I was in the wrong; words of rebuke would have been appropriate, but they would not have rescued me. I would have received them as just another verbal beating. What melted my heart and changed my life was grace, poured out in patient words of forgiveness and love.

When you really do value what God values, by grace you are being rescued from you. You are being protected from all the dark reactive instincts that are the result of remaining sin. And when you are being rescued from you, you respond to others in brand-new, beautiful, and God-honoring ways.

Moral High Ground “Moral high ground” was a foundational piece of the identity and toxic legalism of the Pharisees. Jesus powerfully exposed that what the Pharisees thought was moral high ground was a mirage, a false identity. There is a stark difference between true righteousness (the moral high ground that is only ever ours by grace) and prideful

Here’s what we need to remember: vengeful anger is always the result of some person trying to do God’s job. There is only one judge of the heart. There is only one who is able to mete out perfectly holy and just judgment.

Unity is of greater value than individualism or tribalism. Sadly, sin causes us to be better at division than unity. Sin causes us to confuse unity with a demand for uniformity. Sin causes us to think that we can do individually what can only be accomplished in community with others.

It often claims to defend God’s truth, but in a way that does not give him honor. It claims to love God, but treats brothers and sisters as enemies. Wisdom that lacks patient humility and forgiving love is a form of “wisdom” that is not wise.

Grace is humble. It is grace that keeps you from being impressed by your own insight. It keeps you from being proud of the size of your platform. It frees you from taking credit for what you could have never produced on your own. It enables you to be able to listen to those who have not achieved what you have. It means you don’t speak with the

As the conquering Savior King, all things have been placed under his feet. And because of that, he is our help and hope. It is not natural for us to love our enemies. It is not natural for us to speak with words of grace to those who oppose what we know to be true. It’s not natural for me to treat someone with respect whose lifestyle God says is

“Child of God” is a title you could never have earned or deserved on your own. It is who you are only by the intervention of divine grace. What John is talking about here is not some future hope; it is who you are right now and, because it is, you have been freed by grace from the identity-fear madness that grips so many.