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Category Archives: sin
Your Top 10 Favorite ‘Jesus Without Baggage’ Articles of 2016
Here are the top 10 Jesus without Baggage articles you made most popular last year. Most of them are from my series on sin early in the year. A couple are from 2013 but continue to make the top 10 every … Continue reading
Posted in favorite blogs, hell, Jesus, sin
Tagged Book of Enoch, crucifixion, loving the sinner, Old Testament God, Penal Substitution, sinner's prayer, the poor
1 Comment
Why ‘Love the Sinner; Hate the Sin’ is Opposite to Jesus’ Teaching
Have you heard believers say they ‘Love the sinner but hate the sin’? At least you likely have heard of them. In fact, they don’t love the ‘sinner’ at all—at least not the way Jesus loves people. As we read … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, Jesus, legalism, love, Pharisees, sin, sinners
Tagged John 3, Love the sinner; hate the sin, Luke 13, reconciliation
94 Comments
Are Our Sins Gone as though They Never Happened? In One Sense–No
Justified! It is a wonderful truth that we are justified by Jesus: Some believers celebrate it with this homonym: ‘It is just if I’d never sinned!’ It’s cute and it’s catchy. But is it true? Are our sins gone as … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, love, sin, suffering
Tagged Hebrews 8, Jeremiah 31, Just if I'd never sinned, Micah 7, Psalm 103, reconciliation, restitution
20 Comments
Who Does God Refuse to Forgive?
When I was a child I witnessed a perplexing sight. The pastor had preached his sermon (on sin, no doubt) and gave the altar call. For those who don’t know, an altar call is given at the end of sermons … Continue reading
Posted in doubt, God, sin, sinners
Tagged forgiveness, Hebrews 6, Mark 1, Mark 3, Matthew 11, unforgivable sin, unpardonable sin
86 Comments
Original Sin or Original Self-Centeredness?
Many Christians believe humanity is so broken, and nature so violent, because of Adam’s disobedience in the garden. They say the world was originally perfect but Adam ruined everything. Furthermore, all Adam’s descendants are born with ‘original sin’ and alienated … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, Jesus, love, original sin, sin, suffering
Tagged compassion, empathy, exploitation, greed, Matthew 5-7, self-centeredness
48 Comments
We Do Not Inherit Original Sin from Adam
Fear, pain, guilt, shame… Misery, insecurity, conflict, alienation… Greed, hate, exploitation, violence…Death. This is the world we live in. It has been this way in all times and all places. It is our human condition. Sometimes it is somewhat bearable; … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, inerrancy, original sin, sin
Tagged Adam and Eve, Garden of Eden, human condition, Paul, Romans 5
37 Comments
What does the Story of Eden Tell Us? Is it about Sin?
Have you ever heard the story of the Garden of Eden? Well of course you have! I doubt there is a person reading this post who doesn’t know the story of Eden. However, not everyone who knows the story understands … Continue reading
Posted in creationism, inerrancy, original sin, sin
Tagged Adam and Eve, Garden of Eden, Genesis 2, Genesis 3, human condition, storytelling, the fall of man
47 Comments
“If There’s No Hell then I Will Sin All I Want!”
One day I spoke with an elderly believer who was a fundamentalist all her life, and the issue of hell came up in such a way that I shared with her that I didn’t believe eternal punishment in burning hell … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, sin, the Good News, witnessing
Tagged Do unto others, Love your neighbor as yourself, Mark 1, morality
62 Comments
Are ‘Sins’ Primarily Sins against God or against Other People?
Some believers think all sins are primarily sins against God. Stephen Witmer makes that very statement: All sin is primarily sin against God. Where sin is understood as merely a moral concept rather than mainly a religious one, where it … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, behavior, God, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, sin, sinners, The Father
Tagged Matthew 5
43 Comments
Does Jesus Tell Us to Judge People in Matthew 18?
Recently, I posted an article stating that it is not our job to judge other people. It is titled The Misguided Concept of ‘Loving the Sinner and Hating the Sin’, and in just a few days it became my #5 … Continue reading
The Best Blog Posts I Read in January-February 2016
Here is a list of some of the best blog posts I read in January-February that pertain to the themes of Jesus without Baggage. I hope you find a few articles here that are interesting and useful to you. Have … Continue reading
Posted in creationism, evolution, fundamentalism, gays, God, hell, inerrancy, legalism, love, Satan, sin
Tagged homeschooling, sexual abuse
11 Comments
Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross?
We talked last time about three atonement theories that I believe are woefully misguided and miss the point of Jesus’ death completely: The Ransom Theory, the Satisfaction Theory, and the Substitutionary Atonement Theory (Penal Substitution). All three are inadequate to … Continue reading
Posted in atonement, eternal life, Jesus, Kingdom of God, love, resurrection, sin
Tagged Christus Victor, death, John 3:16
79 Comments
How Penal Substitutionary Atonement Fails
As we discussed last time, the New Testament writers agree that the death of Jesus on the cross has a tremendous effect on us, but they never quite explain what they think this effect is or how it works. The … Continue reading
What Does Jesus’ Death on the Cross Do for Us?
When we consider how the death of Jesus on the cross affects us, we should first find the consensus of the New Testament writers—there is none! Next we can turn to the consensus of the Church Fathers throughout history—there is … Continue reading
Posted in atonement, Jesus, New Testament, sin
Tagged Blood, Cross, crucifixion, death, Sacrifice
76 Comments
The Misguided Concept of ‘Loving the Sinner and Hating the Sin’
Legalistic believers often feel it is their duty to confront sinners with their ‘sins’. This sometimes includes telling sinners how bad they are and urging them to accept Jesus. And they don’t stop there; they also confront fellow believers with … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, judgment, legalism, love, Paul, sin, sinners, the Good News
Tagged 1 Corinthians 4, Love the sinner; hate the sin, Matthew 7, Romans 14
55 Comments
What Does Jesus Say about Sin? Not Much!
As followers of Jesus, it doesn’t matter much what the Old Testament writers thought about sin and forgiveness. We take our cue from Jesus who has the clearest insight into the Father. And it is his words and actions in … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, Pharisees, sin, sinners
Tagged forgiveness, John 5, John 8, John 9, Luke 23, Luke 7, Mark 2, Matthew 18
59 Comments
The Prophets Begin to Talk about Sin in a New Way
The Old Testament presents two major understandings about sin. Sin was primarily thought to be disobedience of the nation of Israel or transgression of God’s many detailed rules (legalism). The solution to taking away sin and guilt was participation in … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, God, Jesus, legalism, Old Testament, sin
Tagged Amos 5, Hosea 6, Isaiah 1, Isaiah 61, Luke 4, Mark 12, Psalm 40, Temple ritual
33 Comments
Addressing Sin in the Old Testament
When many of us think of sin we are heavily influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by what we remember from the Old Testament. So let’s look briefly at Old Testament concepts of sin; I think it will help resolve some of … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, Jesus, legalism, Old Testament, sin
Tagged 10 Commandments, Israel, Temple ritual
24 Comments
What is Sin but Pain and Alienation?
[Alert: graphic photo below] We all feel the effects of sin; but the character of sin is not what many believers think it is. People DO sin, but not in the way many believers suppose. Sin has dire consequences, but … Continue reading
The Best Blog Posts I Read in November-December
Here is a list of some of the best blog posts I read in November-October that pertain to the themes of Jesus without Baggage. I hope you find a few articles here that are interesting and useful to you. Have a … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, creationism, evolution, favorite blogs, gays, inerrancy, legalism, love, love your enemies, sin
4 Comments
Jesus Without Baggage 