A hypocrite wears a mask. It's a mask that hides defaults and conforms to surrounding expectations. In playing a role, hypocrites live fragmented lives. In Jesus, believers can abandon their masks. The grace of forgiveness and His new life in us allows us to drop pretence and live authentically. We are free to draw near to Him, press on with confidence and experience genuine love in community. We become real. The post Living Genuinely first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

Our obedience offers nothing to God. Rather, the commands of God are God’s blessing to us. God is not our employer, whom we serve by our obedience. Instead, God is our physician, who has given us commands to heal us of our hellish natures. The post Part 2: True vs. False Obedience first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

If we can't be good, we try to appear good. We do and say the right things to mask our internal failures. But appearing good can never replace obedience. Nothing replaces our need to do the will of God. It's an impossible task for us. But Jesus always does the will of the Father. Through Him, our requirement for obedience is fulfilled. The post Obedience, Not Sacrifice first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

It's our default to manage our lives. We try to control the direction and outcomes of our thoughts, words, and deeds. We even try to manage our sin problem by fixing it, balancing the bad with the good or trying to outrun our sin with a fresh start. Dr. John teaches that we can't manage our sins away. Even the sacrifices of Old Covenant could not solve the problem of sin. Only a perfect Saviour has the power to put an end to sin. The post The Sin Management Problem first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

Obedience Is Hard! If you think that obeying God is easy, you have never tried it. Hebrews 5:7-8 says that Jesus Himself learned obedience by what He suffered and that… The post Part 1: How to Obey God first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

Modern sensitivities would want to shape Christianity into a bloodless code of morality. The Bible prohibits it. Christianity is founded upon, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins." Listen as Dr. John teaches about the necessity of not just Jesus' death, but the shedding of His blood. By that sacrifice, we are forgiven. The post The Blood of the Covenant first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

Distract. Deny. Desensitize. These are the ways many cope with guilt and shame. On our own, we have no remedy to silence our guilty conscience except distract, deny, desensitize. But God has the answer. Today, Dr. John teaches on the grace of a clear, cleansed conscience. It is found in the sufficiency of Jesus. The post The Cleansing of the Conscience first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

We are quick to criticize the old once something new arrives. The new car reminds us of how antiquated our old car was! From Hebrews 9, Dr. John teaches on the value of the old covenant, even when the new one has come. The first covenant proclaimed that our sin creates a barrier between us and a holy God. That distance can only be crossed by God's initiative and God's design. Jesus is the only access for sinners to stand before our righteous Creator. The post The Earthly Holy Place first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

A covenant is a promise. It is the assurance of what will be. So why did God give two covenants to His people, the "Old and the New?" Dr. John teaches from Hebrews 8 to compare the covenants God has made. The new covenant is not a changing of purpose or a contradiction of the old. The covenant made by Jesus in His blood fulfills and enlarges what God had promised at Sinai. The covenant of Calvary grants the assurance of justice and grace. The post The New Covenant first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more

Every collector knows that the real item is of more value than a copy of it. The book of Hebrews repeats this central truth. The priestly ministry of sacrifices in an earthly sanctuary are symbols that point to the ultimate ministry of Jesus for us all. Dr. John reminds us that symbols are worthy only if they point us to what is real - the full and sufficient sacrifice of Jesus for our sin. Our confidence for redemption lies in genuine sacrifice and service of our true High Priest - Jesus Christ. The post The True Sanctuary of God first appeared on Back to the Bible Canada ..read more