[Matt. 7:15-20] “This is Jesus telling us what to do. He is telling us that — without access to the decrees or the examined prophet’s heart laid out before us on a dissecting table — we have the authority to conclude that someone is inwardly a ravening wolf. This is not reading hearts, or reading …
Dealing With Brother Zed
“Corrupt fruit means corrupt tree, and good fruit means a good tree. Some false teachers have to be examined closely because they come in sheep’s clothing. But your reading of the story tells you something is ‘off’ — ‘my, what long ears you have . . .’ Now when you have obediently applied this instruction …
Despite Everything
[John 8:39,41,43-44] “They were blue star covenant members, these men, and all their sacramental papers were in order. The only problem was that despite everything, they still had the wrong father. They were therefore, by definition, unregenerate” (Against the Church, p. 122).
A New Upstream
“No, regeneration occurs when someone receives a father transplant . . . All the questions of regeneration are foundationally questions of relationship — who’s your daddy?” (Against the Church, pp. 120, 122).
The One Who Relates
“There are two errors to avoid here. One is to assume that each individual as such is self-contained and is provided with a hard shell casing . . . The other error is to think that the self is nothing more than a ganglion of relationships, with no ‘hard atoms’ of individuals between whom such …
On Not Leaving Out the Whole Point
“A denial of the need for a foundational heart change is therefore messing with the narratival arc of the whole story” (Against the Church, p. 117).
A Father Transplant
“Regeneration means becoming the seed of another — ultimately, starting with one family tree and then acquiring a different one. My father used to be Adam and now he is the second Adam. My father used to be the devil and now he is Abraham . . . Rebirth entails having been in existence already, …
Beyond Counting
“The majestic extent of definite atonement is seen when John turned and looked [Rev. 7:9]. What did he see? He saw a multitude that no man can number. How many will be saved? We can’t count that high. Look at the stars, Abraham. Use the Hubble telescope, Abraham. So shall your descendants be” (Against the …
When the Tide of Battle Turned
“This whole world, since the sin of Adam, has been nothing but one vast, pole-to-pole boneyard. Whatever would Jesus do in a world like that? What could He possibly do that could transform a world like that? The gospel reply is that He could come back from the dead in it” (Against the Church, p. …
Doctrine With the Graveclothes
“Let us never preach the doctrine of total depravity without also declaring there has been a great earthquake, and that an angel of the Lord has rolled away the stone in front of that imposing doctrine” (Against the Church, p. 110).