To some degree, everyone projects an outward appearance that may not square with inner reality. Regarding salvation, it’s easy to make yourself and others believe that all is well when it&rsquo…

Some people will tell a falsehood, saying to themselves, “it’s only a little white lie.” But to God, it’s a sin, and sin is never a good idea, no matter what good we think may…

It’s clear the Apostle Paul knew nothing of political correctness. He catalogs the depth of human depravity in chapter three of the book of Romans. It’s a list many would argue with, but …

Our best attempts at goodness will never please God, who sees every act of human goodness as a filthy rag, compared to His own righteousness. Even the best of lives—filled with charity, philant…

Romans chapter three builds a case for the revolutionary idea that God demands perfect righteousness from us. All of us have sinned, and God's wrath against sin is enormous and should never be undere…

Paul’s reasoning is complex, but clear. He proves that all of us are under a just condemnation for sin, but that all who believe in Jesus are rescued from that condemnation and given a robe of …

The book of Romans has played a major role in world history. By reading its pages a man came to faith in Christ, a man whose actions began a tidal wave of spiritual power across Europe and around the…

The slightest trace of sin will disqualify you from the presence of God forever. Martin Luther understood this and therefore spent hours each day confessing his sins. But even then, he knew that cons…

Faith can destroy you if it is not based on the truth. Faith in the wrong place is worse than no faith at all, because it creates false confidence in empty promises. And when it comes to salvation, t…

When Paul wrote to the people of Rome, he gave conclusive evidence that no ritual can bring salvation. He let his Jewish readers know that their father Abraham was not justified through circumcision …

Hopelessness and despair are rampant. In a recent year, almost 37,000 Americans saw no way out of their misery, and then committed suicide. They saw ending life as their only escape. But one of the g…

There’s more to being saved than most people realize. It involves being given a series of wonderful gifts from the hand of God. And those gifts include the trials we experience, trials that pro…

In the garden of Eden, an infection entered humanity. That infection has since spread to every one of us. The infection is sin, which means “missing the mark” of God’s standards, an…

Sin entered the world through Adam, but righteousness came through Jesus Christ. Thanks to Jesus, there is a way to recover from the damage Adam did. We will all die, and our deaths will be an entry …

After the first murder recorded in the Bible, Cain had no remorse for killing Abel. Rather, he bemoaned his fate of being made a restless wanderer. He was self-absorbed in his own circumstances. Sin …

We are all selfish. We all put ourselves first, and want to make ourselves look good, competent, and successful. This is what sin has caused in us. And until we’re redeemed by faith in Jesus, w…

There is no “safe” sin. We might be tempted to excuse our wrongdoing, claiming we can control our sin, but it will always demand more. Sin is not static, and its ultimate destination is d…

The enemy of our souls will do anything to keep us mired in the sins we used to commit. Jesus sets us free from the compulsion to sin, and we must be diligent to avoid situations that might cause us …

Most of us go about our business, thinking we’re in control of our lives. But God sets the agenda, and He knows what is best. Many believers have never seen themselves as clay on a potter&rsquo…

Seeing ourselves as clay in the potter’s hand helps us to avoid believing the myth that we are in control. We frequently don’t like the stresses of being shaped by God. However, as the Po…

There is only one way to reach God, and that’s through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If this sounds too exclusive, you may have fallen victim to the icon of tolerance. In the name of toleranc…

You can’t get to heaven by picking out your own religion as you might shop for a new coat. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.…