Today on SnydersSoapbox we will be reviewing a book dealing with the Trinity. I know that as Christians we desire to understand the Trinity better. It is a topic that is often speculated on, and many times people just give up. Don’t feel too bad. The book and the works of the men cited by the author are all very scholarly. Some very intelligent men have been contemplating the Trinity for a very long time, and haven’t really come up with any better explanations or understandings than many of us. They just sound a lot more intelligent when they talk about it 🙂
In the field of Christian books, I am always looking for books that will add value to my library, books that will not be a waste of my time to read. This was a pretty good book overall. It was definitely NOT for laymen. It was a scholastic work. The author assumes that the reader has read, or is familiar with the works of the other men he has cited in this book. If you are not familiar with those works you can still read this book and get something out of it. It is well bibliographed, and indexed. The author throws in some Greek, not to worry, he explains what it says. He also uses several big words that you might need to grab a dictionary and look up. Do not be afraid of heady books. These things help you learn and grow. Don’t run from the challenge of education.
As far as the content of the book goes, I appreciated his explanation of the economic Trinity. This helped me understand how we are in Christ, He is in the Father, and He is in us, as well as the Holy Spirit indwelling us. It is one thing to know the words, it is another to get a better grasp on the mechanics of how that works. If you are like me, you are not satisfied until you can see all the steps, or processes of the behind the scenes workings of something. He also delved into the ontology of the Trinity. I might not of understood everything he wrote when dealing with this topic, or maybe I did, and just disagreed with him on one of his conclusions. Even so, If you are patient, and willing to do some work, I think you could learn from this book.
Yarnell also explains some non-Trinitarian heresies, defends the orthodox trinity, deals with some of the concepts of being eternally begotten, and what that looks like. He explains how Christ accepted worship from people, and he demonstrates how the Bible equates Christ with God the Father. If you take the time, this will help you with your apologetics when talking with non-Trinitarian heretics.
When the Bible talks about unity, it is for unity among the believers. When the Bible talks about loving your brother, it is talking about your brother in Christ. When it talks about acceptance, it is not about accepting sin.
The enemies of the gospel, Christ, and the cross are our enemies as well. They are the ones who are sold out to Satan. They hate the gospel, they hate Jesus, they pervert scripture, and they hate His sheep. These people are not the same as the lost who are living their lives in ignorance. The lost, for the most part are just plain ignorant about God. They don’t really care. The enemies of the gospel are different. They have made up their minds. They hate God, His Word, and His gospel. They also hate His followers and everything that He says is good.
They push every sinful agenda you can think of. These agendas are part of a larger, “Death Culture” worldview. They love every defilement of what God says is good. Just to name a few things; atheism, gender perversion, gay marriage/defilement of marriage, fornication, adultery, liberalizing of the Church, drug use, and so on. They love anyone who agrees with them and they hate anyone who disagrees. They preach tolerance while being some of the most intolerant people in the world.
So in the wake of this election, I’d like to share a different perspective and line of advice. I am not preaching love, tolerance, peace, unity, and acceptance solely for their own sake. No, I’m preaching being in the world, but not of it. I’m preaching, put on the full armor of God, pray for your enemies… they are your enemies. Don’t make the mistake of thinking they are simply your neighbors and coworkers. These are the folks that the Bible says will turn you over to the authorities to be martyred, your sons and daughters.
Remember folks, this is a life of death war, eternal life is on the line. We are to blame for turning our Church services into entertainment for goats. Church is for the saved of God, to give glory to God! We are to worship Him together with our brothers and sisters. We are to go out and be the ones who deliver the uncomfortable truth! You are sinners! Repent and believe the gospel! Hell is real! Jesus is God!
I don’t care how many people are triggered. I want to trigger them all! They need to be shaken down to their cores! I don’t care how many of them are scared! They very well should be scared! They are headed straight to Hell for all eternity! We need to scare them! How else can we love our enemies? This is true love, to tell them the truth, to give them the gospel that can convert their hearts. So, offend them, offend them all in the name of God!
God is triune. He is one being, in trinity. This means, one being, three persons. Father, (πατήρ) Son, (υἱός) and Holy Spirit. (πνευματι αγιω) God is eternal. He has always existed just as He is. He has never, not existed. Everything that is, has been made by Him. Everything is sustained by Him. All persons of the Trinity have likewise always existed, as one being, one God. God’s nature/attributes are immutable. This means He never changes. He has never changed. He has always been as He is. He has always been the Trinity. The incarnation at advent did not change His nature. The hypostatic union did not change the deific nature of God, as the two natures were perfectly joined without mixing. A human is one being, in one person. A dog is not a person at all, but is one being. We don’t have any trouble believing in a being that isn’t a person at all, like the dog, but when it comes to God as one being, and three persons we stumble. God is omnipresent. God is in all places, during all times, and times without time. He is in the future, present, and the past. He exists in the in between spaces we now call hyperdimensional space. To be in all places includes hyperdimensional space. If you think about it, that almost necessitates a being who is more than one person. Here is a short video that attempts to explain the Trinity. It does a pretty decent job, but some of course it can’t do a perfect job.
It is amazing to me how accurate the men were who composed this creed considering the time that it was written in. Remember, the word, “catholic” here does not have anything to do with the Roman Catholic Church. It is from the Greek word, “katholikos” and means universal.
Athanasian Creed
1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith;
2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
3. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
4. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
5. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
7. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
9. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
12. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.
13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.
14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;
16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord;
18. And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.
19. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord;
20. So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords.
21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.
22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.
23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another.
26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal.
27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
30. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
31. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world.
32. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
34. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
35. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that manhood into God.
36. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
37. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;
38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead;
39. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty;
40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;
42. and shall give account of their own works.
43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.
So to sum things up, if you don’t believe and worship the Triune God, you’ve made an idol to worship. If you find that you, in your ignorance had been worshipping a god that is not the God of the Bible, please repent. The true God of scripture is faithful and just to forgive you if you come to Him in faith and repentance. Jesus, the Eternal Son paid the price for all of your sins on the cross, including wrong beliefs about Him. Confess, and ask forgiveness. If you are one of His sheep, He will be your Lord and Master. He will be your good shepherd. By the will of the Father in election, and the regenerating, convicting work of the Holy Spirit as your seal for redemption, and the justifying work of the Son on the cross, all three persons are at work in the gospel justifying sinners to Himself.
There are no other true gods anywhere. There are none in other solar systems. There are none on any other planets. There is no true God except for the God of the Bible, and He is triune.
If you deny these truths, you are not Christian, but an idolator! You have made up a god to believe in, and you are in a very, very, very bad sin. Believing in the wrong god will not save you. It will damn you to Hell!
Please repent of your Mormon beliefs! I love my LDS friends, and desperately don’t want you to go to Hell. Some of you, who I maintain ties with, are exceedingly nice people. I’d love for you to become true brothers in Christ.
What Mormonism Teaches
Mormonism teaches that there are potentially an infinite number of gods, and currently there are countless ones ruling countless solar systems/planets. Mormonism teaches that the only eternal things are matter and intellect. It claims that its people worship only the god of this world/solar system.
The Bible says the god of this world is Satan. The Bible is clear that there is only one true God. He created everything. That includes all solar systems and worlds. Logic dictates that there would have to be one original originator—uncaused causation. If there were many gods, there would be no true god among them. God cannot share His power with other gods, nor can He be known as many gods. He is one God in trinity.
To Jehovah’s Witnesses and Assemblies of Yahweh
For the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Assemblies of Yahweh cult members, repent of your Aryanism! You and the Mormons share this in common. You believe that Christ is not the incarnate second person of the Trinity, the Son, but rather a created being, and brother to Satan.
You believe that both are the true children of a father god, and mother god, who copulated to produce them as spirit children. They are only two of millions upon millions. You believe in a lie. You must repent!
Read the Old Testament, keeping an eye out for the Christophanies. If you do that, you will see Christ from the beginning. Read John 1:1-14. How can you study the Bible and believe such lies about Christ our God, Saviour, Lord/Master κῦρος, Prophet, Priest, Prince, and King?
The Word of the Lord
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'”
Joseph Smith’s “First Vision”
The Mormons believe in Joseph Smith’s lie called, “The First Vision.” In this supposed revelation from god, he claims that god the father and Jesus both appeared to him at the same time, and that they both appeared in flesh and bone.
The Bible says otherwise:
“21 Jesus *said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ 25 The woman *said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us.’ 26 Jesus *said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” — John 4:21-26 (LSB)
On the LDS site, they hide this now problematic information, and only show people the 1838 account of it, but at last count there were over 27 different accounts of the first vision. Joseph Smith wasn’t even consistent within himself.
Nonetheless, if you look at their Doctrines and Covenants, the same information is laid out, and has not been scrubbed yet.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 (Recorded in 1843)
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”
Why Mormonism Is Not Christian
This are just a few of the reasons Mormonism is a cult, and not Christian. There are so many glaring, and obvious, deceptions, it is amazing to me that people call them Christian.
The only way this can happen is that people are so egregiously biblically ignorant, and have absolutely no relationship with God as their Savior, Father, & King, they easily believe lies, and are themselves deceived.
“Habakkuk 1:1-4 NASB The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. (2) How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. (3) Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. (4) Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.”
Notice, his cry to God could be our cry today in the midst of a godless, secular, America. Now look at God’s reply,
“Habakkuk 1:5-11 NASB “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days– You would not believe if you were told. (6) “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. (7) “They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves. (8) “Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. (9) “All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. (10) “They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it. (11) “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”
Do you see what God was doing there? He was giving the prophet Habakkuk His word that He is using the pagan Chaldeans for His purposes. He was raising them up to use as judgment against His people. Israel had rebelled and neglected God’s word as revealed through the prophets. Make sure to read the last part of verse 11, “But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.” The Chaldeans were going to be held accountable by God in His justice.
Habakkuk’s reply to God,
“Habakkuk 1:12-17 NASB Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. (13) Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? (14) Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? (15) The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. (16) Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful. (17) Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?”
At first it seems that Habakkuk understands why God is going to punish Israel, but then he goes on pleading with God. His questions seem to call for God to not allow this to happen. Sometimes we can be like that. We live in a great land. Many of us are like the Chaldeans. We put our faith in the strength of our military, or our wealth. We trust a nationalistic ideology called America. We offer our sacrifices to it. We neglect God and His word. We rebel against Him. We kill our young and call it a woman’s right to choose. We make legal all types of perverse abominations and call it progress, and liberty. Just because we legislate it and make it legal does not make it moral. Just because a secular majority deems something to be good doesn’t make it so.
As Christians we have an external moral authority Who is immutable. He never changes and is eternal. His decrees of good and evil stand for ever, no matter what human government makes legal. The political candidates we have to choose from, the debased minds that many of our fellow Americans have, the perversions that are abounding, are all punishments from God. We are under judgement. We need to be outside of our Churches, evangelizing so that people might be saved and come in. We need to repent of our personal sins. We need to repent of the attractional model of Church. We need to stop begging goats to come in to our Churches. We need to go out to them and preach the gospel of Jesus, which is repentance from sin and faith in Christ’s work on the cross.
When people are miraculously changed by God they will become sheep. They will come to Church without the need of the gimmicks of silly centers. They will hunger for the preaching of God’s word, fellowship with brothers and sisters, praising God with hymns, prayer, and the glory of God will be their aim. Don’t be bashful, now is not the time. Be bold for Christ and His gospel to go forth! Are you saddened by the damage and hurt you see being done by sin in the lives of your friends and neighbors? Do you think that you love them? If you do, then you must give to them the only cure for their brokenness. You must give them the only thing that will heal them and make them whole! Give them the gospel of Jesus! It is truth and love!
So if you find yourself crying out to God much like Habakkuk did, ask yourself why God is doing what He is doing. Ask yourself what the proper response is to what He is doing. Then I think you will come to the same conclusion.
“There are no facts, only interpretations.” Friedrich Nietzsche. I don’t know if Nietzsche thought this through before he said this. If he had, perhaps he would have noticed the contradiction. Let’s take a quick look at the first part of the statement. “…There are no facts…” That statement seems to be asserting a fact. So if it is a fact that there are no facts, then this statement is a self-refuting one. People loved Nietzsche. Godless nihilism appeals to enemies of God. God is truth. There is no darkness in Him. I know that there are facts. Pretending like there is no God, and lying to yourself are not the hallmarks of a stable worldview.
Nietzsche is also famous for coining the term, “God is dead.” Well, the fact is that God is not dead, and Nietzsche is most certainly dead.
Have you ever chatted with a mormon on their website? I just did. I had two simple questions. Where did God come from, and did He have a body of flesh and bone? As a Christian, I know that God has no beginning or end. I know that He is the uncaused causation of all things. I know that He has never not been and will always be. I also know that God the Father is spirit and must be worshipped in spirit. He has no body.
The chat started out with two mormons in the chat. One was named Kyle the other was Tyler. As I began asking my questions Kyle became the main responder. Kyle was giving very evasive non-answers to my questions. It was as if the mormon church had no answers for my questions officially. When I explained the eternality of God, Kyle immediately left the chat and a new person named Alec joined. Then Tyler became the main responder to my questions. He paraphrased his partner’s previous noncommittal answers. When I was satisfied that I had received as much of an answer as I was going to get, I ended the conversation.
I wanted them to answer the questions because I didn’t want to misrepresent their beliefs. After talking with them, it is easy to see how people would misrepresent them. Their indefinite official stance on what their church doesn’t know is quite frustrating. The following is a transcript of the conversation;
“Thank you for your interest in chatting with a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
What would you like to talk about?
B
Did God always exist as God, or did He at some point in time not exist as He does now?
8:29 PM
Now chatting with Tyler & Kyle
T
Hi Bob!
8:31 PM
B
Hello.
8:31 PM
T
How are you tonight Bob?
8:31 PM
B
Fine, how are you?
8:31 PM
T
I’m doing well. Thanks.
8:32 PM
What brought you onto Mormon.org tonight?
B
Did God always exist as God, or did He at some point in time not exist as He does now?
8:34 PM
you guys still there?
8:40 PM
K
That is a great question! To be honest, we don’t know too much about the origin of God. Some leaders of the Church have taught that God progressed from a man to Godhood.
8:41 PM
Sorry about the delay.
We are here.
B
What was He before He was God?
8:42 PM
T
Like what Kyle said earlier, that’s one topic that we just don’t know about. It’s mostly speculation, no concrete doctrine.
8:43 PM
B
I heard from some people that mormons believe he was once a man named Elohim. Is that true?
8:44 PM
K
That’s what I said above ^^^
8:44 PM
B
It was kind of garbled on my screen for some reason.
8:45 PM
What leaders said he was once a man?
Is their some source material you can reference that I could look up and read for myself?
K
Joseph Smith and Lorenzo Snow were two. I’ll give you some articles.
8:48 PM
B
That would be helpful. I don’t want to misrepresent your beliefs when I encounter others in apologetics or polemics.
8:48 PM
B
Thank you. If he was at one point in time a man, then where did that man come from?
8:50 PM
K
Here is another one: https://www.lds.org/topics/becoming-like-god?lang=eng. That is an excellent question, that we don’t really comprehend 🙂 The assumption would be that it follows a similar pattern, so he would have a heavenly father as well. There is so much we don’t understand though.
8:53 PM
B
So, that begs the question, where did they come from and so on?
8:56 PM
Is Tyler still there?
8:58 PM
K
Exactly, and that is a question I have. Imagining eternity is a concept, we don’t fully understand as mortals. God hasn’t revealed much about it.
8:58 PM
Tyler stepped out of the room, but will be back shortly.
B
Kyle, I think He did reveal it to us. He is the uncaused causation, or original originator. Logically there has to be an original uncreated creator of all things. The Bible is pretty clear that God is immutable and eternal. Eternity is also understood as an infinite instance or ageless age.
9:00 PM
Kyle?
9:01 PM
T
Hi Bob! I’m back.
9:01 PM
B
Where did Kyle go?
9:02 PM
Hello?
9:03 PM
T
He had to go. He was just covering for me while I was gone. We just help out at Mormon.org in time shifts and he just finished and had to leave.
9:05 PM
Now chatting with Tyler & Alec
B
So could you answer my question about where did god’s parents come from and where did their parents come from?
9:06 PM
T
There is no official church doctrine on that subject. There is mostly speculation and personal opinion on this subject.
9:08 PM
On the last thing that you wrote. I think that’s an interesting thought. Do you have any other concerns.
9:10 PM
B
It seems to me that there would be a being that was the uncaused causation of all things. An eternal God who has always been and never not existed.
9:10 PM
Yes
I have another question I was pondering.
God the Father in the first vision was said to have flesh and bone.
is that true?
also why can’t I copy and paste something from earlier in the conversation into the input field?
T
Yes we believe that God has a body of flesh and blood. And I don’t know why you can’t copy and paste.
9:12 PM
B
Ok thanks.
9:14 PM
Have a good night.”
I wouldn’t want to be accused of making straw man arguments, or any other logically fallacious arguments. I hope you found this interesting, and informative.
Experientially, we know that Christian prayer can accomplish miracles. When we consider the omniscience, and sovereignty of God, we know that our prayers don’t change anything that has already been spoken by God, once and for all. We experience life one way. We think something that seems to contradict what we experience. If we can’t square them, it is because we are limited. Some people can justify the sovereignty of God with the experiences of the creature. We don’t look down on those who can’t. I would hope that those who can’t won’t look down on those of us who can.
Consider that God decrees the ends and the means. As I pray for something according to God’s will, as explained in the progressive revelation of His word, I am sanctified. My thoughts and feelings are focused on God and His will. The situation I am praying about changes. I attribute it to God answering my prayers. He willed it to happen by using me to pray at exactly the time He decreed, in the way He decreed, so He could answer in the way that He decreed. The reality of His decree was actual at the moment He spoke everything into being. We are part of that decree. We exist in space-time, when and where He decreed. As our reality unfolds, we are not able to perceive how eternity is experienced. If we can accept that there is an infinite instance that contains our finite, linear experience, and transcends it, then we can also appreciate how the sovereign decreed will of God, and the experience of man are related. Does prayer change things? Yes it does, in our material experience. It changes, here because it was changed before in eternity.
First off, I must issue a disclaimer. I am a fan of Wretched Radio, and Wretched TV. That being said, I will still give an honest review of this latest work from Todd. If you aren’t familiar with Todd, and the gang over at www.WretchedRadio.com I suggest you go look at their web page. Make sure to stop by the Wretched Store and peruse their wares. You can also pick up a copy of this book there. If you prefer you can get it at Amazon or Christianbook as well.
The thought that I kept having while reading this book was, “Where was this when I was in my 20’s?” I had so many issues with stress then. I got married to my Wife when I was 19 years old. She had 2 little baby boys from a previous marriage. I was an instant Daddy. I was working part time for K-mart, and Wendy’s. We lived in a low income apartment with people using drugs near by, and couples fighting, police in the parking lot every weekend breaking up said fights, and little to no opportunities to get out. So, I was stressed. My Wife was stressed. Our families were stressed. It was a stressful time. I think you are getting the picture. I was a new Christian. I didn’t have anyone to disciple me, and the only resources I had to draw from were the Bible, and prayer. I had to swallow my pride, and ask my Dad for money for hamburger to feed the kids dinner. I worked as much as I could, and we kept going forward, even when we got knocked down. What it has taken me the better part of 25 years to learn, Todd has isolated in his new book. The Biblical principles detailed in, “Stressed Out” have been distilled from the Bible skillfully with a focused effort to apply the knowledge for the benefit of the reader’s peace of mind, and sanctification.
Before you get all upset and… triggered, don’t assume that Todd is one of those wacky guys who wants you to, “Name it, claim it!” your mental illness away. He makes sure to acknowledge the differences between situational stress/anxiety from biological/chemical problems with the brain. This book is for people who are experiencing situational stress and anxiety, who are having difficult times dealing with it. I don’t want to give too many details away. I also don’t want to leave information out that would encourage you to pick up a copy. I want you to have an idea of what is in the book so take a look at this screen capture I did of the Table of Contents;
So much of our peace of mind depends on our view of God, and ourselves. In this book, Todd helps you to see the sovereignty, omniscience, omnipotence, righteousness, and love of God, as well as our own condition in relation to Him. With the Bible applied to properly inform us, and correct us in areas where needed, we can discover a deeper, satisfying, peace with God. That peace and contentment will affect every aspect of your life. So to say, I recommend this book is an understatement. It is a quick read, but by no means “lite, cotton candy theology.” If you are a young person, who is struggling to make sense of things, pick up a copy of this book. Even if you are older, and need a reminder of the peace that comes with trusting God and who He is, this book is for you.
Todd’s book is a good reminder for us. When we don’t see things rightly, we are like Don Quixote. He didn’t see things as they truly were, and he wasted his time tilting at windmills. He thought they were enemies. In reality they were faux-foes or pseu pseu pseudo-foes whoa oh oh… (The butchering of Phil Collins’ song is for mature audiences only, “old people.”) We can see the things, and situations, that we have anxiety, worry, and stress over as ominous, and potent enemies. Todd reminds us in his book, via abundant scripture references, that we are in sin if we succumb to these assaults. In light of God’s word, His attributes, and our place in His redemptive plan, we should know peace, security, gratitude, and contentment.
Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety
Properly understood we can see God’s providence, and common grace demonstrated in these verses. Through the ordination of governmental authority the people are restrained from being as evil as they would be if left with no law and order. This grace is afforded both to the lost, and the saved, thus His grace in common to both. This is not a mandate to submit to a Godless secular government if it demands that we violate the faith, or the word of the true and living God. The exhortation at the end compels us to live in a practice of righteousness, and to seek to please God, in such a way that a Christian would not be concerned about incurring the ire of the government, as they would be beyond reproach. I hope that helps.
1Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.13Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Snyder's Soapbox 