SPEAKING OF LIFE


Sin and not despair?

to sin and not to despairIt is very surprising that in a letter to his friend Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther admonishes him: "Be a sinner and let sin be mighty, but more powerful than sin be your trust in Christ and rejoice in Christ, that he is the sin, has overcome death and the world.

At first glance, the request seems incredible. In order to understand Luther's admonition, we need to take a closer look at the context. Luther does not describe sinning as a desirable action. On the contrary, he was referring to the fact that we are still sinning, but he wanted us not to become discouraged because of fear that God would withdraw His grace from us. Whatever we have done when we are in Christ, grace is always more powerful than sin. Even if we have sinned 10.000 times a day, our sins are powerless in the face of God's overwhelming mercy.

This is not to say that it doesn't matter whether we live righteously. Paul knew immediately what was coming and answered the questions: “What should we say now? Should we then persist in sin so that grace may become all the more powerful? replied as follows: Far be it! How should we want to live in sin when we...

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Is there an eternal punishment?

235 is eternal punishmentHave you ever had reason to punish a disobedient kid? Have you ever stated that the punishment would never end? I have some questions for all of us who have children. Here comes the first question: Was your child disobedient to you? Well, take some time to think if you are not sure. Okay, if you answered yes, like all other parents, we come to the second question: Have you ever punished your child for disobedience? Let's come to the last question: how long has the punishment lasted? More specifically, did you state that the punishment would continue? That sounds crazy, right?

We, who are weak and imperfect parents, forgive our children if they disobey us. We may punish you even if we think it appropriate in a situation, but I wonder how many of us would consider it right, if not crazy, to punish her for the rest of her life.

Yet some Christians would have us believe that God, our Heavenly Father, who is neither weak nor imperfect, punishes people forever and ever, including people who have never heard the gospel. And…

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