Tag: righteousness

How Christmas Isn’t Just about a Savior

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation, Theology
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Two thousand years ago, when shepherds came and bowed down to a newborn baby boy in Bethlehem, they weren’t bowing to merely a savior; they were bowing to a new way of life.

Christmas has become the time of year we celebrate Jesus, remembering His miraculous birth. But if we’re not careful, Jesus gets relegated to just a savior. He saves us from hell, from eternal damnation. Because of Jesus, we have hope beyond this life, right? We will live with God in Heaven, forever! And that is certainly something worth celebrating!

But it’s not the whole story.

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What I Love about Jesus

By Asher Witmer Ecclesiology, Spiritual Formation, Theology
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There are so many people who are disillusioned with church, today. It is easy to get overly focused on the negatives and weaknesses of church that we miss the profound beauty and glory it displays to the world. So, in an attempt to help us regain (or stay focused on) the beauty of the Bride of Christ, I am going to share a three-part series entitled, “What I love about…,” starting with Jesus.

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Nonconformity: Does It Even Matter?

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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Because of grace, there are no excuses for sinful living. Only, God is for us. Not against us. Too often we live the Christian life expecting ourselves to be more perfect then even God expects us to be. As if holiness is something we are to accomplish before we have peace with Him. But that matter was taken care of by Christ on the Cross. We have peace, period. We can now live in relationship with God, and it is from that relationship we find the ability to live as He designed, to obey Him from the heart instead of obligation as they did under the Old Testament Law.

We still live in a fallen world, though, bound by a fallen nature. Living as He designed goes contrary to our nature. We have been grafted in—we’re not a part of the trunk that gave us root. It feels more natural to live without Him.

It is within this context that Paul is writing in Roman’s twelve.

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