Show me the spiritual condition of your companions, and I will tell you what your spiritual condition will be three to five years (or months) from now.
Andrew, once again, delivers on the promise to provide theologically deep, exegetically accurate, canonically broad, historically faithful, and culturally relevant material. This distinction between soteriology and gospel is essential to understand if we are ever to overcome the dualisms and reductionism(s) that currently plague the self-inflicted impotency of the church; this is especially damaging when we consider the failure of the “church scattered” Monday through Saturday. Moreover, discovering or re-discovering a biblically robust, wholistic understanding (i.e., “as far as the curse is found”), and leavening application of the ‘gospel’ to all of life cannot be—should not be—intimidated by the false charges and caricatures of triumphalism or over-realized eschatology. Which is what typically happens when men like Andrew speak or write from a cosmic perspective. In fact, this distinction aids us in overcoming what should be obvious to any Christian living in this hour: the church, knowingly or unknowingly, by reducing the gospel to personal salvation has succumbed to a under-realized, eschatology of Christ’s redeeming work. This understanding of the gospel broadens the scope of ‘church work,’ corrects our hermeneutical myopia, and intensifies our doxological expressions. May Christ Jesus increase Andrew’s tribe! So grateful for this man’s tireless labor in prayer, study, and writing. DD
The error in this is the proposition that the state has no power of legislation, but is bound to enforce only the judicial precepts of the Torah.
The correct statement of divine law is that the state has no jurisdiction to break the bond of marriage or permanently to set aside it's legal consequences, and no jurisdiction in matters of public worship. It may not enjoin insubordination to God, or homicide, or sexual immorality.
Otherwise, divine law is as handed down for the Jews by the beit din, and the state may freely legislate, subject to correction by the Church on appeal, judicial review, referral, or at her own first instance.
P Andrew Sandlin’s articles are not inspirational.
A quasi intellectual script which drives down Christian marriage ‘It’s a creation all institution , not a Christian Institution.
Mr Sandlin , the readers thirst for the clear Christian message. Your writings seem to diminish Christian marriage by cotradicting the traditional teaching.
Marriage is between one man and one woman ! How clear is that ? All else is sin. How clear is this ?
Intellectual pride clouds your thinking. Remember : 1 man 1 woman , exclusive love for one another.
Fidelity. Procreation if you are blessed with a family.
I have no problem with the words in red. Jesus constantly affirms the validity of the entire Bible, and specifically mentions the Torah. He mentions the old testament ("Words of the prophets" and the "psalms" or "writings") and states that all will come to pass that the OT said would pass, specifically the prophecies concerning Jesus himself.
Christians have to remember that the OT IS the Torah. The only difference is in how the "books" are grouped. The Torah is in more chronological order, and the number of books is different, but they are the EXACT SAME BOOKS.
I agree with the author, that Jesus states he came to FULFULL the OT and that all it's messages are valid even today.
I personally like having the words of Jesus in red. I don't think this caused any apostasy, that would have happened anyway, as the Bible predicted.
Strictly speaking, it is the Five Books of Moses which are the written Torah (torah shebikhtav). Other parts of the OT may, on a case by case basis, be evidence of law.
"...How is it that the word “church” contributes to the gates of hell prevailing over today’s Christians—that is, to contemporary Christianity being subjugated under secular dominion and ruled by secular humanists?
"When you hear the word “church,” what comes to mind? For most people, the word “church” means one of two things, depending upon the context:
1) A building they frequent once, twice, or three times a week in which to pray, sing praises, and listen to preaching.
2) The people who allegedly make up the church, aka the body of Christ, who frequent a building known as a church to do the things depicted in Option #1.
"What doesn’t come to mind is a community of believers in the fullest sense of the word—a biblical community established, not only on the Word of God, but also on the moral laws of God.14 When obedient to our ecclesia commission, these biblical communities will be established not on the Ten Commandments alone, but upon the Ten Commandments and their respective statutes explaining the Ten Commandments and their respective civil judgments enforcing the Ten Commandments and their statutes, adjudicated by biblically qualified men of God who are a continual blessing to the righteous and a perpetual terror to the wicked, per Exodus 18:21, Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Psalm 19:7-11, Romans 13:1-7,15 etc.
"There is not a living person today who hears the word “church” and thinks of what’s depicted in the paragraph above. And yet this description represents the true meaning of the Greek word ecclesia, which has been tragically translated “church.”
"With that, it should be obvious how the word “church” has contributed to the defeat of Christendom—that is, Christians dominionizing society on behalf of their King. Just think what America would look like today if instead we were ecclesias (fully-developed Christian communities) rather than merely street-corner churches...."
Excellent article on the way the church needs to battle. When we relegate life to the spiritual and natural world then the church loses focus and we don’t redeem creation as God intended by subjugating God’s rule to all things - thus advancing His Kingdom.
This subjugation also applies to the messy world of politics where we may support a less than ideal candidate to get us to first base - especially when our culture is rapidly departing from the Christian tradition. We need to work from the bottom and top down, where we can expect much more godly candidates as the local culture is impacted by a culturally expanding church. As we change culture, the candidates will live more by the biblical standards laid out in scripture and we can progress to second and third base. Due to our fallen world, we only reach home base after we die and go to heaven, where we really will be at home!
I was just thinking how strange it is that in our youth-oriented culture our Presidential candidates are SO OLD! One is already showing signs of senility, And the other one........well , you know. Where are our younger, more energetic, idealistic but not crazy leaders?? Are the "good ones" (ie Ben Sasse) abandoning the world of politics? Please don't leave us at the mercy of the likes of AOC!! Yet, God rules and I am completely at rest with that. (Even if I still have lots of questions.)
IF: Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty, and property.
I have no problem with it, provided you include the Son of Man in "others" & "person's" above. All we are asking for is to honor the rights of the Judge, Lawgiver, Owner, and Emperor.
Thank you for this wonderful elucidating exposition on revealing and sharing a deeper truer understanding of the Laws and Gospel in relation to the OT & NT respectively. You have certainly fed my desire for greater understanding thereto along with providing sound verification of various clarifications that would otherwise have remained a little abstruse or arcane
Hi Andrew, this article was really helpful. I don't think I've ever really understood the difference between the 'old' and 'new' aspects of the bible. This article really clarified it. Many thanks.
I have my issues with theonomy and its proponents however I cannot argue with Mr. Bahnsens assertions at least as they are represented herein. Work is essential to man’s relationship to God and Man and is a form of worship when done correctly.
I am a partial theonomist where I think we take the principles of the Old Testament law and eventually write those into law, but there is so much other cultural battle we must engage before culture is ready for these changes. True theonomy is not divisive, as it is often seen, but should be unifying where we carry forward the work of the church and slowly change culture. We don’t rush the imposition of the judicial law, but it flows naturally as we have changed culture. The preachers of theonomy need to change and be less divisive if they expect to positively influence the church- something I pray that will happen.
I would argue that the capitalist model is what Jesus advocated, subtly in his parables. In capitalism, the ideal resources are used in the most efficient way possible where the creative are rewarded for their creativity in bringing new products to market. The expenditure of Human Resources is also optimized as well as the just and fair wages.
Sorry. After logging in, I posted this response to the wrong article.
Most Trump supporters are wiser than you suggest. Trump understands that the federal government is limited. He was not elected to legislate for states--either with regards to gay marriage or on abortion. He did what was in his power to derail abortion, and I don't recall him every promoting homosexuality or transgenderism. Those decisions are ultimately up to the people/electorate, and an apostate people/electorate will never decide rightly.
We Christians are held to a higher standard. God judged Israel before her enemies. Paul was a pretty bad dude on the road to Damascus. David fell with Bathsheba. Samson was betrayed by Delilah. Solomon, on the other hand, rebuilt the temple and reigned in peace.
The Spirit changes the hearts for those whom He will.
Most Trump supporters are wiser than you suggest. Trump understands that the federal government is limited. He was not elected to legislate for states--either with regards to gay marriage or on abortion. He did what was in his power to derail abortion, and I don't recall him every promoting homosexuality or transgenderism. Those decisions are ultimately up to the people/electorate, and an apostate people/electorate will never decide rightly.
We Christians are held to a higher standard. God judged Israel before her enemies. Paul was a pretty bad dude on the road to Damascus. David fell with Bathsheba. Samson was betrayed by Delilah. Solomon, on the other hand, rebuilt the temple and reigned in peace.
The Spirit changes the hearts for those whom He will.
Andrew, once again, delivers on the promise to provide theologically deep, exegetically accurate, canonically broad, historically faithful, and culturally relevant material. This distinction between soteriology and gospel is essential to understand if we are ever to overcome the dualisms and reductionism(s) that currently plague the self-inflicted impotency of the church; this is especially damaging when we consider the failure of the “church scattered” Monday through Saturday. Moreover, discovering or re-discovering a biblically robust, wholistic understanding (i.e., “as far as the curse is found”), and leavening application of the ‘gospel’ to all of life cannot be—should not be—intimidated by the false charges and caricatures of triumphalism or over-realized eschatology. Which is what typically happens when men like Andrew speak or write from a cosmic perspective. In fact, this distinction aids us in overcoming what should be obvious to any Christian living in this hour: the church, knowingly or unknowingly, by reducing the gospel to personal salvation has succumbed to a under-realized, eschatology of Christ’s redeeming work. This understanding of the gospel broadens the scope of ‘church work,’ corrects our hermeneutical myopia, and intensifies our doxological expressions. May Christ Jesus increase Andrew’s tribe! So grateful for this man’s tireless labor in prayer, study, and writing. DD
Thank you so much, Dennis!
The error in this is the proposition that the state has no power of legislation, but is bound to enforce only the judicial precepts of the Torah.
The correct statement of divine law is that the state has no jurisdiction to break the bond of marriage or permanently to set aside it's legal consequences, and no jurisdiction in matters of public worship. It may not enjoin insubordination to God, or homicide, or sexual immorality.
Otherwise, divine law is as handed down for the Jews by the beit din, and the state may freely legislate, subject to correction by the Church on appeal, judicial review, referral, or at her own first instance.
P Andrew Sandlin’s articles are not inspirational.
A quasi intellectual script which drives down Christian marriage ‘It’s a creation all institution , not a Christian Institution.
Mr Sandlin , the readers thirst for the clear Christian message. Your writings seem to diminish Christian marriage by cotradicting the traditional teaching.
Marriage is between one man and one woman ! How clear is that ? All else is sin. How clear is this ?
Intellectual pride clouds your thinking. Remember : 1 man 1 woman , exclusive love for one another.
Fidelity. Procreation if you are blessed with a family.
I think you misunderstand Rev. Sandlin for he has never argued against traditional marriage.
So are you pre-mill?
I have no problem with the words in red. Jesus constantly affirms the validity of the entire Bible, and specifically mentions the Torah. He mentions the old testament ("Words of the prophets" and the "psalms" or "writings") and states that all will come to pass that the OT said would pass, specifically the prophecies concerning Jesus himself.
Christians have to remember that the OT IS the Torah. The only difference is in how the "books" are grouped. The Torah is in more chronological order, and the number of books is different, but they are the EXACT SAME BOOKS.
I agree with the author, that Jesus states he came to FULFULL the OT and that all it's messages are valid even today.
I personally like having the words of Jesus in red. I don't think this caused any apostasy, that would have happened anyway, as the Bible predicted.
Strictly speaking, it is the Five Books of Moses which are the written Torah (torah shebikhtav). Other parts of the OT may, on a case by case basis, be evidence of law.
"Sure enough, the more the church withdrew from culture, the more the culture apostatized."
Amen!
Additionally, today's four-walled, stain-glassed, *pew*trifying churches replaced biblical ecclesias:
"...How is it that the word “church” contributes to the gates of hell prevailing over today’s Christians—that is, to contemporary Christianity being subjugated under secular dominion and ruled by secular humanists?
"When you hear the word “church,” what comes to mind? For most people, the word “church” means one of two things, depending upon the context:
1) A building they frequent once, twice, or three times a week in which to pray, sing praises, and listen to preaching.
2) The people who allegedly make up the church, aka the body of Christ, who frequent a building known as a church to do the things depicted in Option #1.
"What doesn’t come to mind is a community of believers in the fullest sense of the word—a biblical community established, not only on the Word of God, but also on the moral laws of God.14 When obedient to our ecclesia commission, these biblical communities will be established not on the Ten Commandments alone, but upon the Ten Commandments and their respective statutes explaining the Ten Commandments and their respective civil judgments enforcing the Ten Commandments and their statutes, adjudicated by biblically qualified men of God who are a continual blessing to the righteous and a perpetual terror to the wicked, per Exodus 18:21, Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Psalm 19:7-11, Romans 13:1-7,15 etc.
"There is not a living person today who hears the word “church” and thinks of what’s depicted in the paragraph above. And yet this description represents the true meaning of the Greek word ecclesia, which has been tragically translated “church.”
"With that, it should be obvious how the word “church” has contributed to the defeat of Christendom—that is, Christians dominionizing society on behalf of their King. Just think what America would look like today if instead we were ecclesias (fully-developed Christian communities) rather than merely street-corner churches...."
For more, see free online book "Ecclesia vs. Church: Why Understanding the Difference is Critical to Our Future" at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/onlineBooks/ecclesia.html
Excellent article on the way the church needs to battle. When we relegate life to the spiritual and natural world then the church loses focus and we don’t redeem creation as God intended by subjugating God’s rule to all things - thus advancing His Kingdom.
This subjugation also applies to the messy world of politics where we may support a less than ideal candidate to get us to first base - especially when our culture is rapidly departing from the Christian tradition. We need to work from the bottom and top down, where we can expect much more godly candidates as the local culture is impacted by a culturally expanding church. As we change culture, the candidates will live more by the biblical standards laid out in scripture and we can progress to second and third base. Due to our fallen world, we only reach home base after we die and go to heaven, where we really will be at home!
I was just thinking how strange it is that in our youth-oriented culture our Presidential candidates are SO OLD! One is already showing signs of senility, And the other one........well , you know. Where are our younger, more energetic, idealistic but not crazy leaders?? Are the "good ones" (ie Ben Sasse) abandoning the world of politics? Please don't leave us at the mercy of the likes of AOC!! Yet, God rules and I am completely at rest with that. (Even if I still have lots of questions.)
IF: Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty, and property.
I have no problem with it, provided you include the Son of Man in "others" & "person's" above. All we are asking for is to honor the rights of the Judge, Lawgiver, Owner, and Emperor.
Thank you for this wonderful elucidating exposition on revealing and sharing a deeper truer understanding of the Laws and Gospel in relation to the OT & NT respectively. You have certainly fed my desire for greater understanding thereto along with providing sound verification of various clarifications that would otherwise have remained a little abstruse or arcane
Hi Andrew, this article was really helpful. I don't think I've ever really understood the difference between the 'old' and 'new' aspects of the bible. This article really clarified it. Many thanks.
I have my issues with theonomy and its proponents however I cannot argue with Mr. Bahnsens assertions at least as they are represented herein. Work is essential to man’s relationship to God and Man and is a form of worship when done correctly.
I am a partial theonomist where I think we take the principles of the Old Testament law and eventually write those into law, but there is so much other cultural battle we must engage before culture is ready for these changes. True theonomy is not divisive, as it is often seen, but should be unifying where we carry forward the work of the church and slowly change culture. We don’t rush the imposition of the judicial law, but it flows naturally as we have changed culture. The preachers of theonomy need to change and be less divisive if they expect to positively influence the church- something I pray that will happen.
What this discussion implies is that, if a man is created to work, then he has a right to be employed, which ought to be enforceable at law.
Only socialist states have ever been able to realize this.
I would argue that the capitalist model is what Jesus advocated, subtly in his parables. In capitalism, the ideal resources are used in the most efficient way possible where the creative are rewarded for their creativity in bringing new products to market. The expenditure of Human Resources is also optimized as well as the just and fair wages.
Thank you! I have so much to learn, but you are really helping me.
Sorry. After logging in, I posted this response to the wrong article.
Most Trump supporters are wiser than you suggest. Trump understands that the federal government is limited. He was not elected to legislate for states--either with regards to gay marriage or on abortion. He did what was in his power to derail abortion, and I don't recall him every promoting homosexuality or transgenderism. Those decisions are ultimately up to the people/electorate, and an apostate people/electorate will never decide rightly.
We Christians are held to a higher standard. God judged Israel before her enemies. Paul was a pretty bad dude on the road to Damascus. David fell with Bathsheba. Samson was betrayed by Delilah. Solomon, on the other hand, rebuilt the temple and reigned in peace.
The Spirit changes the hearts for those whom He will.
Most Trump supporters are wiser than you suggest. Trump understands that the federal government is limited. He was not elected to legislate for states--either with regards to gay marriage or on abortion. He did what was in his power to derail abortion, and I don't recall him every promoting homosexuality or transgenderism. Those decisions are ultimately up to the people/electorate, and an apostate people/electorate will never decide rightly.
We Christians are held to a higher standard. God judged Israel before her enemies. Paul was a pretty bad dude on the road to Damascus. David fell with Bathsheba. Samson was betrayed by Delilah. Solomon, on the other hand, rebuilt the temple and reigned in peace.
The Spirit changes the hearts for those whom He will.