The Way Matt Sees It

I work at Starbucks, and for real they call me, “Batman” and “Mattman.”   The best part is that I’ve never even told anyone to do that.   They just know what’s up ;-)   We actually had a new hire come on and joke that he was Batman, and everyone immediately corrected him, “No dude, Matt is Batman.   Get that right.”   I thought it was hilarious (and amazing, and appropriate). I was telling this to a friend, saying how proud I was that everyone at work calls me Batman and I’ve never even told anyone to do that.   But I wondered why.   If I’ve never told anyone to do that, how do people know that I love being called “Batman” (this has happened at two different places I work at)?    My friend responded like it was obvious: “Matt, you just ooze Batman.   It’s like it just comes out of you.” SECRET IDENTITY I thought his response was kind of funny, and to him it was pretty obvious.   But it had me thinking.   What if ...

WE (CAN’T?) WORK OUR WAY TO HEAVEN One of Christianity’s major defining points from other religions is its emphasis on faith over good deeds.   While other religions require adherents to do enough good works or obey a certain lifestyle, Christianity says that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.   We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Then why would the Bible say, “faith without works is dead,” (James 2:17)? The Bible teaches that our good deeds don’t save us; it’s through faith in Christ alone (Romans 3:28; 5:1; 11:6; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9).   Then what aren’t we getting about this James passage? James wasn’t trying to write a systematic theology book.   While we definitely get important Christian doctrine from this book of the Bible, we must think about his primary purpose.   James wasn’t teaching “faith or works,” but instead was emphasizing the importance of applying God’s Word in our lives. INF...