Dr Paul Allen

Luke 18:9–14  “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (v. 14). After encouraging persistence in prayer by telling the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1–8), Jesus turned His attention to the problem of self-righteousness. We see this in today’s passage, which records our Lord’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (vv. 9–14). In showing the folly of those who look to their good works as the basis of their status before our Creator, Jesus gives us essential instruction regarding our justification—our being declared righteous in God’s sight. The original audience of the parable consisted of those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (v. 9). Luke’s introductory comment reveals that if we have contempt for those who appear to us to be less righteous than us, we are trusting i...

Many of the most common troubles in the Christian life come from relating to God as if he were like us — as if his kindness were as slight as our kindness, his forgiveness as reluctant as our forgiveness, and his patience as fleeting as our patience. Under impressions such as these, we walk uneasily through the Christian life, insecurity rumbling like distant thunder. John Owen (1616–1683) goes so far as to say, Want of a due consideration of him with whom we have to do, measuring him by that line of our own imaginations, bringing him down unto our thoughts and our ways, is the cause of all our disquietments. (Works of John Owen, 6:500) If we were God in heaven, we would have grown impatient with people like us long ago. Our anger rises quickly in the face of personal offense. Our frustration boils over. Our judgments readily fire. And apart from the daily renewal of our minds, we can easily measure God “by that line of our own imaginations,” as if his thoughts matched our thoughts, an...

What does it mean for God to be gracious? This word has lost some of its potency in our modern world, but when God calls himself gracious in Exodus 34, it has profound implications for how he relates to humanity.  The Hebrew word used in this passage is 'khanun', and it’s used throughout the Bible to mean show favour or generosity. The context for this passage makes God’s statement even more surprising. God calls himself gracious in the midst of the Israelites’ betrayal, making clear that his generous gifts are for even the most undeserving of people.

WHAT IS GRACE? Paul says – grace to you, but what does he mean by this? What is he wishing towards the Christians in Colossae? Grace is an unearned good gift of God that is freely given to one who deserves the opposite. It is important to understand that there are two types of grace, we talk about common grace and special grace. Common grace is the underserved and unearned merit given by God to all of mankind. There is common grace in everyone’s life – family, laughter, food, shelter, work, health, talents…. Every goodness that anyone has is because Jesus came to die. His rain falls on the unjust and waters the fields of farmers who neither acknowledge him nor thank him. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…any good thing that happens to anyone – believers and unbelievers alike – from catching a fish to finding a wife – is a gift from God. Now I know what you are thinking – ‘Surely some of what I have ...

Expressions of God’s grace David personally experienced … David penned this psalm shortly after his dramatic escape from King Achish (1 Samuel 21). David escaped from Saul by appealing to Achish, but the guards turned on him and brought David to Achish in cuffs. David acted crazy and capitalized on the fact that Achish had never seen him before. It worked – he escaped. Was it ethical? Probably not, but this is not the point. We don’t look at narrative in the Bible to figure out how to behave. But David certainly thought it was God’s deliverance, and in his providence, God used that scenario to protect David. What was David’s reaction? Psalm 34:1-4 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! David saw this escape as a reason to proclaim God’s grace in his life. It spurred him on to the vocal praise of God. He di...

God ’s fullest self-revelation as Savior came in the person of Jesus Christ —God in human flesh. The incarnation itself was an expression of sympathy and identification with our weakness (Heb. 4:15). In Christ , we can see countless expressions of divine compassion translated into human idioms that we easily understand and identify with—including sadness, sympathy, and tears of sorrow.  Though sinless Himself, Jesus suffered all the consequences of sin in infinite measure—and in so suffering , He identifies with the misery of all who feel the pains of human anguish. This was the whole reason God the Son became a man: “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:17–18). “For we do not have a high priest who ca...

Martin Luther, author of the text of Christ lag in Todes Banden, and who, with Johann Walter, also wrote the melody (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Be strong in the Lord , and in the strength of His might . … For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” ( Eph. 6:10, 12). Spiritual warfare can be intense, but God’s grace enables you to prevail against Satan ’s attacks. Through the ages, Satan has accused, besieged, and battered believers in an effort to prevent them from living to the glory of God. He attempts to snatch the gospel message from a person’s heart even before salvation occurs ( Matt. 13:19). He bombards believers with false doctrine, trying to confuse and distract them from sound Biblical truth (Eph. 4:14). Martin Luther reported that his conflict with Satan became so intense that at one point it was as if he cou...

Our smallest offense deserves the full wrath of God. That’s hard to hear if we forget that God has not only covered our sin in Christ but also allows us to approach Him continually to receive that grace anew. We also know that God is holy—set apart in His perfection, glory, and majesty. We are sinners who sin every day. Our sin should grieve us but not condemn, because we serve a God who is good and gracious but also holy and just. So, what are we to do with this enigma of our sinfulness and God’s holiness that clings so close to us? Repent and receive God’s amazing grace.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” ( 1 Peter 1:18-19 ) How glibly we use the terms redeemed, redemption, and ransom. But what do they mean, and more importantly, what did Christ’s act of redemption mean? Three Greek words and their derivations are used in the New Testament to denote various aspects of this truth. In our text, “redeemed” comes from lutroo, which means to set free, buy back, or ransom. Christ’s innocent blood, sacrificed for us, bought us back. “By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” ( Hebrews 9:12 ). Redeemed from what? From slavery to sin. Jesus taught, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” ( John 8:34 ). Thankfully, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law” ( Galatians 3:...

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...