toward us in ways that are inconsistent with our personal truths. We are then forced into a series of options: we can remain consistent with post-modernism, allowing their actions to impact our lives in uncomfortable ways; we can abandon postmodernism, returning to the search for truth by debating which belief is actually true; or we can determine that competing belief systems are intolerant and offensive, thus are not deserving of protection in the postmodern philosophy. It is this last option that has been resoundingly accepted in our current culture.

Continue reading

Christians and the Culture War – Love Your Enemy

June 17, 2017 / / 0 Comments

There is little doubt to anyone that our nation is heavily divided along socio-political lines. Some have argued that we may be more divided than we have ever been. While such a claim is one for the historians to determine, I certainly can state that I have never seen such animosity amongst opposing worldviews in my lifetime. It is no longer characteristic of our culture to have well informed debates over cultural topics. In times past we would lay out our case, making specific points to be heard and understood. We would have listened to our opponents, taking in what they said, and making counter points for consideration. Today, it is rare if such give and take occurs. Rather than seeking to win converts to our thinking through sound argumentaion, we seek their utter domination.

We now engage in debates with a winner take all mentality. No longer do we seek to hear the voices of those who disagree with us. In fact, to allow them to speak at all is considered tantamount to treason. After all, if they stand in opposition to what we believe, they cannot possibly have anything meaningful to say. Thus, rather than allow them a platform where their beliefs can be discussed, we seek to shut down any and all avenues where they can be heard. And if we cannot keep them from speaking, we must utterly destroy their character. For, if one is considered to be the most vile form of life, then there is no need to hear what they have to say. In fact, their worldview is to be considered so worthless that we claim to hold to it is to be mentally ill.

There is much that can be lain at the feet of this development in our culture. The philosophy of post-modernism, the idea that all truth is valid truth, certainly has its part to play. If truth is what I determine it to be, then no one can ever have a point that is counter to my own. If I can dismiss your argument by simply claiming it is your truth and not my own, then I never have to be challenged in my thinking.

Continue reading

Modern Day Jonahs

September 15, 2016 / / 0 Comments

angry-man-1441834773gytJonah Was a Prophet

In the Old Testament, God often spoke to His people through the prophets. These were people specifically chosen by God to speak His messages to His people. They were not to misrepresent God in any fashion. If they spoke falsely, or gave a prophecy that was not 100% accurate, they were to be stoned to death. To be a prophet was serious business, it was never to be treated lightly. Prophets spoke not only the foretelling of future events, but also the commands of God to His people. Often those messages included the command to repent of the sins against God which had brought judgment on them. If the nation of Israel would repent of its collective sin, God would deliver them from the judgment He had poured out.

Jonah was such a prophet chosen by God. Jonah had a unique mission in that he was commissioned by God to preach coming judgment, not to Israel, but to the Gentiles in Nineveh. The Ninevites were a pagan people who had oppressed the Jews. Such a nation was not viewed favorably by Jonah or any other Jew. When God directed Jonah to preach to Nineveh that His judgment was forthcoming, Jonah did not leap at the chance to preach to them. Rather, he booked the first ship to Tarshish he could find (Tarshish is NOT in Nineveh, just in case you were not aware). God sent a storm and a giant fish to forcefully bring Jonah back to the Ninevites.

Three days later, Jonah was spit up on shore and he was once again sent to Nineveh by God. Jonah arrived and preached the message he had been given, forty days and God would judge them. Then he sat back and waited for the judgment to come. But Nineveh understood what this meant. They had sinned greatly against the one, true God of the universe. They understood that his judgement would be righteous and true. They did not fall back on false worship of false gods to deter this judgment. They bowed the knee in utter repentance, seeking the gracious mercy of God. And God, because He has already promised that those in repentance toward Him will be saved, abstained from pouring out His wrath upon them. God mercifully spared them, a picture of the glorious gospel which was later fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Continue reading

How Fast Can You Go?

December 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

213732-muscle-car-wallpaperHow fast can you go? That seems to be the mantra of the modern age. Everything is a race of one sort or another. “The faster the better,” seems to be the motto of nearly everyone. Get me there fast! Fast cars, fast planes, fast trains, fast internet, fast, fast, fast. You never see anyone advertise, “we have the slowest” anything.

The world speeds by at a neck breaking speed. We want instant access, instant news, and instant messaging, and all under the “give it to me now and as fast as possible” mentality.
I have a question for you. When you die, how fast will you go into eternity? It will be the quickest trip you ever take. In the blink of an eye, you will go from being a breathing citizen on Earth, to either a citizen forever in Hell or Heaven. This fast fact is undeniable, you will die one day.
This should concern you greatly. Some may say, “When I die, I will just rot away in the ground and that’s the end of it.” But, what if that’s wrong? What if you will either spend eternity in Heaven or Hell? Then what? Where will you or anyone else be? Do you know?

The fast fact is this; you can actually know for sure where you will spend eternity. The Bible makes it clear that all who die will either be justly sentenced for their crimes against God in Hell or they will be given the reward of Heaven. The problem is, once you die there will not be a day in court to plead your case. The only time to have your sin crimes pardoned is now. Today is the day of salvation. That can only be accomplished through the work of Jesus Christ. The only way a person can be truly forgiven and escape the wrath to come is by the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.

Pride is the fast track to destruction. It’s the humble of heart and the repentant person that receives the adoption of Christ. I ask you, are you ready to stand before God and give an account of your life? When you die, you will stand before God and give an account for every word spoken, every secret thought, and every public or private deed. Because God’s very nature is perfect goodness, He is going to judge you according to the perfect, moral standard of His Law. If you’ve ever lied, stolen, or taken His name in vain, He will find you guilty of breaking His Law. Because God is good and Holy, He must punish your sin. And the only punishment for all sin against God is eternity in Hell. But, God is also merciful, loving, and kind. He provided one way to escape that punishment and that was through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was and is fully-God and fully-Man, without sin. He died on the cross a death He did not deserve, in order to take upon Himself the punishment you and I rightly deserve for our sins against God. He then forever defeated sin and death when He rose from the grave three days later. What God requires of you is that you repent (turn from your sin and turn toward God) and by faith alone, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Throw yourself on His mercy today, and beg He grant you the eternal gift of salvation.

© 2025 Voice of Reason Ministries

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑