I’m the pastor of FBC Jackson in Jackson, Alabama. Each week, I post “Article Roundup: Helpful Reads,” sharing articles that I believe will benefit the saints who make up FBC Jackson and followers of Christ everywhere. Happy reading!
What is Sin? by Garrett Kell
In warfare, you must understand your enemy. In spiritual warfare, we must understand sin, one of our chief enemies. Because of this, articles like this are helpful. “Sin is in us and comes out of us. We are born with a sin nature, and even after we become Christians, we still battle with ongoing sin. Sin appears in our affections and our actions, in what we desire and what we do, in what we seek and what we say. It consists in doing what we shouldn’t (sins of commission) and in not doing things we should (sins of omission).”
Which Sins Are Feeding Your Sins of Lust? by David Powlison
What if the root of sexual sin is something we haven’t considered? What if our urge to lust after others actually stems from feelings of self-pity or idleness, or perhaps a number of other subtle sins? “Consider our struggle with sin and suffering this way. Imagine a multiplex theater screening many movies simultaneously. Immorality or violation might be the “feature film” advertised on the marquee. But other significant films are playing in other screening rooms. The war with sin, the experience of affliction, and the triumph of grace take place in many places simultaneously.”
What If She Won’t Follow: To Men With Egalitarian Wives by Adrien Segal
Are you married to a woman who’s been influenced by feminism? In this article, Adrien Segal gives godly counsel on how to lead and shepherd a wife who may not be eager to follow. “Four decades ago, when I got married, I asked to have the words “and to obey” removed from my wedding vows: ‘for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey . . .’ As a female executive and partner in an advertising agency, my egalitarian instincts ran deep. I was a Christian, and I also wholeheartedly believed a woman could and should hold any position a man might if she were able. . . . Today, however, I joyfully embrace the biblical vision of sexual complementarity. I am living proof that a wife can change from being offended at the very word submit to celebrating the beauty of God’s plan for men and women, husbands and wives.”
God’s Plan to Redeem the Earth by Randy Alcorn
This article will fill you with hope—inexpressible hope! “God isn’t going to abandon His creation. He’s going to restore it. Earth’s destruction will not be permanent but temporary. Just as our destroyed bodies will be raised as new bodies, the destroyed Earth will be raised as a New Earth. We won’t go to Heaven and leave Earth behind. Rather, God will bring Heaven and Earth together into the same dimension, with no wall of separation, no armed angels to guard Heaven’s perfection from sinful mankind (Genesis 3:24).”
Four Neglected Essentials of Evangelism by David Wissel
Most of us could be more faithful in evangelism. Thankfully, David Wissel lays out four aspects of evangelism that will spur us on to greater faithfulness in taking the gospel to unbelievers. “The Japanese are the second-largest unreached people group in the world. Tokyo, where I serve as an associate pastor, is the largest city in human history and thus home to the greatest concentration of lost people on earth. From my time in this unreached context, I’ve noticed that Christians often neglect four aspects of evangelism that the Bible and church history treat as essential.”
Doctrine & Devotion 