Sin Boldly

Cheeky, original, and decidedly practical to boot, Sin Boldly! is unlike any other writing handbook available. Jammed with sage advice, genuine encouragement, and surprising examples (of how to write and how not to write), this book gives beginning writers and confident students alike an easy-to-follow roadmap for improving one of the most important skills for success. En route to Sin Boldly!-induced, A+ paper bliss, readers encounter such topics as· Choosing a Topic and Telling Your Story ("K.I.S.S.-Keep It Simple, Stupid")· Literary Games (featuring "Francobabble for Freshman")· Choosing a Voice ("Dissing the Prof")· Grammatical Horrors ("A does not equal they")· Common Mistakes ("Hopefully and Other Controversies")Fully revised and updated with new examples, quizzes, and tips, Sin Boldly! is not only a comprehensive guide, but also a fantastic, fun read for anyone who wants to write clearly and effectively .

In this guide to grace, Falsani explains that justice is getting what one deserves; mercy is not getting what one deserves; and grace is getting what someone absolutely doesn't deserve.

Can faith as trusting God make a difference? Absolutely—by relieving our anxiety over self-justification and the need to scapegoat others. Sin Boldly! provides an experiential analysis of the contrast between self-justification and justification by God. We must pose the question: how can the gospel of grace provide transformation for both fragile and broken souls? This book proposes the following answer: trusting in the God of grace relieves anxiety and provides a divine vocation that transcends our moral universe with the promise of forgiveness, renewal, and resurrection.

Sin Boldly--a manual for fallen angels--is a guide to spiritual issues facing the secular world. Chris Levan, author of The Dancing Steward and God Hates Religion, has a gift for translating theological concepts into contemporary and comprehensible terms. This collection of his columns is like a conversation over coffee with a close friend.

A profound exploration of how to hold on to hope when our unchanging faith collides with a changing culture, from two respected Christian storytellers and thought leaders. “Offers neither spin control nor image maintenance for the evangelical tribe, but genuine hope.”—Russell Moore, president of ERLC As the pressures of health warnings, economic turmoil, and partisan politics continue to rise, the influence of gospel-focused Christians seems to be waning. In the public square and popular opinion, we are losing our voice right when it’s needed most for Christ’s glory and the common good. But there’s another story unfolding too—if you know where to look. In Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra counter these growing fears with a robust message of resolute hope for anyone hungry for good news. Join them in exploring profound stories of Christians who are quietly changing the world in the name of Jesus—from the wild world of digital media to the stories of ancient saints and unsung contemporary activists on the frontiers of justice and mercy. Discover how, in these dark times, the light of Jesus shines even brighter. You haven’t heard the whole story. And that’s good news.

Cheeky, original, and decidedly practical, this guide to effective writing is perfect for anyone who wants to hone their communication skills -- college-bound or in the working world. Jammed with sage advice, genuine encouragement, and surprising examples of how to write and how not to write, this book gives beginning writers and confident students alike an easy-to-follow roadmap for improving one of the most important skills for success. En route to Sin Boldly!-induced, A+ paper bliss, readers encounter such topics as: Choosing a Topic and Telling Your Story ("K.I.S.S.-Keep It Simple, Stupid") Literary Games (featuring "Francobabble for Freshman") Choosing a Voice ("Dissing the Prof") Grammatical Horrors ("A does not equal they") Common Mistakes ("Hopefully and Other Controversies") Fully revised and updated with new examples, quizzes, and tips, Sin Boldly! is not only a comprehensive guide, but also a fantastic, fun read for anyone who wants to write clearly and effectively.

Can faith as trusting God make a difference? Absolutely--by relieving our anxiety over self-justification and the need to scapegoat others. When we discover we don't justify ourselves because God has justified us, we become free. What Sin Boldly! points to is the presence of the crucified and living Christ in the human soul, placed there by the Holy Spirit. And this becomes transformative. Sin Boldly! provides an experiential analysis of the contrast between self-justification and justification by God. Those among us with fragile souls are anxious, and we shore up our anxiety with walls of self-justification that victimize those whom we scapegoat. Those among us with broken souls have lost the very moral universe that makes any kind of justification possible, and this usually leads to anomie and suicide. We must pose the question: how can the gospel of grace provide transformation for both fragile and broken souls? After an exposition of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, this book proposes the following answer: trusting in the God of grace relieves anxiety and provides a divine vocation that transcends our moral universe with the promise of forgiveness, renewal, and resurrection.

Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s most radical book, this reading of the Sermon on the Mount has influenced many Christians throughout the world over the last 50 years.

NEW FOREWORD BY ERIC METAXAS Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century, illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus in this classic book on living as a Christian. What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the government worker? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life." The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

In Titus, Paul says Christ redeemed a people "zealous for good works." Despite this declaration and others like it, the doctrine of good works has fallen on hard times in contemporary Protestant theology and practice. At best, it's neglected--as in most systematic theologies and in too much church teaching. At worst, it's viewed with suspicion--as a threat to salvation by grace alone through faith alone. In this important work addressing a significant gap in current theological literature, the authors argue that by jettisoning a doctrine of good works, the contemporary church contradicts historical Protestantism and, more importantly, biblical teaching. They combine their areas of expertise--exegesis, systematic and historical theology, and practical theology--to help readers recover and embrace a positive doctrine of good works. They survey historical Protestant teaching to show the importance of the doctrine to our forebears, engage the scriptural testimony on the role of good works, formulate a theology of salvation and good works, and explore pastoral applications.

In this powerful and timely book, Janet R. Jakobsen and Ann Pellegrini make a solid case for loving the sinner and the sin. Rejecting both religious conservatives' arguments for sexual regulation and liberal views that advocate tolerance, the authors argue for and realistically envision true sexual and religious freedom in this country. With a new preface addressing recent events, Love the Sin provides activists and others with a strong tool to use in their fight for freedom.

"Be holy as I am holy," says the Lord. It's the most extravagant--and audacious--invitation ever sent: Or in the words of Jesus: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." But can that really happen? Is holiness an achievable goal for sinful human beings? That's the ultimate focus of this thoughtful, thorough, and engaging study of what it means to be holy. Drawing on the Bible and Christian thinkers through the ages, Simon Ponsonby affirms that because of God's gracious love and desire for communion with us, he has done what is possible for us not only to pursue holiness, but to achieve it. While we can never count on attaining moral perfection in this life, we need not settle for less than increasing victory over sin. And as more and more Christians choose to partner with God in the ongoing process of sanctification, we set the stage for revival.

Simon Ponsonby presents 52 inspirational chapters, bringing Paul's greatest letter to life, and blending careful theological and historical detail with illuminating application. Romans is intellectually and theologically massive. Augustine of Hippo, the great architect of Western theology, was converted while reading Romans. Martin Luther's encounter with the text led to a personal revival and the European Reformation, and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones refused to teach on Romans for decades until he had grappled with and understood chapter 6. This passionate, illuminating devotional will prove a potent means of grace and growth.

Mark Ellingsen dares you to go ahead and sin bravely! In this refreshing and unique book, he challenges the religious legalism pervasive throughout American evangelicalism today and encourages a new understanding of what it means to be both a Christian and a human being. Equipped with the joyful, rebellious vision of Martin Luther, father of the Protestant reformation, and the latest in neuroscientific research, Ellingsen offers a new approach for healthy living - one opposed to the duty-oriented, selfish and stifling conception of faith that has gained such a strong foothold in contemporary American culture. It is an approach that fully embraces the active role that God's grace plays in each person's life and the fun and freedom one gains from it. Beginning with the first theological analysis of Rick Warren's brand of Christianity, this book exposes the burdens and narcissism that purpose-driven and duty-bound living encourages, and includes the purveyors of the Prosperity Gospel, taught by such influential preachers like Joel Osteen, in his critique. Ellingsen writes that brave sinners, aware of God's grace in their lives, instead say "no" to narcissism and "yes" to healthy risk-taking that gets beyond selfish desires to the desire to help one another. When people sin bravely, acknowledging that everything done is done in sin with God's saving grace acting upon them, people can learn to recognize God. This awareness leads to freedom and joy, since the pressure is now removed to do and be good. In addition, total dependence on God entails a self-forgetfulness that leads to happiness. The more boldly someone acknowledges their sin, in failing to take credit for the good they have done, the more focused on God the individual becomes. Correspondingly, this self-forgetful lifestyle is a promising counter-cultural alternative to the cultural narcissism, which so dominate in many segments of contemporary American society. This book demonstrates both how and why brave sinning leads to joy, and in so doing offers readers practical advice on living this way. Ellingsen also cites recent neurobiological findings showing that when people forget themselves in order to focus on bigger projects, the pleasure centers of the brain are stimulated and people become happier and more content. It is this joyous risk-taking that he suggests brings people closer together, closer to God, and closer to a better understanding of themselves. Sin Bravely dares to be that joyful alternative to the purpose driven life.

Monographs on philosophers multiply daily but on occasion the question of why a particular philosopher matters. If we stop thinking about them by asking why, then will they cease to exist? When Mercer University Press opened its doors more than thirty years ago, it committed itself to religious studies in general, and to several thinkers. One of those was Soslash;ren Kierkegaard. Now, as the Press concludes a major publishing event with the completion of the International Kierkegaard Commentary, it seeks to honor the only series editor it has known: Robert Perkins. The method of this honor is by asking Why Kierkegaard Matters. The leading Kierkegaard scholars have contributed essays that range from the very personal and memoir-esque to the academic and analytical. As a result, this festshcrift is not only a book to honor an extraordinary editor, but is in it's own right a major contribution to the assessment of the importance of Kierkegaard. Written with the general reader in mind, this collection will prove useful by both scholar and student, and will lead the general reader to encounter one of the most original Christian philosophers in the history of the world.

As profound as Martin Luther's ideas are, this giant of church history was concerned above all with practical instruction for daily Christian living. Harvesting Martin Luther's Reflections highlights this concern of Luther, mining his thought in key areas of doctrine, ethics, and church practice. Gathering noteworthy contributions by well-known Luther scholars from Europe and the Americas, this book ranges broadly over theological questions about baptism and righteousness, ethical issues like poverty and greed, and pastoral concerns like worship and spirituality. There are even rare discussions of Luther's perspective on marriage and on Islam. As a result, Harvesting Martin Luther's Reflections is both a state-of-the-art discussion of Lutheran themes and an excellent introduction for newcomers to Luther's work.