Jesse Johnson

Teaching Pastor @immanuelbibleva in Alexandria, VA | The Master's Seminary, Washington DC | PhD Christ College, Sydney

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

my book, City of Man, Kingdom of God, is now out in paperback.
Prices on Amazon:
Paperback: $14
Hardcover: $22
Audio: $6 or Audible subscription
Kindle: $10

If you want ten or more, DM me and I can get you 50% off those prices.

https://t.co/USj2BEvrwP

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

Check out "on Grace and Free Will" esp. ch. 33. He distinguishes between God's initial "work" and then God's "perfecting" work. In that section he calls grace "works" but it is in a book where the larger point is that God's work is grace.

He makes similar points in "on the Predistination of the Saints" and "On the nature of Grace." In both those works he distinguishes predestination as "grace before faith" and then then the act of grace on the nature that which liberates nature" toward faith. That's where he does his argument (from the intro): "in which I defend grace, not indeed as in opposition to nature, but as that which liberates and controls nature." So he distinguishes between what might be called predestining grace vs. sanctifying grace, although he didn't use those terms.
I have both those works in NPNF Vol 5.

[Dan Lennington @DanLennington]

Yesterday was the 1st time the Supreme Court called the Constitution "colorblind." If you're keeping track, that's 130 years since Harlan's dissent in Plessy ("Our constitution is color-blind") & 160 years since abolitionist Wendell Phillips first utter the phrase. This is undoubtedly brought to us by Justice Thomas, who called the Constitution "colorblind" in separate opinions in Alexander v. S. Carolina (2024), SFFA v. Harvard (2023), & Parents Involved v. Seattle (2007). In 1978, Justice Brennan concurred in Bakke stating, "no decision of this Court has ever adopted the proposition that the Constitution must be colorblind." Not anymore. Thank you Justice Thomas. 🇺🇸

[Derek Radney @derekradney]

Men who cannot tell the difference between disagreements over matters essential to the Christian faith and matters of secondary and tertiary importance (or matters of conscience) are not qualified to be elders or pastors.

This is not some manmade standard being added to Scripture; it is a necessary entailment of "sober-minded," "able to teach," "not quarrelsome," and "not a recent convert...puffed up with conceit."

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

@tonywoodlief Idk Tony… the ending made me mad at myself for watching the movie for a few days.
But then [spoiler] a kind of subversive theme emerged… What if the moral is as basic as “sometimes the conspiracy theorists are correct?”

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

The thing that kills me most about what is happening to Zach... I know where he pastors. I have friends in that church. It is small town...up in the hills, isolated. 20 min to Los Alamos. I mean it is practically Indian country and frontier ministry. To sideline a minister over "mean tweets" that aren't even mean... wow.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

Last week the Virginia appeals court used the the McLean Bible elder vote to make the case for presbyterianism.

In God's providence, the very next week the PCA church in NM completely undoes that argument.

[Zachary Groff 📖 @ZGroff]

Catching up this AM…

My good friend @ZacharyGarris, his sweet family, and his wonderful congregation deserved better treatment from Rio Grande Presbytery.

It is astounding to me that the men responsible for pastoring the regional expression of the PCA in New Mexico decided to bar a preacher from fulfilling his calling and rob a church of their minister over what amounts to banter on @X. I’ve seen the supposed victim of said banter post far worse (i.e., malicious) things online.

It is hard to conclude anything other than Rio Grande Presbytery chose vindictiveness over equity in finding Zach guilty and then levying a censure of indefinite suspension. This result is prima facie so incredibly over the top, out of balance, and inappropriate. But I confess that I don’t know all the facts of the case, and I’m certain that more of the story will be told on appeal to the PCA’s Standing Judicial Commission of the General Assembly.

May Christ’s honor and ministry in His Kingdom prevail over all folly and wickedness in His Church.

God bless the PCA.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

Look, my point is--some say if you want to be protected from rouge elders, join a presbyterian church. And by "some" I mean the VA court of appeals (so not really a fringe argument). Now, wait one week, and you get a full-color example of why that logic fails.

And, btw, I love presbyterianism (minus the whole infant baptist thing).

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

This would be a great read before the 250th celebration this July. Our country’s history turns on the smallest details. They were chased by Spaniards from Santa Fe, Indians from Montana, Federalists from DC, and cowards from within…plus a few grizzly’s. They narrowly escaped all of them.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

“This Vast Enterprise” was Jefferson’s code name for the Lewis and Clark expedition. I just finished a new book by the same title, a retelling of the exploration from the perspectives of those on it, including York (Clark’s slave) and several Indians. The audible version uses different readers for each, making it a warm but powerful presentation that pairs well with the understated writing.

[Miles Smith IV @IVMiles]

The alternative is maybe to change the terms of what Christianity’s relationship w politics. Right now people want politics to look “regenerate” which is wrong-headed because that’s the job of the church and not the state. Politics is messy and human. But so too are Christians.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

OK, I'll slow down and then bow out. I'm not talking about any kind abuse whatsoever, civil or criminal or whatever. I'm talking about an order that gives one level of protection to denominational churhces, and another to congregational chruches. That's not ok, and I'd hope (agian by your own logic) that you would denounce it to. Are you ok with civil suits in criminal matters being tossed against denomionational churhces? Again, neihter of us are saying that. It's the distnction between kinds of churches that is the problem.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

I hope those celebrating the Virginia appeals court ruling against McLean Bible didn’t read the opinion. It establishes a lower threshold of religious freedom for congregational churches than denominational churches and allows state courts to get involved in issues of church discipline.

McLean should appeal, and seek to transfer the case to federal court. The people suing McLean should drop the lawsuit and ask the appeals court to vacate their own opinion as moot. Otherwise, they open up every congregational church to judicial oversight of Church discipline and admission to membership.

As far as I know, there’s never been a successful lawsuit against a church for exercising church discipline. This opinion bursts that door wide open.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

Let me quickly add I recognize the FCA case was more complex than the MCB case. I assume you’re familiar with it, but in that case, the denomination argued that they were the true owners of the property. Never mind the fact that the property ownership predated the denomination, and there were civil war era laws shielding the congregation from the denomination. But the parallel here is that in both cases, the court stressed the nature of the denomination as an outside authority over and against the congregation. And in the MCB case, the court is saying they will fill that role. Lo tov.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

In FCA, the congregation said “gay marriage is outside of our beliefs so we are associating w another Anglican communion.” Denomination said “no,” court sided w denomination over congregation. In that case Denomination = outside authority to “check” local congregation. That was a bad ruling (factually it was wrong, and legally as well, but alas gay marriage was en vogue)

In MCB court says since there is no denomination to be the outside authority the court will step in. Some others, who are either Presbyterian or friendly with CN (and thus seemingly open to more gov involvement in church) don’t see the problem. My point is FCA shows exactly why nondenom can be helpful. It keeps outside authority (be it a denomination or government) from the congregations affairs. The flipside of it is also obvious, if an outside authority is important to you, a non-denominational church is not gonna be your jam. That’s a decision that every believer can make. But the idea that the government can step in and fill the role of that outside authority is messed up.

This is already too long, but the 1985 case that people keep pointing to is absolutely not the same thing. The closer analogy is the FCA case and I hope people who applaud this ruling see which side of that they are on.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

The ruling had nothing to do with the vote. Both sides granted that the vote was “cured” by the resignations and new election. The ruling was about the removal from membership. Again, im not defending MBC, but am saying that a ruling that congregational churches have a lower threshold of legal protection than denominational churches is a problem.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

Straight into the rabbit hole. Polytropos is the Greek word.
NAS: "many turns"
ESV: "twists and turns"
KJV: "a man with many layers"
NIV: "a complicated man"
NLT: "We never did know what he was thinking, feeling, or doing."
Emily Wilson's translation: "tell me about a complicated man."

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

@DJR69422 Touché

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

This is a terrible outcome for religious freedom, and should be appealed. Not because MBC was right in their elder election (they weren't, and those elders resigned)... but because the court made a new category for "congregational churches” and then found they are subject to a lower threshold of religious freedom than denominational churches.

Their opinion says that a denominational church would be protected from such a law suit, but not a congregational or baptistic church. That is HUGELY PROBLEMATIC.

This is exactly why believers should not sue their church. In this case the appeals court says wading into MBC’s membership is ok, because “it doesn’t violate religious freedom to count to eight” (a reference to MBC saying every vote they DQd belonged to someone who missed 8 weeks). The implication is that MBC’s elders can’t count 8, but that a denominational church’s elders can. And that lower threshold is now enshrined in appeals court ruling.

[Capstone Report @CapstoneReport]

David Platt & McLean Bible Church lost at Virginia Court of Appeals. Long running case against Platt over allegations he rigged a church election reinstated by appeals court.

[Jesse Johnson @jarbitro]

@Church_R_I Listen, I’m not defending either side in that lawsuit. I have 99 problems, and who the elders are at McLean is not one. But a court ruling that says a denominational church would be protected from this lawsuit, but a congregational church is not, is a huge problem.