“One generation has said acting on [sinful desire] is physically acting on it, but Matthew 5 tells me that actually mentally acting on it is also a sin. So I think the distinction is not between the attraction and the deed, but between the temptation and the sin, whether the sin is physical, whether the sin is mental.”
“So one of the things that has helped me with the particular sins I’ve struggled with, temptations I’ve struggled with, is knowing that I’m around Christians who know their own sins as well.
“I think that makes it easier for people to confess sin if they know that there’s already a general culture of, you know, all of us are very aware of our own sins.”
“If we know our own hearts, we find it very hard to believe there’s another person out there more messed up than we are. And if each of us comes to church with that perspective, then we become approachable to others.”
“Every person I know who is opening up to me about the struggles that they face, whatever those struggles might be, I want them to know that I have a stake in their spiritual health, and their journeying with Jesus affects me and encourages me.”
“Honesty is a form of hospitality. But if I’m honest with you about what my life is like this week, I’m letting you into my reality.”
“For Jesus, what makes friendship friendship is disclosure.”
“The goal is to use whatever text we’re expounding to point people to the beauty of Jesus and the beauty of Jesus that is meant to be then evidenced in his people.”
“Having gone through some very painful seasons myself has changed how I pastored. It hasn’t changed the truth itself. It’s made the truth sweeter to me. I hope it’s made me more sensitive and more alert to the pains of others.”
“I’m seeing the same kinds of scandals and failings in right across the board in all kinds of denominations and streams and all the rest of it. Pastoral bullying, all those kinds of things seem to be happening irrespective of our theological traditions. And all of us need to come back to the Good Shepherd himself and to make sure that our own shepherding is not a contradiction of his shepherding.”
Mentioned in the Show
Galatians 6:2
Hebrews 3:13
John 15:15
Romans 15:7
1 Timothy 1:15
“You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Weary Churches” by Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund
Check out Sam’s website
Follow Sam on Facebook and Instagram
“Andy Stanley Affirms Traditional View of Marriage Following Controversial ‘Unconditional Conference’” by Jesse T. Jackson on ChurchLeaders
“Andy Stanley’s ‘Unconditional’ Contradiction” by Sam Allberry in Christianity Today
“Wycliffe Hall
