Paul Ellis's Blog, page 4

What is the Righteousness of God in Romans 1:17?

Here is the most important paragraph in the most important letter ever written:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “but the righteous man shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17)

The revealing of God’s righteousness is just about the greatest thing that ever happened. But what is “the righte...

What is the Most Important Word in the New Covenant?

We who preach grace like to draw lines between the old and new covenants. We say things like, “In the old covenant, the emphasis was do, do, do, but in the new it is done, done, done.”

We talk about how everything changed after the cross, and how we are no longer under law but grace.

Instead of encouraging people to make promises to God, we proclaim God’s promises to us.

We ask questions like, “what makes the new covenant new?”

As a new covenant preacher, I love these sorts ...

God is Righteous in Making the Sinner Righteous

Years ago I heard Joseph Prince say, “God is righteous in making the sinner righteous.” When I heard this, my spirit responded with a hearty “Amen!”

But this was one of those times when my spirit grasped a truth faster than my brain. As they say, it was truth that was better “felt than telt.”

What does it mean to say, “God is righteous in making the sinner righteous”? I believed it with all my heart, but I couldn’t explain it.

Can you?

The puzzle God had to solve

When Adam...

What Verse Should they Display in Churches?

Imagine you have been asked to pick a verse to display in your church sanctuary. What verse would you pick?

Some churches display the Ten Commandments, which is not a good choice. The law is holy, righteous, and good, but it has no power to make you holy, righteous, and good. Displaying the Law of Moses will only stir up sin and agitate your flesh.

I would prefer to display the Law of Christ or the Law of Liberty. Since these are new covenant laws, there is no danger of them inflam...

Get The Silent Queen FREE – today only

When I wrote my book encouraging women to speak up in church, I got three types of responses from readers:

This is unbiblical – women need to know their place/stay silent, etc.This is unnecessary – women already have equal opportunitiesThis is what we need to hear – women have been silent for too long

The first two responses made up less than 10 percent of the feedback. The overwhelming message I heard was, “Thank you for writing this book!”

I heard from gifted women w...

Let No One Disqualify You

I enjoy watching marathons and ultras. I love watching runners flog themselves for miles and miles, and I cheer when they cross the line. But recently, I saw something that made me shout with despair.

Two runners were leading a field of world-class runners. They were well in front and it seemed certain that they would get gold and silver. Then disaster struck.

A camera motorbike turned off the course and both runners followed the bike. They were so focused that they didn’t realize they...

Out today – The Grace Bible: Philippians, Colossians & Philemon

Two weeks ago, E2R readers got a free copy of my grace-based commentary on Philemon.

If you prefer a printed book, you will be pleased to know that the new book goes on sale today. It is available on Amazon and other retailers in a variety of formats.

As a special bonus, it comes with two free extras: Philippians and Colossians. That’s right, you get three books in one!

The Grace Bible: Philippians, Colossians & Philemon is the latest installment in the Grace Bible series. With ...

Beware Dogs and Evil Workers

On our local community Facebook page, there was a police notice to beware an armed man who had attacked a local resident. That’s all it said. And judging by the comments under the post, it was the most useless warning ever issued.

“Who was the offender? Male? Female? What were they armed with? Flamethrowers? Were they on foot or roller skates?”

I appreciate the police tread a fine line when they issue these sorts of warnings. They don’t want to do anything that might lead to discri...

The Most Underrated Book in the Bible

The book of Philemon may be the most underrated book in the Bible.

Like some of Shakespeare’s obscure plays, Philemon is a book people say they’ve read when they haven’t. Have you read it? Do you know what it’s about?

If you were to ask your pastor or a theologian about Philemon, they would say it’s the story of a runaway slave, Onesiumus, who met Paul, became a believer, and was sent home to his master Philemon. Okay, so what? Why is this letter in the Bible? It contains no statem...

Have I Shipwrecked My Faith?

Some people spend more time thinking about their faith than they do about Jesus. They worry they don’t have enough faith or they may lose it. Which is a pity. If they spent more time thinking about Jesus, they wouldn’t worry about their faith.

Others worry that their faith is too small and needs to grow. And some fear they have shipwrecked their faith.

What does it mean to shipwreck your faith? It means your faith has sunk beneath the waves and you are going nowhere. The picture of shi...