5 top Christian blog posts of the week—posts on Christ’s grace for past sin, His grace for sexual sin, Jesus in the OT, and more by Jonathan Dodson, David Powlison, Jesse Johnson, Denny Burk, and more.
Grace Works Backwards
Does your past in still haunt you? Then read this very candid and incredibly encouraging post by Jonathan Dodson. Grace Works Backwards. Here’s a sampler:
“Then one day it hit me: I hadn’t allowed the gospel to work backwards. Sure, I was forgiven, but I hadn’t allowed God’s grace to seep back into my past. It was like I only saw myself as receiving grace from my gospel awakening forward. No wonder I saw failure everywhere I used to live. Then, in a stroke of mercy, I embraced God’s acceptance of the past version of myself. I begin to grasp that Jesus died not just for pre-Christian sins, but also post-conversion sins. I allowed the timeless, eternal gospel to touch down in other parts of my timeline. Redemption began to work in reverse. The effect was liberating. The old shame lifted. Christ became sweeter. Sin became more bitter. Grace, all the lovelier. Have you allowed Jesus to redeem your past? Are there places, stories, on your timeline where you need to let grace in?”
An Open Letter to Those Debilitated by Their Sexual Sins
Hebrews 11:4 tells us of Able, that though dead, his life yet speaks to us—we can still learn lessons from him about trusting God. The same is certainly true of David Powlison, who, though he is now with his Savior, his life and writings still speak to us. Such is true through An Open Letter to Those Debilitated by Their Sexual Sins. David begins:
“Dear friend, What do you do when you are still struggling? What do you do when repeated failure, guilt, and shame weigh heavily on your conscience?
Let David’s words of Christ’s grace speak to you in An Open Letter to Those Debilitated by Their Sexual Sins.
10 Thoughts on the Billy Graham Rule
Many Evangelicals are now being criticized for following the “Billy Graham Rule”—about not being alone with a member of the opposite sex. Denny Burk responds to this newer controversy with ancient wisdom in 10 Thoughts on the Billy Graham Rule.
10 Questions for Pro-Choice People
In the secular, Western culture of our day, it seems like pro-choice people are always putting pro-life people on the spot. Writer Andrew Haslam asks 10 Questions for Pro-Choice People that, if listened to without bias, would force any person to think deeply—and perhaps rethink—their stance on abortion.
Should Jesus Be the Point of Every Old Testament Sermon?
Pastor Jesse Johnson asks and answers the question Should Jesus Be the Point of Every Old Testament Sermon?
Join the Conversation
Which post impacted you the most? Why and how?
What additional blog posts from the past week do you recommend?
