Andrew Smyth (@ref_andrew) header
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But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Hamill, South Dakota
Joined May 2021
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Psalm 119:81-88 (NKJV)
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Yes. Though to be fair, it's hours of driving to a commercial airport, so what's the point?
Midwesterners: why would I fly? It’s only a 13 hour drive
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I play by the rules of intellectual property because it's the law of the land and industry standard. But I have a hard time coming up with any sound biblical/moral/doctrinal basis for IP. It seems to be a modern construct to accomplish modern ends.
Every idea you've ever had is a composite of the entire history of ideas that came before you, it would be impossible to live in a world where "plagiarism" was truly theft.
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If someone is attempting to pass of another's ideas as one's own, that's lying, a sin against truth. But it is hard for me to say it's theft, a sin against property. Property in the Bible seems to be material goods with tangible value.
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Me for the last day as a user of Linux, self-hosting, and other Microsoft-independent services:
BREAKING: Microsoft services are beginning to come back online after a massive global outage left millions of users without access for nearly 18 hours. The disruption affected businesses, schools and government agencies in at least 74 countries, including the United States. Major services impacted included Outlook email, Microsoft Teams and Copilot. Microsoft says the outage was not caused by a cyberattack but by overwhelmed servers responsible for establishing secure connections, preventing them from processing requests. Download the FOX News app for the latest details: foxnews.com/download?intcmp=…
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If the institutional church will not guard the sacred offices from those so obviously disqualified, what is it even for?
Exclusive: Steve Lawson RESTORED TO MINISTRY Nearly ONE YEAR Ago. One year, two months, and six days after Trinity Bible Church announced that Steven J. Lawson was disqualified from ministry for having a "sinful relationship" with a woman nearly 45 years his junior, he was restored to ministry by his new church elders, according to documents obtained exclusively by Protestia. On September 19, 2024, Trinity Bible Church announced the removal of Steve Lawson after discovering he was having an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman he had grown close to over a period of many years and eventually crossed physical boundaries with. Following these revelations, Steve left the state and moved to Nashville, where he began attending Stephens Valley Church. Lawson, 75, shared in an update letter half a year after his original implosion: "I have been undergoing extensive counseling for the last five months to face the hard questions I need to address. I have dealt with sin issues that have been painfully exposed in my heart. I have submitted myself in weekly accountability to two pastors and to the elders of a local congregation, who have shepherded my soul. I am also under the oversight of an accountability team who monitor my progress and give me wise counsel in the decisions I have to make. I am growing in grace, reading and absorbing the Word of God, putting it into practice, praying, and meeting with other believers. I am involved in the life of the church, attending and participating in prayer meetings, Sunday school, the worship service, and taking communion weekly. I am being fed the Word in the mid-week Bible study. Please pray for my spiritual growth into Christlikeness as I follow Him moment by moment during this recovery season." Seven months later, his elders restored him to ministry. A letter from the elders given to commend Lawson to any potential churches or Christian organizations and associations that might have him speak, reads: "We, the Elders of Stephens Valley Church, a Biblical and Reformed congregation, have observed the life of Dr. Steven Lawson for the last 15 months. Several of us have met with him individually on a weekly basis. He has also attended our weekly Elder's prayer meetings. As a member in good standing of our church, he has been faithfully attending our adult Sunday School classes, worship services, and Wednesday night Bible studies. We have seen him make a positive contribution to the church and the lives of others. Based upon our direct interaction with him and his own written statements, we believe him to be genuinely repentant and walking in close fellowship with the Lord. Together we grieve his past sin, as he has and the consequences he has brought upon himself and others. Now however we rejoice in his present repentance and God's work of grace in his life. In particular we applaud his pursuit of and patience toward his loving wife, Anne. In light of Steve's "broken and contrite heart" and all we have observed these past months we deem him spiritually fit for ministry opportunities that the Lord may open to him. The Elder Counsel Stephens Valley Church Nashville, TN Nov. 25, 2025." Lawson details the journey of repentance in his book Mercy in the Wilderness and will soon release another book based on the life of King David. According to sources, the Elder Counsel has declined to make this restoration letter and judgment from a year ago public, even though doing so would help Lawson and allow him greater freedom to be publicly promoted and reintegrated into ministry with prospective churches and conferences. We reached out to Stephens Valley Church but they chose not to comment.
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If one were to attempt a satire of @TGC it would probably just be this article, but they mean it. There's nothing left to satirize...
Herein lies @tgc's most recent attempt to use grace to destroy nature. "And this raises a bigger question; if church is meant to be a gathering of our spiritual family, why are we sitting in our earthly families in the first place?" 🤦‍♂️ au.thegospelcoalition.org/ar…
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“Anotha’ one” 😂😂
"Sorry, it's only antinomianism if it's from the Antinomos region of southern Greece; otherwise, it's just sparkling dispensationalism."
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Biblical theology done well is basically doing exegesis and systematic theology that those existing disciplines have already adequately provided for centuries. BT done poorly is endless speculations, parallelomania, "tension", and other creative reinterpretations.
"What if we subject all other theological disciplines to one that didn't exist until modernity?"
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"Sorry, it's only antinomianism if it's from the Antinomos region of southern Greece; otherwise, it's just sparkling dispensationalism."
What could have spiked "priesthood of all believers" in the mid-20th century?
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What could have spiked "priesthood of all believers" in the mid-20th century?
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(no comment)
"What if we subject all other theological disciplines to one that didn't exist until modernity?"
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"What if we subject all other theological disciplines to one that didn't exist until modernity?"
Here's one for "covenant" just to show they don't all skew late.
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Here's one for "covenant" just to show they don't all skew late.
"Redemptive" also having a rough time. Sure a lot of late modern language that people have made fundamental to understanding doctrine.
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"Redemptive" also having a rough time. Sure a lot of late modern language that people have made fundamental to understanding doctrine.
"Typology" somehow fares even worse.
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"Typology" somehow fares even worse.
"Works principle" terminology has a dubious pedigree. One about as old as dispensationalism, and only popular much later.
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"Works principle" terminology has a dubious pedigree. One about as old as dispensationalism, and only popular much later.
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For being an allegedly vital concept to understanding Reformed covenant theology, it was sure late to the party.
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The oldest source that I personally observed writing about a works principle was Lewis Sperry Chafer, a dispensationalist.
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The law says "do" even to those for whom the gospel says "done."
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Regardless of what you formally believe and confess regarding the law of God, if your default reaction to hearing the law is to find it irrelevant or burdensome, that's antinomianism. Read Psalm 119 and ask yourself, "Do I want to be this person?"
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