Phil Johnson

Erstwhile Christian media executive; now retired.

". . . a boomer who's too close to the situation to think any of this would be funny."

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@RileysFarm1776 No, and for exactly the same reasons I would not advise you to rip out your tongue.

BUT—you could use a course correction. Specifically, you would be well advised ponder James 3:1 carefully. And James 1:19 might be a good life verse for you to adopt.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

A thought for Gabe Poirot and Randy Kay:

The apostle Paul had much more to say regarding his suffering, his chains, and his imprisonment in a dank dungeon than he ever said about being caught up into heaven. See 2 Corinthians 12:4.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@RileysFarm1776 Clearly, you don't understand John MacArthur any better than you understand the Sermon on the Mount. If you can write the Beatitudes off as mere hyperbole and thus ignore the crystal-clear points they make, I sincerely hope you will at least heed James 3:1.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@RileysFarm1776 Well, taking the Great Commission at face value, I’d say the church is authenticated by holding fast to ALL THINGS that our Lord taught & commanded, starting with the principles in His Sermon on the Mount, including Matthew 5:10-12.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@AaronGogley @ShinarSquirrel https://t.co/kLyBRucQFO

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

This Sunday I'm teaching for an hour on the question of why evil exists if God is both sovereign and good.

In my preparation I unearthed a short piece I wrote sometime in the 1990s. It may be helpful if you struggle with the truth that God is sovereign:

https://t.co/J4zW90wg7S

[Grace to You @gracetoyou]

Soli Deo Gloria | Glory to God Alone
"Everything is for Him."

Watch the full podcast at https://t.co/ZOlUfnUjHD

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@JW_Lumley @landjax @eyeamsushmita https://t.co/VxLjULZ0N4

[OSU Cowboy Football @CowboyFB]

Top 25?

Top 25. 🤠

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@pragmatometer Haha. I see what you did there.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

Here’s my rule on XTwitter: if you want me to see something, tell me what it is in your first post. These “What do you notice?” posts, and stories that promise something monumental, but then go on for 30 tedious posts full of redundant details, are the bane of this medium.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

Breakfast at Paradise
Cove with 4 of my grandchildren.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

Trigger warning: These are some Bible verses that might sound a little too “pessimistic” for some of my postmill friends:

Matt 24:3-28
Luke 18:8
2 Tim 3:1-5, 13
2 Thess 2:3-12

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

If the algorithm doesn’t get fixed so I’m not fed with endless streams of this time-wasting engagement farming, I’m going off X for good.

Soon.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

Ditto for movie clips where the name of the movie remains a mystery for 75+ subsequent posts, and also math problems and brain teasers where the correct answers are never given.

[Matthew Fledderjohann @mfledd]

A few further thoughts on the Durbin–MacArthur controversy and the distinction between losing here and overcoming in Christ:

Revelation 6:9–11 portrays faithful saints being slain because of the word of God, while Revelation 12:11 says that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and did not love their lives even unto death. They may be killed on earth and yet overcome in Christ.

That is the distinction I understood MacArthur to be making when he said, “We don’t win down here, we lose,” and then clarified, “We lose on this battlefield, but we win on the big one, the eternal one.” His examples were explicit: “It killed Jesus. It killed all the apostles,” and, “They killed Him, they killed the apostles, and in every generation they kill the people who proclaim the truth.” The world really does hate Christ and those who belong to Him, just as Christ taught.

MacArthur spoke about persecution, suffering, and death on this earthly battlefield. His statement did not deny every temporal victory, providential mercy, advance of the gospel, or season of rest granted throughout church history. The church may experience genuine fruitfulness and deliverance in this age while still suffering real losses until Christ returns. Yet even when the saints are persecuted, dispossessed, or killed, they overcome in Christ and will be openly vindicated when He comes. Revelation 6 and 12 display that pattern plainly.

Micah expresses the same hope in God’s vindication: “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, Yahweh is a light for me. I will bear the indignation of Yahweh because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, and I will look on His righteousness” (Micah 7:8–9).

Perhaps some expectations of continual growth and earthly victory have been shaped more by the unusual peace and prosperity experienced in the United States over the past half century than by the experience of much of the church throughout history. The United States has been an instrument of many real blessings, but it has also promoted and participated in much evil. Its prosperity and influence should not be confused with the victory of Christ’s kingdom.

Yet none of this is a reason for passivity or despair. On the contrary, we are to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). We must always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks about the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15).

What is that hope? It is not confidence that every faithful labor will produce the earthly results we desire, that we will necessarily see revival, or that the church will finally triumph over the rebellious world before Christ returns. We may see visible fruit and revival according to God’s will, but our hope rests in Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, reigning, and coming again. In Him we have forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, and eternal life. Our final and public vindication will come when our Lord returns, raises us bodily, and brings us into the fullness of everlasting life with Him. Earthly treasures will perish, but our treasure is in heaven. Christ is our hope.

Eschatology substantially shapes this disagreement. If Christ returns before the millennium, then the church does not finally subdue the rebellious world through historical progress before He comes. Paul likewise teaches that the rebellion precedes the day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Final public vindication arrives with the returning King and the resurrection of His people. But if Christ returns only after a prolonged era of widespread Christian ascendancy, then the statement “we lose down here” will naturally sound contrary to that expectation. MacArthur could have stated the distinction more fully or qualified his wording more clearly, but he did not need to, because nothing he said was false.

[Crystal Hope @CrystalHope1979]

San Diego just watched an Amazon delivery robot drive straight off a pier. 🤭

One determined little blue bot rolled to the end with zero hesitation and pure commitment to the route… then yeeted itself into the ocean.

Somewhere a customer is still refreshing the tracking page while the robot did the world’s most expensive cannonball.

Prime shipping: now available underwater. 🤖 💦 😬

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@AnomalyBlessed @gregalan2021 The hackneyed “broad brush” defense doesn’t work as well as “moderate” charismatics think it does. Answer the point instead of “brush”ing it off.

https://t.co/nr8c7ZVA8Z

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

Spurgeon has a word for those who want to reimagine him as a charismatic:

"If you feel your tongue itch to talk nonsense, trace it to the devil, not to the Spirit of God."

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@Poobearthebold He was not a fan.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

Tell me you know nothing about Spurgeon without admitting you know nothing about Spurgeon.

[The Naked Isaiah @jefflintz]

@Phil_Johnson_ I feel sad for Spurgeon. The best thing for his depression would have been to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Joy is the second greatest fruit of the Spirit and he struggled greatly to release it.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@AtomicApolo @PastorNinja @Protestia Don’t bother. I’ve had a longstanding policy since the 80s: No broadcast interviews with anyone who tries to coax me after a taunt or an unfair critique. If someone wants a debate or broadcast interview with me, ask BEFORE you go on the offensive publicly against me or my pastor.

[Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_]

@gregalan2021 Not at all. But he interpreted it correctly. Namely, if it is a legitimate manifestation of Spirit-given tongues, it’s not nonsense at all. It will make sense when translated, which it MUST be. Modern charismatics are the ones who ignore that passage.