The pope has officially jumped the shark. While a number of mainline Protestant denominations and prominent Evangelical pastors have changed their position on homosexuality and same-sex marriage in recent years, I never expected that the Catholic Church would do so. On Monday, the pope issued a declaration (Fiducia Supplicans) allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. To be fair, the Catholic Church is still officially saying homosexual behavior is sinful and still rejects same-sex marriage as genuine marriage, but blessing same-sex couples is at least tantamount to a moral approval of homosexual behavior.
Hamartiology
Archived Posts from this Category
December 20, 2023
Pope Francis approves the blessing of same-sex unions
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Homosexuality, Same-sex Marriage, Sin, Theology[3] Comments
December 6, 2023
Hypocrisy is not moral failure, but moral pretending
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Holiness, Theology[4] Comments
Most people would define a hypocrite as someone who does something that they claim is wrong. That can’t be the right definition, however, because it would consign everyone to being a hypocrite. Everyone sins, which means everyone who believes in morality acts in ways that is contrary to morality. That would make everyone a hypocrite. If your definition of hypocrite turns every person into a hypocrite, then your definition is not a meaningful definition. Something is wrong with the definition. A hypocrite is not someone who fails to live up to their moral ideals, but someone who falsely professes to believe in such ideals in the first place. A hypocrite is an actor.
See also:
“I’m not a Christian because there are too many hypocrites in the church”
October 5, 2021
The True Meaning of Hypocrite
Posted by Jason Dulle under Bible, Hamartiology, Hermeneutics, Holiness, Theology[4] Comments
People often misunderstand and misapply the term “hypocrite.” A hypocrite literally refers to an actor. They are pretenders. In the realm of morals, a hypocrite is someone who pretends to be moral. They tell you not to do something, but have no intention of following their own commands. They are people who do not think their own rules apply to them. They might pretend to keep these rules, but secretly they flout them.
On the other hand, there are those who believe the moral commands they preach to others apply equally to themselves, and they do their best to live up to those moral ideals. However, they fail to do so perfectly or consistently. When they fail their moral standards, they regret it and repent. These people are not hypocrites. They are simply fallen humans doing their best to do what’s right, but failing to do so perfectly.
August 10, 2021
Forgiveness: The Misunderstood Virtue
Posted by Jason Dulle under Forgiveness, Hamartiology, Theology1 Comment
I have long been concerned by the modern, therapeutic view of forgiveness. On this view, forgiveness is primarily about ridding oneself of anger toward those who have hurt us, and this can be done completely independent of the sinner. He does not need to repent, and he does not need to know we have forgiven him.
In the paper linked at the end of this post, I argue that Biblical forgiveness is about restoring relationships that have been fractured by sin (Mt 5:24; 18:15; 2 Cor 5:19), not ridding ourselves of anger toward those who hurt us. Forgiveness is an act whereby we release the offender from his moral debt against us and choose to treat him as if he had never sinned. If we are no longer angry at our offender, but have not reconciled the relationship, then we have not forgiven. If we reconcile the relationship, however, treating our offender as we did prior to their sin, then true forgiveness has been achieved – even if we still feel anger toward them. Feelings typically follow actions, so our feelings of anger will typically subside as we begin to treat our offender in a loving way.
Forgiveness is not something that can be done from afar, privately affirming our forgiveness to God in prayer. Forgiveness is something we grant directly to our offender, letting him know that we agree to restore the relationship. Of course, this requires that the offender seek to restore the relationship through repentance for his sin. Biblical forgiveness is not automatic or unconditional. We can only forgive those who have repented of their sin (Matthew 18:15-35; Luke 17:3-4). If they do not repent, they cannot be forgiven. We may release our anger against them, choose to love them, and determine to live peaceably with them, but the relationship cannot be restored to its pre-sin state until they repent.
Forgiveness – The Misunderstood Virtue
June 17, 2021
God wants you to be holy more than He wants you to be happy
Posted by Jason Dulle under Ethics, Hamartiology, Holiness, Marriage and Divorce, Sin, Theology[4] Comments
If you think “God just wants me to be happy,” you are going to be very disappointed in your Christian life, and inclined toward sin and doubt. False expectations never end well.
The notion that God just wants us to be happy has led many believers to question God’s existence when some evil befalls them or their life is not working out the way they wanted. It has led others to disobey God’s Word, reasoning that God can’t possibly require them to do X since X does not bring them happiness. I see this all the time when it comes to matters of sexuality and divorce/remarriage.
This isn’t to say God wants us to be sad, but merely that God’s purpose for our lives is not our personal happiness per se. His purpose is that we live our lives for His purpose and that our character be conformed to His image. He is primarily interested in our obedience, our dedication, and our faithfulness – not our happiness. While obedience often leads to happiness, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it leads to loss, sorrow, and personal difficulty.
No, God does not want you to be happy. He wants you to obey Him. He wants you to take up our cross and follow Him. Doing so will always bring ultimate fulfillment, but not always ultimate happiness.
February 12, 2021
Faith that works
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Holiness, Soteriology, Theology[11] Comments
We are saved by faith, not works, but the faith that saves is a faith that works. True saving faith will produce good works. Faith, not works, is the causal condition for salvation, but good works are the necessary effect of our saving faith. That doesn’t mean we will be perfect, but it does mean we will be moving toward perfection via the process of sanctification.
February 10, 2021
Tempted to works righteousness
Posted by Jason Dulle under Faith, Hamartiology, Holiness, Justification, Sin, Theology[444] Comments
Our biggest temptation as humans is works righteousness – thinking that we can earn our salvation by own goodness. Ask the average nominal Christian in America how he knows he is saved and you’re likely to hear, “Well, I’m a pretty good person.” Even those who recognize that they are saved by grace alone often feel the temptation to believe they are “kept,” at least in part, by their good works. While we are certainly saved for good works (Eph 2:8-10; Tit 2:11-12), good works cannot save us or keep us saved. Our trust in Jesus alone saves us. Faith causes salvation – good works are the effect.
We could never do enough good works to be accepted by God because, in God’s economy, good works cannot cancel out evil works. And it’s our evil works that are the problem. They are an affront to God’s holiness. If we are to have a relationship with a holy God, our evil works have to be dealt with. The problem is that mankind has no ability to atone for his evil works. Only God can do that. And He did. He became a man and paid the penalty for our sin (death) on the cross. The sinless man died in the place of sinful man. The way we access the atonement God provided for us is by trusting in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Since God’s acceptance of us is based entirely on Jesus’ work rather than our own, God’s continued acceptance of us is also based on Jesus’ work rather than our own (Rom 5:8-11).
October 5, 2020
Damned if we do, damned if we don’t
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Ethics, Hamartiology, Problem of Evil, Sin, Theology[10] Comments
Sometimes we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Let me give you two examples where Christians cannot seem to win with non-Christians.
Non-Christians will often complain that Christians are hypocrites, by which they mean we do not live up to our own moral codes. While we say people should do X, we ourselves fail to do X. And yet, these same people will complain when one Christian calls out another Christian for their immoral behavior. Now the complaint is “you shouldn’t judge” (not recognizing that they themselves are making a judgement when they say “you should not judge” – and thus being hypocritical themselves – and that they make a judgment when they say Christians are hypocrites). So let me get this straight. Christians are damned if they fail to live up to their own moral standards, and they are damned if they try to encourage each other to live up to their own moral standards. Can we win?
October 5, 2020
Psalm 130:3-4 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
Our eternal destination is not determined by our sin, but by our Savior. If no good work can earn salvation, then no evil work can forfeit our salvation. All Christians commit sin. We are saved, not because we stop sinning, but because we trust in the One who never sinned.
April 29, 2020
A hypocrite is not one who fails to live up to his own ideals, but one who falsely proclaims to have such ideals in the first place.
See also “I’m not a Christian because there are too many hypocrites in the church“
May 13, 2019
We tend to define backsliding as a believer reverting to a life dominated by sin, but I think a better definition of backsliding is simply when we lose spiritual ground that we had achieved previously.
March 6, 2018
You Can’t Forgive Yourself
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Miscellaneous, Soteriology, Theology[249] Comments
We often speak of the need to “forgive yourself.” While I understand what is meant by this phrase, it is unintelligible on the Christian worldview. People speak of the need to forgive themselves in the context of feeling guilt for something they did (or failed to do). They recognize the need to eliminate this guilt and get on with their life – to stop beating themselves up for their failure.
The problem with this notion is that it’s not possible to forgive oneself. Forgiveness is something only a third party can grant to you. You can no more forgive yourself than you can give something to yourself. On the Christian worldview, the ultimate source of our forgiveness is God Himself. We will never stop feeling guilt if we are looking to ourselves. The solution for guilt is not self-forgiveness, but divine forgiveness. If we continue feeling guilt after we have repented of our sin, that is evidence that we have not truly believed that God has forgiven us – because once God forgives and we believe He has forgiven, the conscience ought to be quieted (Heb 9).
May 17, 2016
I am no prophet, but based on the current trends in our culture, I think the following may be the cultural and moral battles of the near future:
- Normalization of sex between adults and underage teens (age ~14-17)
- Genetically modified designer babies (for health, longevity, intelligence, etc.)
- Sexual reproduction to be replaced by the scientific engineering of babies (babies created and grown in the lab – artificial wombs)
- Temporary marriages
- Marriage to robots and animals
- Normalization of adultery and open marriages
- Parental “ownership” of their children will be denied
- Some animals will be deemed “persons” with rights
- Nature rights will spread
- Infanticide
Do you agree or disagree? Any items you would add to or remove from the list?
February 19, 2016
The Story of Christianity from Beginning to End: Putting the Pieces Together
Posted by Jason Dulle under Bible, Christology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Hamartiology, Hell, Mosaic Law, Nature of God, Resurrection, Soteriology, Spiritual gifts, Theology, Theology Proper, Worldview[125] Comments
Much of the Bible is written in narrative form. It tells a story – a true story, but a story nonetheless. There is a lot of information in the Bible to digest, and it’s easy to get lost in the details and miss the big picture. So how does one put it all together? What is the essence of the Biblical story? What is the basic story line from Genesis to Revelation? Various attempts have been to condense the major themes and events in the Bible into a coherent, terse story line. Here is my attempt to arrange the puzzle pieces into a clear picture, such as it is. I hope it will tie together some loose ends that may exist in your mind and offer you a bird’s-eye view of the greatest story ever told: (more…)
January 12, 2016
Cohabitation is bad for your…everything
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Hamartiology, Holiness, Sin, Social[2] Comments
The American College of Pediatricians explains why cohabitation is bad for society in just about every way imaginable. And yet cohabitation continues to rise as the folk wisdom says it will increase one’s chances of marital success. Nothing could be further from the truth. The most happiness does not come from receiving the benefits of marriage (sex, playing house) without actual marriage, but from marriage itself.
See also: The sociology of cohabitation: “Shacking up” isn’t such a good idea after all
November 20, 2015
Christian morality will never be palatable to the non-Christian
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Holiness, Theology[5] Comments
Trying to make Christian morality palatable to those in moral rebellion against God is like trying to make civil law palpable to criminals. They will never like God’s laws no matter how reasonable we demonstrate those laws to be. Defiant children do not care that eating too much candy will make them throw up or give them diabetes. They simply want candy. Likewise, those who want their sexual sin, their abortion, and a myriad of other sins do not care about the wisdom in God’s laws. They want what they want, and they will ridicule and deride those who say otherwise. This is not to say that we should not attempt to explain the reason for and benefits of God’s law. It’s just to say that we shouldn’t be surprised when this fails to change their behavior.
March 3, 2015
Will God Forgive Intentional Sin?
Posted by Jason Dulle under Forgiveness, Hamartiology, Holiness, Theology | Tags: forgiveness, unforgivable sin |[82] Comments
Many Christians wonder whether God will forgive them for intentional sin – particularly premeditated and habitual sins. It’s easy to believe God will forgive us for accidental sins, but not for sins that we plan out in advance or choose to do over and over again.
So, will God forgive such sins? Before we answer that question we should be clear about what God thinks of these sins. He hates them because He hates all sin. Sin is contrary to His holy nature. Sin ruptures God’s relationship with us, and this grieves Him. He has given us the power to choose righteousness (Romans 6; 8:1-4) and yet we choose unrighteousness instead. (more…)
February 24, 2015
Should Christians smoke marijuana?
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Holiness, Theology[18] Comments
Now that Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C. have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, more Christians are asking whether smoking marijuana is truly immoral. After all, it’s legal.[1] Joe Carter has a thoughtful article on this issue that I found extremely helpful.[2] He argues that smoking marijuana is immoral. Here is Carter’s argument in a nutshell (with some ad-lib on my part at certain points): (more…)
December 5, 2013
Christians often disagree regarding matters of personal holiness. Those defending themselves against the charge of sin for some X will often respond by saying, “It’s not that bad.” Of course, to say something is “not that bad” is tantamount to saying it’s “not that good” either. In such cases, we should be honest with ourselves and others and just admit that X is not spiritually advantageous for us, even if it is morally tolerable. Would we be better off if we abstained? Perhaps. Are we sinning if we don’t? No.
July 29, 2013
Grace is not permissiveness
Posted by Jason Dulle under Hamartiology, Holiness, Theology[9] Comments
We should not confuse permissiveness for grace. Grace says, “I love you and forgive you, so you need to stop this sin,” not “I love you and forgive you, so it doesn’t matter what you do.” We are living in a culture that thinks love and forgiveness mean we should permit people to continue in their sin while we continue in our silence. This is not grace, and this is not love. Grace and love will always confront sin, because grace and love are the remedy for sin, not the license to continue in it.
Thinking to Believe 