Comments On Greg Johnson’s Christianity Today Article
Phillips provides some thoughts on the recent "Christianity Today" article written by PCA Pastor Greg Johnson
We want to celebrate sinners of all kinds finding redemption in Christ. But we must not celebrate sin of any stripe through our in-Christ identity…But “gay” is an explosive category, identifying a whole culture that cannot be insulated from extremely destructive sin… if the Revoice sector of the PCA is going to insist on “gay... Continue Reading
Is “Homosexual” a Noun or an Adjective and What Difference Does It Make?
A noun is a person, place, or thing; it defines or describes one's identity.
Homosexual actions, desires, thoughts, and affections are all sinful and therefore unacceptable to God. One who is tempted in this area must repent and run to Jesus for sanctifying grace. Do we not already say the same about the other nouns in the text of 1 Timothy 6:10? Immorality or sexual sin, kidnapping, and lying... Continue Reading
Is Same-Sex Attraction the Only Unchangeable Sin?
There are no sins, no matter how defined, that are outside of the Spirit’s transforming power and grace to overcome.
Christ commissioned the church to take his good news to every part of the world, to every type of people, who are held captive to every type of sin, to point them to Christ as the only bondage breaker, so that they will be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom... Continue Reading
Same-Sex Attracted Christians?
Scripture from beginning to end through doctrine and narrative holds before us this God-ordained attraction between males and females.
The labels, “gay”, and “lesbian” connected to “Christian” should concern us greatly in the same way that the labels “Christian adulterer” or “Christian pedophile” should, they are the same sinful and forbidden by God. While the latter grouping might offend upon the reading, sadly, the former grouping is making much headway in Biblical denominations like... Continue Reading
Oliver Thomas @USATODAY Says the American Church Got it Wrong on Gay People—And He’s Right
Article’s claim: The American church has been wrong about gay people because they’ve been wrong about the Bible.
Thomas began his article with a lament: “A sad thing is happening in America. The church is killing itself.” In this way, Thomas is right. The church is killing itself, if by the “church” one means the mainline denominations who have abandoned biblical authority. Indeed, statistics have shown, plainly and incontrovertibly, that the mainline denominations... Continue Reading
Critiquing a Monstrous Manifesto
The shooter’s manifesto is long, its logic twisted, its "theology" wretched; all of which needs to be condemned.
Should people seek to punish Jews for their role in Jesus’ crucifixion? To answer that, consider what the rest of the New Testament does when referring back to the event of Jesus’ death. Is there a call to arms? Are we to seek revenge? Should we malign and curse? No, quite the contrary, in fact.... Continue Reading
A New Kind of Pharisee
The tactic of the new Pharisees communicates that they are in the highest seat of judgment and above questioning.
Ironically, the most abused verse in the Bible can safely be said of them: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” (Matt. 7:1). In the name of compassion, they are judgmental. They need little data and a skewed view of the big picture to persecute and slander. Just one piece of a... Continue Reading
The Sin of Process?
Process is good, but it is a sin to elevate it above dealing honestly with one another, and God's Word.
Yes, process and order are good, but they are not more important than right and wrong. What authority or process matters, but only if it is helpful in discerning what has happened or been taught, and if that is in violation with Scripture, or how it is summarized in our confessions. Process is good, but... Continue Reading
Is Marxism All that Bad?
Marx was a thorough-going materialist who hated religion with an unrelenting passion because he considered it a huge barrier to creating a “just” socialist society.
For Marx, God only exists in man’s imagination as a projection of himself. If Marx is right about that, then we cannot derive our dignity from being made in God’s image, because there is no God. If Marx is right, then justice is defined and enforced by whichever (sinful) human bureaucrats hold the power. In... Continue Reading
Who’s to Blame When the Shooter Is One of Our Own?
The latest synagogue attack has shaken fellow Orthodox Presbyterians—but it implicates all of us living in a fallen world and divisive culture.
In the case of the OPC—a denomination of around 30,000 people—a single killer is one too many, but hardly a sign of widespread, anti-Semitic radicalization among our youth. The path to becoming a racist murderer and an attempted mass shooter is likely very complicated and, until more details emerge, it is inappropriate to apportion specific... Continue Reading
