Podcast appearances and mentions of Wayne A Grudem

1 CORINTHIANS CorrectionWith Confidence Because of The Faithfulness Of God Toward  His Saints!       1 Corinthians10:23–26 (ESV) — 23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, butthe good of his neighbor. 25 Eatwhatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the groundof conscience. 26 For “the earth isthe Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” PRINCIPLES YOU NEED TO LIVE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD INLIBERTY  (v23)  NOT EVERYPOSSIBILITY IN LIBERTY IS EQUAL     Notjust lawful…  but Helpful and builds up…     1 Corinthians 6:12 (ESV) — 12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all thingsare helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated byanything. Ephesians 4:11–16  Romans 15:1–3 (ESV) — 1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with thefailings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.3 For Christ did not please himself,but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” (v24) YOU MUST SEEK THE GOOD OF YOUR NEIGHBOR seek, look for; investigate, examine, consider,deliberate; strive for, aim (at), try to obtain, desire, wish (for); ask for,request, demand   “God's love means that God eternally gives of himselfto others” Wayne A. Grudem, SystematicTheology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine Philippians 2:1–11 (ESV) — 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, anycomfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,2 complete my joy by being of thesame mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition orconceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to hisown interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in ChristJesus, 6 who, though he was inthe form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking theform of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becomingobedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the namethat is above every name, 10 so thatat the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and underthe earth, 11 and every tongueconfess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (v25-26)LIVE IN THE FREEDOM OF A CLEAN CONSCIENCE & GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY    Psalm 24:1 (ESV) — 1The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwelltherein,

     Total depravity is the biblical doctrine that sin permeates all aspects of our being—mind, will, and sensibilities, and renders us helpless to save ourselves. It does not mean we are as bad as we can be, for there are many moral unbelievers in the world. Being contaminated by sin means whatever morality we produce can never measure up to the perfect righteousness God expects. Is there any person who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?” (Prov 20:9). The answer is an emphatic No! The human heart is corrupt, for “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jer 17:9). And “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20), and “There is none righteous; not even one. There is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become useless. There is none who does good, there is not even one” (Rom 3:10-12; cf. Rom 8:8). Some might argue that we can perform good works and help to save ourselves. This is wrong. Scripture states, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isa 59:2), “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa 64:6). Salvation does not come by human works; rather, we are “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and salvation comes “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5), and we are “not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). By human standards, even the worst person can do some good. But human estimation is lower than God's estimation and it is God's standards that define what is truly good. According to Charles Ryrie, “Total depravity must always be measured against God's holiness. Relative goodness exists in people. They can do good works, which are appreciated by others. But nothing that anyone can do will gain salvational merit or favor in the sight of a holy God.”[1] Calvinist View of Total Depravity      For Calvinists, total depravity means total inability. They regard people as totally unable to respond to the things of God; like a physical corpse. Notable scholars such as B. B. Warfield, R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Wayne Grudem, John Frame, John MacArthur, and J. I. Packer hold this view. B. B. Warfield wrote, “nothing is more fundamental in the doctrine of the Reformers than the complete inability of man and his absolute need of divine grace.”[2] John Frame states, “We can never come to God out of our own resources. We are helpless to do anything to save ourselves. This condition is sometimes called total inability” (italics his).[3] J. I. Packer states, “Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom 8:7–8).”[4] That is, lost sinners cannot respond to God at all, as they are spiritually unable (dead) to respond apart from God's granting life and the ability to believe. This leads Calvinists to conclude two things. First, God sovereignly acts by Himself to regenerate the spiritually dead and make them spiritually alive. Second, God gives the newly regenerate a special kind of faith whereby they can and will trust in Christ as Savior. According to Wayne Grudem, regeneration is “the act of God awakening spiritual life within us, bringing us from spiritual death to spiritual life. On this definition, it is natural to understand that regeneration comes before saving faith. It is in fact this work of God that gives us the spiritual ability to respond to God in faith.”[5] According to John MacArthur, “Our response in salvation is faith, but even that is not of ourselves [but is] the gift of God. Faith is nothing that we do in our own power or by our own resources...Paul intends to emphasize that even faith is not from us apart from God's giving it.”[6] The result of these divine actions in God's elect means they will produce good works and will persevere in those works throughout their lives until they die. John MacArthur states, “The same power that created us in Christ Jesus empowers us to do the good works for which He has redeemed us. These are the verifiers of true salvation.”[7] Thus, good works from regeneration to the end of one's life are the proof of salvation. Failure to produce ongoing good works until the end of one's life is offered as proof he was never saved (Matt 7:21). The Biblical View of Total Depravity      The correct biblical view is that total depravity means total unworthiness, not total inability to respond in faith to God's offer of salvation. Despite the profound impact of sin on human nature, the Bible does not portray people as entirely incapacitated. Yes, all mankind is “dead” in their sins (Eph 2:1); but death does not mean total inability, but total separation from God, for even those who were dead still “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph 2:2). Mankind is totally depraved in the sense that sin corrupts every part of our being, intellect, will, and sensibility. However, it does not mean that fallen people are unable to respond in faith to the gospel of grace.      The first example of spiritual death in the Bible is found in the Garden of Eden. God had warned Adam and Eve, saying, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). The warning was that if they disobeyed God, on that very day, they would die (and death means separation, not cessation). Adam and Eve experienced spiritual death at the moment they disobeyed God. Yet, immediately after the fall, in their state of spiritual death, they could sense God's presence in the Garden, as they “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden” (Gen 3:8). Furthermore, Adam heard God's voice when He “called to the man” (Gen 3:9), and Adam responded to Him, saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden” (Gen 3:10a). Though they could not undo their newly fallen sinful state, it did not render them totally unable to perceive God or to respond to Him when He called out to them. And they did respond positively to the Lord when He promised to provide a descendant, a Seed of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). They also responded positively by accepting God's provision of clothing after He killed an animal, took its skin, and covered their nakedness (Gen 3:21).      Furthermore, God made mankind in His image, as Scripture states, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). Even after the historic fall of Adam and Eve, all people are said to be “in the image of God” (Gen 9:6), and “in the likeness of God” (Jam 3:9). Despite the fall of humanity into sin, the image of God in humanity remains intact, implying that humans still retain some moral capacity, which includes the ability to accept God's offer of salvation by faith. Though people are deeply affected by sin, they still possess some capacity for moral choice and responsibility, thus arguing against the notion of total depravity meaning total inability.      Regeneration is entirely the work of God in saving lost sinners who cannot save themselves (Rom 5:6-10). The sinner brings nothing of worth to salvation, but receives all that God has to offer by grace. John Walvoord states, “Regeneration is wholly of God. No possible human effort however noble can supply eternal life.”[8] Paul Enns states, “Succinctly stated, to regenerate means ‘to impart life.' Regeneration is the act whereby God imparts life to the one who believes.”[9] Regeneration occurs in the one who believes in Christ as Savior. According to Charles Ryrie, “Salvation is always through faith, not because of faith (Eph 2:8). Faith is the channel through which we receive God's gift of eternal life; it is not the cause. This is so man can never boast, even of his faith. But faith is the necessary and only channel (John 5:24; 17:3).”[10] The Bible teaches there is only one kind of faith, and that only those who place their faith in Christ will be saved. Faith does not save. Christ saves. The Strict-Calvinist believes there are two kinds of faith, one that is common to all, and another that is special and imparted only to God's elect. Believe to Receive Eternal Life      There are numerous passages in the Bible that place faith as the necessary prerequisite to regeneration. It is written, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and Jesus said, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 6:40), and “he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). Paul wrote to Timothy about “those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim 1:16). In these and other instances, “eternal life” is given after we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Furthermore, people are condemned, not because God has not made a way for them to be saved, but because of their unwillingness to come to Christ as Savior. The issue is individual choice, not inability. The apostle John said, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Jesus, speaking to unsaved persons, said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Jesus said the Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin (John 16:8), particularly the sin of unbelief, “because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9). There is only one sin that keeps a person out of heaven, and that is the sin of unbelief; of rejecting Jesus as the only Savior. Apparently unbelievers may resist the Holy Spirit, as Stephen said in his sermon, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51a).      Scripture reveals that “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30). This means they must not trust in themselves or any system of good works to save, but must trust in Christ, and Christ alone to save. Faith does not save. Christ saves. Faith is the non-meritorious instrument by which we receive eternal life. The Strict-Calvinist believes Christ died only for the elect (Matt 1:21; John 10:15), and only the elect are savable. The Bible teaches that Christ died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2); therefore, everyone is savable. Paul said, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Peter stated, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Anyone can be saved by believing the gospel message “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus is Free from Sin      Concerning total depravity and the transmission of original sin, Jesus is the sole exception, for Mary's virgin conception (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:30-35) meant Jesus was not born with the taint of original sin. Being free from original sin, Jesus also had no sin nature. Furthermore, Jesus lived His entire life and committed no personal sin. Scripture reveals Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), “committed no sin” (1 Pet 2:22), and in whom “there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him to die a substitutionary death in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Jesus died for everyone and paid the penalty for our sin (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). Though His death is sufficient for all to be saved (unlimited atonement), the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe in Him, which includes forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and eternal life (John 10:28). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 253. [2] Benjamin B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation: Five Lectures (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1915), 44. [3] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 112. [4] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 84. [5] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 702. [6] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Ephesians (Chicago, Ill. Moody Press, 1986), 98. [7] Ibid., 101. [8] John F. Walvoord, The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 1977), 132. [9] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 338. [10] Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 377.

     Total depravity is the biblical doctrine that sin permeates all aspects of our being—mind, will, and sensibilities, and renders us helpless to save ourselves. It does not mean we are as bad as we can be, for there are many moral unbelievers in the world. Being contaminated by sin means whatever morality we produce can never measure up to the perfect righteousness God expects. Is there any person who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?” (Prov 20:9). The answer is an emphatic No! The human heart is corrupt, for “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jer 17:9). And “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20), and “There is none righteous; not even one. There is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become useless. There is none who does good, there is not even one” (Rom 3:10-12; cf. Rom 8:8). Some might argue that we can perform good works and help to save ourselves. This is wrong. Scripture states, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isa 59:2), “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa 64:6). Salvation does not come by human works; rather, we are “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and salvation comes “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5), and we are “not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). By human standards, even the worst person can do some good. But human estimation is lower than God's estimation and it is God's standards that define what is truly good. According to Charles Ryrie, “Total depravity must always be measured against God's holiness. Relative goodness exists in people. They can do good works, which are appreciated by others. But nothing that anyone can do will gain salvational merit or favor in the sight of a holy God.”[1] Calvinist View of Total Depravity      For Calvinists, total depravity means total inability. They regard people as totally unable to respond to the things of God; like a physical corpse. Notable scholars such as B. B. Warfield, R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Wayne Grudem, John Frame, John MacArthur, and J. I. Packer hold this view. B. B. Warfield wrote, “nothing is more fundamental in the doctrine of the Reformers than the complete inability of man and his absolute need of divine grace.”[2] John Frame states, “We can never come to God out of our own resources. We are helpless to do anything to save ourselves. This condition is sometimes called total inability” (italics his).[3] J. I. Packer states, “Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom 8:7–8).”[4] That is, lost sinners cannot respond to God at all, as they are spiritually unable (dead) to respond apart from God's granting life and the ability to believe. This leads Calvinists to conclude two things. First, God sovereignly acts by Himself to regenerate the spiritually dead and make them spiritually alive. Second, God gives the newly regenerate a special kind of faith whereby they can and will trust in Christ as Savior. According to Wayne Grudem, regeneration is “the act of God awakening spiritual life within us, bringing us from spiritual death to spiritual life. On this definition, it is natural to understand that regeneration comes before saving faith. It is in fact this work of God that gives us the spiritual ability to respond to God in faith.”[5] According to John MacArthur, “Our response in salvation is faith, but even that is not of ourselves [but is] the gift of God. Faith is nothing that we do in our own power or by our own resources...Paul intends to emphasize that even faith is not from us apart from God's giving it.”[6] The result of these divine actions in God's elect means they will produce good works and will persevere in those works throughout their lives until they die. John MacArthur states, “The same power that created us in Christ Jesus empowers us to do the good works for which He has redeemed us. These are the verifiers of true salvation.”[7] Thus, good works from regeneration to the end of one's life are the proof of salvation. Failure to produce ongoing good works until the end of one's life is offered as proof he was never saved (Matt 7:21). The Biblical View of Total Depravity      The correct biblical view is that total depravity means total unworthiness, not total inability to respond in faith to God's offer of salvation. Despite the profound impact of sin on human nature, the Bible does not portray people as entirely incapacitated. Yes, all mankind is “dead” in their sins (Eph 2:1); but death does not mean total inability, but total separation from God, for even those who were dead still “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph 2:2). Mankind is totally depraved in the sense that sin corrupts every part of our being, intellect, will, and sensibility. However, it does not mean that fallen people are unable to respond in faith to the gospel of grace.      The first example of spiritual death in the Bible is found in the Garden of Eden. God had warned Adam and Eve, saying, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). The warning was that if they disobeyed God, on that very day, they would die (and death means separation, not cessation). Adam and Eve experienced spiritual death at the moment they disobeyed God. Yet, immediately after the fall, in their state of spiritual death, they could sense God's presence in the Garden, as they “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden” (Gen 3:8). Furthermore, Adam heard God's voice when He “called to the man” (Gen 3:9), and Adam responded to Him, saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden” (Gen 3:10a). Though they could not undo their newly fallen sinful state, it did not render them totally unable to perceive God or to respond to Him when He called out to them. And they did respond positively to the Lord when He promised to provide a descendant, a Seed of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). They also responded positively by accepting God's provision of clothing after He killed an animal, took its skin, and covered their nakedness (Gen 3:21).      Furthermore, God made mankind in His image, as Scripture states, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). Even after the historic fall of Adam and Eve, all people are said to be “in the image of God” (Gen 9:6), and “in the likeness of God” (Jam 3:9). Despite the fall of humanity into sin, the image of God in humanity remains intact, implying that humans still retain some moral capacity, which includes the ability to accept God's offer of salvation by faith. Though people are deeply affected by sin, they still possess some capacity for moral choice and responsibility, thus arguing against the notion of total depravity meaning total inability.      Regeneration is entirely the work of God in saving lost sinners who cannot save themselves (Rom 5:6-10). The sinner brings nothing of worth to salvation, but receives all that God has to offer by grace. John Walvoord states, “Regeneration is wholly of God. No possible human effort however noble can supply eternal life.”[8] Paul Enns states, “Succinctly stated, to regenerate means ‘to impart life.' Regeneration is the act whereby God imparts life to the one who believes.”[9] Regeneration occurs in the one who believes in Christ as Savior. According to Charles Ryrie, “Salvation is always through faith, not because of faith (Eph 2:8). Faith is the channel through which we receive God's gift of eternal life; it is not the cause. This is so man can never boast, even of his faith. But faith is the necessary and only channel (John 5:24; 17:3).”[10] The Bible teaches there is only one kind of faith, and that only those who place their faith in Christ will be saved. Faith does not save. Christ saves. The Strict-Calvinist believes there are two kinds of faith, one that is common to all, and another that is special and imparted only to God's elect. Believe to Receive Eternal Life      There are numerous passages in the Bible that place faith as the necessary prerequisite to regeneration. It is written, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and Jesus said, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 6:40), and “he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). Paul wrote to Timothy about “those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim 1:16). In these and other instances, “eternal life” is given after we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Furthermore, people are condemned, not because God has not made a way for them to be saved, but because of their unwillingness to come to Christ as Savior. The issue is individual choice, not inability. The apostle John said, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Jesus, speaking to unsaved persons, said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Jesus said the Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin (John 16:8), particularly the sin of unbelief, “because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9). There is only one sin that keeps a person out of heaven, and that is the sin of unbelief; of rejecting Jesus as the only Savior. Apparently unbelievers may resist the Holy Spirit, as Stephen said in his sermon, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51a).      Scripture reveals that “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30). This means they must not trust in themselves or any system of good works to save, but must trust in Christ, and Christ alone to save. Faith does not save. Christ saves. Faith is the non-meritorious instrument by which we receive eternal life. The Strict-Calvinist believes Christ died only for the elect (Matt 1:21; John 10:15), and only the elect are savable. The Bible teaches that Christ died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2); therefore, everyone is savable. Paul said, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Peter stated, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Anyone can be saved by believing the gospel message “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus is Free from Sin      Concerning total depravity and the transmission of original sin, Jesus is the sole exception, for Mary's virgin conception (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:30-35) meant Jesus was not born with the taint of original sin. Being free from original sin, Jesus also had no sin nature. Furthermore, Jesus lived His entire life and committed no personal sin. Scripture reveals Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), “committed no sin” (1 Pet 2:22), and in whom “there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him to die a substitutionary death in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Jesus died for everyone and paid the penalty for our sin (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). Though His death is sufficient for all to be saved (unlimited atonement), the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe in Him, which includes forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and eternal life (John 10:28). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 253. [2] Benjamin B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation: Five Lectures (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1915), 44. [3] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 112. [4] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 84. [5] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 702. [6] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Ephesians (Chicago, Ill. Moody Press, 1986), 98. [7] Ibid., 101. [8] John F. Walvoord, The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 1977), 132. [9] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 338. [10]

First Love   Romans 10:9&10   “…one who has a true saving faith has moved from investigating Jesus' claims to believing that these claims are true, and from believing these claims are true to personally trusting in Jesus for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. If I have a true saving faith, I no longer simply believe facts about Jesus; instead, I personally trust Jesus to save me.” Wayne A. Grudem  1) Deliberate Relationship   Pr 3:5-8   Mk 10:17-22   2) Deliberate Affection   Rev 2.2-5   3) Deliberate Partnership   Ex 18: 13-23   a) Lean into the relationship b) Get instructions for action

Marvel at God's glorious salvation for sinners in Christ, and then please share with friend who needs to hear this good news! 4-Week countdown to Holy Week3/23 | New Righteousness (Romans 3:20-22) 3/31 | Old Problem (Romans 3:23) 4/7    | God's Salvation (Romans 3:24-25) 4/14 | God's Righteousness (Romans 3:25-26) justification: An instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ's righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology. grace: God's goodness toward those who deserve only punishment. Wayne A. Grudemredemption: Christ's saving work viewed as an act of “buying back” sinners out of their bondage to sin and to Satan through the payment of a ransom. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology. propitiation: A sacrifice that bears God's wrath to the end and in so doing changes God's wrath toward us into favor.  Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology. faith: Trust or dependence on God based on the fact that we take him at his word and believe what he has said.  Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology. 

Pastor Matthews & Bro. David cover 20 basic beliefs Every Christian should know. By Author Wayne A. Grudem --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/newpministry/message

We've come to the end of quite the interesting year. In this last episode of 2020, Ray and I look back at lessons the Lord has taught us. It wasn't all bad and we praise the Lord for his continuing faithfulness. Recommended Resources::Systematic Theology, Second Edition: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne A. Grudem The Faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah: A Gospel Emphasis by Walter D. Zorn See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hello friends, and Happy Tuesday to you. I realize with some chagrin that I missed wishing you a happy Star Wars day yesterday, but I can wish you a happy Cinco De Mayo today. Today's Bible readings include Numbers 11 and 12, Psalms 49, Isaiah 2 and Hebrews 10, which is our focus passage. Today we finish up our discussion of The Perseverance of the Saints, or Once Saved Always Saved, which basically deals with the question: Can a Christian lose their salvation? Part One of the series was episode 121 Part Two was Episode 124 And today is the finale, The Return of the Jedi of our discussion of the Perseverance of the Saints. This is an important theological discussion, but it is a very, very important practical pastoring and real life spirituality question to consider, especially in the West. The fact is that there are many in the U.S. and other Western countries that proclaim Jesus with their lips, but deny Him with their lifestyle, as the old quote goes. In other Words, they are Christian in name only. Perhaps this is because they made a one time decision eons ago in their childhood, or perhaps it is because they grew up in church, or grew up with a very religious mom, or in a very religious area, or what have you. In the same way that almost everybody that grows up in Alabama is either an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan - whether you like/know anything about football at all - many people born into religious families or churchy areas consider themselves Christians. However, it needs to be understood that Jesus Himself did not consider being a follower of His to be something you are born into, something you naturally inherit from your parents, or a decision you make in the heat of the moment when the choir is on the third verse of "Just as I Am," and the preacher is pleading for sinners to come, and you walk the aisle simply because you got caught up in the moment. Generally, when Jesus called people - He told them to FOLLOW HIM, and He meant that quite literally. Matthew left his money and his tax collecting business and began to literally FOLLOW Jesus all around the country. Peter, James, John and Andrew abandoned their fishing business and followed Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other ladies that took care of Jesus and the disciples left their lives behind, and literally travelled around the country with Him - hanging on His every Word, and serving Him actively. The Jesus way, however, is not how usually how churches have treated following Jesus over the past few decades. Instead, many churches, pastors and evangelists have preached for 'decisions,' which is when you give a message and an invitation at the end of it, and invite people - usually with a strong emotional appeal - to give their lives to Jesus - usually by praying and 'asking Him into your heart." I think there are many good things about proclaiming the good news in a way where somebody should be led to make a decision, but the fact is that most Western churches don't follow the pattern of Jesus and the disciples when proclaiming the Gospel, and that has led to many more people making decisions for Christ than actually becoming genuine followers of Christ. As we discussed in episode 124 - this is not a terribly big surprise, because Jesus shows in in Mark 4 - the Parable of the Sower - that many of the people who receive the Word of God - even some who receive it joyfully - do not ultimately go on to be saved. They believe for a moment in time - maybe an extended moment in time - but their belief is not actually a saving belief in Jesus, because 'they have no root,' and they don't persevere in following Him. Hebrews 2, 3, 6 and 10 all contain strong warnings to followers of Jesus - urging them to not quit, but to persevere and continue on in the faith. Hebrews 10 contains a particularly sober warning for any who would backslide (a fancy old-school religious term that basically means moving away from Jesus and His teachings.): 26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who has said, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.... 35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10 Some see in those verses a strong warning against falling away - a warning that true Christians can and do fall away, and when they do, they are potentially lost forever, unless they quickly turn back and follow Jesus. Others see a strong exhortation to hold onto faith, and find great assurance (in other Bible passages) that genuinely saved Christians won't lose their salvation because they are held secure not by their own strength, but by the power of God. Seminary professor and author Wayne Grudem addresses this question head-on in his most excellent Systematic Theology, making a convincing case to believe that a genuinely saved Christian will not be lost: There are many passages that teach that those who are truly born again, who are genuinely Christians, will continue in the Christian life until death and will then go to be with Christ in heaven. Jesus says, I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:38–40) Here Jesus says that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. He says that he will raise that person up at the last day—which, in this context of believing in the Son and having eternal life, clearly means that Jesus will raise that person up to eternal life with him (not just raise him up to be judged and condemned). It seems hard to avoid the conclusion that everyone who truly believes in Christ will remain a Christian up to the day of final resurrection into the blessings of life in the presence of God.2 Moreover, this text emphasizes that Jesus does the will of the Father, which is that he should “lose nothing of all that he has given me” (John 6:39). Once again, those given to the Son by the Father will not be lost. Another passage emphasizing this truth is John 10:27–29, in which Jesus says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. Here Jesus says that those who follow him, those who are his sheep, are given eternal life. He further says that “no one shall snatch them out of my hand” (v. 28). Now some have objected to this that even though no one else can take Christians out of Christ’s hand, we might remove ourselves from Christ’s hand. But that seems to be pedantic quibbling over words—does not “no one” also include the person who is in Christ’s hand? Moreover, we know that our own hearts are far from trustworthy. Therefore if the possibility remained that we could remove ourself from Christ’s hand, the passage would hardly give the assurance that Jesus intends by it. But more importantly, the most forceful phrase in the passage is “they shall never perish” (v. 28). The Greek construction (οὐ μή plus aorist subjunctive) is especially emphatic and might be translated more explicitly, “and they shall certainly not perish forever.” This emphasizes that those who are Jesus’ “sheep” and who follow him, and to whom he has given eternal life, shall never lose their salvation or be separated from Christ—they shall “never perish.”3 Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 788–790. He further elaborates on the perseverance part of the Perseverance of the Saints doctrine here: While Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that those who are truly born again will persevere to the end and will certainly have eternal life in heaven with God, there are other passages that speak of the necessity of continuing in faith throughout life. They make us realize that what Peter said in 1 Peter 1:5 is true, namely, that God does not guard us apart from our faith, but only by working through our faith so that he enables us to continue to believe in him. In this way, those who continue to trust in Christ gain assurance that God is working in them and guarding them. One example of this kind of passage is John 8:31–32: “Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ’ Jesus is here giving a warning that one evidence of genuine faith is continuing in his word, that is, continuing to believe what he says and living a life of obedience to his commands. Similarly, Jesus says, “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 10:22), as a means of warning people not to fall away in times of persecution. Paul says to the Colossian Christians that Christ has reconciled them to God, “in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Col. 1:22–23). It is only natural that Paul and the other New Testament writers would speak this way, for they are addressing groups of people who profess to be Christians, without being able to know the actual state of every person’s heart. There may have been people at Colossae who had joined in the fellowship of the church, and perhaps even professed that they had faith in Christ and had been baptized into membership of the church, but who never had true saving faith. How is Paul to distinguish such people from true believers? How can he avoid giving them false assurance, assurance that they will be saved eternally when in fact they will not, unless they come to true repentance and faith? Paul knows that those whose faith is not real will eventually fall away from participation in the fellowship of the church. Therefore he tells his readers that they will ultimately be saved, “provided that you continue in the faith” (Col. 1:23). Those who continue show thereby that they are genuine believers. But those who do not continue in the faith show that there was no genuine faith in their hearts in the first place. A similar emphasis is seen in Hebrews 3:14 (NASB): “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm to the end.” This verse provides an excellent perspective on the doctrine of perseverance. How do we know if “we have become partakers of Christ”? How do we know if this being joined to Christ has happened to us at some time in the past?10 One way in which we know that we have come to genuine faith in Christ is if we continue in faith until the end of our lives. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 792–793. Finally, Grudem concludes with a pastoral call to hold fast and hold firm to the Gospel and to Jesus: At this point, in terms of pastoral care with those who have strayed away from their Christian profession, we should realize that Calvinists and Arminians (those who believe in the perseverance of the saints and those who think that Christians can lose their salvation) will both counsel a “backslider” in the same way. According to the Arminian this person was a Christian at one time but is no longer a Christian. According to the Calvinist, such a person never really was a Christian in the first place and is not one now. But in both cases the biblical counsel given would be the same: “You do not appear to be a Christian now—you must repent of your sins and trust in Christ for your salvation!” Though the Calvinist and Arminian would differ on their interpretation of the previous history, they would agree on what should be done in the present. But here we see why the phrase eternal security can be quite misleading. In some evangelical churches, instead of teaching the full and balanced presentation of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, pastors have sometimes taught a watered-down version, which in effect tells people that all who have once made a profession of faith and been baptized are “eternally secure.” The result is that some people who are not genuinely converted at all may “come forward” at the end of an evangelistic sermon to profess faith in Christ, and may be baptized shortly after that, but then they leave the fellowship of the church and live a life no different from the one they lived before they gained this “eternal security.” In this way people are given false assurance and are being cruelly deceived into thinking they are going to heaven when in fact they are not. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 806.

Hello friends, and Happy Tuesday to you. I realize with some chagrin that I missed wishing you a happy Star Wars day yesterday, but I can wish you a happy Cinco De Mayo today. Today's Bible readings include Numbers 11 and 12, Psalms 49, Isaiah 2 and Hebrews 10, which is our focus passage. Today we finish up our discussion of The Perseverance of the Saints, or Once Saved Always Saved, which basically deals with the question: Can a Christian lose their salvation? Part One of the series was episode 121 Part Two was Episode 124 And today is the finale, The Return of the Jedi of our discussion of the Perseverance of the Saints. This is an important theological discussion, but it is a very, very important practical pastoring and real life spirituality question to consider, especially in the West. The fact is that there are many in the U.S. and other Western countries that proclaim Jesus with their lips, but deny Him with their lifestyle, as the old quote goes. In other Words, they are Christian in name only. Perhaps this is because they made a one time decision eons ago in their childhood, or perhaps it is because they grew up in church, or grew up with a very religious mom, or in a very religious area, or what have you. In the same way that almost everybody that grows up in Alabama is either an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan - whether you like/know anything about football at all - many people born into religious families or churchy areas consider themselves Christians. However, it needs to be understood that Jesus Himself did not consider being a follower of His to be something you are born into, something you naturally inherit from your parents, or a decision you make in the heat of the moment when the choir is on the third verse of "Just as I Am," and the preacher is pleading for sinners to come, and you walk the aisle simply because you got caught up in the moment. Generally, when Jesus called people - He told them to FOLLOW HIM, and He meant that quite literally. Matthew left his money and his tax collecting business and began to literally FOLLOW Jesus all around the country. Peter, James, John and Andrew abandoned their fishing business and followed Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other ladies that took care of Jesus and the disciples left their lives behind, and literally travelled around the country with Him - hanging on His every Word, and serving Him actively. The Jesus way, however, is not how usually how churches have treated following Jesus over the past few decades. Instead, many churches, pastors and evangelists have preached for 'decisions,' which is when you give a message and an invitation at the end of it, and invite people - usually with a strong emotional appeal - to give their lives to Jesus - usually by praying and 'asking Him into your heart." I think there are many good things about proclaiming the good news in a way where somebody should be led to make a decision, but the fact is that most Western churches don't follow the pattern of Jesus and the disciples when proclaiming the Gospel, and that has led to many more people making decisions for Christ than actually becoming genuine followers of Christ. As we discussed in episode 124 - this is not a terribly big surprise, because Jesus shows in in Mark 4 - the Parable of the Sower - that many of the people who receive the Word of God - even some who receive it joyfully - do not ultimately go on to be saved. They believe for a moment in time - maybe an extended moment in time - but their belief is not actually a saving belief in Jesus, because 'they have no root,' and they don't persevere in following Him. Hebrews 2, 3, 6 and 10 all contain strong warnings to followers of Jesus - urging them to not quit, but to persevere and continue on in the faith. Hebrews 10 contains a particularly sober warning for any who would backslide (a fancy old-school religious term that basically means moving away from Jesus and His teachings.): 26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who has said, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.... 35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10 Some see in those verses a strong warning against falling away - a warning that true Christians can and do fall away, and when they do, they are potentially lost forever, unless they quickly turn back and follow Jesus. Others see a strong exhortation to hold onto faith, and find great assurance (in other Bible passages) that genuinely saved Christians won't lose their salvation because they are held secure not by their own strength, but by the power of God. Seminary professor and author Wayne Grudem addresses this question head-on in his most excellent Systematic Theology, making a convincing case to believe that a genuinely saved Christian will not be lost: There are many passages that teach that those who are truly born again, who are genuinely Christians, will continue in the Christian life until death and will then go to be with Christ in heaven. Jesus says, I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:38–40) Here Jesus says that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. He says that he will raise that person up at the last day—which, in this context of believing in the Son and having eternal life, clearly means that Jesus will raise that person up to eternal life with him (not just raise him up to be judged and condemned). It seems hard to avoid the conclusion that everyone who truly believes in Christ will remain a Christian up to the day of final resurrection into the blessings of life in the presence of God.2 Moreover, this text emphasizes that Jesus does the will of the Father, which is that he should “lose nothing of all that he has given me” (John 6:39). Once again, those given to the Son by the Father will not be lost. Another passage emphasizing this truth is John 10:27–29, in which Jesus says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. Here Jesus says that those who follow him, those who are his sheep, are given eternal life. He further says that “no one shall snatch them out of my hand” (v. 28). Now some have objected to this that even though no one else can take Christians out of Christ’s hand, we might remove ourselves from Christ’s hand. But that seems to be pedantic quibbling over words—does not “no one” also include the person who is in Christ’s hand? Moreover, we know that our own hearts are far from trustworthy. Therefore if the possibility remained that we could remove ourself from Christ’s hand, the passage would hardly give the assurance that Jesus intends by it. But more importantly, the most forceful phrase in the passage is “they shall never perish” (v. 28). The Greek construction (οὐ μή plus aorist subjunctive) is especially emphatic and might be translated more explicitly, “and they shall certainly not perish forever.” This emphasizes that those who are Jesus’ “sheep” and who follow him, and to whom he has given eternal life, shall never lose their salvation or be separated from Christ—they shall “never perish.”3 Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 788–790. He further elaborates on the perseverance part of the Perseverance of the Saints doctrine here: While Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that those who are truly born again will persevere to the end and will certainly have eternal life in heaven with God, there are other passages that speak of the necessity of continuing in faith throughout life. They make us realize that what Peter said in 1 Peter 1:5 is true, namely, that God does not guard us apart from our faith, but only by working through our faith so that he enables us to continue to believe in him. In this way, those who continue to trust in Christ gain assurance that God is working in them and guarding them. One example of this kind of passage is John 8:31–32: “Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ’ Jesus is here giving a warning that one evidence of genuine faith is continuing in his word, that is, continuing to believe what he says and living a life of obedience to his commands. Similarly, Jesus says, “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 10:22), as a means of warning people not to fall away in times of persecution. Paul says to the Colossian Christians that Christ has reconciled them to God, “in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Col. 1:22–23). It is only natural that Paul and the other New Testament writers would speak this way, for they are addressing groups of people who profess to be Christians, without being able to know the actual state of every person’s heart. There may have been people at Colossae who had joined in the fellowship of the church, and perhaps even professed that they had faith in Christ and had been baptized into membership of the church, but who never had true saving faith. How is Paul to distinguish such people from true believers? How can he avoid giving them false assurance, assurance that they will be saved eternally when in fact they will not, unless they come to true repentance and faith? Paul knows that those whose faith is not real will eventually fall away from participation in the fellowship of the church. Therefore he tells his readers that they will ultimately be saved, “provided that you continue in the faith” (Col. 1:23). Those who continue show thereby that they are genuine believers. But those who do not continue in the faith show that there was no genuine faith in their hearts in the first place. A similar emphasis is seen in Hebrews 3:14 (NASB): “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm to the end.” This verse provides an excellent perspective on the doctrine of perseverance. How do we know if “we have become partakers of Christ”? How do we know if this being joined to Christ has happened to us at some time in the past?10 One way in which we know that we have come to genuine faith in Christ is if we continue in faith until the end of our lives. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 792–793. Finally, Grudem concludes with a pastoral call to hold fast and hold firm to the Gospel and to Jesus: At this point, in terms of pastoral care with those who have strayed away from their Christian profession, we should realize that Calvinists and Arminians (those who believe in the perseverance of the saints and those who think that Christians can lose their salvation) will both counsel a “backslider” in the same way. According to the Arminian this person was a Christian at one time but is no longer a Christian. According to the Calvinist, such a person never really was a Christian in the first place and is not one now. But in both cases the biblical counsel given would be the same: “You do not appear to be a Christian now—you must repent of your sins and trust in Christ for your salvation!” Though the Calvinist and Arminian would differ on their interpretation of the previous history, they would agree on what should be done in the present. But here we see why the phrase eternal security can be quite misleading. In some evangelical churches, instead of teaching the full and balanced presentation of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, pastors have sometimes taught a watered-down version, which in effect tells people that all who have once made a profession of faith and been baptized are “eternally secure.” The result is that some people who are not genuinely converted at all may “come forward” at the end of an evangelistic sermon to profess faith in Christ, and may be baptized shortly after that, but then they leave the fellowship of the church and live a life no different from the one they lived before they gained this “eternal security.” In this way people are given false assurance and are being cruelly deceived into thinking they are going to heaven when in fact they are not. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 806.

Happy Easter-Eve, friends! Whether you celebrate Easter or not, do allow me to prod and urge you to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Sunday - and EVERY Sunday! Our celebration in many churches will be muted in the sense that we won't physically be together, but I have resolved to make my proclamation of the resurrection louder than ever, and I hope you join me! We've even 'decorated' outside this year, for perhaps the first time ever. Not with bunnies and eggs, but with messages about the resurrection, and I'm planning on giving away as many resurrection books as I possibly can tomorrow and Saturday to those that walk by our house. (We live in a very walky neighborhood.) Our front yard, thanks to my wife and kids! Shoutout to Pradeep Kumar who left an interesting comment on the Biblereadingpodcast.com site yesterday: Comment: Dear sir Please explain what’s end times and how can we save ourselves from this Dire consequences. Thanking you Yours sincerely Pradeep kumar Pradeep - I have good news for you! Today we are indeed talking about the end times and salvation from its dire consequences through Jesus, the savior and deliverer. Our focus passage today is mostly based on yesterday's reading, which was split into a two parter, as I am endeavoring now more than ever to keep episodes just under 30 minutes a day as often as possible. That said, one of our readings today, 2nd Thessalonians 3, seems to echo back to 2nd Thessalonians 2, so that is something to consider. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen and guard you from the evil one 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Our Bible readings for today include Leviticus 15, which is on bodily discharges, and is a chapter I would not at all be able to read through in sixth grade without losing it. And also, Psalms 18, Proverbs 29 and the aforementioned 2 Thessalonians 3 passage. I'm cheating a bit, hope that's ok, but the focus question is mostly derived from yesterday's reading of 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? 6 And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, 10 and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 So - to quickly summarize yesterday, Paul is telling the Thessalonians church (and us, by extension) that, though they may have heard about rumors that Jesus had come back, to not be alarmed, because He hasn't returned (at the time of Paul's writing) and that TWO very noticable and important things would have to happen BEFORE Jesus returned. Those two things are the apostasy/rebellion we discussed yesterday, and the revealing of the Man of Lawlessness that we will discuss today. Before we discuss more about this individual, let's talk a little about one practical implication of what Paul is saying here. One way to read this passage is to say that, there's no way whatsoever that Jesus' return is imminent - could happen at any moment - because the apostasy hasn't happened and the lawless man hasn't been revealed. The problem with that statement is that Jesus taught His return would be a bit of a surprise - even to believers - and that we wouldn't know when it would be. The possibility exists that the man of lawlessness has indeed been revealed (I doubt he will have an M.O.L. tattoo on his forehead), and the apostasy that Paul has spoken of might have happened, or be happening. The western church has seen a remarkable amount of professing believers turn away in the last decade or so - could that be the apostasy? I don't think so, but it COULD be. My favorite theologian, Wayne Grudem, addresses this issue by quoting a number of Bible passages that declare the seeming imminence of the return of Jesus, and then The end of all things is at hand. (1 Peter 4:7) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and all the works that are upon it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10) The time is near. (Rev. 1:3) Behold, I am coming soon. (Rev. 22:7) Behold, I am coming soon bringing my recompense, to repay everyone for what he has done. (Rev. 22:12) He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20) What shall we say to these passages? If there were no passages in the New Testament about signs that would precede Christ’s return, we would probably conclude from the passages just quoted that Jesus could come at any moment. In this sense, we can say that Christ’s return is imminent.7 It would seem to blunt the force of the commands to be ready and to watch if there was a reason to think that Christ would not come soon.... Except for the spectacular signs in the heavens, it is unlikely but possible that these signs have already been fulfilled. Moreover, the only sign that seems certainly not to have occurred, the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars, could occur within the space of a few minutes, and therefore it seems appropriate to say that Christ could now return at any hour of the day or night. It is therefore unlikely but certainly possible that Christ could return at any time. But does this position do justice to the warnings that we should be ready and that Christ is coming at a time we do not expect? Is it possible to be ready for something that we think unlikely to happen in the near future? Certainly it is. Everyone who wears a seatbelt when driving, or purchases auto insurance, gets ready for an event he or she thinks to be unlikely.23 In a similar way it seems possible to take seriously the warnings that Jesus could come when we are not expecting him, and nonetheless to say that the signs preceding his coming will probably yet occur in the future. This position has positive spiritual benefits as we seek to live the Christian life in the midst of a rapidly changing world. In the ebb and flow of world history, we see from time to time events that could be the final fulfillment of some of these signs. They happen, and then they fade away. During the blackest days of World War II, it seemed very likely that Hitler was the antichrist. During times of persecution against the church, it can seem more likely that Christians are in the middle of the great tribulation. When we hear of earthquakes and famines and wars, it makes us wonder if the coming of Christ might not be near. Then these events fade into the background and world leaders pass off the scene, and the tide of events leading to the end of the age seems to have receded for a time. Then once again a new wave of events will break on the world scene, and once again our expectation of Christ’s return is increased. With each successive “wave” of events, we do not know which one will be the last. And this is good, because God does not intend us to know. He simply wants us to continue to long for Christ’s return and to expect that it could occur at any time. It is spiritually unhealthy for us to say that we know that these signs have not occurred, and it seems to stretch the bounds of credible interpretation to say that we know that these signs have occurred. But it seems to fit exactly in the middle of the New Testament approach toward Christ’s return to say that we do not know with certainty if these events have occurred. Responsible exegesis, an expectation of Christ’s sudden return, and a measure of humility in our understanding, are all three preserved in this position. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1104–1105. I wholeheartedly agree with Grudem. It does not appear that the events foretold in Scripture to happen before the return of Jesus have happened, but I could be mistaken, and Jesus commanded us to be alert, ready, and working according to the Master's will, so that He would bless us when He returns, so that is what I want to be about the business of doing. Let's talk about the Man of Lawlessness. Who in the world is this referring to? As Grudem mentioned, many guesses have been made over the years as to who this individual is: Hitler, Napoleon, Nero, Nicolae Carpathia, and many others. Thus far, all of those guesses have been mostly wrong, but John does tell us that there will be many antichrists in 1st John 2:18. Let's go back to Grudem for more on the Man of Lawlessness/Antichrist: Many attempts have been made throughout history to identify the man of lawlessness (the “antichrist”) with historical figures who had great authority and brought havoc and devastation among people on the earth. The ancient Roman emperors Nero and Domitian, both of whom severely persecuted Christians, were thought by many to be the antichrist. (Many Roman emperors, including these two, claimed deity for themselves and demanded to be worshiped.) In more recent times Adolf Hitler was commonly thought to be the antichrist, as was Joseph Stalin. On the other hand, many Protestants since the Reformation, especially those who were persecuted by the Catholic Church, have thought that one or another of the popes was the antichrist. But all of these identifications have proved false,21 and it is likely that a yet worse “man of lawlessness” will arise on the world scene and bring unparalleled suffering and persecution, only to be destroyed by Jesus when he comes again. But the evil perpetrated by many of these other rulers has been so great that, at least while they were in power, it would have been difficult to be certain that the “man of lawlessness” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 has not yet appeared. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1103. I agree with Grudem in linking the Man of Lawlessness with the Antichrist. There is a fair amount of debate about this whole topic, so I will attempt to steer a middle course, and avoid big claims here. That said, I believe that the Man of Lawlessness is the individual that Daniel speaks of in Daniel 7-8 Near the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of their sin, a ruthless king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne. 24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken—not by human hands. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.” 27 I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it. Daniel 8:23-26 I think, in a very real sense, that the 'little horn' in Daniel 8 is a reference to the real life ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, but in the same dual-fulfillment sense of prophecy we see in Isaiah 7-9, this little horn will be MOST fulfilled in a future ruler that will be the ultimate antichrist. This ruler seems to be again referenced in Daniel 9, and also by Jesus in Matthew 24: 15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house, 18 and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. 19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great distress, the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. 22 Unless those days were cut short, no one would be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect. 23 “If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note: I have told you in advance. 26 So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:15-27 This passage seems to indicate that there might be more than one of these active antichrists, with perhaps one of them being specifically the one spoken of in 2nd Thessalonians and Daniel, and other books. Revelation, as you might expect, also speaks of this individual, and - like Daniel, Matthew 24, 1st John and other books that speak about the man of lawlessness/Beast/antichrist, seems to indicate that there might be several active antichrists: And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10 If anyone is to be taken captive,     to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword,     with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. Revelation 13 So, after reading all of that, I am sure things are just as clear as mud for you. Do keep in mind that this is the Bible READING podcast, and not the Bible ANSWERS podcast, or the Bible KNOW IT ALL Podcast. I'm sort of kidding, but ultimately, as we discussed earlier this week - some of these deep mysteries of the Bible about eschatology are NOT meant to be known yet, no matter how hard we try. I believe they will become progressively clearer to the church and believers alive during the generation of Christ's return, because that will be important information to them at the time, but it hasn't been super important for the church in the past few hundred years to know the answers to all of these questions, because they weren't the generation that would live to see the return of Jesus. I believe the nearer we get to that generation, the clearer it will be. So many people have asked me, including my own kids, if the coronavirus pandemic now means the return of Jesus is closer. I tell them - maybe. Probably not, but maybe, and that I have an eyebrow raised and my Bible radar turned up to a higher than normal level of alert. WHO is the Man of Lawlessness/Antichrist? I don't know. He will be powerful. He will be a man of guile and intelligence. He will have great power and an ability to deceive. It appears that He will be empowered by Satan, and have the ability to stand against the archangel Michael in terms of power. He will wage war on true followers of Jesus - the saints - and He will have great success, for a time, in that war. So - back to Pradeep's question at the beginning: How can we save ourselves from this dire situation? And the humbling and scary answer is - WE CAN'T. We don't have the power to stand up against the enemies of the last days. But that doesn't mean all hope is lost. For those who are in Christ - saved by grace through faith, having believed in their heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead, and CONFESSED/PROFESSED those things with their words - true Christians will be delivered and saved BY GOD and by the COMING OF CHRIST. See here in Daniel 7: 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Daniel 7:21-22 Ultimately deliverance comes from the Ancient of Days and His power. But - we are not without weapons of our warfare, which are mighty in God, says Paul, to the pulling down of strongholds. Among those weapons is the fact that true followers of Jesus are washed in His sacrifice, and thus the enemy has no hold on them, or no ability to eternally wound them. We also have the earth-shaking power of our testimony and proclamation of the Gospel: 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.  Revelation 12:10-11 Look to Jesus and be saved, all the earth and rest in His salvation and His power and His soon return, in which all who have trusted in Him will not be put to shame, but will be delivered and redeemed forever!

Happy Easter-Eve, friends! Whether you celebrate Easter or not, do allow me to prod and urge you to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Sunday - and EVERY Sunday! Our celebration in many churches will be muted in the sense that we won't physically be together, but I have resolved to make my proclamation of the resurrection louder than ever, and I hope you join me! We've even 'decorated' outside this year, for perhaps the first time ever. Not with bunnies and eggs, but with messages about the resurrection, and I'm planning on giving away as many resurrection books as I possibly can tomorrow and Saturday to those that walk by our house. (We live in a very walky neighborhood.) Our front yard, thanks to my wife and kids! Shoutout to Pradeep Kumar who left an interesting comment on the Biblereadingpodcast.com site yesterday: Comment: Dear sir Please explain what’s end times and how can we save ourselves from this Dire consequences. Thanking you Yours sincerely Pradeep kumar Pradeep - I have good news for you! Today we are indeed talking about the end times and salvation from its dire consequences through Jesus, the savior and deliverer. Our focus passage today is mostly based on yesterday's reading, which was split into a two parter, as I am endeavoring now more than ever to keep episodes just under 30 minutes a day as often as possible. That said, one of our readings today, 2nd Thessalonians 3, seems to echo back to 2nd Thessalonians 2, so that is something to consider. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen and guard you from the evil one 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Our Bible readings for today include Leviticus 15, which is on bodily discharges, and is a chapter I would not at all be able to read through in sixth grade without losing it. And also, Psalms 18, Proverbs 29 and the aforementioned 2 Thessalonians 3 passage. I'm cheating a bit, hope that's ok, but the focus question is mostly derived from yesterday's reading of 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? 6 And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, 10 and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 So - to quickly summarize yesterday, Paul is telling the Thessalonians church (and us, by extension) that, though they may have heard about rumors that Jesus had come back, to not be alarmed, because He hasn't returned (at the time of Paul's writing) and that TWO very noticable and important things would have to happen BEFORE Jesus returned. Those two things are the apostasy/rebellion we discussed yesterday, and the revealing of the Man of Lawlessness that we will discuss today. Before we discuss more about this individual, let's talk a little about one practical implication of what Paul is saying here. One way to read this passage is to say that, there's no way whatsoever that Jesus' return is imminent - could happen at any moment - because the apostasy hasn't happened and the lawless man hasn't been revealed. The problem with that statement is that Jesus taught His return would be a bit of a surprise - even to believers - and that we wouldn't know when it would be. The possibility exists that the man of lawlessness has indeed been revealed (I doubt he will have an M.O.L. tattoo on his forehead), and the apostasy that Paul has spoken of might have happened, or be happening. The western church has seen a remarkable amount of professing believers turn away in the last decade or so - could that be the apostasy? I don't think so, but it COULD be. My favorite theologian, Wayne Grudem, addresses this issue by quoting a number of Bible passages that declare the seeming imminence of the return of Jesus, and then The end of all things is at hand. (1 Peter 4:7) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and all the works that are upon it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10) The time is near. (Rev. 1:3) Behold, I am coming soon. (Rev. 22:7) Behold, I am coming soon bringing my recompense, to repay everyone for what he has done. (Rev. 22:12) He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20) What shall we say to these passages? If there were no passages in the New Testament about signs that would precede Christ’s return, we would probably conclude from the passages just quoted that Jesus could come at any moment. In this sense, we can say that Christ’s return is imminent.7 It would seem to blunt the force of the commands to be ready and to watch if there was a reason to think that Christ would not come soon.... Except for the spectacular signs in the heavens, it is unlikely but possible that these signs have already been fulfilled. Moreover, the only sign that seems certainly not to have occurred, the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars, could occur within the space of a few minutes, and therefore it seems appropriate to say that Christ could now return at any hour of the day or night. It is therefore unlikely but certainly possible that Christ could return at any time. But does this position do justice to the warnings that we should be ready and that Christ is coming at a time we do not expect? Is it possible to be ready for something that we think unlikely to happen in the near future? Certainly it is. Everyone who wears a seatbelt when driving, or purchases auto insurance, gets ready for an event he or she thinks to be unlikely.23 In a similar way it seems possible to take seriously the warnings that Jesus could come when we are not expecting him, and nonetheless to say that the signs preceding his coming will probably yet occur in the future. This position has positive spiritual benefits as we seek to live the Christian life in the midst of a rapidly changing world. In the ebb and flow of world history, we see from time to time events that could be the final fulfillment of some of these signs. They happen, and then they fade away. During the blackest days of World War II, it seemed very likely that Hitler was the antichrist. During times of persecution against the church, it can seem more likely that Christians are in the middle of the great tribulation. When we hear of earthquakes and famines and wars, it makes us wonder if the coming of Christ might not be near. Then these events fade into the background and world leaders pass off the scene, and the tide of events leading to the end of the age seems to have receded for a time. Then once again a new wave of events will break on the world scene, and once again our expectation of Christ’s return is increased. With each successive “wave” of events, we do not know which one will be the last. And this is good, because God does not intend us to know. He simply wants us to continue to long for Christ’s return and to expect that it could occur at any time. It is spiritually unhealthy for us to say that we know that these signs have not occurred, and it seems to stretch the bounds of credible interpretation to say that we know that these signs have occurred. But it seems to fit exactly in the middle of the New Testament approach toward Christ’s return to say that we do not know with certainty if these events have occurred. Responsible exegesis, an expectation of Christ’s sudden return, and a measure of humility in our understanding, are all three preserved in this position. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1104–1105. I wholeheartedly agree with Grudem. It does not appear that the events foretold in Scripture to happen before the return of Jesus have happened, but I could be mistaken, and Jesus commanded us to be alert, ready, and working according to the Master's will, so that He would bless us when He returns, so that is what I want to be about the business of doing. Let's talk about the Man of Lawlessness. Who in the world is this referring to? As Grudem mentioned, many guesses have been made over the years as to who this individual is: Hitler, Napoleon, Nero, Nicolae Carpathia, and many others. Thus far, all of those guesses have been mostly wrong, but John does tell us that there will be many antichrists in 1st John 2:18. Let's go back to Grudem for more on the Man of Lawlessness/Antichrist: Many attempts have been made throughout history to identify the man of lawlessness (the “antichrist”) with historical figures who had great authority and brought havoc and devastation among people on the earth. The ancient Roman emperors Nero and Domitian, both of whom severely persecuted Christians, were thought by many to be the antichrist. (Many Roman emperors, including these two, claimed deity for themselves and demanded to be worshiped.) In more recent times Adolf Hitler was commonly thought to be the antichrist, as was Joseph Stalin. On the other hand, many Protestants since the Reformation, especially those who were persecuted by the Catholic Church, have thought that one or another of the popes was the antichrist. But all of these identifications have proved false,21 and it is likely that a yet worse “man of lawlessness” will arise on the world scene and bring unparalleled suffering and persecution, only to be destroyed by Jesus when he comes again. But the evil perpetrated by many of these other rulers has been so great that, at least while they were in power, it would have been difficult to be certain that the “man of lawlessness” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 has not yet appeared. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1103. I agree with Grudem in linking the Man of Lawlessness with the Antichrist. There is a fair amount of debate about this whole topic, so I will attempt to steer a middle course, and avoid big claims here. That said, I believe that the Man of Lawlessness is the individual that Daniel speaks of in Daniel 7-8 Near the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of their sin, a ruthless king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne. 24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken—not by human hands. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.” 27 I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it. Daniel 8:23-26 I think, in a very real sense, that the 'little horn' in Daniel 8 is a reference to the real life ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, but in the same dual-fulfillment sense of prophecy we see in Isaiah 7-9, this little horn will be MOST fulfilled in a future ruler that will be the ultimate antichrist. This ruler seems to be again referenced in Daniel 9, and also by Jesus in Matthew 24: 15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house, 18 and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. 19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great distress, the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. 22 Unless those days were cut short, no one would be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect. 23 “If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note: I have told you in advance. 26 So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:15-27 This passage seems to indicate that there might be more than one of these active antichrists, with perhaps one of them being specifically the one spoken of in 2nd Thessalonians and Daniel, and other books. Revelation, as you might expect, also speaks of this individual, and - like Daniel, Matthew 24, 1st John and other books that speak about the man of lawlessness/Beast/antichrist, seems to indicate that there might be several active antichrists: And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10 If anyone is to be taken captive,     to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword,     with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. Revelation 13 So, after reading all of that, I am sure things are just as clear as mud for you. Do keep in mind that this is the Bible READING podcast, and not the Bible ANSWERS podcast, or the Bible KNOW IT ALL Podcast. I'm sort of kidding, but ultimately, as we discussed earlier this week - some of these deep mysteries of the Bible about eschatology are NOT meant to be known yet, no matter how hard we try. I believe they will become progressively clearer to the church and believers alive during the generation of Christ's return, because that will be important information to them at the time, but it hasn't been super important for the church in the past few hundred years to know the answers to all of these questions, because they weren't the generation that would live to see the return of Jesus. I believe the nearer we get to that generation, the clearer it will be. So many people have asked me, including my own kids, if the coronavirus pandemic now means the return of Jesus is closer. I tell them - maybe. Probably not, but maybe, and that I have an eyebrow raised and my Bible radar turned up to a higher than normal level of alert. WHO is the Man of Lawlessness/Antichrist? I don't know. He will be powerful. He will be a man of guile and intelligence. He will have great power and an ability to deceive. It appears that He will be empowered by Satan, and have the ability to stand against the archangel Michael in terms of power. He will wage war on true followers of Jesus - the saints - and He will have great success, for a time, in that war. So - back to Pradeep's question at the beginning: How can we save ourselves from this dire situation? And the humbling and scary answer is - WE CAN'T. We don't have the power to stand up against the enemies of the last days. But that doesn't mean all hope is lost. For those who are in Christ - saved by grace through faith, having believed in their heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead, and CONFESSED/PROFESSED those things with their words - true Christians will be delivered and saved BY GOD and by the COMING OF CHRIST. See here in Daniel 7: 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Daniel 7:21-22 Ultimately deliverance comes from the Ancient of Days and His power. But - we are not without weapons of our warfare, which are mighty in God, says Paul, to the pulling down of strongholds. Among those weapons is the fact that true followers of Jesus are washed in His sacrifice, and thus the enemy has no hold on them, or no ability to eternally wound them. We also have the earth-shaking power of our testimony and proclamation of the Gospel: 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.  Revelation 12:10-11 Look to Jesus and be saved, all the earth and rest in His salvation and His power and His soon return, in which all who have trusted in Him will not be put to shame, but will be delivered and redeemed forever!

In this episode, the pastors dive into a very dividing topic, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Entire churches can be split and formed around their understanding of this. The pastors strive to carefully lay out their best understanding of what the Bible teaches on this and why it matters for us today. We cover questions like: Is Spirit Baptism the same as "filling with the Spirit?" Is there a second distinct experience from conversion? What about speaking in tongues? Why are those who experience a second baptism seemingly more passionate? And more... *The pastors ran out of town but wish they could have gotten into the subsequent fillings of the Spirit in Acts. Here's a helpful section from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, We see examples of repeated filling with the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. In Acts 2:4, the disciples and those with them were “all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Later, when Peter was standing before the Sanhedrin, we read, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit said to them …” (Acts 4:8). But a little later, when Peter and the other apostles had returned to the church to tell what had happened (Acts 4:23) they joined together in prayer. After they had prayed they were again filled with the Holy Spirit, a sequence of events that Luke makes clear: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31 NIV). Even though Peter had been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:4) and had later been filled with the Holy Spirit before speaking to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8), he was once again filled with the Holy Spirit after the group of Christians he was meeting with had prayed. Therefore, it is appropriate to understand filling with the Holy Spirit not as a one-time event but as an event that can occur over and over again in a Christian’s life. It may involve a momentary empowering for a specific ministry (such as apparently happened in Acts 4:8; 7:55), but it may also refer to a long-term characteristic of a person’s life (see Acts 6:3; 11:24). In either case such filling can occur many times in a person’s life: even though Stephen, as an early deacon (or apostolic assistant), was a man “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3, 5), when he was being stoned he apparently received a fresh new filling of the Holy Spirit in great power (Acts 7:55). Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 782.

In this episode, the pastoral team explores how to increase our view of God and, thus, our worship. Also, we take a stab at a tricky question, "What is the soul? And does man have three parts to him?" For more on trichotomy or dichotomy of man, see chapter 23 in Wayne A. Grudem's Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine