INTRODUCTION: We come now to Paul’s treatment of the great theme of true liberty and freedom. What is the nature of freedom? We need to be especially careful with this because as Americans we are trained to believe that we understand liberty in some special way, while it appears that we have really lost an …
First Federal MounteBank
As much as I loathe and despise what the current administration is doing to our economy, and as much as I reject the flowering fascism that is unfolding every evening on the news, let us not fall for hackneyed talking points from what is purported to be the other side. Obama is now in the …
The Bond of Holiness
Book 3/Chapter 6 Christian life (section 1) 1. What is the object of regeneration? 2. What is one danger for those who heartily repent? 3. What is different between the teaching of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of moral philosophers? Two main aspects (section 2) 1. What are the two main aspects of scriptural …
The Helium Balloon of Their Core Principles
Gramsci was a commie in the early years who had a falling out with Lenin over strategy and tactics. Lenin wanted to seize power directly, right this minute, which he successfully did in certain backwater places. I mean hats off to him and all — he created quite a nuisance, and enslaved a good chunk …
Saved As Through Fire
Book 3/Chapter 5 The crucial passage (section 9) 1. What passage in Paul was considered by Calvin to be crucial to the purgatory debate? 2. How does Calvin handle this passage? 3. And what class of men does this testing come upon? The fathers (section 10) 1. Does Calvin acknowledge that many of the fathers …
Lord, Give Us Men
Last Lord’s Day, David Bayly preached a fine sermon to the president. All we need now is about 50,000 more sermons like it, and not from the same fifty churches either.
Listening Beforehand
“You must not only prepare the sermon, you must let the sermon prepare you” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 76).
The Authenticity Jive
“Moreover, there is something deeply attractive, at least to quite a lot of people, about squalor, misery, and vice. They are regarded as more authentic, and certainly more exciting, than cleanliness, happiness and virtue” (Dalrymple, Romancing Opiates, p. 88).
The Queen of Sheba and Ivan the Terrible
The word envy enters a lot of political and economic discussion, but it is usually referred to the envy of those who stand to gain materially after the smoke of redistribution all clears away. When someone runs on a platform of free choocolate milk for everybody, envy is driving the whole thing, and it is …
Calvin and Purgatory
Book 3/Chapter 5 Indulgences and the unity of redemption (section 5) 1. What does the practice of offering indulgences do to the redemption of Christ? Purgatory (section 6) 1. What destroys the notion of purgatory before it is even discussed? 2. Could the idea of purgatory be a trifle not worth discussing at all? Proofs …