TheoBros Memo Issue #25: Modalism/Arianism, Beards, Click These Links!, and Twitter Fire From the TheoBros

Oct 22, 2022

TheoBros and TheoSistas,

If you are worshiping a god who is less than Trinity, you are worshiping a false god. You are in grave danger. You are still in your sins and under God’s wrath.

Squirrelly Joe’s Coffee guarantees that your order will be freshly roasted everytime and taste amazing! TheoBros get 25% percent off their first order when they use the promo code “theobro” at checkout.

God is not, as the Modalists believe, one God and three modes. This is heresy — a direct attack on the nature of God and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Modalists believe that sometimes God is the Father, sometimes God is the Son, and other times God is the Holy Spirit. Modalism teaches that God is a single person who first revealed himself in the mode of the Father in Old Testament, the Son at the incarnation, and the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension.1

Modalists believe it’s the Spirit’s time now — but what about Jesus now? This is why Modalism strikes at the heart of the Gospel, and why it’s heresy. In the Modalistic view, where is Jesus? Poof! He’s gone, right? This is terrible news. If Modalism is true, we no longer have a High Priest and Mediator at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. We have no Intercessor.2 We are lost in our sins without the God-man as our Advocate.

1 Tim. 2:5 — “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Heb. 9:24 — “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”

1 Jn. 2:1 — “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

So this is no small deal. Any pastor who teaches the god of the modalists is a false teacher. He is teaching heresy, and God commands Christians to call Him to repentance. We must avoid him if He continues to teach heresy (Ro. 16:17-18). Delete his podcasts, ignore his Youtube channel, and unfollow him on Facebook.

There’s a difference between error and heresy. All pastors and teachers err in their understanding of God’s Word in some way. You must be good Bereans. Pastors learn, we grow, and we mature in our theology. But false teachers and heretics consistently, unapologetically strike at the heart of the Gospel.

Unfollow those who unrepentantly teach Modalism. And unfollow those who teach Arian heresy as well. Arius taught that Jesus was of a different substance or essence than God the Father. He taught that Jesus Christ was a created being and is not equal in authority or deity with the Father. Put simply, He denied Jesus is God, teaching that He is a creature, not the uncreated Creator.

Arianism is heresy and strikes at the heart of the Gospel as well. If Jesus isn’t the God-man, then He could not be a sinless sacrifice for us. His infinitely, eternally-perfect blood couldn’t atone for the sins of millions who would put their faith in Him. How could Jesus atone for the sins of multitudes of people by hanging on a tree for a few short hours? Because that blood of His was infinitely precious to the Father.

We don’t want to fall into the heresies of Modalism or Arianism. We are Trinitarians. God’s Word is clear that there is One God, and within the Godhead there are three Persons — not modes — but three distinct Persons: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And those three Persons are equal to one another and eternal in their existence. The Father has existed from eternity, and so has the Son and the Spirit. Every attribute the Father has, the Son and the Holy Spirit have, and always will have.

As Paul writes in 2 Cor. 13:14, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

Eph. 1:17 — “I pray 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.”

1 Pet. 1:2 — “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”

God is Not Mocked, Stacy Abrams, Microsoft’s New Flag, What to do About Apostates, Beardology, and a Method for Prayer

Episode 32 of the TheoBros Podcast dropped last night.

In this solo episode, I walk through Galatians 6:7 and its relevance for the insane, confused times we’re currently in. Then I take some really interesting listener questions on apostates, beards, and prayer. What do we do with materials and resources from hero’s who have gone “Woke” or deconstructed their faith? Why do so many TheoBros have beards? How should I pray? Check out the episode!

Click These Links!

Joni and Friends: Every Day Is a Gift

“Today I turn 73! That number alone tells me I’m nearer to heaven than ever before. I am nearer to my glorified body than I am to those far away days when I was on my feet. I will soon see the Reality that my hope has only hinted of, and I can’t wait. I do not know how much longer God will keep me on earth, but the older I get, the more I need the wisdom of God to make the most, the best of my time here.”

Slave to the King: If God Is Real, Why is Your Life So Hard?

“Recently, someone I know was asked ‘if God is real, why is your life so terrible?’ Sadly, this is an all too common question that is loaded with presuppositions. It assumes that for God to be real, life cannot be difficult. It assumes that I should never have to deal with difficulty…”

Just Thinking Podcast: EP # 120 | Indwelling Sin in Believers

“Indwelling sin. It is a reality that professing believers in Jesus Christ must deal with until the day we die or Christ returns to take us home to heaven. But how are we to deal biblically with that reality? How can we, as possessors of a new nature in Christ, navigate the tension between being regenerate while having remaining sin within us?”

Expository Parenting: Reforming the Family: Part 1—Sola Scriptura

“So, what does sola Scriptura have to do with the family, the home, and parenting? Well, when it comes to raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4), it’s vitally important that we do so according to the ultimate authority of God’s Word. In the same way that our heavenly Father uses His Word to sanctify us (Jn. 17:17), we must seek to make disciples of our children by means of Scripture.”