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.
On its journey from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul, this special place helps us understand the broader arc of Christian history, which goes on until Christ's return.
We needn’t fear statistics and studies as palm readings into a certain future. God is God, and his Spirit is alive through his Word.

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The law does not end sin, does not make new beings, it only makes matters worse.
Our scars are a reminder that salvation is all gift.
This text gives us only a glimpse, a preview, of God’s plan in Christ to restore his broken creation to its physical and social perfection.
For a long time, well-intentioned pastors and college evangelists have applied Jesus’ words from Revelation 3:20 to the unconverted.
The message of forgiveness of sins is and will always be what makes Church, Church.
Imagine what it would be like if, when people in our community thought about this congregation, the first thing that came to mind was how forgiving we are.
The optimism of a Christian extends beyond the deathbed and has its origin in a historical event without historical boundaries.
The gospel is a one-way rescue by God, through Jesus, for sinners, courtesy of the Holy Spirit exploding faith into an individual who is hearing the good news.
Forgiveness, not love, can restore a relationship that’s top-heavy with negative emotions.
By pouring out his life unto death, Jesus reverses our death.
No, we may not be casting out demons, but the battle continues and all of God’s people are involved in it. At baptism, we are taken from the Kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of God.
The danger of denying the truth of our common human fallenness and brokenness by original sin is that the denial of this doctrine may also lead us to the denial of Christ as our Savior.