Pastor Marc Bertrand

"Is the atonement of Christ unlimited?" The Bible has much to say on the atonement of Christ. The question is whether His sacrifice provided limited or unlimited atonement. The word atonement means “satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.” The doctrine of unlimited atonement states that Christ died for all people, whether or not they would ever believe in Him. When applied to Je sus’ finished work on the cross, atonement concerns the reconciliation of God and humankind, as accomplished through the suffering and death of Christ. Paul highlights the atoning work of Jesus when he says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Ro...

Atonement: face-to-face with God. "What are the various theories on the atonement?" Throughout church history, several different views of the atonement, some true and some false, have been put forth by different individuals or denominations. One of the reasons for the various views is that both the Old and New Testaments reveal many truths about Christ’s atonement, making it hard, if not impossible, to find any single “theory” that fully encapsulates or explains the richness of the atonement. What we discover as we study the Scriptures is a rich and multifaceted picture of the atonement as the Bible puts forth many interrelated truths concerning the redemption that Christ has accomplished. Another contributing factor to the many different theories of the atonement is that much of what we can learn about the atonement needs to be understood from the experience and perspective of God’s people under the Old Covenant sacrificial system. The atonement of ...

How Sex Bonds Couples, and Why Sometimes It's Not Enough Is sex the key to a lasting relationship? It appears to be the case, according to some new research, but the full picture is complicated, and the findings raise an obvious question: What enables and sustains a couple’s long-term romantic and sexual connection to begin with? Let’s take a look. This study focused on recently married couples, and found links between frequency of sex and its positive impact on the relationship over time. (Previous research has also found a similar effect among older couples.) Needless to say, if both partners enjoy sex, per se, and presumably with each other, then yes, that’s likely to enhance their relationship satisfaction. But what enables that desire, in itself? We know that long-term relationships often head south over time: Diminished energy and intimacy in your relationship inevitably affects you and your partner’s sexual connection. That is, the state of your...

Why Men Struggle With Sexual Temptation. Sex is a beautiful thing. A sinful sexual temptation is not. After the fall, every person has struggled with distorted views of sex and sexual temptation. In this chapter, I will be addressing every man’s battle with sex. When someone asked a humble, Godly, old Christian what it is like to be free from sexual temptation, the response was, “I don’t know. I will let you know when that time comes.” You cannot dismiss the old, Godly man’s commentary on sexual temptation as an anomaly. I knew the person who made this comment. He had an impeccable reputation and was a Godly stalwart in the Christian community for decades. He is with Jesus now, but at the end of his life, he still did battle with sexual temptation. How do you think about those who are not free from sexual temptation? I think when some people think about sexually tempted people, they immediately relegate them to the perverted regions of human depravity....