Podcasts about Justification

So here's the thing. I know I talk a lot about reading. It's pretty important to me. But all week I've been trying to prepare a different podcast, one NOT about the uncrackable justification for choice reading. But recently I heard from several teachers over in CHSE about thriving reading programs they had going, only to get shut down by folks who felt like reading in class was a waste of time. And then I kind of ended up in a rabbit hole, as I am wont to do. It's like researching the justification for choice reading became my guilty pleasure, sucking up all my time. I listened to audiobooks on my walks, pored over research roundups and articles at the coffee shop, hit up the hammock with my Penny Kittle, and stared and stared and stared at the growing evidence mounting in my endless Google doc of notes. The evidence is clear. The need for help for kids who don't read, don't like reading, and don't want to read is great. And yet STILL we are prioritizing reading snippets and drilling for tests to "improve" our readers' reading. I want you to have the information you need to fight. So here I am. Again. Despite my efforts to focus on something else this week. Let's dig deep. Illustration for The Cycles I share in this episode: The Infographic I mentioned: Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Launch your choice reading program with all my favorite tools and recs, and grab the free toolkit. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram.  Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the 'gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!  Sources: Amato, Jarred. (2024). Just Read It. Corwin. Atwell, Nancie. (2007). The Reading Zone. Scholastic. Aukerman, M. & Schuldt, L. (2021). "What Matters Most? Toward a Robust and Socially Just Science of Reading." Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1) pp. S85–S103 | doi:10.1002/rrq.40 Bains, A., Spaulding, C., Ricketts, J., & Krishnan, S. (2026). Providing choice enhances reading motivation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006), 79(4), 959–970. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218251370916 Bishop, Rudine Sims. "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors." Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom. Vo. 6, No. 3, Summer 1990. https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf Accessed November 2, 2025. Briceño, Allison and Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica. (2022). Conscious Classrooms. PD Essentials. Bridges, Lois. (2018). The Joy and Power of Reading: A Summary of Research and Expert Opinion. Scholastic. Chavez, Felicia. (2021) The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop. Haymarket Books. Elley, W. B. (2000). The Potential of Book Floods for Raising Literary Levels. International Review of Education, 46(3–4), 233–255. Gallagher, Kelly. (2009). Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Routledge. Kerkhoff, Shea. (2026). Adolescent Literacy: Integrating the Sciences of Reading and Writing in Grades 4-12. Bloomsbury Academic. Kittle, Penny. (2013). Book Love. Heinneman. Miller, Donalyn and Susan Kelley. (2013). Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits. Jossey-Bass. Morgan, Denise N., & Wagner, Christopher W. (2013). "What's the Catch?" Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(8), 659–667 doi: 10.1002/JAAL.193 National Endowment for the Arts. (2007, November). To Read or Not to Read. O'Grady, R. J. (2025). The reading renaissance: Reimagining literacy practices in secondary English education. ENGLISH IN EDUCATION. https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2025.2567939 Wilhelm, J. D. (2016). Recognising the power of pleasure: What engaged adolescent readers get from their free-choice reading, and how teachers can leverage this for all. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 39(1), 30. Willingham, Daniel. (2021). Why Don't Kids Like School? Jossey-Bass. 2nd Ed. (Audiobook)  

In the long-awaited Round 4 of our "Ludwig von Mises vs. A Christian Scholar" series I examine one of the most important questions at the intersection of biblical theology and economics: what is the relationship between justification, righteousness, and social justice? In the first half of this episode, I review James D. G. Dunn's understanding of righteousness and justification as presented in The Justice of God: A Fresh Look at the Old Doctrine of Justification by Faith. In the second half, I critically evaluate and challenge Alan Suggate's chapter in the same volume, arguing that while he rightly recognizes that justification has profound social implications, he reaches mistaken economic conclusions that are inconsistent with both Scripture and sound economics. Beginning with the Old Testament and Paul's letter to the Romans, I argue that Dunn is right to emphasize that righteousness is both vertical and horizontal, encompassing our relationship with God and our relationships with others. Those who are justified by grace through faith are incorporated into God's covenant family and transformed by the Holy Spirit, meaning that justification necessarily has social consequences. I then argue that Suggate incorrectly concludes that these social implications justify coercive government redistribution, whereas the biblical vision of righteousness is better embodied through voluntary cooperation, peaceful exchange, and Christian charity. Drawing on the Austrian School of economics, particularly the work of Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, I critique Suggate's analysis of markets, wealth, and social justice, contending that free markets foster social harmony, reward service to others, and provide the conditions for genuine charity without resorting to state coercion. Ultimately, I argue that Paul's vision of justification calls the church to embody the cruciform righteousness of Christ through lives of sacrificial love, demonstrating that biblical concern for the poor is not only compatible with economic liberty but is best realized through voluntary rather than coercive means. Media Referenced:Mises Round 1, Michael Gorman: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ludwig-von-mises-vs-christian-scholar-round-1-michael-gorman/Mises Round 2, James K.A. Smith: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ludwig-von-mises-vs-christian-scholar-round-2-james-k-a-smith/Mises Round 3, N.T. Wright: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-178-ludwig-von-mises-vs-a-christian-scholar-round-3-n-t-wright/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show's profile! Thanks!

What does it mean to be right with God? In this episode, Nate Shannon and Michael Christ discuss John Murray's treatment of justification, exploring why the doctrine stood at the center of the Reformation and continues to shape the Christian life today. From the holiness of God to the righteousness of Christ, this conversation highlights the grace and assurance found in the gospel. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Have you ever wondered why the world's ways feel right and God's ways feel backward?Find out more about NewSpring Church in Wichita, Kansas, at newspring.org.

Pastor Adam Schwenk

Galatians 3:23-4:7

Pastor Philip D. Derber

Committee meetings are meant to be public, not held behind closed doors. There was no justification for keeping the Bank of Ghana Governor's appearance secret." - Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ranking Member of Parliament's Economy and Development Committee

Okay, for real, this episode is only vaguely about Raicilla. It's a bit more about profound justifications — that's a reference to a quote from my guest co-host, Shawn Miller of PKGD Group. He brings that quote up as we're talking about the white paper PKGD released a few weeks ago. That white paper is what this episode is really about. But who would listen to an episode titled, “The one about Shawn's white paper”? Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Shawn Miller of PKGD Group. Episode Notes Read “Built Right and Brought Right,” the white paper published by PKGD Group! Shout outs this episode to Binny's, Mezcal Ultramundo, FOMO special editions, G4 Tequila, Marriott Hotels, Jose Cuervo, Diageo, Dan Kennedy, and tahonas.   Ad Links If you want to taste 24,000 acres of wild desert, get yourself a bottle of Mezcal Ultramundo! Since 2005, Chicotona has been producing Mezcal with a focus on protecting wild agave and preserving the land for future generations! Head out on an Agave Road Trip with Finca 18! Greg Rutkowski will take you on his Agave Road Trip Route #2 - Raicilla de la Costa! Price includes a bottle of Paulo Rodriguez's fabled, limited Tumbado batch! Order beautiful spirits to be delivered to anywhere in Mexico — beautiful or otherwise — through Agave Spirits Presents!

In this episode, Greg and Parker Denning explore the importance of living an authentic life free from justifications and masks. They shares insights on self-awareness, facing hard truths, and the power of honesty to transform your life. Key topics-Living a justified life and its pitfalls-The upward reach and divine desire to improve-The cycle of justification and rationalization-The importance of honesty with oneself-How to face and eliminate excuses-The role of self-awareness and reflection-The impact of masks and pretense in life-Practical steps to live authentically-The significance of setting high standards-The power of honesty in relationships Sound bites"Living below our potential tears us up inside""You want to live day in and day out at a level you don't feel like you have to justify""Listen to the inner truth that's saying, hey man, what are you doing?"Chapters00:00 Introduction and Greg's background00:58 The importance of observing others to learn02:24 The concept of living a justified life02:54 What does living a justified life mean?03:50 The divine standard and upward reach04:40 Living below potential and its consequences05:41 The cycle of justification and rationalization06:47 Dreams, excuses, and stopping ourselves07:44 Honesty with oneself and the inner voice08:34 The obvious actions we're avoiding09:33 Influence of loved ones and projections10:51 Fundamentals and non-negotiables in life11:42 Physical fitness and real-world readiness13:19 Financial habits and wasteful spending14:13 The cycle of justification around habits15:09 The importance of honesty in habits and routines16:19 Living without masks and pretense17:11 Eliminating justifications and excuses18:16 The inner truth and self-acceptance19:13 The discomfort of sitting with oneself20:06 Facing mistakes and the importance of honesty21:04 The foundation of self-respect and confidence21:32 The fake feeling of living with justifications22:31 Fear of being discovered and masks23:25 The danger of justifying and rationalizing24:32 The masks we wear and their consequences25:31 Poison of lies and the need to face truth26:21 The desire to be comfortable in one's own skin27:11 The importance of self-awareness and self-acceptance28:04 The poem 'Myself' by Edward Guest29:18 Living with integrity and self-respect30:31 The impact of authenticity on relationships31:49 The cycle of justification and self-deception32:45 Setting high standards and not settling33:43 Living with positive expectations34:45 The joy of living authentically35:53 The importance of honesty in self-assessment36:42 The role of self-respect in relationships37:23 Eliminating the 'butts' and excuses38:15 Taking action on long-standing issues39:15 Transforming oneself through honesty40:12 The offer of oneself and self-improvement41:37 The importance of writing down flaws and goals42:31 The story of a man who changed his life43:24 Becoming the best version of yourself44:21 Living honestly and earning respect Keywordsself-awareness, honesty, personal growth, authenticity, decision making, self-improvement, motivation, life transformation

The Pharisee and tax collector reveal the heart of the gospel: God justifies the humble. The kingdom belongs to those who come empty-handed. Only grace saves. Visit us online at: RenewalChurch.net

After explaining how all of mankind is sinful and deserving of the wrath of God, Paul now explains how human beings can receive the righteousness of God.RiverCityPGH.com

Pastor Adam Schwenk

Justification by Faith With Donnie Denton

“Although Prahlada is only five years old, even at this young age he has given up his affectionate relationship with his father and mother. Therefore, he is certainly untrustworthy. Indeed, it is not at all believable that he will behave well toward Vishnu.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.36)

Galatians 3:15-29

Why do we need saving — and what exactly are we saved from? In this message from Romans 3:21-26, Pastor Drew Webb traces the doctrine of salvation from the holiness of God to the free gift of grace, using the story of Martin Luther and the Reformation as a launching point.⚡ God's holiness vs. humanity's sin✝️ Penal Substitutionary Atonement explained⚖️ Justification, Sanctification & Glorification — the 3 stages of salvation

This week, we analyze Dr. Frances Cress Welsing's 1983 performance evaluation and investigate how corporate tech layoffs, Pierce County leadership racism, and extreme heatwave rollbacks endanger Black employees. We break down the systematic strategy of public humiliation on the clock, update the Brandon Lucas Five Below homicide investigation, and dissect the recent Arlington workplace parking lot shooting. Weekly Agenda and Topics: 1. The Strategy of Public Humiliation: We examine the calculated deployment of public humiliation and open disrespect against Black employees on the clock, deconstructing how the system weaponizes public shame to degrade Black authority and break down psychological defense mechanisms. 2. Dr. Frances Cress Welsing's 1983 Performance Evaluation: We analyze a historical document detailing a Justification for Outstanding Performance for Dr. Welsing during her tenure as Clinical Director at the Paul Robeson School, decoding how an exceptional Black behavioral scientist navigated the administrative bureaucracy of the District of Columbia's Youth Services. 3. Extreme Heatwave Protections Rollback: We examine the severe challenges faced by construction workers navigating lethal summer heatwaves, deconstructing the systemic malice of states actively rolling back workplace heat protections to prioritize white corporate capital over human survival. 4. Mass Tech Layoffs: We scrutinize the global economic purge displacing over 164,000 technology employees, focusing heavily on Microsoft cutting 4,800 jobs to analyze how corporate restructuring systematically targets and eliminates non-white livelihood. 5. The Arlington Workplace Parking Lot Shooting: We dissect the horrific violence in Texas where an Arlington man is accused of shooting his coworker directly in the business parking lot, alongside an incident where a store employee faces murder and attempted murder charges. 6. The Five Below Homicide Two-Week Update: We provide a critical updates segment on the deadly Las Vegas shooting of Brandon Lucas at a Five Below store, evaluating his family's legal battle for corporate accountability and the systemic failure to prevent predictable workplace slaughter. 7. Pierce County Leadership Racism: We review a crucial News Tribune report by Becca Moss detailing how a fired director alleges widespread white privilege and systemic racism embedded deep within Washington's Pierce County executive leadership structure. Between coworker hostility, public humiliation tactics, corporate gaslighting, workplace parking lot executions, and record-breaking heat exhaustion, survival is your only metric of success. Your absolute priority on the clock is no longer corporate validation or career advancement. But rather, to survive your shift alive and in one piece, you must deploy aggressive defensive strategies, maintain absolute silence on personal matters, and keep your daily interaction footprint strictly limited to professional workplace matters. INVEST in The COWS: - PayPal: [http://paypal.me/TheCOWS](http://paypal.me/TheCOWS) - Cash App: [https://cash.app/$TheCOWS](https://cash.app/$TheCOWS) #SurviveYourShift #SafetyFirst #TheCOWS17Years #CounterRacism

It is dangerous to excuse your own sins by pointing to the historical failures of biblical characters. What God records is not always what He approves. Discover why we must measure our lives by the perfect, unchanging standard of Christ today.

What is faith? Is it simply belief in some divine power? Is it merely confidence in belief itself? In this sermon on Romans 4:22–25 titled “Raised for Our Justification,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer the question of what true faith is. Biblical faith is not a generic faith in an idea of God or even salvation, but it an absolute trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a faith in the message that Jesus has died and risen from the dead. It is a faith that revolves around what Jesus has done for sinners by dying on the cross. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that saves and makes the Christian right before God. It is Jesus's work on the cross that brings the believer to a true knowledge of God the Father. The only thing left to do is to believe in Jesus, to come before God in need of His grace and mercy. Just as Abraham believed in the promises of God and it was accounted to him as righteousness, so too all that believe in the promise of God in Jesus Christ will justified before God. This sermon is a message of hope and peace in the salvation that Jesus's brings.

Many pastors teach that we need to get right with God. Maybe the pastor is speaking to the lost, or encouraging believers to make right choices. We need to clear with the message. Every believer is right with God.

Aujourd'hui, Abel Boyi, éducateur, Bérénice Levet, philosophe, et Sandrine Pégand, avocate, débattent de l'actualité autour d'Alain Marschall et Olivier Truchot.

Justification is not only to be forgiven, but it is also to be declared perfectly righteous—just as if I never sinned and just as if I had perfectly kept the law, perfectly, personally, and perpetually!

Sermon by David Rountree on July 5th, 2026 at New Covenant Church in Anderson, SC. Scripture Passage: Galatians 3:3 Outline: CONNECTING LINKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: 1. Effectual Calling 2. Regeneration 3. Conversion 4. Justification 5. Adoption CHALLENGING LESSONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: 1. The Perception Challenge 2. The Prayer Challenge 3. The Praise Challenge

Justification by faith alone humbles our pride, unifies our hearts and establishes the foundation for our obedience.

Justification by faith alone humbles our pride, unifies our hearts and establishes the foundation for our obedience.

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NRSV)

Galatians 3:15-22

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NRSV)

What does God hide from the wise — and reveal to little children? In this Lutheran sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9A), Pastor Balla preaches from Matthew 11:25–27 on the stunning truth that salvation is not discovered by human wisdom but delivered by Christ alone as a free gift of grace.On America's 250th anniversary, we reflect on freedom purchased at great cost — and the greater freedom won by the blood of Jesus Christ, which death itself cannot take away.Law and Gospel. Real presence. Justification by grace through faith. Confessional Lutheran preaching rooted in Scripture, the Book of Concord, and the Lutheran Service Book.Support this ministry and help us keep proclaiming Christ:https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphbuymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphHASHTAGS:#LutheranSermon #Proper9A #Matthew11 #ConfessionalLutheran #LawAndGospel

Have a question or comment for us? We welcome you to send us a text, thank you! Host-June Bryant, Co-hosts-Antoine Mcfadden, Richard Shaw, Patricia Steen #vent101 Support the showhttps://www.facebook.com/VENT-101-103416278100472https://www.youtube.com/@v.e.n.t.101https://www.vent-101.com/https://instagram.com/v.e.n.t.101?igshid=NTA5ZTk1NTc=

Episode 520 debuts on Wednesday, July 1, at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time). Rebroadcasts will take place according to the Crusade Radio Network programming schedule. Our topic is The Letter to the Archbishop of Boston on Father Feeney. Letter from the Holy Office Concerning Fr. Leonard Feeney — by Cardinal F. Marchetti-Selvaggiani at catholicculture.org Mystici Corporis Christi — encyclical of Pope Pius XII, at vatican.va  Iam Vos Omnes — apostolic letter of Pope Pius IX at novusordowatch.org I Peter 3:18-21 — at drbo.org Reconquest is a militant, engaging, and informative Catholic radio program featuring interviews with interesting guests as well as commentary by your host. It is a radio-journalistic extension of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center.

Enjoy this free PREVIEW of Brother André Marie of the Reconquest Show. To hear  the fascinating FULL discussion, become a MEMBER today to enjoy this and other full featured content.   “Reconquest” is a militant, engaging, and informative Catholic radio program featuring interviews with interesting guests as well as commentary by your host. It is a radio-journalistic extension of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center.

IntroductionThe Heidelberg Catechism spends some time reminding us that Christ really did suffer. His suffering is not some sort of unnecessary drama. It testifies to our sin, and it atones for our sin. His suffering makes satisfaction for our sin. But suffering and death alone aren't the whole story. If Christ were merely dead and "bounced back" the way a sacrificial animal might return to the herd, the sacrifice would prove insufficient.On the other side of this discussion is that Christ cannot remain in the grave. If Christ is dead, then we might as well go home and conclude life is absurd. Romans 4:25 reminds us that Christ “… was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. So the question presses in: why must Christ be raised from the dead?Christ Was Delivered for Our SinsWe have to understand the deeper meaning of death. Death is not merely the cessation of breath or heartbeat. Death is separation from communion and fellowship with God. A person can be fully alive by every biological measure and still be dead in a very real way. So when Christ is "delivered up for our sins" and overcomes death, he is overcoming that broken fellowship that was lost in the fall. His resurrection guarantees that our union with him by the Spirit and faith establishes us in communion with our Lord.Christ's Resurrection Vindicates HimRomans 4 gives us rich assurance of our standing before God and Christ's resurrection. Paul builds his argument on Abraham: justified by faith apart from works (vv. 1–8), a promise extending to Jew and Gentile alike (vv. 9–17), and the "absurdity" of Abraham's faith. Abraham is trusting God to bring life out of two bodies as good as dead (vv. 18–22). Then Paul pulls the camera back: this was written not for Abraham's sake alone, but for ours (vv. 23–25). Christ's resurrection is heaven's declaration that his work is complete. Abraham cannot add anything; Isaac, child of the promise, cannot add anything, and we cannot add anything to Christ's work. It's the fulfillment of the same pattern of "life from death" that Abraham himself experienced in type.Paul says this in other places. 1 Corinthians 15 insists that if Christ is not raised from the dead, then we are still in our sins and ought to be pitied. Paul says in Romans 1:3–4 that the resurrection declares him Son of God. Paul states in Romans 6:4 and 1 Timothy 3:16 that resurrection to vindication by the Spirit. Christ's resurrection is not only the basis of us legally being restored to God, but the resurrection is also the power that conforms us to God.The bodily, physical nature of that resurrection matters too. Christ's ascension into heaven means that glorified human flesh is there. It means that not only are we declared righteous, but we are conforming in the Spirit's power as we walk by faith, and we will be glorified. Christ's resurrection guarantees our glorification, and it proves it. Christ's glorified human flesh is in heaven right now, guaranteeing our glorified flesh will be there too.Christ's Resurrection Vindicates UsThis is the legal, courtroom weight of "raised for our justification." Justification is a one-time declaration of righteousness before the heavenly court. This is a higher court than even our Supreme Court in the USA.This blessing is distinct from sanctification. Justification is a one-time declaration of righteousness in the heavenly courtroom, while sanctification is our progressive conforming to the Lord's holiness.We also say that sanctification and justification are inseparable. These blessings are both given to us by the Spirit, our union with Christ, and our consciousness of this relationship when we have faith in Christ. It is by the Spirit through Faith that we take hold of Christ and all his distinct blessings.We are united to the risen and victorious Christ. It is because Christ was raised that our sins are objectively taken away, our standing before the Father is secure, and Christ's ongoing intercession in the heavenly temple guarantees that our relationship with our God is not impersonal. Our justification is a one-time transaction. However, as we are united to our savior, this is where we have the privilege and joy of growing in conformity to our heavenly call as we walk in the Spirit by faith out of gratitude.ConclusionThe reality is: Christ's resurrection is true whether or not I believe it. It's not my faith, or the church's faith, that makes it so. It is not even the Apostle Paul who makes it so. Christ's resurrection is an objective, historical event that God accomplished. I could deny it, and it would still be true. That's actually the comfort. My assurance doesn't rest on the strength or the quality of my faith. My redemption, our redemption, rests on what God has already done in raising Christ from the dead. His resurrection testifies that my sins are taken away, my standing before God is secure, and I will be raised bodily to dwell in his presence in full glory.Let us not root our hope in ourselves. Let us hope in the God who accomplishes his promise. He does not overstate, and he does not overpromise. He fulfills His word. May we live in the certainty of Christ's resurrection as we take hold of our redeemer by Faith. Let us be a people who walk in the Spirit, tasting the goodness of our redemption as we live as living sacrifices unto him out of gratitude.

Do you really know the game that you're playing?  Moneyball asked this question of baseball and this week Eric and Miles ask the same question of you? Are you really focused on the right things in life?  What really counts? Are you willing to sacrifice your ego and face rejection in order to follow what you believe? Listen in and we may all learn what it means to win at life with eternity in mind. Watch the episode here. Chapters: 1:04 - Welcome & Summary 4:14 - Popcorn Ratings 9:07 - Theology Ratings 13:29 - Subscribe, Share, Support 15:21 - Ads 17:29 - SPOILER WARNING and Popcorn Thoughts 27:14 - What's The Problem? 38:44 - Do you Believe? No Room for Ego. 49:13 - Billy's Search for Justification 59:16 - Why Did He Turn Down Boston? 1:02:50 - Until Next Time… Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and click the notification bell. Follow & connect: https://linktr.ee/popcorntheology Support: https://www.patreon.com/popcorntheology Rate and review to get 2 FREE Popcorn Theology Stickers! Write a 5-star review and send a screenshot, along with your mailing address, to feedback@popcorntheology.com, and you'll receive 2 FREE stickers! iTunes link here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/popcorn-theology/id990110281  #moneyball #bradpitt #jonahhill #baseball #FaithAndFilm #MoviePodcast #FilmReview #ChristianPodcast #MediaLiteracy #ReformedTheology #christianmoviereview Intro Music by Ross Bugden: https://youtu.be/Bln0BEv5AJ0?si=vZx_YiHK3hNxaETA

Do Catholics believe we have to earn our salvation? Are we saved by faith alone? What role do good works actually play in the Christian life? In this episode, Fr. Michael and Fr. Christopher Trummer discuss faith, works, grace, justification, salvation, and sanctification from a Catholic perspective. They explain why Catholics do not believe we can earn salvation by our own efforts, while also showing why Scripture repeatedly teaches that real faith must bear fruit in love, obedience, perseverance, and good works. This conversation looks at passages from Ephesians, Romans, James, Matthew 25, John 15, Philippians 2, and more. The goal is not to reduce salvation to self-reliance or religious performance, but also not to fall into passivity. The Christian life is a life of grace-filled cooperation with God. We are saved by grace. We receive that grace through faith. And that faith, if it is living, works through love. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: why faith and works is controversial 01:10 Salvation, justification, and different Christian language 02:10 The objective offer of grace and how we receive it 03:00 Salvation as past, present, and future 05:00 Catholics do not believe we earn salvation 06:20 Ephesians, Romans, and salvation by grace 07:05 The good thief and the essence of salvation 08:00 What Catholics mean by “works” 09:20 Justification and God's initiative 10:40 Persevering in grace 11:45 “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” 13:00 Once saved, always saved? 14:10 John 15, bearing fruit, and remaining in Christ 15:30 Can salvation be lost? 17:00 Serious sin as a rupture of relationship 18:30 Confidence, certainty, and perseverance 20:40 Matthew 25 and the final judgment 24:25 The rich young man and keeping the commandments 25:20 What is faith? 26:30 James, demons, and faith without works 27:40 Biblical faith as the response of the whole person 29:30 Merit, grace, and heavenly reward 32:10 Abiding in Christ through obedience 33:35 Necessary does not mean earned 34:25 Revelation, the talents, and reward 36:00 The danger of passivity 37:15 Human cooperation with God's grace 38:05 Righteousness, holiness, and imputed righteousness 42:00 God's grace actually transforms us 43:30 The prodigal son and imperfect repentance 45:10 The danger of self-reliance 46:30 Pelagianism and trying to save ourselves 48:40 Trying to “muscle” love 49:30 Not self-reliance, not passivity 50:15 Cooperation with grace in concrete action 51:30 Saints, effort, and grace-filled work 52:30 Working without worry, haste, or desperation 54:00 Avoiding the “holy bunker” 55:00 Final takeaway: grace, grit, and fruitfulness 55:40 Closing prayer

Even though I am technically in the middle of the Noss Gold Treasure epiodes, I felt the need to go on a  "wander"  and produce a new episode for our core journey here at JFK The Enduring Secret. In Episode 323, we begin to explore one of the most intense backdrops of the Kennedy administration: the Cuba Project. Following the disastrous and public failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961, President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, did not choose to retreat. Instead, they doubled down, concluding that the next attempt to topple Fidel Castro needed to be smarter, tighter, more deniable, and relentless.This commitment birthed Operation Mongoose, a massive covert program led by counterinsurgency specialist Brigadier General Edward Lansdale and strictly overseen by the White House. To wage this secret war, the CIA established JM WAVE in the suburbs of Miami—a massive intelligence station that functioned as a "small spy city". Under the leadership of Ted Shackley, this operation directed thousands of Cuban exile operatives, commanded an enormous budget, and conducted hundreds of "pinprick" sabotage raids against Cuban infrastructure.However, beneath the official campaign lay a much darker shadow war. This episode delves into the deeply secretive "Operation 40," a targeted killing and counterintelligence unit originally intended to purge communist officials. We also explore "ZR RIFLE," the CIA's executive action program that astonishingly partnered with the Mafia to orchestrate assassination plots against Castro, and the chilling "Operation Northwoods," a declassified proposal by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to stage fake terrorist attacks on American soil as a pretext for a full-scale invasion of Cuba.Ultimately, the Cuba Project failed in its primary objective: Castro survived, and the secret war was effectively swallowed by the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet, its true legacy was the creation of a vast, unaccountable paramilitary network. The operatives trained participants in the Florida swamps—including men like E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis—and would later surface in some of the darkest chapters of American history, from the hunt for Che Guevara to the Watergate scandal. Tune in to explore how a secret machine built to kill a revolution ended up haunting the United States for the rest of the century.APPENDIX — A Chronology of the Secret WarMarch 1960 — President Eisenhower approves the original CIA covert-action program against Castro that Kennedy will inherit.January 3, 1961 — Eisenhower reportedly suggests to General Lemnitzer that the U.S. "could think of manufacturing something" to justify intervention in Cuba.January 1961 — Kennedy is inaugurated; the U.S. and Cuba sever diplomatic relations.Early 1961 — Richard Bissell directs William Harvey to build a "stand-by" assassination capability; the ZR/RIFLE Executive Action project takes shape.April 17–19, 1961 — Brigade 2506 lands at the Bay of Pigs and is destroyed within three days.April 22, 1961 — Kennedy appoints the Taylor–Kennedy Board of Inquiry (Cuba Study Group).June 13, 1961 — The board reports: "no long-term living with Castro as a neighbor."October 5, 1961 — NSAM 100 directs post-Castro and military-contingency planning.November 3, 1961 — Kennedy authorizes the covert program that becomes Operation Mongoose.November 30, 1961 — Kennedy's memorandum formally establishes Mongoose; Lansdale named Chief of Operations.December 1, 1961 — RFK tells the Special Group Cuba is now top priority; Castro declares, "I am a Marxist-Leninist."January 18–19, 1962 — Lansdale assigns 32 planning tasks; RFK calls Cuba "top priority — all else is secondary." The Special Group (Augmented) is established.February 1962 — Shackley brought to JMWAVE; soon made station chief. JMWAVE relocates to NAS Richmond under the Zenith Technical Enterprises front.February 20, 1962 — Lansdale submits the six-phase Basic Action Plan aiming at revolt by October 1962. (John Glenn's orbital flight occurs the same day — later a Northwoods pretext target.)February 26, 1962 — RFK orders Lansdale to stand down to intelligence-gathering for three months; the Joint Chiefs' frustration hardens.March 1962 — SGA approves Phase I (intelligence only). The JCS draft Operation Northwoods.March 13, 1962 — Lemnitzer signs the Northwoods memo ("Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba") to McNamara.March 16, 1962 — Kennedy flatly rejects Northwoods and any overt U.S. military force in Cuba.April 1962 — Harvey reactivates the Roselli/Mafia plots under ZR/RIFLE; arms and poison pills delivered in Miami.August 23, 1962 — NSAM 181 orders Mongoose "Plan B plus" developed with all speed amid the Soviet buildup.August 30, 1962 — SGA authorizes the Matahambre copper-mine sabotage; the raid fails.October 1962 — U-2 flights discover Soviet missiles; the Cuban Missile Crisis erupts.October 30, 1962 — The SGA orders a halt to all sabotage; Mongoose effectively ends.1963 — Mongoose disbanded; the SGA abolished; the regular Special Group resumes control.June 19, 1963 — A new externally based sabotage program against the Cuban economy is approved.Fall 1963 — The CIA passes AM/LASH (Rolando Cubela) a poison pen while the administration explores a UN back-channel to Castro.October 24, 1963 — The Special Group approves thirteen major sabotage operations.November 22, 1963 — President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas; both the AM/LASH plot and the Cuban back-channel are cut short.

Send us Fan MailThe Results of JustificationRomans 5:1-5Matthew Christensen, Ministry Intern

Topics: The Context of Even the Demons Believe (James 2:19), Faith Without Works Is Dead Context (James 2:14-26), Disagreements Between James and Paul, James' Rebuttals Against Faith Alone, Rightly Dividing the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15), Leviticus Versus the Message of Grace, What Jesus Accomplished on the Cross, The Royal Law and Judgment (James 2:8), James as a Supposed Pillar (Galatians 2), Christ as the True Foundation (Matthew 7:24-27), The Full Sanctification of Saints (1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews 10:10), Divine Inspiration of the Law (Exodus 35:2), The True Definition of All Scripture Being Inspired (2 Timothy 3:16), The Gospel of Free Grace (Romans 11:6, Acts 20:24), The Limits of Demonic Belief, Human Salvation Through Faith Alone, Abraham Justified by Faith Alone (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4, Galatians 3), Abraham and the Offering of Isaac (James 2:21, Genesis 22), The True Meaning of Justification, Salvation of the Thief on the Cross, Timeline of the Friend of God Title (2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8), Rahab Justified by Faith (James 2:25, Joshua 2, Hebrews 11:31), Pleasing God Through Faith Alone (Hebrews 11:6), Comparing Faith to Body and Spirit (James 2:26), The Easy Yoke of Jesus Versus Legalism, The True Obedience of Faith (Romans 1, Romans 16), Christ Destroying the Works of the Devil (1 John 3:8, Colossians 2:15), Eternal Life Guaranteed Through Belief (John 3:16, John 5:24, John 6:29, John 6:40, John 6:47, John 11:25-26, John 1:12-13, 1 John 3:1, Galatians 3:26, Acts 15, Acts 16:31) Support the showSign up for Matt's free daily devotional!  https://mattmcmillen.com/newsletter

Was Clement of Rome a pope, as the Roman Catholic Church claims today? What does his letter to the Corinthians, 1 Clement, actually teach about church authority, unity, repentance, faith, leadership, and the resurrection? Clement of Rome is one of the most important early Christian voices outside the New Testament and a bridge from the Apostles to the Patristic era of the church. His letter to the Corinthians, the same church Paul wrote to, was written during a major conflict: certain church leaders had been removed, jealousy and division had taken root, and the church needed correction. In this video, Christian Barrett walks through his letter, 1 Clement, discusses whether the early church in Rome held to the same authority as later Roman Catholic claims describe, and how Clement exhorts us to unity, rest in Christ, and endurance to the end. Whether you are Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or simply interested in early church history, 1 Clement offers a remarkable window into Christianity in the wake of the apostles, and is worth a serious look. Want more discipleship resources? Visit emetministry.orgHelp Us Reach the Lost: Support Emet Campus Ministry- https://emet-campus-ministry.churchcenter. com/giving/to/ecm-general-fundHelp Us Make More Resources: Support Emet Ministries- emetministry.churchcenter.com/givingCheck out these sources we love and use our Amazon Affiliate Link: Knowing God - https://amzn.to/3ScwPh4The Holiness of God - https://amzn.to/4ouI7sSThe Resurrection of Jesus - https://amzn.to/4ouitVeWhat is the Gospel - https://amzn.to/4oAFqpUWhat it means to be Protestant - https://amzn.to/3Qkt8W32,000 Years of Christ's Power Vol 1 - https://amzn.to/4edGaxFFollow us on Instagram: @emetministry and @everytuesdayat7Christian's Reading List: goodreads.com/user/show/74696644-christian-barrettCHAPTERS:00:00 Clement of Rome01:33 Is This the Clement from Philippians?03:15 Did the 4th-Century Church Believe in the Pope?04:20 Why Did Clement Write to the Corinthian Church?05:24 Why Is Clement Important?07:00 1 Clement: Why Was It Written?10:21 Chapters 1–3: Praise and Condemnation11:53 Chapters 4–6: The Danger of Jealousy12:18 Chapters 7–12: The Call to Repentance12:42 Chapters 13–19: Walk in Humility13:26 Chapters 20–23: The Creation of the World14:02 Chapters 24–27: The Hope of the Resurrection14:13 Chapters 28–31: Fear God, for He Is Majestic15:11 Chapters 32–35: Justification by Faith Alone?16:24 Chapters 36–38: Unity in Christ and with Christ16:52 Chapters 39–41: Different Roles in the Church17:57 Chapters 42–47: Addressing the Corinthian Crisis19:33 Chapters 48–55: A Call to Repentance19:42 Chapters 56–58: Restore the Elders19:46 Chapters 59–61: Clement's Prayer for the Corinthians19:57 Chapters 62–65: Run the Race20:25 Why Doesn't Clement Take a Magisterial Role?22:30 What Did the Early Church Commit Themselves To?#ClementOfRome #1Clement #ChurchHistory #EarlyChurch #ApostolicFathers #Papacy #ChristianTheology #Protestant #romancatholic #protestantvscatholic

Justification is the fountain head of the hymn that justified people sing. I. We rejoice in hope! II. We rejoice in our trials because they purify that hope. III. We rejoice ultimately in God who is the consummation of our hope.

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Are human beings actually teaching each other, or have we misunderstood the entire learning process? For centuries, we have organized life around teachers, mentors, experts, elders, therapists, gurus, parents, and partners. We assume wisdom travels from one person into another. Yet intimate relationships present a disturbing complication to that assumption. A partner can spend twenty years revealing the same insecurity, the same fear, the same controlling behavior, the same abandonment wound, and nothing changes. The information arrived. The lesson did not. Because experience does not automatically produce wisdom. Self-observation produces wisdom. That distinction changes everything. The central conflict inside relationships may have very little to do with communication and far more to do with self-protection. The moment uncomfortable feedback arrives, an ancient psychological security system often activates before awareness can intervene. Explanation outruns curiosity. Justification outruns investigation. Defense outruns observation. The relationship becomes a courtroom. The ego hires an attorney. The case closes. Learning never begins. This conversation examines a radical possibility: perhaps the greatest teacher in your life has never been your partner, your parents, your heartbreaks, your victories, your failures, or your trauma. Perhaps all of them merely supplied raw data. Perhaps the true professor has always been your capacity for nonjudgmental self-observation. Can you observe jealousy without defending it? Can you observe control without rationalizing it? Can you observe insecurity without hiding it? Can you observe yourself while your identity feels threatened? That is a far more difficult discipline than communication. Because the deepest function of relationship may not involve teaching at all. It may involve revelation. Your partner becomes the stimulus. Your reaction becomes the curriculum. Your defenses become the textbook. Your wounds become the laboratory. And your willingness to observe without immediately protecting yourself may determine whether experience becomes wisdom or merely becomes repetition.

In episode 497 of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb bring the Parable of the Talents to a close with one of the most theologically rich discussions in recent memory. Beginning in Matthew 25:24, they zero in on the one-talent servant — not merely as a cautionary tale about productivity, but as a profound case study in distorted theology. The servant's fatal error wasn't laziness alone; it was a fundamentally false picture of his master. That mischaracterization produced a craven, fearful inaction that the hosts argue maps directly onto the eschatological stakes of the parable. Drawing on Calvin, William Ames, and Reformed confessional commitments, Tony and Jesse make the case that right theology is never merely academic — it shapes the whole of life, and ultimately determines one's eschatological destiny. Key Takeaways The one-talent servant's core failure is theological, not behavioral — he constructs a false image of his master as harsh and exploitative, and that distorted theology governs everything that follows. False theology produces fatal inaction — the servant's fear is not godly fear but a craven dread rooted entirely in his mischaracterization of the master's character. The knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are inseparable — following Calvin's Institutes, the hosts argue that a right understanding of God as gracious and generous will produce active, trusting faithfulness, while a distorted view produces fearful, minimal compliance. The parable is fundamentally eschatological, not merely practical — interpreting the talents primarily as spiritual gifts or ministry opportunities misses the point; the parable is about who belongs to the master's kingdom and who does not. Character precedes action — the faithful servants do not become faithful by producing returns; they produce returns because they are faithful. The wicked servant buries his talent because he is wicked, not the other way around. William Ames understood the servant's sin as a violation of the ninth commandment — by burying his talent, the servant effectively bears false witness against God's own estimation of the gift, rejecting both the gift and the Giver. The "outer darkness" language is not out of place — it is the natural eschatological conclusion for someone who never genuinely knew or trusted the master, making the parable a picture of what it means to be outside the grace and presence of God entirely. Key Concepts False Theology as the Root of Inaction The most striking feature of the one-talent servant's account is not what he did — or failed to do — but what he believed. He tells his master, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed." Tony and Jesse point out that nothing in the parable supports this characterization. A master who entrusts his servants with what amounts to decades of wages — hundreds of years' worth of labor between three servants — is not a hard, exploitative figure. He is astonishingly generous and trusting. The servant has constructed a theological fiction, and that fiction becomes the prison of his own inaction. This is not a peripheral observation; it is the interpretive key to the entire parable. What we believe about God determines everything about how we live before Him. The Knowledge of God Shapes the Whole of Life Calvin famously opens the Institutes with the observation that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are so bound together that it is nearly impossible to determine which is logically prior. Jesse draws on this insight to show that the one-talent servant's self-understanding — timid, fearful, paralyzed — flows directly from his distorted image of God. A person who genuinely knows God as gracious, generous, and long-suffering will be motivated to active, trusting faithfulness. A person who privately believes God to be harsh and demanding will retreat into fearful, minimalist compliance. This is not merely a first-century observation. It is a diagnostic tool for self-examination: the shape of our obedience reveals the shape of our theology. Reformed orthodoxy has always insisted that right doctrine is not academic — it is the engine of the Christian life. Character Precedes Action — The Anti-Works-Righteousness Reading One of the most important guardrails Tony and Jesse set up in this episode is against a subtle works-righteousness reading of the parable. It is tempting to hear the parable and conclude: do productive things for the kingdom, and you will be welcomed as a good and faithful servant. But the hosts argue that this inverts the logic of the text entirely. The faithful servants are not commended because they generated a return; they generated a return because they are faithful servants. The wicked servant buries his talent because he is wicked — his character drives his conduct, not the reverse. Justification and sanctification alike are received by faith in Christ alone, and no reading of this parable should suggest that our eschatological standing is secured by our productivity. The sheep act like sheep because they are sheep. That punchline, Tony notes, will carry them straight into the sheep and the goats passage next week. Memorable Quotes "Who is it that's not going to be saved in the last day? It's the people who don't recognize the master. The people who think that the master is a hard man who reaps where he has not sown and gathers where he has not scattered. Well, if we think that's who God is, we have a lot of trouble coming our way." — Tony Arsenal "A person who genuinely knows the living God as gracious, generous, long-suffering, with that kind of hesed kind of love — that person will be motivated to active, trusting faithfulness. A person who privately believes God to be harsh and demanding is always going to retreat in this fearful, minimal kind of compliance." — Jesse Schwamb "The sheep act like sheep because they're sheep. They don't become sheep because they do sheep things. They do sheep things because they're sheep." — Tony Arsenal Full Transcript Welcome to episode four hundred and ninety seven of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse  And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear Hey, brother  [00:00:42] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. We're back at it again. We're hanging out in Matthew's gospel, the 25th chapter, and it's time to, I think, close out the Parable of the Talents, where we've got two servants that double their master's money, and one who buries his in the ground like a Calvinist who's confused predestination with doing nothing. And of course, all of this irony is the faithful servants, they can't even take credit. The master supplied the capital, the ability, and apparently even the bull market. It's grace all the way down. But meanwhile, the one talent guy returns exactly what he was given and he gets absolutely wrecked, and we're gonna dig into that. Gonna dig into- ... that later.  [00:01:26] Affirm or Deny Segment [00:01:26] Jesse Schwamb: But before we do, it's what everybody's waiting for. It's that time in the podcast where we affirm with something that we really like or we recommend or we think is undervalued, or we deny against something that's exactly the opposite. Not worth it, no good, get it out of here. So Tony, are you affirming with or denying against?  [00:01:43] Tony Arsenal: I'm denying against something related to the World Cup. Um-  [00:01:47] Jesse Schwamb: Okay ...  [00:01:48] Tony Arsenal: I am not a purist, so please don't hear me as, like, elitist soccer dude who is resistant to any sort of changes, but, um, I didn't actually even know this was happening. Are you following the World Cup at all, Jesse? [00:02:01] Jesse Schwamb: I'm trying to. I'm not against it, I'm just finding myself- Yeah ... stuck in  [00:02:05] Tony Arsenal: trying to like- There, there's a lot going on.  [00:02:06] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah ... yeah, coordinate everything.  [00:02:07] Tony Arsenal: Um, one of the things that they... And they're at weird times this year too- Yes ... at least so far they are.  [00:02:11] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly.  [00:02:11] Hydration Breaks Rant [00:02:11] Tony Arsenal: Um, one of the things this year that I noticed that I didn't know was happening, and I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, is, uh, I, I guess I understand why they're doing it, but they've instituted what they're calling mandatory hydration breaks-  [00:02:25] Jesse Schwamb: Oh,  [00:02:26] Tony Arsenal: I've read about this uh, into the games. Yeah. And essentially what this has done is it's turned a game that used to be, uh, and has always been two 45-minute halves-  [00:02:38] Jesse Schwamb: Mm-hmm ...  [00:02:38] Tony Arsenal: um, uh, with overage time, right? So, like, the, the ref will sometimes just, like, add a couple minutes. Usually it's, you know, three to five, maybe 10 minutes at the most to the end of the, the half. They've turned that from, uh, two 45-minute halves into now four, what is that? Like, 23-minute quarters, 22 and a half- Right ... minute quarters. Um, and they're not always quarters. They're not always evenly split. They sometimes do the hydration break early or later. Um, this is awful. It's just awful, right? One of the, one of the, um, maybe this is me being a little bit of a soccer purist. One of the things about soccer that makes it a challenging sport is the endurance of it.  [00:03:21] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:03:22] Tony Arsenal: Right? And contrary to what I think most people think when they watch soccer, um, it's one of the few games, few professional games that doesn't have a ton of breaks- Right? There's not a lot of times where, where match play actually stops for any real amount of time. Um, and that's what stoppage time is. It's not intended to be something like football, where there often is time on the clock where the clock is still moving, but the game is not, like, actively progressing forward, right? Right. You have to do something special to stop the clock. In soccer, uh, at least historically, 45 minutes of play is 45 minutes of play. It's, it's 45 minutes of actual actionable play. And now, um, you know, they stop the game. The clock doesn't continue, but now the game stre- like, the, the game itself stretches longer 'cause they've introduced these additional breaks. So I'm denying, uh... This just sounds like s- I'm such a ghoul here. I'm denying mandatory hydration breaks, not because I want soccer players to get sunstroke. Uh, they get plenty of water. There's plenty of times they get to stop and get water. It's- And this is... We didn't have mandatory hydration breaks when the World Cup was in Qatar. Right. Right? And everybody, for the most part, was fine. Like, the players were all fine. There were no casualties on the field. I don't even recall, like, major medical problems on the field. We're in LA now. Yeah, it's warm, summer, but come on, guys. Like, let's, let's, let's be real. This is not, uh, this is not rec league. This is not, you know, U15 league play with, with kids. These are adult men who condition for a living. Like, this is their job, is to be conditioned and for their bodies to be in peak performance. So it's just... It just interrupts the game. I don't know. I'm, I'm being a little crotchety here, but I feel like I have a right to be 'cause this is my show, and I can do what I want to. That's absolutely true. So I'm denying hydration breaks, mandatory hydrat- hydration breaks, which change the game. And a commentator actually commented about that on, on the match the other day. Um, it changes the dynamic of the game. It changes the strategy of the game. Um, it changes the whole feel of the game, right from the strategy of how long you have to be able to go, right? This will change how- how footballers have to condition themselves, 'cause they're no longer having to condition themselves for two 45-minute halves. They're having to condition themselves for four 22-and-a-half minute quarters, um, which is not the same game as, as that. So anyway, we'll- it's yet to see, be seen if that has any real impact on the outcome of any games or anything like that. But it was annoying to me, so I'm denying mandatory hydration breaks. [00:05:59] Jesse Schwamb: That's great. We haven't had a good denial in a little while on this podcast. I think that's fantastic. I mean, not the break, but the denial itself. Plus, and I don't wanna be... You'll have to tell me if I'm speaking conspiratorial here, because most of my apparent World Cup and general sports news still comes from The Wall Street Journal, so that might be a weird place to get it. But- ... the, I became aware of this through an article that was lamenting the exact same thing. Yeah. It was just basically all the arguments that you said. Like, it's weird, and the game wasn't designed this way, and it's definitely like an interruption. It's definitely like an insertion.  [00:06:32] Ads and Soccer Purism [00:06:32] Jesse Schwamb: And then, of course, was all the stuff about, isn't this really about just allowing commercial break time, and it's more about that, and we're just conveniently saying that we need the hydration breaks. And what else would they, we have them do if we needed to force them to take a break but say, "You know what? Why don't you guys take a knee and get some water- Yeah ... while we show you some ads?" So I imagine that doesn't sit well with people either.  [00:06:52] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I mean, I'm sure that that's the case. Again, I, I haven't even been able to watch a full, full World Cup match, so I don't, I don't know... I don't even know how long the hydration breaks are, to be honest with you. But yes, it's an interruption in play where they can cut to commercial. And whether that was why they put this in place or not, or whether they're just utilizing it, it's obnoxious. Like, part of the fun of watching soccer is that there is no commercial break for the first 45 minutes. Right. Um, that's just part of- Which is unusual in sports ... part of the joy of the game, is that it's a continual game with no real breaks. Um, even when, like, a player is injured because, you know, there's an injury on the field or something like that, um, even when that happens, they don't cut to commercial because there was no planned commercial. They don't have anything there. Right. So, um, it's changed, like, the way... Y- you know, even, even things like this is gonna change how uniforms are thought out, because sponsorship money through uniforms used to be the m- one of the main commercial-driving, like, sponsorships for, um, for the game. So I'm just annoyed by it. [00:07:53] More Rule Changes [00:07:53] Tony Arsenal: There's an- a couple other things that I'm annoyed by this year. They have this... It's kinda like that automatic up call checker thing we talked about. Right. They have this, like, um- They call it mistaken identity, uh, recheck. Basically where if a player is fouled or appears to be fouled, they can, someone can flag it and it will recheck it and, like, digitally the system tells them whether there was a foul or not. And like I said before when we were talking about this a little bit before, um, there is a real element in the game, or there has been a real element to the game historically, where the ump is almost like, or the ref is almost like a third player, and you have to be wise and play the ref. Um, you have to, you know, there's, there's an element of a little bit of, uh, espionage and subtle- Right you know, subterfuge here going on in the game that I think people outside the game who are just watching, they look and they think like, "Oh, yeah, that guy flopped." But there's a whole, like, art and there's a whole form to that, and there's real cost if you do it poorly. Um, and so, like, we've already had one instance where a yellow card was called on a player. Uh, the other player simulated the foul. Um, and so they reversed it and gave the other guy a yellow card, but they did that after the game. Um, which, which is a whole other thing. Like, you play a whole game, um I could talk about this all night. Like when you get, when you get a red card- ... you're, you're out for an entire game, not just- Right the rest of this game. You're out for an entire game. Your position is out for an entire game, so that might mean you start the next match down a player. Well, what does that mean if you are given a red card sort of posthumously after the match, right? Right. Like, you- it's changed the whole calculation because for the whole game, that player, uh, was playing as though he didn't have a yellow card. And that, maybe that's good, maybe that's bad, but he was playing the game as though he didn't have a yellow card, and then all of a sudden now he does. Um, he doesn't go... I don't think he goes into the next match starting with a yellow card. Um, a- and so I'm kind of like, "Well, what's the, what's the point?" But, um, you know, some of that plays into, like, if there's ties and ties, match, match point ties, then they start looking at who has penalties and stuff. But either way, it's annoying that they, they're introducing this. Like, we didn't need to have... Yes, there's probably a place for reviewing a, a bad ref's calls. Right. They've also added, like, automatic on offsides. There was a whole strategy and a whole part of the game of forcing a person offsides, of drawing a person offsides, being offsides without looking like you're offsides. Some people may look at that and go, "Well, that's cheating," but no, it's actually just part of the game. Right. Like, playing the ref and understanding that is part of the game. And now it's still part of the game, but it's part of the game in a different way, and that's... Maybe I am just being a purist, but I just, I don't like it. I don't like it. Give me back my beautiful game the way it's always been and get off my lawn, get off the turf, get off my pitch, whatever. Um, I'm denying the fact that the World Cup is not as it's always been. But also, like, we don't need this stuff. Like, the World Cup has been fine for how many years?  [00:11:03] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:11:03] Tony Arsenal: We don't need water breaks like this- W- i- you know, if it was like last World Cup, five players died from dehydration in the middle of the... Like, okay, like yeah, let's do some water breaks. But like, nobody died. Nobody even had major medical emergencies. I think a couple people had to come out of the game a little early 'cause they weren't well-hydrated. But like- Right ... run to the side, get a water bottle. Like, you can do that in the middle of a game. There's nothing- Yeah ... against the rules to stand by the sideline, drink when someone's doing a substitution or even in the middle of the game. I've seen that happen, where someone will sprint over to the sideline, they'll take a drink of water, and then they'll throw the cup back over. So anywho, we should move on. This could be my entire, my entire rant of, for a whole episode- Good ... against the weird changes in, in World Cup soccer, so.  [00:11:48] Jesse Schwamb: Listen, I love it.  [00:11:49] Peacock Spanish Hack [00:11:49] Jesse Schwamb: My favorite hack, uh, for World Cup soccer so far this year, and this was given to me by a colleague, uh, and a brother, I think this is fantastic, is right now because my wife is convalescing, we have all the subscriptions temporarily to allow, like, the full healing process to take place. Watch whatever you want, wherever you want. Except for the World Cup, because the, uh... I- it was just, like, where you could actually get it in English was, like, crazy expensive, at least for me. So here's the thing, though. Somebody reminded me uh, that we have Peacock and that because of Telemundo, could just watch and stream the entire World Cup in Spanish. So guess what, loved ones? We're learning a lot more Spanish- I love it ... and we're watching the World Cup with the announcers on. I'm not turning off that, 'cause that's the best part. And, you know, I'm getting, like, 25% of what's being said, but it is awesome. And there's- Yeah ... a lot more energy and excitement. So if for some reason you have Peacock and you're saying, "Oh, I'm missing the World Cup," technically you don't have to. It's all there for you. That's amazing. Just you gotta embrace Spanish.  [00:12:46] Tony Arsenal: That's amazing. And yes, actually, it probably is more entertaining.  [00:12:49] Jesse Schwamb: It is.  [00:12:50] Tony Arsenal: Um, and you don't, you don't need to... You really don't need to understand what the commentator is- No I mean, like 90% of the time the commentator's like, "Oh, he's having a good year," and, uh- ... yeah, like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, he's looking real great. Do you see how his, uh, laces are laced up?" Like, they're just trying to fill time.  [00:13:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:13:05] Tony Arsenal: So it doesn't really matter what they're saying. And when it does matter what they're saying, you'll get it just from the-  [00:13:11] Jesse Schwamb: Yes [00:13:11] Tony Arsenal: just from what the announcer's voices are doing. So I'll have to check that out. Yeah, the, the matches are at weird times, at least so far. I think, I think that once we get out of group play, m- a lot of the matches shift to the East Coast, so there'll be, uh, a little bit more normal times.  [00:13:25] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:13:25] Tony Arsenal: But, like, the first, the first, uh, US match was at 9:00 Eastern Time, and then, like, the last one's at 10:00 Eastern Time. Yeah.  [00:13:32] Jesse Schwamb: So  [00:13:33] Tony Arsenal: late. Yeah, super late, and it's a, it's a three-hour match by the time you, you get done with halftime and everything. So yeah, it'll, it'll... It's, it's frustrating. Although historically, um, every time the men, the men's team has won their first match, they've gotten out of group play, and every time they've lost their fir- first match, they have not gotten out of group play. And we, we really, really won our first match. Yes. Yeah. So I think, I think we'll get out of group play. I think probably, depending on how the, the cards roll, um, we'll probably, we'll probably get through our first elimination round, maybe our second, but we're not gonna go much further than that. Um, even, even that would be a, a pretty good victory, so- Anyway, football is life, right? Danny Ross. Um, do, did you watch Ted last night? Yes,  [00:14:24] Jesse Schwamb: I have seen it. Yes.  [00:14:25] Tony Arsenal: That was good. Football is life. Um, that's me this time of year. Like, I wore a soccer jersey to work on Friday, and nobody could tell me I couldn't do that, and I didn't care. So- I  [00:14:33] Jesse Schwamb: love it ...  [00:14:34] Tony Arsenal: uh, nobody even tried. Everybody, everybody's fine. Everybody loves soccer- How dare they ... and loves the World Cup, so. Yeah. That's the truth. Anywho, save me from this. I, I literally could talk about soccer all night. This is the one sport that I get like this. And the... Not even the one sport. The one sporting event that I get like this about is the World Cup. I love it. So you've gotta, you gotta stop me or I'm not gonna, not gonna stop. Let  [00:14:54] Jesse Schwamb: it out.  [00:14:54] Hydration Tabs Recommendation [00:14:54] Jesse Schwamb: Well, I would say, like, we could play that game with our affirmations and denials where it's, like, six degrees of separation, but we only need one. And this is gonna sound like it was planned, but it wasn't. Your denial, of course, as you've just well articulated, was about hydration breaks. Turns out my affirmation is actually about hydration. So-  [00:15:11] Tony Arsenal: Jesse's affirming hydration breaks. We're about  [00:15:13] Jesse Schwamb: to fight. Yeah. No, I'm, I'm definitely not a- affirming hydration breaks, but this might be the kind of hydration they're having. I don't know, but it's the one I'm gonna recommend. So where I live, it is the summertime, and where I live, we get both the heat and the humidity, and that's the oppressive part, isn't it? It's where it feels like the inside of a dog's mouth. And so I actually just came back from a run, and my go-to hydration break for myself is, uh, Nuun, N-U-U-N. And here's the reason why, is I've had Gatorade, I've had all the... I've had Liquid IV, I've had all that stuff. Most of the time it's r- too sweet. Nuun is just these effervescent dissolvable tablets that you drop into water, and it creates this low sugar electrolyte drink. It has all, like, the normal stuff. It has sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, all that good stuff, but there's just one gram of sugar. And it's this convenient little tab. Like, you can just get this whole little roll of tabs. You can carry them with you if you're going hiking or you're camping or you're out and gonna do a run. You just drop them into a bottle of water or whatever size water you want. I usually go 32 ounces is the way I like it. They have all, all kinds of flavors. It's just the right thing. Like, it's... It is like the refreshing thing of water, but when you're like, "You know what? I wanna taste something that's not water." So Nuun is, like, the right thing. I may have referred to it before, so I'm sorry if I did. But I'm referring with you can order it on, like, Amazon or any kind of, I don't know, general kind of camping or sports-oriented store is probably gonna be there. But it's... For me, it's the right thing because I don't know about you, but I find most sports drinks, like, in general too sweet. Like, you, you start... You have one, and then if I get through it, I'm kind of like, "Ugh, now I feel like my mouth is, like, really just coated in sugar, and that's not what I wanted." Yeah. So this feels like you're, you're getting a little less sweetness, but you don't feel guilty afterwards like you've just consumed a bunch of sugar. I will admit, I drink one I guess it's like 12 ounce Gatorade every week, just one. And this is because there's a delightful and loving, like, 72-year-old woman in our congregation who brings, I believe it's her own, she invests this every week. She brings for the team that is doing the worship through music Gatorade, uh, because she thinks we need to be replenished. So really, we have a hydration break- ... right before the service. But she, it's so beautiful and so delightful, I will never refuse it, and I am also on often parched at the time. So-  [00:17:31] Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  [00:17:31] Jesse Schwamb: it does work out, so.  [00:17:31] Tony Arsenal: Jesse's worship team goes real hard. They need to hydrate in the middle. They do a mandatory hydration break in the middle of the- It's, yeah middle of the service.  [00:17:39] Jesse Schwamb: It's mandatory. Yes. We are strict.  [00:17:41] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And it's an, it's a good time for announcements and commercial breaks. Um, yeah. I, I think, uh, and you're... I don't know if you're gonna believe me when I say this. With all of the Nuun that passes its way around the family home when we're all here- Yeah at summertime, I've never had-  [00:17:57] Jesse Schwamb: Oh, really? ...  [00:17:57] Tony Arsenal: Nuun. Yeah. We never tried it. I think our go-to for, for sort of powdered energy drink or powdered, uh, sports drink is little Propel packets.  [00:18:05] Jesse Schwamb: Um- Oh,  [00:18:05] Tony Arsenal: that's not bad either. Propel's not bad. I like Propel. It's very sweet, but it, it doesn't- Yeah ... um, Propel- doesn't add sugar. I think that they've, they've got their formula where it's a sugar-free formula. Um, but it is very sweet. So sometimes I'll only do, like, a half a packet of Propel- Yeah ... which I know kind of, they, they argue that or they, like, advertise as, like, "It's the perfect balance of electro-" I don't know if it's the perfect balance of electrolytes, but- Um, but some is better than none probably. Yeah. And, uh, Propel is not better than Nuun apparently, so.  [00:18:36] Jesse Schwamb: I, I, I think Nuun is, like, top shelf electrolyte. And you can get it, like I said, in lots of flavors. One of the fun things is you can get it caffeinated or uncaffeinated. I mean, most, most of it is uncaffeinated. But if you're like you wanted to have some, they have a what they call Kona Cola, and it is cola-flavored and has caffeine. It's amazing, because it's, like, just slightly effervescent, a little bit bubbly. Not too much. It's still, like, refreshing, but if you like the cola flavor, which as you know is its own distinct combination of elements and spices, then it's right on. So- Yeah ... it's really nice. So there you go. Yeah. Nuun- I- And if you're gonna take a hydration break because you're being forced to while you're playing soccer, I highly suggest you choose Nuun. That's the way to go.  [00:19:22] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what they're drinking. I think most of the time they're just drinking water.  [00:19:26] Jesse Schwamb: Probably.  [00:19:26] Tony Arsenal: So I, I don't... I mean, I, I think you're supposed to drink something with some electrolytes, so maybe they have some electrolyte-  [00:19:32] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah ...  [00:19:32] Tony Arsenal: water in it. I don't know.  [00:19:33] Jesse Schwamb: I don't know. Probably.  [00:19:34] Join the Telegram Group [00:19:34] Jesse Schwamb: Here's the thing. If you wanna tell us what you like to drink or when you are, let's say, serving the Lord's people by participating in worship through music and you're forced to take a hydration break, as I am at times, then you need to go to t.mereformedbrotherhood. Put that into your browser right now. Take a hydration break and put t.mereformedbrotherhood into your browser and that will send you to a link for Telegram, which is just a little chat app in which we have a small corner of the world. It's brothers and sisters listening to the podcast, interacting, and it's about time, actually, we probably had some kinda taste test stuff-  [00:20:11] Tony Arsenal: Yeah with,  [00:20:12] Jesse Schwamb: like, these kinda hydration drinks. There's so many of them now. Some of them are, like, purposely salty. Some of them are really sweet. Some have all these crazy and wild flavors. Some of them have all kinds of caffeine. So let us know what you like, but best way to do that- Please ... is join the Telegram group. [00:20:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And please do not, uh, do not make your church stop their service for a hydration break. Please don't do that. The only hydration break I wanna hear you talking about in your church service is a baptism. So please-  [00:20:38] Jesse Schwamb: I knew that's  [00:20:38] Tony Arsenal: where you were going ... do not interrupt the Lord's day for a hydration break. Just if you need water, just, like, step out of the room, take a drink of water, come back. Or if you're in a church that lets you have water in the sanctuary, like most do, just take a drink. That's true. You don't have to- Yeah ... stand up. You don't need to have- That's good ... anyone interpret. Just take a quick drink and then be quiet. Just  [00:20:54] Jesse Schwamb: go to the sidelines, maybe sub out- Mm-hmm ... with somebody else who can play bass, and take a quick drink.  [00:21:00] Tony Arsenal: Exactly. Come back. Yeah. Or just dump the, dump the Propel powder straight in your mouth.  [00:21:05] Jesse Schwamb: I thought you were gonna say like have somebody come up, preferably like an elder, and just hose you down with a thing of Gatorade while you're, while you're  playing  [00:21:10] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, exactly. Just go up to the baptismal font, take a scoop of water, dump the Propel directly in the baptis- no, I'm just kidding. I shouldn't joke about that stuff. Yeah.  [00:21:19] Back to Matthew 25 [00:21:19] Tony Arsenal: Anyway, Jesse, I'm excited because although we are probably gonna round out this parable, we're not done with these parables because- Oh, yeah, that's  [00:21:28] Jesse Schwamb: right [00:21:28] Tony Arsenal: although we're gonna finish this parable this week, we'll probably finish it and get started talking about, uh, the next, the little chunk of text, which is not a parable, but we can't really, uh, divorce it from these parables 'cause they're all telling, they're all making the same or a very similar point about what the kingdom of heaven will be like in relation to the end times- Mm-hmm in relation to the eschatological, um, outcome of all things. Uh, and, and Christ in his teaching, um, he kind of rounds out this teaching and finalizes what these parables mean by talking to us about the sheep and the goats. Um, which again, is not really formed like a parable, but, uh, but it has very similar structures. It has some similar elements to it. Um, but it, it's so integral to what these, all what this sort of like, uh, anthology of eschatological parables mean in all the discourse. We really have to cover that to, to cover the others fully. But tonight we're gonna finish our discussion about the parable of the talents, which I'm excited about because I think we're gonna, we're gonna round out on some stuff that, um, I, I hope you've heard, uh, is probably not as, um, prominent as it should be. Uh, and this, we talked about last time that this parable has been, uh, not necessarily applied properly in many popular- Right ... teachings. Uh, and so I'm, I'm sure you've heard not so great interpretations. Hopefully we're gonna give you an interpretation that's a little bit more accurate and faithful to what the Bible teaches. [00:23:00] Reading the Parable Text [00:23:00] Jesse Schwamb: And so we're gonna pick it up in verse 24 of Matthew 25, because you'll probably recall, and if you haven't it's because you need to go back and listen, that we talked about the first two of these servants and the return that they were able to garner on the investment which the Lord gave them when He went away. And then there's the third dude. So we're gonna pick it up there and go all the way to the end of this, which allow us to close it out. So beginning verse 24, "And the one also had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you'd be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, have what is yours.' But the master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave. You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed; therefore you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have at least received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has 10 talents. For to everyone who has more, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does not have,' excuse me, 'what he does have shall be taken away. And throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"  [00:24:18] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:24:19] Textual Notes and Transition [00:24:19] Tony Arsenal: There, there's some, um, some textual things about this that I think, uh, we sh- should at least acknowledge. I don't know that we're gonna dig too deep into them. Um, it is very possible to, um, to read verse 30 Almost as an interpretive statement in itself rather than part of the, um, part of the parable itself. And, and so let me, let me see if I can, can parse that out. So if we read it as though it's part of the parable, then it is the s- the, the master in the parable who is saying, "And cast the worthless servant into the darkness; in the place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." I think that's the most natural reading, so I'll, I'll put my cards on the table that I think that we should read this as part of the parable itself. It's also possible linguistically and grammatically to sort of read this as an explanation, where Christ is now taking this principle of what has happened with the worthless servant, right? That even what he has will be taken away. And then, and then to sort of read this as a commentary that sort of, uh, like we saw before, um, kind of bridges this section with the next. So instead of reading, "And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness," uh, as though it were part of the parable, that it was this master within the parable saying this, we can read this as Christ saying that this is what will happen to those who are worthless servants. And then that follows up with, in verse 31, kind of h- connecting to when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all nations. Right. Th- this next sort of, like, more explicit, non-parabolical, um, uh, eschatological teaching. I think that former one is more natural, but just because it's, it's present in a lot of the commentaries that this is there, I wanted to at least call that out. I don't know that it makes a ton of difference in terms of how we understand the parable, but I do think, you know, part of what it means for us to wrestle through this is not just to take a particular position on the text, but to discuss, like, some of these ambiguities that are present. Um, and, and sometimes, um Sometimes I think we need to be cautious and really think through, because, uh, let me, let me rephrase it this way. None of the teaching in the Bible is sort of uninterpreted, untranslated, raw teaching of Christ. All of this is coming to us from the apostles retelling it, and yes, inspired by the Holy Spirit, so all of it's God's Word. But it's not as though, um, it's not as though Christ was first speaking in Greek. That's the big thing. But there are some places in the New Testament, in the Gospels, where it's not always clear whether a passage is Christ speaking or the, uh, the Gospel writer interpreting what Christ is speaking. This is one of those places where there's a little bit of a question mark about that. Um, again, I think the most natural reading is to read this as part of the statement of the master within the parable, but I did wanna just comment on that before we moved on much further.  [00:27:31] Buried Talent Scandal [00:27:31] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's helpful because I think we've gotta understand that end in light of how it's evolving. And we, we're starting with that stark contrast between the first two, which receive this great reward, which receive accolades and praise, and then you have this one talent servant's response is all about hiddenness. He just digs a hole, puts it in the ground, and hides it away. Which by the way, of course, we talked about this in the other parables, like in the ancient world, burying valuables was recognized as a form of safekeeping. I mean, I think even Josephus mentions that. We talk about the pearl of great price. There was something to be known for, well, I have this valuable thing. The best place for me to, the best place for me to put it so that it isn't compromised is in the ground, in a secret place. And there's like a surface level, I guess, reasonableness to that act. But what's interesting and where it comes in with that heat that you're kinda talking about, that ends up being in the end this grand statement of the eschatological, eschatological reality, is that the parable here with this one talent servant treats all that action as like complete catastrophic failure. And I, I think as much as I can understand it, it's because the master did not give him this talent to protect it from loss. He gave it to him for, to use it for gain And so the servant has mistaken the nature of that commission entirely. He substituted like the security-seeking for risk-taking faithfulness. And so I think that informs some of then what happens in these latter verses here, like when we get all the way down to 30. Because I think when we read that, we see the, like the redistribution as scandalous. But the scandal really is in this lack of actions. Like gifts exercised grow, but gifts buried, they just atrophy. So the one t- talent servant's talent is taken because he's, he's already been treated as n- as it was, was nothing. He's functionally like forfeited it by burying it. And so the transfer of the 10-talent servant is the formal confirmation of what his own choices had, had already produced. I think there is something there about like the eschatological reality, reality that will unfold in the judgment, which of course leads to, into the end of this chapter  [00:29:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right on that.  [00:29:39] Misreading The Master [00:29:39] Tony Arsenal: Um, what we see the problem with the one talent servant is not, um, not that he's not productive.  [00:29:49] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:29:49] Tony Arsenal: I mean, I think that's, that's actually the symptom of the illness, not the illness itself. What we see with the, the one talent servant is that he misunderstands his task, as you're pointing out, but more foundationally, he misunderstands his master, right? And that, that's really the, the main point of the parable when we kinda get... You know, Christ, um, when He's telling a parable, He explains the parable. Sometimes He doesn't explain the parable at all. He just sorta drops the parable and then moves on. Other times He will give the interpretation itself, like directly. We saw that in the parable of the, uh, of the soils or the parable of the sower. Um, and, and other times the kind of like the main explanation of the parable is, is actually embedded in the parable. And I think for this parable, the main explanation is when the, the one talent servant, uh, comes forward and he, when he's explaining why he did what he did-  [00:30:47] Jesse Schwamb: Right [00:30:48] Tony Arsenal: he says, "Well, I knew you were a," uh, let me just find it for sure here. He says, um, "I knew that you were a..." I just lost it. My brain is totally lost here. You ever have that happen where you're trying to find a word- Yes ... on a text and you just can't? He says, "Master," in verse 24, he says, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid. I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours." There's a number of statements in here that just don't make any sense. Like, they're just... Like you said, a lot of these parables have kind of like a chump figure, where, like, he's sort of like the designated idiot of the parable. [00:31:31] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:31:32] Tony Arsenal: In this instance, there's so much wrong that it's almost hard to find something right. And, you know, he starts out, he says, "I knew you were a hard man." There's nothing in the parable, there's nothing that suggests that this is a hard man. There's nothing to suggest that. He, as we said last week, he trusts these servants with an almost unimaginable amount of wealth, right? He just leaves hundreds of years worth of wealth in the, in the, like... And it's not even like he's going off to war and he may never be coming back. He's just going on a journey.  [00:32:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:32:05] Tony Arsenal: He's just traveling for a little while, and he's like, "I'm gonna leave 100 years worth of labor with this guy and 40 years worth of labor with this guy and 20 years worth of labor with this guy." He, what, what, in what world is that a hard man who just blesses and trusts his servants with that amount of unimaginable wealth? But then he says, "I knew that you, uh, reaped where you did not sow and gathered where you scattered no seed." First of all, um, what kind of person accumulates this kind of wealth without reaping, uh, without the, like, a- apart from the principle of reaping and sowing and gathering and, and scattering? Like, he obviously is a very successful businessman. Um, the, the fact that this, uh, servant is couching this in agricultural terms, I think it's reasonable to think that this is a very successful landowner who has made good use of his land, has turned a profit Obviously he's reaping where he sows and he's gathering where he scattered or he wouldn't have this kind of money to throw around to leave with his servants in the first place. But the servant doesn't recognize that the fact that he was given one talent is in fact the master reaping or sowing and scattering the seed of these talents. So he's saying like, "Well, you reap where you have not sown," but the fact is like he was sown a full talent worth of resources and he, the, the master expected to reap what he had sown when he gets back. So this servant He's worthless and he's lazy, but he's also just kind of dumb in that he just doesn't- Right ... recognize the reality of what's going on. He has an incorrect understanding of who the master is. He thinks he's a hard man, when actually he's an incredibly trusting and generous master, right? The, the ESV masks this as servants. We're not talking about hired hands here. We're talking about slaves. Right. We're talking about h- probably about household slaves. This is doulos. These are the slaves that work in the fields, um, as opposed to, like, diakonos, which are the slaves that work in the house, right? These are, these are field servants. These are laborers that are indentured or are, are in servitude, and he gives them enough wages, enough labor, enough money, they could just take off and leave with it. They could buy their own freedom with this. Right. He trusts them with that. That's not a description of a hard man, a hard, lazy man who sows w- reaps where he doesn't sow and gathers where he doesn't scatter. So the primary issue here with this servant is not that he's lazy, although he is lazy. It's not that he's wicked. He is wicked. It's that he doesn't recognize who the master is. He doesn't understand who the master is and what is expected of him as a servant of that master, which I think, I think, as I've thought about this over the last week or so, I think that actually says everything about the eschatological import of this, right? Yes. Who is it that's not going to be saved in the last day?  [00:34:56] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:34:57] Tony Arsenal: It's the people who don't recognize the master. Right on. The people who think that the master is a hard man who reaps where he has not sown and gathers where he has not scattered. Well, if we think that's who God is, we have a lot of trouble coming our way. [00:35:10] Fearful False Theology [00:35:10] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that is the heart, right, of this dude's sin. It's a false theology of God that produces then this fearful inaction. Because, like you said, it's not just that he's been lazy. He has constructed this weird, distorted picture of his master, and then he allows that distortion to govern his behavior. So this, quote-unquote, "fear" is not like the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom, but it's this kind of craven dread that's rooted in a mischaracterization of the master's entire character. And one of the things that I think, among many, that's really great about the Reformed theological tradition is that it's always assisted, and I th- hopefully we along with it in our conversations, that, like, the right theology is not merely academic. It does shape the whole life, which is why, like, Calvin famously opens his institutes with this observation that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are bound together. So- Yeah ... a person who genuinely knows the living God as gracious, generous, long-suffering, with that kind of hesed kind of love, who is good- W- that person will be motivated to active, trusting faithfulness. A person who privately believes God to be harsh and demanding is always, I think, going to retreat in this fearful, minimal kind of minimum champion-type compliance. It's the same thing, I think I always think about this for some reason, and mention it a lot probably, but it's the same thing with Joseph's brothers finding all their money back in the sacks-  [00:36:31] Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  [00:36:32] Jesse Schwamb: with their food. It's, like, in that instant moment, all they have is fear and dread. And it- for this guy, that's exactly what he has. But it doesn't start, like you're saying, merely because he realizes that he should have done more, or he's comparing his return with that of everybody else, or even that he's going back and taking a look at his own actions and finding them to be full of want or lack. In fact, he does a really good job, at least in his own mind, theologically justifying his behavior. So here, what he, the real crime, the real shame, the real sin is that somehow he views the master as harsh and demanding and exploitative. That's wild. But of course, that was the root of everything else, which I think does give us pause to reflect on our own lives, like I said, as we come to understanding how this parable reads us. [00:37:20] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:37:21] Red Letters And Commentary [00:37:21] Tony Arsenal: And, um- Part of the reason why I think it's important to understand what I was talking about earlier with, you know, the, the Gospels are an interesting sort of like composite document in that, yes, they contain the true sayings of Jesus, the true, true, um, words of Christ. But this is also, a- and I promise that this will loop back around, this is, um, this is important for us. The red letters are no more God's word than the black letters, right? Mm-hmm. And what I mean by that is, like, the, the so-called words of Christ in scripture are not more inspired or more profitable than the words that are the commentary of the apostles. And I only say so-called, and I'll explain why I say that. As I said, like, Matthew is translating, uh, he- first of all, he's recalling what Christ has said. He's, he's probably not, um, sitting there with a, with a quill and a, you know, a piece of paper or a piece of parchment- Right ... transcribing what's, what Christ is saying as he goes. Right? He's, he was there. Matthew was there. He's recalling what Christ has said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He's making editorial decisions about what Christ taught in terms of like, what of Christ's teaching do I capture? What do I summarize? And I think there's ... It's important because every word is inspired, but also it's understandable. And what I mean here, and what, the reason I'm kind of belaboring that is I think there's an interesting thing that happens in verse 29. It says, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. And from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken." So this, this concept actually that, um, that verse 30 might be, uh, might actually be Matthew's commentary or even Christ's explanation of the parable, I think that actually, that actually expands to verse 29 in some of the commentators. So if we read it this way, and I think this, this may be valuable for us to at least ponder. If we read it this way, verse 27 is still the master in the parable space. It says, "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has 10 talents." There's a way of understanding this text, uh, and it's grammatically acceptable. I think theologically it doesn't change a lot, but it's worth us at least considering this. There's a way of reading this text where that's the end of the parable, and then Christ is explaining the parable, or Ma- or even maybe Matthew is commenting on the parable. It says, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But to the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Now, I think that, um, as I said, the most natural way to read this is that the parable proper ends with verse 30, that all of this is part of the parable, all of this is the master in the parable speaking. But I do think verses 29 and 30 take on a more explanatory, um, uh, explanatory role, and this is the main reason why. The, the one parable, one talent servant in the parable, he's not properly described as the one who has not, right? He had one talent. He was given one talent. Right. It's not as though he had zero talents. The one who has not, even what he has will be taken away, and the one who has, more will be given.  [00:41:01] Has And Has Not [00:41:01] Tony Arsenal: This is actually, I think, where we can go really sideways on this parable. I hear this parable often interpreted as sort of this understanding that, like, God has blessed His people with certain gifts, and we have to use our gifts in the kingdom to be productive, and people who use their gifts in productive fashion will be given more responsibility and more opportunities. People who don't use their gifts, whatever opportunities they have will be taken away from them. Now, I, I would argue that's probably true on a practical level, um, and that's just actually just true in general, right? Right. A person who has responsibility, th- think of, like, your working environment. M- you know, all, most of our listeners are not working in regular pastoral ministry. This is one of those areas where I think, actually, the corporate world is more representative of how things are. Um, in the corporate world, if you are given responsibility and you excel and use that responsibility well and you are a productive servant of your company that you work for, you're going to be given more responsibility, whether that's in the form of a promotion, which is the ideal circumstances, or whether that's just your responsibilities as assigned, a job description expanding without pay. Either way, if you do a good job, if you, if you take the sphere of influence, the sphere of responsibility that you're given and you do a good job and you shepherd that well and you steward that well, that sphere of influence, that sphere of responsibility will expand. Um- If you squander it and you sit in your office watching TikTok videos or listening to music and you don't use that, uh, responsibility well, that sphere of influence will shrink, and ultimately it will shrink until you no longer have a job, right? It works a little differently, I think, in, like, traditional pastoral roles, and I think there are some in our audience that, them, are in those roles that this may not fit. That's a good general principle. I don't think that's what this is teaching. Like, I don't think this, this parable is about, like, productive ministry opportunities. Right. And if it was, we wouldn't be talking about people who have none, have not, right? We would be talking about people who have less. We'd be talking about people who are given less responsibility. The person who has no responsibility is who's in view here. And that's why- Mm ... I think it actually, this is shifting, this ex- explanation, whether it's, uh, sort of like an explanation, an explanatory punchline to the parable that's part of the parable itself, or whether it's Jesus or Matthew commenting on the meaning of the parable. The difference between those two things is important for us to think about. It's not so important in terms of what the actual meaning is. Because the difference here is that what we've now done is we've shifted from the context of a financial grounded analogy in the parable to now a broader discussion about the fact that there are those who have, and there are those who have not. And the people who have will be given more, and the people who have not will be taken away from. And if we were talking strictly financially, then now we're, like, in, like, Occupy Wall Street, 1% kind of era. We're talking about salvation. We're talking about, um, we're talking about the fact that God gives salvation to some, and He does not give salvation to others. He gives grace to some, and He does not give grace to others. And to those who have grace, more grace will be given. To those who have not grace, more will be taken away. And the outcome of that- Is that the worthless servant who is the one who has not, the worthless servant will be cast into the outer darkness, right? This is a, an explanation of what it means to be a worthless servant who ultimately ends their time. Ends is not the right word. Who ultimately has the outcome of s- of outer darkness for all eternity. If this parable is just about how we use our giftings and our skills and our money for the kingdom, and we're expected to be productive and to, like, increase the kingdom through our tithing and through our, like our service, then this comment about, like, the outer darkness is really out of place. Unless, unless we earn our salvation by that. Which of course we know we don't.  [00:45:22] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Right.  [00:45:24] Wicked And Slothful Heart [00:45:24] Jesse Schwamb: Here's how I think everything you said is true, and the scripture actually bears this out because it was exactly where you're going with that, which is we're talking more about the identity. Like, what, what makes this servant or slave worthless? That's the critical question. And then if we understand that, it'll help inform how we then interpret this idea of sheeps and goats, which we'll get to in a whole other episode. But if you look at verses 26 and 27, where the master then responds to this slave calls him wicked and slothful, slothful, right? So that his, his basically lack of usefulness comes embedded or underneath those two terms. So one, obviously the wickedness here is moral. It's a failure to fulfill a covenantal obligation to the master, which we've been talking about. So again, it's not just about laziness. Like there's, there's so much more there. It's as if that's the entry point for the master to bring condemnation on him in two forms. One is that wickedness. The second is this idea of like slothfulness, which is dispen- I was gonna say dispensational, but what I meant to say is dispositional. So it's like, uh, like a subtle inertia of the will, and together they're describing a person, and I think this is a critical point. This is a person whose heart has never been genuinely aligned with the master's purposes. Now, when we understand it that way, I think, then everything that follows makes a lot more sense because it's not just about bad timing in the market. It's not just about being fearful that you're gonna lose money and you're risk-averse, so therefore you hid, hid everything. It's really this idea that this, this s- slave, this one talent slave, he was not on board, not vibing with, not aligned with, however you wanna say it, with the master's purposes from the very beginning. And there is maybe we might say like a minimum of faithfulness, even interest on the deposit that God requires. But the question of course is never am I doing what the five talent servant does, but it's always am I using what I have been given? And in this way, like are we finding ourselves aligned, that our hearts are leaning into, that we find ourselves tilting towards what God has for us, both understanding who He is and who we are in light of who He is. What I find interesting is I found some really unique commentary from the great puritan William Ames in his book Conscience, with the Power and Cases Thereof. That's a title that only a puritan could- ... forward, um, where he actually treats this failure. So getting again to the sense of like why is it so grievous? Like in other words, why does the action of this servant, which we've already kind of touched on, lead into basically a character attack on the servant, and why is the connection between those two things legitimate? What he basically says is that he treats the failure to use one's gifts as God has given as a violation of the ninth commandment, which is bearing false witness against God's own estimation of those gifts. So this slothful servant, by burying his talent, effectively says, "This is not worth using." That is like the thing that God has given me, who God is Himself, I reject fully and outright. So why would that person then not be cast into outer darkness in kind of keeping with both like the, the breadth and scope of this parable, but also essentially what it's teaching about who this last, you know, servant is? [00:48:33] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and you know, as you say that, I think too, um- There's an element of this that is Because it ties to this servant's misunderstanding of the master, and then, a- and I think you're, you're bringing Calvin in here and, and sort of the idea that our knowledge of God and our kn- knowledge of self are so, like, intertwined that it- Right ... it's almost difficult to understand which comes first. Yes. Yes. Calvin concludes that the knowledge of God is logically prior, but he, he also acknowledges that, like, it's really tough to sort of like figure out which one is more logically prior. This servant starts from the understanding that the master is a wicked master, that he is an immoral, lazy master. I- and it's, it's ironic. It does- the text doesn't say this, but I think it's a reasonable extrapolation. Um, the, the wicked, slothful servant projects his own wickedness and his own slothfulness onto the master, right? He, he projects that the master is a wicked man, is a hard man, and also that he's lazy. He, he does- he reaps where he doesn't sow, he gathers where he doesn't scatter. And the action of the, of the, the character of the servant is not derived from his inaction. Right. It's his inaction that- Yes ... causes the, or it's his, his character- Character ... that drives his lack of action, right?  [00:50:12] Sheep Goats Identity [00:50:12] Tony Arsenal: The good and faithful servants, they're not, and this is where we're gonna come when we come next week. Like, this is where we're gonna go when we get to next week's. Just as maybe, like, I, I want you to listen next week, but you probably don't need to, 'cause I'm gonna give you the whole punchline here.  [00:50:27] Jesse Schwamb: Wow.  [00:50:27] Tony Arsenal: The sheep act like sheep because they're sheep.  [00:50:29] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:50:30] Tony Arsenal: They don't become sheep because they do sheep things. They do sheep things because they're sheep, and the goats do goat things because they're goats.  [00:50:37] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:50:37] Tony Arsenal: The wicked, lazy servant does wicked, lazy servant things because he's a wicked lady- lazy servant, right? He buries the talent in the ground because he's a wicked, lazy servant. The good, faithful servants j- just do what good, faithful servants do. They, they make a return on the master's talents because that's what they do, right? And I think where we have to be really careful and where, uh, the other pitfall that this parable can bring us to, and I kinda referenced it a little bit earlier, is there can be sort of this subtle works righteousness that creeps in, that we can believe if we're really good and productive for the kingdom, then that's what will earn us the good and faithful servant commendation when we, we cross into glory. The reality is there are those who cross into glory and hear good and faithful servant, right? There are those who will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master." And there are those who will not. They will have what little they have taken away from them, and they will be cast into the outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth, right? That's not a statement on what we've earned. It's a statement on who we are.  [00:51:48] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:51:49] Tony Arsenal: So you can either be the faithful servant who trusts the character of the Lord, who doesn't think Him to be a hard man, who reaps where He doesn't sow and gathers where He doesn't scatter. You can trust the master, and in the act of trusting the master and knowing His character, you just do what good, faithful servants do. You work hard, you follow the servant, the master's lead, and you produce a return on what is there. Right? In, a- and we didn't talk about this too much. In effect, these servants are reflecting the nature of the master.  [00:52:23] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:52:23] Tony Arsenal: Because you don't get to the point where you can leave 100 years worth of wealth to one servant, and 40 years worth of wealth to another servant, and 20 years worth of wealth to another servant if you have not yourself been a productive, faithful person who knows how to reap and sow appropriately, right? [00:52:42] Gospel Joy Or Darkness [00:52:42] Tony Arsenal: That is the key to this parable,