Biblical Literacy Podcast

In Paul’s letter to the thriving Roman Christian community at the time, he begins his letter as a “servant of Christ” whom god called into the role of an apostle. Paul’s desire is to come to Rome to preach Christ’s death and resurrection as God’s means of forgiveness for everyone’s sins. He condemns the reign of sin over Jew and Gentile and reinforces the fact that God’s judgment is simple for Jew or Gentile. If you do right, you live eternally in his care. But if you sin you are condemned. Only through faith in Christ as Savior to all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, do we have the grace that saves us. Paul then gives practical examples of Christian conduct: do not get arrogant; love genuinely; hate evil. In closing he tells them he is still hopeful to come to Rome and that God will eventually crush Satan.

Paul planned to visit Corinth; instead, he went directly to Macedonia. He could have washed his hands of the Corinthian Church. They were awful to him, even joking about how short he was. From Macedonia he wrote to them, explaining that he decided not to come see them because he felt he could not be the “aroma of God” he needed to be in order to be a God-like influence. Instead, he would cause them more pain. Paul told them that the Old Testament covenant was etched in stone and brought death because no one could follow it but that the Holy Spirit brings life and glory. God changes us little by little to reflect his image. Paul learned from Titus that the Corinthians are moving back toward Paul’s teachings.

If you really want to know Paul, study 2 Corinthians. Paul’s world was falling apart. He cared deeply for the church in Corinth. While in Ephesus, in an effort to help the Corinthian church, Paul wrote Corinthians “A”. The Corinthians wrote Paul back. He then wrote 1 Corinthians (Corinthians “B”). He sent Timothy and Erastus to work with the church … to no avail. In order to “fix things” he then made a painful visit to Corinth – that didn’t work either. Paul then wrote 2 Corinthians (Corinthians “C”). He then sent Titus to help. Meanwhile Paul was run out of Ephesus. While on the road he was criticized and minimized. He endured a painful “thorn in the flesh” – possibly something in his eye. He asked God repeatedly to remove it. God didn’t. The thorn remained to keep Paul from becoming conceited. Paul never saw the healing of his own infirmity. God said to him “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). How did Paul handle it when his world was crumbling? He finds an ability to rejoice in the Lord. He found purpose for his life before the Lord.

Paul wrote letters to the Corinthians from Ephesus. This lesson includes the entire book of 1st Corinthians – all 16 Chapters. It is important to remember the context in which Paul’s letter was written. The church had numerous major problems – sex, food, idolatry, lawsuits, divisions, bad theology, women’s issues. Prior letters had already been sent back and forth between Paul and the Corinthians. When we read 1st Corinthians we are in the middle of an ongoing conversation. In Chapter 1, Paul reminds the Corinthians they are called to a common fellowship with a common destiny. He appeals to them to drop their petty groups where they labeled themselves as “following Paul”, or “Peter”, or “Apollos”. They should all fellow Christ! In each of the subsequent chapters, Paul preaches, teaches, admonishes, praises, and explains concepts to them. And before Paul closes, he reminds them of the core of our faith. Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected. Death has lost its ultimate power over believers!

During Paul's second missionary journey he stopped in Ephesus and reasonsed with the Jews in the sysnagogue. He didn't stay there long but left, his friends and fellow believers Aquila and Priscilaa stayed behind. A learned and eloquent man from Alexandria, Apollos, came into the town teaching about Jesus. Apollos’s teachings had notable holes! Apollos understood the baptism taught by John the Baptist, but failed to grasp the full import of Christ's death and resurrection. He was not teaching about the Baptism of Christ and the subsequent gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank goodness Priscilla and Aquila were there. In this lesson you find out how they attempted to fill in Apollos knowledge about Christ and the reaction Apollos exhibited when they did!D During Paul's third missionary journey, he again returns to Ephesus, a place known for it's magic! They even worshipped a meteroite (not knowing what it was they built a temple to it!) The Holy Spirit through Paul works real magic in healings and life changing events. Learn how in this lesson!

While in Thessalonica Paul won some converts, but his message was considered a threat to the Romans. Paul was forced to leave the city under duress. He was prohibited from finishing his teaching to the early church. They were confused regarding “the Last Things”. Paul’s letters focused on cleaning up this confusion. Paul’s aim was to encourage the early church as to the second coming of Christ and the establishment of his eternal kingdom.

In Paul’s 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, he identifies God as our Father, showing the commonality of all believers before God. He is thankful to God for the church’s ever growing faith and love and steadfastness in light of persecutions. Paul wrote about the 2nd coming of Jesus in more detail, reminding the Thessalonians not to be confused about a false letter claiming to be from Paul, trying to deceive them that Jesus had already come. At close he asks the church to pray for his missionary team, and to work and pay their own way. Paul said, “No work, no food!” He urges the church to stay fresh in living right and doing good.

While in Corinth, Paul wrote 2 letters to the church in Thessalonica. Because he had to leave Thessalonica so suddenly, and flee to Corinth, due to the threatening crowd, he was concerned about the new followers he left behind. He wrote them letters encouraging them to continue in the church’s faith and steadfastness. He told them he was proud of them for accepting his message as the very word of God, and encouraged them to continue in faith and service of the living and true God.

Paul went to Corinth from Athens. Corinth, by all accounts was a wealthy and vibrant city, mostly due the unique location for trade and travel. Positioned with two harbors, one that faced Italy to the west and another facing Turkey to the East the route through Corinth was the safest way to sail from Italy to Troas, Ephesus, or other key cities in the eastern Mediterranean. While in Corinth, one night Paul had a vision from God where God told Paul not to fear, for in Corinth he would neither be attacked nor harmed. God was true to his word, and Paul stayed in Corinth for a full year and a half, longer than any city up to that point on his missionary trips. Corinth was the safest route for ships, and God used Corinth as a safe harbor for Paul to continue his missionary work without the violent persecutions that had marked the earlier Journey.

After leaving Philippi, Paul, Silas and Timothy, went through Amphipolis and Apollonia arriving in Thessalonica – on the road toward Rome. In Thessalonica Paul preached in the synagogue telling the Jews of Jesus, proclaiming him as the Messiah. Some Jews and many Greeks were persuaded. Disbelieving Jews, jealous of the success of God’s work among the Greeks, worked up a crowd. The church sent Paul and Silas away to Berea, but the Thessalonian Jews followed, found Paul in Berea and worked up a threatening crowd. Paul left Silas and Timothy in Berea and was ushered by boat to Athens by Berean brothers. Athens was birthplace of philosophy, theatre, and democracy, the cradle of European civilization. Paul was alone but went daily to the marketplace to reason with the Greeks. The Athenians took Paul to the Areopagus where Paul spoke to the philosophers where Paul delivered his message and some believed.

After a return trip through the Galatian towns reinforcing the churches, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. Paul continued his efforts to strengthen the churches in Galatia, fearing that that the churches were following a different teaching, a distortion of the true gospel. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reiterated the message that all are saved by faith in Christ, not attempting to live under the Law of Moses. Paul and Silas decided return to Galatia to encourage the fledgling churches. In Lycra they added Timothy to the group and in Troas, Luke joined the mission effort. The Holy Spirit rerouted the apostles to Philippi, and after Paul drove out a spirit of divination from a slave girl in Phillipi, he and Silas were arrested, beaten and jailed.

Persecution followed Paul and Barnabas, and actually promoted the spread of the Word in the same way Saul’s persecution of the believers in Jerusalem promoted the spread of the faith. Persecution by non believing Jews in Pisidian Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Iconium where they went to the synagogue and a great number of Greeks and Jews believed. There the non believer Jews chased them out to Lystra and Derbe. Then when within walking distance of Tarsus, Paul and Barnabas went back through the towns they were chased from just to encourage and strengthen the new believers.

The Holy Spirit staked claim on Paul and Barnabas at the church in Antioch, “Set apart for ME Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2) On Cyprus Saul and Barnabas presented the Word of God in the synagogues, and began using his Roman Name Paul, and the first miracle God performed through Paul showed that God planned more for Paul than Paul could imagine.

God’s plan is perfect, we make choices and act based on our will. God uses our decisions and actions to complete his plan. Take Paul, persecuting the Church in Jerusalem caused the faithful to disperse to other cities. There they preached the Resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus. This changed Christianity from a fringe Jewish faction to a belief being taught throughout the world.

God’s plan is like a divine puzzle. It fits together perfectly, even though the pieces chose their shape and color. His pieces exercise their human choice, but the puzzle is always complete. Look at Paul, he chose his actions, from a Pharisee persecuting the early church to spreading the Word throughout the world as an apostle, he chose his path.

God is able to take every autonomous decision by independent humanity, and integrate it into the final perfect puzzle that expresses his will. We see that incredibly clearly in the apostle Paul. Integrating Scripture with our other historical knowledge provides us a view of Paul as the perfect piece of the puzzle that not only holds together other pieces, but also fills in the picture. Paul could go to synagogues throughout the Greek/Roman world and attend services as a man who had studied under the great Gamaliel. Paul had impeccable rabbinical credential so every synagogue offered Paul the resurrection believing Pharisee, a chance to teach the resurrected Christ!

Choices and decisions - we make them all day, every day. How do we do so when we want to follow God's will? In the case of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit fell in a miraculous way on the gentiles before their baptisms. This is very rare in Scripture. Earnest prayer and seeking the direction of God provides the guidance needed to make the proper decisions to advance the Word.

People generally do things for reasons, especially if it is something that takes a significant amount of time. The reason may not be well thought out, but if you are going to a great deal of effort, you likely have a reason for doing so! The apostles chose to obey Christ, and the Spirit came. Listeners chose to respond to Peter's teaching, and they were saved. The apostles continued to choose following God with their lives, and when the power structure threatened to cut their lives short, they pressed on with what God called them to do. People were saved, their lives were spared, and the church grew.

God’s timing was perfect. He chose the perfect moment to send His Son the Savior. Several factors were required to allow the church to establish and grow into the worldwide influence it became almost overnight, at least in the historical sense of “overnight.” Without the Roman peace, the Roman roads, the Jewish dispersion, the temple worship, the key people in the key places, the church would have never made it. Only God’s divine intervention could allow this movement to conquer the world. Again, only by the hand of God!

In this lesson we continue the study of the perfect parallel between John's Gospel account of Jesus promises concerning the Helper He will Send and the Acts of The Holy Spirit. The cross reference between the teachings of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in Acts shows the complete manifestation of the Holy Spirit exactly as Jesus promised. The Holy Spirit fulfilled the purposes Jesus had set out. The Acts of the Apostles were carried out through the Holy Spirit, who "Helped" while keeping the focus on Jesus Christ the Savior.

In part 3 of the acts of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts, Mark Lanier focuses on a "check list' from John that precisely demonstrates Jesus' teaching on what the Holy Spirit would give His followers. Does the Holy Spirit's activity fullfill these promises? Go verse by verse and see the work of the Holy Spirit and find out if as Bob Dylans sings, "God Don't make promises that He don't keep" is a promise that God has made you if you believe in the saving Grace of the Messiah and God's plan.

In part 2 of the Acts of the Holy Spirit, Mark Lanier begins the lesson with revelations from the Old Testament concerning the Holy Spirit, using passages in Psalms and Isaiah and references as early as the creation story in Genesis. The Old Testament scripture testifies to the Spirit of God descending on people at different times but in a temporary capacity, unlike the dwelling promised by Christ. Did early believers understand the way the workings of the Holy Spirit occured at the time of Christ? Listen to the lesson to know learn if believers are promised a permanent indwelling of the spirit to assist their walk with God.

Mark Lanier begins the study of the Acts of the Apostles with the acts of the Holy Spirit. What is your view of the Holy Spirit? In part 1, Mark examines what Jesus' words revealed concerning the paraclete using the synoptics Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and then examines John's gospel for further revelation. Find out if this fits with your understanding of how the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of the early Christian church, as detailed in Acts, and how the Holy Spirit works today.

In this last installment for the gospel of John, Mark Lanier strengthens the case that John used Paul's circulating letter to the Ephesians when he wrote his gospel account. Why do we care about this? Listen in and find out and be blessed by God's words to us!

Listen as Mark Lanier builds a case for John having the letter of Paul to the Ephesians as John writes his Gospel. See if he can convince you that careful study reveals Paul's influence and takes you back to the city of Ephesians only a few decades after Christ's Resurrection.

In the last installment of the Gospel of John and the seven miracles, Mark Lanier emphasizes the beauty and reason that each of the 'sign's were chosen, so that we might have everlasting life in communion with our Father. Watch, listen, and learn in one of the best, most clear lessons yet on how wonderful the Messiah, Christ Jesus is in His gift to us, redemption.

In a continuation of the introduction to the Gospel of John, Mark Lanier traces the Hebrew themes that John used to reach his audience. John linked familiar old testament ideas including themes of creation, the tabernacle, the Jewish festivals, and the bread of life to Christ as the Messiah and the Son of God. You might be familiar with Passover, but find out the role that the Festival of Sukkot plays in John's gospel.

The term "Son of God"... how did John link the seven miracles he describes in his Gospels to understand that Christ was the true, unique, Son of God? Do you wonder about the Trinity? Listen to this continung lesson of the Gospel of John and the miracles he uses to understand Christ, the Messiah.

In John's gospel, he details seven miracles. Only seven. Why? Are you curious as to why of all the miracles Christ performed, John in his wisdom of advancing years, picked the seven he did for his 'spiritual' gospel?

The Gospel of John was written when John was an old man, in Ephesus, and decades after the physical events of Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection. It is considered a spiritual gosple, different than the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Follow along with Mark Lanier as he introduces this beautiful gospel and why the maturity and wisdom of John provided a continuing revelation of God's plan, one that has impact on our lives today.

Thirty five percent of content of Luke is not found in any of the other three gospels. Does this mean Luke made it up? In part 2, Mark Lanier discusses the parables and events that are unique to Luke. See if he convinces you that that Luke had a reason for the inclusions. See if you can have confidence in God's revelation of the greatest moment in earth's history through Luke's account, a physician with a unique perspective.

Thirty five percent of content of Luke is not found in any of the other three gospels. Does this mean Luke made it up? In part 1, Mark Lanier discusses the Magnificat, Benedictus, Gloria, and Nunc Dimittis, songs that only Luke recorded. Listen to the beauty of them and understand their importance for Christians durings Luke's time and in ours! See if he convinces you that that Luke had a reason for the inclusions. See if you can have confidence in God's revelation of the greatest moment in earth's history through Luke's account, a physician with a unique perspective.

Luke was highly educated, a doctor, and traveled with Paul. How do these attributes testify to the validity of Luke's account of the Good News about Christ? In this introduction to the Gospel according to Luke, find out why there are differences in this account compared to Mark, Matthew, and John; discover the relevance of 'why' Luke penned his account; and decide for yourself how valid Luke's choice of eyewitnesses to the Christ.

The Incarnation refers to God emodied in Christ. Did you ever wonder what verses in the Old Testament point to the coming Messiah? Find out! Mark Lanier uses the beautiful illustrations from the Stone Chapel to guide evidence of the coming Incarnation through Old Testament prophecy.

How do a lawyer's rules of court and the knowledge of how to recognize a good witness give information on the synoptic phenomenon found in Matthew, Mark and Luke? Follow along as Mark Lanier tackles why these three gospels each tell their story of Jesus in their own words.

Do you wish you knew of a present day miracle? Why was Jesus in the business of doing miracles during his day? Mark Lanier explains why Christ performed the miracles, as He set about the kingdom work of this time and the Kingdom that is to come.

There has been a steady decline in self-identified church going Christians in the last decade. At the root of this is academic pursuits that have attempted to show that the Bible is not the Holy revealed word of God. Mark Lanier addresses the integrity of the Gospel of Matthew and what it means to our faith and the generation after us. If you are worried about the integrity of God's word or doubt that He would speak to His creation, listen to this lesson.

What do idioms have to do with the gospel of Matthew? Do you have a healthy eye? Mark Lanier continues to breakdown the Jewishness of this gospel by explaining not only the idioms but the gematria and Hebrew story line that Matthew used to explained the good news to his Jewish audience.

Matthew was a gospel written for the Jewish mindset. What does that mean? Why is that important? Mark Lanier explains how the author of this gospel tailors his writing and the recollection of Christ's sacrifice to the Jewish audience of his day. In doing so, he hoped to spread the Good News. Find out how understanding the message of a Jewish savior two thousand years ago is applicable today in our secular world.

We are called to be discplies and to usher in the kingdom of Heaven. The Sermon on the Mount gives three pinciples on how to achieve this. Guest teacher, Jared Richard provides insight on the New Kingdom as described by Christ.

What portrait of Jesus does Matthew paint? How does he tell the Good News story? Mark Lanier answers these questions through each of the 28 chapters in Matthew. Beginning with the first chapter where “Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” is identified as the one conceived by the Holy Spirit, and called “Immanuel” – God, to the last chapter when Matthew ends with the words of the resurrected Christ assuring his followers that he – the I am- and is with them always, to the end of the age.

Did you know that Mark isn't written in chronological order? Are you familiar with Mark's writing style? Explore the gospel of Mark, considered the earliest written gospel, and find out where it differs or is similar to Matthew, Luke, and John.Find out what Mark says as he paints the picture of Christ's life.

Do books that are written to make you doubt whether or not the Bible is God's revelation. Won't want to be scared? Read this lesson to know how you can be certain of the Canon!

Why is the “canon” of Scripture considered the closed collection of documents regarded as Holy Scripture? Do you know how to judge the value of ancient texts, such as the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" with regards to the "canon"? Mark Lanier takes you through the reasons you can have confidence in the Christian New Testament.

A continuation of Lesson 2, in Part 2 gives Mark Lanier a chance to dissect the differences found in over 5500 texts that have bearing on the accuracy of the New Testament as we have it today. How many of the estimated 300,000 differences make a difference? Check this lesson to find out!