Neglectful Dad Turnarounds, Sovereignty and Freedom, and New Testament Trustworthiness
Welcome back to The Think Institute Newsletter. Every Friday you get an email with an idea from me, a quote from somebody else, and something for you to think about. If you find this helpful, share it with a friend. Anyone can sign up for free here: https://thethink.institute/newsletter.
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AN IDEA FROM ME
“In fact, even dads who have been completely neglectful in the area of spiritual leadership can create a powerful object lesson for their family. They can look at the example of Abraham, see how it points toward Christ, recognize that, because Christ died for them, rose again, and redeemed them from all their failures, they are now free to follow Him, and just start doing it.
"This about-face may seem shocking to the family at first, especially if Dad has not shown much interest in spiritual things in the past. He will likely need to ease into it. Yet the commitment itself will show the family members, ‘In this home, we put God first. And when we fail, we repent, we trust in Christ, and we start trying to do it right.’ That is good spiritual leadership!
Source: from my forthcoming book, The Bible Based Family. The men of the Hammer & Anvil Society are studying this together for the next seven weeks. Membership is closed now and will reopen Monday, March 4th. Learn more at: https://thethink.institute/society.
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A QUOTE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE
“I suppose it is the tension between divine sovereignty and human freedom, more than any other issue, that has driven many Christians Christians to claim contradictions as a legitimate element of faith. The idea is that logic cannot reconcile divine sovereignty and human freedom. The two defy logical harmony. Since the Bible teaches both poles of the contradiction we must be willing to affirm them both in spite of the fact that they are contradictory.
“God forbid! For Christians to embrace both poles of a blatant contradiction is to commit intellectual suicide and to slander the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion (see 1 Corinthians 14:33). God does not speak with a forked tongue.”
Source: R. C. Sproul, Chosen By God, (Sanford, Florida: Ligonier, 2022), 196.
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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Your skeptical friend tells you, "The Bible can't be trusted! The New Testament was written hundreds of years after the events it describes." How do you respond?
If you write back to me with your response, I will tell you what I think. Reply to this email or reach out at https://thethink.institute/contact.
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Lord willing, I’ll talk to you again next week.
In Christ,
Joel Settecase
Executive Director
The Think Institute
P. S. You can listen to the latest from my podcast here: https://thethink.institute/podcast.