Strong and Courageous Quotes

“But, the Bible says salvation is being reconciled to your Creator. You cannot accomplish that reconciliation because you have rebelled against Him. Your rebellion has left you separated and unable to make amends. You need a redeemer. You need what only God can provide. He has provided His Son, Jesus Christ. Without His obedient life, death on the cross, and resurrection, there is no salvation. Without your being joined to Him through faith, there is no personal application of His saving work to you.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“The Christian doctrine of divine aseity teaches that God alone is self-sufficient. We are not self-existent. We are not self-sustaining, men nor women. God is independent; we are dependent upon Him. We have no existence apart from Him. We will not sustain ourselves if He does not give us what we need. We certainly do not control our full life’s course.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“God is eternal. Creation is not God, but it is dependent on Him. So we can enjoy the gift and worship the Giver.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We are creatures and there is only one Creator. This is God’s world. He brought it all into existence and has done so for His own glory. Everything operates under His authority, the way He has determined that it should operate. In order to live well in this world we have to take Him at His word and get in line with what He says.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We are creatures and there is only one Creator. This is God’s world. He brought it all into existence and has done so for His own glory.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“I’m going to sing. And if I die from singing and catching COVID, you just tell everybody that I’d rather sing and die than live and not sing.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“A governmental authority is telling Christians what they can and cannot do in worship. They can still gather; they just cannot sing. Tragically, the typical response has been pastors saying, “Romans 13, Romans 13, the governor says that we must not sing so we will not sing.” Have we forgotten that we, and Governor Newsom, are people under the authority of Christ? When governors begin to dictate what the church can and cannot do, those of us who believe the Bible must come back and say, “Wait a minute, we already have dictates on what we can and cannot do in worship. Those orders are found in the Scripture.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion

“Many have failed to see that a false religion is afoot... This false religion is the same one God gave people up to in Romans 1. We have turned from worshiping the Creator to worshiping the creature. This religious system teaches that man is God and that the human will is the holy standard. Salvation masquerades as that future state of universal equality attained by strict adherence to the Hegelian dialectic. But, in reality, it consists of satiating the unrestricted human appetite by any means necessary. So we do not leap upon altars crying out to Baal to send fire while cutting ourselves. But we do leap up on cars as we riot in fiery streets, cutting down people’s livelihoods while crying out to finite, governmental gods. We do not sacrifice our children to Molech, but we do sacrifice them to Planned Parenthood.”
― Tom Ascol, Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America's New Religion