“The fear of the Lord” is our heart’s awakening to and recognition of God’s outrageous goodness.
The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we.
This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 in Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life (1517 Publishing, 2025). Sinner Saint is available today from 1517 Publishing.

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We still think that if we just teach people to "be good" we are getting them closer to God, which is like saying if only this dead person could be propped up to exercise, he would start moving again.
A truly Christian work is it that we descend and get mixed up in the mire of the sinner as deeply as he sticks there himself.
The following is an excerpt adapted from “Let the Bird Fly” written by Wade Johnston (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Perhaps the most poisonous venom to afflict the gospel is the notion of "balancing" grace.
Jesus does not say to us, “Try really hard, and you will be better.”
Jesus Christ has finished his work of delivering you from the consequences of your sins and the brokenness of this fallen world.
What is supposed to be given by Christ through us for neighbor is used up by us, twisted for our righteous gain.
Here’s a little “devotional” for you; some thoughts on Law and Gospel from Gerhard Forde. Drink deep, drink full. These are rich streams of thought.
We are so free as Christians that we don't even have to compare ourselves to other Christians.
As I weigh briefly here the advantages and disadvantages of preaching original sin and preaching actual sin, I don’t mean to argue for one and against the other. Instead, I mean to suggest a benefit in focusing a given sermon on one or the other, and that neither type of sermon should be the only type a Christian hears.
In this religious Sodom, we had a Jesus with the heart of Moses whose gospel was a new and improved law.
All God's fatherly goodness and mercy is concrete and real, born of a virgin, crucified for our trespasses, raised for our justification.