This morning, I was reading in Exodus 34. It says, "The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬ What stuck out to me is that immediately after it says "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" it says "but who will by no means clear the guilty". So what does that mean? I think in our modern culture we sometimes overemphasize the forgiveness and love of God while ignoring that He "will by no means clear the guilty". The truth of the passage seems to be saying that God shows Himself to be loving, steadfast, forgiving and faithful to those who come to Him for all of those things, give their life to Him and trust in Christ, but to those who don't, He will be no means clear their guilt. The lesson: we need Jesus. We don't get to enjoy the benefits of being a child of God without being a child of God. God is a righteous Judge who does not just let our sin go. He is just and we will be held to account for our sins. The only way payment can be made to satisfy God's wrath and judgment towards our sin is through trusting in Jesus Christ for our salvation and living for Him. In a world that constantly screams compassion and love, the reality is that justice is an important aspect of Who God is. We must remember that our salvation is only based on what Jesus did for us and trusting in Him, not on any works. And we must always take our sin seriously while simultaneously living in the joy that forgives and cleanses us from all unrighteousness as we confess, repent and trust in Him.

"When Christ calls the apostles the salt of the earth, he means, that it is their office to salt the earth: because men have nothing in them but what is tasteless, till they have been seasoned with the salt of heavenly doctrine... The doctrine, which has been entrusted to them, is shown to be so closely connected with a good conscience and a devout and upright life, that the corruption, which might be tolerated in others, would in them be detestable and monstrous." -John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Volume 1. What do you think Christ means when he calls us to "salt of the earth"?

What's everybody reading/studying right now on theology or Christian ethics? Drop it in the comments below 👇

Is that faith based or fact based?

I was reading this morning in Matthew 14. It says, "Immediately he (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.14.22-23.ESV Jesus dismissed the crowds and excused his disciples so that he could go "up on the mountain by himself to pray". Then evening came. That means Jesus probably spent hours on the mountain praying alone to the Father. Jesus, God in the flesh, made time to spend hours in prayer to the Father. How much more do we need to take extended time away to pray to the Father and spend time in God's presence?