“Moralism is just a three-dollar flashlight to light the pathway to Hell. And of course, if we are guilty of the opposite error, if our lives are manifesting a lineup of dirty deeds done dirt cheap, the only real sin we are avoiding is that of hypocrisy. Overt immorality is the fifty-dollar flashlight” (Against the …
Why Grace Makes Everybody Nervous
“But those who insist that apple trees must always produce apples will make the friends of free grace nervous, not because they have anything against apples, but rather because they know the human propensity for manufacturing shiny plastic apples, with the little hooks that make it easy to hang them, like so many Christmas tree …
And They Both Fall Into a Pitch
“If we lived in a truly confessional age, with great preaching, theological geniuses writing their tomes, and so on, then we would have to worry about the naked Quakers running through Safeway again, and legalistic Anglican bishops cutting off people’s thumbs for having broken some stupid rule. But as it is, we are too anemic …
Why Not Both?
“The fire of evangelical conviction, when scripturally governed, cries out for a fireplace to burn in. A well-designed fireplace, put together by biblically-minded craftsmen, cries out for a fire to go in it. A fireplace without a fire is cold and dead. A fire without a fireplace is fierce and destructive. Shouldn’t we be able …
So Plan Accordingly
“Love is not a walk around the block, but rather a long-haul trucking trip” (Against the Church, p. 76).
What They Were Mistaken For
“The New Testament era was born in a hot revival. The movement exploded in a fervor of religious zeal. The accusers at Pentecost thought everybody was drunk, not that everybody was singing Matins” (Against the Church, p. 76).
Because Conversion Turns Us
“I have not seen the same kind of willingness on the part of sacramentalists to admit that what they are telling us isn’t working, as measured by those indicators that the New Testament gives us as being inconsistent with inheriting the kingdom of God” (Against the Church, pp.75-76).
Honest . . .
“Evangelicalism can be divided into two broad wings. The first wing houses a sedate wax museum containing the likenesses of such worthies as Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, and Carl Henry, while the second wing contains the teeming and swollen Barnum & Bailey contingent, not forgetting the tattooed fat lady. In my satiric labors, I have …
Keeping Balance
“The hardest thing in the world to keep is balance, and this is particularly the case when you are in discussions with folks who think you might not be keeping yours” (Against the Church, p. 72).
All Is Grace
“For those who persevere, how they subjectively receive grace is part of what has been objectively given” (Against the Church, p. 69).