The chaos in which our culture presently finds itself didn’t just appear out of nowhere. It came as the predicted result of living in rebellion against reality—against the infallible Word of the Triune God of the Bible. (1/7) That rebellion started when man exalted his own reasoning above God’s revelation, continued in the lies of atheism and evolution, and culminated in the rejection of all moral decency, making the personal sexual gratification the chief end of man. (2/)

Jesus does indeed “get us.” And this is what He has to say about us:

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, … (1/7) “…as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23).

“...but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5). (2/)

Functional kenotic Christology teaches not that Christ surrendered the attributes themselves, but limited them in some sense, or just curtailed their use/function during His humiliation. This is serious Christological error. (1/20) The kenosis of Philippians 2:7 is not a surrender, a divestiture, a limitation, or a laying aside of any aspect of the Son’s divine existence. Instead, it is a taking—an assumption of a distinct essence (a human one) by means of which such limitations can be experienced. (2/)

When Philippians 2:7 says that the Son “emptied Himself” in His incarnation, Paul does not intend to say that the Son 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 of Himself something related to His deity—whether essence, attributes, prerogatives, or anything else. (1/10) First, κενόω doesn’t mean “to pour out.” There is a verb for that: εκχέω, as in Rom 5:5: “the love of God has been 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 within our hearts…”

But κενόω means “to nullify,” or “to make void,” as in Rom 4:14: “…faith is made void and the promise is nullified.” (2/)

When John says that the Word became flesh, that cannot mean that the divine person of the Son changed Himself into a human being.

It cannot mean that the divine nature transmuted into a human nature. That would be to introduce change where there can only be immutability. (1/6) It cannot mean that the Son exchanged His deity for humanity, or that He divested Himself of the divine nature.

He is God of very God even as He dwells on the earth: Immanuel, God with us (Matt 1:23; cf. John 8:58; Col 2:9). (2/6)

A needed thread on listening to gossip. (1/11)

Scripture calls those who give false testimony “worthless” (NASB, ESV) or “vile” (LSB) men (1 Kgs 21:10, 13).

So also the one who devises evil and spreads strife (Prov 6:12-14), and who digs up evil (Prov 16:27).

Worthless. Vile. It also calls the one who 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 to gossip “an evildoer” and “a liar” (Prov 17:4).

In a fallen world, it does seem unavoidable that there will be worthless and vile men who publish hearsay in an attempt to stir up dissension and attract attention to themselves.

(2/)

“Sola Scriptura was never meant as a denial of the usefulness of the Christian tradition as a subordinate norm in theology.

“The views of the Reformers developed out of a debate in early medieval theology over the relation of Scripture and tradition, … (1/4) “…one party viewing the two as coequal norms, the other party viewing Scripture as the absolute and therefore prior norm, but allowing tradition a derivative but important secondary role in doctrinal statement. (2/4)

Owen on ISO & appropriations, w a delightful illustration in the middle:

“It must be yet farther observed that the immediate actings of the Holy Ghost are not spoken of him absolutely, nor ascribed unto him exclusively, as unto the other persons & their concurrence in them. (1/) “It is a saying generally admitted, that _Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa_. There is no such division in the external operations of God that any one of them should be the act of one person, without the concurrence of the others; (2/)

More from @JoelBeeke’s excellent @CredoMagazine article. Long, but worth it.

credomag.com/article/the-pu…

“Reason, or the ability to think logically, was regarded by Reformed scholastics as a faculty of the soul, which God created so that man might know him and his will. (1/) “Thus, the reason of man must always be exercised in submission to God and for his glory.

“As a created faculty, reason is essential to human nature. When God first made man and placed him in paradise, human reason was well suited to embrace God’s revelation… (2/)

In his excellent book, _When Harry Became Sally_, Ryan Anderson recounts the story of a woman named "Crash," who started taking testosterone at 20 and detransitioned at 27. (1/) What strikes me about her testimony is how clearly she realized that those who affirmed her in her desire to transition had harmed her, even though they were trying to be helpful and affirming. (2/)

A reflection on John 5:26:

“For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.”

The Father has “life in Himself”—i.e., the attribute of aseity or self-existence. (1/7) The Son has this identical attribute of aseity (life-in-Himself), but He possesses it in a different manner than the Father does. The Father has life-in-Himself that has been given to Him by no one. The Son has this same life-in-Himself that was given to Him by the Father. (2/7)

@SharonDevol “If men struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [lit., “so that her children (𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥) come out (𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘢’)”], yet there is no injury”—no injury to whom? Surely, yes, to the pregnant woman. 1/ @SharonDevol But the nearest antecedent to the term “no injury,” or “no harm done” is the 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥. It is the children who “come out” prematurely.
So, if there’s any injury 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 to the mother 𝘰𝘳 to the children, the man who has caused injury ... 2/

All of your pat answers for why God doesn’t exist, all of your rehearsed talking points for why Jesus isn’t Lord or why the Bible isn’t true, all of the excuses and rationalizations for your sins— 1/ One day soon, you will have to look into the face of your holy, omnipotent Judge, before the unending torment of eternity. How will your talking points fare then? What will your clever quips avail for you when the books are opened, when your heart is laid bare before holiness? 2/

John MacArthur on Hebrews 13:17 and the pastor’s accountability:

“Beloved, the priority that I have in my life as a minister in this church—the priority of all those who minister here as pastors and elders—is the priority of watching for your souls. They watch for your souls. 1/ “…It’s very easy for many pastors to just watch for your bodies, to make sure that you’re here. That’s not even the issue. The issue is to watch for your souls, to make sure that your spiritual life is what it ought to be, and that’s the priority. […] 2/

A follow-up thread on this Luther quote.

“There would then be no article of faith about which anything could be settled and proved for certain…” Things get clearer when you realize that this is the object of those who oppose the inerrancy/perspicuity of Scripture. (1/11)

https://twitter.com/mikericcardi_/status/1486705391740211202

If Scripture is true in all it affirms, and if that truth can be genuinely 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯—because God has the power and wisdom to communicate it to His creatures clearly—then those creatures are 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 to that revealed Word. (2/11)

A timely word from Martin Luther on biblical interpretation:

“Everywhere we should stick to just the simple, natural meaning of the words, as yielded by the rules of grammar and the habits of speech that God has created among men; … (1/4) “…for if anyone may devise ‘implications’ and ‘figures’ in Scripture at his own pleasure, what will all Scripture be but a reed shaken with the wind, and a sort of chameleon? … (2/4)

“By the words 'to save,' I do not understand what some men say they mean. They tell us in their divinity that Christ came into the world to put all men into a salvable state—to make the salvation of all men possible by their own exertions. 1/ “I believe that Christ came for no such thing—that he came into the world not to put men into a salvable state, but into a saved state; not to put them where they could save themselves, but to do the work in them and for them, from the first even to the last. 2/

Spurgeon. Long, but worth it.

“We must defend the faith. For what would have become of us if our fathers had not maintained it? If confessors, Reformers, martyrs and Covenanters had been indifferent to the name and faith of Jesus, where would have been the Churches of today? 1/ “Must we not play the man as they did? If we do not, are we not censuring our fathers?

“It is very pretty, is it not, to read of Luther and his brave deeds? Of course, everybody admires Luther! Yes, yes. But you do not want anyone else to do the same today. 2/

Personal holiness is essential to standing firm against persecution (1 Pet 1:13-16; cf. 1:6-7; 4:12-16).

And that is because you will not suffer for a God whom you will not obey.

You will not suffer for a God in wartime whom you will not obey in peacetime. 1/ You will not persevere in obedience to God unto the loss of your freedom, or unto the loss of your property, if you can’t obey in the secret place when all your obedience costs you is the false-pleasures of sin. 2/

The CDC has recently said that racism is “a serious public health threat.” They say, “To build a healthier America for all, we must confront the systems and policies that have resulted in the generational injustice that has given rise to racial and ethnic health inequities.” 1/ I wonder if you can see what the play will be.

1. We’ve learned over the past 13 months that churches must close down if they are a threat to public safety. “You do not love your neighbor” unless you restrict attendance for the sake of public health. 2/

“The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture. This is the analytical lens that CRT uses in examining existing power structures.”

— The UCLA School of Public Affairs, very much in favor of Critical Race Theory. 1/ According to CRT, then, there can be racism without racists. This is the “analytical tool” several influential voices in evangelicalism are telling us we need to employ to understand Scripture, accomplish racial reconciliation, and promote unity. 2/