Reformed theologian John Piper has said that the “one kind of sin” believers must “take care of right away” is the sin that hurts others.

Responding to a question about how to make time to confess sin amid the busyness of life, Piper, the founder of DesiringGod.org and former lead pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, explained that Christians should immediately interrupt their busy schedules to repent of sins that hurt other people.

“If we discern that the words we have spoken or what we’ve done has wounded somebody or caused them to sin, I think Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:23–24 about leaving our gift at the altar and hastening toward reconciliation really does apply in principle here,” he said. “If they’re hurt, then let’s just stop what we’re doing, apologize, and seek to make it right.”

The pastor contended that repentance doesn’t need to be long-winded; God would “gladly receive from us a two- or three-second whispered, ‘Oh Lord, I’m so sorry. Please help me. Please forgive me.'”

“We must remember that there is no merit assigned in the Bible to any particular length of confession or repentance or remorse for sin,” he offered. “In fact, when Jesus teaches the Lord’s prayer and how to apologize to God for sin,…

Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren said of resentment that it is the “unhealthiest emotion there is” and encouraged Christians to forgive others for their wrong doings.

Author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” Warren told readers in a devotional on Tuesday that people need to learn to show grace and forgive because holding grudges is not what Jesus has taught us to do.

“You say, ‘Why in the world should I forgive that person who hurt me so much? You have no idea how much they hurt me. Why should I offer grace to that person?'” he asked before answering the question with three specific reasons.

Warren started by saying you must “Be gracious to others and forgive those who’ve hurt you because God has been gracious to you.”

He contended, “You will never have to forgive anyone else more than Jesus Christ has already forgiven you.” 

“Remember that you haven’t always gotten what you deserved, either. God has been gracious with you. Now choose to be gracious with others,” he added.

Warren goes on to say that choosing not to forgive others is choosing the path to bitterness. 

“Scientists,” he said, “tell us that resentment is the unhealthiest emotion there is.”

“It always hurts you more than anybody else! Resentment will not change the past, and it won’t solve the problem. It doesn’t even make you feel better. In fact, it makes you feel worse,”…

WASHINGTON — In an age in which pastors are frequently being brought down by sexual scandals, popular author and Pastor Joel Osteen says he follows what is known as the “Billy Graham rule.”

The 55-year-old Osteen, whose sermons are seen on television by millions worldwide each week, spoke with The Christian Post before taking the stage for his monthly “Night of Hope” event attended by thousands at Capital One Arena last Saturday.

The Houston, Texas-based pastor talked about his new book, Next Level Thinking: 10 Powerful Thoughts for a Successful and Abundant Life, and answered a number of questions touching on subjects that range from pastor accountability and depression to whether his 45,000-member Lakewood Church has considered becoming a multicampus congregation.

Below is an edited transcript of CP’s interview with Osteen:

CP: There’s a lot in the news today. It seems like every now and again, we are seeing pastors or clergy being brought down by some [sexual] scandal or another. For you, what steps for accountability do you have? Do you follow the Billy Graham rule [where men avoid spending time alone with women they…

Teens are twice as likely than Boomers to strongly believe morality is relative and are less likely to believe abortion and homosexuality are morally wrong, according to a new Barna survey.

The poll found that 24 percent of teens (ages 13-18) strongly believe that “what is morally right and wrong changes over time based on society.” Among Boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – only 12 percent strongly affirm the statement. 

Among Millennials (born between 1984 and 1998), 21 percent strongly believe in moral relativity, while 18 percent of Gen X (born between 1965 and 1983) affirm it.

The survey, released Tuesday, also shows teens are more liberal than older generations on several issues. For example:

Only 20 percent of teens strongly believe homosexual behavior is morally wrong. It’s the lowest percentage among all generations.

34 percent of teens strongly believe lying is morally wrong, compared to 50 percent of Gen X and 54 percent of Boomers who strongly believe it.

29 percent of teens strongly believe abortion is morally wrong. While that percent is higher than may be expected, it nevertheless is the lowest percentage among all generations.

On a few issues, such as whether sex before marriage is wrong, teens are on par with other generations. Twenty-one percent of teens strongly believe it is wrong, compared to 22 percent of…

Israeli archaeologists uncovered a unique piece of pottery that links the Jerusalem of 2,000 years ago to the Jerusalem of today. 

While conducting a pre-construction dig last winter in preparation for a new road, the team of archaeologists unearthed a pillar that was inscribed in Hebrew near the entrance to Jerusalem.

The Hebrew inscription was the first of its kind to be discovered from its time period around the age of Herod the Great, marking it as the oldest inscription ever found using the modern Hebrew spelling and pronunciation of “Jerusalem.”  

The pillar is now being displayed in Israel Museum’s Second Temple gallery as a part of a new exhibit which features unique artifacts from the capital and is the oldest artifact from the time of Jesus in the exhibit.

The inscription reads, Hananiah bar Dodalos m’Yerushalayim – Hananiah, the son of Dodalos, from Jerusalem.

Dudi Mevorach, senior curator of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Archaeology at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem told CBN that this was a remarkable discovery. He said, “Jerusalem surprisingly for us is inscribed the same way we write it today and the same way we pronounce it today: Yerushalayim.”

He continued, “It’s the first time we have an inscription of this sort from 2,000 years ago, from the times of the Second Temple Period.”

According to CBN News, Mevorach has seen the…