Tag Archives: Marriage

Do You Know Why You Can’t Forgive? – On Gospel Forgiveness

Paul David Tripp on ForgivenessIn his book What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage
Paul David Tripp offers the following on forgiveness:

“A lifestyle of unforgiveness is rooted in the sin of forgetfulness.

We forget that there is not a day in our lives that we do not need to be forgiven. We forget that we will never graduate from our need for grace. We forget that we have been loved with a love we could never earn, achieve, or deserve. We forget that God never mocks our weakness, never finds joy in throwing our failures in our face, never threatens to turn His back on us, and never makes us buy our way back into His favor.

When you remember, when you carry with you a deep appreciation for the grace that you have been given, you’ll have a heart that is ready to forgive.

That doesn’t mean that the process will be comfortable or easy, but it will mean that you can approach your needy spouse remembering that you are just as in need of what you’re about to give to him or her.”

Tripp writes this in a book about marriage but could not the word “spouse” be substituted with friend, co-worker, parent or child? I pray for us all, a grace of forgiveness rooted in remembering who we are before the throne of God’s holiness and the cross of His love.

Marriage and Statements of Faith

I was looking at the website of Middletown Springs Community Church in Vermont where Jared C. Wilson pastors. (If you’ve never looked at his blog, I encourage you to.)

Reviewing their statement of faith, I came across this item:

“We believe that God’s exclusive model for marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime of godliness and fidelity. It is a unique gift of God, illustrating the union between Christ and His Church. Marriage provides the framework for intimate companionship, sexual expression according to Biblical standards, the means for procreation, and is God’s foundation for the family. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-25; Proverbs 5:15-22; Song of Solomon; Ephesians 5:25-33)”

Does your church include a statement like this is your core beliefs?