Tradition must give way to the clear statements of the Scripture

    Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. Augustine of Hippo Elliot Ritzema, 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Early Church, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).(cf.Gen.4:17; 11:4; Ps. 127:1; Habakkuk 2:12; Rev. 21:2)  I pray for them:  I pray not for the world , but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. John 17:9 KJV The world seems here to signify all mankind, for whom Christ in this place doth not pray; though some interpret it of reprobates, others of unbelievers. Christ afterward prayed for the world, Jn.17:20; that is, for such who, though they at present were unbelievers, yet should be brought to believe  by the apostles’ ministry .  But to teach us to distinguish in our prayer, our Savior here distinguishes, and prayed for some things for his chosen ones, which he doth not pray for on ...

    The Consequences of Judging Others   Jesus is clear that his followers should not engage in condemning judgment toward others. And throughout his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about how he clearly sees our inner motivations—the hidden realities that shape our lives—in a way that no else can. He takes into account our grief, our disappointment, our desire to be noticed, our worry about the future, and our sincere desire to please God.  So when we look down on another person, we act as though we can see their inner realities just as clearly. We end up playing God. And we know from the beginning of the whole story, back in Gen. 1-3, that playing God never works well. Remember how humans bring corruption and death upon themselves precisely because they try to determine right and wrong apart from God, according to what is good or bad in their own eyes. In Genesis, and in Jesus’ teaching, we can hear God saying, “As finite beings, you do not have what it takes to ma...