Rutledge Etheridge III

Mar 26, 2023 | thegospelcoalition.org | Fletcher Lang |Jeremy Treat |Rutledge Etheridge III |Katie Polski

Inside the fortress of my heart, there was a heavily bolted door labeled “father issues.” After my father died in 2021, I gathered the courage to unlock the door and walk into the cobwebbed and haunted room. My father and I weren’t close. He and my mother divorced when I was 5. For 10 years afterward, I saw him sporadically. In the 20 years afterward, we spoke on the phone three times. I called him every time. He always ended the conversation sooner than I wanted.

Mar 22, 2023 | thegospelcoalition.org | Rutledge Etheridge III |Mike Pettengill |Will Anderson |Catherine Allison

So often, Christians overwhelmed by sexual sin are practically shoved down the aisle by their church communities. Pastors may tell couples that once they’re bound within a biblically legitimate marriage relationship, sexual activity has Scripture’s seal of approval, and they can work together on whatever besetting sexual sins they bring to their union. But as the newlyweds soon discover, marriage tends to amplify, not alleviate, besetting sin.