Liberating you from bad ideas about God
There is no greater threat to the unity of the church than legalism. To combat legalism, let us lives lives of outrageous, scandalous grace. The moment we set limits to God’s boundless grace is the moment we wrap ourselves in the dark bonds of legalism, but the moment grace is unleashed and unchained, legalism shrivels up and dies.
Is God a divine enabler? The book of Jonah says He is, which is why Jonah is so upset. As we see in Jonah 4:8, Jonah wants God to kill him, so that God will also kill the wicked and violent people of Nineveh. But this is not the way of God. God prefers to bless and forgive the people of Nineveh.
You might have heard someone say that God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice. It this true? Must God punish people for their sin? Does God punish people for sin? While it is true that God is both merciful and just, both forgiving and just, the question is How? This study of Jonah 4:7 explains more.
I love it when I am teaching about grace, and someone in the class objects by saying, “But if what you are saying is true, then why can’t I just go sin all I want?” When I hear this question, I know I have been properly teaching grace. If you do not hear this question when you teach about grace, you are probably not teaching grace.
I hold to radical, outrageous, shocking, scandalous, limitless grace. I believe that grace is so free, that yes, you can just go sin all you want. (Before you get upset at me for contradicting Paul in Romans 6:1, read the post.)
Grace is outrageous and scandalous. God extends it out of his love, simply because He is gracious. He would have extended it even if Jesus had not died. The death of Jesus on the cross was because of God’s grace; not the grounds for it.
In Jonah 1:3, Jonah pretty much slaps God in the face. He spits in God’s face. To put it more crudely, Jonah gives God the finger.
We will see in future episodes how God responds.
If you feel like you have sinned pretty badly, then make sure you keep listening to the podcast because you will be both challenged and encouraged.
Since the gospel of grace is opposite to the way the rest of life works, many people have great trouble accepting it. The offer of eternal is absolutely free, but this also makes it difficult to believe.
Have you ever sinned so great or for so long, you thought God could not forgive you? I have. Here is a tiny bit of my story and I came to understand the gospel and the grace of God.
This post compares and contrasts the two Joshuas in the Bible. The Joshua of the conquest could not be more different than the Yeshua (Joshua) of the Gospels. Take a look at how the two are different and then ask yourself which Joshua you follow.
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