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Tag Archives: Sin
What God has made clean (Acts 10)
“What God has made clean, do not call impure.” (15) Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any … Continue reading
What God thinks (2 Samuel 11)
However, the Lord considered what David had done to be evil. (27) Sometimes I think the Bible, especially the Old Testament history books (Joshua-Chronicles) would be so much easier to read if we saw more words like the above. So … Continue reading
Posted in Books of History, II Samuel, Old Testament
Tagged Bathsheba, David, seared consciences, Sin
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Helping the struggling (Matthew 23)
They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. (4) It is so easy to condemn those who are struggling with … Continue reading
Seeing our own sins (Matthew 7)
Yesterday, I was reflecting on Matthew 6:22-23, thinking about how healthy my spiritual eyesight is. Part of that is my ability to see my own sins and faults. It’s so easy to see other people’s sins and faults, and not … Continue reading
Posted in Gospels, Matthew, New Testament
Tagged judging others, self-deception, Sin
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The message of Christmas (Matthew 1)
She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (21) “He will save his people from their sins.” How much did those words shock Joseph? “My … Continue reading
Walking in darkness? Walking in the light? (1 John 3)
Verses 4-10 are among the more difficult in the Bible and can cause many Christians to doubt their salvation. Why? Because it seems to be saying that those who sin are not truly Christians. That is clearly not what John … Continue reading
Posted in General Epistles, I John, New Testament
Tagged children of God, light, Sin
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The wrong question. (I Corinthians 6)
The Corinthian church had a lot of problems. People were cheating each other. There was also sexual immorality in the church. And a lot of it seems to have come from this saying that had spread throughout the church: “All … Continue reading
The day the curse is reversed (Genesis 3)
As I was reading this passage, I thought about all the results of our sin. Guilt. Shame. Pain. Death. But worst of all, being cast out from God’s presence. And yet, God said something that gave hope to Adam and … Continue reading
If you are willing… (Psalm 51)
David had committed an unspeakable sin. He had murdered a man and taken his wife. In light of that, verse 7 really is quite stunning. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be … Continue reading
Posted in Books of Poetry, Old Testament, Psalms (All Articles)
Tagged forgiveness, leprosy, Sin
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Walking in the newness of life (Romans 6)
Just meditating today on verse 4 where Paul says, Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may … Continue reading
Our hope for a lost world (Jeremiah 16)
Jeremiah had a pretty depressing job. He was preaching to a nation that was being judged for their sin, and God had outright told him to stop praying for the nation. That even if Moses or Samuel prayed for Israel, … Continue reading
Posted in Jeremiah, Major Prophets, New Testament
Tagged fishers of men, prayer, salvation, Sin
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Failing to drive out evil in our lives (Judges 1)
One of the things God commanded the Israelites to do as to completely drive out the Canaanites from the land, and make no compromise with them. Why? Because of all their evil. And if they did not drive them out, … Continue reading
Angry at evil? (Acts 17)
This past week, in Japan (where I live), a terrible incident happened in which 34 were people were killed due to an arsonist who set fire to an anime studio called Kyoto Animation. A friend of mine, who is an … Continue reading
Keeping a pure heart (I Corinthians 5, Psalm 19)
Today I was reading I Corinthians 5 and Psalm 19, and as I meditated on them, the two passages connected in my heart. In I Corinthians 5, Paul was talking about sin in the church and the need to discipline … Continue reading
Posted in I Corinthians, New Testament, Old Testament, Psalms (All Articles)
Tagged pure heart, repentance, Sin
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A never-ending battle (I Chronicles 20:4-8)
If there was one enemy that often came against the Israelites, it was the Philistines. Time and again, the Israelites conquered them. Time and again, the Philistines came back to war against the Israelites. In the same way, as Christians, … Continue reading
Posted in Books of History, I Chronicles, Old Testament
Tagged battle, Sin, temptation
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How we see sin (2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51)
In these passages, we see one of the horrid sins of David, committing adultery with Bathsheba and then murdering her husband. And God had some hard words for David concerning that sin. “Why then have you despised the Lord’s command … Continue reading
Posted in Books of History, Books of Poetry, II Samuel, Old Testament, Psalms (All Articles)
Tagged despising God, Sin
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Clinging to what we shouldn’t (Joshua 7)
As I read the first few words of this chapter, these words struck me. The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. (1) It says here that the Israelites were unfaithful. How? Because of how they … Continue reading
Posted in Books of History, Joshua, New Testament
Tagged set apart for destruction, Sin, the world
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Calling evil, “evil” (Deuteronomy 19)
I’m thinking about my next message I’ll be giving at my church, where Jesus talks about “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” versus forgiveness. I think one thing that many people don’t realize is that “eye for eye, tooth for … Continue reading
Conscious of our sin (Psalm 51)
I’ve probably seen (and sung) this psalm hundreds of times. Today, verse 3 strikes me. David writes, For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. There are two kinds of problems Christians face when … Continue reading
How we see sin (Leviticus 20)
It strikes me here how God sees sin. It is perverse. (12) It is detestable. (13) It is depraved. (14) It is a disgrace. (17) It is impure. (21) Do we see sin, the same way God does? Or do … Continue reading
Revelation 21-22 — What cannot enter heaven
Yesterday, we talked about the glory of heaven and of God’s people. We saw all the wonderful things that will be in heaven. But there is one thing that cannot be a part of heaven: sin. And anyone who lives … Continue reading
Revelation 20:1-10 — Why people do evil
Why do people do evil? Does the devil make them do it? Are they simply products of their environment? The injustice, poverty, and the evil around them has so shaped them that they simply have no choice? Or is there … Continue reading
James 5:15-20 — A faith that pursues
The letter of James ends rather abruptly compared to a lot of the letters that you see in the New Testament. But it ends with one of its main themes: a faith that expresses itself in love. And here we … Continue reading
Ephesians 5:3-14 — Taking sin lightly
If there is one problem in this world, it’s that it takes sin lightly, even to the point of joking about it. But sin is not something to be taken lightly. Especially by Christians. So Paul says, But among you … Continue reading
II Corinthians 6:11-13 — What holds our hearts
There are some people that think II Corinthians was actually two or even more letters actually pieced together. Looking at this letter, I can see why, though I still believe it is one unified letter. Still, at one turn, Paul talks about … Continue reading
Posted in II Corinthians, New Testament, Pauline epistles
Tagged hardened hearts, rebuke, Sin
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I Corinthians 15:51-57 — The final victory
I really love these verses. Somehow, I’ve never gotten around to committing them to memory, but I think I may just do that over the next several days. It is Paul’s victory cry. He says, When the perishable has been … Continue reading
Romans 7:14-25 — Hope
As I mentioned before in my last blog, I do believe there is room for hope in our fight against sin. The main problem Christians fight in their struggle against sin is despair. And the question that most people ask is, “Am … Continue reading
Posted in New Testament, Pauline epistles, Romans
Tagged Holy Spirit, Sin, struggle, victory
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Romans 7:14-25 — Why we struggle with sin
Having given my prologue, let’s look at the text. Like I said, I can see why some people say Paul is speaking as a Christian and others say that he isn’t. Let’s start with the latter. If you look at … Continue reading
Posted in New Testament, Pauline epistles, Romans
Tagged flesh, Sin, sin nature, struggle
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Romans 7:7-13 — Just how bad is sin?
Paul says in verse 5, that while we were married to the sinful nature, the law aroused sinful passions within us. The natural question then becomes, “Is then the law bad? Is it in fact equal to sin? After all, … Continue reading
Romans 7:1-7 — Married to Christ
I mentioned before that there were two points that Paul was trying to make through his marriage illustration. The first, as we’ve already seen, is that when we die with Christ, the law’s power over us is broken. He illustrates … Continue reading
Posted in New Testament, Pauline epistles, Romans
Tagged Christ, death, law, marriage, Sin
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Romans 7:1-6 — A broken power
If anyone ever read this article four years ago, it’s undergone a massive change. Since that time, my understanding of this passage has changed, and as a result, this article has also changed. It was a passage that puzzled me … Continue reading
Posted in New Testament, Pauline epistles, Romans
Tagged law, old self, Sin, slavery
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Romans 5:12-14 — Bad infection
This is admittedly a tough passage to completely fathom, though I get the general gist. The most difficult part, I suppose, is our relationship to sin. The big questions we need to ask is, “Are we sinners because we sin, … Continue reading
Posted in New Testament, Pauline epistles, Romans
Tagged Adam, death, infection, Sin
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Romans 3:9-20 — But I’m not that bad
One thing that many people can’t seem to understand is how God could reject a person just because they don’t believe in Christ. “After all, there are a lot of good people in this world who don’t believe in Jesus. … Continue reading
Romans 1:18-32 — The problem of sin
As Christians, we often talk about salvation. But what are we being saved from? What have we done that is so bad that we require salvation? We find the answer in this passage, one of the darkest in all of … Continue reading
Posted in New Testament, Pauline epistles, Romans
Tagged condemnation, godlessness, judgment, Sin, wickedness
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Acts 5:1-11 — The seriousness of sin
This is perhaps the most shocking story in the book of Acts. It also shows us the seriousness of sin. Two people in the church, Ananias and Sapphira, had seen Barnabas generously sell some of his land to help the … Continue reading
John 14:15-31 — If we truly love Jesus
This is one of those passages that would probably make many people turn their heads if they really thought about it. Jesus says to start off, If you love me, you will obey what I command. (15) Think about that a … Continue reading
Luke 17:1-3 — Causing others to fall
Just a quick note: I’m currently on vacation back home in Hawaii. So, I may or may not be blogging every day as usual. We’ll see how things fall out. Speaking of falling, Jesus says here, Things that cause people … Continue reading
Matthew 5:29-30 — Whatever it takes
My favorite sports team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and back in the 70s, their coach was a man named Chuck Noll. Noll had a saying, “Whatever it takes.” In other words, “We do whatever necessary to win the game (within … Continue reading
Posted in Gospels, Matthew, New Testament
Tagged accountability, confession, Sin, temptation
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Matthew 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16 — The One who cleanses
I love the compassion of Jesus that we see in this passage. A man covered with leprosy came to Jesus, begging him, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. (Matthew 8:2) Being leprous back in those days … Continue reading
Posted in Gospels, Luke, Mark, Matthew, New Testament
Tagged forgiveness, Sin, wholeness
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Nehemiah 9 — God’s grace in the midst of our unfaithfulness
In this passage, we see the people coming before God to confess their sins. And in this prayer, we see two things. The unfaithfulness of the Jews and God’s grace. The prayer starts with how God created everything, and then … Continue reading
Ezekiel 21-22 — Standing in the gap
So many times, we complain about the evil that we see in this world. But do we really care? Do we care enough to do something about it? God in this passage tells Ezekiel to warn the people of the … Continue reading
Posted in Ezekiel, Major Prophets, Old Testament
Tagged salvation, Sin, stand in the gap
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Jeremiah 18:7-23 — Turn
When I was in Hawaii, I often had Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons come to my door. Even in Japan, I had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door, although since I’ve moved to my condo 6 years ago, I’ve had no … Continue reading
Isaiah 59 — A God far away?
Sometimes people complain, “Where is God in this world? I sure can’t see him. All I see is all the evil that’s here.” Actually, God is here. But the evil that dwells within us makes it difficult for us to … Continue reading
Micah 1 — Following the sins of others
We’re going to take a short break from Isaiah here for a couple of reasons. First, Isaiah is just about to prophesy against Jerusalem, and here, Micah does the same. And second, we need to do some catching up with … Continue reading
Moment to moment 