The BIG Picture (Q&A)

SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTION: Why do Christians fall for Paul, who openly admitted that he was a liar (Rom 3:7), crafty (2 Cor 12:16), chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15), a blasphemer (1 Tim 1:13), a murderer (Acts 22:4), preacher of his own gospel (Rom 2:16) who never even met Jesus? MY REPLY: Paul, like every one of us, is a sinner. His self-admitted flaws—being a persecutor of Christians (Acts 22:4), a blasphemer (1 Timothy 1:13), and the "chief of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15)—highlight the universal truth that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23, KJV). Even Peter, James, and John were not without sin. Peter, for instance, denied the Lord three times (Luke 22:61-62), yet millions 'fall for Peter' as a saint. Despite these shortcomings, God’s grace transformed their lives and used them mightily for His purposes. Similarly, Paul’s violations you mention are no different from those of any of us. We are all in the same boat as sinners needing a Savior, and ...

Social Media Question: What must we do to live according to Christ? My Reply: Let us take the biblical advice from Romans 5–8 to answer this question. To live according to Christ, one must first be justified through faith in Him, Romans 5:1. This justification marks the beginning of a journey, where one grows in the knowledge of God’s Word. It becomes essential to understand that living according to Christ cannot be achieved through personal effort. Our flesh is at enmity with God, and our natural mind is corrupt. The starting point is immersing oneself in the Word of God (specifically the epistle of Romans) and allowing it to renew the mind, for it is the carnal and corrupted mind that prevents us from living in alignment with Christ. It is crucial to recognize that one cannot live both according to Christ and according to sin. By nature, we yield to sin, for it is all we know, Rom.6. As the Word begins to reveal the nature of sin and exposes how living in sin is displeasing to God, w...