1 Corinthians 15:1

Title: The Gospel

No one can be labeled “good” without being “just” at the same time.

The act of taking away sin is not put into effect at the expense of justice. We can be sorry all we want for our transgressions, and perform all the good deeds in the hope of tipping the scale of right or wrong in our favor, but to no avail will these earn us forgiveness. In the Christian economy forgiveness is not earned; forgiveness is received as a gift by faith.

The gospel message is not about forgiveness per se; it is the good news of the Lord Jesus taking our place in order for him to pay in full the penalty for our sins, so that repentance might be made possible and forgiveness received as a gift.

Luke 4:4

Title: On bread alone

For these words to have been uttered by a person who had neither had food nor drink for forty days is simply astonishing, if not miraculous.

When we allow ourselves to focus only on material food which will not go hand in hand with a daily dose of God’s word, are we not giving in to the suggestion of the Devil?

When the only nourishment we take in cannot communicate to us the awesome wonder of what God has in store for those who seek his face and counsel day after day after day, we will slowly but surely slide back into the cesspool of hedonism and humanistic philosophy.

And we wonder why we are so weak when confronted with the troubles and trials of life.