CWR Blog
Christianity Without The Religion BLOG hosted by Brad Jersak.
David Hayward
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 3, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Penal substitution is a legal term, a forensic model of our relationship to and with God. But the gospel is not about forensic punishment, evening the score or paying our debt. The gospel is about forgiveness, grace, mercy and love, so that God seeks our love, not his satisfaction. God in Christ is not worried about the holiness of his name or reputation – they are set aside on the Cross, when Jesus endured and consumed all hatred, evil and sin forever. How? Not by a legal mechanism, but through ...
God = Grace, Love and Fellowship – Greg Albrecht
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).
God is love. That’s the most concise biblical definition given to us. God IS love… which is infinitely beyond love being one of many of his attributes. Love is his essence, his totality and center of his being.
It seems that God as Triune is embedded within this passage in Corinthians. However, while I believe the best biblically-based explanation about God is a Trinitarian definition, I also believe it is “the best ...
Saints and Sinners
Today's sermon assures us from the Bible that Christians are both saints and sinners at the same time and that Jesus does not turn his face from us.
Giving Life by Ed Dunn
This Month at PTM - May 2025:
Watch a short video and the message on "Giving Life" by Ed Dunn as he updates us on the latest from Christianity Without the Religion and Plain Truth Ministries.
https://vimeo.com/1075400776
Recovering From Legalism – Quiz
Could you be a legalist?—Take the quiz!
Answer yes or no to the following questions:
God's love for me depends on what I do.
Meeting the expectations of others, especially those in my congregation or in positions of authority, are paramount.
Moral and ethical questions are usually black and white and only made into fuzzy shades of gray by hand-wringing, bleeding-heart types.
I try hard to obey God and it irritates me that others think they can get away with avoiding the same level of dedication.
I fall short because I don't have enough faith, or ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 1, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Our physical world is filled with death and decay. The cycle of life ensures aging and obsolescence. You buy a shiny new car and five years later it looks like it has been through a war. You move into a new house and you try to maintain it, take care of the plants and the lawn, keep the house painted – but sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, given the time you have, the house seems to start falling apart around you. You buy a computer, only to find out a few years later that it is obsolete. ...
When Your Religion Fails You
Pastor Greg shows that Christ’s invitation for us to come to him promises rest FROM religion, its legalism, its demands and its failure to give us rest.
Our Debt Forgiven
At dinner in a Pharisee’s house, Jesus forgave a harlot. Her debt was great, yet she was forgiven. You will be forgiven too, if you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, but if you try to do it on your own as the Pharisee did, then your debt remains.
Jesus: Historical and Experiential – Jim Fowler
An unfortunate separation has often been made between the Jesus as narrated in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the Jesus explained in the rest of the New Testament writings, particularly in the Pauline epistles. In the minds of some the Jesus of history and the Jesus of experience are detached as two different entities or two different stories. How do we explain the differentiation between the physical, visible, and tangible presence of Jesus recorded in the Gospel accounts, and the risen, ascended, invisible, and spiritual presence of Jesus ...
The Transgressive God – Kenneth Tanner
There’s no boundary the human God will not violate to sit down at the table with all of us.
Our transgressive God brushes arms with an agent of larcenous Rome as they dip bread from the same bowl of olive oil.
God leans into a woman, listening; places his arm around the penitent’s shoulders as she pours out the secrets of her heart.
This ease at table with sinners does not sit well with those who mistake God for someone who keeps a record of wrongs on an invisible slate, eager to cancel some persons altogether.
The offended confront Jesus about his ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
April 29, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Legalistic religion can think of no more stinging rebuke than to call someone failing to measure up to its dictates, dogmas and dictums an antinomian (law breaker). When I tell people that by the grace of God I am part of the body of Christ, and that church is what I am rather than a brick-and-mortar building I attend, they ask me, in all sincerity, ‘Well, how are you going to be accountable? Who will discipline you when you need it?’
What they really want to know is who is going to give me my religious report ...
Helpless Christians
We can do nothing of eternal significance without the Holy Spirit working through us. The Holy Spirit eternally abides and lives in us — there is a permanence in that relationship.
Holy Help
Jesus promised his disciples the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit is available to Christians today. Be encouraged in today’s sermon that the Holy Spirit is there for you.
CWR Video – “Why Did Jesus Die?” – by Brad Jersak
Short video by Brad Jersak
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Life, Dirt, Dust and Jesus – Ken Williams
Since becoming elderly I have been writing in my journal with my age and health in view. A friend suggested I share such thoughts with others, admitting my life is returning to the dust I came from while being grateful for the presence of eternity here and now. This is made possible by remaining focused on Christ alone, grace alone, and faith alone.
Speaking of dirt, dust, and Jesus, my father John Perkins Williams trusted God despite his many plans returning to dust. He passed on wisdom to me that have made life worth living no matter how “dusty” things ...
Giving Birth – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter - May 2025:
When we ponder the crucifixion of Jesus, we seldom think of his death on his Cross as a symbol of birthing, much like that of a woman in the travail and labor of childbirth. We do speak of Jesus’ work on the Cross – that is, his labor.
Giving birth is not passive – it is active work. Mothers suffer pain, even risking their own lives, to bring forth a new life. Water and blood were part of the work on the Cross, just as they are part of the birth event for a woman who becomes a mother.
The night before he was ...
Our Greatest Treasure – Steve Orr
In our Divine Treasure Hunt series, we pondered where the divine treasure is. Now, going beyond the where, let us consider the what.
What is the worth? Given that the treasure is divine, it must be rich beyond our comprehension. I picture the elaborately ornate New Jerusalem described in Revelation and think, “And we're going to live there? Our treasures are rich indeed!”
So, how can we be good stewards of our treasure? Consider Jesus' parable in the gospel of Luke:
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
April 26, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“You may have heard the story about St. Peter giving a tour of heaven. New arrivals boarded a tour bus with St. Peter as their guide. Early in their heavenly tour they drove past a gated community, surrounded by ten-foot-high brick walls covered with ivy. The enclave sported manicured lawns and beautiful hedges and flower gardens leading up to the gate where uniformed personnel ensured no one entered who was not worthy.
One new arrival said, ‘Who lives in there?’ St. Peter lowered his voice and in a ...
Here’s How You Can Do It
Jesus tells us that apart from him we can do nothing, and the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians that he can do all things through Christ who strengthened him. Listen to this encouraging sermon.
May 2025 Plain Truth Magazine
The May 2025 Plain Truth magazine is now available for your reading pleasure. Check out the articles and items linked below.
Articles:
God = Grace, Love and Fellowship – pg. 1
The Comfort of Christ – pg. 2
"Thanks for shining Jesus' light in the darkness!" – pg. 4
We Don't Need Perfect Mothers – pg. 6
Mother Jones – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
CLICK HERE to read now
We hope that our articles and resources bring comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to our readers. If you’re experiencing that, please ...
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
