There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Lord, quicken me to work the works of him who sent me while it is day, because night is coming, wherein no one can work; John 9:4(ESV) and what good my hands find to do, enable me to do it with all my might, for there is no work or knowledge in Sheol, to which I am going. Ecclesiastes 9:10(ESV)
Lord, grant that I may never be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; Romans 12:11(ESV) steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord my labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58(ESV)
Lord, make me zealously affected in every good work; Galatians 4:18(KJV) and in whatever I do, enable me to work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23(ESV)
Lord, enable me to do the work of every day in its day, as each day requires, Ezra 3:4(ESV) making the best use of the time, because the days are evil; Ephesians 5:16(ESV) that when my Master comes, he may find me so doing. Luke 12:43(ESV)
Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should make satisfaction for sin;1 but no man, being himself a sinner, could satisfy for others.2
1 Rom 5:12, 15; 1 Cor 15:21; Heb 2:14-16; 2 Heb 7:26-27; 1 Pt 3:18
17. Why must He be at the same time true God?
That by the power of His divine nature1 He might bear in His human nature the burden of God’s wrath2 and so obtain for and restore to us righteousness and life.3
1 Isa 9:5; 2 Deut 4:24; Nah 1:6; Ps 130:3; 3 Isa 53:5, 11; Jn 3:16; 2 Cor 5:21
18. But who is that Mediator, who is at the same time true God and a true, sinless man?
Our Lord Jesus Christ,1 who is freely given unto us for complete redemption and righteousness.2
From the Holy Gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise;1 afterwards proclaimed by the holy Patriarchs2 and Prophets,3 and foreshadowed by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the Law;4 and finally fulfilled by His well-beloved Son.5
1 Gen 3:15; 2 Gen 12:3, 22:18, 49:10; 3 Isa 53: Jer 23:5-6; Mic 7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Heb 1:1; 4 Lev 1:7; Jn 5:46; Heb 10:1-10; 5 Rom 10:4; Gal 4:4-5; Col 2:17
Why does God choose to save some people and not others? This age-old question prompts important theological discussion, yet it also calls us to reflect on the depths of God’s grace. In this sermon, R.C. Sproul teaches on God’s sovereignty in salvation, a truth that reveals His rich mercy.
Aristotle said, “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.” But what does it REALLY mean to have courage?
In this 57-minute video, Frank Turek sits down with author and speaker, Heidi St. John, to discuss how to overcome fear in a world full of hostility towards biblical Christianity. From surviving childhood abuse, cancer, and severe anxiety to homeschooling her seven children and even running for Congress, Heidi has learned firsthand how God uses trials to deepen our faith and push us outside our comfort zones. Together, Frank and Heidi unpack what real courage looks like, why Christians need it now more than ever, and how to instill it in others (especially our kids!).
The Lord Is the Source of Israel’s Security (121:1–2)
121:1–2. As the psalmist said I will lift up my eyes to the mountains and asked From where shall my help come from, he knew his help was from the Lord. By looking to the mountains surrounding Jerusalem (as in 125:2), and in particular Mount Moriah, the site of the temple (2Ch 3:1) and the focal point of God’s abiding and manifest presence on earth (i.e., the cloud of glory, cf. Ex 40:34–38), he made God the focus of his help. The returning exiles will see this mountain and know their help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. The Lord’s power to help is often illustrated by His power as Creator; if He could create the earth, He also has the power to defend His people (cf. 33:6; 89:11–13; 96:4–5; 104:2–9; 124:8; 134:3; 136:1–9). Hence, David, like Daniel (Dn 6:10), directed his gaze, whether literally or emotionally, toward Jerusalem (1Kg 8:27–30), though at the same time recognizing that God is not restricted to one place, for He is the One who made heaven and earth and as such He transcends it (cf. 57:4–5; 83:18; 93:3–4; 115:3). In addition, if God possesses the power to create the mountains, heaven (the sky and the cosmos) and earth, then He has the power to establish Israel in the Holy Land in spite of her enemies.
Rydelnik, M. A., & Vanlaningham, M., eds. (2014). Psalms. In The moody bible commentary (p. 860). Moody Publishers.
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” It is wise to look to the strong for strength. Dwellers in valleys are subject to many disorders for which there is no cure but a sojourn in the uplands, and it is well when they shake off their lethargy and resolve upon a climb. Down below they are the prey of marauders, and to escape from them the surest method is to fly to the strongholds upon the mountains. Often before the actual ascent the sick and plundered people looked towards the hills and longed to be upon their summits. The holy man who here sings a choice sonnet looked away from the slanderers by whom he was tormented to the Lord who saw all from his high places, and was ready to pour down succour for his injured servant. Help comes to saints only from above, they look elsewhere in vain: let us lift up our eyes with hope, expectancy, desire and confidence. Satan will endeavour to keep our eyes upon our sorrows that we may be disquieted and discouraged; be it ours firmly to resolve that we will look out and look up, for there is good cheer for the eyes, and they that lift up their eyes to the eternal hills shall soon have their hearts lifted up also. The purposes of God; the divine attributes; the immutable promises; the covenant, ordered in all things and sure; the providence, predestination, and proved faithfulness of the Lord—these are the hills to which we must lift our eyes, for from these our help must come. It is our resolve that we will not be bandaged and blindfolded, but will lift up our eyes. Or is the text in the interrogative? Dose he ask, “Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills?” Does he feel that the highest places of the earth can afford him no shelter? Or does he renounce the idea of recruits hastening to his standard from the hardy mountaineers? and hence does he again enquire, “Whence cometh my help?” If so, the next verse answers the question, and shows whence all help must come.
“My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” What we need is help,—help powerful, efficient, constant: we need a very present help in trouble. What a mercy that we have it in our God. Our hope is in Jehovah, for our help comes from him. Help is on the road, and will not fail to reach us in due time, for he who sends it to us was never known to be too late. Jehovah who created all things is equal to every emergency; heaven and earth are at the disposal of him who made them, therefore let us be very joyful in our infinite helper. He will sooner destroy heaven and earth than permit his people to be destroyed, and the perpetual hills themselves shall bow rather than he shall fail whose ways are everlasting. We are bound to look beyond heaven and earth to him who made them both: it is vain to trust the creatures: it is wise to trust the Creator.
Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 120-150 (Vol. 6, pp. 14–15). Marshall Brothers.
He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.Psalm 32:10
O fair reward of trust! My Lord, grant it me to the full! The truster above all men feels himself to be a sinner; and lo, mercy is prepared for him: he knows himself to have no deservings, but mercy comes in and keeps house for him on a liberal scale. O Lord, give me this mercy, even as I trust in Thee!
Observe, my soul, what a bodyguard thou hast! As a prince is compassed about with soldiery, so art thou compassed about with mercy. Before and behind, and on all sides, ride these mounted guards of grace. We dwell in the center of the system of mercy, for we dwell in Christ Jesus.
O my soul, what an atmosphere dost thou breathe! As the air surrounds thee, even so does the mercy of thy Lord. To the wicked there are many sorrows, but to thee there are so many mercies that thy sorrows are not worth mentioning. David says, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” In obedience to this precept my heart shall triumph in God, and I will tell out my gladness. As Thou hast compassed me with mercy, I will also compass Thine altars, O my God, with songs of thanksgiving!
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (8:14)
The first inner confirmation of adoption is the believer’s being led by the Spirit of God. A person who is truly experiencing the leading hand of God at work in his life can be certain he is God’s child. It is important to note the tense Paul uses here. Are being led translates the present passive indicative of agō, indicating that which already exists. The phrase are being led does not, however, indicate uninterrupted leading by the Spirit. Otherwise the many New Testament admonitions and warnings to Christians would be meaningless. But the genuine believer’s life is basically characterized by the Spirit’s leading, just as it is basically characterized by Christ’s righteousness. A merely professing Christian does not and cannot be led by the Spirit of God. He may be moral, conscientious, generous, active in his church and other Christian organizations, and exhibit many other commendable traits. But the only accomplishments, religious or otherwise, he can make claim to are those of his own doing. His life may be outstandingly religious, but because he lives it in the power of the flesh, he can never be truly spiritual and he will never have the inner conviction of God’s leading and empowering. When someone confides in me that he has doubts about his salvation, I often respond by asking if he ever senses God’s leading in his life. If he answers yes, I remind him of Paul’s assurance in this verse: All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. God’s children are secure in Him even when they are not as responsive and obedient to His leading as they ought to be. But that is not to say that a child of God will always feel secure. The Christian who neglects study of Scripture, who neglects God in prayer, who neglects fellowship with God’s people, and who is careless about His obedience to God will invariably have doubts about his salvation, because he is indifferent to God and the things of God. Even for the obedient child of God, doubts about his relationship to God can easily slip into the mind during times of pain, sorrow, failure, or disappointment. Satan, the great accuser of God’s people, is always ready to take advantage of such circumstances to plant seeds of uncertainty. But our heavenly Father wants His children to be certain at all times that they belong to Him and are secure in Him. As Paul has just stated (Rom. 8:13), a person who is succeeding in putting to death sin in his life is not doing so in his own power, that is, in the power of the flesh, but by the power of the Spirit. Those who see victory over sin in their lives, who see their sinful desires and practices diminishing, can be certain they are sons of God, because only God’s Spirit can bring victory over sin. In the same way—when we begin to understand biblical truths that have long puzzled us, when we experience God’s convicting our consciences, when we grieve for the Lord’s sake when we sin—we have the divine assurance that we are sons of God, because only the indwelling Spirit of God can instill such understanding, conviction, and godly sorrow. Our finite minds cannot comprehend how the Spirit leads a believer, just as we cannot fully understand any of the supernatural work of God. We do, however, know that our heavenly Father does not force His will on His children. He seeks our willing obedience, which, by definition, cannot be coerced. It is when we are genuinely submissive to Him that our Lord supernaturally reshapes and redirects our will into voluntary conformity with His own. God saves men through their faith in Him, and He leads those he saves through the same human channel of faith. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding,” the writer of Proverbs counsels. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5–6). The seeking, willing, and obedient heart is open to the Lord’s leading. David prayed, “Make me know Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; for Thee I wait all the day” (Ps. 25:4–5). Later in that psalm he reminds us that God “leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way” (Ps. 25:9). In another psalm he entreated the Lord, “Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God; let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Ps. 143:10). Isaiah assures us that if we truly seek the Lord’s will, He is already standing beside us, as it were, ready to say, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isa. 30:21). The prophet was not speaking necessarily of an audible voice, but the voice of the believer’s God-directed conscience, a conscience instructed by God’s Word and attuned to His Spirit. Isaiah also assures us that the Lord is continually ready and eager to lead His people in the right way. Prophesying in the name of the preincarnate Christ, the prophet declared, “Come near to Me, listen to this: from the first I have not spoken in secret, from the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go’ ” (Isa. 48:16–17). Jeremiah acknowledged, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). Even the child of God cannot discern divine truth by his own intelligence or obey it in his own power. God’s Spirit sovereignly leads His children in many ways, sometimes in ways that are direct and unique. But the primary ways by which He promises to lead us are those of illumination and sanctification. In the first way, God leads His children by illumination, by divinely clarifying His Word to make it understandable to our finite and still sin-tainted minds. As we read, meditate on, and pray over Scripture, the indwelling Spirit of God becomes our divine interpreter. This begins with the conviction of sin that leads through saving belief into the whole of the Christian life. Although Joseph was not indwelt by the Holy Spirit as are believers under the New Covenant, even the pagan Egyptian ruler recognized him as a man “in whom is a divine spirit.” Consequently, “Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are’ ” (Gen. 41:38–39). The Old Testament saint who wrote Psalm 119, which so eloquently glorifies God’s Word, knew he needed the Lord’s divine help both to understand and to obey that Word. Every believer should continually pray with the psalmist: “Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it” (Ps. 119:35), and, “Establish my footsteps in Thy word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me” (Ps. 119:133). During the Upper Room discourse, shortly before His betrayal and arrest, Jesus told the apostles, “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:25–26). That promise had special significance for the apostles, who would become Christ’s uniquely authoritative witnesses to His truth after His ascension back to heaven. But the promise also applies in a general way to all believers after Pentecost. From that time on, every believer has been indwelt by Christ’s own Holy Spirit, whose ministry to us includes that of shedding divine light on scriptural truths that otherwise are beyond our comprehension. During one of His postresurrection appearances, Jesus said to the eleven remaining apostles, “ ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44–45). Again Jesus’ words had unique significance for the apostles, but in a similar way the Lord opens the minds of all His disciples “to understand the Scriptures.” On behalf of the Ephesian believers Paul prayed that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might” (Eph. 1:17–19). Later in that epistle Paul offered a similar prayer, asking that God “would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God” (3:16–19). Paul assured the saints at Colossae that “we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9). His devotion to them was again expressed in the loving words: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (3:16). Perhaps the most definitive passage on the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit is in Paul’s first letter to Corinth. “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,” he asserts; “for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:14–16). In other words, even God’s own children could not understand their heavenly Father’s Word apart from the illuminating work of His Spirit within them. The second major way in which the Spirit leads God’s children is by their sanctification. The Spirit not only illuminates our minds to understand Scripture but divinely assists us in obeying it, and that obedience becomes another testimony to our salvation. The humble child of God knows he cannot please his Lord in his own power. But he also knows that, when he sincerely labors in the Lord’s work in accordance with the commands and principles of Scripture, the Holy Spirit will bless that work in ways far beyond what the believer’s own abilities could have produced. It is then that our heavenly Father is deeply pleased with us, not for what we have accomplished but for what we have allowed Him to accomplish in and through us. It is not our work in itself but our spirit of obedience to Him and dependence on Him as we do His work that brings joy to our heavenly Father’s heart. It is through our faithful obedience that we experience the gracious working of the Spirit in our lives. And, as with His divine illumination, His divine work of sanctification gives us assurance that we are indeed sons of God. “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh,” Paul admonished the Galatians. “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal. 5:16–17). And because “we live by the Spirit,” he goes on to say, “let us also walk by the Spirit” (v. 5:25). As with illumination and all other divine works, we cannot understand exactly how God accomplishes His sanctifying work in us. We simply know from His Word, and often from experience, that He performs spiritual works in and through us that are not produced by our own efforts or power. Often we become aware of the Spirit’s activity only in retrospect, as we see His sanctifying power bearing fruit in our lives from seeds planted long beforehand. We also have the blessed assurance that, although we are not consciously aware of the Spirit’s work in us at all times, He is nevertheless performing His divine work in us at all times. He not only gives and sustains our spiritual life, He is our spiritual life. It is our heavenly Father’s great desire for His children to submit to the leading of His Spirit, for the sake of His glory and for the sake of their spiritual fruitfulness, well-being, and peace.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 429–434). Moody Press.
The Family of God
Romans 8:14
… because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
One of the things I have said about Romans 8, as we have been working our way through it, is that basically Paul is not teaching anything new here but is instead reinforcing what he already stated. The general theme is assurance of salvation, but that doctrine was laid out in chapter 5. And, as I have explained, chapters 6 and 7 were a digression to answer several important questions growing out of chapter 5, after which the apostle picked up where he left off earlier. But true as that is in general, we find something new when we come to Romans 8:14. This verse tells us that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,” and here the idea that we are “sons of God” appears in Romans for the first time. This is not merely an incidental thought, although it would be possible for a new idea to appear at some point simply by accident, as it were. There is nothing accidental about this reference. Paul is talking about assurance of salvation and is arguing that one basis for this is our new relationship to God, which is a family relationship. Moreover, having introduced the theme in our text, he then elaborates upon it in verses 15–17, speaking of such related concepts as “sons,” “sonship,” “children,” and “heirs.” Some of the words reappear later on in verses 19, 21, and 23. The idea is so important that a number of commentators, such as John R. W. Stott, treat verses 14–17 as a separate section, in spite of the fact that verse 14 is linked to the preceding verse by the word because, or for. Technically, verse 14 is introduced as proof of what has gone immediately before. Calvin saw this and said, “The substance … amounts to this, that all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God; all the sons of God are heirs of eternal life; and therefore all who are led by the Spirit of God ought to feel assured of eternal life.” Therefore, Romans 8:14 is meant to be both a test of spiritual life and a comfort. Verse 14 is one of those amazing verses, found often in the Bible, which is literally loaded with important teachings. I want to list five of them.
Two Fathers, Two Families
The first point is a negative one: Not everyone is a member of God’s family. The reason this is important is that we have an idea in western thought, a product of older liberalism, which said that human beings are all sons or daughters of God and that therefore we are all members of one family. The popular way of putting this has been to speak of “the universal fatherhood of God” and “the universal brotherhood of man.” I am sure you have heard those expressions. There is a sense, of course, in which all human beings are brothers and sisters, having been created by the one God. This is the way the apostle Paul spoke in Athens when he quoted the Greek poets Cleanthes and Aratus to say to that particularly intellectual audience that “we are [all] his [that is, God’s] offspring” (Acts 17:28). But that is not the way the words “sons of God” are used in Scripture, and it is certainly not the way the apostle is speaking here. When Paul writes of “those who are led by the Spirit of God,” he is distinguishing between those who are led by the Spirit and those who are not led by the Spirit, which means that only a portion of humanity are God’s spiritual children. The clearest statement of this important truth is from the mouth of Jesus Christ. The relevant passage is John 8:31–47. Jesus had been teaching the people and had made a statement similar to what Paul has been saying in Romans: “If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This offended his Jewish listeners, because they did not like to think of themselves as enslaved. “We have never been slaves of anyone,” they said. Their statement was absurd, of course. They had been enslaved by many nations during their long history, and even then were under the domination of the Roman Empire. But Jesus ignored that point and answered instead that he had been speaking spiritually. “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.… I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father” (vv. 34, 38). They answered that Abraham was their father. Jesus denied it, saying that if they were Abraham’s children, they would be like Abraham and would not be determined to kill him, which they were. He said again that, instead, they were acting like their true father. They then replied that God himself was their only Father, at which point Jesus became most explicit: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here.… You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.… The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (vv. 42, 44, 47). It cannot be said any clearer than that. In these words Jesus made clear that there are two families and two fatherhoods, and that only those who love and serve God are God’s children.
Born of God
This leads to the second important teaching of this verse. In fact, it is the main one: All Christians are members of God’s family. This involves a change that is radical, supernatural, and far-reaching.
It is radical. To become a child of God means that the individual has experienced the most radical or profound change possible. This is because, before a person becomes a son or daughter of God, he or she is not a member of God’s family but is a member of the devil’s family (to use Jesus’ terminology in John 8) or is merely “in Adam” (to use Paul’s earlier teaching in Romans). We do not need to review Paul’s earlier teaching in detail, because it was covered thoroughly in our studies of chapters 5 and 6. To be “in Adam” means to be in sin, a slave to wickedness, under divine judgment, and destined for eternal death. To be “in Christ” is the reverse. It means to be delivered from sin and its judgment, to be growing in holiness, and to possess eternal life. The change is as radical as passing from a state of slavery to freedom or from death to life.
It is supernatural. This change is not only radical. It is supernatural, too, which means that it is done for us from above by God. Here again we are helped by the very words of Jesus Christ, as recorded in John 3. He had been approached by Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, and had told Nicodemus that he would never be able to understand spiritual matters unless he was “born again.” This puzzled the Jewish ruler, so he asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (vv. 5–8). In these words Jesus made clear that becoming a child of God is a matter of spiritual birth and that this is something only the Spirit of God can do. The Greek word translated “again” implies that this birth is “from above,” rather than from below, which means that this new spiritual life is divinely imparted.
It is far-reaching. This point will be developed more as we proceed through this section, but it is important to say here that the end of this spiritual rebirth is not only deliverance from sin’s judgment—or, as many in our day seem to think, happiness now—but glorification. This is where chapter 5 began, and it is where chapter 8 will end. It is the point of this section of Romans: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (v. 17). In his exceptional study of these verses, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones stresses that the apostle’s interest “is always in glorification,” bemoaning the fact that the interest of today’s church has settled on sanctification “because we are so miserably subjective.”
A Practical Result
Not every characteristic of our age is bad, however, though super subjectivity undoubtedly is a troublemaker. One potentially good characteristic is modern-day practicality. We are a down-to-earth people and want to see results. So I ask, what is the practical result of this important change that has happened to us? What does being a Christian mean in one’s daily life? Here is where Romans 8:14 provides us with a third important doctrine: To be a Christian means to be led by God’s Spirit. Up to this point the doctrines I have been explaining might be thought to refer to a change of status only—before, we were “in Adam”; now we are “in Christ.” Before, we were under condemnation; now we are delivered from condemnation. Before, we were spiritually dead; now we are spiritually alive. All that is true, of course, and Paul has taught it. But it is not the only truth he is teaching. Because our change of status has been accomplished by the Holy Spirit, who lives within every genuine Christian, being a Christian also means that we will be led by that same Spirit. Or, as I have said in different words, it means that we will be growing in holiness increasingly. This is the way verse 14 is tied to the preceding one. Verse 13 said that we will live spiritually, now and forever, “if by the Spirit [we] put to death the misdeeds of the body.” Now verse 14 adds that we will indeed do that if the Spirit is within us, for this is the direction the Holy Spirit is leading.
A Test of Spiritual Paternity
From time to time we read in the papers of a “paternity suit,” in which a mother sues for support of her child on the grounds that a certain man is the father though he denies it. In earlier ages this was a matter usually impossible to prove, which made a situation like this extremely difficult for the woman. But today a test can be made of both the alleged father’s and the child’s genetic makeup, and the relationship can be established (or disproved) with nearly 100 percent accuracy. This introduces the fourth important teaching in this verse, which is, we might say, a test of paternity. It tells us how we can know we are in God’s family. We are in God’s family if the Spirit of God is leading us in our daily lives. Do you remember what I said earlier about this being a new idea and a new section of Romans 8? Here I have to confess that it is not such a new idea after all, since we have really been noting this point all along. It is only another way of saying that those who are Christians will necessarily live accordingly. They are on the path of discipleship. Therefore, although they may fall while walking along that path, they also inevitably get up again and go forward. They grow in holiness. A big question still remains: How does the Holy Spirit lead us? People have a lot of ideas at this point, many of them unbiblical. Some answer in terms of outward circumstances, suggesting that God orders external events to direct us in the way we should go. Others look for special intimations or feelings or perhaps even special revelations. Some think of guidance almost magically, expecting God’s Spirit to direct them to some verse supernaturally or to let them overhear some human remark that is actually from God. We have to be careful in this area since it is futile to deny that God does indeed sometimes lead in “mysterious” ways. Saint Augustine was converted by hearing a neighbor’s child singing the words, “Tole lege (Take, read).” He received it as a word from God, picked up a Bible and, turning to a passage at random, fell upon verses that spoke to his specific need, and so was converted. We dare not say that this was not from God. But is that sort of guidance what we are to expect normally? If so, the majority of us have not experienced it. If being “led by the Spirit” is what it means to be a Christian, and if that is what it means to be led, then most of us are not Christians! Of course, this is not what Paul is saying. The place to start is by recognizing that the Holy Spirit works within us or, as we might say, “internally.” Everything in the passage indicates this. Paul has been talking about our minds being set on what the Holy Spirit desires and about our having an obligation to live according to the Spirit rather than according to the sinful nature. In the next verses he will speak of an internal witness of the Spirit by which we instinctively call God “Father.” God can order external events, of course, and he does. He orders everything. But that is not what is being discussed here. In this verse Paul is talking about what God’s Spirit does internally within the Christian. So we reduce the earlier question to this one: What does the Holy Spirit do internally in Christians to lead them? Let me suggest three things.
He renews our minds. The first area in which the Holy Spirit works is the intellect, and he does this by what Paul will later call “the renewing of your mind.” This comes out very clearly in Romans 12. There, having laid down the great doctrines of the epistle, the apostle begins to apply them to the believer’s conduct, saying, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:1–2). The person who discovers, tests, and approves what God’s pleasing and perfect will is obviously is being led by God. But the key to this, according to Romans, is the mind’s renewal. How, then, are our minds to be renewed? There is only one way. It is by our reading and being taught by the Spirit from the Bible. That is what God has given the Bible to us for—to inform us, enlighten our minds, and redirect our thinking. I hold the Bible and the Holy Spirit together in this, however, as the Reformers were particularly astute in doing. For alone, either is inadequate. A person who considers himself to be led by the Spirit apart from the Bible will soon fall into error and excess. He will begin to promote nonbiblical and therefore false teachings. But a person who reads the Bible apart from the illumination provided by the Holy Spirit, which is true in the case of all unbelievers, will find it to be a closed and meaningless book. The Christian is led by the operation of the Holy Spirit and the Bible together. Here is a test for you. Has the Holy Spirit been leading you by enlightening your mind through Bible study? Have you discovered things about God, yourself, the gospel, and the ways of God that you did not know before? Do you realize that they are true? Are you beginning to live differently? Unless you are crazy, you will begin to live differently. Because a person who realizes that one way is true and another is false and yet takes the false path must be out of his or her mind, irrational. If your mind has been renewed, you will show it.
He stirs the heart. Figuratively, the heart is the seat of the emotions, and the Holy Spirit works upon it by stirring or quickening the heart to love God. In the verse that follows our text Paul speaks of an inner response to God by which we affectionately cry out, “Abba, Father.” This verse does not actually mention the heart, but in a parallel text in Galatians Paul does, showing that he is thinking of the operation of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts explicitly. He writes, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’ ” (Gal. 4:6). In other words, the Spirit of God leads us by making us affectionate toward God and his ways. It is the Spirit who causes us, as Jesus said, to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6). This brings us to another test of whether or not you are a Christian. I mentioned it in an earlier study. Do you love God? I do not mean, “Do you love God perfectly?” If you think you do, you probably do not love him much at all. I mean only, “Do you try to please God? Do you want to spend time with him through studying the Bible and praying? Do you seek his favor? Are you concerned for his glory?”
He directs our wills. Just as the Spirit leads us by renewing our minds and stirring our hearts or affections, so also does he lead us by redirecting and strengthening our wills. Paul speaks of this in Philippians, where he writes: “Therefore, my dear friends … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12–13). God gives us a singleness of purpose—to do his will. It is the way God works. Has your will been redirected in that way? When you look deep inside, do you find that you really want to serve God and act according to his good purpose? God does not force you to be godly against your will. He changes your will by the new birth so that what you despised before you now love, and what you were indifferent to before you now find desirable. John Murray had it right when he wrote, “The activity of the believer is the evidence of the Spirit’s activity, and the activity of the Spirit is the cause of the believer’s activity.” If you are trying to please God, it is because the Spirit is at work within you, leading you to want and actually do the right thing. It is a strong reason for believing you are in God’s family.
Our Brothers and Sisters
There is one more important teaching in this short but potent verse, and it comes from the fact that the words we are dealing with are plural: “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Therefore: Those led by the Spirit of God are our true brothers and sisters. We are part of the same divine family. The older, King James Version started this verse with “For as many as …” and I am almost sorry this has been changed, since it emphasized the inclusive nature of God’s family better than “those” in the New International Version. Yet it is the same thing. And the problem is not so much our understanding the point as practicing it. There are many differences between believers within the church of Jesus Christ—differences of class, personality, background, economic status, temperament, abilities, drive, sensitivity, and thousands of other things. They have led to divisions in the church, for not all divisions (perhaps not even the majority) are doctrinal. Many divisions exist that should not exist, and sometimes these lead Christians in one camp to suspect and even fail to associate with those in another. This should not be, for the text teaches that what makes other believers our brothers or sisters in Christ is not what denomination or movement they may belong to, but whether or not they are being led by God’s Spirit. Anyone for whom that is true is our brother or sister in Christ, and we should recognize it and be willing to work with that person to fulfill God’s purposes.
Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: The Reign of Grace (Vol. 2, pp. 829–836). Baker Book House.
Captain Maxim Herkin Returns to IDF After Two Years in Hamas Captivity Standing tall once again in IDF uniform, Captain (Res.) Maxim Herkin addressed his fellow soldiers for the first time since returning from nearly two years in Hamas captivity. The emotional moment unfolded at the Transportation Center’s commendation ceremony Tuesday night a powerful symbol of personal strength and national perseverance. Herkin, 36, from Tirat Carmel, had only recently completed officer training when he was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. Taken hostage during the brutal terror attack that left hundreds dead or missing, Herkin spent 22 months hidden away in Gaza, his status as an IDF officer kept secret from his captors.
Alberta introduces bill allowing province to reject international agreements Under the proposed law, international treaties or accords signed by the federal government would not apply in Alberta unless approved through its own legislation. Alberta’s Conservative government introduced a new law to protect “constitutional rights” that would allow it to essentially ignore International Agreements, including those by the World Health Organization (WHO), signed by the federal Liberal government.
Do “Text with Jesus” Apps Help People “Explore Scripture”? Want a direct line to Jesus Christ where he speaks to you personally? Well, apparently you need look no further than “Text with Jesus,” one of a variety of apps that allow you to “chat” with Jesus, Moses, and other biblical figures. Do these kinds of apps help people “explore Scripture,” as the creator claims? Or are they utter blasphemy? The creator, who is currently “not particularly religious,” said about his app, We expected some pushback, especially from those who worry about AI taking on roles tied to faith. . . . But, overall, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Is such an app just a “fun, accessible way” to discover Scripture and spirituality? Now, this app isn’t just claiming to represent Jesus by quoting his words—it’s claiming to be Jesus.
Trump says he will not meet with Putin until he thinks there is a deal on Ukraine -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he does not plan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin until he thinks a deal is in place to secure peace between Russia and Ukraine. “You have to know that we’re going to make a deal, I’m not going to be wasting my time,” Trump told reporters in Doha.
Rabbi narrowly survives direct hit Russian drone attack after walking out of synagogue to attach mezuzah A Russian drone strike severely damaged Kherson’s only synagogue on Thursday, narrowly missing its rabbi, who had stepped outside just moments before the blast. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Wolff, the city’s longtime Chabad-Lubavitch emissary, had gone to affix a mezuzah at the home of a community member when the attack occurred. “There’s damage, but it’s not destroyed and it’s fixable,” he said, explaining that the projectile pierced the building’s walls but did not detonate. Chabad described his survival as a “miracle.”
Hamas: Israel will not be given cause to renew the war Hossam Badran, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said that all Palestinian factions agree on a unified approach regarding implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. The remarks were made during a meeting in Cairo, where Palestinian representatives discussed steps related to implementing the Sharm al-Sheikh agreement.
Hamas’s Khalil al-Hayya: ‘We will enter new areas on Sunday to search for bodies’ “We will enter new areas in Gaza on Sunday to search for bodies,” al-Hayya told Al Jazeera. The Hamas leader also assured that he “told [US Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner during the meeting with them that we are advocates of stability.” “Our weapons are linked to the existence of the occupation and aggression, and if the occupation ends, these weapons will belong to the state,” he said, while discussing the attempts to disarm the terror group.
Rubio Says US Is Getting Input on Gaza International Force, Will Discuss in Qatar Marco Rubio said US officials are getting input on a possible UN resolution or international agreement to authorize a multinational force in Gaza and will discuss the issue in Qatar on Sunday. “Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level — whether it be monetary or personnel or both — are going to need that (a UN resolution or international agreement) because their domestic laws require it,” Rubio told reporters … “So we have a whole team working on that outline of it.”.
Troops on Lebanese border conclude largest IDF drill since start of war The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday night completed a five-day intensive divisional exercise led by the 91st Division (aka the Galilee Formation) and the National Ground Training Center along the Lebanon border. It was the military’s largest exercise since the start of the Swords of Iron war/War of Redemption on Oct. 7, 2023. The drill was designed to prepare for “extreme defense scenarios,” ensure a rapid response to emerging incidents—including reserve troops mobilization and force buildup
Erdogan’s “power equation”: Turkey’s anti-Israel incitement grows as effigy of Netanyahu hung from crane Turkey intensifies its rhetoric against Israel as protesters hang a Netanyahu effigy with a “death penalty” sign; Erdogan vows Turkey is indispensable to Gaza’s future, despite reports Israel vetoed its role in an international stabilization force. Yet as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan deepens his involvement in Gaza, it appears unlikely he will easily abandon his backing of Hamas or his hostility toward Israel.
Knowing Christ’s Return Is Imminent, What Must We Do To Be Ready? When it comes to the Rapture, it’s often said that a person must prepare, and so, “Be ready!” This saying is implied by Jesus Himself, who said in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to happen…” (“things” meaning when the signs of the end times begin to occur), then “look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” In other words, Jesus was commanding His followers to “Be ready!” because He will indeed return, and when He does, look up because His return will be swift.
Trump Wants New “Golden Fleet” Of Future Battleships For Hemispheric Defense President Trump’s Monroe Doctrine 2.0 plan, focused on hemispheric defense, centers on securing the homeland and the wider Western Hemisphere. Prioritizing the Western Hemisphere after decades of endless wars in the Middle East may also require upgrading America’s naval fleet, as the proliferation of hypersonic weapons and drones by foreign adversaries could render some warships in the current fleet obsolete.
“You Have To Be Scared… Forcefully Rise Up”: Democrat Leaders Ramp Up Resistance Rhetoric DNC Chair Ken Martin just told MSNBC’s “The Beat” that “we may be nearing” the moment when “elections don’t matter and then the resistance looks completely different.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on people to “forcefully rise up.” With political violence on the rise, these leaders are clearly fueling the mob in hopes that they and their party can ride the wave of rage back into power. History suggests that it is a foolish delusion.
US Says First Day Of China Trade Talks “Very Constructive” the latest round of talks between the two superpowers in Malaysia started off on the right foot after the US said it held “very constructive” discussions with China as President Donald Trump began his trip to the region including a meeting with the Chinese leader next week. Chinese and American officials met in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday for a new round of talks aimed at defusing a standoff between the world’s two largest economies.
Leftist Musicians, Record Labels Meltdown Over Spotify Allowing ICE Ads Streaming company Spotify is featuring ICE recruitment ads in between content on its free tier, prompting deranged leftists within the music industry to throw tantrums. The short ads encourage listeners to “join the mission to protect America” and apply to become an ICE agent.
Ted Cruz Hammers Trump’s Kuwait Ambassador Amer Ghalib Over Muslim Brotherhood Remarks Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is not making any bones about how he feels concerning President Trump’s pick for ambassador to Kuwait. After a heated nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, where Amer Ghalib was grilled over his history of antisemitic stances, Cruz bluntly stated he would not support him for the position.
Audio recordings of Lucis Trust meeting capture key figures discussing “The Reappearance of Christ” The Lucis Trust has been publishing audios of its 2025 Centennial Conclave meetings, a convening of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy to advance the “divine Plan.” According to exoteric teachings, 2025 represents a pivotal moment in spiritual evolution and, as such, they have been preparing for the “Externalisation of the Hierarchy” – the emergence of these hidden masters (Spiritual hierarchy) into public work. Matthew Schanche and Andrew Bikichky discuss what this all means and reveal audio recordings from the Conclave that capture key figures discussing “The Reappearance of the Christ.”
Providence Baptist Church on RSBN featuring Pastor Dr Rusty Sowell live from Providence Baptist Church in Beauregard, AL Sunday Morning Worship 10/25/25
A couple of years ago, The Gospel Coalition announced the Tim Keller Center For Cultural Apologetics, whilst its namesake was still alive. They had an inaugural class of fellows for the think tank outlet. The Keller Center sought to be in incubator for liberal Evangelical elites. Its first class notably included Gavin Ortlund, Michael Keller (son of Tim Keller), Sam Allberry, Trevin Wax, and Rebecca McLaughlin. Now, The Gospel Coalition has announced six more fellows to the ranks of the woke incubator.
Matt McCullough is the pastor of Edgefield Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a Southern Baptist Church. He’s been around in Big Eva for a while with writing and spot podcast appearances.
John Starke is the lead pastor at Apostles Church Uptown in Manhattan with female deacons.
Sarah Irving-Stonebraker is the Australian addition to the crew. The hyphenated last name is already a bad sign, but she is something of an up-and-coming author, and that’s why she’s here.
Lastly, there’s Walter R. Strickland II. He is best known for being one of the major woke influencers at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Can’t have a Keller Center class without a diversity hire, which is a summation. I was honestly surprised he didn’t make the first class.
He’s even got a Woke Preacher Clip alongside Side B Theologian Preston Sprinkle.
PSA: The MLK "ChurchToo" tapes are due to come out in just 3 years. This is not how you should be preparing for their release.
Dr. Walter Strickland attempts to deny King's infamous philandering, saying there's only "scattered documentation" of it and "some people who are… pic.twitter.com/rlK0hj3ocA
The newest class of the Keller Center is not nearly as shiny as the first class, with Starke and Strickland being the biggest names. However, that they only have six names, with some of them being questionable investments, is some sort of sign that the Keller Center does not have a deep pool of rising stars to draft into their ranks.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., talks with Kayleigh McEnany of Fox News on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is urging Republicans to “nuke the filibuster” in order to prevent future government shutdowns.
The Democrat who often speaks against the leadership of his party appeared on Fox News Saturday, telling anchor Kayleigh McEnany the Senate should slice out an exception to the current filibuster rule regarding government funding, making it “almost impossible” to halt operations.
“Well, I just know that two things must be true in this situation right now,” Fetterman said.
“SNAP depends on 2 million Pennsylvanians to feed themselves, and I believe it’s about 40 million Americans across the nation. That’s a big deal right now.”
And now we all realize that a lot of the premiums are going to go up, and we might want to address that too. We can support those two things, but I think it’s fundamentally wrong, regardless, to shut our government down for those things. The Republican side has their priorities; we have our priorities. I think we have to agree that our government must be open.”
McEnany asked the senator: “You think it’s time for Republicans to nuke the filibuster and end this thing?”
Fetterman responded: “I think I broached that before. I think it’s entirely appropriate. I would remind all of us – the Democrats – we wanted to nuke the entire filibuster. I’m referring to right now carving out this specific situation. I’m not talking about eliminating the entire filibuster.
“It’s really not much different than about the en bloc nominees, and I think that was appropriate to do in that situation as well, too. Carving out the filibuster now would make it almost impossible to shut our government down in the future, regardless if it’s the Democrats or the Republicans doing these things. We should remove our own power to shut this down in this way.”
JUST IN: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) calls on Republicans to NUKE the filibuster only in cases of the government shutting down – so it no longer requires 60 votes to remain open.
“Carving out the filibuster now would make it almost IMPOSSIBLE to shut our government down in the… pic.twitter.com/fx13lwKDVl
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The EU summit on Thursday in Brussels focused primarily on security issues. To put it bluntly: Ukraine must somehow turn its lost war against Russia into a victory, and the EU must be militarily ready for action by 2030. The fact that this would only be feasible with a functioning economy has apparently not yet dawned on the power center in Brussels. Instead, they are preparing for a major fiscal “liberation strike,” giving bureaucracy a lush boom of its own.
When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz traveled to Brussels for the EU summit, his fiery rhetoric about EU bureaucratization followed him closely. “Let me put it in very vivid terms: We need to stick a branch into the wheels of this Brussels machine so that this stops,” Merz declared in September at a conference of the SME and Economic Union — playing, for a brief moment, the role of someone who understands the concerns of the small-business community.
Empty Media Theater
Given today’s Kafkaesque bureaucratic pressures, Merz will likely resort more frequently to this kind of small-business slang in the coming months — whenever the complaints from industry grow louder and demands to end pointless regulatory harassment reach public consciousness.
But no one should expect serious reforms. The example of relabeling “citizen’s income” to “basic security” without any structural change shows that the German government’s policy amounts to a media performance, buying time to defend Brussels’ eco-socialist course at any cost.
The summit confirmed this: Some “mini-reforms” are allowed to release a bit of pressure — but the fundamental line is untouchable. By 2040, the EU must produce climate-neutral output, no matter the cost — either through radical de-growth like in Germany or via buying CO₂ indulgences from elsewhere. As long as the climate books balance, nothing else matters.
Loyal Climate Disciple
Despite the sharp rhetoric, Merz remains a loyal disciple of Brussels’ regulatory-and-climate policy. Along with 19 other European leaders, he presented a sweeping reform proposal to strengthen EU competitiveness. In a letter to EU Council President António Costa, they demanded the Commission review all rules by year-end, scrap outdated and excessive regulations, and reduce new legislation to an “absolute minimum.”
This is rhetorical shadowboxing. Tough talk about regulatory madness — followed by nothing. At best, critics are pacified with subsidies. It’s the oldest EU trick: today’s credit-financed subsidy silences dissent and shifts the price — inflation and higher taxes — into the future.
Masters of Concealing Causality
Brussels is world champion in disguising cause and effect.
In fact, the EU is already preparing a €2 trillion heavyweight budget to be launched in 2028 — with green subsidies and new war machinery, all centrally orchestrated and embedded into national bureaucracies. In Germany’s case, Brussels’ debt wave is complemented by another €50 billion per year from “special funds.” Thousands of new government jobs will be needed to distribute this credit shock.
That this will inevitably trigger major inflation and further tax hikes is something the Chancellor prefers not to mention. The public mood is already… let’s say: tense. No need to pour fuel on that fire.
War Economy = More Bureaucracy
The build-out of a European war economy — with Germany as the main engine — will further swell the state apparatus. Defense and green sectors together form a massive impoverishment program targeting the European middle class, which is being milked more bluntly than ever.
Rising carbon taxes, an EU-wide plastic levy, higher business-tax multipliers, exploding labor costs — the construction of a EU super-state and the financing of its climate ambitions is a costly pleasure.
Germany’s companies are suffocating under mountains of freshly minted EU regulation. Direct bureaucracy costs alone amount to about €70 billion annually, according to a study by the Bundesbank.
Bureaucratic Burdens Keep Growing
If Chancellor Merz now wants to cut bureaucracy and reduce the public workforce by 8% — after contracting 50,000 new state employees in just 12 months — while also reducing bureaucratic burdens by a quarter… it basically means one thing: the green-socialist ideology would need to be deeply curtailed.
But the summit made one thing clear: While awareness is slowly growing in the badly battered economies of Germany, Italy, and France, the climate path remains sacred. Net-zero stays — whether the target year says 2040 or 2045. Any concessions? Shell games designed to reshuffle burdens without altering policy fundamentals.
Privatizing State Bureaucracy
How detached this ideological steering is from economic reality becomes crystal clear in new labor-market data. In the past three years, regulation has “created” 325,000 new jobs in medium-sized companies. The press cheers this as a labor-market success.
But these positions are merely outsourced government bureaucracy — financed by companies and customers. They produce nothing, improve nothing, and respond to no market demand. They are barriers — new cost centers imposed by a metastasizing regulatory regime.
Industrial Exodus Accelerates
The fallout is obvious. A recent survey of 240 executives in energy-intensive industries like steel and chemicals shows: 31% of major companies in Germany are shifting production abroad. Another 42% are delaying investment or moving it to other European locations.
Energy prices, overregulation, and rising trade pressure from the U.S. — all accelerating Germany’s deindustrialization — and strengthened by a bureaucracy that keeps multiplying like bacteria in a petri dish.
Yet neither CEOs nor unions dare challenge the grotesque EU climate agenda. Brussels’ climate crusade increasingly resembles a sectarian conspiracy against rationality and economic logic.
The solution already exists — straight from former ECB chief Mario Draghi: more debt, another €800-billion megaprogram to “boost productivity” — meaning: more central control in Brussels. Add climate ideology plus war economy — and the recipe for the EU’s future is complete.
Climate Bureaucracy: The Last Fortress of Power
For Ursula von der Leyen and her Commission, climate politics is existential. Over the years, Brussels has built a tentacled, subsidy-fed bureaucracy that expands its power in direct proportion to regulatory intervention in the economy.
Wherever a “climate compliance officer” files reports on EU deforestation rules, Brussels is lurking close by.
“Ubi Brussels, ibi Imperium.”
Even U.S. tech giants are discovering Europe’s censorship apparatus — targeting platforms like X and Google to secure control of the public narrative and silence criticism of Brussels’ growing influence and failed transformation agenda.
An open debate about the failed green regulation project? Absolutely forbidden. The entire power architecture of the Brussels bureaucracy rests on CO₂ panic. If that panic dies, Brussels dies with it — and they know it.
* * *
About the author: Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.
Last night, October 14, I was privileged to join Jonathan Feldstein of Genesis 123 Foundation and three absolutely amazing women to discuss events of this past week. Watch here: https://youtu.be/nDFmof0Y3Fs
The Burevestnik, noted for its unmatched range, was test-fired earlier this month, covering a distance of over 14,000km
Russia’s new unlimited-range nuclear-powered missile, the Burevestnik, can evade missile defenses, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has said. He made the remarks on Sunday during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to a Russian Army command post.
Putin held a meeting with Gerasimov and other senior military commanders, during which he was briefed on the situation along the line of contact with the Ukrainian Army and on the Russian Army’s offensive training exercises, including the country’s strategic nuclear forces. According to Gerasimov, the Burevestnik test took place on October 21.
The missile completed a multi-hour flight that covered 14,000km, though he stressed that this is not the range limit for the Burevestnik.
“The technical characteristics of the Burevestnik missile make it capable of striking highly protected targets at any distance with guaranteed accuracy,” Gerasimov stated.
“During the test flight, the missile successfully performed all designated vertical and horizontal maneuvers, demonstrating its strong ability to evade anti-missile and air defense systems.”
The Burevestnik is a nuclear-powered, unlimited-range strategic cruise missile designed to destroy high-value targets, including fortified bunkers. It is undetectable by conventional radar and can only be tracked by specialized spacecraft during the launch and acceleration phases.
Putin first revealed the missile’s development in 2018, describing it as a one-of-a-kind weapon that does not follow a ballistic trajectory, rendering existing missile defense systems ineffective. He noted that its unlimited range allows it to maneuver indefinitely. Speaking to Gerasimov, the president reiterated that the Burevestnik is a “unique product that no one else in the world has,” while stressing that “much work” remains before it can be placed on combat alert.
“We will need to more thoroughly define what class of weapon this new system belongs to, determine possible methods of use, and begin preparing the infrastructure for its deployment within our armed forces,” Putin said. He added that all key testing objectives for the missile have now been achieved.
President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the army’s advances during a visit to a command post
Around 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been encircled by Russian forces in the Kupyansk and Krasnoarmeysk areas, President Vladimir Putin was told on Sunday during a visit to a Russian Army command post.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin held a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and senior military commanders, during which he was briefed on the situation along the line of contact.
“It was noted that up to 5,000 Ukrainian troops are encircled in the Kupyansk direction and around 5,500 in the Krasnoarmeysk direction,” Peskov said.
Kupyansk is a city in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, around 100km east of Kharkov. Krasnoarmeysk is located in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, currently occupied by Ukrainian troops.
The military reported that Russian forces also captured a crossing over the Oskol River, cutting off the movement of Ukrainian troops. They are currently completing the liberation of Yampol, while nearby Volchansk is said to be 70% liberated.
A total of 31 Ukrainian battalions have been encircled in the Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov areas. According to Peskov, Putin congratulated the troops on their success in Kupyansk and the achievements of combat missions in other areas.
During the meeting, Putin ordered measures to ensure the surrender of the encircled Ukrainian troops and to minimize casualties. He noted that the Russian Army has always shown mercy toward its enemies and stressed that this must continue.
The president also urged the commanders to “do everything” in their power to ensure the safety of the civilian population in the encircled areas, who he said Ukrainian forces are using as human shields.
Scott Jennings (left) points out the glaring hypocrisy of Democrats who once accused conservatives of extremism but now defend one of their own under similar allegations. (Image credit: CNN)
Scott Jennings absolutely eviscerated the Democrat Party on CNN, laying bare their shameless hypocrisy on everything from Nazi smears to their embrace of far-left radicals.
For years, Democrats and their MSM lapdogs have hurled “Nazi” accusations at President Trump, Elon Musk, and anyone who dares challenge their radical agenda. They’ve even fabricated lies about Pete Hegseth having Nazi tattoos.
Jennings took to X to drop this truth bomb:
“Dem after Dem called Trump, Elon, etc. Nazis. They accused Hegseth of Nazi tattoos (FALSE). And now? The most popular Dem Senate candidate in AMERICA has actual Nazi tattoos & the full backing of the radical Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. OWN IT.”
Platner, a 41-year-old Marine veteran turned radical leftist, has a chest tattoo resembling the infamous SS Totenkopf skull and crossbones, a symbol straight out of Hitler’s playbook.
He claims he got it on a drunken liberty stint in Croatia and had no idea it screamed “Nazi,” but CNN’s KFile dug up deleted Reddit posts from 2019 where Platner discussed the very same symbol and its Nazi ties.
A KFile investigation has uncovered mounting evidence that Platner — a Marine veteran— was aware of and defended the use of Nazi symbolism that had come to be embraced by some members of the military.
In one thread from 2019, Platner weighed in on a conversation about the “Totenkopf” — the skull-and-crossbones emblem worn by Nazi SS units that his own tattoo would later draw scrutiny for resembling — to note that many US service members had adopted similar imagery, such as the Punisher skull used by some Navy SEALs.
Using his longtime Reddit handle P-Hustle, the former Marine infantryman and future Democratic Senate hopeful also argued in a 2020 online discussion that “SS” lightning-bolt tattoos were a “culture” marker within Marine Scout Sniper units, not an expression of White supremacist ideology.
When commenters in the 2020 thread described the lightning bolts as a Nazi or racist symbol, Platner dismissed the criticism, writing that outsiders “have no idea what they’re talking about” and added, “I will be sure to inform the Black guys I know with bolts that they’re Nazis now.”
Instead of calling him out, the Democrats’ far-left base is so in love with this guy.
Platner has secured the endorsement of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and has received praise from several high-profile progressive Democrats in the Senate, including Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy, and Sheldon Whitehouse.
During a CNN panel discussion, Jennings laid it all out, exposing the Democrats for who they really are: all talk, no substance, and total hypocrites.
Here’s the explosive exchange:
SCOTT JENNINGS: I hate to break the news to you, but he’s winning the primary by 30 points. Getting a Nazi tattoo made him more popular — more popular among Democrats. You’ve got a guy running for attorney general in Virginia who wants to murder Republicans, and he raised $500,000 off of it.
You got Nazi tattoo guy in Maine. I sat out here for a year, two years listening to every Democrat at this table say, Donald Trump’s a Nazi, Elon Musk’s a Nazi, and your party is now in love with a guy with a Nazi tattoo who trained a left-wing paramilitary group and called himself an Antifa super soldier on the internet, and he’s going up every day. Good luck getting him out.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: Your president —
SCOTT JENNINGS: Good luck getting him out.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: The person you nominated, 1,600 insurrectionists. I don’t think the Republican Party has —
SCOTT JENNINGS: You’re not going to wash away now the Nazi tattoo with the old talking point. It’s not going to work.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: And what did I just say? What did I just say? I said that he should resign.
SCOTT JENNINGS: Good luck.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: And I think that Democrats should also speak out —
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN Anchor: Scott, are you making an argument that he should stay in? You seem to be very eager to defend his strength —
SCOTT JENNINGS: I am but a humble political analyst. And I will just tell you that when you’re winning a race by 30 points, if a pundit on television tells you what you need to think about dropping out, you laugh in their face.
ABBY PHILLIP: I don’t know.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: This is a year out.
ABBY PHILLIP: I feel like you ought to take the agreement when it’s happening. I mean, she’s saying pretty clearly —
SCOTT JENNINGS: No. I want Democrats to be who they are. This is who they are. This is who they are.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: Hold on. You’re saying that Democrats are Nazis? Is that what you’re saying?
SCOTT JENNINGS: I’m saying it’s very on-brand right now. It’s very on-brand.
ABBY PHILLIP: Hold on one second. Hold on. Scott, really, like are you suggesting — are you suggesting that a person who wears a Nazi tattoo because he was in the military or whatever is representative of the entire Democratic Party? Is that the —
SCOTT JENNINGS: I’m only reading the polling, Abby. When all this story broke and he started talking about it, he literally got more popular. He’s beating the incumbent governor by 30 points.
ABBY PHILLIP: You realize that he’s running in one state — in Maine — and you’re also saying that because of that, he’s representative of the Democratic Party? You said this is who they are. Who is “they”?
SCOTT JENNINGS: Look at the polling. Look at the energy.
MARÍA HINOJOSA: This is not about the poll.
SCOTT JENNINGS: Bernie Sanders wants him. The beating heart of the Democratic Party, where their energy is, wants the Nazi tattoo guy. That’s what they want.
[…]
SCOTT JENNINGS: Listen, I understand you don’t want to have this guy, and I wouldn’t either. He is a totally unknown guy, comes out of nowhere. He’s got the full support of the left wing, progressive SANDERS wing of the Democratic Party. And he’s beating—
JEMELE HILL: Is who supports is BERNIE SANDERS?
SCOTT JENNINGS: Yes. Look at the polling. And here’s the most important thing. He’s beating the incumbent governor of the state by 30 points. This isn’t happening in a vacuum. People are comparing an establishment figure like JANET MILLS and this insurgent left-wing radical like JARED PLATNER, and they’re like, you know what, we’ll take the Nazi tattoos. It’s fine.
And I just—I think you—look, it could be early but people are following this race and the polling is pretty clear, it’s not that close.
ABBY PHILLIP: Look, I think this is not obviously the first time that we’ve had an unsavory candidate endorsed by the establishment despite his passwords. That happened in an—
SCOTT JENNINGS: He’s not endorsed by the establishment. She is.
ABBY PHILLIP: Excuse me, but I’m saying like you’re suggesting that this is representative of the Democratic Party. I’m just saying, in the past, you know, there was a Senate race in Alabama in which DONALD TRUMP endorsed the candidate who had said all kinds of inflammatory things, all kinds of skeletons in his closet, and they ended up losing that Senate race to a Democrat. So, it’s happened before. This wouldn’t be the first time.
And, by the way, I mean, I do think both of you seem reluctant to take yes for an answer at this table, at least. You have two Democrats basically saying, this guy should go, and you guys are very insistent.
SCOTT JENNINGS: I’m glad they are.
ABBY PHILLIP: But he’s representative of the Democratic Party when they’re making it clear that he’s not.
SCOTT JENNINGS: I just don’t think this guy—look, he doesn’t answer to you. I mean, I wish he did and I wish you were in charge. He answers to the energy base in your party. And right now, the energy is behind these left-wing progressive kinds of candidates. This is who they want.
WATCH:
Dem after Dem called Trump, Elon, etc. Nazis. They accused Hegseth of Nazi tattoos (FALSE). And now? The most popular Dem Senate candidate in AMERICA has actual Nazi tattoos & the full backing of the radical Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. OWN IT. pic.twitter.com/WzgknJR5UW
War Room’s Steve Bannon and energy consultant Dave Walsh discussed electricity shortages in States including Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia.
AI has been one of the biggest concerns in regards to rapidly increasing energy bills, which has become a strain on the average American’s budget.
“The pressure, particularly coming from AI. These electric bills. I mean, give me a couple of minutes on this cause this is getting to be, this is going to be such an important topic,” Bannon said.
“This whole affordability thing. The whole issue of energy. How we get industrial energy, and how we get energy to consumers at a reasonable price, and to pay for the sins of the people who screwed this up in the past. Your thoughts, sir?” Bannon asked.
Walsh explained that one of the main reasons there has been electricity shortages is because coal plants were shut down and replaced with inadequate alternatives like solar and wind.
“The electricity shortages in Maryland and New Jersey, specifically Northern Virginia, now Pennsylvania, were caused by the teardown, and shutdown of coal plants,” Walsh said.
“The attempt to replace them with wind and solar power and battery storage has not worked,” Walsh continued.
“That’s been step one of electricity costs going through the roof,” Walsh said.
“Industrials already benefit from massive discounting across the country,” Walsh explained.
“They have some key advantages over residential rate payers to begin with,” Walsh continued.
“To let AI and data center clients build their own capacity, build their own capacity, take advantage of the makers depreciation, remove restrictions that cause local builders and power plants to not be able to sell power into regulated grids,” Walsh explained.
“What we really don’t want as much of is them just plugging into the grid, taking advantage of the fact, and then rate payers wind up paying the two and a half billion-dollar cost,” Walsh explained.
“It’s gonna be a huge issue in the midterms,” Bannon said.
“Particularly about AI, and the data centers and what’s gonna happen is gonna be central to the ’26 midterm,” Bannon said.
Michael Shellenberger speaks to Jesse Watters – Screencap of Twitter/X video.
Writer and analyst Michael Shellenberger appeared on the Jesse Watters show on Friday night and suggested that the growing rift between various factions of Democrats could spell the end for the party.
They were speaking of the ballroom, but Shellenberger took it to another level, taking in the big picture.
He correctly noted that the Democrats don’t stand for anything anymore. All they do is react negatively to anything Trump says or does.
WATTERS: So as Trump kind of rewrites the rules for trade, for industrial policy, new technology, A.I., immigration policy, the Democrats have a choice, you’re saying, and basically, where do they stand here in the fork in the road?
SHELLENBERGER: Yes, I think that’s right. I mean, this is the big story, and it’s a huge story, really, right? Because we know who the Republican Party is. We know what its agenda is, but the Democrats mean — I mean, the base is still stuck with the party of 2024, the party of woke, radical progressivism, but that has alienated most of the country.
So you really only have like 30 to 35 percent of the country that’s on board with that Democratic Party agenda. That agenda alienates swing voters, as we saw in the elections. So I think it’s going to be a huge Civil War within the Democratic Party over where it goes. Does it become more like Gavin Newsom, or does it become more like Zohran Mamdani and AOC and Bernie Sanders?
I expect some difficult, dark times ahead for the Democrats. You’ve got a party in power that really knows what it is. It knows its vision and values. The American people know what it is. The Democrats are just sort of stuck constantly responding to everything that Trump does in a reactionary way, because there’s no inner core. There is there’s no deep sense of self, there’s no true north, there’s no moral compass, and someone’s going to have to provide that for the Democrats or I think it could be the end of the party.
Watch the video below:
🚨 JUST IN: Journalist Michael Shellenberger says the Democratic Party is “STUCK” and the first SHOT in the “Civil War” was JUST FIRED 🚨@Shellenberger: “I think that could be the END of the party.” pic.twitter.com/c8xVBUa9xG
The thing about this rift on the left is that it has been building for years. The left just keeps pushing people away anyone who doesn’t agree with them on absolutely everything. They are just isolating themselves politically.
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