Dr Paul Allen

“This is the conflicted experience of all believers of all times and in all places.” —Abraham Kuruvilla. Every Christian is like Spider-Man.  Not because we shoot webs, but because we live with a fundamental identity crisis. We've been supernaturally transformed—united with Christ in baptism—yet we still struggle with the same old problems. Why it matters:  The gap between our new identity in Christ and our ongoing battle with sin creates confusion and discouragement. Understanding how sanctification actually works is crucial for faithful Christian living. Here's the sanctification tension: We've been genuinely cured.  Union with Christ in baptism is a real, completed work of God. We're no longer under sin's ultimate authority or the law's condemnation. Christ took on that condemnation—death—so we're freed from both sin and the law's condemning power. But we still experience the effects.  Even though we're united with Christ, sin still "has its ...

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” ( Romans 1:16 ) The great theme of “salvation” (Greek soteria, Hebrew yeshua) is prominent in both Old and New Testaments. It basically means “deliverance” and can be used for local and specific “deliverances” from perils, as well as for the eternal deliverance of one’s soul. In the latter sense, it is used for deliverance from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin in daily life, and from the very presence of sin in the future life. Salvation, of course, is found only through the Lord Jesus Christ, whose very coming into the world was to “save his people from their sins” ( Matthew 1:21 ). The name Jesus means “salvation.” In fact, His name really was Yeshua, the word that often is translated “salvation” in the Old Testament. Devout Simeon, after waiting for many years, took the infant Jesus in his arms, exclaiming by th...

But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this, we know that we are in Him. 1 John 2:5 The New Testament is emphatically clear that we are saved entirely by the grace of God through faith in Christ . “For by grace are ye saved through faith; . . . it is the gift of God” ( Ephesians 2:8 ). But how can we know for sure that our professed faith in Christ is genuine and we are really saved? Many who claim to be Christians are not truly saved, for Christ said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” ( Matthew 7:21 ). Now, note that John’s main purpose in writing his gospel was to win people to saving faith in Christ. “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might have life through his name” ( John 20:31 ). Then the ultimate purpose of his first epistle was to assure them they were saved. “These things have I written unto you that believe on...