Tradition must give way to the clear statements of the Scripture

  Woe to those who strive with their Maker, earthen vessels with the potter! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”? or “Your work has no handles”? Woe to anyone who says to a father, “ What are you fathering ?” or to a woman, “With what are you in labor?” Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker: Will you question me about my children or command me concerning the work of my hands? I made the earth and created humankind upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isa. 45:9–12 The heart of the evangelist’s message does not have to do with the problem and existence of evil or explaining humanity’s present condition; it concerns the miracle of its transformation, the gift of salvation, of good wine, of truth, of faith, and of the authentic knowledge of God in the midst of falsity, darkness, unbelief, and anxiety.  Paul W. Meyer, The Word in This World: Essays in New Testament Exegesis and Th...

  Righteousness of God   As for me, I belong to wicked mankind, to the company of unjust flesh. My iniquities, rebellions, and sins, together with the perversity of my heart, belong to the company of worms and to those who walk in darkness. For mankind has no way, and man is unable to establish his steps since justification is with God and perfection of way is out of His hand. All things come to pass by His knowledge; He establishes all things by His design and without Him nothing is done. As for me, if I stumble, the mercies of God shall be my eternal salvation. If I stagger because of the sin of flesh, my justification shall be by the righteousness of God which endures for ever. Faith in The Promise  When my distress is unleashed He will deliver my soul from the Pit and will direct my steps to the way. He will draw me n...