The true measure of success for Christian parenting is the parents’ own character. To the degree that we have followed God’s design for parenting, we have succeeded as parents before God. As a general rule, parents who follow biblical principles in bringing up their children will see a positive effect on the character of their children.

There is something intrinsically self-denying in a really good marriage. And unbelievably fulfilling. If we dispose of our western/modern culture baggage connected to the misunderstanding of the word, God’s love is central.

Before the Fall, God was at the center of Adam and Eve’s world. Now, since the fall, the reality is each individual naturally wants to be the center of the universe.

Those who want to be leaders in the church today must begin by recognizing that there is no special, elitist qualification. The qualifications for leadership is given elsewhere in the Bible: 1 Timothy 3:1–7. The passage contains nothing about intelligence, decisiveness, drive, wealth, or power. Almost everything on the list is elsewhere in the New Testament required of all believers.

Christians, remember that God loves to choose the weak and the lowly and the despised, the nobodies, so that no one may boast before Him. The immediate application of this exhortation is the prohibition of factions and cliques. So then, no more boasting about men! (3:21a).

Christian leaders are only servants of Christ and are not to be accorded the allegiance reserved for God alone. God cares about His church, and He holds its leaders accountable for how they build it. Paul uses two analogies to prove these truths.

How wretched and foolish it is to honor the siren opinion makers of our day, if they have no real understanding of the cross. God’s immeasurably wise plan of redemption has been revealed, yet people still do not believe. They still do not see that His plan is wise, and central to all. If we the “mature” have come to grasp it, it is because “God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (2:10)

People are saved by GOD, not because he chooses those who boast some superior trait or insight, or that he loves people who judge themselves to be wise, but because he has determined to rescue those who believe him.

We wait as people whose lives are so unselfconsciously transformed by the gospel that we are characterized by self-sacrificing service to brothers and sisters in Christ. These least brothers of Christ are here those who belong to Christ who are most despised, most distressed.

Ultimately, the question is not what the atonement provides, as after all, the atonement provides everything. The question is, How much of the ultimate blessings of the final kingdom are to be expected and enjoyed among us today, and how much is reserved for the Lord’s return?