If Sin Has Its Own Consequences, Are We Really Forgiven? (podcast)

Faith or Magic? December 16, 2015

Many Christians today treat faith like magic. While the content of what Christians believe is obviously different from pagan practitioners of magic, the way they believe and the motive they have for believing, seems to be very similar. Magic is generally understood to involve people engaging in special behaviors that empower them to gain favor…

Challenging the Habit of Judgment October 31, 2017

Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matt 7:2). In our world where we encounter a nearly constant stream of judgments on social media or the news,…

Lighten Up: The Wisdom of Forgiveness August 21, 2012

When Repentance is No Longer Possible July 18, 2017

A concerned follower of ReKnew recently asked me to explain a puzzling passage, and since I am asked this question with some regularity, I thought I’d share with all of you. Here is the passage in question: Hebrews 6:4-6. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have…

The Danger of the Penal Substitution View of Atonement November 20, 2014

About 25 years ago I was traveling on the freeway to somewhere or other and I stopped at a truck stop to get a bite to eat. I sat down at the counter next to this scruffy truck driver who had just started his lunch, and we started up a friendly conversation. Within about fifteen…

The Nature of Temptation November 16, 2017

How does temptation work? Based on James 1:13-16, Greg unpacks the way that desire can give birth to sin. But desire is actually rooted in our longing for God, and the desire itself—and therefore the temptation itself—is not in and of itself a sin. God created us with a “hungry heart” so that he could…