Why should we obey God at all? That’s the question we’re discussing on The Hero of the Story. Listen in as we discuss: The background of 1 John 2 and John’s unique writing styleSome of the different ways “world” is understood in this passageWhy we need to understand the importance of obedience to Christ while differentiating between it and...

Reading parts of 1 John can be confusing—if we don’t understand the letter’s context. As we read, we might wonder if we are saved—if anyone is saved—because John seems to say that if we sin (and we all do), then Christ is not in us. But that is not what he was saying. John was writing to the early...

What’s the difference between sin and temptation? That’s the question we’re addressing on this episode of The Hero of the Story. Listen in as we discuss: How Scripture reveals the relationship between sin and temptationWhy it’s important to see these as related but not equivalentThe difference between internal and external temptationHow this doctrine relates to the gospel and how we...

We often use words like sin and temptation as if they are synonymous. But is there a difference between the two? Let’s find out. Temptation is not the equivalent of sin. Where sin is the act of disobeying God in thought, word, or deed, temptation is different. In one sense, temptation is what happens when we feel the pull...

The Letter to Philemon is a short letter. Paul was succinct and direct in his brotherly exhortation to Philemon. Paul opened by identifying himself as a prisoner for Christ, and he identified Philemon as a fellow worker in the Lord, one who provided space in his home for the gathering of the church in his city. Paul’s purpose in...

As a father of three children, I want my kids to do what is right. I want them to honor and obey their mother, my wife, when she tells them to do something. I want them to respect their teachers. I want them to obey God. But it is much more than that. I don’t just want them to...