Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 192

Seeing and Fearing God

John Donne wrote, “As he that fears God, fears nothing else. So he that sees God, sees everything else.”

In this video and the following transcript, I share some related thoughts:

There’s several components to Donne’s quote. One is that if you fear God, you don’t have to be afraid of anyone else. We’re all going to fear somebody. The question is, who?

It’s like when people talk about not feeling comfortable with the idea of fearing God. Well, get used to it. Scripture says we’re supposed to fear God, even though, yes, He’s our Father and some people quote 1 John 4:18 (“Perfect love casts out fear”). That is true, but we’re still told that in the right way, we’re to realize that God judges sin. If we sin, we should fear the natural consequences that are going to come out of that. So, when you fear God, you don’t have to fear anything else.

Likewise, when you see God, you can see everything else. I would relate that to something C.S. Lewis said, where he talked about light coming into a tool shed. When you see the light come in, it’s not simply that you see light. It’s that you now see everything else in the tool shed because of that light.

We see the whole world in the light that God brings us. In fact, in John 1:9 it says that Christ came into the world and He was the true light that enlightens everyone. Even the unbeliever, as a result of Christ’s incarnation in some way that we don’t even totally understand, is enlightened through His redemptive life and death. We’re able to see things as they really are.

Some people are always trying to work out their worldview and ask “What’s your opinion of this?” and “How do I look at this and how do I look at that?” What we really need is to see God and to contemplate His attributes. When we see God as He truly is, then when we look around and see ourselves and other people and the world, we’ll see all of that in light of God who we behold.

         

Related Resources

Blog: The Fear of God
Article: Is God Safe?
Book: We Shall See God

How should a Christian guy pursue a relationship with a Christian girl?

Brandon Andersen with The Resurgence has written great advice to men on relationships. Here's a summary of his article with some of his quotes, and then my own thoughts added in.

Be intentional

The intentional man repeatedly and constantly goes first and takes on all of the risk of rejection. He always lets the girl know where he stands so she feels secure and isn’t left guessing. (On the other hand, don’t weird her out by talking about marriage on the first date.)

I agree. Male leadership wasn’t the result of the Fall, but of creation (as Genesis implies and Paul makes clear in 1 Timothy 2). Loving servanthood should be a man’s goal.

Clean your act up today, not "when"

The lie is that once you find the right girl, all your problems will go away—you just need the right motivation, right? Wrong! If Jesus isn’t motivation enough to grow in maturity and pursue godliness, then you are not ready to pursue a woman.

This is great advice. Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Every man needs to realize that he will only be worth following if he follows God.

God wants to use the next years of your life to send your roots deeper into His Word, deeper into a walk with Christ. He wants you to draw from the reservoir of a solid Christian life, with strong personal accountability to godly men, and from that reservoir to stand strong for Jesus. Satan, on the other hand, wants to mess you up with pride, sexual impurity and every other thing he can do to discredit your testimony for Christ and derail you from serving Him, and from one day having a godly marriage.

Plan ahead

Don’t spend time with your girlfriend without a plan. Decide ahead of time the prudent time to say goodnight and where you should go.

Gaps always get filled, often with temptations to sexual impurity. Know what you’re doing and either stick with the plan or go somewhere safe, where you’re in the sight of others (particularly others who respect the need for purity). You can still have a private conversation even in a room full of people. But their presence will encourage you to focus on the conversation rather than on temptation to impurity.

Guard her heart

A mature man knows that the person that can do the most damage to a woman’s heart is him, and he takes that very seriously.

Philippians 2:3-7 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who...made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.”

Be very careful about physical touch

The Bible only outlines two categories for Christian women in relation to Christian men: either she is a sister in Christ or she is your wife. There isn’t a middle ground.

I would also encourage you to read through an article I’ve written that contains Guidelines for Sexual Purity. It’s material that I’ve presented to many young people and their parents over several years. When my now married daughters were teenagers, I honed it further for sharing and discussion with them and the young men who asked to date them. 

One of the things I say in that article is that it’s essential to realize that your date is your sister in Christ—NOT your “lover.” “Treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Timothy 5:2). Don’t go into dating with the goal of romance, but the goal of spending time with your sister. When you begin a relationship, a rule of thumb is, don’t do anything physically you wouldn’t do with your sister by birth.

If a Christ-centered and positive relationship develops, then you might move to cautious displays of affection such as hand-holding. But be alert to the difference between appropriate affection and intimacy. You must stay safely back from the line where either one is propelled toward sexual intimacy. It’s very hard to move back once you’ve crossed a line—so don’t cross it in the first place.

This person may end up being a lifelong friend, or married to your best friend. Don’t do anything with her that would cause you to be embarrassed or self-conscious if you end up being best man at her wedding.

It's important that throughout your relationship, you stay close to godly people who can give you advice based on God’s Word and who love you enough to tell you the truth...even when it hurts. One of the things I say in several of my books is that what is right is always smart, and what is wrong is always stupid. That which is for God’s glory is also always for our good.

Finally, let me recommend a great book by a man I respect, Voddie Baucham Jr. It’s called What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter. Whether or not God calls you and this woman together for the long haul, Voddie offers excellent counsel for you as you prepare for the future God has for you.

         

Related Resources

Blog: The Millennial Generation and Sexual Sin
Article: Guidelines for Sexual Purity
Book: The Purity Principle

This article orginally appeared in EPM's summer 2013 Eternal Perspectives magazine. You can read the full issue online.

Photo credit: EdwinP via sxc.hu

Why do Christians need to accept the whole Bible?

In an interview with Julia Stager, EPM staff member, she quotes A. W. Tozer who said, “Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a full Christian.”

We share some thoughts in this video and the following transcript:

Randy:

Great question. I think God has revealed to us what Scripture calls the whole counsel of God. Paul says in Acts 2:27, “for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” We’re not to preach just from our favorite portions of the Word, but all of it.

I think that is so critically important. Thomas Jefferson, who was a deist (not a Christian), had a cut and paste Bible. He literally cut out the portions of the Bible he liked and pasted them into a book. It became kind of the Thomas Jefferson Bible.

Without actually doing that physically, that’s what a lot of us end up doing in practice. We take those portions we like, such as all the portions about God’s love, eternal life, being happy and all these kinds of things, and leave out the irritating or disturbing portions—those pesky little things like suffering, eternal hell, accountability and standing before the judgment seat of Christ.

But we need the whole Bible.

Julia:

It’s tempting to just read the parts that we like. But then, like you’re saying Randy, the danger is living this “less than” Christian life. Because if the whole Bible is the whole counsel of God and all of it is truth, then to live based on half the Bible is to live not full of the truth. It’s only basing your life on half of the real truth.

Randy:

I have a lot of verses in my favorite Bible that I have underlined. Every once in a while I make myself look at the verses I haven’t underlined. I ask myself, “Why didn’t I underline that? What truth does God have for me there?”

         

Related Resources

Blog: God's Word as Our Primary Influence
Article: A Surprise Endorsement for Doctrine
Product: Eternity 101 DVD Set

Photo credit: doc_ via sxc.hu

Sharing the Message of Eternity

As I shared in a blog last week, I have a missional perspective on my graphic novel Eternity. God has laid on my heart a vision for seeding the book far and wide because it includes a clear gospel presentation, embodied in a parable of Jesus into which I’ve woven depictions of Heaven and Hell. The art is exceptional. I’ve looked at a number of graphic novels, and have seen nothing like it.

I would appreciate your prayers as this book is distributed. Our ministry is giving away thousands of copies from the first printing to prisoners, Christian camps, youth ministries, and various missions organizations, including Operation Mobilization’s Logos Hope ship which will bring it into ports in many countries. (The short word count and visual images are appealing to the huge number of young people in the world who know English as a second language.) It will also be translated, we hope, into many languages.

By God’s grace our ministry already sends over 1,000 books each month to prisoners. This one will be read by thousands of prisoners, many who find it hard to read conventional books. (By the way, when people are drawn to the gospel, and come to Christ through unconventional reading material THEN there is reason to hope they will become readers of conventional books, starting with God’s Word!) The book ends with encouraging them to get connected with a Bible-teaching Christ-centered church, which our staff will help them locate in their area. We have done this many times, and the results have been very encouraging.

If God lays it on your heart to help partner with our ministry in sending Eternity and my other books to prisoners, you may donate online (choose the option "Books for Prisoners Fund" under Special Funds) or send a check to EPM designated “books for prisoners” on the memo line. 100% of the donations to this fund will be used to finance the cost of the books and materials, as well as the shipping charges. 

Above all, we would value your prayers. EPM’s staff is asking the Lord to bless our efforts and use this book for His glory and kingdom purposes by transforming many lives.

         

“In the not too distant future, every one of us will move from time into eternity. May God use Randy Alcorn’s graphic novel Eternity to reach a lost and dying generation while there’s still time.”

— Ray Comfort, host of “The Way of the Master,” author of The Beatles, God and the Bible

“Eternity is a stunning achievement—dramatic, addictive, and an exciting way to make Scripture come alive. I’m predicting a huge, growing ministry that will get the Bible into the hands of people who just like a riveting story. I’ll be buying a lot of these to give away.”

— Jerry B. Jenkins, Novelist & Biographer; Owner, Christian Writers Guild

Partner with EPM in Sharing the Book (Plus a Special Offer)

We want to encourage you to read Eternity yourself (if you've never read a graphic novel, we predict you'll like it!) and to catch the vision of how you can share it with others. Here's four ways you can partner with us in sharing the book:

1. A "Buy-two-get-one-free" special

Purchase three paperback Eternity books from www.epm.org/eternity (retail $16.99, EPM price $13.59 per book), and during checkout, use the discount code eternityblog to deduct the full price of one book. Offer ends July 31, 2013. Limit one free book per order.

2. Send us your stories

We'd love to hear your stories of how God has used the book to impact readers. Send them to us online.

3. Support our “Books for Prisoners” fund

Help us send the book to prisoners nationwide. Donate online at www.epm.org/donate (under "Special Funds" select "Books for Prisoners”).

4. Join our Facebook party on Thursday, July 25

When: Thursday, July 25 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. PT (8:30 to 10 p.m. ET)

Where: Randy's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/randyalcorn)

What: Join us on Randy’s Facebook page to celebrate Eternity, the graphic novel. Ask questions and interact with Randy, plus get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the novel and receive a special offer from EPM. Did we mention we’re giving away prizes to those who participate? You won’t want to miss it!

You May Choose to Look the Other Way, But…

In this video interview with Julia Stager, EPM staff, she quotes William Wilberforce who said, “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know”, and asks what that quote means to me.

In the following video and transcript, I share some thoughts:

Historically, William Wilberforce was an abolitionist in England. He was a committed Christian who wanted to free all the slaves and abolish the slave trade. He was ultimately successful. His story is told in many places, including in the popular movie Amazing Grace. He had a relationship with John Newton (who wrote the song Amazing Grace) and Newton had a great influence on him.

But I think Wilberforce was saying here that when you see the realities of the slave trade, you can never go back. He used to stand up in Parliament, and would keep slave chains under his seat and pull them out and drape them around himself as he was speaking. He was so unpopular. Everybody was against him. Hardly anyone was in favor of abolishing the slave trade when he first spoke against it. But then, over time, he was successful. Literally just a few days before he died, slavery was abolished in England.

So how can we apply that quote today? How do you see that as still relevant?

When you see something evil, you see the reality of it. There’s no going back or denying it. That’s the way it should be anyway. I would apply that to something like sex trafficking. You read about it and watch a film of some of the things that are happening. You see it devastating the lives of children who are being used in such horrific ways. There should be no turning back.

The same is true when you see children who are dying of hunger and diseases that are treatable, or kids that need clean water. Once you see that, there should be no denying it.

And, of course, the big overlooked area today is abortion. I encourage everyone to look online at pictures of aborted children. It’s horrific. (A wonderful ministry called Abort 73.com has produced a simple two minute video showing the objective truth about abortion.) 

But from that point forward when you see the truth, you should never go back. We should always speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

         

Related Resources

Blogs: The Least of These
Article: Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce 
Book: Why ProLife? 

My Eternity Graphic Novel and the Unreached People Group in Our Midst

Before I get to today’s blog, I wanted to share an update on EPM’s finances for those who are interested. We are not panicking and we do not ever beg for money, but we are asking God to provide and I felt I should share our current situation with His people. If and only if you’d like to read more, you can do so here.

In last week’s blog, I introduced Eternity, my first graphic novel. Here’s a two-minute book trailer created by the publisher, Kingstone. Love the voice, don’t you?

I really have a missional perspective on this book. In a way, though it’s in English, because of its visual nature it’s like a translation into another language, a language that some people speak and some don’t. I’ve been realizing more and more that there are not only young people but many adults, especially men—and increasing numbers of YOUNG men—who just aren’t good readers. So, in silence, often in our churches as well as outside them, they go right on not reading even though they are technically literate.

These people are never going to read my books or 99% of Christian books, unless they find something that conveys a biblical message, moves their hearts to Christ, and motivates them to want to learn more. Many young people are becoming like an unreached people group that needs to hear the gospel in a form that is familiar and compelling enough to reach them.

While I believe that Eternity can reach some people who won’t read other books, I also believe it can be used of God to create a thirst for more and more reading. And I’m convinced it works the other way too. People who would never envision themselves reading a graphic novel are stunned to find there is not only a biblical message but profound theology that stirs them.

A note from the lead pastor of my church, Alan Hlavka, contained these encouraging words:

Last evening I read Eternity. I felt I was experiencing the vivid reality of my first months as a new believer, back in college—when the literalness of Christ’s life, death, power and presence overwhelmed my life. It really fed and challenged my heart. “First love” stuff was going on. I'm looking forward to reading this book again and again, and seeing the broad impact it's going to have in countless lives.

Bodie and Brock Thoene, authors of The Jerusalem Chronicles, said this:

Randy Alcorn’s Eternity has enormous power and potential as a ministry tool! Speaking to a generation steeped in video games and social media, Eternity’s design as an engaging, compelling graphic novel will grab young readers who would not willingly nor easily encounter the Gospel in any other written form...and then Eternity will urge them to find out more, and dig deeper!

I’d encourage you to consider using this book as a tool, as the Thoenes mentioned, and giving it to your kids, grandkids, kids at church, the youth pastor, the guy at work in his twenties, the kid across the street you think is on drugs, anyone who needs to hear the message. (See below; EPM is offering a “buy-2-get-1 free” special to help you share the book.)

I invite you to please pray with me about this book, asking God to use Eternity in a powerful way, to touch and change lives with the gospel of Jesus. By God's grace, our ministry will hear stories of people turning to Christ.

         

Partner with EPM in Sharing the Book (Plus a Special Offer)

We want to encourage you to read Eternity yourself (if you've never read a graphic novel, we predict you'll like it!) and to catch the vision of how you can share it with others. Here's four ways you can partner with us in sharing the book:

1. A "Buy-two-get-one-free" special

Purchase three paperback Eternity books from www.epm.org/eternity (retail $16.99, EPM price $13.59 per book), and during checkout, use the discount code eternityblog to deduct the full price of one book. Offer ends July 31, 2013. Limit one free book per order.

2. Send us your stories

We'd love to hear your stories of how God has used the book to impact readers. Send them to us online.

3. Support our “Books for Prisoners” fund

Help us send the book to prisoners nationwide. Donate online at www.epm.org/donate (under "Special Funds" select "Books for Prisoners”).

4. Join our Facebook party on Thursday, July 25

When: Thursday, July 25 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. PT (8:30 to 10 p.m. ET)

Where: Randy's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/randyalcorn)

What: Join us on Randy’s Facebook page to celebrate Eternity, the graphic novel. Ask questions and interact with Randy, plus get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the novel and receive a special offer from EPM. Did we mention we’re giving away prizes to those who participate? You won’t want to miss it!

Should we seek approval?

In this video and the following transcript, I share some thoughts on whether we should seek approval:

The answer is yes and no, and it depends on whose approval we’re seeking. In Galatians 1:10 Paul says “if I were still trying to please men [which is to seek their approval] I would not be a servant of Christ.” If we go around trying to make everybody happy all the time and seeking people’s approval, then we’re not going to live happy and contented lives. We’re not going to live lives that are on target for Christ.

Should we seek God’s approval? The answer is yes. It’s kind of strange to say that. We can say, “Wait a minute. We can’t seek God’s approval. It is not by works of righteousness that we have done, but it’s according to His mercy He has saved us.” Yes, but at the same time, Scripture talks about pleasing God. In John 12:43, Jesus actually condemned the Pharisees because they were seeking the approval of men but not seeking the approval of the only God who is the true judge. We need to realize that we can live our lives in ways that please God or displease God.

So by all means, let’s be motivated by seeking approval—but not the approval of men or the approval of our culture—but the approval of God. After all, He’s the righteous judge. We will stand before His judgment seat, not before anyone else’s judgment seat, not before our own judgment seat.

In the end, other people’s opinions of us won’t matter. Our opinion of ourselves won’t matter. God’s opinion is not just an opinion. God’s opinion is truth. And He is the One we should seek to please.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Mel Gibson, Image, and Character
Article: Living a Life of Grace and Truth for the Audience of One
Book: Deadline

Stock image credit: Krappweis via sxc.hu

What can a high school student do to be more like Christ?

In this video and the following transcript, EPM Staff Member Julia Stager and I discuss the question, What can high schoolers do to be more like Christ?

Randy:

I think the answer to that would be the same thing that anyone can do to be more like Christ. Certainly they can meditate on His Word; 2 Corinthians 3 talks about being conformed to the image of Christ, and that comes through meditating on Him. Certainly you want to (and this is very important for high schoolers) choose the right friends. Some friends are going to lead you the wrong way. The book of Proverbs is really about that, and has example after example of getting in with the wrong crowd. (I share more in this article.)

First Corinthians 15:33 says that bad company corrupts good morals. If you choose the wrong friends, you are going to become more like them. If you choose friends who love Christ, you’re going to grow in Christ.

Julia:

Yes. One of the things I thought of was how involved Jesus was in His community and in people’s lives. We need to really encourage high schoolers to be part of a church where they can both be receiving the Word of truth from someone they respect, but then also teaching it to those who are younger than they are.

         

Related Resources

Blog: God's Word as Our Primary Influence
Article: What advice would you give to young people related to their friendships?
Book:  The Ishbane Conspiracy

Stock photo credit: tome213 via sc.hu

Introducing Eternity, My First Graphic Novel

I’m very excited about my first graphic novel, called Eternity, which is based on Christ’s story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16. If you’re not familiar with the term, a graphic novel is an extended comic book form (128 pages, over 600 panels of full-color art).The book has just been released and is now available from our ministry in print and as an ebook.

While it is fiction, I have labored to make the book Christ-centered, Bible-saturated and theologically sound. The liberties I took largely involved expanding a 13 verse parable of Jesus by interjecting additional characters and a larger storyline of the gospel of grace, drawn from the whole counsel of God.

In this video, I share more about the book:

One day two years ago I spent an hour in the huge graphic novel section of a Portland Barnes and Noble. I watched the young people come and read, sitting on the floor, captivated by the art, dialogue and narrative captions. As I watched them, God touched my heart and I prayed for them as they came and went.  

I realized that very few if any of these young people ever attend church (hey, I live in Oregon), or would be open to reading the books I write, or 98% of other Christian books. I longed to reach into their world and introduce them to the true gospel of Jesus in a form they would actually read.

God laid it on my heart then and there to write a graphic novel that tells a story highlighting Christ’s person and redemptive work, a story full of grace and truth, one that speaks of the eternal destinations of Heaven and Hell. The graphics took two artists (who’ve worked with Marvel Comics) fifteen months to complete. I think they did an amazing job.

I was raised in an unbelieving home. I grew up reading comic books. I read them passionately and “graduated” to science fiction. Then, when I first heard the gospel as a teenager, I read every Christian book I could find, including the Bible. I came to faith in Christ through reading God’s Word, and my love for reading transferred over to Lewis, Tozer, Schaeffer, Packer, Spurgeon and countless others who I read voraciously.

Looking back, I’m grateful for the comics that developed my thirst for reading, because they were a “gateway” to reading Scripture and the great books of substance that have been a vital part of my life ever since. This much I know—had someone given me this graphic novel 45 years ago, when I was a young teen, I would have read it cover to cover, and would have heard the gospel for the first time in my life.

I'm convinced that through Eternity and its compelling art, God will not only allow me to reach a new audience, but also—and this is my prayer—to draw others who have read my books before into this new venue of graphic novels. If you like my other fiction, I think you’ll like this as much, maybe more. And for sure, you’ll know a young person to share it with!  Terri Blackstock, New York Times Best-Selling Author of Intervention and Predator, wrote after reading the book, “This is the first graphic novel I've ever read, and I found myself captivated at the fabulous art and the depth of story. Suitable for children and adults alike, I think this is going to be a big hit!”

So if you feel, “I’m too old/studious/theological to read a big comic book,” I’d encourage you simply to read a few pages and SEE. If you give it a try, I think you may be surprised at how engaging a graphic novel with beautiful art and biblical themes can be. It may have more depth and substance and be more edifying than you imagine.  

I’ll end with a note from author Max Lucado that contained these encouraging words: “Randy Alcorn’s graphic novel Eternity will touch hearts, grant hope and change lives. As a master storyteller, Randy takes us through the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus. I have read this biblical account many times, but I will never read it the same way again. Randy has brought it to life. I pray that God uses Randy’s work to bring an eternal perspective to every person who reads this work.”

         

Partner with EPM in Sharing the Book (Plus a Special Offer)

We want to encourage you to read Eternity yourself (if you've never read a graphic novel, we predict you'll like it!) and to catch the vision of how you can share it with others. Here's four ways you can partner with us in sharing the book:

1. A "Buy-two-get-one-free" special

Purchase three paperback Eternity books from www.epm.org/eternity (retail $16.99, EPM price $13.59 per book), and during checkout, use the discount code eternityblog to deduct the full price of one book. Offer ends July 31, 2013. Limit one free book per order.

2. Send us your stories

We'd love to hear your stories of how God has used the book to impact readers. Send them to us online.

3. Support our “Books for Prisoners” fund

Help us send the book to prisoners nationwide. Donate online at www.epm.org/donate (under "Special Funds" select "Books for Prisoners”).

4. Join our Facebook party on Thursday, July 25

When: Thursday, July 25 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. PT (8:30 to 10 p.m. ET)

Where: Randy's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/randyalcorn)

What: Join us on Randy’s Facebook page to celebrate Eternity, the graphic novel. Ask questions and interact with Randy, plus get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the novel and receive a special offer from EPM. Did we mention we’re giving away prizes to those who participate? You won’t want to miss it!

Appreciating the Protection of God’s Laws

In this video and the following transcript, I share some thoughts.

When it comes to God’s laws in Scripture, a lot of people wonder about legalism. How can you hold to the truth and still have a spirit of grace? How can you hold to truth and not be a law-keeping Pharisee?

One of the things we have to remember is why God gave us His law in the first place. I’ve used the analogy in my book The Purity Principle about driving along a mountain pass when it’s dark and foggy, and your car runs off the road and you hit the guardrail. You slam on the breaks and get out of the car with a flashlight. What do you do? Do you look at the fender of your car and say, “Oh no. That rotten guardrail! Why did somebody put that guardrail there? Now I’ve got a dented fender!”?

No, you thank God for that guardrail. It’s there for your benefit. That guardrail saved your life!

One of the things we have to remember is that God gives us His truth not just to impose His arbitrary standards on us. They are not arbitrary; they’re based on His character and given to us out of His love for us.

When we are living according to God’s truth, it is not so that we can say, “I’ve been obedient. Look at me, I’ve been a good boy or a good girl.” Yes, we can and should live to please God, but we can also honor the fact that He has given us His truths and commandments out of love for us.

I think we need to look at God’s truth and His requirements and commandments in a different way—not as heavy, burdensome things, but rather as things He created us to do to bring honor to Him. Ultimately they’re not only for His glory, they’re also for our good.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Are spiritual disciplines legalism?
Article: Protecting Purity in a Technological Corinth
Book: The Purity Principle

Road barrier photo credit: libyphoto via sxc.hu