Sin is ultimately a lack of love, either for God or for your neighbour. Augustine borrowed this thought from Jesus, who when He was asked what the most important law was, answered: Mt. 22:37-40, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Or as Augustine summarizes, “The essence of sin is disordered love.”

If humanity, because of the shame of sin, is inclined to run away from God instead of towards Him… And if some people are never given a fair shake on whether to listen and obey or reject Him… It is necessary for us to trust that a JUST JUDGE will alone decide whether someone is worthy of eternal life or worthy of judgement.

In medieval art, Jesus’ descent to the dead was called the “Harrowing of Hell.” It was often pictured in art as Jesus breaking through the doors of hell dragging Adam and Eve with Him…

Jesus lived within this honour-shame culture, but instead of conforming to its expectations, He redefined honour, shame, and status in His Kingdom. His teachings and actions challenged traditional honour systems and offered a new way of seeing human worth… One based on God's grace rather than societal recognition.

For the Early Church, the comma between the birth and death of Jesus in the Apostle’s Creed wasn’t an oversight - it was assumed that the Church was laid on the foundation of the life and teaching of Jesus. However, that same assumption can't be made over the past 2000 years of church history. The church has, at many times, abandoned the simple teaching and ethics of Jesus and has exchanged it for theological or philosophical truth about Jesus. For us it is wise to focus on the comma and repeatedly return to the life and teaching of Jesus to keep us centred on what matters.

"There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan." - C.S. Lewis

During His earthly ministry Jesus demonstrated authority over Scripture, authority over evil spirits, authority over nature, authority over sickness, and authority over sin. As the disciples followed Jesus, their eyes were opened to the limitless nature of His authority. Instead of operating as “a lord” He was operating as “THE Lord” but even this wasn’t fully formed until after His death & resurrection.

Christianity isn’t an irrational leap into trust, but an invitation to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Belief is meant to move you to experience, and this experience will lead you to deeper trust. When we recite the Creed, we commit ourselves to believing, but also to tasting, experiencing…

Faith that isn’t connected with ancient Christianity becomes untethered from the strong foundations that Jesus and the apostles established. Doctrine that isn’t connected with ancient faith, can become influenced by current philosophy, culture, and thought and can lead us away from truth by placing emphasis in things other than what is foundational. These belief systems can border on becoming individualistic…