How do the words “The righteous shall live by his faith” go from a context of hope in hopelessness to the cornerstone declaration of the chief doctrine of the Christian faith?
As soon as people understand what crucifixion means, the cross becomes offensive.
This is the third installment in the 1517 articles series, “What Makes a Saint?”

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Every day, in everything we do and experience, we are busy hearing, seeing, and telling stories.
We don’t need to make forgiveness, life, and salvation a hard sell.
Far too many Christians read the Bible as if a dam has been built between the waters of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
I had been taught and believed in a God who is love, but as I walked outside that night I did not see him. I saw the stars and I felt their indifference.
Jesus Christ has finished his work of delivering you from the consequences of your sins and the brokenness of this fallen world.
I wish I was better at seeing the bigger picture. Or maybe, I wish I was simply better at seeing the larger scope of its beauty.
Rather than validate our selfish, self-serving choices, he justifies us by giving us new life and baptizing us into his death and resurrection.
The distinction between Christ-for-you and Christ-in-you can present a misleading dichotomy.
God isn’t fooled by our fake piety. He would rather have us venting honestly than faking it.
Jesus and the New Testament—good. Yahweh and the Old Testament—not really so good. So goes the popular, but largely whispered, dichotomy.
We must be careful in how we are answering this question. So often we fall into the trap of basing on our assurance on what we are currently doing or not doing.
The focus of 1 Peter on baptism is one that has puzzled many people.