Reasonable Faith -

Grace has a powerful partner, truth. Grace and truth are inseparable. Grace without truth is passive, powerless and ineffective. True grace is confronting and will mercilessly attack lies.

Why do so many of us ‘return to our vomit’? (See Proverbs 26:11). Why do we so easily permit inexcusable sin, like pornography? Why is the Western Church engaged in as much, if not more, sinful behaviour than ‘the world’ it claims to be ’set apart’ from? I have often thought, ‘Is the Gospel really powerful enough? Can it permanently change people in the 21st century?’

It might make sense that God’s love is affected by our works, but is it true? Has my struggle with God’s disappointment with me because of my continual sinning have any factual basis? My difficulty with a gospel of grace is not completely unfounded. There have to be some reasons why God loves me. For Him to love me for no reason at all seems shallow.

I’ve always thought prayer was important, but I can’t say it’s always been meaningful. To be honest, it’s been downright difficult and something I have often avoided. Prayer has been like some sort of Christian chore, dutiful but not delightful. So what’s the problem here? Why don’t I like communicating with God?

God is good, the Bible tells us, and I have committed my life to this good God. You would think having a sovereign ‘good’ God in charge of your life would guarantee an exemption from ‘bad’ things. But if you have been a Christian for any length of time you will discover, as I have, this is simply not true

The hate of God? Don’t you mean the love of God? Hate is a topic we hate to talk about, especially when it is associated with God. There are verses in the Bible (especially Old Testament) that seem to contradict our belief that God is love

‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11:6). So it stands to reason, God must be displeased if we ever doubt. When we think God is disappointed with us because of our doubts (which are inevitable) our Christian walk will turn into a struggle that some people can’t handle…

Believing that God is totally good is as fundamental as believing He exists. We need to believe in the complete goodness of God otherwise there’s no hope for eternity. What kind of future do we have if the God who put this world together isn’t consistently good?

How then should we respond to God’s grace? Refusing this great gift is clearly not what He desires, but neither does He want us to abuse it. So where’s the line? How do we responsibly use the grace of God?

I find it amusing when I hear people proclaim great change in an ‘awesome testimony’ only a few days after an inspiring event or conference. It’s like claiming you have a great marriage the second night of the honeymoon. Consistency over time will decide whether that is the case…

Doubts affect all of us. They are a part of life and we should be honest about them because God certainly is. The Bible doesn’t cover it up or condemn people who experience it…

Is the Bible foolish, harsh and out-of-date? Does it have any right to condemn homosexuality? What can this ancient book tell us moderns, who have walked on the moon and invented things like hair spray, about what is right and wrong and how to live?

‘I see example after example of Christians, after being convinced homosexuality is a sin, try to deny their homosexuality, only to fail. I’ve talked with gays who desperately want to be righteous before God by being heterosexual, but their sexual desires never shift.’