Dr Paul Allen

Jesus friend of sinners. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners. That was the word on the street in first-century Palestine. The precise phrase — “friend of sinners” — is mentioned twice in the Gospels, in Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34. The naysayers of the day, the religious aristocracy, criticized Jesus as a “glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” They called him this because it was true. He was a friend of sinners. Jesus himself said that he didn’t come for the spiritually healthy, but for the sick. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32). Just like he greeted children that others thought were a nuisance, he welcomed sinners that others didn’t (Matthew 19:14; Luke 7:37–39). He looked at them, as Mark says he did with the rich young man, and he loved them (Mark 10:21). He had compassion on them. And most glorious of all, he wielded his authority to speak those wondrous words, ...

Cover via Amazon I can flip a switch, but I don’t provide the electricity. I can turn on a faucet, but I can’t make the water flow. There will be no light and no liquid refreshment without someone else providing it. And so it is, in a limited sense, for the Christian with the ongoing grace of God . His grace is essential for our spiritual lives, but we don’t control the supply. We can’t make the grace flow, but God has given us circuits to connect and pipes to open in case it’s there. Our God is lavish in his grace, often liberally dispensing his favor without even the least bit of cooperation and preparation on our part. But he also has his regular channels. And we can routinely avail ourselves of these revealed paths of blessing, or neglect them to our detriment. The Places Where the Grace Keeps Passing “The essence of the Christian life,” says one seasoned saint, “is learning to fight for joy in a way that does not replace grace.” We cannot earn God’s grace or make it flow a...

In January, David Mathis and Jonathan Parnell at Desiring God Ministries began a series of blog posts titled   "How to Stay a Christian in Bible college."   When I saw the title of their series, I was immediately intrigued. While to some the title of their series might seem a trifle presumptuous, it is precisely the sort of title that will hopefully catch the attentions of current bible college students and those entering bible college. Theirs is an appropriate concern, for they have rightly recognized the many dangers, toils, and snares that exist along the journey through bible college. Last week, David Mathis and Jonathan Parnell contacted several of us and asked if we would be willing to write a blog post for their series, which has the following stated goal: The goal is to get this topic out there so that those in bible college, or considering bible college, would see this unique season as one of amazing potential growth—and so that they wouldn't get caught off gu...