Is your Christian life tiresome, stale, and sometimes even lifeless? Have you lost the passionate desire you once had to walk the path of biblical faithfulness? “Walking” is often connected to an urgency in the Christian life—an urgency to follow Christ and pursuing holiness. Paul wrote, “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:4). To walk worthy isn’t a suggestion but a command to believers for faithfulness in being and living as the body of Christ. Listen every Tuesday and Thursday as we explore every feature of the Christian life and what it practically looks like to walk worthy.
In Matthew 6, the disciples request Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus offers them something entirely unexpected to their old covenant way of thinking. He constructs a short prayer that serves as a pattern for all our conversations with God. While the prayer contains all the elements one might expect, Jesus addresses God using a personal name utterly foreign to the Jewish theological mind. Much like the worship objects of their pagan neighbors, the Jews worshiped a very distant, remote, and even fearful being. Jesus offers them a much more affectionate, personal, and familial approach: “Our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9).Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
In an age when doctrine is disregarded and dismissed, the Apostle Paul reminds us that biblical sound doctrine is the golden chain through which all Christian characteristics are linked. Without sound doctrine, the chain falls apart, releasing a torrent of false teaching and an onslaught of immaturity. We could put it a more straightforward way: without sound doctrine, the church falls apart.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
Jonathan Edwards believed that sanctification—an inward transformation of our affections in making us more like Jesus—was beautification. That is, being made holy is being made beautiful. At salvation, the Holy Spirit took up residence within us at the moment of salvation and begins a transformative work of making us like Jesus—making us beautiful. This beautifying process begins by fixing our gaze upon the one who is supremely beautiful and lovely.Visit the Walking Worthy website:walkingworthypodcast.com
The disciples had the daunting task of walking in the footsteps of Jesus and continuing his ministry on earth—the proclamation of the gospel to the nations, the organization of the church, discipling believers, and caring for orphans and widows. How were they to do it all? Jesus told them, “My Father will give you a Helper.” The Holy Spirit is absolutely enough for you to fulfill every aspect of the turning-the-world-upside-down ministry to which Jesus has called his church.Visit the Walking Worthy website:walkingworthypodcast.com
We live in a day and time within the history of the church that perhaps there is no more misunderstood person of the Trinity than the Holy Spirit. Through the ages, He has been theologically abused and turned into someone, or something, that is unbiblical. So, let's ask the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” Visit the Walking Worthy Website:walkingworthypodcast.com
Jesus commands His faithful followers to respond to persecutions, revilings, false accusations, and evil done against them with joy and gladness. This joy and gladness is the response of a believer who has their faith anchored in the assurance that what Jesus has prepared for us will far more than compensate for every pain and struggle in this life. In this episode, Dustin takes us into Jesus' words in Matthew 5:12.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
In the conclusion of his beatitude statements in Matthew 5, Jesus pronounces a divine blessing upon those who suffer persecution because they exhibit the godly characteristics of the previous beatitudes. In today's episode, Dustin unpacks the most unlikely blessing, a blessing of persecution for all who identify with Christ and his message.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
In Matthew 5, Jesus blesses "peacemakers." Jesus is clear that the priority of every Christian should be peacemaking, and when such a priority is present, they can be assured that they are his sons and daughters. How are Christians supposed to demonstrate authentic biblical peacemaking? In today's episode, Dustin examines the concept of true biblical peacemaking.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
If the Beatitudes teach us anything, they teach us that Jesus is concerned with our heart. It's not enough to clean up our act on the outside. The aim of Jesus is not to make people nicer, or reform our manners, but to change the hearts of sinners from the inside out. In today's episode, Dustin examines Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
We seem so unfamiliar with extending mercy to others. We seem more concerned about having our opinions heard than we are extending mercy to others. Jesus says in Matthew 5:7 that to actually be a kingdom citizen, to actually have a transformed heart, to actually demonstrate you are a true believer is to show mercy to others out of a heart of love and compassion.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.com
The faithful follower of Christ "hungers and thirsts for righteousness" with the same deep yearning they would have to feed their malnourished bodies. The true disciple longs for the profound transformation of their lives into the image of Christ. The true disciple desires the Holy Spirit to point out sin in their life so that they might confess, repent, and draw closer to God. The true disciple aches within to demonstrate the mercy and love of Christ to a broken world. In this episode, Dustin explores what it means for the believer to "hunger and thirst for righteousness" and the practical implications for the life of those who desire to walk worthy.
Why is meekness so rarely found among believers? Because so few know what it is to be truly poor in spirit and to mourn for their sins. Many believers think they have everything under control and have the Christian life completely figured out, and with pride, they fail to depend entirely upon the Lord, recognize their sin as heinous in God's sight, and forget to fly to Him for grace. In today's episode, Dustin explores Jesus' words in Matthew 5:5, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Mourning is part of what it means to live in a fallen sinful world. We have countless reasons to mourn—sickness, isolation, disease, disappointment, being let down by friends, separated from family, financial crisis, and the list could go on and on. Sorrow is part of what it means to be human and even a believer. What does it mean to be characterized by mourning? In today's episode, Dustin examines Jesus' words in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”Please visit our website: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
Those who inherit the kingdom of God are those who recognize their spiritual poverty before a holy and majestic God. They are those who acknowledge their spiritual neediness when their good deeds measure as less than dust against the weighty infinite sacrifice of Christ. In today's episode of Walking Worthy, Dustin Benge examines Jesus' words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."Please visit our website: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
The great Puritan commentator Matthew Henry devised a prayer method that offers prayers for “the lost world,” specifically for the advance of the gospel to foreign nations and the growth of the church worldwide through salvation. With a scriptural framework, Henry purposefully structured his prayers so that those praying would be reciting the words of Scripture. In this episode, we will explore Henry's prayers and how we should pray for the lost world.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.comdustinbenge.com
Words are necessary to communicate this good news. In this episode, we examine Paul's words in Romans 10:14–15 and why it is necessary that we herald the gospel of Christ.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.comdustinbenge.com
No church has the freedom to tamper with, tweak, add to, or subtract from the good news of Jesus Christ—we are just to herald it. For there is nothing more beautiful and lovely in the sight of God than the extricating of sinners from the kingdom of darkness and delivering them to the kingdom of light.Visit our website:walkingworthypodcast.comdustinbenge.com
Surrounded by bad news at every turn, the church has been entrusted with good news, the good news of the gospel, which finds its foundation in God himself. The gospel is not an earthly message but a heavenly message. In this episode, we explore the good news of the gospel.Visit our website: walkingworthypodcast.com dustinbenge.com
Though Scripture doesn't reveal much about Jesus' immediate family, we have brief glimpses of his mother, brothers, and sisters throughout the gospel record (Matt. 13:55–56). In this episode, we examine the relationship Jesus had with his earthly family and how he came to establish a new family.Listen to more episodes of Walking Worthy by subscribing and visiting: walkingworthypodcast.com
To read Jesus' High Priestly prayer in John 17 is to be welcomed behind the veil that shrouds the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Before beginning his journey to the cross, Jesus pauses and allows us to eavesdrop on his intercession. In this episode, we examine a small portion of that prayer. Listen to more episodes of Walking Worthy by subscribing and visiting: walkingworthypodcast.com
The initial chapters of the New Testament remind us that God's incarnate Son is a Savior. In Mark 15:33–41, the apex of Jesus' work as our Savior is on horrific, glorious display. Horrific because of the immense suffering, shame, and mocking our Lord endured, yet glorious because it's at this place of suffering that sinners are rescued. Listen to more episodes of Walking Worthy by subscribing and visiting: walkingworthypodcast.com
Leading up to Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, there are many participants in the grand drama of redemption. From Judas who betrays our Lord to the priests who condemn him, each person plays a vital role in God's sovereign plan. One of the most striking scenes is found in John 12:1–8. In this episode, we examine this story and a woman by the name of Mary who gives all she has to worship Jesus.Listen to more episodes of Walking Worthy by subscribing and visiting: walkingworthypodcast.com
The entire ministry of Jesus was spent among ordinary people. As Jesus made his way to the home of Jairus, he's interrupted by a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. In that busy moment, Jesus was fully accessible to this woman, healed her condition, and saved her soul. Listen to more episodes of Walking Worthy by subscribing and visiting: walkingworthypodcast.com
There's more taking place in the miracles of Christ than just feeding multitudes, changing water into wine, and healing disease. In Mark 7, Jesus' compassion is lavished on a man unable to hear or speak. Jesus enters a man's world demonstrating his compassion for all who come to him.Listen to more episodes: walkingworthypodcast.com
The glory of Christ often comes into greater focus when we find ourselves in the darkest valleys. The same happened for Jesus' disciples when Jesus unveiled his glory before them. In this episode, we examine Jesus' transfiguration and what that meant for his disciples as his death was just over the horizon. Listen to more episodes: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
Apart from the resurrection of Christ, the only other miracle to appear in all four Gospel accounts is Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. More than just a miracle, Dustin examines Jesus' sufficiency in providing more than enough for his sheep. Listen to more episodes: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
In the past two episodes, we looked at the first two lessons Jesus offers on prayer. Today, we conclude Jesus' instructions in Matthew 6 by considering prayer as a means of revealing God's goodness by cultivating genuine humility.Listen to more episodes: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
In the last episode, we looked at Jesus' first lesson in his instructions on prayer, which is a desire to be praised. In today's episode, Dustin examines Matthew 6:7 and Jesus' second instruction on prayer. Listen to more episodes: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he instructs his disciples on how different the prayer life of true believers should be from the hypocritical Pharisees. Today, Dustin begins to consider Jesus' instructions on prayer from Matthew 6.Listen to more episodes: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
There are two spiritual undertakings to be continuously part of a believer's life and growth in Christ toward holiness. One is the reading of Scripture, and the second is prayer. Today, Dustin Benge considers John Calvin's instructions on prayer.Listen to more episodes: https://walkingworthypodcast.com
Self-control is not a fruit that believers may nibble. To be self-controlled is a command. A command to submit to the will of God at all times, in all circumstances, abandoning our selfish desires and sinful pleasures. Peter says, “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (2 Pet. 1:5–7). Self-control is hard work and effort. The Spirit beautifies the church by demonstrating through her that self-denial is our King's mandate. Our selves and wills are subservient to him—always.
In today's episode, we come to the fruit of gentleness. This fruit has been called “meekness” and speaks of a gentle blowing breeze that hints at strength but holds back in power. Anyone who lives on the coast will experience such a breeze. One minute it can be gentle and pleasant, and the next it can churn the waves, tossing sea spray into the air. This fruit also alludes to a tame beast with the strength to tear the flesh of a foe but the restraint not to unleash that strength.
Just the mention of this word brings to our remembrance the promise of Lamentations 3:22–23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Our Lord's steadfast faithfulness is a reminder that he is unfailingly loyal to his people. He doesn't leave us to fend for ourselves, or figure it out ourselves, or even to pull ourselves up by our proverbial bootstraps. He doesn't leave his church without a commission, without equipping, or even without instructions. In this episode, we look at the Spirit's fruit of faithfulness
The fruit of goodness conveys a determined resolve that all our actions and responses toward others will be made in light of living coram Deo, in the presence of God. The Old Testament emphasizes that “goodness” is an attribute of God (Neh. 9:25). Regardless of the need for confrontation with wayward creatures, God consistently acts out of his infinite goodness in a manner that brings ultimate glory to himself. On this episode, we explore the Spirit's fruit of goodness.
Increasingly, the fruit of kindness is absent at the core of the body of Christ. Disagreements, dissension, and discord seem to mark today's church more than the fruit of kindness. Everyone is out for himself, her own ideas, their agendas. But the Spirit desires to beautify the church by creating succulent fruit on the branch that yields the sweetness of our tender care for fellow believers and unbelievers alike, those inside the church and those outside.
This fruit of patience is increasingly rare in the church. We exercise little patience with those who disagree with us. We extend little patience with those we disagree with. The Spirit beautifies the bride of Christ by producing within her self-restraint that doesn't retaliate. Today's episode explores the fruit of patience.
When the Holy Spirit indwells believers at the moment of our salvation, he begins to produce fruit in our lives to authenticate our union with Christ and give us assurance that our salvation is genuine. The Apostle Paul describes such fruit in Galatians 5:22–23, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Together, we've examined the fruits of love and joy and on today's episode, we come to the third fruit: peace. An incident in the life of Jesus reminds us of the type of peace birthed and fostered in the church by the Spirit. Amid a violent storm upon the Sea of Galilee, the disciples discover Jesus asleep in the boat's stern yet he demonstrates the glorious peace that resides within his heart.
There's no more familiar expression of the Holy Spirit's beautifying work within the church and the lives of individual believers than Galatians 5:22–23, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” At our salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells us and begins to produce fruit in our lives to authenticate our union with Christ. Last time together, we examined the first fruit of the Spirit that Paul mentions: love. Second, we come to joy. When the buds of joy blossom on the branch, the Spirit is generating more than mere happiness. The result is a “joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Pet. 1:8). A joy unconditional, independent of the circumstances around us.
There's perhaps no better or more familiar expression of the Holy Spirit's beautifying work within the church than Galatians 5:22–23, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” At our salvation, the Spirit could instantaneously make us holy in action, word, and deed. However, he chooses instead to produce fruit in our lives to authenticate our union with Christ. Bearing fruit is a sign that we are in Christ, and he is in us.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned some fifty-six times in the book of Acts as filling, helping, guiding, calling, aiding, growing, sanctifying, maturing, organizing, assisting, regenerating, teaching, testifying to, interceding for, reminding, grieving over, and loving believers, who make up the church. Without the ministry of the Holy Spirit, there is no church. But with the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the church shines forth beautifully as he makes her his glorious dwelling.
God resides explicitly in a distinctive and familial way among his people. God dwells in heaven in the sense that his glory, majesty, and holiness are on display there in particular richness while also assuring his people that he will “be glory in her midst” (Zech. 2:5). Moved by his inexhaustible love for the church before the foundation of the world, God resides in her midst with “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3), so that even now those who are part of his family on earth “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). In today's episode, we explore the definition of the church as the "household of God."
The church has played a central role in many of our lives. She has nurtured in times of grief, shepherded in valleys of despair, and instructed in seasons of growth. We love her people. We love her ministries. We love her worship. We love her teaching. We love her comfort. Do we love her? In today's episode, we explore the glorious thought of the church as beautiful.
In his timeless book Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, Puritan John Owen amazes the reader with his use of words, biblical analogies, and practical advice. The Scripture and our own life experience attest to the fact that each believer faces temptation on a daily basis. Everyone's temptations are not the same, but we all have one thing in common: we are all tempted (James 1:14). Owen gives some practical advice when we find ourselves caught off guard and suddenly wrapped in the tentacles of temptation.
The fall of Satan and his angels are shrouded behind a veil and cloaked in mystery. Writing extensively on the fallen angels, Jonathan Edwards (1703–1558) believed that Lucifer—the name that many in church history have given to Satan before his fall—was created to be immensely superior to all the other angels and held a type of leadership, dominion, and strength over the other angels. This episode examines the fall of Satan from the perspective of Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards, the New England eighteenth-century pastor, agrees with the medieval theologians that angels spend a substantial amount of time as ministering spirits to humanity. They exist, he says, as invisible armies around all true believers in Christ. The ultimate purpose of God in creating the world, for Jonathan Edwards, is linked with the incarnation of the Son of God—the joining of the eternal Son with human nature in the person of Jesus Christ. In this episode, we continue exploring the theology of angels in the thought of Jonathan Edwards.
Angels were scarce in eighteenth-century New England. The Puritans certainly did not ignore the supernatural since the supernatural is part of the biblical story. But the subject of angels had long fallen out of fashion. In their vast corpus of sermons, tracts, and writings, the Puritans seldom referenced the subject of angels. When they mentioned angels, they did so with a great deal of trepidation and only in their regular exposition of Scripture. Rarely did they engage in what contemporary theologians call “angelology”—the doctrine of angels. In this episode we begin to discuss the theology of angels in the thought and writing of Jonathan Edwards
To dismiss the theology of angels as too mysterious, too theoretical, or too mystical is to discount the clear evidence of their existence throughout Scripture and the intellectual exercise and spiritual reflection of countless Christian thinkers throughout church history. It should, therefore, be our aim as Christians to develop a robust angelology in the sincere hope that attention, theological reflection, and gospel sanctification would be directed, not upon the angels themselves, but upon Christ whom we worship and serve together.
Surrounded by mysticism and mystery, the Christian view of angels needs desperate reformation. We need a well-thought-out and carefully structured biblical and theological understanding of these celestial creatures and their function within the redemptive story of God. Therefore, we must ask, what does the Bible say?
In the middle of his Sermon on the Mount, our Lord offers instructions about how we should pray. We all could easily recite this prayer from memory, but do we know it? That is, have you ever correctly grasped what Jesus is saying? At the beginning of the prayer, Jesus offers the petition, “Your kingdom come.” Our Father, who sits in supreme authority and power over all things, and worthy of all of our worship, adoration, and hallowing as the One whose character is set apart from all unholy things, is the only one worthy to reign. In this episode, we ask the question, “How do we rightly respond to the kingdom?"
In the middle of his Sermon on the Mount, our Lord offers instructions about how we should pray. We all could easily recite this prayer from memory, but do we know it? That is, have you ever correctly grasped what Jesus is saying? At the beginning of the prayer, Jesus offers the petition, “Your kingdom come.” Our Father, who sits in supreme authority and power over all things, and worthy of all of our worship, adoration, and hallowing as the One whose character is set apart from all unholy things, is the only one worthy to reign. In this episode, we ask the question, “Whose is this kingdom?”
The first petition in our Lord's model prayer in Matthew 6 is found at the end of verse 9, “Hallowed be Your name.” This is the first petition of the prayer and automatically rivets our minds and hearts to God in our prayers — we don't begin by bombarding Him with requests and to-do lists, but there's a time to revere Him and hallow His name. There will be a time for requests, intercession, and petitions on behalf of ourselves and others, but at the beginning, we simply are to revere Him as our preeminent priority. This one statement encompasses all of God's nature and person and our response to His nature and person.
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