Series: Already and Not Yet
Thirteen posts on what is already true of you in Christ.
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Already and Not Yet
We have spent twelve posts looking at what is already true of you in Christ. Already chosen. Already adopted. Already justified. Already sealed. Already indwelt. Already raised together with Him. Already seated in heavenly places. Already a hyper-conqueror in tribulation, distress, peril, and sword. But the Bible never lets the believer rest only in the… Continue reading
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Disciplines as Response, Not Strategy
There are two ways a Christian can approach the spiritual disciplines, and one of them will eventually break him. The first way is to treat them as currency. Prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, silence, communion, all of them turned into deposits the believer is making in some heavenly account, hoping to accumulate enough that God will… Continue reading
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You Were Never Meant to Do This Alone
I have been a believer long enough to watch the American church slowly forget something the first century took for granted. The first Christians did not have a category for the solitary believer. They did not have a category for me and Jesus. They had Christ and His body. The two were so tightly bound… Continue reading
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When Your Life Doesn’t Feel Victorious
This is the post in this series I almost did not want to write, because I do not want to do it badly. There are people reading this whose lives do not look or feel anything like the bright, smiling Christian poster from the first post in this series. People who have lost a child.… Continue reading
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Repentance from a Place of Belovedness
There are two ways to come to God after you have sinned, and only one of them works. The first way is to come the way a hired man comes after a mistake. Hat in hand. Eyes down. Bracing for the firing. The internal posture is I have to make this right or I am… Continue reading
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Every Temptation Attacks Your Identity
There is a pattern in the Bible that, once you see it, you cannot unsee. The serpent’s first sentence in Genesis 3 and the devil’s first sentence in Matthew 4 are the same kind of sentence. Different words on the surface. Same move underneath. In Genesis 3:1 the serpent says, Has God indeed said, You… Continue reading
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The Real Battlefield
I have watched a lot of Christians try to win wars on the wrong terrain. A man wants to stop a habit, so he focuses on the habit. He sets up alarms, blocks websites, builds accountability, throws away the bottle. Some of that is wise. None of it goes deep enough. Within six months, the… Continue reading
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The Spirit Inside You
Most believers I know have a doctrine of the Holy Spirit they would not be embarrassed by on a doctrinal exam, and a working life that looks like He is not in the building. We say we believe He indwells us. We sing about Him on Sunday. We mention Him in our prayers. And then… Continue reading
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Already Righteous, Still Becoming
There are two ditches a believer can fall into when he tries to think about his own holiness. The first ditch is despair. He looks at the gap between who he is in Christ and who he is on a Tuesday afternoon, and he cannot reconcile it. He concludes that either the gospel is not… Continue reading
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Adopted, Not Hired
There is a difference between a hired man and a son. The hired man works for what he gets. He earns his place at the table. He is welcome as long as he produces. The day he stops producing, the day he gets sick, the day he makes a mistake big enough, the relationship is… Continue reading
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The Old You Is Dead
There are people sitting in pews this Sunday who think they are still the person they used to be. They believe Christ has forgiven them. They believe they are going to heaven when they die. But somewhere in the back of the head, the old self is still treated like the real self. The new… Continue reading
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The Two Smallest Words in the New Testament
If you read Paul’s letters with a pencil in your hand, you start noticing something. He cannot stop saying it.In Christ. In Him. In Christ Jesus. In whom. In the Lord.Some scholars have counted around 165 occurrences of this phrase or a close variant in Paul’s writings. That is more than once per chapter, on… Continue reading
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The Word We Keep Getting Wrong
There is a picture most of us carry in our heads when we hear the phrase victorious Christian life. The believer in the picture is smiling. He has not lost his temper in months. Her marriage is steady, her kids are obedient, her Bible is highlighted in three colors. Sin has been crushed under heel.… Continue reading
The Believer’s Creed
I believe in the eternal God—
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—
One in essence, infinite in glory,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
whose wisdom shaped all things seen and unseen.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
holy and humble, yet Lord of all.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended into the depths of hell,
and on the third day He rose victorious.
He ascended into heaven,
and now reigns at the right hand of the Father,
from where He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the breath and power of God within us,
who gives life, convicts hearts, and sustains faith.
Through the Spirit, the Church is made holy,
a communion of saints across all generations.
I believe in the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting in the presence of God.
I believe in the sacred mystery of the Trinity—
not three gods, but one holy unity:
Father, Son, and Spirit—eternal, unchanging, divine.
I believe in the sacred story revealed in Scripture:
that from the beginning, light has warred against darkness,
and though the enemy rose in pride,
God’s promise prevailed through the Seed—
Christ Jesus, born of a woman,
who triumphed through His cross and empty tomb.
I believe salvation is a gift of grace—
received by faith, sealed by repentance,
and made real through the transforming love of God.
I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God,
a lamp for our path and truth for every soul.
I believe in the call of baptism—
a burial of the old, a rising to new life in Christ.
I believe the Holy Spirit empowers believers
with gifts of healing, wisdom, and tongues,
that we may glorify God and serve the world in love.
I believe in divine healing,
for the power that raised Christ from the grave
still moves with mercy among His people.
The Believer’s Charge
We believe that we are called and anointed—
not as spectators, but as servants of the living God.
We are His witnesses in all the earth,
ambassadors of reconciliation and bearers of His light.
We believe that Christ has commissioned us
to go into the world and proclaim His gospel,
to speak truth to the lost and hope to the broken,
to open blind eyes and set captives free.
In His name we move without fear,
for the Spirit goes before us with power and signs.
We believe the promise of our Lord:
that these signs will follow those who believe—
we shall cast out demons in His name,
speak with new tongues of heavenly fire,
lay hands upon the sick and see them restored,
tread upon the works of the enemy,
and walk in the authority of the risen Christ.
We believe that the Spirit within us
confirms the Word with power and grace—
that we are vessels of His love,
agents of His mercy,
and temples of His presence.
We choose to live as those sent by God,
our hearts aflame with His gospel,
our hands ready to serve,
our voices lifted in praise,
our lives poured out for His glory.
The Blessed Hope
I believe in the glorious return of Jesus Christ,
who will restore all things
and reign in righteousness and peace.
And I believe in eternal life—
the home prepared for the redeemed,
and the solemn truth of judgment for the unrepentant.
This is our faith, our confession, our calling, and our hope.
To God be the glory—forever and ever.
Amen.