Evangelical Theology, Unconditional Forgiveness, and Public Scandal

During the U.S. presidential scandal of the late 1990s, Kenneth Woodward, religion editor of Newsweek magazine, wrote a column titled, “Sex, sin, and salvation”, in which he declared that understanding President Clinton’s moral foibles required an understanding of “Bill the Baptist”. 

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The Freeway, Speeding Tickets, and God’s Grace

As we drive down the freeway, street or road, we see signs which tell us the speed limit is 65, 55, 45, or 35 miles per hour, or whatever those who seem to know have determined is the maximum safe speed for that roadway. It's a law that should be obeyed. Most of us, however, take it for granted that the officer whose duty it is to help us obey that law will give us 4 or 5 over that limit before stopping us and writing a speeding ticket. We are assuming, and counting on, a certain amount of grace before the penalty is given.

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