One might say that the first statement of the Reformation was that a saint never stops repenting.
Wisdom and strength require bootstrap-pulling and the placing of noses to grindstones.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

All Articles

Forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and eternal life aren't handed out by God because we deserve it.
One of the common things I see my congregants struggle with is the concept of forgiveness. Contrary to what I had assumed would be the case, I find congregants don’t struggle so much with giving forgiveness as they do living with forgiveness.
God lit within these ashes the fire of a promise: whoever they touched, that person became clean.
But when God's Word of Law and Gospel are tuned up, when they're properly distinguished, then Jesus' words rain down on us like thunderbolts.
He barely wakes to find himself nearly dead; even so, he can’t feel a thing.
I grew up with a great deal of guilt. It still keeps me up at night. For one reason or another, I was convinced I hadn’t done enough to be loved by God.
In his Gospel account, Luke challenges us to play "Where is Jesus?"
The devil is effective with this attack because it calls out all the things a Christian sinner experiences as simultaneous sinner and saint.
Every Christian is abundantly rich through baptism.
Christians are Christians not because of anything that they have done but because of everything Christ has done for them.
Many Christians (including preachers) have succumbed to the idea that good preaching must be about practical living, and so most sermons are geared to scratch this pragmatic itch.
I once heard an old, retired Lutheran professor give in interview on a podcast. He was asked by the interviewer why people should bother going to church if they could just be saved through a personal relationship with Jesus?