Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
August 30, 2019
The rush to consign Epstein to hell is interesting, since many Americans no longer believe in a place of eternal damnation -- a trend seen in polls in recent decades. --- Terry Mattingly
Read more"The men who really believe in themselves are all in lunatic asylums." ― G.K. Chesterton, from Orthodoxy
The whole purpose of God in redemption is to make us holy and to restore us to the image of God. To accomplish this, He disengages us from earthly ambitions and draws us away from the cheap and unworthy prizes that worldly men set their hearts upon. The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy. --- A. W. Tozer
Read moreTo a layman, it seems obvious that what unites the Evangelical and the Anglo-Catholic against the 'Liberal' or 'Modernist' is something very clear and momentous, namely, the fact that both are thoroughgoing supernaturalists, who believe in the Creation, the Fall..."the Incarnation, the Resurrection, the Second Coming, and the Four Last Things. This unites them not only with one another, but with the Christian religion as understood ubique et ab omnibus." -- C. S. Lewis
Read moreData from the Church in Wales shows Anglican churches are closing at a rate of about 10 every year, with attendance dropping off as the numbers of people saying they had no religion rose. --- Church of Wales
Read more"Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years."--- Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) English Reformed Baptist Preacher
"The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid." --- Martin Luther
Reading and understanding the Bible involves lots and lots of interpretation. Not just in light of the world and culture around us, but in reference to other parts of the Bible." --- John Piper, Founder of Desiring God
Read moreJudged by our works. The whole New Testament teaches this; although we sinners can be 'justified' only by faith in Christ, yet we shall be 'judged' by our works. This is not a contradiction. It is because good works of love are the only available public evidence of our faith. Our faith in Jesus Christ is secret, hidden in our hearts. But if it is genuine, it will manifest itself visibly in good works. As James puts it, 'I will show you my faith by what I do ...
Read moreI loathe the cliche "everyone has a story". Most of our stories are quite wicked and regrettable but we glorify them on the basis of our common humanity without assessing them in light of divine holiness and truth. Demas had his story. Do we soften to it? Judas had his story. Do we respect it? Michael Curry and Jon Meacham have their stories. Do we tolerate them? Repentance in humility and love before God is our lifetime's soul-work down here.
Read moreThe so-called "Equality Act" that Democrats are now pushing in the House as their "top priority" should really be renamed the "Get the Homophobic and Transphobic Bigots Act." It is the most dangerous bill to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion that has ever been proposed on a national level.
Read moreThe cross and justification. If God justifies sinners freely by his grace, on what ground does he do so? How is it possible for the righteous God to declare the unrighteous to be righteous without either compromising his righteousness or condoning their unrighteousness? That is our question. God's answer is the cross. --- John R. W. Stott
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