Building on the Foundation

  From time to time, you’ll hear a Christian say something along the lines of, “I know I’m a sinner,” “We’re all sinners,” or “Everyone is a sinner.” You and I and many others have probably all said something along these lines at some point. The problem is, these statements contradict the Word of God! To see how, we need to see how the Bible uses this term. We need to see exactly who the Bible describes as sinners, and what it says about them. Who Is a Sinner? First, God’s Word repeatedly contrasts sinners with the righteous. For instance, Psalm 1 tells us, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Psa. 1:5). Again, in Prov. 13:21, we find, “Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous, good shall be repaid.” The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungo...

“Noblest of goals, brightest of coals, though righteousness is our aim, we have only ourselves to blame.” These words stir something in me, a longing for something, a desire for a purpose higher than myself, and yet also a sense of failure as I sin again and again. No matter how hard I try, I always seem to make the same old mistakes over and over again which prompts the question, how hard am I really trying?  Do I love God with my whole heart and my whole might?  It’s a fair question and it necessitates a deep soul searching to find the answer. It also requires learning what righteousness actually is, and thankfully, there is no better resource for that than the Bible. Serving God is not easy, and it's made that much harder by trying to live with one foot in the world. We want to have our cake and eat it too.  Practically, we cannot serve two masters, for they both require our full devotion. God demands our full loyalty if we set out to serve Him. It turns out, we cannot...