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Romans 6:1–14 confronts us with a question: if Christ has dealt with our sin, why do we still struggle with it? Paul reminds us that through our union with Christ, sin is no longer our master. The Christian life, then, is about learning to believe what is already true of us in Jesus and living accordingly—putting sin to death, exposing its false promises, and turning to God for what only he can give. We don’t fight for freedom; in Christ, we fight from it.

Psalm 51 shows us that repentance is a gift of God’s grace that leads us to see our sin honestly, confess it without excuses, and seek our Savior. Because Jesus provides the forgiveness and cleansing we cannot earn, we can come out of hiding and turn to him for renewed hearts and restored joy in fellowship with God.

Matthew 6:9–13 teaches that we don’t just grow in prayer; we grow through prayer. Jesus teaches us to pray in a way that God uses to mature us—reordering our priorities toward his glory, teaching us to surrender our will to his, deepening our dependence on him, and exposing our weakness so we learn to rely on his strength. Yet our hope rests not in the strength of our prayers, but in Jesus Christ, who surrendered to the Father’s will, died and rose to save us, and continues to intercede for us.

Psalm 119:9–16 teaches us to savor God’s Word rather than merely snack on it. We mature as followers of Christ by storing Scripture in our hearts through memorization, lingering over it through meditation, and ultimately meeting God in his Word. The goal is not simply to get through the Bible, but for the Bible to get through to us—guarding us from sin, shaping our hearts, deepening our delight in God, and leading us to Jesus so that we might savor our Savior, the Word made flesh.

John 15:1–11 teaches that to grow like Christ, we must abide in Christ. As we depend on him, his words shape our desires, prayers, and obedience, and he invites us to share his joy—a joy grounded in his love for us even when growth is slow and life is hard.

Romans 8:28–30 teaches that God is making us like Jesus, and he will finish what he started. God’s ultimate purpose is not merely to save us from sin and condemnation, but to conform us to the image of his Son. He works all things together for our good, even suffering and disappointment, to accomplish that purpose. And because our salvation rests on God’s unbreakable promise, we can be certain that one day we will be fully and finally like Christ—not because we got ourselves there, but because God did.

2 Corinthians 3:18 teaches that we become like Christ as we behold Christ. God removes the veil of sin so we can see his glory in Jesus, and as we continually behold him, the Spirit transforms us into his image from one degree of glory to another. We mature not by trying harder to change ourselves, but by fixing our eyes on the crucified and risen Savior who saves us and sanctifies us.

Hebrews 5:11–6:2 warns us that it is possible to grow older as a Christian without actually growing up in Christ. God calls us to pursue maturity, developing a deeper appetite for his truth, learning to feed ourselves and others, and having our lives increasingly shaped by his Word. Yet we mature not by graduating from the gospel, but by building our lives more deeply upon Christ, whose perfect obedience and saving work assure us that we are already fully loved by God.

John 13:31–35 teaches us that the distinguishing mark of a follower of Jesus is love for one another—a love expressed through costly attention, service, forbearance, and forgiveness. As we experience how deeply Jesus has loved us, especially through the cross, we are empowered to love others so that the world might recognize that we belong to him.

Hebrews 11:32–12:2 gives hope to weak and weary people whose hearts are prone to wander. Because Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith, we can lay aside every weight and sin, run with endurance, and fix our eyes on him who will bring us to the end.

Judges 20–21 teaches us that rejecting God’s rule does not make us free to rule ourselves, but leaves us under the enslaving reign of sin. In a world where we want the freedom to determine what is right in our own eyes, Jesus Christ came as the true and better King who gave his life to set us free from sin’s rule, so that we might discover true freedom by bending the knee to him.

Prone to Wander XXII: When People Become Objects (Judges 19:1-30) Prone to Wander XXII: When People Become Objects (Judges 19:1-30) Senior Pastor Andrew Kim

Prone to Wander XXI: The Unexpected Mercy of Loss (Judges 18:1-31) Senior Pastor Andrew Kim

Prone to Wander XX: Doing Religion in Your Own Eyes (Judges 17:1-13) Senior Pastor Andrew Kim

Prone to Wander XIX: It's Never Too Late (Judges 16:1-31) Prone to Wander XIX: It's Never Too Late (Judges 16:1-31) Senior Pastor Andrew Kim