Evangelism and the Mirror of the Law: What’s Your Pose? As Christ’s witnesses, we are called to speak the truth in love, that is, to speak God’s Word in love. One of our challenges in doing this comes when we consider that God’s Word is made up of both Law and Gospel. Speaking the Gospel in love seems good and right to us. But speaking the Law in love seems like a contradiction. It certainly doesn’t feel very loving to tell someone that he is sinning and that his sins will lead to God’s judgment and condemnation. Contrary to those feelings, speaking the Law to someone who is quite comfortable in his sin is not only loving, it is the only loving option we have as faithful witnesses of Jesus. (Read more …) Has Our Witness Gone to the Dogs? Before anything else, let me state my love for dogs. I’ve enjoyed having dogs as pets and companions my entire life. The recent death of my latest dog has temporarily left me dog-less for the first time in nearly 25 years and there’s a noticeable hole in my daily life (Stella had me very well trained and regimented). I am especially fond of larger breeds and enjoy the challenges of an intelligent dog (even Bandit, the neurotic Border Collie who was part of our family before Stella). We’ve adopted two dogs as rescues and, when the day comes when we can give a dog the proper attention and care, we’ll probably rescue another. (Read more …)