Tag: faith
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Satan, the False Accuser
One of Satan’s favorite weapons to use against the church is false accusation. There are plenty of examples of Satanic false accusation in Scripture. Pharaoh and Abimelech make false accusations against Abraham; Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph; Job’s so-called friends make false accusations against him, following Satan who did the same; plenty of false accusations…
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Notes on Family, Men, Women, Marriage, Sex, Feminism, Mothering and Fathering, Inheritance, Etc.
The purpose of marriage according to Ephesians 5 is ultimately gospel symbolism. The husband and wife are icons of Christ the church. But they can only portray the gospel in their marriage if there is role differentiation between them. They each have a script, a part to play, and while there is all kinds of…
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Calvin and Lewis on Liturgy
John Calvin on liturgy: “As to what concerns a form of prayer and ecclesiastical rites, I highly approve of it that there be a certain form, from which the ministers be not allowed to vary: That first, some provision be made to help the simplicity and unskillfulness of some; secondly, that the consent and harmony…
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“Sin Boldly”: Righly Understanding Luther’s Counsel to Melanchthon
Melanchthon was having another one of his bouts of conscience. His sins and sinfulness were weighing on him. He wrote to Luther, wondering aloud if he was really and truly a Christian. Luther responded with straight gospel fire: “Sin boldly. But believe even more boldly in Christ, and rejoice.” In other words: yes, you are…
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1 Samuel 29 Sermon Follow-Up: David’s Surprising Salvation
The stories in 1 Samuel 28-29 are out of chronological order. The dischronologization serves both a literary and theological/ethic purpose. How do we know the stories are out of order? The geographical and chronological details make it clear that the events of chapter 29 actually happened before the events of chapter 28. The writer has…
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Old X Posts, #2
Another post from the archives: — Every book in the New Testament teaches that our eternal destiny hinges on doing good works There is no salvation without obedience Good works are necessary if we are to be saved You will not be forgiven without repentance Do not be deceived: You will reap what you have…
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Quotebook #7
“Charity means pardoning the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all. Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. And faith means believing the incredible, or it is no virtue at all.”— Chesterton — “A good man’s work is effected by doing what he does, a woman’s by…
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Jesus and the Nations: What the Christian Nationalism Debate Is Really About
What kind of nation do we want to live in? What kind of nation should America be? Or to put it yet another way, what is good for America? What is good for Americans? Christian Nationalism is an attempt to answer that question. Of course, there isn ’t just one version of Christian Nationalism. Some…
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Home: What Christian Nationalism Is Really About
Christian nationalism grows out of and is undergirded by Christian familialism. There can be no Christian nation where there are not countless Christian families. And where there are happy and holy Christian families, the broader Christianization of the nation is sure to follow. Christian nationalism starts around the dining table. It starts in neighborhoods and…
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Conquest’s Second Law
These are old X posts, from August and November of 2024. — A thread on Conquests Second Law: Conquest’s Second Law states, roughly, “Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing.” What Robert Conquest recognized in this law is that it takes more effort to build than to tear down,…
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