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In this solo episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal tackles the concerning theological trend of "Divine Council Theology" and its recent resurgence within Reformed circles. He offers a critical analysis of Michael Heiser's influential work and its problematic popularization by Reformed figures like Doug Van Dorn and John Moffitt. Tony demonstrates how redefining the biblical term "Elohim" to include both God and created spiritual beings in the same ontological category fundamentally undermines the creator-creature distinction essential to Christian orthodoxy. Through careful examination of systematic theological categories, communicable and incommunicable attributes, and implications for Christology, he reveals why this seemingly academic redefinition poses serious threats to biblical monotheism and classical Reformed theology. Key Takeaways Divine Council Theology, popularized by Michael Heiser and now being promoted within Reformed circles, attempts to redefine "Elohim" as a functional category that includes both God and created spiritual beings. This theological trend commits an etymological fallacy by redefining the predominant usage of "Elohim" (which refers to the God of Israel in ~2,300 of 2,600 occurrences) based on minority usages. The approach dangerously blurs the fundamental creator-creature distinction that is essential to Christian monotheism and orthodox theology. Proponents incorrectly classify divine power as a communicable attribute rather than recognizing omnipotence as an incommunicable attribute that cannot be shared with creatures. The theological system makes problematic analogies to the incarnation, showing a confused understanding of the hypostatic union and potentially opening the door to Arian implications. This theology represents a concerning return to concepts the early church fathers fought against when confronting pagan Greek thought, rather than a retrieval of biblical teaching. Departing from the "pattern of sound words" handed down through church history in favor of novel interpretations should raise significant warning flags. Key Concepts The Creator-Creature Distinction The most fundamental division in Christian theology is not between spiritual and material beings, but between the uncreated Creator and everything else that exists. Divine Council Theology dangerously undermines this distinction by placing God and created spiritual beings in the same category of "Elohim." While proponents acknowledge God as the uncreated Creator, they nevertheless insist on categorizing Him alongside angels, demons, and other spiritual entities based on shared attributes of power or function. This categorization system parallels pagan worldviews more than biblical theology, where God exists in a class of one. By defining "Elohim" as a functional category related to spiritual power rather than an ontological one, this approach inadvertently returns to a hierarchical view of spiritual beings with God merely at the "top of the totem pole" rather than in an entirely separate and unique category of existence. This framework subtly but significantly undermines biblical monotheism by suggesting God shares a fundamental nature with His creatures. Communicable vs. Incommunicable Attributes Divine Council Theology mishandles the traditional theological distinction between God's communicable and incommunicable attributes. In classical Reformed theology, communicable attributes (like love or wisdom) can be shared with creatures in a limited, analogical way, while incommunicable attributes (like omnipotence, eternality, or divine simplicity) belong exclusively to God and cannot be shared without making the creature into God. Proponents of Divine Council Theology erroneously suggest that the power denoted by "Elohim" is a communicable attribute that God shares with spiritual beings, rather than recognizing omnipotence as properly incommunicable. This misclassification creates theological incoherence: if God could truly share His omnipotence with creatures, those creatures would effectively become equal to God in power, creating the logical impossibility of multiple omnipotent beings. This confusion of categories demonstrates how this theological system fails to maintain proper distinctions that are essential for preserving the uniqueness and transcendence of God in Christian theology. Memorable Quotes "Christianity and biblical Judaism—the primary distinction is not between spiritual and matter... The primary distinction when we're talking about the most absolute line is the distinction between the uncreated creator and his creation." "Rather than rely on the safe time-tested words and concepts that have been proven and validated, and attacked and defended and have been victorious for hundreds and thousands of years... Moffitt and Van Dorn think it is smarter and safer to depart from the pattern of sound words rather than to keep the pattern of sound words because they think that they are able to look at the Bible the way basically no one ever has in the 2000 years of the church and find something they haven't." "These teachings are pagan. This is talking about returning to a world populated by spiritual beings, and God is kind of just on the highest part of the totem pole... We're just returning to something that the early church fought hard to get rid of when they came out of their pagan culture." Resources Mentioned Reformed Arsenal article series on Divine Council Theology Full Transcript [00:00:24] Introduction and Episode Setup Tony Arsenal: Welcome to episode 461 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I am Tony, and today it's just me. Hey, brothers and sisters. We had a little bit of a scheduling conflict this week, so Jesse is taking the week off and uh, it gives me an opportunity to talk about something that I've been doing a little bit of research on. [00:00:47] Affirmations and Denials Tony Arsenal: Hopefully the listener has noticed that Jesse and I have been trying to keep our affirmations and denials a little bit tighter so we can get into the meat of the episode a little bit quicker. But occasionally we do run into a denial, usually a denial, but we run into a denial that, uh, we often say this could be an episode of its own. And so today is one of those episodes. So I'm not gonna give you my normal affirmation or denial. I'm just gonna jump into it. Now this is gonna be a little bit off the cuff. I've been doing some research, so I may not have as much of the receipts as the kids say, um, as I normally would. But I am writing a series of articles on this issue over@reformedarsenal.com. I'll make sure to put the link to the first article in the show notes. All of the receipts are there, all of the timestamps for the podcast episodes that I'll be. Discussing your critiquing. Are there citations for research work that I'm doing? All that stuff is there. So if you're interested in digging into the meet and you're the kind of guy who, or girl who likes to nerd out in the footnotes, then head over to uh reformed arsenal.com. You'll find the series pretty quick. [00:01:56] Introduction to Divine Counsel Theology Tony Arsenal: What I wanted to talk about today, and I'm glad we have kind of a whole episode, uh, to talk about it, is a movement, uh, that has some foothold in reformed theology. Uh, it's not new, uh, it didn't start in reformed theology, but for some reason, uh, those who are within our orbits tend to be a little bit enamored by this kind of theology. I'm not exactly sure why. [00:02:19] Michael Heiser's Influence Tony Arsenal: This theology is often called Divine Counsel Theology, and it was really, um, you know, it's not entirely new even with, with this figure, but it was really made popular and sort of, um, spread about and made accessible by the late Michael Heiser. Um, part of this is because he was just a very winsome, uh, guy. He took. Sort of highfalutin academic concepts and was able to bring them down to, uh, to an understandable level, including things like ancient near Eastern context, biblical, you know, ex of Jesus Hebrew language, other ancient near Eastern languages, which of course, that's that kind of stuff is what this podcast is all about, taking difficult, sometimes technical concepts. Talking about them, translating them into kind of the language that everybody else speaks. So that project was fine. The issue is the direction that he goes with a lot of the theology. So Michael Heiser writes a book called Unseen Realms, which is seen as kind of a retrieval of the supernatural mindset and worldview of the Bible. Uh, there's a lot to be commended about that, uh, enterprise, about that intention. I do agree with part of what he has to say when he says that we've lost a lot of the supernatural context of the Bible. Um, but I think where he goes with it is a direction that we really ought not go and we'll dig into it. [00:03:43] Critique of Reformed Fringe Podcast Tony Arsenal: The reason this is coming up now is because recently there's been a series of articles and podcasts put out by a show called The Reformed Fringe. Uh, some if you're in the Telegram chat, which you can join at, uh, t Me slash Reformed Brotherhood. You've already seen some of this stuff. We've already talked about it a little bit. But the Reformed Fringe is a podcast that sort of tries to fill a space that's something like Haunted Cosmos, which we've talked about before. Um, fills sort of looking at the weird fringe kind of things in the world. Ghosts, paranormal activity, trying to explain it through a biblical, uh, lens or worldview. Again, that's a commendable. Effort. There are strange things that happen in our world that are not easily explainable or at all explainable by natural, uh, naturalistic means. And so coming to those things with the Bible as our, uh, rubric to instruct us on how the world works is a commendable thing. But again, this project, which is by and large, um, and we'll get into maybe, but by and large is just an extension of, um, Heiser's project really goes in directions that cause all sorts of problems down the road. So the podcast is, uh, run by a guy named Doug Van Dorn, who most of the audience probably hasn't heard of. I have had run-ins with Doug over the years. Um, the last time I ran into him actually was revolving around similar kinds of issues that I'm gonna be calling out today. Um, and it, it ended up with him kind of having to depart from the reform pub, uh, maybe to put it a little bit politely and, um. You know, he has, he has taken, he's theology, which was not explicitly reformed. Heiser was not a reformed guy. He had no claims to be a Calvinist in many ways. Uh, he was sort of anticon confessional in, in that he opposed not the idea of a faith statement, but he sort of purported to come to the Bible with no biases, with no tradition. He wanted to approach what he called the Naked Bible. That was actually the name of his podcast before he died a few years ago. And so what Doug Van Dorn is, has done who, uh, Doug is a claims to be a 1689 Reformed Baptist. He's a pastor in Colorado, I believe. Um, he has tried to take this divine counsel theology and bring it into the reformed world. So he comes at it with a, a slightly different angle, but for the most part, his conclusions are the same. And in many cases he just straight up steals ER's work and doesn't cite it, doesn't do much to, uh, articulate that this is not his original research. Um, so he's taken that and he's trying to bring it into the reformed world. And Heiser himself was actually quite influential when I was a, an admin in the reform pub. We would run into lots of, lots of young reformed guys. Who were really enamored with this and they really saw, he's project as sort of a return to a pure form of exo Jesus that really got at what the Hebrew was saying. And it tickled, I think, kind of an intellectual, uh, an intellectual itch that a lot of those guys had combined with sort of this desire for the new and novel, um, which is in itself can be pretty dangerous. To sort of make things a little bit more pressing, Heiser has teamed up with John Moffitt, who many of our listeners may know. Uh, he's one of the co-hosts and founders of the podcast, Theo Cast, uh, which otherwise is a perfectly fine podcast. Um, he's also a 1680 or claims to be a 1689 Reform Baptist. He's a pastor. Um, their podcast is sort of what you would get if you had, uh, and I don't mean this to be pejorative, although maybe it is a little pejorative. Theo cast is what you would get if you took r Scott Clark. Uh, you made it much less intellectual and careful, and then made it Baptist. And what I mean by that is Scott's whole project. In large part is to recover and to emphasize the law gospel distinction. Theo cast has taken that and sort of cranked it up to 11. Uh, and they have um, they have sort of moved away from a lot of the classical reform distinctions of the law itself, so they don't full on deny the third use of the law. But in practice they would say that, um, good works is no kind of evidence whatsoever for your, um, for your faith. It's no kind of evidence of your, your salvation, which of course are confessions themselves. Um, say that there is a kind of evidential value to assessing our good works within certain reason and con. So the show is otherwise orthodox. You know, I I, I recall hearing episodes where they were refuting things like EFS, um, but because of that, Moffitt brings with him sort of an air of credibility and an error in orthodoxy that, um, the show itself probably hasn't merited. If Doug just recorded, pushed, play and put it on the. I don't think there would've been too much, uh, too much of a following. He would've probably, you know, grabbed a couple people who heard it and thought it was interesting. But because Moffitt has such a following on Theo cast, he brings with him a large audience, and that makes it particularly dangerous because his name attached to it makes it more widespread. It makes it feel like it's safer. And so I think a lot of people, uh, assume that what he's saying is orthodox and good. And I think what we'll find out is, is that it's not. So I think that's enough ProGo. [00:09:10] Elohim and Its Implications Tony Arsenal: I'm gonna go ahead and, and jump into explaining kind of what the theology that we're talking about is and, and what the problems are. So this all started kicked off, uh, with a series of podcast episodes and the first episode, and again, I don't have the specific titles here. I'll put a bibliography in the show notes on this one just so you have links to all the relevant episodes. Um, this all kind of kicked off with a podcast episode called something like The History of the Word God, or something like that. And, um, basically what Moffitt and Van Dorn want to do is they wanna look at the word Elohim in the Bible, which of course is a plural noun. Uh, in Hebrew, the, the suffix, just like in English, we might add an S or an ES, um, to a word to make it plural. Or in Greek, it's usually, if it's a masculine, uh, noun, it's, it's an oi or an omicron iota that sort of always sound at the end. Um, or when we, we talk about Latin, you have, you have like, um, you add the I at the end, so we say octopi instead of octopuses or something like that. Cacti instead of cactus. Although both of those are kind of pig Latins, um, in, in Hebrew for, uh, for masculine nouns. The suffix that you add to make it plural, is that eam sound. It's a, it's an Im if you transliterate in English. So the word Elohim is a plural of the original noun El which is a proper name for a eury deity. But it came to just be the singular word for, for God. Um, and, and in non-biblical language, we would say in a God. Um, and we do see in English, there are in, in Hebrew, in the Bible, there are places where we see the singular of this. It's kind of an older form, so it doesn't show up as much. Um, but by and large when we see the word Elohim in the Bible. Something like, uh, outta 2,600 references or more than 2,600 references in the Bible. Um, the word Elohim is associated with a single, a singular noun, and it only refers to the God of Israel. What Moffitt and Van Dorn want to do is they want to take this word and they wanna define it based on the abnormal. Uh, use of it. So the vast minority, minority of cases in the Old Testament, the word Elohim refers to the gods or to a non, like what we might say is lower G God, either like the God, Baal, or some sort of collective reference to the gods, the gods of the nation, or something like that. They wanna take the fact that there is this variation in the way the word is used and sort of radically redefine how the Bible uses it. And this, this is what I call and what a lot of people would call an etymological fallacy. So what they're doing is, instead of, uh, looking at the word and defining it based on how it's used in an, in an overwhelming fashion, they're looking at sort of the etymology of the word. And then they're using the fact that there are, uh, some pretty Dr. Dramatically minority cases where the word is used in a different way and they wanna redefine it and say, in, in all or most cases in the Bible actually. This is what the word means. So they look at the word L, which from its root has something to do probably with the, with the word for power or something like that. Um, they wanna look at it. And, you know, if you read someone like Vos in Reformed dogmatics in his volume one, he talks about how when we see the name Elohim for God, it denotes or, or refers to his sort of power, his omnipotence, which is all good and fine, just like we would say Yahweh. Uh, as a proper name refers to God sort of in his covenant role. It's his covenant name, his, his intimate, familial name that he shares, uh, with his people or he reveals to his people. Elohim is a more abstract name and it refers to God's power. Usually we see it in relation to his cre creation. So in Genesis one, um, when it's God created, it's Elohim created, which is also important and relevant for, for later. So what they wanna do is they want to say that Elohim actually. What Act Elohim actually means is it's a reference to a class of beings, spiritual beings, and that that it means sort of any spiritual being that has some type of supernatural power or enhanced power, some sort of spiritual power. They do this by saying that the noun is not an ontological noun, it's actually like a noun of function. Um, so like we would say a, a good example in English would be a painter that's a noun of function. It's a title of function. It any person could be called a painter if they engage in the verbal action of painting. And so what they're saying is that any being that engages in the action of having power. Is, uh, is an Elohim. And so that would include, in narrating at least, it would include angels, demons. Uh, I, you know, I don't know that they've said this explicitly, but I, I think Heiser would've included things like ghosts, disembodied spirits, um, humans in sort of the intermediary state might be considered Elohim humans in the, in the, um, this. Life are called Elohim, uh, in some instances. So, so this is where the Divine Council theology comes from, and that comes from Psalm 82, I think, where there's this council of Elohim that, that Yahweh seems to be speaking to and deliberating with. Or you look at Joe, where the sons of God come and they sort of pulled court in God's heavenly presence. So he would say those are examples where the, the collected Elohim. God being one of the Elohim are somehow gathered in this heavenly divine counsel. Now what this does is just devastating to Christian theology is it takes God who exists in a class of one. The, the, the God of the universe is, is the only uncreated entity in all of of the world. And so when we start to talk, and this is ironic, when we start to talk about the ways to divide up the world, the ancient world, the, the pagan world tended to divide the world between, um. Between spiritual and material. So think of g Gnostics where matter was bad and spirit was good. Or even think of something like, um, the Greek pantheons, the Greek, um, Greek religion, like ancient Greek mythology. You have sort of the spirits and the spiritual world and the gods inhabit a spiritual, have a spiritual existence for the most part. And then you have the physical world where kind of people live, uh, at least while they're alive. Christianity and, and Judaism, at least Biblical Judaism. On the other hand, the, the primary distinction is not between spiritual and matter. There is of course that distinction. There are humans, which are spiritual and material. There are animals which are entirely material, and then there are angels which are entirely spiritual. And so we would say that God is spiritual. So that is a distinction in the world. But the primary distinction when we're talking about the most absolute line is the distinction between the, the uncreated creator and his creation. So what Moffitt, Moffitt and Van Dorn do is instead of observing that biblical distinction, which really all of Christian theology and Christian monotheism rests on, they wanna say that instead, the distinction is between the. Um, is between the Elohim as the sort of spiritual beings and then sort of everything else of the created world, and so they wouldn't deny that God, that Yahweh is. The uncreated creator of all things, but they would say he's an uncreated Elohim and that there is a class of created Elohim. So I don't, I don't think you have to go too far down this road to see what this does. It puts God on the same level as his creatures in at least one way. Um, and I think we'll find out later, uh, as we talk through this, actually it does it in a couple ways that are really, uh, really can be problematic as we go. And so, uh, just let me be clear if all that, if all that Moffitt and Van Dorn were saying, if, if all they said was, um, we can use the word Elohim to describe any creature. Or God that doesn't have a body. Elohim is a synonym for the word spirit. Um, that wouldn't be the wisest way to speak, I don't think. It wouldn't be the, the most, um, felicitous or safe way to talk about the distinction. But it wouldn't be controversial. There'd be nothing wrong with that. It'd just be using a different word. It'd be like if I said, well, instead of the word spirit, I'm gonna use the word bibly bop, you know? So we have. We have God who is bibly bop, and we have the angels who is bibly bop, and humans are biblio bop. And also material, again, not the safest way to talk. There's no reason to use that alternative language when the Bible gives us perfectly legitimate language. Um, but it wouldn't be a problem. But Moffit and Van Dorn go. Way past this and maybe they don't realize it. I've asked them on Twitter, I asked them to clarify. I didn't get a response. So if they are hearing this, which maybe they will, maybe they won't. If they're hearing this, I would really love to get some clarification on some of these questions because I would love nothing more than to be able to say that this was all a big misunderstanding and that actually all they're saying is that there is this spiritual existence. That, um, we can put all things that are spirit without a body or spirit with a body. We can put all those in the same category and call that category Elohim. Again, I don't think that's safe, but if that's all they were doing, that would be fine. But we see in their episodes, and I'm gonna try to grab some quotes, um, from, from some of the articles I've written. But again, go read the articles because this goes way more in depth. It's got timestamps of it. It's got links to their episodes. Don't take my word for it. Go listen to their. Words and, and check, you know, check my math on this. But what they do is they actually start to, in, in an attempt to justify why it's okay to put God in the same category as his creatures. Um, and in at least one way, they start to make some weird statements that have a lot of systematic theology, um, implications that are, are just really, really risky. So, for example, one of the ways that they try to kind of explain this, I'm gonna pull, pull the article that I wrote up here. So, great podcasting. [00:19:34] Communicable vs. Incommunicable Attributes Tony Arsenal: Um, one of the ways they start to try to do this is again, they, they wanna say they use this distinction between incommunicable and communicable attributes, right? So in, in Christian theology, classically speaking, a communicable attribute of God is an attribute that he shares or could share with. A creature and primarily we're talking, you know, we're talking about attributes that he shares with his image bearers. So something like, um, love. Love is a communicable attribute. Our love is different than God's love, but when we say love, we're talking about the same basic category of things God loves differently than we do. But love and in a human sense, and love in a, in a divine sense, are still talking about the same thing. There's a point of contact there. Um, an incommunicable attribute would be something like, um, something like eternity. Right. Eternity is not just an extended infinite sequence of time. If it was, he could share that with us. Um, but eternity or infinity is an entirely different way of existing than a creature could ever, could ever exist in divine Simplicity is another example. Um, God could not make humans simple because simplicity entails all sorts of things like infinity. Um, eternality. Um, you know, omnipresence, omni, potent, all of these things are entailed by simplicity. So God could not make a creature infinite because in order for it to be infinite, it would have to be God. Uh, God could not make a creature simple, uh, in the, in the sense of no composition of parts. Uh, because that would mean that that creature is actually God and has no composer. So, so those would be the classic, uh, incommunicable attributes and omnipotence. Is considered, although it's a little bit weird, it sort of crosses the line in some ways. But omnipotence is considered. An incommunicable attribute. God cannot share his omnipotence with a creature because you can't have two omnipotence. Um, if you have two omnipotence, then those two omnipotence cancel each other out in some sense. If God, and, and, and he has a will, God wills one thing, and then I as a creature, if he shared his omnipotence with me, somehow willed a different thing, then we would no longer be, neither of us would be omnipotent. Where this goes sideways with Moffitt and Vandorn is rather than respect omnipotence as a an incommunicable attribute, they say that the attribute or the word Elohim denotes power or might, and that is a communicable attribute. So God does give us a certain level of power. He allows us a certain level of agency. He grants that to us. Again, I'm not even sure that we would call that an an. A communicable attribute. Um, but in a sense, I guess it is. And so they say here, um, Elohim does not mean omnipotent. It means power. It's not an incommunicable attribute. It's a communicable attribute that all kinds of entities could possess. So they're saying that the word, um, the word Elohim, uh, in the Bible denotes that a. A, an entity possesses a certain kind of power or acts in a certain role of executing a certain kind of power. And that doesn't mean omnipotence. It means it means potence. It means some sort of power. And so that that wielding power attribute that. Uh, being a, being that wields power, that attribute, whatever we want to call it, however we want to phrase it, that is a communicable attribute that God shares. He communicates that attribute to all other beings in the class of Elohim. Now, let's just back that up for a second. Um, this still would mean that God has to be the creator and they don't deny that, but it would still mean that God, prior to creation. Was an Elohim in a category of one, and then somehow he created a class and because he's extended. This attribute of wielding power, say power wielder, to try to make it actually more of an attribute. He's extended this attribute of power wielder to uncreate or to created angels, demons, human spirits, whatever other spiritual entities there might be. They would bring in things like principalities, powers, they have a whole, in other, other contexts, they'll talk about this whole different bifurcation of types of spiritual beings that I think is a little speculative, but not a big deal. He extends this power wielder attribute to these created categories. And instead of this now creating a separate category of power wields who are not God, it now is uh, he expands this category of one to now include all sorts of other things, which again, as you can, you can imagine, just runs into problems. And so the, again, this, this word Elohim appears over 2,600 times, and of these instances, 230 of them refer to the God of Israel. So the idea that that. This word is not used specifically as a reference to the God of Israel, or should not be thought of as uniquely titling or almost exclusively titling God. The God of Israel just doesn't really match the data, but it's also just really poor Exogenic method. So rather than take the predominant usage and look at the context. Understanding that the predominant usage is the predominant usage. Instead, we're gonna go back and say, well, these, these minority, these 300 or so cases outside, and not even all 300 of them are used the same way, but these 300 or so cases of them not referring to the God of Israel, we're gonna use that to redefine the word. Its entirety. It's just poor. It's just poor scholarship. It's overly speculative. Um, I haven't read much of. He's work on this in the primary sources. Um, I, I would venture a guess that Heiser makes a much more robust argument than this. And this is part of the problem. When you take an already speculative, already dangerous theology and you try to pop popularize it when you just don't have the same chops that he did, uh, you end up really making some crass, simplistic arguments that just make you look a little silly. To think we can take 200 or 2,600 instances and redefine 2 20, 300 of them. By the way, it's used 300 of the times Just doesn't make any sense. So it again, if, if all we are saying is that God is spiritual and angels are spiritual and so there is some point of affinity between the two, then that would be okay. That wouldn't be a problem. Again, there's some risk in using the word Elohim in that. Sort of placeholder, but, um, that would be a semantic discussion. What they're doing is far, far deeper and far more problematic than that. [00:26:30] Systematic Theology Concerns Tony Arsenal: And so the, the other thing they do, um, that I think is really dangerous, and I don't have all of the, I haven't finished this article yet, so I don't have all of the timestamps in front of me to, to, to get there, is in attempting to justify this Moffitt, uh, in, in one of the other episodes, he turns to the incarnation as a sort of model. And so he'll say that, you know, the son of God is divine, but he's also human. And the fact that he's human, uh, doesn't therefore mean he's not also uniquely the uncreated creator. I would assume everyone hearing this who listens to this show, uh, which has done many, many episodes on Christology, it's one of our pet projects, is just throwing their listening device across the room because what Moffitt seems to miss entirely is that Christ is not, the sun is not in the category of human. Uh, sort of in a simple sense, Christ is in the category of human because he assumes to himself a second created nature. So what, what the, the analogy he's trying to draw is if the sun can be human without ceasing to be the unique one, uncreated God, then so also can, the whole trinity, I guess, can also be Elohim without ceasing to be the one uncreated God. He even goes so far as to say that there is Uncreated Elohim, and then there is created Elohim, and they're all in the category of Elohim, but because there's this commonality, we should still consider that class. And he draws that distinction or he draws the implication that. Um, there's somehow uncreated humanity in Christ, which is a whole different ball of worms that we won't get into. But in, in drawing this analogy, he sort of shows that he really doesn't understand the hypostatic union. He doesn't understand the incarnation, or if he does, he's really making a poor comparison because in the hypostatic union it's not as though the son, uh, as divinity, the son, as the one uncreated. God simply adds to himself in a raw sense and merges. Uh, he doesn't become part of the category of human without taking on a second nature. And then now we are even getting into some inconsistencies. Is human an ontological category or is that a category of function? Are there other categories of function, uh, other creatures in existence that the category of function human might fit? So I think you can see that this just is not a self consistent. Um, a self-consistent system and it leads to all these weird implications. Um, you know, and then they'll even go on to talk about how the Son is the angel of the Lord. I'm not gonna get into a lot of it here, and I agree with that thesis that the, when we see the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, in the vast majority of cases, we're probably seeing a pre-incarnate appearance of, um, of the second person of the Trinity. They go so far as to say that this is actually a sort of. Incarnation or a sort of hypostatic union of the Elohim nature. So they, they, they draw this distinction, or they draw this parallel between created Elohim and Uncreated Elohim, and they, they argue again, I think implicitly, but in some instances it's almost, it's almost explicit that the son in, in being the angel of the Lord, takes on the uncreated or takes on the created Elohim nature. It's, it's really, um, it's really problematic. So now we have the son who is, uh, sort of hypostatic united to the unc, to the created Elohim nature, and then also is hypostatic united to the human nature. Um, it, it really just gets messy and it confuses categories in a way that is not helpful. And if I'm just being frank, a lot of the younger reformed guys. And when I say younger, I'm talking, maybe I'm projecting back to when I was a younger reform guy, um, I'm talking about people in their mid twenties to maybe early thirties, right? The, the people who were maybe the second or third generation of the young restless reform guys, they didn't necessarily learn, uh, ref young restless reform theology directly from RC Sproul. You know, they weren't the first generation. Um, and, and maybe their pastors weren't the first generation, but, but maybe their pastors were the second generation and now they're learning it from their pastors. So you might think of 'em as like the third generation, to be frank, they don't usually have a great grasp on some of these systematic theology categories as part of why. Jesse and I do this podcast, and part of why we cover the same topic over and over again, part of why we're gonna go through this parable series. But when we're done, we're probably gonna go back and start over with systematic theology. We're gonna go back, we're gonna go through another confession. That's why we spent, we spent like six years going through systematic theology. And almost immediately went back to the Scott's confession and did most of it all over again because these truths need to be taught again and again and again. This is part of what Jude is talking about when he says, we have to contend for the faith. It's not just fighting with people online. It's not just polemics or apologetics. It is reteaching and handing down the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Again, and this is perhaps, and this is the last point I'll make. This is perhaps the most. Telling a reason we should be weary and suspicious of this theology. Paul, in, uh, one of the letters to Timothy, second Timothy, maybe he says, follow the pattern of the sound words that you heard from me. He's not talking about the scriptures. He doesn't say follow the sound words that I'm writing to you. He's referring to a body of doctrine sometimes. The Bible calls it the faith, right? Jude says to contend for the faith. There's this body of doctrine that is the teaching of the apostles, and it is encapsulated in this sort of set pattern of words. Erin A is called it the rule of faith or the regular fide, right? This is where we get things like the Nicean Creed or the Hanian Creed. Why we have creeds and confessions is because we don't need to reinvent the wheel and rather than rely on the safe time-tested words and concepts that have been proven and validated, and attacked and defended and, and um, have been victorious for hundreds and thousands of years, rather than rely on those. Moffitt and Van Doran think it is smarter and safer to depart from the pattern of sound words rather than to keep the pattern of sound words because they think that they are able to look at the Bible the way basically no one ever has in the 2000 years of the church and find something they haven't. I don't wanna be too bombastic. Um, I don't, I don't know either of them. Well, um, from what I can tell, what I've heard of their professions of faith, uh, they're, they're Christian believers. They love the Lord and are very confused. But these teachings are pagan. This is, we're talking about returning to a world of, of populated by spiritual beings. And God is kind of just on the highest part of the totem pole, and maybe there's a firm line between his place on the totem pole and the, the next level down. Maybe there is, um, gets a little bit less firm of a line when we're talking about Jesus, right? So there's some potential Arian implications there that the son, uh, is not the highest deity he is. He's like the father in some ways, but he, you know, in his sort of original form is like creatures in other ways. Um, we're just returning to something that the early church fought hard to get rid of when they came out of their pagan culture. When we started to see Greeks convert to Christianity, they had to figure out how do we come out of our polytheistic culture, and this is where we get the best defenses of monotheism. Jewish Christians didn't have to argue for monotheism because all the Jewish Christians already were monotheists in a biblical sense. The Greek Christians had to fight this stuff. Justin Martyr had to fight this stuff. Athanasius and the Cappadocian fathers had to fight this stuff constantly pushing back against the background Greek culture. And Moffitt and Van Dorn wanna point to that and say, see, really, they're just Greeks in disguise and in the reality is Athanasius and the cap oceans, were fighting against the theology that is making a resurgence in this divine council theory. [00:34:55] Conclusion and Call to Action Tony Arsenal: So I think that's enough for now. Please. Again, I'm writing a long series on this. I don't know how long it's gonna take. I think it's gonna be probably 10 or 13, 10 to 13 articles. It's, it's gonna be a pretty extensive project. But go read them. Go look at them, listen to their episodes, read their articles, and then you compare that to the word of God, has what I said made more sense or does what they make more sense. So I'll leave you with that. The dog is losing her mind. And uh, with that honor, everyone love the brotherhood.

Dan Kent considers RC Sproul's self-loathing and how that might have influenced the development of his theology—including his claim: "What we are saved from, in Biblical terms of salvation, is God Himself."  Episode 38 YouTube Channel: Surprising God Dan's books: Confident Humility The Training of KX12 Send Questions To: Surprising God on X: @SurprisingGodFacebook: SurprisingGod Dan on X: @thatdankent

Series: Signs & GloryTitle: How Do We Become People of the Towel?Subtitle: Scripture: John 13:1-17Philippians 2:6-8Mark 10:45Bottom line: We become people of the towel when we believe Jesus' love, receive his cleansing, and follow his example.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDOpening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTION“In 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq, I sat glued to my television set for days and watched the amazing footage that was broadcast. One scene that stands out in my mind from those days was the jubilant celebration of the Iraqi people as U.S. Marines pulled down a forty-foot statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. The statue was torn from its pedestal and dragged through the streets, and children were shown riding on the head of the statue as if it were a sled. But I also remember the way in which the people of Iraq used their shoes or their sandals to pound against the statue and the posters of Saddam that were still being displayed in Baghdad. The commentators explained that among the Iraqi people, to beat a person or even a person's image with one's shoe is to show the deepest possible form of contempt for that person...The Iraqi people's actions helped me understand the depth of lowliness to which Jesus stooped when He handled His disciples' filthy feet in this ritual of cleansing. We have already discussed the fact that in antiquity, when a rabbi had disciples, they typically acted as his servants. However, they were never required to wash the rabbi's feet; that task was reserved for slaves. But even some slaves were spared this task. Within Israel, if a Jewish person had a Jewish slave, the slave owner was not permitted to require that slave to wash his feet. Only a Gentile slave could be required to perform such a menial task. So the fact that Jesus Himself undertook this task, and that He did it during Holy Week, fills this narrative with theological and ethical significance for us.”John - An Expositional Commentary, R.C. SproulBottom line: We become people of the towel when we believe Jesus' love, receive his cleansing, and follow his example.CONTEXT"Jesus had entered Jerusalem on Sunday, and on Monday had cleansed the temple. Tuesday was a day of conflict as the religious leaders sought to trip Him up and get evidence to arrest Him. These events are recorded in Matthew 21–25. Wednesday was probably a day of rest, but on Thursday He met in the Upper Room with His disciples in order to observe Passover...What was this divinely appointed “hour”? It was the time when He would be glorified through His death, resurrection, and ascension. From the human point of view, it meant suffering; but from the divine point of view, it meant glory."Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 344). Victor Books.OUTLINE (w/ help from Kent Hughes and ChatGPT)I. Believe the Heart of His Love (John 13:1–3)• Jesus loved His own “to the end” — pointing to the cross (Romans 5:8).• His mission has always been loving service: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45• Application: You cannot serve others well until you rest secure in Jesus' agape love for you.II. Be Washed by His Cleansing (John 13:4–11)• Jesus lays aside His garment and stoops to wash dirty feet — a preview of the cross.• Peter resists, but Jesus insists: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”• Only the Servant who came to save (Luke 19:10) can cleanse us fully.• Application: Humble service flows only from hearts first cleansed by Jesus' sacrifice.III. Follow His Example in Humble Service (John 13:12–17)• After washing, He asks: “Do you understand what I have done to you?”• If the Lord and Teacher has washed feet, we must do likewise.• Paul echoes this: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus… He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5–8).• Application: Knowing His love and cleansing, we pick up the towel and bless others through ordinary, humble acts of service.⸻"The Upper Room Discourse begins with a dramatic call to follow Christ's example as a servant--to be people of the towel." -Hughes"How do we become people of the towel?We must observe the marvelous example of our foot-washing Lord and Savior and then listen to Jesus' challenge: 'If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.'Perhaps most important, we must have the quality of Jesus' heart. 'Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.'Finally, we become people of the towel by realizing who we are. The power, the impetus, and the grace to wash one another's feet is proportionate not only to how we see Jesus but how we see ourselves. Our Lord saw himself as King of kings, and he washed the disciples' feet. Recovery of a kingly consciousness will hallow and refine our entire lives. We are 'a royal priesthood.' (1 Peter 2:9)" -Hughes"If you know these things, blessed areyou if you do them." John 13:17The Heart of the Servant (13:1-3)"The final sentence gives us his heart: "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." The servant's heart is a heart of love. A story about Czar Nicholas I of Russia tells us something of that love. The czar was greatly interested in a young man because he had been friends with the young man's father. When that young man came of age, Czar Nicholas gave him a fine position in the army. He also stationed him in a place of responsibility at one of the great fortresses of Russia. The young man was responsible for the monies and finances of a particular division of the army.The young man did quite well at first, but as time went along, he became quite a gambler. Before long he had gambled his entire fortune away. He borrowed from the treasury and also gambled that away, a few rubles at a time.One day he heard there was going to be an audit of the books the next day. He went to the safe, took out his ledger, and figured out how much money he had, then subtracted the amount he had taken. As he sat at the table, overwhelmed at the astronomical debt, he took out his pen and wrote, "A great debt, who can pay?" Not willing to go through the shame of what would happen the next day, he took out his revolver and covenanted with himself that at the stroke of midnight he would take his life.It was a warm and drowsy night, and as the young man sat at the table, he dozed off. Now, Czar Nicholas had a habit of putting on a common soldier's uniform and visiting some of his outposts. On that very night he came to that particular great fortress, and as he inspected it, he saw a light on in one of the rooms. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. He tried the latch, opened the door, and went in. There was the young man. The czar recognized him immediately. When he saw the note on the table and the ledgers laid out, his first impulse was to wake the young man and arrest him. But, overtaken with a wave of generosity, he instead took the pen that had fallen out of the soldier's hand and wrote one word on the paper, then tiptoed out of the room.About an hour later the young man woke up and reached for his revolver, realizing that it was much after twelve. Then his eyes fell upon his note: "A great debt, who can pay?" He saw immediately that one word had been added -"Nicholas." The young man dropped the gun, ran to the files, thumbed through some correspondence, and found the czar's signature. The note was authentic! The realization struck him —"The czar has been here and knows all my guilt. But he has undertaken my debt, and I will not have to die." The young man trusted in the czar's word, and sure enough, the needed monies came?The czar's love, paying the price for his guilty young friend, was only a faint shadow of the atoning love of Christ. Nicholas's deed was an easy matter for him —as easy as signing his name. But the atoning love of Jesus cost him everything!The tenses at the end of verse 1, "having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end," means that in the whole range of Christ's contact with his disciples he loved them!" -HughesThe Example of the Servant (13:4-11)The Challenge of the Servant (13:12-17)"According to John, the Lord gave the disciples two explanations of his washing of their feet - one while he was engaged in washing them, and the other after he had taken his place with them at the supper table again. The former, as we have seen, is theological in character: the foot-washing symbolizes Jesus' humbling himself to endure the death of the cross and the cleansing efficacy of his death for the believer. The latter, unfolded in verses 12-17, is practical in character: Jesus has washed their feet in order that from his example they may learn to perform similar service one for another.There is no incongruity between the two explanations; it is quite unnecessary to suppose that they must be due to two different authors. The second explanation is very much in line with Luke's account of the conversation which took place between the Lord and the disciples at the Last Supper (Luke 22:24-27), in which he drew their attention to his own example; but in Mark's counterpart to that conversation, which appears in an earlier context (Mark 10:35-45), Jesus' example of lowly service is brought into the closest association with the sacrifice of the cross: if any one of their number wants to be first, he 'must be slave of all' - because 'the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many'. The close association of the two themes in this Johannine context, accordingly, is perfectly natural`..." -FF BruceJudas was an unbeliever (John 6:64–71), so he did not have a “shield of faith” to use to ward off Satan's attacks...Even in His humiliation, our Lord had all things through His Father. He was poor and yet He was rich. Because Jesus knew who He was, where He came from, what He had, and where He was going, He was complete master of the situation. You and I as believers know that we have been born of God, that we are one day going to God, and that in Christ we have all things; therefore, we ought to be able to follow our Lord's example and serve others...What Jesus knew helped determine what Jesus did (John 13:4–5)...The Father had put all things into the Son's hands, yet Jesus picked up a towel and a basin! His humility was not born of poverty, but of riches. He was rich, yet He became poor (2 Cor. 8:9). A Malay proverb says, “The fuller the ear is of rice-grain, the lower it bends.”...Jesus was the Sovereign, yet He took the place of a servant. He had all things in His hands, yet He picked up a towel...It has well been said that humility is not thinking meanly of yourself; it is simply not thinking of yourself at all. True humility grows out of our relationship with the Father.Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 345). Victor Books.Rick Warren used to say, "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less."We today, just like the disciples that night, desperately need this lesson on humility. The church is filled with a worldly spirit of competition and criticism as believers vie with one another to see who is the greatest. We are growing in knowledge, but not in grace (see 2 Peter 3:18). “Humility is the only soil in which the graces root,” wrote Andrew Murray. “The lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure.”The word translated “wash” in John 13:5–6, 8, 12, and 14 is nipto and means “to wash a part of the body.” But the word translated “washed” in John 13:10 is louo and means “to bathe all over.” The distinction is important, for Jesus was trying to teach His disciples the importance of a holy walk.When the sinner trusts the Saviour, he is “bathed all over” and his sins are washed away and forgiven (see 1 Cor. 6:9–11; Titus 3:3–7; and Rev. 1:5). “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb. 10:17). However, as the believer walks in this world, it is easy to become defiled. He does not need to be bathed all over again; he simply needs to have that defilement cleansed away. God promises to cleanse us when we confess our sins to Him (1 John 1:9).But why is it so important that we “keep our feet clean”? Because if we are defiled, we cannot have communion with our Lord. “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me” (John 13:8). The word translated “part” is meros, and it carries the meaning here of “participation, having a share in someone or something.” When God “bathes us all over” in salvation, He brings about our union with Christ; and that is a settled relationship that cannot change. (The verb wash in John 13:10 is in the perfect tense. It is settled once and for all.) However, our communion with Christ depends on our keeping ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). If we permit unconfessed sin in our lives, we hinder our walk with the Lord; and that is when we need to have our feet washed.Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 346). Victor Books.Referring to Jesus humbling himself and cf. to Philippians 2:5-9, RC Sproul writes, “It was not His deity but His dignity that Jesus laid aside. He emptied Himself of the glory that He enjoyed with His Father from all eternity. He laid aside His prerogatives as the second person of the Trinity. For the sake of His people, He descended from glory to lay down His life.”“That is proper, for Jesus was not instituting a sacrament that was to be repeated on a regular basis among the people of God, and we know that for this reason: the central significance of Jesus' washing of His disciples' feet has to do with baptism, which is the sacrament of the entrance into the new covenant. Baptism signifies many things, but at the very heart of the symbolism of baptism is the idea of cleansing” -R.C. Sproul“He knew who would betray him, but He washed all their feet, even the feet of Judas, but not without the warning that the cleansing He spoke of would not apply to every one of them.”“Those who give themselves in service to others find deep joy in it.”Excerpt FromJohn - An Expositional CommentaryR.C. SproulCONCLUSION"The Upper Room Discourse begins with a dramatic call to follow Christ's example as a servant--to be people of the towel." -HughesHow do we become people of the towel?We must observe the marvelous example of our foot-washing Lord and Savior and then listen to Jesus' challenge: 'If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.'Perhaps most important, we must have gthe quality of Jesus' heart. 'Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.'Finally, we become people of the towel by realizing who we are. The power, the impetus, and the grace to wash one another's feet is proportionate not only to how we see Jesus but how we see ourselves. Our Lord saw himself as King of kings, and he washed the disciples' feet. Recovery of a kingly consciousness will hallow and refine our entire lives. We are 'a royal priesthood.' (1 Peter 2:9)"If you know these things, blessed areyou if you do them." John 13:17This basic truth of Christian living is beautifully illustrated in the Old Testament priesthood. When the priest was consecrated, he was bathed all over (Ex. 29:4), and that experience was never repeated. However, during his daily ministry, he became defiled; so it was necessary that he wash his hands and feet at the brass laver in the courtyard (Ex. 30:18–21). Only then could he enter the holy place and trim the lamps, eat the holy bread, or burn the incense...We can learn an important lesson from Peter: don't question the Lord's will or work, and don't try to change it. He knows what He is doing...John was careful to point out that Peter and Judas were in a different relationship with Jesus. Yes, Jesus washed Judas' feet! But it did Judas no good because he had not been bathed all over. Some people teach that Judas was a saved man who sinned away his salvation, but that is not what Jesus said. Our Lord made it very clear that Judas had never been cleansed from his sins and was an unbeliever (John 6:64–71)...John 13:17 is the key—“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” The sequence is important: humbleness, holiness, then happiness. Aristotle defined happiness as “good fortune joined to virtue … a life that is both agreeable and secure.” That might do for a philosopher, but it will never do for a Christian believer! Happiness is the by-product of a life that is lived in the will of God. When we humbly serve others, walk in God's paths of holiness, and do what He tells us, then we will enjoy happiness...The servant (slave) is not greater than his master; so, if the master becomes a slave, where does that put the slave? On the same level as the master! By becoming a servant, our Lord did not push us down: He lifted us up! He dignified sacrifice and service. You must keep in mind that the Romans had no use for humility, and the Greeks despised manual labor. Jesus combined these two when He washed the disciples' feet. The world asks, “How many people work for you?” but the Lord asks, “For how many people do you work?" When I was ministering at a conference in Kenya, an African believer shared one of their proverbs with me: “The chief is servant of all.” How true it is that we need leaders who will serve and servants who will lead. G.K. Chesterton said that a really great man is one who makes others feel great, and Jesus did this with His disciples by teaching them to serve...Be sure to keep these lessons in their proper sequence: humbleness, holiness, happiness. Submit to the Father, keep your life clean, and serve others. This is God's formula for true spiritual joy.Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 347). Victor Books.“We can transfer that warning to everyone reading this book. If you are reading this and have not been washed by Christ, you will have no part with Him in the Father's house. Jesus was preparing His disciples for that cleansing that would once and for all deliver them from their sin” -R.C. Sproul“We've already seen Jesus making the point in the final weeks of His life, “Unless you're willing to participate in My humiliation, you have no part in My exaltation.” Our very baptism is a sign not only of our being raised with Christ, but of our being buried with Christ. It is a sign that we join Him in His humiliation so that we may have a part in His glory.”“Jesus told Simon, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean” (v. 10a). In the ancient world, when a person took a bath, he was clean until he walked outside in the dust in his bare feet or in open sandals. He could keep the rest of his body relatively clean, but his feet got dirty quickly. That's why there was the ritual of the cleansing of the feet without having to take a complete bath. Jesus told Peter, “When I wash your feet, I make you clean all over.” One touch of the cleansing power of Christ cleanses us from all sin.” -RC SproulIllustration:In 1912, when the Titanic struck the iceberg, there weren't enough lifeboats. Hundreds were left in the freezing Atlantic waters. One survivor later testified that while clinging to debris, she heard a man swimming from person to person, shouting, “Are you saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!” That man was John Harper, a Scottish pastor. He gave away his life jacket to another passenger, and with his last breaths he pleaded with people to turn to Christ before they slipped under the waves.Connection to Sermon:Like those passengers, every one of us is sinking without Christ. The signs have been given, the call is clear—Jesus is the light of the world, sent not to condemn but to save. His words are life, but they will also be our judge. Don't harden your heart. Step into His light today while there is still time.INVITATIONWhat about you? Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬How do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTES"In 1970 I was among 12,300 delegates to Inter-Varsity's Urbana conven-tion, where we heard John Stott give a masterful application of the truth of this passage. He told a story about Samuel Logan Brengle:In 1878 when William Booth's Salvation Army had just been so named, men from all over the world began to enlist. One man, who had once dreamed of himself as a bishop, crossed the Atlantic from America to England to enlist. He was a Methodist minister, Samuel Logan Brengle. And he now turned from a fine pastorate to join Booth's Salvation Army. Brengle later became the Army's first American-born commissioner. But at first Booth accepted his services reluctantly and grudgingly. Booth said to Brengle, "You've been your own boss too long." And in order to instill humility into Brengle, he set him to work cleaning the boots of the other trainees. And Brengle said to himself, "Have I followed my own fancy across the Atlantic in order to black boots?" And then as in a vision he saw Jesus bending over the feet of rough, unlettered fishermen. "Lord," he whispered, "You washed their feet: I will black their boots."If we are to count ourselves as followers of Christ, there must be humble service in our lives. We must be people of the towel." -Hughes"Perhaps as good a commentary as any on our passage is supplied by the following paragraph from the biography of Robert Cleaver Chapman:No task was too lowly for Chapman. Visitors were particularly impressed by his habit of cleaning the boots and shoes of his guests.Indeed, it was on this point he met with most resistance, for those who stayed with him were conscious that despite the simplicity of his house he was a man of good breeding, and when they had heard him minister the Word with gracious authority, they were extremely sensitive about allowing him to perform so menial a task for them. But he was not to be resisted. On one occasion a gentleman, having regard no doubt to his host's gentle birth and high spiritual standing, refused at first to let him take away his boots. 'T insist', was the firm reply. 'In former days it was the practice to wash the saints' feet. Now that this is no longer the custom, I do the nearest thing, and clean their shoes." -FF BruceOUTLINESee aboveQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh WredbergThe Gospels & Epistles of John, FF BruceJohn, RC SproulJohn, KöstenbergerThe Gospel According to John, DA CarsonLet's Study John, Mark JohnstonThe Light Has Come, Leslie Newbigin (TLHC)The Visual Word, Patrick Schreiner (TVW)“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee (TTB)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.comNicky Gumbel bible reading plan app or via YouVersionClaude.aiChatGPT AIGrok AIPerplexity.aiGoogle Gemini AI

This classic episode begins with defining and defending isolationist foreign policy, moves to an exposition on the blessings of being my father's son, and concludes with counsel on how to write well.

Today's classic episode from 2020 includes the story of my first trip to the golf course with my father. WE also consider the thief on the cross and the call to clean up our ethics.

Pastor Cory Wing personally honors John MacArthur and the legacy he leaves behind, as well as discusses the impact John, RC Sproul, and Billy Graham had on his life.

Pastor Cory Wing personally honors John MacArthur and the legacy he leaves behind, as well as discusses the impact John, RC Sproul, and Billy Graham had on his life.

On today's program, St. Andrew's Chapel, the church founded by RC Sproul and now led by controversial pastor Burke Parsons, delays its long-awaited vote on leaving the Presbyterian Church in America. We'll have details. The murders of two women at a Kentucky church this month point to a troubling trend—and churches are seeking help to prevent more violence. We'll take a look. Plus, two years ago, Child Evangelism Fellowship set a goal of reaching 100 million children a year with the gospel through its ministry initiatives. MinistryWatch reporter Kim Roberts checked in for an update. First, former pastor Brady Boyd is starting a new ministry—just one month after being asked to resign from his Colorado Springs megachurch. The producer for today's program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today's program include Kim Roberts, Tony Mator, Kathryn Post, Jessica Eturralde, Henry Durand, and Christina Darnell. A special thanks to the Christian Index for contributing material for this week's podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT:    FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I'm Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Natasha: And I'm Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado, and we'd like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren: On today's program, St. Andrew's Chapel, the church founded by RC Sproul and now led by controversial pastor Burke Parsons, delays its long-awaited vote on leaving the Presbyterian Church in America. We'll have details. And, the murders of two women at a Kentucky church this month point to a troubling trend—and churches are seeking help to prevent more violence. We'll take a look. Plus, two years ago, Child Evangelism Fellowship set a goal of reaching 100 million children a year with the gospel through its ministry initiatives. MinistryWatch reporter Kim Roberts checked in for an update. Natasha: But first, former pastor Brady Boyd is starting a new ministry—just one month after being asked to resign from his Colorado Springs megachurch. Warren: Brady Boyd, who resigned as lead pastor of megachurch New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in June, has started a new ministry — Psalm 68 Ministries. Psalm 68 Ministries says its mission is to serve widows, orphans and the forgotten, as well as ministry leaders. Natasha: Boyd had served at Gateway Church, founded by Robert Morris, from 2001 to 2007. He claimed he didn't know that Morris had allegedly abused Cindy Clemishire when she was 12 years old. Warren: New Life elder Scott Palmer told the congregation on Sunday, June 22, that the elders believed Boyd's insistence that he didn't know Clemishire's age was untrue. It is the primary reason the elders asked Boyd to step down. Natasha: Next, St. Andrew's Chapel delays vote on leaving PCA. Warren: St. Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida, was scheduled to vote on leaving the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) on Sunday, July 20. Instead, in something of a surprise move, the congregation referred the matter to the church's board of elders, also known as its session, to study the situation and return with a recommendation. Natasha: St. Andrew's was originally formed as an independent congregation in 1997 with Dr. R.C. Sproul as its founding pastor. It then joined the PCA in 2023. Warren: Its pastors are ordained by and members of the Central Florida Presbytery. In June, a judicial commission of the Central Florida Presbytery found St. Andrew's Senior Pastor Burk Parsons guilty of three charges and indefinitely suspended him from the duties of teaching elder in the PCA. He has appealed the judgment. Parsons is also a teaching fellow with Ligonier Ministries. The St. Andrew's session is expected to report back about the decision to leave the PCA...

Pastor John MacArthur passed away July 14th, 2025.Today Cory Wing personally honors this godly man and the legacy he leaves behind, as well as discusses the impact John MacArthur, RC Sproul, and Billy Graham had on his life.Watch all of our videos and subscribe to our channel for the latest content >HereHere

Send us a textThe tension between law and grace forms the cornerstone of authentic Christian theology, yet remains one of the most misunderstood concepts in churches today. When Martin Luther rediscovered Paul's radical message in Galatians 2, it sparked the Protestant Reformation and transformed Western Christianity forever.This powerful episode dives deep into why anything added to the gospel fatally corrupts it. Using a compelling analogy of the law as a threatening "mob boss" pursuing those who've received immunity through Christ, we explore how legalism continually attempts to reclaim territory in believers' lives. Paul's strategic introduction of uncircumcised Titus into Jerusalem becomes a masterclass in theological demonstration—proving that salvation requires nothing beyond grace through faith.Against the backdrop of remembering theological titans like John MacArthur and RC Sproul, we examine how their unwavering commitment to grace-centered theology mirrors Paul's refusal to compromise with the Judaizers. The episode highlights Paul's ingenious rhetorical strategy: bringing living proof (Titus) before the apostles to silence those who insisted circumcision was necessary for salvation.The implications reach far beyond ancient theological disputes. Today's Christians face similar pressures to add requirements to salvation—whether baptism, speaking in tongues, political alignment, or adherence to church traditions. This exploration of Galatians 2 provides clarity on distinguishing between salvation's foundation (grace alone through faith alone) and the Christian's response to that salvation.What core beliefs form your understanding of salvation? Have you unconsciously added requirements to what Christ has already accomplished? Join us for this transformative journey through scripture's clearest defense of salvation by grace alone.Support the show

Send me a Text Message! (I can't directly respond, but I can answer questions and share comments in upcoming episodes! Sound doctrine is critical to a Christian's faith and life. How we love, how we live, how we act, how we worship - is all downstream from what we believe; and if it's not rooted in the sound teachings of Scripture, it's easy to go astray in the practical out workings of living. Today I am sharing three ways sound doctrine protects us.Read the Bible with me!Get the plan for free here: sheprovesfaithful.com/bibleSummer Outdoor Survival Kit:Neem soap: https://a.co/d/fEVL4stBlack Drawing Salve: https://earthley.com/products/black-drawing-salve-stick/?affiliateId=lauren-hlushak&campaign=black drawing salveGet 10% off your first order with code SPF10Sound Doctrine Protects us:One - Sound doctrine comes from the highest authorityTwo - Sound Doctrine is upstream from our livingThree - Sound doctrine needs to be watched and held on to Listen to RC Sproul's talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0F8hMwTbHUSupport the showLove wellness products for your whole family? Shop Earthley and support SPF!Get 10% off your first order with code FIRSTSPF : https://earthley.com/?affiliateId=lauren-hlushakSupport SPF $5 a month: patreon.com/sheprovesfaithfulSign Up for the SPF newsletter: sheprovesfaithful.com/newsletterIf you're enjoying the SPF Podcast, please leave a review on your favorite podcast player! Thank you!

Why do churches practice the Lord's Supper or communion? And what is happening, or not happening in the taking of the bread and the cup? In this sermon on Mark 14:22-25, we explore some of these questions. May 4, 2025Helpful resources that shaped and informed this sermon: Let's Study Mark by Sinclair Ferguson, The Gospel of Mark by R.T. France, Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, Mark by Kent Hughes, Why Believe in Real Presence by Gavin Ortlund, Mark by J.C. Ryle, Real Body and Blood? by RC Sproul, The Natures of Christ by RC Sproul, Dig Deeper into the Gospels by Andrew Sach & Tim Hiorns.

Aaron had more important things to do this week with the birth of his third, congratulations Aaron and Sarah! This week we are joined by special guest Mark Luebe. Mark is a church planter currently attending Redemption Church as he builds his core team. Mark is an expert on Romans and so it was a joy to discuss with him this complicated section on God's Righteousness in his judgment of sin. This weeks episode is brought to you by, The Member's Meeting on March 9th right after the service.&RCD Book Club on March 17th Reading: The Holiness of God by RC SproulSign up here: Book Club Sign Up

Aaron had more important things to do this week with the birth of his third, congratulations Aaron and Sarah! This week we are joined by special guest Mark Luebe. Mark is a church planter currently attending Redemption Church as he builds his core team. Mark is an expert on Romans and so it was a joy to discuss with him this complicated section on God's Righteousness in his judgment of sin. This weeks episode is brought to you by, The Member's Meeting on March 9th right after the service.&RCD Book Club on March 17th Reading: The Holiness of God by RC SproulSign up here: Book Club Sign Up

Pastor Michael has a bold claim- that Jesus Didn't Do Presuppositional Apologetics. We discuss the popularity that this kind of apologetics had and how it seems to be falling out of favor again for classical Apologetics. Sure to be of interest to anyone who wants defend the faith or understand its credibility. Permit some reformed guys to one more time discuss apologetic method. We mention Greg Bahnsen's great debate demonstrating the strength of Presuppositional Apologetics.  And we mention a debate between RC Sproul and Greg Banhsen over what kind of apologetic method Christians should have.  Use code "RESTLESS" to get 10% off at https://spindlesandscarlet.com/ Restless would love your support on patreon. Join our patreon for bonus episodes every single week! You can follow this podcast all over the internet. twitter,   instagram.    or facebook Or email us at restlesspodcasting@gmail.com

The letter of Romans strengthened the ancient church, brought reformation to the dark ages, has brought hope for 2000 years, and can change your life!This week Pastor Joel continues his message series, Romans Bold Faith That Saves. We look at why is Jesus such a big deal, and why is the cross and Jesus' resurrection the only way? Absolutely nothing about your relationship with God is earned, none is credited to your effort. Absolutely everything about your relationship with God is because of Jesus own righteous perfection in your place and through your life!This is a special four part series that will span the year of 2025. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:• Recommended reading for this series• Leon Morris, RC Sproul, Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Doxology song by Thomas Ken• Download the free study guide by visiting and clicking on the button "Download Study Guide"⁠• Find a complete transcript here• Scripture References: Romans ch. 3, verse 21 - ch. 4, verse 25; Genesis 17; Psalm 51; Galatians 2, verse 20• Find out more about Covenant Church at ⁠covenantexperience.com

Join The Mustard Seed as they veer a little off their normal topics, Keisha and Elizabeth are going to go over a subject they are passionate about, Apologetics. We believe this is something that is relevant for such a time as this. Join them as they do an introduction into this topic, a general overview so we have a better understanding what Apologetics is, and moving froward we will go through some of the different parts of Apologetics in future shows, so we know we are doing it justice. We are excited to share this with you, and cannot wait for all the rest to follow.REFERENCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:GotQuestions.OrgConvincingProof.orgBooks we mentioned: Momma Bear Apologetics by Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, A Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Frank Turk and Norman Geisler, and Talking with Your Kids about Jesus by Natasha Crain.Apologists Mentioned:CS Lewis, Dr. Voddie Baucham, Frank Turk, RC Sproul, Josh McDowell, William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, Norman Geisler, and Daniel B. Wallace

Pastor Jordan shares Thursday's devotional podcast from Bible Fellowship Church. [Scripture: Deuteronomy 29:29] Taken from Everyone's A Theologian by RC Sproul. 

Both CS Lewis and RC Sproul asked, "If you could boil down take Christian theology and boil it into one word, what would it be?" Love? Faith? They answered that the one word would be Grace. Grace is like a huge bank account and faith is the account number to get access to it. God provides the grace, and we respond to it with faith. Another way to look at it is to contrast 3 words and what they mean: Judgement - getting what you deserve Mercy - not getting what you deserve Grace - getting something that you don't deserve Grace is something that costs everything for the Giver (Jesus) and nothing for the recipient (you and I). John 1:14 tells us that, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, ...full of grace and truth." Today we're studying Matthew 20:1-16.

Episode 95 With the Gentiles having been grafted in, what will happen to Israel? Can they be added back? RC Sproul on Israel in Chapter 11: https://youtu.be/8ahheVv6Wcw?si=gEgQHvcAPKwMn2bv Original Sermon: https://www.sermonaudio.com/dashboard/sermons/1215241817211559/ Find our videocast here: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):⁠ https://uppbeat.io/t/reakt-music/deep-stone⁠License code: 2QZOZ2YHZ5UTE7C8 Find more Take 2 Theology content at https://take2pod.wordpress.com/

Some people just don't like reading books. Here's a list to help you possibly gain some ground:Aesop's fablesTrial and Triumph by Richard Hannula Abridged version of a classic (Odyssey, Frankenstein, Robinson Crusoe, etc...) Man of the House by CR Wiley Heroes then a now book by YWAM (Gladys Aleward, Richard Wurbrandt, etc...)Confession (Heildeburg, Westminster, London Baptist 1689)Stalin or Hitler by Albert Marrin The Action Bible Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan or Willing to believe by RC Sproul. Hobbit by Tolkien or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Lewis. 

From the magical escapism of childhood fantasies to Christian-inspired storytelling, Ruth opens up about how her faith journey intertwined with her passion for writing and art. Once distanced from her faith during college, she recounts her reconnection inspired by figures like RC Sproul, influencing her renowned "Dragon Forest" series. With tales of self-discovery and bravery, Ruth's narratives invite readers to explore themes of redemption and moral complexity, casting dragons in new, thoughtful lights. Connect with Ruth at Artbyruth.com On IG @author_ra_douthitt FB @Author Ruth Douthitt Make sure to check out her podcasts: A Writer's Day and Broken Vessels Mended by God Some of her books (Affiliate links) Seek Him- Prayer Journal Dragon Forest Trilogy The White Wolf The Road to Home Another mention in this episode: Wolf Soldier by James Hannibal Highlighting another podcast for mama's in the next season of life: Finding Purpose In the Empty Nest Join Pam's Facebook Community at Tending Fields Mom's Group #dragonsforkids #dragontales #fantasynovels #christianfiction #goodvsevil #visualart #booksforkids

Martin Luther was a man whose heart was held captive to the Word of God. He was used mightily by God to usher in the Protestant Reformation, which would serve to recover the core truths of the Gospel that had been obscured by medieval religion and superstition.On this episode we will examine the life of the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation.Learn more at ReasonableTheology.org/LutherSome Recommended Luther BiographiesHere I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland BaintonLuther and the Reformation: How a Monk Discovered the Gospel by RC SproulThe Legacy of Luther by RC Sproul and Stephen NicholsSupport the showGET THE NEWSLETTEREach edition of the Reasonable Theology newsletter contains my latest article or podcast episode PLUS: A Theological Word or Phrase Explained Quickly and Clearly A Painting Depicting a Scene from Scripture or Church History Audio of a Hymn or other Musical Selection to Enjoy A Recommended Book or Resource to Expand Your Library SUBSCRIBE HERE

Bob covers John 1: 19-31 in his Bible commentary series. He states that a lamb was not a "scapegoat" in terms of Jewish animalistic sacrifice for the propitiation of sins (using an RC Sproul clip to explain). Then Bob gives various justifications for the use of a sacrificial lamb, since it seemingly violates our intuitive sense of justice.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The previous episode in this series, i.e. BMS ep 334, Installment 4: the Word Became Flesh.The RC Sproul sermon on Jesus as the Lamb of God.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

Along with Kerry Baldwin, Gregory Baus co-hosts the Reformed Libertarians podcast. After first explaining Reformed theology in relation to other Christian perspectives, Greg discusses its relevance for libertarians.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The YouTube version of this interview.The Monetary Metals 12% silver opportunity.Details for the 2024 ExPat Money Summit.About Gregory Baus. The Reformed Libertarians Podcast (RLP).The disestablishment from the time of the English Civil War.Westminster Confession and catechisms.The 5 "Solas."Canons of Dort (TULIP).RC Sproul's series on Reformed Theology.RLP Episode 2, on Romans 13; Episode 3, arguments for anarchism; and Episode 16, elements of Reformed Covenant Theology.Against Civil Establishment of Religion, by Baus.American independence as Presbyterian rebellion.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!Have you ever wondered why some people abandon their religious roots for entirely new spiritual paths? In this episode of "Avoiding Babylon," we start with captivating personal tales of transitioning from Protestantism to Catholicism. We discuss the prejudices against those born into the Catholic faith and the idea of convert supremacy, all while sharing how influential figures like RC Sproul and John MacArthur have shaped our spiritual journeys. Through these stories, we aim to paint a vivid picture of how different denominations and theological traditions have influenced our faith.Next, we dive deep into the intricacies of justification and liturgical practices, from the ancient methods of fourth-century ascetics to the modern debate between the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and the Novus Ordo. We analyze how engaging with historical liturgies and studying scriptural prophecies can ignite profound theological exploration. The discussion further explores the impact of Sola Scriptura on Western materialism and the role of relics and apostolic miracles in validating early Christian practices. This segment promises to offer rich insights into how ancient traditions can profoundly shape contemporary faith.Finally, we tackle some of the most complex and contentious topics in modern faith and culture. From the moral and ethical considerations surrounding marital obligations to the evolving understanding of gender roles, nationalism, and race, we leave no stone unturned. We reflect on the emotional and social dynamics within marriages, the influence of prominent figures like Harrison Butker, and the controversial viewpoints on U.S. foreign policy and ethnic influence. Through a mix of humor, personal anecdotes, and historical context, this episode offers a compelling exploration of faith, culture, and identity that will leave you questioning and reflecting long after the episode ends.Support the Show.********************************************************https://www.avoidingbabylon.comMerchandise: https://shop.avoidingbabylon.comLocals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.comRSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rssSpiritusTV: https://spiritustv.com/@avoidingbabylonOdysee: https://odysee.com/@AvoidingBabylon

Tony and Bre launch their Summer in the Sermon series with a clip from RC Sproul's famed “Holiness” lectures. Originally filmed in 1986, these recordings of a young Sproul became a devotional treasure to millions of Christians, and a true reformed classic. More from Ligonier www.ligonier.orgJoin us for the "Winning with Wisdom" Conference, featuring Tony Wood and Grant Castleberry. Tickets now available:https://www.missionbible.org/events/wisdomChat with Bre on Instagram @datenightwiththewoods Follow Tony on Instagram @drtonygwood For videos, old episodes, blog posts, events, and more www.datenightfam.org

Bob covers John 1: 6-13 in his Bible commentary series. He likens the Arminian vs. Calvinist divide to General Relativity vs. quantum theory in physics, where both approaches are correct in their realm but--in their current versions--are incompatible.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The previous episode in this series, i.e. BMS 305, Installment 2, Jesus as Logos.The BMS episode with Steve Patterson, covering mind-body dualism.RC Sproul on the TULIP of Calvinism. Leighton Flowers' Provisionism.RC Sproul on John the Baptist as the last Old Testament prophet.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

Every human being that walks this earth knows with certainty that God exists. Our sin is not that we do not know Him; it is that we refuse to acknowledge Him even though we do know Him. (RC Sproul)

“Adoration of God, like the Law of God, acts as a mirror to show us the blemishes of our character and drive us to a posture of contrition.” ~RC Sproul

Guest Bios Show Transcript https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tbf5FsOm0oResearch shows more than 95% of women who report being raped are telling the truth. But in some churches, these women are not believed and shamed. According to author Ryan George, it's all part of a propaganda machine meant to consolidate and maintain power. On this edition of The Roys Report, host Julie Roys continues her eye-opening dialogue with Ryan George, the son of an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) pastor. In part one, Ryan described the physical abuse he suffered from his dad. Now Ryan exposes the harmful rhetoric in IFB churches from his insider perspective and comments on shocking examples of IFB misogyny. This podcast includes clips from IFB pastors who shamed women and rape victims in their sermons. Also included in this podcast is Ryan's description of how IFB pastors promote violence, especially when it's directed towards those seen as political foes. This is a no-holds-barred podcast, exposing the ugly truth about the IFB church movement, which Ryan asserts is a cult. It also includes a clip from John MacArthur in which the famous preacher sounds an awful lot like Ryan's IFB pastor dad. However, this podcast also has a wonderfully redemptive story, as Ryan tells how he escaped the abuse and deception in his father's IFB church and overcame fear. Guests Ryan George Ryan George is the author of Scared to Life, Word on the Street, and his latest book, Hurt and Healed by the Church. He's the blogger behind Explorience.org, where he tells stories at the intersection of physical adventures and spiritual discoveries on all seven continents. He co-founded and co-leads Dude Group, a parachurch outdoor Bible study and prayer group in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he lives with his wife, Crystal, and daughter, Deonnie. Show Transcript SPEAKERS PASTOR BOBBY LEONARD, JOHN MACARTHUR, RYAN GEORGE, Julie Roys, JACK HYLES Julie Roys  00:00 The following podcast contains clips from some pastors in the Independent Fundamental Baptist Church, or IFB, who shamed women and rape victims in their sermons. We chose these clips to illustrate the systemic problems in IFB churches. But we realize these clips are hard to hear, so please take care as you listen.  For more background on these and other stories please visit JulieRoys.com. Research shows that more than 95-percent of women who report being raped are telling the truth. But in some churches, especially IFB churches, these women are disbelieved and shamed. According to Ryan George, it's all part of the IFB propaganda machine meant to consolidate and maintain power. Welcome to The Roys Report—a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I'm Julie Roys. And in part two of an eye-opening podcast with Ryan George—the son of an IFB pastor—Ryan exposes the misogynist propaganda in IFB churches. And in this podcast, you'll hear some shocking examples of this misogyny. But as Ryan explains, there's also promotion of violence within IFB churches, especially when it's directed towards those seen as political foes. This is no-holds-barred, stunning podcast, exposing the ugly truth about the IFB Church—a group Ryan confidently asserts is a cult. You'll also hear a clip from John MacArthur, where the famous preacher sounds an awful lot like an IFB pastor. But this podcast also has a wonderfully redemptive story, as Ryan tells how he escaped the IFB and overcame fear. I love Ryan's story—and I think you will too. We'll get to that in a minute. But first, I'd like to thank the sponsors of this podcast—Judson University and Marquardt of Barrington . . . Well again, here's part 2 of my podcast with Ryan George, author of Hurt and Healed in the Church. . . So there’s a whole section of your book that deals with propaganda. And you know, as a journalist, as somebody who’s in media, I mean, that’s something that always sort of piques my curiosity when I see something like that, but it’s really this idea of how the IFB was able to sell certain ideas to you. And extra biblical ideas that really weren’t necessarily in Scripture. And one of them that was just so heartbreaking to me because I work with female victims all the time of sexual abuse, and was that this idea, you actually heard this in college? Just stunning to me, that a woman if she’s raped, she would only get pregnant if she’s somehow enjoying it. And so it was kind of her fault if she gets pregnant. I mean, just despicable. absolutely shocking that anyone would say that. Yeah, just absolutely despicable. And, you know, I’m very pro-life in my convictions, but the thought that somebody would try to treat a rape victim who got pregnant that way is just heartbreaking, heartbreaking. But we know, these really misogynist ideas are woven into so many of these fundamentalist churches. And you mentioned in your book, that Jack Hyles, who if you don’t know Jack Hyles was really a main figure within the IFB movement. He had this church in Hammond, Indiana, First Baptist of Hammond, I think, huge mega church. I think at one point, they said they had like 40,000 people coming. I know he would bus people. RYAN GEORGE  01:42 He had 86 buses at the peak of their ministry, running a bus route. I mean, that’s a big metro area city bus ministry. Julie Roys  01:49 Yeah, Absolutely, absolutely huge. Anyway, you had this clip, and it was so awful, I like had to look it up in your footnotes and be like, is this online? And so the journalist in me, like has to find it, right. So actually I was able to do it, I was able to find this clip. And just so people realize, I also looked up, like what was the context? Because he says, who slew all of these? when he’s speaking and really what he’s talking about, I looked up that phrase, it’s actually from II Kings 10, and it refers to Jehu, who is basically meeting out God’s judgment to the wicked king Ahab, and also Jezabell two of the most wicked kings Israel ever had. And there are actually, you know, these men of the city, who slew who slay the 70 sons of Ahab. And it’s a pretty graphic description in the Old Testament where they actually bring the heads of all of these sons, and they put them at the gate. And it’s like the judgment of God being meted out in just, you know, a horrific way. But then again, what Jezebel and Ahab did during their reign was pretty horrific as well. But Jehu comes and he looks, you know, in front of the people, he’s looking at this this pile, and he says, who slew all of these? And so in this clip, Hyles is actually likening these wicked men who were beheaded, to the people he’s describing, and it’s absolutely breathtaking, because these people are women, who, God forbid, didn’t dress in the way that he thinks is appropriate. So take a listen. JACK HYLES  03:47 Who slew all of the women in shorts? Who slew all of these poor kids that are girls pregnant before they married? caused the boys to get so stirred up passionately that they rape a girl. Brother, you listen to me. For every single man that goes to prison for rape, you ought to be right beside him, a half-naked girl in the next cell. Who slew all these people on beaches? Who slew all these churches to have mixed swimming parties? Julie Roys  04:31 Unbelievable. RYAN GEORGE  04:32 And if you notice in the background of any video, or background of that video, it’s all women except for one guy and they’re smiling. Julie Roys  04:41 Some are some are not. I mean, some are smiling. Some are not. And I just know you know from reading your book, and from the research that I’ve done, I mean, there’s a lot of sexual abuse going on behind the scenes. I just have to wonder how many of these women are standing there hearing this, and they’ve been sexually abused, and now they’re hearing, it’s your fault that this happened to you. Which, interestingly, Jack Hyles’ son, David, he’s been accused by several women of raping them. In fact, I did a podcast about four years ago with a woman who claimed she was raped by Jack Hyles son David Hyles. We’ll put a link to that in the show notes. That’s I mean, if you want to explore this a little bit more that was a really powerful podcast. Amazing woman what she’s been through., RYAN GEORGE  05:36 Oh, yes. Julie Roys  05:38 But also, there’s the son-in-law of Jack Hyles, who, you know, he’s been convicted of taking what a 16-year-old across state lines and raping her. Interestingly, when he was caught in his crime, he did eventually admit, I guess that  he had raped her. But then he blamed it on the teen’s aggressiveness, on her aggressiveness. I mean, this is so just baked into the whip and woof of this culture, that it’s the woman’s fault. And you might think, well, you know, Jack Hyles, died in 2001. So this is like the IFB of many decades ago. And, unfortunately, it’s not. In fact, I found a clip, and this was just like, last month on the internet, and it was a recording that it had been from, I think, August of last year, last September, but it finally made its round. Yeah. On the internet. And it was of a pastor in North Carolina, Pastor Bobby Leonard, at this Bible Baptist Tabernacle in Monroe, North Carolina. And this, I mean, every bit as awful as what you just heard from Jack Hyles. Let me play this because, again, this happened within the past year. PASTOR BOBBY LEONARD  07:01 I used to say this. I haven’t said this a long time. You ready? I said, if you dress like that, and you get raped, and I’m on the jury, he’s will go free. You don’t like it, do you? I’m right though. I’m right. Because a man’s a man. Julie Roys  07:22 Hhmm. A man’s a man. RYAN GEORGE  07:25 We define manhood very differently. Julie Roys  07:27 Yeah, right. I mean, that was unbelievable. And I pointed out and I think I put a Tweet out there saying or a post on X, I guess I have to say, that, yeah, he’s a man. He’s not an animal. And one of the features of a man is he’s able to exercise self-control. So if a woman’s in shorts, no, that doesn’t give you a license to rape her. And that video went viral. And there were protests there. And I don’t know if they’re still ongoing. I know, several weeks after this video went viral,  those protests were still going. But you know, I looked before we recorded this podcast, and this Bobby Leonard is still pastor at this IFB church. RYAN GEORGE  08:09 Same church. Julie Roys  08:10 Yep. The thing that kills me about this is that this man is a pastor, and he’s espousing something again. So the antithesis of what Jesus would. I mean, his heart broke for victims. His heart was absolutely. So I mean, the only people he was hard on was religious hypocrites. That’s the only people he was hard on,  but people caught in sin, people victimized, those are the people Jesus’ heart broke for. RYAN GEORGE  08:39 There’s a chance that when that woman who was pulled out from underneath her adultery partner, when they brought him to Jesus, brought her to Jesus to stone her, there’s a really good chance that she was naked standing there next to Jesus. Julie Roys  08:49 Oh, I thought you were gonna say that she was a victim. But I’d never thought of that. RYAN GEORGE  08:53 I don’t know. She definitely she could have been a victim. Right? But even if it was consensual, they didn’t draw her adultery partner out. Right? They didn’t try to stone him. Julie Roys  09:02 No, no, not a man. No. RYAN GEORGE  09:04 No, right, right. They pulled her out as if she was the problem which is an IFB thing. And then so if that’s the case, they said, we put her in the act. So, there’s very likely that a pastor like this, a group of Pharisees, pulled this woman out into public, set her next to Jesus and Jesus didn’t look at her, he wrote in the dirt. And then when all the accusers went away, say, Hey, where are your accusers? Neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more. That’s like you’re saying antithetical to what is the messaging in that video, and many of the churches that I grew up in. Julie Roys  09:40 There’s so many components that you discuss, and we don’t have time to go through them all. I wish we could. But one of them I was like, we have to talk about this because Christian nationalism has become so big. And especially right now, in an election year, we’re hearing In a lot of it. I didn’t realize how IFB  churches supported Christian nationalism and tried to kind of do it biblically like having a biblical basis. Would you describe that? RYAN GEORGE  10:14 Well, it’s baked into the idea that if we can’t winsomely attract people to Jesus, right? Their churches don’t even try to winsomely attract people. I tell a story in the book about my parents church had a raffle that you could win a shotgun if you brought people to church. Yeah. Because like, that’s the only way, they knew that the message that they had to sell wasn’t going to be popular, right? And so what they look at is well, then just like as they do in the churches, can we go by force? Right. And so, when you hear fundamentalists talk about politics, they’re talking about overtaking and taking control. Like you hear these kinds of authoritarian terms, to say, we are trying to take our culture by storm, we’re going to try to take it back. That’s not exclusive to IFB. But you wouldn’t think that this very seclusionary cult would try to be mainstream in that way. But I mean, we had polling places on our campus. The college I went to is the home district for Matt Gates, who is also accused of multiple sexual crimes against minors. And they would brag that, you know, they would get students to change their voting district to college so that we could vote in Florida elections, and our college bragged that we put Bush in the White House. Because if you count how many votes were cast by our students in that district, that was enough to put Bush over the top, I voted for Bush, this isn’t a political thing. But the idea is that they were trying to take it by any ways necessary, which definitely falls into this whole Trumpism thing now because they’re like, that’s our Savior. He’s gonna force it. He’s talking about retribution. He’s talking about making people pay, making people cry. You know. So it makes sense if you have an authoritarian church and authoritarian pastor that you’d be drawn to political authoritarians. Julie Roys  12:05 And wasn’t there something too about like when the passage about the separation of the sheep from the goats and that certain nations, I’ve never heard this before, that God will separate certain nations, like separating the sheep from the goats, almost like if you’re not in the Christian nation, you’re not going to make it in? RYAN GEORGE  12:26 Yeah, it’s a weird double jeopardy situation. And they’re like, Hey, we have to win America back to God because of this passage. And part of it is because if you only believe that the King James version is the only version you can read, and if you only believe that there are pastors out there, I have a few pastors that say that the English version of the Bible is more inspired than the original. Like, I mean, it’s all over you can find on the internet. If you follow, there’s an Instagram account, I highly recommend called At Bad Sermons. Bad Sermons has a whole bunch of this stuff. Julie Roys  12:55 I think that’s where that clip, actually yeah, of Pastor Monroe first came out, yeah, RYAN GEORGE  13:01 Oh, my gosh. And so what happens is they go, well, then that means if A plus B equals C, then we have to win America to Christ, so that, and they don’t mean that they have to save America. They’re not trying to save Americans. They’re trying to save their version, which is, again, a messed-up version of America for this thing. But that doesn’t make sense. So as I’m writing that chapter in my book, I’m in Slovenia, which I was in northern Slovenia, I was about 5-10 miles from the Italy border. And if you’ve ever looked at that part of the map, Slovenia has been part of like, 12, where I was sitting in that library has been part of like, 12 different countries in the last 400 years. Like, so at what point does Jesus pick your country? Is it 1787? Is it 2004? Is it 1999? Was it when it was in the Soviet bloc? Is it now that it’s not? It’s like, you know, was it when it was part of this country or that? Like, there’s so little intellectual rigor applied to anything. And when you do try to apply any type of academic anything, you’re saying, Oh, you’re a liberal, you don’t have faith, you know, all this stuff. Like you have to take the man of God’s word for this. And so you have IFB pastors after Joe Biden was elected, getting up and saying, Hey, I don’t know if you know if this is right, but I’m not going to get in the way of God if his will is to assassinate Joe Biden, from the pulpit. Wow. And you go, wait, what? Like, where did Jesus ever call us to assassinate our enemy? When Peter cut the guards year off, Jesus healed the guard and then said to Peter, like, what are you doing, man? Like, this isn’t how we do this. Julie Roys  14:37 Ah, that is so I am speechless. That is so so awful. Wow. Well, there’s something else that stuck out to me, probably because this is in the news right now. And you’ve got a chapter called, Misrepresenting Orthodoxy, and you talk about these IFB preachers who will condemn certain groups or certain groups of people in sort of this selective self-righteousness. And you talk about your father, who again, this is a man who was a pedophile. I mean, he molested girls who are not even of age. And yet, he said he would condemn Martin Luther King Jr., because he supposedly was a philanderer and, you know, had relations with women outside of marriage. At least, you know, in that case, you know, I don’t know, but I’m guessing they were consensual. Which was not the case with your father. But you write, I thought  this was a great paragraph. You write, While that irony plays out. Let me just read this here. While that irony plays out on a micro level of my family, I can’t escape the more macro irony of my dad’s disregard for Dr. King. In the unsaved churches of my youth, beliefs were an idol and hypocrisy was defended as a way to protect the gospel. Dogmatism took precedence over following the example of Jesus. Doctrine was more important than authenticity, curiosity, or compassion. And you’re probably aware, right now, there’s a big brouhaha over some things that John MacArthur has said, about Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, I’m just gonna play that. So if people haven’t heard that, they can hear what he said. I’ll just play it. JOHN MACARTHUR  16:41 The T for G (Together for the Gospel) guys wanted to honor him with a panel, and we spent an hour, an hour and 15 minutes. And it was just beautiful tributes to RC from all of us, who knew him so very, very well. And the strange irony was a year later, they did the same thing for Martin Luther King, who was not a Christian at all, whose life was immoral. I’m not saying he didn’t do some social good. And I’ve always been glad that he was a pacifist, or he could have started a real revolution. But you don’t honor a non-believer who misrepresented everything about Christ and the gospel, in an organization alongside honoring somebody like RC Sproul. Julie Roys  17:36 So how does that hit you? RYAN GEORGE  17:39 So I see it again as a hypocrite, you know. John MacArthur has covered for multiple child molesters in his church. And I go, here’s the irony is you’re going to prop up people in your own church who are doing way worse than what Dr. Martin Luther King is and say that they are examples of the faith. Like this is why we keep them in our church, right? And then say somebody who had some affairs, which we’re not condoning affairs, that it wipes out everything they did, including  whether or not they’re going to heaven. That’s the mental gymnastics that the  IFB church has to do to feel self-righteous. Julie Roys  18:16 And missing, that one of the greatest sins that God calls out is pride. I mean when I hear things like that, I’m like, wow! I mean, I could talk about Dr. Martin Luther King’s doctrine, and there may be some really bad things in there. And I’m not saying that you can’t talk about that. But to say that you, a mere human, who doesn’t know the hearts of man, can say where the eternal destiny of someone else is. That crosses a line to me. RYAN GEORGE  18:46 It’s hubris. Julie Roys  18:48 Absolutely. RYAN GEORGE  18:49 And the irony is Dr. Martin Luther King was a Baptist pastor in the south, which means it was probably conservative to some degree, as far as theologically conservative church. They were probably closer than MacArthur would like to admit. Julie Roys  19:02 Yeah. Well, the last section of your book is beautiful. And it talks about. RYAN GEORGE  19:08 Oh, thank you. Julie Roys  19:08 Yeah, it talks about the greener pastures that are available. You know, there to get beyond the abuse, and the dogmatism, you know, that these things don’t have to define you and define the rest of your life. I think that’s hugely important. But at the same time, moving forward and choosing, you know, the better path, to choose growth over comfort, can be, it’s a risky thing to do. But it’s the path you chose, and maybe the path less traveled. But why would you like to the person who right now is just kind of sitting there going, You know, dare I do that? What would you say? RYAN GEORGE  19:54 I’d tell him, it’s worth it. So I’m a little predisposed to this. So, I’m an adrenaline junkie, I jump off mountains and planes and buildings. I’ve surfed in the Arctic. I do all kinds of crazy things. Julie Roys  20:06 You surfed in the Arctic? RYAN GEORGE  20:08 Yes, ma’am. I’ve camped in both the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. I do a thing called wing-walking, where you go out on the wings of a bi-plane while it’s flying, and it does aerobatic maneuvers while you’re out there. Julie Roys  20:16 No, no, no, no, no, no. RYAN GEORGE  20:18 But here’s what I’ve learned in that. And this is how God designed our bodies with dopamine and epinephrine and other reward chemicals, is that when we do this scary thing, we are chemically rewarded, right? And the times when I felt most alive in my life, outside of a faith community in a relationship, but like physically when I felt most alive, was after I conquered a fear. I was so scared to go wing walking the first time. I finally found a life insurance company to give me life insurance cuz you can imagine it’s hard to insure some of the stuff that I do for fun. And I got back down on the ground after my first, you take lessons, and you get like certified for different things you do out on the wings. And I got back down on the ground and my classmates had waited, I was the last student through the school that day. And one of my classmates yelled out, how was it? And I’m taking off, you know, your gear whatever, I was like, I’ve never felt more alive, right. And so what I’d like to tell people is, it’s that way for me and my faith. When I’ve had a conversation around a fire with somebody, or when I saw someone meet Jesus for the first time or put their marriage back together. Or I have a friend who has six foster and adopted children?, and to watch the reclamation project of what he and his wife are doing right? And different things in my life. I’ve seen Jesus do incredible things. And I have goosebumps right now all over my body, thinking about what I’ve seen is like, that is what life in all caps is. And I’ve experienced it. So my last book was called Scared to Life. And it was about I felt God the most when I’m scared. And so what I’m able to do because it’s become normal for me, I’m scared of heights. People are amazed. I’ve jumped off the 63rd story of a building before, but I’m scared of heights. But what I’ve learned is, is that when I lean into that fear, the reward is at least equal to whatever I was afraid of. And I found that to be true in my faith. You can’t convince them. It’s like trying to convince a seven-year-old that someday they’re going to like kissing girls. Trust me dude, I’m telling you, it’s the same thing. People are like, You’re so crazy, I would never go out on the wings of an airplane. It’s like, but have you ever been upside down at 140 miles an hour looking at the California desert? I can’t explain it right? It’s the same thing. There are things in my faith. I’ve had these encounters with Jesus that’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever had with my parents, anything I’ve ever had in churches growing up, that cannot be explained outside of Jesus. And I want that for you. I won’t ever force someone to jump out of a plane with me or do some of the stuff that I do. But I will invite over and over and over again because I know what’s waiting for them on the other side. And then you go, Okay, you just did something that 99% of humans in America would say you are legitimately crazy to try, and you feel more alive. What is something back home that you’re scared to do? A conversation you’re scared to have, a thing you’re scared to relinquish to Jesus, an addiction you’re scared to tell somebody about whatever it is. That Invitational model has proven true in my life over and over again. Julie Roys  23:16 I mean, it makes me think of when I was about to blow the whistle on the Moody Bible Institute. And I had this piece written, and I won’t go into the whole story of how that went down. But I was terrified because I knew that would burn my bridge forever. Not just with Moody. But you get blacklisted. And that would be the end of my career. And I was okay with that. But it was still scary. And yet, I mean, yes. Did I feel alive when I did that? And then on the heels of that, that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing today. God birthed this out of that, and had I not followed through  on that conviction God gave me, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t be here, you know. And so, to me, I feel like I’m living the adventure. You know. I think life in Christ should be living the adventure. And it will always, always, I think we’ve forgotten about this. RYAN GEORGE  24:14 Jesus hinted at it. So they didn’t have the terms that we have now in the New Testament to describe biology and whatever else. But over and over and over from Jesus and other people Old Testament New Testament. The Bible says the just shall live by faith. But what a lot of people don’t reverse engineer that to go it’s you can’t have faith unless you have doubt, fear, both, right? I’m only scared on the wing of an airplane if I don’t think my harness is going to work or there’s going to be a malfunction in the plane. When you’ve done it 100 times, the 100th time I rode a motorcycle, it wasn’t as scary as the first time right? The first time you ride a roller coaster you’re holding on white knuckles. By the fifth time you’re posing for the picture. You’re physically doing the same thing. But you’ve lost that fear. And so, for us to live by faith on a regular basis, there has to be something that brings doubt or fear into our life. It sounds masochistic and I don’t mean it that way. But if Jesus isn’t given me an assignment on a regular basis that makes my palms sweaty, then I have to ask myself, do I have faith right now? Am I living the just life? Julie Roys  25:11 Absolutely. And that’s why I think we’ve forgotten that to be a moral person, to be a godly person, it actually requires courage. Like, you just don’t hear that very much. We think of it as you have to be pure in your thoughts and your life and all those things are true. But you have to have courage, because God will call you to something that requires faith and like you’re saying, it requires facing your fear. And I’m thinking right now because this is where your book lands. But I know this is where an awful lot of people are. Is some of the scariest things to do, are to pursue your own healing. Because it means instead of running away from what was painful, you actually have to lean into it, you actually have to go places that you don’t want to go. And yet, that’s something that you did. And I feel like you’re kind of not that any of us is on the other side. Because healing is a process that we won’t fully be healed till we’re in heaven, right? You know, so. But you’re kind of on the other side, where you’ve walked through some stuff and been able to say, hey, you can trust this process. So speak to that person right now who may be in that spot. RYAN GEORGE  26:25 Oh, man. The hard part is all of our journeys are nuanced, right? So I’m not calling someone and telling them, Hey, go back to the church where you came from, or go back to the religion that you came from, or even go back to a church as is commonly defined United States, like a Sunday service, or whatever else. What I am calling people to do is to find a version of Jesus they can fall in love with. And I was talking to a podcaster a few weeks ago, and she gave me this great analogy, and I got to use it. But she said, there are a lot of people who go to a Taylor Swift concert alone, but nobody goes home alone. They come home with friendship bracelets, and new friends and new Instagram connections and whatever else. And I said, for me, the Taylor Swift in that story is Jesus. And if I find that Jesus, that I’m a big fan of which I have found, and if I go to the concert, I’m going to bump into other people who love the same Jesus. And we’re going to trade friendship bracelets, and we’re going to start. So whether that spiritual community is a service, or whether it’s just meeting someone for coffee, there are certain people that I know, the first version of Jesus they can find is to go to therapy, and to be real. And what happens is, after you get used to telling your story in that room, then you get more courage to tell people outside of that room, et cetera. And so church can grow for you. But my book is not a call to go back on a Sunday. My call is to fall in love with the Jesus that I’ve fallen in love with, because it’s been utterly rewarding. And if you can look at it as a personal relationship, I know that that terminology has been used and abused in the faith that I grew up in. But as a note, this isn’t like me and the church. This is me and Jesus, and know that Jesus, everywhere he went, other people were attracted around that were fans of his hand up to 1000s of people. So no matter whether you define church as a house church, or, you know, multisite, non-denom, whatever. All of it is trappings; find the Jesus that loves you. And he promised, in his own words, read letters to the Bible. He said, If you seek me, and you seek with your whole heart, you will find me. And we’re on this divine scavenger hunt to find him everywhere and anywhere. And when you start intentionally looking for him. Like before, before I go on a hike, you’ll get this because you’re a hiker. Before I go on a hike in new places like God, will you reveal why you drew me to this trail? God, will you reveal what it is you want me to know about yourself today? And I can tell you how that prayers were answered hiking in the Faroe Islands and Iceland and Norway. I still remember how Jesus answered those prayers. I have prayed that prayer before getting on a flight at JFK. God, would you reveal why it is I’m getting on this plane? What do you want me to know about getting on this plane? And that led to a very emotional blog post and people are like, Oh, my goodness, you met Jesus on a flight to Finland? Like how does that even work? And if we’re expectant to find the real Jesus, why wouldn’t he want to reveal himself? Jesus gave up his life so that we could know him. So when we asked him, Jesus help me know you more, helped me find the real you, why wouldn’t he answer that prayer? Julie Roys  28:45 I love that. I love that. And it is the real Jesus. And unfortunately, he has not been portrayed to some of us as his true self. And it’s important that we find that. Ryan, this has been such a phenomenal conversation. I’ve so enjoyed it. Yeah, just so glad to have this conversation and for the gift of your book. And I know it takes a lot to write a book and especially one this personal. So thank you so much, and it’s just been a delight. RYAN GEORGE  29:45 Thanks for sharing me with your people. Read more

"A Living Sacrifice"Romans 12:1Pastor Nate ClarkeFebruary 4, 2024Part of WORSHIP SeriesSERMON NOTES:- Romans 12:1-2- A living sacrifice - Romans 12:1 _in view of God's mercy_--- Adoption in Jesus and identity in Christ--- You are under grace, not the law--- You are justified from guilt and the penalty of sin--- You are promised help in times of trouble--- You are given the Holy Spirit within you--- You have confidence in the glory to come--- You cannot be separated from the love of God--- You have confidence in God's continued faithfulness- True and proper worship is always done in view of God's mercy- True and proper worship involves your whole life- Romans 12:1 _offer your bodies_- “Christ gave himself for us, and we are to respond by giving ourselves to him.” RC Sproul - 1 Corinthians 9:26-27- 1 Samuel 15:22- Hosea 6:6- True and proper worship involves sacrificial gifts.- Romans 12:1 _as a living sacrifice_--- Burnt offerings--- Grain offerings--- Peace offerings (thanksgiving, votive, and free will offerings)--- Sin offering--- Guilt offering- Hebrews 13:16- True and proper worship is the primary goal of every believer.- Be worshipful so that you can be merciful.- A merciful lifestyle depends on a worshipful lifestyle.Oasis Church exists to help people see Jesus more clearly.We are led by Pastor Nate Clarke and are located in Richmond, VA.Stay Connected:Website: https://oasischurch.online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oasischurchva/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OasisChurchRVA/

The Protestant Reformation was a foregone conclusion because, at some point, people would have to rise up to throw off the religious tyranny of the Roman Catholic Church. This movement was led by Martin Luther in Germany, Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland and John Calvin in France. But sadly, instead of overthrowing the Roman harlot, they ‘reformed' her, and created a new system of teaching based on creeds, confessions and canons. Reformed Theology. They ‘improved it worse', or as the Germans say, die verschlimmbesserung. Whoa, that's a mouthful. On this episode of Rightly Dividing, we are looking at the Protestant Reformation as compared to the clear teachings of your King James Bible, and we wade through some fairly meaty creeds, confessions and canons that form the bulk of the Reformation, or Reformed Theology. The Reformers were a highly passionate lot, which is a good thing, but some of that passion led to some insane excess. Martin Luther, talking about the Jews, wrote “First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them.” Yikes. John Calvin had his opponents, political and religious, put to death. Certainly none of this aligns with anything Paul ever wrote. But the Reformed Movement which rose up around them is alive and well in our day, and it is based on 3 main things. They are the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession of Faith. John MacArthur, RC Sproul, John Piper and others have been the Reformed standard bearers in the 21st century, and they and their followers rule social media with a rod of iron. On this episode, we compare what they teach and believe to the Bible.

Martin Luther was a man whose heart was held captive to the Word of God. He was used mightily by God to usher in the Protestant Reformation, which would serve to recover the core truths of the Gospel that had been obscured by medieval religion and superstition.On this episode we will examine the life of the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation. Learn more at ReasonableTheology.org/LutherSome Recommended Luther BiographiesHere I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton: https://amzn.to/3QgzxNELuther and the Reformation: How a Monk Discovered the Gospel by RC Sproul: https://amzn.to/46P54O6The Legacy of Luther by RC Sproul and Stephen Nichols: https://amzn.to/3Qad6KdGet the newsletter at ReasonableTheology.org/Subscribe. The weekly email includes:the latest article or podcast episodea helpful theological definitiona painting depicting a scene from Scripture or church historya musical selection to enrich your daythe best book deal I've found that week to build your library.Support the showGET THE NEWSLETTEREach edition of the Reasonable Theology newsletter contains my latest article or podcast episode PLUS: A Theological Word or Phrase Explained Quickly and Clearly A Painting Depicting a Scene from Scripture or Church History Audio of a Hymn or other Musical Selection to Enjoy A Recommended Book or Resource to Expand Your Library SUBSCRIBE HERE

should you and I be terrified of Satan? No. His power is limited and will end. We never need to be deceived by or give in to the Devil's temptations. God is always ready to provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).   But When you ask what power satan has its tricky to understand because he actually has very little, but he does have authority over the world right now, and he also knows we live in a sinful world… so the fact that he has authority over the world, and we live in a sinful world (death, decay, sickness and disease work in his favor) and he is a master liar… makes this world hard to navigate… However we do have power over the enemy… hold on I thought you said he had authority over the earth… he has limited authority for a limited time…but we still have power over him to rule and reign… even while here on earth.  Think of it this way… Jesus was the first example of what a “born again” believer should be like. He came as a man, led by and empowered by the Holy Spirit… he lived victoriously and with power over sin and satan… so what exactly is satans powers while he has authority over the earth… limited? yes, but what power does he actually have during this time?  I like the way RC Sproul puts it…. Satan's authority and power are limited and subordinate to the authority that is vested in Christ. Christ right now is the king of this earth. His kingdom is invisible, and not everybody acknowledges it. People are giving more allegiance to the prince of darkness than to the Prince of Peace, but that is an act of usurpation on the part of Satan. His power is restricted, limited, and temporal. What has happened briefly is this: The power and authority of Satan has been dealt a fatal blow by Christ. The Cross, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the Ascension tremendously weakened any power or authority that Satan enjoyed, but it didn't annihilate him. That will come later, when Christ completes his work of redemption with the consummation of his kingdom. All things will be brought into captivity to him, and every knee will bow to him, including the fallen angels, who will bow in submission to his authority. Are you confused yet? Well here is the biggest power satan has… he is a liar!    Satan is a liar. The apostle John calls Satan the one “who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).  THAT MEANS WE ALL FALLL TO HIS DECEPTIONS AT TIMES…  The devil and his demons tell two main lies to unbelievers and two primary lies to believers. Here's the lie to unbelievers: “God doesn't care about sin. In fact, there might not even be a God. Live your life and do as you please.” “You are too bad for God to ever love and forgive you. You are doomed. Just accept it. - in fact he doesn't even really care about you… he's too busy, he is out of range out of touch.  But to believers, the devil and his demons say: “You've been saved, so it doesn't matter how much you sin. You can do what you want. Don't worry, because God will forgive you.”… and its true, but not true… yes you are forgiven… but does that mean you are untouched and unjudgable? And do you think you can't lose your salvation… I don't think you can lose it, but I do think you can walk away from it.  “You just thought you were saved. Do you really think God can forgive all the bad things you've done?” Satan lies to us regarding Gods ability to forgive, and redeem… as if his work on the cross was limited… Do you see the similarities between these two sets of lies? The devil may be deceptive and sinister, but he's not that creative. His essential motive is to get you to believe that God is not the answer to your problem with sin.   Satan is not dumb, but he is stupid. He's not powerful but he is authoritative, he is not creative - he cannot create, but he can copy and mimic to perfection… but its still a copy… it is still a fake and a forgery.  So what is our defense… well if his true power or strategy is to lie… then our best defense is to know the truth… what does scripture say in John 8:31 and 32  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We are to be in his word and know it, and we are to know Jesus who is the truth… and the truth will set you free… This is not talking about salvation, but rather about freedom from satans lies. Know him, know it and be free from the liar and his lies.  

Michael Horton, John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul answer questions about the church. Will Big Ben be the quarterback for the Steelers this year, and can they win without him? How do you see assurance of salvation in light of Calvin saying "all Christians doubt" and view of the ordo salutis? Abraham is going to slay his son. How is that a good thing? If Samson was never to touch a dead body, how come he killed a thousand men with the jaw bone of a donkey? Comment on the concept of seeker-sensitive, who seeks whom in the process of salvation, and how does American contemporary evangelicalism get it right or wrong? You mentioned the names of some well-known persons in our society that were born and raised evangelical, fundamentalist homes and now don't believe in God. What are the reasons this happens and why does it happen so often? Why hasn't anything been said about the spiritual formation movement? Millions are dying apart from Christ and we must therefore urgently reach them, but doesn't this conflict with John 6? Conservative Bible-teaching churches taking the good from secular movements without compromising the message. How does that work? Can God regret and wish? If God has a general love for all people, when does God start hating people? When is it okay and/or necessary to leave a church? How does Matthew 17:20 and John 14:13 fit into prosperity Christianity? This Q&A session is from a conference in 2010 called “Christless Christianity: 2010 West Coast Conference.” For more information, please visit Ligonier Ministries. And all rights for this episode belongs to Ligonier Minsitries. Praying that this sermon would help you in your walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. © Ligonier Ministries [2010]. Deepen your study in the word: ESV MacArthur Study Bible: ⁠https://amzn.to/47Go6H7⁠ CSB Study Bible: ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3PhEln3⁠ NASB MacArthur Study Bible: ⁠https://amzn.to/3sreyzO⁠ ESV Study Bible: ⁠https://amzn.to/3P6Kd23⁠ ESV MacArthur Study Bible with Premium Leather: ⁠https://amzn.to/45lpwVN⁠⁠⁠ CSB Spurgeon Study Bible with Genuine Leather: ⁠https://amzn.to/47LX7dp Check out our Socials: Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://t.ly/Tw5tt⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/@Expositorysermons⁠⁠⁠⁠ Watch YouTube Shorts: ⁠⁠Y⁠⁠ouTube.com/@expositorysermons/shorts⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe our YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/@ExpositorySermons⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠expositorysermons@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/expositorysermons/support

In this sermon, Pastor John MacArthur exegetes the passage from Mark 13 where Jesus warns His disciples about the end times. He discusses the wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, persecution of Christians, and the rise of false Christs and false prophets. He also talks about the time of tribulation that will come before Jesus returns. MacArthur challenges Christians to be prepared for the end times and to be on the alert for His return. Date Preached: Oct 17, 2013 Passage: Mark 13:1–13 All the rights for this sermon belongs to ⁠Grace To You Ministries⁠. Follow our podcast on other platforms as well. We are on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Google podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at expositorysermons@gmail.com. Check out these Study Bibles for less than $50: ESV MacArthur Study Bible: https://amzn.to/44dH0lS CSB Study Bible: https://amzn.to/3P19gUd NASB MacArthur Study Bible: https://amzn.to/44lDJRf ESV Study Bible: https://amzn.to/45cI0HX ESV MacArthur Study Bible with Premium Leather: https://amzn.to/3qsvpla CSB Spurgeon Study Bible with Genuine Leather: https://amzn.to/3OJblTq MUST READ BOOKS: Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur: https://amzn.to/3sooauP The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur: https://amzn.to/3OIkfk1 The Holiness of God by RC Sproul: https://amzn.to/3qvdElc Saved Without A Doubt: Being Sure of Your Salvation: https://amzn.to/3OHJsLz Books For Pastors and Elders: Called To Lead by John MacArthur: https://amzn.to/3sn4ozS Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically by John MacArthur: https://amzn.to/3E0LHVd Preaching: How to Preach Biblically by John MacArthur: https://amzn.to/3OOe1PY Books for Evangelism: Scientific Facts in The Bible by Ray Comfort: https://amzn.to/3DYrAHv Hell's Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort: https://amzn.to/44flhK3 Check out our Socials: Facebook: https://t.ly/Tw5tt Instagram: Instagram.com/@Expositorysermons Watch YouTube Shorts: YouTube.com/@expositorysermons/shorts Subscribe our YouTube: YouTube.com/@ExpositorySermons --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/expositorysermons/support

Date Preached: January 24th, 2017 Passage: 1 Peter 5:10-11 This sermon was recorded at Spiritual Life Conference in Dallas Theological Seminary. For more information about this sermon, please visit ⁠⁠DTS's website⁠⁠. Praying that this sermon would help you in your walk with our Lord Jesus Christ! Check out these Study Bibles for less than $50: ESV MacArthur Study Bible: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/44dH0lS⁠⁠ CSB Study Bible: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3P19gUd⁠⁠ NASB MacArthur Study Bible: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/44lDJRf⁠⁠ ESV Study Bible: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/45cI0HX⁠⁠ ESV MacArthur Study Bible with Premium Leather: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3qsvpla⁠⁠ CSB Spurgeon Study Bible with Genuine Leather: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3OJblTq⁠⁠ MUST READ BOOKS: Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3sooauP⁠⁠ The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3OIkfk1⁠⁠ The Holiness of God by RC Sproul: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3qvdElc⁠⁠ Saved Without A Doubt: Being Sure of Your Salvation: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3OHJsLz⁠⁠ Books For Pastors and Elders: Called To Lead by John MacArthur: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3sn4ozS⁠⁠ Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically by John MacArthur: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E0LHVd⁠⁠ Preaching: How to Preach Biblically by John MacArthur: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3OOe1PY⁠⁠ Books for Evangelism: Scientific Facts in The Bible by Ray Comfort: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3DYrAHv⁠⁠ Hell's Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/44flhK3⁠⁠ Check out our Socials: Facebook: ⁠⁠https://t.ly/Tw5tt⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠Instagram.com/@Expositorysermons⁠⁠ Watch YouTube Shorts: Y⁠⁠ouTube.com/@expositorysermons/shorts⁠⁠ Subscribe our YouTube: ⁠⁠YouTube.com/@ExpositorySermons⁠⁠ If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at ⁠⁠expositorysermons@gmail.com⁠⁠. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/expositorysermons/support

Jordan Hatfield (non-Calvinist) talks with David Vandervelde (Calvinist) about Calvinism and whether or not it is biblical and true.   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/5AOmdqvOY-Y Calvinism's Critical Error Part 1: https://youtu.be/ygePIgd7DJU Calvinism's Critical Error Part 2: https://youtu.be/A23Mc_eqWu8   The topic of Calvinism is something that I have personally spent a lot of time studying and thinking about for the past decade. In recent years this theology has grown a lot in popularity, being propagated by popular and prominent pastors and christian leaders like John Piper, John Macarthur, RC Sproul and ministry organizations like the Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, Ligonier Ministries and Apologia Studios.    This theology is based on a particular understanding of passages like Romans 9, John 6 and Ephesians 1, which are interpreted by Calvinists in a way that results in the conclusion that God has determined before the foundation of the world which individuals he will save and has ultimately created a countless mass of humanity throughout history for the purpose of condemning them to eternal torment in hell for committing sins that he himself determined that they commit. This may be a bit more of an abrasive and pointed way of putting it, but I think if you come to understand the claims and beliefs of the theologians mentioned above who teach these doctrines, you will see that this is an accurate and honest representation of their ultimate conclusions. I personally find the view of God that is communicated in Calvinism to be immoral and a gross misrepresentation of what the bible actually describes God to be like.    Although I do have moral and emotional apprehensions toward this theology, that is not ultimately the reason why I came to reject it. I came to reject it on biblical grounds. After examining the many Calvinistic proof texts like Romans 9 and Ephesians 1, I became convinced that Calvinists are simply misunderstanding and misinterpreting these texts. I make videos about this topic because I believe that bad theology is harmful to people - emotionally, mentally and spiritually.    My goal in making videos like this is not to demonize Calvinists who teach these things or to say they are evil heretics or anything of the sort, but to simply explain why I strongly disagree with their conclusions and offer what I consider to be a better way of understanding the many biblical texts that are often used to support these views. Watch more of my videos on Calvinism: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJNUrjZLBEq2FhrqzT-coMx-7nbls9Vw Watch my films here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJNUrjZLBEp7tApoCOPhEw4F0BBQg-Gr Seek First: Freedom From Worry And Anxiety (Matthew 6:25-33) https://youtu.be/Cjbj1qOIzk8 Get early access to videos and content when you support Great Light Studios by becoming a monthly patron here: https://www.patreon.com/greatlightstudios or become a member on the GLS YouTube channel.  You can also make a one-time or recurring donation to Jordan and GLS through PayPal here: https://bit.ly/3nN2nYD – If you would like to mail a check, you can send to: Great Light Studios (Burns Cornerstone Church) 143 South Washington Burns, KS 66840   PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/greatlightstudios YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfi2w6gJGj1jHdEk-e_b7pA TWITTER: https://twitter.com/JordanMHatfield INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/greatlightstudios FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLightStudios TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@greatlightstudios CONTACT US: contact@greatlightstudios.com

In this episode Jordan gives an explanation of Romans 9, and utilizes some of Paul's arguments, language and analogies in Galatians to unpack its meaning and to explain why this controversial chapter is not teaching Calvinism.   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/3NMA-8PFkCE Calvinism's Critical Error Part 1: https://youtu.be/ygePIgd7DJU Calvinism's Critical Error Part 2: https://youtu.be/A23Mc_eqWu8   The topic of Calvinism is something that I have personally spent a lot of time studying and thinking about for the past decade. In recent years this theology has grown a lot in popularity, being propagated by popular and prominent pastors and christian leaders like John Piper, John Macarthur, RC Sproul and ministry organizations like the Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, Ligonier Ministries and Apologia Studios.    This theology is based on a particular understanding of passages like Romans 9, John 6 and Ephesians 1, which are interpreted by Calvinists in a way that results in the conclusion that God has determined before the foundation of the world which individuals he will save and has ultimately created a countless mass of humanity throughout history for the purpose of condemning them to eternal torment in hell for committing sins that he himself determined that they commit. This may be a bit more of an abrasive and pointed way of putting it, but I think if you come to understand the claims and beliefs of the theologians mentioned above who teach these doctrines, you will see that this is an accurate and honest representation of their ultimate conclusions. I personally find the view of God that is communicated in Calvinism to be immoral and a gross misrepresentation of what the bible actually describes God to be like.    Although I do have moral and emotional apprehensions toward this theology, that is not ultimately the reason why I came to reject it. I came to reject it on biblical grounds. After examining the many Calvinistic proof texts like Romans 9 and Ephesians 1, I became convinced that Calvinists are simply misunderstanding and misinterpreting these texts. I make videos about this topic because I believe that bad theology is harmful to people - emotionally, mentally and spiritually.    My goal in making videos like this is not to demonize Calvinists who teach these things or to say they are evil heretics or anything of the sort, but to simply explain why I strongly disagree with their conclusions and offer what I consider to be a better way of understanding the many biblical texts that are often used to support these views. Watch more of my videos on Calvinism: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJNUrjZLBEq2FhrqzT-coMx-7nbls9Vw Watch my films here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJNUrjZLBEp7tApoCOPhEw4F0BBQg-Gr Seek First: Freedom From Worry And Anxiety (Matthew 6:25-33) https://youtu.be/Cjbj1qOIzk8 Get early access to videos and content when you support Great Light Studios by becoming a monthly patron here: https://www.patreon.com/greatlightstudios or become a member on the GLS YouTube channel.  You can also make a one-time or recurring donation to Jordan and GLS through PayPal here: https://bit.ly/3nN2nYD – If you would like to mail a check, you can send to: Great Light Studios (Burns Cornerstone Church) 143 South Washington Burns, KS 66840   PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/greatlightstudios YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfi2w6gJGj1jHdEk-e_b7pA TWITTER: https://twitter.com/JordanMHatfield INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/greatlightstudios FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLightStudios TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@greatlightstudios CONTACT US: contact@greatlightstudios.com

Jordan talks with popular Christian YouTuber Alana L about why she left Calvinism after 19 years.   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/FQJW70tsJws Calvinism's Critical Error Part 1: https://youtu.be/ygePIgd7DJU Calvinism's Critical Error Part 2: https://youtu.be/A23Mc_eqWu8   The topic of Calvinism is something that I have personally spent a lot of time studying and thinking about for the past decade. In recent years this theology has grown a lot in popularity, being propagated by popular and prominent pastors and christian leaders like John Piper, John Macarthur, RC Sproul and ministry organizations like the Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, Ligonier Ministries and Apologia Studios.    This theology is based on a particular understanding of passages like Romans 9, John 6 and Ephesians 1, which are interpreted by Calvinists in a way that results in the conclusion that God has determined before the foundation of the world which individuals he will save and has ultimately created a countless mass of humanity throughout history for the purpose of condemning them to eternal torment in hell for committing sins that he himself determined that they commit. This may be a bit more of an abrasive and pointed way of putting it, but I think if you come to understand the claims and beliefs of the theologians mentioned above who teach these doctrines, you will see that this is an accurate and honest representation of their ultimate conclusions. I personally find the view of God that is communicated in Calvinism to be immoral and a gross misrepresentation of what the bible actually describes God to be like.    Although I do have moral and emotional apprehensions toward this theology, that is not ultimately the reason why I came to reject it. I came to reject it on biblical grounds. After examining the many Calvinistic proof texts like Romans 9 and Ephesians 1, I became convinced that Calvinists are simply misunderstanding and misinterpreting these texts. I make videos about this topic because I believe that bad theology is harmful to people - emotionally, mentally and spiritually.    My goal in making videos like this is not to demonize Calvinists who teach these things or to say they are evil heretics or anything of the sort, but to simply explain why I strongly disagree with their conclusions and offer what I consider to be a better way of understanding the many biblical texts that are often used to support these views. Watch more of my videos on Calvinism: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJNUrjZLBEq2FhrqzT-coMx-7nbls9Vw Watch my films here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJNUrjZLBEp7tApoCOPhEw4F0BBQg-Gr Seek First: Freedom From Worry And Anxiety (Matthew 6:25-33) https://youtu.be/Cjbj1qOIzk8 Get early access to videos and content when you support Great Light Studios by becoming a monthly patron here: https://www.patreon.com/greatlightstudios or become a member on the GLS YouTube channel.  You can also make a one-time or recurring donation to Jordan and GLS through PayPal here: https://bit.ly/3nN2nYD – If you would like to mail a check, you can send to: Great Light Studios (Burns Cornerstone Church) 143 South Washington Burns, KS 66840   PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/greatlightstudios YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfi2w6gJGj1jHdEk-e_b7pA TWITTER: https://twitter.com/JordanMHatfield INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/greatlightstudios FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLightStudios TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@greatlightstudios CONTACT US: contact@greatlightstudios.com

The battle continues! Welcome to round #2 of the presup- classical apologetics debate. Which method will come out on top and why? The debate between presuppositional and classical apologetics continues on even after Greg Bahnsen and RC Sproul battled it out several years ago. Join Eli Ayala as he discusses the problems Dr. Sproul had with the presuppositional method and how presuppositionalism compares to the classical method. The video of this episode can be found here: https://youtu.be/JFbC17nb4QA Web: www.ReformedRookie.com Podcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedrookie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReformedRookie Semper Reformanda!

Welcome to round #1 of the presup- classical apologetics debate. Which method will come out on top and why? The debate between presuppositional and classical apologetics continues on even after Greg Bahnsen and RC Sproul battled it out several years ago. Join Eli Ayala as he discusses the problems Dr. Sproul had with the presuppositional method and how presuppositionalism compares to the classical method. The video of this episode can be found here: https://youtu.be/dg51bZcXFMU Web: www.ReformedRookie.com Podcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedrookie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReformedRookie Semper Reformanda!

In this episode Pastor Raef digs into one of the core divisions between Catholics and Protestants, the doctrine of Justification.This episode correlates to a blog post that Pastor Raef wrote on this topic that can be found here: https://raefchenery.com/2023/05/24/justification-the-great-division-between-protestant-catholics/RESOURCESAre We Together?: A Protestant Analyzes Roman Catholicism by RC Sproul https://www.amazon.com/Together-Protestant-Analyzes-Roman-Catholicism/dp/1567692826/

In today's age, we are looking for wisdom in many different places—online, from parents, maybe even from professors—but what if we decided to look at a specific Living in today's age as a Christian isn't always easy. We know our lives should look different, but in what ways? How are we supposed to be set apart? What does wisdom look as a Christ follower in this modern world?In this episode, we look at how to read James—the Proverbs of the New Testament—and discuss how it points us to living wise lives as Christians in the modern world.To listen to our Old Testament episode over Wisdom Literature, click here.

If all of Hebrews could be summed up into one sentence, it would be this: JESUS IS BETTER than our trials, circumstances, religious figures, and anything else that we'd look to rather than Him.As you read Hebrews, ask yourself, "What spiritual leaders do I look to? What ways do I try and make up for my sin?" Take note how many times the author says “do this so that you don't fall away.” We don't want you to be scared of falling away, but we want you to see that those things are the means of how God keeps us with Him. Reading scripture, gathering with Christians, praying, etc. are means that God uses to keep us. God has them there so that we can grow in faith and continue to cling to Jesus.Keep your eyes on Jesus—He will hold you fast!

THE THESIS: Hunter and Ashley Biden have been broken and we must pray for them. The Biden siblings share some serious problems, apparent sex addiction (which Ashley appears to have discussed in therapy) and the strange habit of leaving their darkest life secrets laying around where people can find them. That Hunter Biden has been selling White House access to fuel his twin addictions is a clear and vital national security crisis, that these two humans have these twin set of issues is the sign of a deeply sick family life that is also a national security concern, but also a call for us to pray for them. THE SCRIPTURE & SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES:  Matthew 5:43-48 Love for Enemies 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Acts 9: 1-19 Saul's Conversion 9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. THE NEWS & COMMENT: Some good news, perhaps?  EXCLUSIVE: Judge rules to unseal dozens of documents about Ghislaine Maxwell's personal affairs, including those that reveal her and Jeffrey Epstein's relationship with the Clinton. But, what about Hunter Biden?  [AUDIO] - Senator Ron Johnson: Hunter Biden's laptop is a treasure trove of info that must be investigated. But unfortunately we don't have equal justice in our country. Instead, we have a two-tiered justice system – one for Democrats and their powerful friends (and family) and one for the rest of America. It's not just the laptop (well, maybe not . . . ) Hunter Biden's iPhone backup data allegedly hacked by 4chan users; Members of the 4chan online community have allegedly hacked Hunter Biden's iCloud by cracking his iPhone's password on Saturday. It's sad and fitting that Hunter Biden is being destroyed by the same drugs and sex addiction that The Party has allowed to run through America's cities . . .  [AUDIO] -  In San Francisco's Tenderloin District, you can smoke meth on the sidewalk and deal fentanyl openly on a street corner, but if you're a mom like @GMcDee2  trying to get your addicted kid off the street and into a car, *then* the cops might intervene. This is just so horrific to read. We must pray for Hunter and Ashlely Biden--that God will call them to Himself--and we need to understand the pure Hell that is in the White House.  Bidens are as dysfunctional as the Kennedys — and protected by the press Hunter Biden reportedly called Jill an ‘entitled c–t' in texts [AUDIO] -  Poor Biden: Morning Joe Crew Whines That Dems Are Not Touting Biden Enough Doesn't it make sense, then, that a Party who chooses that man is Figurehead, has groups like this threatening Supreme Court justices everywhere they go? Leftist SCOTUS Stalker Group ‘ShutDownDC' Offers Bounties For Conservative Justice Sightings; ShutDownDC: “We'll venmo you $50 for a confirmed sighting and $200 if they're still there 30 mins after your message,” as targeting encouraged throughout leftist Twitterverse. [AUDIO] - Doocy Battles KJP as She Okays Hounding Kavanaugh in Public: Part of ‘Democracy' So, naturally, this is what panics the NY Times: The Far-Right Christian Quest for Power: ‘We Are Seeing Them Emboldened'; Political candidates on the fringe mix religious fervor with conspiracy theories, even calling for the end of the separation of church and state. And, in a related story, this is also causing the NY Times staff to seek their safe spaces The Rise of the Far-Right Latina; Representative Mayra Flores is one of three Republican Latinas vying to transform South Texas politics by shunning moderates and often embracing the extreme. . . . The Times, of course, ignores this catastrophe, tied inexorably to the same type of rugs that have so ruined Hunter Biden and millions of Americans, like the son of the woman in San Francisco  [AUDIO] - So this is Human Trafficking at the Border, Probably Happening every day. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Democrats are allowing this catastrophe to happen! Guess who has to pay for this mess? THE LISTENERS CHRIS: Todd Love you bro but God does not love everyone unconditionally. This was a pet peeve of RC Sproul. We have to stop saying this as Christian's. God loves His creation but loves His children with a fatherly eternal love. Remember Jesus owns words to Nicodemus…. Jesus loves us but only if we repent and believe upon Him. John 3:18-21 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.