Throw Away Everything is the personal internet blog of Anthony Russo. TAE’s essays and articles are meant to (1) compel unbelievers to follow Christ; (2) stir “cultural Christians” to personal, active faith in Christ, and (3) encourage saints to persevere in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, loving Him more and more everyday.
Anthony is a freelance writer and seminary student preparing for pastoral ministry. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Amy, and their dog, Shadow.
Think of this site as the internet-equivalent of a gospel tract left for some passer-by to pick up and read. It is my prayer that someone may benefit from what I may post. Thank you for stopping by. Please look around and hopefully you find something to take away with you that, in turn, you can share with others.
As for me, well, I’m nobody–honest! I would prefer to remain anonymous–but only because I want the Lord to have whatever glory may come from this site. At the same time, discernment on your part is important. You have a God-given mandate to use your head and know a little about the guy who is writing 99% of what you are reading on this site. To that end, and in the hopes that we can serve the Lord together, here’s a little bit about me:
After a twenty-year career in computer support in Corporate America, as of August 2010 I am now a full-time seminary student. I grew up in New Jersey. I’ve lived in Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, and (now) Louisville, KY. I am married and my wife and I are members of a Southern Baptist church. I am very serious about the Lord and His Gospel. I wholeheartedly believe the Bible is inerrant, inspired, and sufficient for us in this world, and have a passion to get people to see the world through “Bible glasses.”
From time to time you’ll see that I will sometimes post something (hopefully) funny. Silly, perhaps. I thank God that He has made me with a sense of humor. I love laughter and making others laugh and not have to feel guilty for laughing at stuff Christians shouldn’t laugh at. I love life’s little ironies and quirks–wacky signs, curious notices, etc.
Thanks for visiting! Please visit the Resources page for a small collection of some of the best sermons I could ever recommend to people.
To God be the glory,
Anthony Russo
comments <at> throwawayeverything.com
P.S.: Why “Throw Away Everything,” you ask? Listen for those words in this clip:
Added July 2011 – As part of my affiliate obligation, Amazon.com and I would like to let you know that, “Anthony Russo is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.“ That’s lawyer talk to let you know that if you click on the Amazon link on the sidebar, or search Amazon from it, and you end up buying something through it, I would get a small percentage of the sale. Don’t sweat it though, I haven’t made a cent yet from it. Oh, I also sell used books out there too, the link is on right near the graphic in the sidebar.
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Hey brother!
Wow. Great site, with great posts. I just finished reading the latest one – wow! Thanks for sharing that devotional.
Please tell Amy I said hello. =)
God bless,
Michelle
I was doing a study today and came upon your webpage on john 3 :18 You quoted how God gave you the faith you have… and this I believe, it is only by grace we are saved and brought before Christ, not of any of our doings, Christ alone has given us the power to believe and obey.. the comment I have for you is God is going to call eventually all mankind.. you were not given faith by Christ and the rest don’t have a chance. They have not even had thier minds open as of yet… it is truly a gift and God wants to give this gift to all… As in Adam all die even so As in Christ all will be made alive…each in his own order. God had a plan for all… Thankfully..
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for visiting. I hope that you found things that were helpful to you and that you might come back and visit more in the future.
Thank you also for leaving a comment–I appreciate that you took the time to do so. You alluded to one Bible verse (1 Cor 15:22) to suggest that God has a plan that will ultimately save every person. However, that is not the case, either in the proper contextual reading of that verse or in the whole of Scripture. “Universalism”, as the idea you are suggesting, has long been held as a heretical error.
As Bible commentator Matthew Henry observes about this verse, “the meaning is not that, as all men died in Adam, so all men, without exception, shall be made alive in Christ; for the scope of the apostle’s argument restrains the general meaning. Christ rose as the first-fruits; therefore those that are Christ’s (1Cor 15:23) shall rise too.”
If you disagree with Matthew Henry just look one verse down from the one you cite. As Henry himself also saw, Paul says “those who are Christ’s” will rise after Him. Such is the language of distinction and differentiation, those who are this will this. I would not say “Those on the earth are Americans…” because not everyone in the world is American. But if I wanted to specifically refer to Americans as opposed to another group, I would say “Those who are Americans (have U.S. Passports, for example)” which implies both that there is a group or groups who are not Americans, and also that those group(s) are also different in that they do not have U.S. Passports. ‘Those who are Christ’s will rise after Him’ is clearly language that indicates there are those who are, in fact, not Christ’s.
But also there are plenty of other passages to look at in Scripture. For one example even a cursory read of Jesus’ vividly different eternal fates of the “sheep” and the goats” in Matthew 25:31-46 abolishes the idea of a universal redemption for all. The righteous sheep go away to enjoy Him forever while that passage ends with Jesus telling us the fate of those who deny the Gospel: “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
I would urge you to carefully look at every Bible verse you believe supports your idea, and do so in each verse’s proper context–read above it and below. Who is the author writing to? Who is he writing about? What else does he address in the chapter? Where else is the idea supported in Scripture?
The fact is, what you believe is simply not in the Bible. I pray I was not harsh to you in my correction, but there is greater glory in what the Bible teaches than what we might erroneously think is a better end to the great human story.
Yours,
Anthony
I going to follow your blog in hope of seeing where you land after seminary. One thing I think I’ve learned over the years is our measure of results/success is too often different than God’s. Whereas God measures in the “unseen” and we often measure in numbers. I pray you will not be absorbed with success as man measures it, but find contentment in pleasing and glorifying the One who shares his glory with no man.
One of my favorite Scripture verses is, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Cor 2:1-5 I (We) have not the worry of our performance but that Christ would use us, “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
Mike