Category: The Largely Catechized Life

The eighth commandment, you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, is not just a command to tell the truth in court. It is a God who cares about your reputation every bit as much as He cares about your earthly possessions. You can steal my wallet. I’ll get a new one. Fixing a bad reputation is harder. God calls us to help our neighbors to stand with integrity by speaking of them the same way God sees them: holy, precious, and worthy of love.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.

We know the collar is intimidating. For some reason people think it’s the job of the pastor to dig through their lives to find sin. It is the pastor’s job to speak God’s law in all of its truth and purity, but God establishes government to establish good order by punishing sins. Your pastor teaches God’s law, and then reproves it so that he can forgive the sins you bring to him.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.

The eighth commandment, you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, is not just a command to tell the truth in court. It is a God who cares about your reputation every bit as much as He cares about your earthly possessions. You can steal my wallet. I’ll get a new one. Fixing a bad reputation is harder. God calls us to help our neighbors to stand with integrity by speaking of them the same way God sees them: holy, precious, and worthy of love.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman (http://higherthings.org/contact) or message him on Facebook (http://facebook.com/higherthings).
——-
Support Higher Things!

Higher Things exists and grows based on donations from individuals and congregations. Please consider donating to Higher Things at http://higherthings.org/support.

Your gift helps us to continue to release great content like this.

We know the collar is intimidating. For some reason people think it’s the job of the pastor to dig through their lives to find sin. It is the pastor’s job to speak God’s law in all of its truth and purity, but God establishes government to establish good order by punishing sins. Your pastor teaches God’s law, and then reproves it so that he can forgive the sins you bring to him.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman (http://higherthings.org/contact) or message him on Facebook (http://facebook.com/higherthings).
——-
Support Higher Things!

Higher Things exists and grows based on donations from individuals and congregations. Please consider donating to Higher Things at http://higherthings.org/support.

Your gift helps us to continue to release great content like this.

Greed is everywhere in the world, and it causes a lot of pain. Greedy hearts break the 7^thcommandment, not just in stealing, but in working against our neighbor’s wellbeing. The problem is, when more stuff becomes your god, it never saves, and never even brings true enjoyment. These things come from God. He even gives us earthly gifts to enjoy and use in service to our neighbor. When you steal from others, you’ll never have enough, but if your eyes are on the Lord, everything you receive from Him is plenty. 

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.

God’s law shows just how common sin is. Stealing is not just taking something that doesn’t belong to you. It’s working against your neighbor’s possessions. That includes enough to call us all sinners who deserve death. Thanks be to God that He would be crucified between thieves to save them. We can look at the fullness of the commandment knowing our Lord bears the cross to save us as well.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.

God’s law shows just how common sin is. Stealing is not just taking something that doesn’t belong to you. It’s working against your neighbor’s possessions. That includes enough to call us all sinners who deserve death. Thanks be to God that He would be crucified between thieves to save them. We can look at the fullness of the commandment knowing our Lord bears the cross to save us as well.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman (http://higherthings.org/contact) or message him on Facebook (http://facebook.com/higherthings).
——-
Support Higher Things!

Higher Things exists and grows based on donations from individuals and congregations. Please consider donating to Higher Things at http://higherthings.org/support.

Your gift helps us to continue to release great content like this.

So much of the trouble in marriage comes from the idea that we can do more to make it perfect. We have to find our soulmate. We have to love them. We have to do it all. When you see that your spouse is given to you from God, soulmate becomes something new. It is not a singular person who you will never sin towards if only you could find them. It is the person God has joined you together with in marriage. I know I married my soulmate because God married us. Even as He joined us together, we seek harmony in His forgiveness.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.

So much of the trouble in marriage comes from the idea that we can do more to make it perfect. We have to find our soulmate. We have to love them. We have to do it all. When you see that your spouse is given to you from God, soulmate becomes something new. It is not a singular person who you will never sin towards if only you could find them. It is the person God has joined you together with in marriage. I know I married my soulmate because God married us. Even as He joined us together, we seek harmony in His forgiveness.

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman (http://higherthings.org/contact) or message him on Facebook (http://facebook.com/higherthings).
——-
Support Higher Things!

Higher Things exists and grows based on donations from individuals and congregations. Please consider donating to Higher Things at http://higherthings.org/support.

Your gift helps us to continue to release great content like this.

When God calls us to love our neighbor, it’s more than just a list of things we shouldn’t do to them. We’re called to help and support them. 

Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.