The Puritan Pulpit

If you are wondering why I created The Puritan Pulpit and what it is all about, click below. It is available on all major streaming platforms. thepuritanpulpit.alitu.com/episode/2b4eea…

@elle_kaye11 @SonofManwithus Take the time to learn biblical Greek and Hebrew as I have done and then you will see, that yes it is clear, and the Catholic take is wrong.

@PuritanPulpit @SonofManwithus Except your contradicting, what Jesus said. He wasn’t vague. He was incredibly clear. Matthew 16:13–16: 19. He didn’t stutter

Please help I need some clarification: Many Catholics on this app have been claiming the apostle Peter was the first Pope. My understanding was he died roughly 200 years before the Catholic church was established. So how can this be?

As a student of the Word, I find my conscience bound to Sola Scriptura, the belief that the Bible is the sufficient and final authority for our faith. ​Regarding the idea that Jesus might have established Roman structures in "unwritten" sayings (John 21:25), we must remember that while not every miracle was recorded, the Holy Spirit ensured that everything necessary for life and godliness was preserved in text. As Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the Scripture is what makes the believer "complete" and "equipped for every good work." To build doctrine on what isn't written risks undermining the perfection of what is. ​Furthermore, while the church is indeed ancient, the New Testament shows a beautiful simplicity. Peter did not call himself a Supreme Pontiff, but rather a "fellow elder" (1 Peter 5:1), warning against domineering over the flock. The "universal" (catholic) church is not a physical empire or a specific city, but the spiritual body of all believers, governed by Christ alone as its Head (Colossians 1:18). ​I value our history, but I must always weigh tradition against the "Plain Word" of God. If it isn't in the Book, it isn't binding on the soul.

@Pear925 @PuritanPulpit @SonofManwithus You don't know that Jesus didn't use the word Catholic because most of what Jesus said and did wasn't written down (John20:30 and John21:25). Rome is a city and doesn't kill people. When Constantine became emperor, the Church was already old. (There had already been 31 popes.)

@ostrachan Me and my wife went and saw it last weekend and were pleasantly surprised and loved the film. Sadly, we didn't bring our teens as we thought it would have some objectionable content. On the upside, we will be seeing it twice and this time we will be bringing our kids.

Go see "Project Hail Mary." It's genuinely beautiful, clean, life-affirming, family-friendly, very funny, and open to wonder. Ryan Gosling deserves an Oscar for it. It's probably the best family movie to drop in 10-20 years. Spend the money; buy the popcorn; enjoy a good movie!

That'll preach!

If you were to stand before me and claim there is no "plausible exegesis" for the Church as Israel, I would tell you that you are not merely misreading a verse, you are unravelling the very tapestry of God’s Covenant. ​Open your Bible to Galatians 3. Does the Apostle Paul not say that if we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s seed? This is not a poetic flourish; it is a legal reality. We are the "Israel of God," the true circumcision who worship in Spirit and Truth. ​You speak as if God has two separate families, but we see only one Olive Tree. Yes, some natural branches were broken off for unbelief, and we - wild olives that we are - were grafted in. But it is the same tree, fed by the same root. To deny that the Church is Israel is to say that the root no longer supports the branches. ​When Peter calls us "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation," he is not inventing new titles. He is reaching back into Exodus 19 and placing the crown of Israel’s identity upon the head of the Body of Christ. ​We do not "replace" Israel. In Christ, the promise is finally fulfilled. The shadow has given way to the substance, and the fold has been opened to all who walk by faith. To be in the Church is to be a citizen of the only Israel that has ever truly mattered to the Almighty, the one of the heart, not the flesh.

There is no plausible exegesis of a NT (or OT) passage in which “Israel” means the “Church.”

@TaylorRMarshall Him going from the false teaching of Paula White to the false teaching of the Catholic Church is not an upgrade.

Are you praying for President Trump to become Catholic and fire Paula White? I am.

If I’m being honest, the only caveat I’d add, and I think a Puritan like Edwards would be the first to chime in here, is that we can't let the beauty of the master builder metaphor overshadow the grit of the substitution. ​As much as I love the image of Christ as the Tektōn crafting the true Temple, he isn't just the one holding the tools, he’s also the Sacrifice laid on the altar inside that very building. The architecture only matters because of the atonement. The house only stands because it was bought with blood.

People often apply Paul’s “tentmaking” (Acts 18:3) to missionary work, which is a fine thing to do. But something far bigger is happening here. Yes, Paul was literally a tentmaker. Yet his occupation carries rich theological overtones. For just as Jesus deliberately chose fishermen (Matt. 4:18) to become fishers of men (Matt. 4:19), the Lord does something similar with the apostle Paul: Ad fontes: The Greek word for “tentmaker,” skēnopoios (σκηνοποιός), is a compound: it joins the verb poieō (ποιέω, “to make”) with the noun skēnē (σκηνή). In the NT that second word is sometimes rendered “tent” (Heb. 11:9) or “dwelling” (Luke 16:9), but it is far more commonly translated “tabernacle” (Acts 7:43–44; 15:16; Heb. 8:2, 5; Rev. 21:3). Similarly, in the Septuagint (LXX)—the Greek translation of the OT—the same term repeatedly refers to the tabernacle itself (Ex. 25:9; 26:1, 6–7, 9, 12–18, 22–27; 27:9, etc.) and/or the “tent of meeting” (Ex. 27:21; 28:43; 29:4, 10–11, etc.). Even the permanent temple that later replaced the tabernacle is poetically called a “tent” in the Psalms (Ps. 27:4–5; Ps. 41:5 LXX [cf. Ps. 42:4 MT]). And in Amos 9:11—which James applies to Paul’s Gentile missionary activity in Acts 15:16—the word skēnē (σκηνή) refers to the restored lineage or dynasty of David, pointing to the fulfillment of God’s promise in 2 Samuel 7:12–13: “I will raise up your offspring after you… and he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Still with me? Now recall Jesus’ earthly trade. He was, quite famously, a tektōn (τέκτων)—a “carpenter” (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). It’s not a bad translation, but it doesn’t capture the fullness of that term’s use in the OT. Again, in the LXX, the same Greek word is used of the craftsmen who built, and later repaired, the temple (2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kgs. 7:14; 2 Kgs. 12:11–12; 22:5–6; 1 Chron. 22:15; Ezra 3:6–7). That’s quite a different image than a cabinetmaker. In other words, Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Luke 1:39; Rom. 1:5), is the one who took on flesh and “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). As the master tektōn, he came to build the true house of God—which is his body (John 2:19–21), and, by extension, the people who are joined to him by faith (1 Cor. 3:16–17; Eph. 2:21). With that great work complete, the apostle Paul is commissioned to start living, tabernacle-like outposts of the Lord’s temple (i.e., the church) in every corner of the world. So, yes, Paul literally sewed canvas and stretched leather. But in the providence of God, his earthly occupation was a symbol of his heavenly mission: to raise portable sanctuaries where the presence of God would dwell among the nations.

@KeenanPeachy Me and my wife went and saw it last night and loved it. Never read the book though. I didn't realize how family friendly it was or we would have brought our teens with us.

I read Project Hail Mary first. Then I went to see it alone. Then I took my daughters. Now the daughters are making me take my husband and son. The last time I saw a movie in the theater three times was.... well, it's been a long time. The secret of the movie is that it's a genuine comedy, with genuine laughs, that don't involve fart jokes or fat people taking prat falls. Just character driven little moments. Three Gen X white guys wrote and directed this movie. You're going to miss them when they're gone!

@Matt_Pinner As the Puritans would say - she's a baller!!

How would you describe JK Rowling in one word?

@Vitus_osst Not.

Behold the Vicar of Christ . Accept it or not .

If Catholicism is the best thing in the world, then let it stand before Scripture and be judged. Whatever exalts human authority, adds to Christ’s work, or binds consciences with traditions of men cannot call itself "the best." The gospel of Christ alone deserves that title, and anything that obscures it must be opposed.

Catholicism is just the best thing in the world

@FightofFaith Amen. The water of baptism can wash the body, but only the blood of Christ can cleanse the soul. No outward ordinance can give the life that only union with Christ provides. Salvation rests entirely on His atoning work, not on any ceremony performed by human hands.

Water Baptism doesn’t save your soul. The blood of Jesus does.

@WWUTTcom When any spiritual leader drifts from Scripture or mixes political and interfaith symbolism with the gospel, it should sober us. Our hope isn’t in any earthly office but in the unchanging authority of God’s Word. May the Lord indeed open eyes and draw people to Christ alone.

This has been an infamously bad week for the papacy: the pope contradicting himself, playing politics, aligning with Islam, praying toward Mecca, making up Bible verses... Sadly, too many people will fail to see it and continue to bow to Rome. May God open their eyes.

Yes. The New Testament vision of the Christian life is deeply communal, worshiping together, bearing burdens, submitting to leaders, using gifts for the body. None of that works in isolation. This is why I did an episode on The Lone Wolf Christian, so that people will hopefully recognize their need to be in community with the body of Christ.

Joh Stott calls an “unchurched Christian” a “grotesque anomaly.” He adds, “The New Testament knows nothing of such a person.” He’s right.

Fact check: True✅️

@SonofManwithus I'm waiting for the punch line.

Do you believe Jesus Christ appoints the head of the catholic church?

New Special Episode Alert: The Crescent and The Cross – A Primer on Islam. To the Puritans and the Wesleys, the Islamic advance was more than a clash of empires, it was a spiritual mirror held up to the Church. They saw it for what it was: a foundation that rejects the Cross, denies the Triune God, and offers a different gospel. Today, we’ve lost that clarity to a sanitized history and polite euphemisms. Join Nick Reddin as he uncovers the raw reality of the "Peoples of the Book" under the Pact of Umar and the spiritual warriors who traded the sword of conquest for the sword of the Word. Listen here: pod.link/1802052700/epi… #IslamicTeachings #Puritan #Jonathanedwards

Imagine having the absolute gall to post this from a literal golden throne. "Woe to those who manipulate religion for political gain"? Bruh, you invented the franchise. Are we just going to pretend the last thousand years of crusades, land grabs, and selling "Get Out of Hell Free" cards to fund your marble villas didn't happen? You’re sitting on a hoard of stolen relics and taxable real estate talking about "darkness and filth." We simplified the church because you turned it into a multinational conglomerate. Put down the fancy staff, sell the art gallery, and maybe read the Book you’re quoting before you lecture us on "military gain." #ApostolicJourney #Cameroon #popeleoXIV #Pontifex

Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. #ApostolicJourney #Cameroon vatican.va/content/leo-xi…