The 15 Vices of Galatians 5:19-21 and How to Resist Them

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Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. — Galatians 5:19-21

Think how often you are left standing there asking yourself, “Why did I do that? What was I thinking when I said that?” Words escape your lips, and thirty seconds later you regret what you said. Yes, this is the war of desires that roars within us. This is how sin stays alive within us our whole life long. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul writes:

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Gal. 5:17)

And it doesn’t get easier the longer you are a Christian and the more mature you grow. As Luther pointed out, the more godly a man is, the more he feels the battle. And Calvin put it this way: we don’t even perceive our full depravity until we mature like a tree. Our growth in sanctification is not a realization of how holy we are, but it is humiliation at how often the flesh gets its way.

Yes, the war between the flesh and the Spirit wages throughout our lives. This side of heaven, there is no armistice in this conflict—no peace treaty. Yet, this truth of our life, our ever struggle with sin, should not cause us to despair. At first glance, this battle is fairly discouraging: the flesh will get its sinful way until we die.

The guidance of the Spirit is greater than the flesh.

Yet, the unceasing hostilities don’t mean that the flesh and the Spirit are equally matched. The score doesn’t remain tied. Rather, Paul writes,

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Gal. 5:18)

The Spirit is our general, our tour guide, our master. The guidance of the Spirit is greater than the flesh, for the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.

The Spirit gets the better of the flesh not merely by getting us to do the good, but by making us forsake our works to trust only in the works of Christ. The Spirit leads us to the once and forever victory over sin and the flesh—the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit enables us to recognize that even our better works are still tainted with sin. The Spirit leads us to Jesus and reminds us of our justification, all of grace and through faith alone. Our best moments of obedience and love still fall very short of perfection. As we fail to do, the Spirit sets before our hearts that Christ did it all for us. This is the beauty and sweet comfort of the Spirit of Christ.

Though, in our battle with the flesh, Paul does want to remind us what are the deeds of the flesh. Even if we still stumble, the Spirit calls us to resist the flesh, to put to death the fleshly deeds. We need to know what deeds and desires must be killed off by the Spirit working in us. So, Paul gives us a list of the flesh’s works, which he says are evident. Having the Spirit, it isn’t hard to recognize the flesh. Yet, he does give us a list of 15 vices to deepen our perception of the ways of the flesh and to give us a more profound discernment so that we resist the flesh better and not be blind to its sophistication. Now, this list of 15 can be grouped into roughly 4 categories.

SEXUAL PERVERSITY

Sexual Immorality (1), Impurity (2), and Sensuality (3)

The first three vices fall into the first category of sexual sins: sexual immorality, impurity and sensuality. These cover transgressions such as premarital sex, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, prostitutes, strip clubs, and so on. And it is fitting that Paul puts this category first, for sexual sin is one of humanity’s deepest flaws.

The created good of sex in marriage is perverted most often. Thus, we need to remain vigilant against these desires and not be complacent—but for the grace of God there we go as well. This is especially the case as our culture is constantly sticking in our faces sexual temptations. In fact, sensuality to which Paul is referring here particularly has the sense of losing all self-control and restraint.

Exercising this self-control isn’t just about our will toughing it out; rather, it is built into our life structure, into our community. We avoid tawdry places, we block perverse websites, and we help each other by keeping one another accountable. Paul’s command—not to fulfill the desire of the flesh—is helpful here.

Sexual lusts can just pop up in our minds with little provocation. If God hadn’t made humans so beautiful, this would be a lot easier. But that handsome fellow or pretty lass walks by, and the lust appears. Such lusts may always be with us, but by the Spirit we do not complete such a desire; rather, we confess it and replace it with a pure desire. When it comes to fighting and controlling sexual desires, thank God we are led by the Spirit and that we are not under law, but under the mercy of Christ.

OTHER RELIGIONS

Idolatry (4) and Sorcery (5)

The second category of vice here takes up the next two items: idolatry and sorcery. The temptation of other religions or unbelief belongs to the flesh, and this includes both overt idolatry as well as perverse worship outside of Christ. If we worship Christ in any way not commanded in his word, we fall into this sin. As church history makes clear, we are ever prone to worship God how we want to and not how God wants us to. Along with idolatry, Paul tacks on sorcery or magic—the dark arts of the occult.

This isn’t about fun tricks of making things disappear; rather, magic is about tapping into a power that is outside of or independent of God. And it is using this power to harm others, protect yourself, and gain success for yourself. Sorcery is about you controlling your fate, your destiny. Magic is a sort of self-idolatry, as you seek to gain powers that only belong to God. As superstitions and spirituality becomes more prevalent in our culture, we should not play with such things as if they are just a bit of fun.

ANTI-SOCIAL SINS

Moving on to the third category of vices, Paul makes this one the largest with 8 vices, which can be grouped as anti-social sins—those that destroy community and relationship, especially the church. These are the anti-social 8.

Enmity (6) and Strife (7)

The first two are a pair: enmity and strife. Enmity refers to hatred that will kill. It is loathing another and desiring his or her harm. Enmity was the tension between Eve and the serpent; the history of the two seeds was written with enmity. Enmity is what made killing in the Old Testament first-degree murder.

Strife, however, is better thought of as rivalry, which is hostile competition with a friend or neighbor. Rivalry promotes itself by pushing others down. Rivalry doesn’t earn its progress, but it swells itself by shrinking everyone else. Rivalry likes to feud in order to come out on top. Enmity prefers to kill and destroy; rivalry wants to shame and disgrace.

Jealousy (8), Anger (9), Self-Ambition (10), and Envy (11)

The next four vices team up well, which include jealousy, anger, self-ambition, and envy. Jealously and envy, of course, lust for what others have—either their possessions or position. The first ingredient in envy is discontentment with what God has given you. The discontentment develops resentment and bitterness, and the resentment matures into a need to possess. You have to have their house, their wife, their job. Thus, jealousy doesn’t go anywhere without its friend, wrath. Indeed, we often can trace a person’s anger to a hidden jealousy. Fits of fury spew forth from envy; we are upset that we have less and they have more.

This mention of anger is also an important reminder for us. Wrath, which is a holy perfection of God, is something we cannot properly handle. With the flesh, we cannot imitate the fury of God.

The last teammate with jealousy, envy, and wrath is selfish ambition (rivalries)—this is self-promotion in all its sophistication. Powered by envy, selfish ambition just has to be better than the other; it thirsts for the praise, hungers for the compliment. Selfish ambition fights to be in the front of every picture. Selfish ambition is what has made Instagram so rich.

Factions (12) and Sects (13)

There is one more pair within the anti-social 8, which is made up of dissensions and divisions, or better, factions and sects. These include heresies and schism, and false doctrines that divide the church into splinter groups and denominations. Why? Because the flesh desires to make its own truth; the flesh loves to twist God’s word into its own doctrine. The Judaizers that Paul is dealing with here are drowning in this very vice.

Their flesh whipped up another gospel. Indeed, the key DNA of heresies and sects is the narcissism of small differences. We are so narcissistic that we demand our doctrine—our truth—to be uniquely ours. It tolerates input from no one other than self. Many heresies and cults are built on elaborate academic structures, which are mere covers for narcissism and pride. Such divisions slice and dice up the body of Christ; and the flesh does this while wearing the costume of holy orders or pious martyr.

DEBAUCHERY

Drunkenness (14) and Orgies (15)

There are two more vices left in this list of 15, which can be paired under the festival of Mardi Gras: drunkenness and orgies. This is excessive drinking, revelry, and debauchery.

The raunchy feast for Dionysus was the epitome of this in the first century, but for us today it is basically club life—partying all night with sex, alcohol, drugs, and whatever one’s perverse imagination can conger up. The flesh can dress up as a monk in a sect, or it can undress to party in Vegas.

Galatians 5:21 is a warning—and one we should take to heart.

The flesh is hardly contained in these fifteen vices but expresses itself in all such perversions. Yet, Paul makes clear that all who practice the ways of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21). Heaven is not the inheritance of the flesh, but the destiny of the flesh is hell. This verse is a warning and one we should take to heart.

Yet, this warning is not meant to shake your assurance in Christ. First, Paul’s words “those who do such things” refer to habitual, regular practice of them. Practicing the desires of the flesh is to be without struggle, repentance, and the Spirit. This vice list basically describes the world without the Spirit, so it receives everlasting condemnation.

The Spirit will always bring back God’s children to Christ and his forgiveness.

Remember that Paul headed this list by saying, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18). Having the Spirit, you regularly overcome the desires of the flesh. The Spirit works humility and repentance in you. The Spirit works grace and faith in you. The Spirit spurs you on to please the Lord.

Yes, believers will be guilty of these sins, and they will fight the flesh their whole lives. Yet, the Spirit will always bring back God’s children to Christ and his forgiveness. The Spirit will speak to you, especially in your moments of failure, that you are not under law. There is no condemnation for you, for your entrance into the kingdom of God depends not on your good deeds or your fleshly deeds.

Rather, your eternal life rests exclusively on the righteousness of Christ. Jesus already merited resurrection for you. You are saved all of grace, and the flesh has nothing to do with it. As long as you live in your mortal body, the struggle will continue between your flesh and the Spirit, but the victory stays the same—Jesus died and rose for you.

This is the leading of the Spirit, a leading us in Christ and back to Christ each and every day, until our hope of righteousness becomes sight in the resurrection. Praise the Lord for the sweet gospel of Christ and power of the Spirit living in our hearts.

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6 Ways a Christian Wife Cherishes Her Husband

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

There is a lot of confusion among Christians today regarding what makes for a godly marriage. Much of this controversy centers around how a husband and wife interact with each other.

BCL's article "6 Ways a Christian Husband Cherishes His Wife" explores some ways a Christian husband honors Christ in his relationship with his wife. Here are six ways (in no particular order) a Christian wife cherishes her husband:

1. Companionship

A Christian wife should be her husband’s friend. After God placed the first man, Adam, in the garden of Eden, he declared, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18). While she doesn’t need to join in on all of her husband’s activities, a Christian wife should enjoy spending as much time as possible with her spouse.

Even though we don’t get to go as often as we would like, I love going fly fishing with my husband. It’s a pretty good deal for me as he ties all my flies and helps me find good fishing spots. He never gets frustrated (at least he doesn’t show it!) when I get my fishing line caught in the bushes, and he always comes over and helps me get untangled. We have a lot of fun, and it’s wonderful to spend time together away from the usual routines of daily life.

2. Love

A Christian wife should always love her husband. Because Paul tells husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands in Ephesians 5:33, some Christians think this means that a Christian wife doesn’t have to love her husband—but this is not the case at all.

All Christians are commanded to love their brothers and sisters in Christ, and this is especially true in marriage. When a man and woman get married, they make a vow before God to stay together until death parts them. To be in a relationship where love is one-sided—or there is no love on either side—is a great tragedy.

When Christians remember how God loves them so much that he sent his Son to suffer and die on a cross for them, this gives them courage and the will to love even in the most difficult of circumstances. When a Christian wife loves her husband with the love of Christ, this love can do much to soften the hardest of hearts (1 Pet. 3:1).

3. Respect

A Christian wife should respect her husband. The Greek word the apostle Paul uses in Ephesians 5:33 for the respect wives should have for their husbands is phobētai, which means to have a profound measure of reverence/respect for someone (BDAG, 1061).

Some Christian women wrongly believe that the word “submit” in Ephesians 5:21–24 means they must tolerate any kind of treatment from their husband. The Greek word Paul uses in these verses for “submit” is hypotassó, which refers to a wife’s “recognition of an ordered structure” in which her husband is the person to whom she should show appropriate respect “as to the Lord” (BDAG, 1042; Eph. 5:22; see also Col. 3:18 and 1 Pet. 3:1–6). If a husband directs his wife to do anything that goes against her conscience, she always “must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29; 1 Cor. 8:12–13).

4. Help

A Christian wife can help her husband in a multitude of ways. This will look different in each family. While some Christians think certain work and household responsibilities belong to a specific sex, believers should not be bound where Scripture gives them liberty.

One important way a Christian wife can support her husband is in the area of counsel. In the Bible, we find instances where women gave their husbands good counsel or were discerning (Sarah in Gen. 21:12; Abigail in 1 Sam. 25:3; Pontius Pilate’s wife in Matt. 27:19) as well as instances where women gave poor counsel (Eve in Gen. 3:6; Sarah in Gen. 16:2; Jezebel in 1 Kings 19:1–2). A Christian wife should seek to grow in knowledge and wisdom in God’s Word as well as in all her callings in life, so she can give her husband the best possible counsel in all circumstances (Prov. 31:10–31).

God never intended for a wife to be a “yes-person.” A husband bears great responsibility, and he needs his wife’s straightforward input. A Christian wife should be honest with her husband about any concerns she has regarding a particular matter to protect him from potential harmful consequences.

5. Devotion

A Christian wife should be completely devoted to her husband. This includes being faithful to her marriage vows, caring for her husband physically and emotionally, praying for him, and seeking his good in all things. A Christian wife should joyfully help her husband in his callings to the glory of God. She should be loyal, trustworthy, and look after the interests of her husband (Phil. 2:4). When a Christian wife honors God in her comportment in daily life, she also brings honor to her husband.

6. Self-Respect

A Christian wife honors her husband when she expects him to respect her in all circumstances. There is no excuse ever for a husband to harm his wife physically or emotionally. Paul is clear on this matter:

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. (Eph. 5:28–29)

When a Christian wife is in an abusive marriage, she needs to seek help from extended family, friends, civil authorities, and the leadership of a faithful church. This is why it is so important for Christians to be members of a church community that upholds God’s Word carefully and provides proper oversight over its members. There is no situation where a woman should be abused—period. A Christian wife honors her husband when she holds steadfastly to standards that help him to be a godly man.

Because of our sinful natures, Christian husbands and Christian wives will not fulfill their duties to their spouses perfectly in this life. Thankfully, our hope lies not in our own works but rather in the perfect work of Christ done on our behalf. Christian marriage involves joy, sacrifice, commitment, and forgiveness. Our failures should keep us humble and direct us to daily seek God’s help in loving our spouses to His glory in all.

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Le Ann Trees is managing editor of Beautiful Christian Life. This article is adapted from "6 Things a Christian Wife Should Give Her Husband" at corechristianity.com.

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The Beauty of Belonging to a Good Master

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Editor’s note: This is part one of BCL’s two-part series “The Good Master.”

To whom do you belong? What a counter-cultural question. It’s jarring to our modern sensibilities. We want to scream from the roof top, “I don’t belong to anyone!” I’m my own person, I create my own path and future. I am responsible for my own wellbeing and sense of purpose. I am the captain of my own ship. I make my own decisions based on my own knowledge of what’s good for me.

Yet, do we really feel all that much in control of our own destinies? Do we really feel we are competent guides in this turbulent world? Do we secretly wish there was someone or something that had answers to our anxiety, loneliness, emotional distress, constant anger, lack of motivation, heartbreak, and sorrow? Is there someone who is a true friend, someone with whom we can let our guard down?

Life is hard, and we wish we didn’t have to bear the weight of our entire destiny on our own shoulders. For those of us who realize that we can’t control every facet of our lives, we don’t have all the answers, and depending solely on our own resources only drains and discourages us, the words of the apostle Peter will come as a relief.

Simon Peter called himself a slave.

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:1).

While many Bible translations read “servant” in verse 1 of Second Peter, the actual term in biblical Greek (δοῦλος; “doulos”) means “slave.” Why would Peter use such a term to describe his relationship to Jesus Christ? Modern people are much more comfortable with terms like children of God when referring to believers so why the word “slave”? First, it must be noted that by using the term, Peter is not encouraging slavery. Rather, in using an institution so common in his culture, the apostle is applying some of its characteristics to the nature of our relationship with the Christ Jesus.

Slaves were dependent on their lord.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Pet. 1:2-3).

A slave was wholly dependent on their lord, and as William Barclay writes, “To call the Christian doulos of God means that he is inalienably possessed by God.”[1] Everything a slave had they received from their master. Whether it was clothing, housing, or education, the master was the provider of everything, and the slave could not leave. Slaves filled many positions for their masters—some being well-educated, even doctors and teachers—and may have been in charge of their master’s estates. And while a cruel master mistreated his slaves, a good master cared for the health and well-being of his slaves. The state of a slave depended upon the kind of master a person had. The question of your wellbeing rested in the character of your lord, for everything came from him, and you could not leave your master.

To be counted as Jesus’ slave should fill us with peace.

For Peter, Jesus Christ is the preeminent good and kind Lord, who even died for his slaves. Peter uses the Messianic title, Christ, highlighting the role Jesus came to fulfill as the one who lived a holy life for, was tortured for, and in the end suffered a horrific death for his people. In fact, Jesus himself said that the greatest among the Kingdom of God must be the slave of all (Luke 22:25-27). And as the King of Heaven, Jesus exemplifies this by dying for his people.

Not only has Jesus died for us but he brings us to the Father, who “called us to his own glory and excellence [or goodness]” (2 Pet. 1:3). By being in God’s presence we experience glory and goodness, instead of darkness and corruption (2 Pet. 1:4).     

So to be completely dependent upon Jesus Christ—to be counted as his slave, to be dependent upon and belong forever to one who loves so deeply that he died for us and calls us to a good place—should fill us with peace, knowing that this Lord cares for us perfectly and will provide for us. Not only that but he will never let us leave his goodness (John 10:27-28). We can therefore trust his providence in our lives and rest and depend upon him confidently. We can depend upon him with joy and peace, knowing he is good and kind and will always be there for us.

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Ayrian Yasar is associate editor of Beautiful Christian Life.

[1] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Westminster Press: Philadelphia, 1960), 293.

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Biblical Marriage — Relational and Legal

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Why is there both a relational and legal aspect to marriage, and how does earthly marriage help us understand the believer’s union with Christ?

Biblical marriage has always had a legal aspect.

Some people wonder why a man and woman have to sign a document in order to be married. In the Ancient Near East, in which biblical history took place, a written document was commonly associated with covenants. According to Ligonier Ministries,

The signing of a piece of paper is not a matter of affixing one’s signature in ink to a meaningless document. The signing of a marriage certificate is an integral part of what the Bible calls a covenant. Biblically, there is no such thing as a private marriage contract between two people. A covenant is done publicly before witnesses and with formal legal commitments that are taken seriously by the community. The protection of both partners is at stake; there is legal recourse should one of the partners act in a way that is destructive to the other. (“God’s Will and Your Marriage,” part 1)

Nowhere in the Bible does it state that a true marriage exists where people agree in their hearts that they are husband and wife. In the Bible there is always a legal aspect to marriage. This is why a certificate of divorce had to be issued if the marriage was dissolved under the Mosaic covenant (Deut. 24:1-4; Matt. 19:7-8) and why Joseph was going to quietly divorce Mary after he learned she was pregnant, as there was a marriage contract in force even though their marriage had not been consummated yet (Matt. 1:18-19).

Christians are called to obey governing authorities as long as they are not disobeying God in doing so.

The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Roman church:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. — Romans 13:1-2

Christians are called to obey governing authorities. If there are laws regarding marriage in the country where a Christian man and woman reside who are seeking to marry, they need to obey them as long as they are not disobeying God in doing so. In his book God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life, author Gene Edward Veith writes,

“Marriage is a natural state, common to the whole human race, instituted by God at creation. It has to do with God’s earthly kingdom and thus is licensed and regulated by civil laws. Marriage is not a sacrament but a vocation. Nevertheless, marriage is a tangible manifestation of the relationship between Christ and the Church, though only Christian couples, through the eyes of faith, will be able to glimpse how this is so.” — pp. 79-80.

In order to justify getting “married in their hearts,” some people try to claim that Adam and Eve didn’t have a marriage license.

The marriage of Adam and Eve was unique because they were the only two living people at the time. Marriage ceremonies became necessary once there was a community of people. God was both the officiant and the witness in the marriage of Adam and Eve:

And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:22-25)

There now exists a civil realm in which God has appointed leaders, and the civil realm usually enacts laws regarding marriage, which Christians are called to obey.

The legal and relational nature of earthly marriage points us to our security in Christ.

The special union a married couple has with each other is an earthly, temporal representation of the surpassing intimacy and love all believers have in their eternal union with Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes:

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:31-32)

The legal and relational nature of earthly marriage points us to our security in Christ, as he will will always love his bride, the church, with a steadfast love. The union between Christ and the church is indissoluble—believers are beloved by Christ and forever belong to him.

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What Is the Significance of Clouds in the Bible?

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Everyone loves a sunny day, and everyone hates a cloudy day, right? After all, we have a singular medical classification for the negative effects of cloudy days on the human psyche. We tend to speak of the beauty of any given day in relation to how much of the sun and sky we are able to see. However, Scripture encourages us to view the clouds in such a way as to think of the glory and presence of God.

The Scriptures everywhere utilize the imagery of clouds to signal the immediate presence of God in time and space. This is one of those biblical-theological themes that has not often been given due consideration. Surprisingly, the Scriptures have much to teach, by way of illustration or allusion, about the symbolic and redemptive-historical significance of clouds.

God placed his bow in the clouds after Noah and his family stepped off the ark.

The first place where clouds play a prominent role in redemptive history is in the flood narrative. No sooner had Noah and his family stepped off of the Ark than the Lord placed his bow in the clouds—a sacramental reminder of the covenant mercy that he was promising in preparation for the coming Redeemer. Clouds are those created symbols of transcendence and imminence. They reflect both the transcendent glory of the Lord and His imminent approach to us.

The apostle John tells us that there is a rainbow around the throne of Christ (Rev. 4:3). How fitting then, when God promises to give mercy from his covenant throne, that he puts his bow in the clouds, as if to say, "From my majestic and transcendent throne, I will bring my mercy down to you." The Lord promised in the Noahic covenant,

"It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." (Gen. 9:14-16) 

God led his people out of Egypt and through the wilderness by means of the pillar of cloud.

When the Lord brought his people out of Egypt in the Exodus, he led them out and through the wilderness for 40 years by means of the pillar of cloud. By this theophany the Lord was promising his people that he would be with them. It is a symbol of his presence and protection. The cloudy pillar shielded God's people from the blistering sun, as well as kept them hidden from the sight of their enemies. Additionally, it served to teach them that God would lead them by a way that they did not know. As Moses explained,

The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way." (Ex. 13:21; emphasis added)

The people could not see through the pillar of cloud. They would have to trust the Lord and believe that his presence was sufficient to lead them to the place where He was taking them.

The coming of the Lord in the pillar of cloud is the first clear example in Scripture of the Lord using clouds to symbolize His presence. The Psalmist declares, under figurative language, that Jehovah "makes the clouds His chariot" (Ps. 104:3). Nahum tells us that "the clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nahum 1:3). Clouds serve as the best picture in creation of the imminent presence of the transcendent God.

When God came down on Mount Sinai, he did so by means of a cloud.

Clouds continued to play a significant role in the further revelation and theophany at Sinai. When Jehovah came down on the Mount, he did so by means of a cloud. As Moses went up into the mountain to receive covenant revelation from the Lord, "a cloud covered the mountain." We are told that

the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud." (Ex. 24:15-16; emphasis added)

Continuing his redemptive work among his people, the Lord came and dwelt in the Tabernacle in the pillar of cloud:

It came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. (Ex. 33:9-10; 40:34)

The people knew that the Lord had come to dwell with them when they saw the cloudy pillar come down on the Tabernacle. Additionally, the Lord would make his presence known to the Priest when he would come and dwell over the Ark of the Covenant. He promised that when he came, He would "appear in the cloud above the mercy seat" (Lev. 16:2). The Shekinah glory was a glory cloud in the Most Holy Place.

Israel journeyed in light of the descension and ascension of the glory cloud.

As Israel journeyed, they only did so in light of the descension and ascension of the glory cloud. We read,

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. (Ex. 40:34-37)

As God had come down on and gone up from the Mount when he revealed himself to his people through the mediation of Moses, so too he came down and went up in the cloud as he led his people forward through their pilgrimage to the Promised Land.

A cloud came and overshadowed those present at the transfiguration.

All of this is, of course, pointing forward to the coming of God in the person of Jesus. He is the glory of the Lord who came to Tabernacle with his people (John 1:14). Jesus is the “en-fleshing” of God—the imminent dwelling of God with His people. Christ descended and ascended in order to lead us and guide us to our eternal habitation (Eph. 4:8-10).

This is seen most fully at the transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain to be witnesses of his glory. Moses and Elijah (representing the law and the prophets) appeared there to bear witness to the Mediator of the New Covenant. As Moses had seen the glory of God on Sinai, he saw that glory shining in the face of Jesus. Luke tells us that as Jesus was speaking,

A cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

God the Father came down on the mountain and spoke out of the cloud, declaring and explaining that Christ was his eternally beloved Son—the fullness of his revelation. When Peter reflected back on this incident so many years later, he remembered most of all the glory cloud out of which God the Father spoke. He explained that on the mountain Jesus

…received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (2 Pet. 1:17)

Jonathan Edwards captured the essence of the glory cloud at the transfiguration when he wrote:

There was a glory in that cloud that the apostle calls an excellent glory. When it is said in the evangelists that a bright cloud overshadowed them, it is not meant such a light or white cloud as shines by a cast of light upon it from some shining body, such as are some clouds by the bright reflection of the sun’s light; but a cloud bright by an internal light shining out of it, which light the apostle calls an excellent glory. It probably was an ineffably sweet, excellent sort of light, perfectly differing from and far exceeding the light of the sun...And there probably was an exact resemblance between the glory that the disciples saw in Christ’s face, and that which they saw in this cloud, which declared him to be the Son of God; for they saw him to be his express image. [1]

Clouds are also present in the ascension and return of Christ.

The last place in which clouds play a significant role in redemptive history is in the ascension and in the return of Christ. After his resurrection, Jesus took his disciples up to a high mountain where "he was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9). Jesus' ascension on the clouds was foretold by Daniel (Dan. 7:13-14). He is the Son of Man ascending on the clouds of heaven and coming to the Ancient of Days to receive the Kingdom that was promised to him.

Likewise, the Scriptures tell us that "He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced him. (Rev. 1:7). The Scriptures promise that he will "come in like manner" as that by which he ascended to glory (Acts 1:11).

Throughout Scripture, clouds are used to symbolize the presence of God.

One of the ways in which believers are to comfort one another in this life, while we await the full revelation of Christ, is to remind each other that when Jesus comes again,

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them [i.e., believers who have already died] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17; NASB; emphasis added)

From the post-diluvian revelation to the parousia, Scripture utilizes clouds to symbolize the presence of God. The next time we are tempted to complain about it being a cloudy day, we should pause and consider how the Lord uses clouds to remind us of his imminent presence and the promise of the coming of Jesus.

Related Articles:

• 8 Attributes of God We Encounter at the Cross

• Jesus Is the True and Faithful Gardener Who Cares for Your Soul

• 10 Words Every Christian Should Know (and Be Able to Explain)

• 8 Covenants in the Bible and What They Mean for You Personally Today

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Rev. Nick Batzig is the pastor of Church Creek Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Charleston, South Carolina, and an associate editor for Ligonier Ministries.

This article is adapted from “A Biblical Theology of Clouds” at Christward Collective, a conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Recommended:

All That Is in God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism by James E. Dolezal

[1] The Works of Jonathan Edwards, With a Memoir of His Life and Character (1830), p. 553.

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“Guilt, Grace & Gratitude”: Part 3 — Gratitude

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Editor’s note: This is part three of a three-part series on the 3Gs—”Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude.” You can read part one here and part two here. S. M. Baugh is Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Westminster Seminary California.

In the first two parts of this series on the 3Gs—guilt, grace, and gratitude—we focused on our guilt before a holy God and on his amazing grace in delivering us freely from our sin and misery. We like using these three words because they provide a simple way to comprehend the complex issues of our salvation, and they are often used to summarize the content and organization of Reformed documents like the Heidelberg Catechism. We will be focusing, though, on the Scriptures, and in this case with the simple Bible study task of word study when approaching the issue of our lives of gratitude in service to the Lord.

Gratitude denotes our motive for doing good works, while thanksgiving is something we do, say, or express.

If you do a search in the ESV for the word “grateful” you only get three hits in the whole Bible, two of which produce the word “ungrateful” (Luke 6:35; 2 Tim. 3:2), leaving only one place where the word “grateful” is used in the English text: Heb. 12:28 (to which we will return later). The results are even less promising for the term “gratitude.” For some reason 2 Sam. 7:18 shows up even though “gratitude” is not in the text; and in Acts 24:3 an accuser opens his case against Paul by expressing the nation’s gratitude to the governor Felix. In all this we have only one biblical verse to start with in English. If we were restricted to English, I would next survey other translations, but we will dive down a little deeper.

It seems worthwhile to look again at “gratitude” in Acts 24:3 and see if this word shows up elsewhere and is simply not translated this way in the ESV in these other passages. It turns out that the Greek word used in Acts 24:3 for “gratitude” occurs in 13 other places in the New Testament (NT) with the meaning of “thanks” or “the giving of or expression of thanks,” “thanksgiving.” The word is eucharistia which is where we get English “eucharist.” When you think about it, “gratitude” is something mental or internal. And in the Reformed 3Gs schema, it denotes our motive for doing good works as a response to the removal of our guilt by God in Christ, all of grace (e.g., Eph. 2:8-10).

“Thanks” or “thanksgiving” in contrast is not a motive but something we do, say, or express (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:16; Phil. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:1). We give thanks to God in song or in prayer or by being generous to others. So we want to see whether the Greek word in Acts 24:3 has the meaning “gratitude” in other places in the NT.

The Greek word eucharistia is rendered in some Bible translations to mean “thanksgiving” when “gratitude” might be preferred.

It turns out that there are several places where eucharistia could possibly refer either to our gratitude or to our vocal expression of thanks arising out of gratitude. Here they are in the ESV with the word highlighted in italics and “gratitude” given in brackets so you can see whether it fits the context:

For it [God’s saving work in Christ] is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving [gratitude], to the glory of God. (2 Cor. 4:15)

You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving [gratitude] to God. [12] For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings [abundant gratitude] to God. (2 Cor. 9:11-12)

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving [gratitude]. (Col. 2:6-7)

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving [gratitude]. (2 Tim. 4:4)

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) renders eucharistia in Colossians 2:7 as “overflowing with gratitude” and 1 Tim. 4:4 as “received with gratitude” to show that “gratitude” is at least possible in the passages above where ESV renders with “thanksgiving.”

So I am not being critical of the ESV for their choice of “thanksgiving” in these places given above where “gratitude” might be preferred. When a Greek word has more than one possible meaning, translators simply have to choose one of them and we may at times properly prefer the other meaning. And in some places translators indicate this situation when they provide a footnote. For example, the ESV in John 3:3 renders the phrase “unless one is born again” and provides the following footnote for “again” here: “Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7.” We are blessed with some splendid English translations of the Bible, even if we may want to perfect them on some minor points from time to time.

So far, we have looked only at the Greek noun eucharistia, but there is a cognate verb which we could also examine which relates to the same issue. It can clearly refer to verbal giving of thanks (e.g., Matt. 26:27) as well as to be grateful. Our main references suggest this as the meaning in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:11 where the Pharisee is “grateful” that he is not like sinners and for Paul’s feeling of gratitude for Prisca and Aquila “who risked their necks for my life” (Rom. 16:4).

Both Hebrews 12:28 and Hebrews 9:14 are helpful summaries of the biblical teachings of “guilt, grace, and gratitude” that this series has been presenting.

But there is a different, idiomatic Greek phrase that has the same range of meanings as the verb for “giving thanks” or “being grateful” which is rendered as follows in the ESV:

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” (Heb. 12:28; emphasis added).

Here in this Hebrews verse we have the essential core of the “guilt, grace, and gratitude” idea that this series has been presenting. The idea of guilt is not present in Hebrews 12:28 itself, but it is certainly present in the broader context and clearly implied in the nearer context when the author says that by faith we have approached the sprinkled blood of the new covenant mediator, Christ Jesus (Heb. 12:22-24). Our mediator is a sacrificial surety (Heb. 7:22), which means that he has paid the debt of guilt which we owe for our sins. Therefore, we respond to the gift of an eternal, new creational kingdom (cf. Luke 12:32) with grateful worship of God. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom….”

We come finally to the last verse to quote which I often in good fun call the “Reformed verse” of the Bible, Hebrews 9:14, where we find guilt (by implication again), grace (quite clearly), and gratitude (the only response we can have) all wrapped up in one biblical verse. Let me present this verse along with one more for context to conclude our series and let you see for yourself that these easily remembered 3Gs are quite helpful for summarizing the Christian faith and the teaching of Scripture on our full and free salvation and our grateful response “to serve the living God.”

“For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:13-14).

Related Articles:

• “Guilt, Grace & Gratitude”: Part 1 — Guilt

• Christian Basics: What Are the Five “Alones” and Why Do You Need to Know Them?

• 8 Covenants in the Bible and What They Mean for You Personally Today

• Who Is Representing You—Adam or Jesus?

• Got Peace Right Now? 7 Things You Need to Know About Your Justification in Christ

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S. M. Baugh is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary California. He is the author of A New Testament Greek Primer, A First John Reader, Ephesians: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary, and The Majesty on High: Introduction to the Kingdom of God in the New Testament.

Recommended:

The Majesty on High: Introduction to the Kingdom of God in the New Testament by S. M. Baugh

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Lessons from Judges: Finding Streams of Blessing When We Fail

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Do you ever feel like the Israelites in the Book of Judges—a monumental task has been set before you and you start with gusto, but then your resolve wains and forward progress dwindles to nothing? While the narratives in Judges are full of fascinating stories, they are also stories of great failure. We must consider then, what the author of Judges wants to teach God’s children today.

In Judges 1:1-2:5 we have a dense account of Israel’s military battles.

The book of Judges wasn’t written just to tickle our ears. How are we to be spiritually encouraged by a book whose content is full of military campaigns and whose characters are ones we can hardly imagine meeting in real life? The stories are also gruesome. The Israelites are commanded by God to wipe out all the wicked people of the land.[1] Is this book pertinent for modern day Christians? Yes, it most certainly is. It is crucial to realize that the book of Judges has much to offer Christians today, as we always need reminders to persevere in faithfulness and look for blessings from our heavenly Father.

In Judges 1:1 - 2:5 we have a dense account of Israel’s military battles, wherein the tribe of Judah is very prominent. Judah fights and is victorious for much of the passage, bringing God’s just judgement to the evil Canaanite peoples. The pagan king even accepts God’s judgement as just in a short speech he gives in verse 7:

“Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” (Judg. 1:7)

God’s just judgment is upheld even by the pagan king in defeat.[2] God’s sustaining presence and blessing is indicated throughout the passage[3], notably at the beginning when God says, “Behold, I have given the land into his [Judah’s] hand,” and in two other places where the text tells us that “the LORD was with Judah/them” (vv.19, 22). So why then does such a military campaign that begins on such a positive note descend into defeat and a stark word of judgment from the Lord in chapter two?

Like the Israelites in the book of Judges, we are not fully obedient, or not obedient at all.

The Lord in fact answers this question in his final speech. Evidently, for all the success of the people as recorded in chapter one, defeating enemies and putting them to forced labor, they were not fully faithful and obedient to God.[4] God lists how he has been faithful to the Israelite people, yet he points out that they have been just the opposite with him. While he said, “I will never break my covenant with you,” Israel refused to break down the pagan altars and instead made covenants with the evil people of the land. In short, the Lord declares, “You have not obeyed my voice.” This stern reprimand ends with an open-ended question: “What is this you have done?”

Have we ever been in a place where this question has been applied to our hearts and minds, where we are brought by God’s word preached, or the loving confrontation of a brother or sister in Christ, to see how we have lacked in obedience to our heavenly Father? We know like the Israelites that God is with us; we know what we ought to do, but instead of faithful obedience we are not fully obedient, or even not obedient at all.

Israel responds to the news of God’s assessment and subsequent judgment with weeping. They have no answer of justification for God; they acknowledge that what he has said is true, and sorrow follows. Yet, is this the end of the story for sinners who fail in faithfulness, who do not take full advantage of God’s power, presence, and blessing in their lives? How should we respond when we are confronted with the stark words of “What is this you have done?”

Like the family of Caleb, we also should be expecting God to work on our behalf as we strive against spiritual enemies.

In this section of Judges we find three small stories told in great detail; the fall of a pagan king, the faithfulness of a family, and the unfaithfulness of a tribe. The middle story should be an encouragement for us as it is placed at the center of this passage.

From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. (Judg. 1:11-15)

Here we find here a faithful father, Caleb, encouraging brave conquest by offering his daughter as the prize in marriage to any faithful hero. We have a faithful daughter asking blessing of her father, and he freely grants it. If only the people of Israel had been like this family. As Keller writes, “The narrator narrows the focus to one spiritually brave family in Israel— the family of faithful Caleb. Here, in miniature, is what all Israel should be like.”[5]

In fact, Caleb’s family exemplifies what we all should be like: trusting in God’s presence and power, attacking our besetting sins with vigor, expecting God to work on our behalf as we strive against spiritual enemies, being willing to fell giants (Judg. 1:20). Yet, like the people of Israel, we make excuses for our lack of faithfulness. Like the people of Judah later in the passage, we say, “God, I know you are with me, but I can’t do that hard thing, there are ‘chariots of iron’ preventing me.”[6]

We need a champion like Caleb or Othniel who can overcome our enemies for us, for we cannot win our own victories in our own strength.

The book of Judges then brings us modern-day Christians to the realization that we are often like the failing Israelites—our faithfulness is not complete. We need a champion like Caleb or Othniel who can overcome our enemies for us, whose victory we can participate in, for we cannot win our own victories in our own strength—we find we constantly fall short.

So where does this leave us? If we recognize we are more like the faltering and disobedient Israelites, tending toward less and less faithfulness, and we recognize that our obedience pales in comparison to Caleb or Othniel, where do we look when our conscience and the Word of God confront us with the words, “What is this you have done?”

We look to be like Achsah, the only woman in this passage. She doesn’t do any fighting, yet she becomes the bride of the great warrior Othniel and receives an inheritance and a blessing from her father. In fact, Achsah is the only individual in this passage who asks for a blessing, and she promptly receives it from her loving father. We need to be wedded to a great warrior, gifted an inheritance earned by another, and receive blessing because we are children, just as Achsah received streams of water from her father Caleb.

Like Achsah did in asking for—and receiving—a blessing, Christians are to humbly come before our heavenly Father in prayer and thanksgiving and receive the blessings he has for us in Christ.

The central story and family of this passage teaches us that we need a hero who is like Othniel, who will conquer a city and obey God fully to gain a bride. We need a father who will graciously give gifts because he is giving them to his children, and we need to be like Achsah, a faithful bride and persistent child, asking for blessing.

If we have Christ, we have our faithful warrior who fulfilled all of God’s commands willingly and with love toward his Father. He is a warrior who never sinned nor fell short of the righteous call of God. He is a warrior who has secured for those who trust in him an eternal inheritance and blessing. He has fought the hard fight to earn a bride, his church, of which we are part if we place our trust in him. And, because Christ has paid the price for our faithlessness and sin, we can be called children of God and come to our heavenly Father with petitions whenever we still sin. We can be blessed with repentance, forgiveness, and renewal from our heavenly Father. Let us praise the Lord, that he has done all that is required to earn heaven on our behalf, and let us humbly come before him and ask for his streams of blessing in Christ.

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Ayrian Yasar is associate editor for Beautiful Christian Life.

Related Articles:

• 3 Good Things to Remember When You Feel Overwhelmed by Your Sin and Failures

• God’s Lavish Mercy for Sinners

• No Matter How You Feel Right Now, Your Life Is Worth Living

• Finding God’s Mercy When You Fail

• 6 Things You Need to Know about Unanswered Prayer

• How Do We Cast Our Burdens on Jesus?

Notes:

[1] Timothy Keller in his book, Judges for You (The Good Book Company, 2013), has a very helpful section explaining what this type of warfare was that God commanded, as well as the reason behind it, and how it differs from present day evil atrocities like genocide.

[2]  Dale Ralph Davis, Judges, Such a Great Salvation (Christian focus Publications Ltd.: Geanies House, Great Britain) 21.

[3] see Davis, Judges, 18. on “Divine Adequacy.”

[4] Davis, Judges, 26.

[5] Keller, Judges for You, 18.

[6] Keller, writes, “Judah does not trust in God’s strength, so they measure their own strength against their enemies’, and fail to push the chariot-owning plain-dwellers out of the land. Common, but faithless, sense, begins to prevail here. Judah doesn’t trust God; and so they don’t secure their inheritance so that they can worship God without compromise,” 19.

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What Does It Mean to "Put Off the Old Self" and "Put On the New Self"? — Ephesians 4:20-24

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In Ephesians 4:20-24, the apostle Paul writes:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What is Paul saying about the “old self” and the “new self” and how is this passage connected to a believer’s new life in Christ?

All Christians should strive both to mortify sin in their lives and to grow in godliness.

The Christian life is one of mortifying our sinful desires (also known as the mortification of the flesh) and living unto God by keeping his commandments (also known as vivification).

The Heidelberg Catechism, first published in 1563, is a highly regarded summary of the Christian faith and has the following to say about a believer’s conversion:

Q. What is the true repentance or conversion of man?

A. It is the dying of the old nature and the coming to life of the new. — The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 88.

Q. What is the dying of the old nature?

A. It is to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin, and more and more to hate it and flee from it. — The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 89.

Q. What is the coming to life of the new nature?

A. It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ, and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works. — The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 90.

All who are in Christ have the benefits of justification and sanctification.

Our justification does not come some day in the undetermined future, based on our own works. Every true believer is declared righteous in Christ and has both legal and relational standing as God’s children. All believers are coheirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17).

Christians not only have the benefit of being justified in Christ, but they also have the benefit of sanctification. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and is at work conforming them to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

Even the thief on the cross, who had but a very short time left to live, showed his repentance (his confession of his unworthiness) and his faith in God’s promises (his request for Jesus to remember him):

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 20:40-43)

Where there is true faith, there is also mortification and vivification, signs of the Spirit’s work in a person’s life.

Christians should be diligent to “put off the old self” (Eph. 4:22) by mortifying sin, and “put on the new self” (Eph. 4:24), by striving to live unto God. And, as the apostle Paul encourages God’s children, every believer can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

Related Articles:

• Blood and Water: The Christian Fight for Holiness

• 2 Important Things to Remember about Fighting Sin—Romans 7:13-25

• Sanctification in Christ—the Rest of Your Story

• 3 Reasons Why You Must Mortify Sin in Your Life

• What Is the Difference between Justification and Sanctification?

• 3 Reasons to Be Thankful for the Lord's Discipline in Your Life

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