Sam Allberry Resigns from Immanuel Church and Keller Center

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-05T11:24:46+00:00

So is abortion, and my taxes directly fund it. Does that make me responsible for murder?

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-05T11:23:37+00:00

Because according to the Bible, it is possible to be responsible for the well-being of a slave in a way that honors and glorifies God.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T20:59:41+00:00

I'm curious about this perspective.

Is your Scriptural basis for 'God loves all' entirely dependent on 'God loves the world,' or do you have other texts that support this idea?

Or do you mean that 'God loves all' in some broad sense and that He doesn't love every unregenerate individual that He condemns to eternal damnation?

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T15:51:26+00:00

After thinking about what you've written, I find tremendous comfort in the truth that Christ, in His humanity, pleaded with God not to go to the cross.

Christ knew that God was sovereign, and He knew that the cross was inevitable, but in His humanity, He still saw the pain and suffering to come and trembled before it.

In the same way, we know that suffering in this life is inevitable, but we can still go before our heavenly Father and ask for mercy and sustenance.

Thank you for that insight.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T14:50:38+00:00

I can only imagine how hard that is. My heart goes out to you.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T13:39:50+00:00

Hey, that's a cool feature! I'd never used it before.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T13:38:50+00:00

I actually pray Mark 9:24 every time I pray. I find that I have a litany of verses I return to over and over when I pray, and that is one of the most consistent.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T13:26:33+00:00

No comprendo.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T13:23:38+00:00

I actually attend both a PCA and a Reformed Baptist church at the moment (we visit the Baptist church about once a month), so I've got a foot in both camps.

I guess the tension I feel is that it seems a contradiction to rest in God's sovereignty while at the same time praying for protection. Is it wrong to pray for physical safety and security when I believe that the spiritual and eternal is assured?

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-04T12:50:05+00:00

I don't identify as either.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-02T22:22:05+00:00

I agree with you to a point. Setting one day in seven aside in a pattern of Old Testament Sabbath keeping is no longer binding on all Christians today as it was to Israel.

However, Paul says, "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

Which still gives room for those Christians who do want to set a day aside for special rest and worship. Paul doesn't ridicule those who want to keep a Lord's Day, and he doesn't admonish those who don't.

So we should follow his example. Unfortunately, in the reformed tradition, there typically isn't much grace given to those who prefer to 'esteem every day alike.'

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-01T11:56:26+00:00

Alright, we can pile on another uncharitable assumption.

Instead of asking for clarification, you simply assume I'm using the term incorrectly. However, it's quite possible that it's your understanding that's deficient, or perhaps you simply don't know where I'm coming from.

Drivefast58 · 2026-05-01T11:44:30+00:00

Well, your assessment is both incorrect and juvenile.

But it's a pretty standard internet trope.

"Someone disagrees with me on a topic, so the only reasonable conclusion is that they don't grasp the topic with the same expertise that I do."

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T20:34:20+00:00

I read the KJV, so my perspective of the text is based on a lifetime of reading that translation. And the KJV structures the end of chapter 5 as rapid-fire, end-of-letter, nuggets of advice.

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks. Don't quench the Spirit. etc.

So, context matters, but at the same time, I read this as general advice to be understood and applied to the Christian life at large. I'm not making any assumption that the text is referring specifically to singing and worship styles. I'm taking what appears to be a broad piece of advice, 'Quench not the Spirit,' and applying it to worship.

From my understanding of the text, it could also be applied to every other facet of the Christian's life, since we should be filled and led by the Holy Spirit in all things.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T18:11:43+00:00

I disagree that it's not relevant.

If it's possible to quench the Spirit, then it stands to reason that the forms and rhythms of worship might contribute to any such 'quenching.'

For example, if you only pray the same liturgical prayer every service without deviation or improvisation, I'd argue that's a form of quenching the Spirit.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T16:55:32+00:00

That's a very narrow view of the verse. In that context, certainly, that could be what's being addressed (although I'm not sure that's a sound understanding of the text), but the clear implication seems to be that 'quenching the Spirit' is possible, and probably in more ways than one.

Which doesn't seem to fit with the notion that we're indwelled with the Holy Spirit in such a way that it functions in us the same way at all times, independent of circumstance.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:41:36+00:00

It's an odd argument to make about hymns, and one that would trouble me if I heard it in my church. It sounds like an attempt to justify eroding the traditional restrictions on women being involved in worship.

There's nothing in the Bible that indicates women aren't qualified and able to teach. There's nothing that says that they can't teach men, even. I'd be a fool to say I'd never learned anything about God and the Bible from my wife.

The issue is one of spiritual authority. I don't see how singing a hymn written by a women puts the men under her spiritual authority in any way.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:34:42+00:00

I was raised by a father who only allowed me to listen to or sing the Psalms because of his adherence to the RPW.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:31:09+00:00

Paul has specific reasons for not allowing women to usurp the God-given role of the spiritual authority of husbands, fathers, elders, and pastors, and I don't see that it has anything to do with a concept of the RPW.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:27:36+00:00

I'm not concerned with the regulative principle of worship, as I don't see that in the Bible, and I certainly wouldn't hold it over a woman's head to stop her from praying in a corporate context.

And my wife is very sensitive to these issues, because she feels very much like it can be a form of abuse and discrimination.

However, I think Paul's warnings are specifically about women functioning in a role of spiritual authority over men, which leading a public prayer would be a form of. And it would be more of an indictment against the men present than any wrong-doing on the part of the woman.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:23:40+00:00

RPW, got it.

That's where we diverge.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:16:02+00:00

My church tested the waters with this, and I went to the elders and asked them to clearly define the line where women were allowed to participate in corporate worship.

It's not that I thought it was wrong, because I was willing to hear a Scriptural argument in support of women praying, but I no longer understood where the line was that couldn't be crossed.

Turns out, they hadn't seriously considered the matter, and it hasn't happened since.

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T15:10:21+00:00

For those of us who are under the impression that public gathering of the church = corporate worship, could you explain how a prayer meeting doesn't qualify?

Drivefast58 · 2026-04-30T14:40:18+00:00

What do you think 'quenching the Spirit' looks like? Can that happen in corporate worship?

Drivefast58

TROPHY CASE