Restitutio

Are you sold out for God? Would you move to a foreign land if he called to the mission field? Well, Stan and Pam Chee of Australia have done just that. In this interview, they share about their lives of service to God and Christ. They grew up in Australia but have been serving in Toronto, Canada for the last decade. Of particular note is how they started and continue to do college outreach at the University of Toronto. —— Links —— Visit the Christian Disciples Church website For more on the Christian Disciples Church listen to Interview 47 Christian Disciples Church and the Only True God with Calvin Chan More episodes and posts on evangelism here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Abortion has been and remains a hot-button issue in our culture at large and even within some corners of Christianity. In this episode Jerry Wierwille will explain the issues with the only biblical text that directly addresses this subject (Exodus 21.22-5). In addition to exegeting this confusing passage, Wierwille also draws on evidence from Psalm 51 before discussing some of the big picture ethical issues related to modern abortions. —— Related Podcasts —— Interview 38: Advocating for the Unborn with Kirk Walden Off Script 34: Killing the Unborn (A Christian View of Abortion) with Rose Rider and Daniel Fitzsimmons Off Script 46: Should Christians Outlaw Abortion? with Rose Rider and Daniel Fitzsimmons —— Links —— For a biblical theology of the body, see the paper, “Biblical Somatology,” presented at Restoration Fellowship’s 27th Theological Conference Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Scott Shay is an interesting man. He’s a succesful business man and banker who co-founded a bank in 2001. He even has a TEDx talk where he spoke on Wall Street on the theme, “More Banks, Fewer Problems.” However, he’s also an orthodox Jew who is passionate about his faith. In this interview we talk about his book, In Good Faith, including why he wrote it, why monotheism matters today, how he can believe in God despite the holocaust, and why he believes the bible is trustworthy in the face of higher biblical criticism. —— Links —— Get his books In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism and Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry Find out more about Scott Shay at scottshay.com Also check out K. A. Kitchen’s book On the Reliability of the Old Testament More podcasts defending the bible here Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Jesus once said, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11.31). In our wisdom series so far, we’ve looked at the wisdom of Solomon from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. We’ve also delved into the wisdom of Job. But there is one greater than Solomon and Job. In our last episode in this series, Daniel Calcagno of Ontario, Canada is going to share with us a little bit of the wisdom of Jesus, mainly based on his Sermon on the Mount. Tune in to our Saturday seminar (October 26, 2019) via webcast. Here’s Joshua Anderson giving a short preview: https://restitutio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Announcing-the-Gospel-Seminar.mp4 For more information about this seminar, click here.   —— Links —— Check out the other podcasts in this wisdom series Check out these other podcasts with Daniel Calcagno Get info about coming to Revive 2020 (Jan 3-5, 2020) This message was from Revive 2019, click here to see other teachings and music from that year Watch the Announcing the Gospel seminar Saturday (October 26, 2019) via this YouTube link Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Like Job, the book of Ecclesiastes wrestles with anomalies to the general principles of wisdom contained in much of the bible. Sometimes our world functions in chaotic and unpredictable ways. Sometimes the race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the strong, nor bread harvested by the wise, nor riches acquired by the intelligent, nor favor gained by those with knowledge (Ecclesiastes 9.11). Instead, time and chance happen to them all. What is a person to do in these confusing and unfair circumstances? In this message, Pastor Victor Gluckin shares key insights from the book of Ecclesiastes to help you know how to make sense of these situations and what to prioritize when the world seems broken. —— Links —— Check out the other podcasts in this wisdom series Check out these other podcasts with Victor Gluckin Get info about coming to Revive 2020 (Jan 3-5, 2020) This message was from Revive 2019, click here to see other teachings and music from that year Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

The Hebrew Bible contains different kinds of wisdom literature. For example, wise sayings in Proverbs typically express general principles, providing guidance for what to do when the world is working the way it’s supposed to. However, Job deals with just the opposite issue. What happens when you do everything right and still face extraordinary loss and suffering? In this teaching we’ll work through the major themes in Job to uncover the overall message of the book. We’ll see how Job refutes the simplistic idea of karma, so commonly assumed by so many today. In the end we’ll see that our world is complicated, but God is here through it all. Click here to read a short but helpful quote by William Lane Craig on our complicated world. —— Links —— Check out the other podcasts in this wisdom series Go deeper and listen to Podcast 63: Why Does God Allow Suffering? Get info about coming to Revive 2020 (Jan 3-5, 2020) This message was from Revive 2019, click here to see other teachings and music from that year Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

What is the book of Proverbs all about and what can this book teach you about wisdom? Join Jerry Wierwille as he leads you through Proverbs to gain key insights to be able to read it and benefit from it on your own. Proverbs are not merely cutesy clever sayings, but helpful insights into how to act in a given situation. Although you may think of the bible’s proverbs as unconditional promises, they are, in fact, practical principles that generally work. Join Wierwille as he explains how Proverbs can provide us with simple wisdom for a complicated world. Here is the short video played in this episode: —— Links —— Check out the other podcasts in this wisdom series Go deeper and listen to Interview 27: Understanding Proverbs with Jerry Wierwille Get info about coming to Revive 2020 (Jan 3-5, 2020) This message was from Revive 2019, click here to see other teachings and music from that year Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Have you ever heard the saying, “doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results is the definition of insanity?” It certainly sounds foolish to try the same approach over and over, thinking something different will happen. So often, what we need is not more education or life hacks, but bona-fide wisdom. Today we are beginning a series on wisdom. Stan Chee of the Christian Disciples Church in Toronto, Canada, will give you four key points on getting genuine wisdom so you can lead a meaningful and worthwhile life. Four Steps to Getting Wisdom Have the right attitude; fear God (Proverbs 9.10) Have a heart for people, not just for yourself (2 Chronicles 1.10) Ask for wisdom in faith, not doubting (James 1.5-7) Ask God to number your days (Psalm 90.12) —— Links —— Reach Pastor Stan Chee via email: [email protected] visit the Christian Disciples Church website Check out the other podcasts in this wisdom series See more Restitutio podcasts and posts about wisdom Get info about coming to Revive 2020 (Jan 3-5, 2020) This message was from Revive 2019, click here to see other teachings and music from that year Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

I’ve got a fascinating interview for you with Becket Cook. Now some of you may recognize his name from the interview I did with him two years ago (Interview 18). In that episode Cook shared his amazing testimony of how he went from a committed gay production set designer in Hollywood to experiencing God in a church service so deeply that it completely changed his life forever. Here’s a description of that moment: All of a sudden, a giant wave of God’s presence came crashing over me. A flood of intense warmth, emotion, and power coursed through me. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I now believe it was the Holy Spirit. I had no prior experience with this, no framework for it, and no way of anticipating it…God revealed himself to me. In that moment, everything became clear: God was real, Jesus was real, the Bible was real, the resurrection was real, heaven was real, hell was real–it was all real…It felt like gallons of love were being poured into me…After my stunning encounters with God, I knew I could no longer pursue romantic relationships with men…Put plainly, I accepted that it was a sin. -Becket Cook, A Change of Affection, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019), pp. 19, 20, 22. Cook’s book, A Change of Affection, is out and it goes way more into detail than our earlier interview. It’s an engaging relatively short read (less than 200 pages), all telling Cook’s history and conversion and how he thinks about same-sex attraction now. And what’s so cool about Becket Cook’s story is that this all happened 10 years ago. He’s not some fly by night testimony-today and fall-away-tomorrow kind of person. He’s stood the test of time. He’s gone to seminary at Talbot and he understand the Christian worldview and he has a seminary-level understanding of the bible. In this interview I ask him about the book, how it’s been received, and about his future. —— Links —— Get the book A Change of Affection Listen to my first interview: God Woo’s Fashion Set Designer from Gay Lifestyle To get in touch with Cook or to book him to speak at your church or event, visit becketcook.com or email him [email protected] Watch his excellent talk at BIOLA from 2014 on YouTube Check out these other Restitutio posts on Christians who struggle with same sex attraction Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library  

This is the third and final part of our series, God at Work in Kenya with Maurice Chahilu of Kingdom Life Ministries. We’ve come to see so much about what is going on over there, but there’s still more to learn. Last time I had asked bishop Maurice about his greatest challenges and what he is doing to overcome them. He shared about a number of concerns, but the last of them was about raising enough money to do outreach and support himself. This time, we pick up where we left off to hear about an innovative solution Maurice has proposed to become more financially independent. Additionally, for those of you who are visiting on Restitutio.org, I’ve included a video below of Maurice that Joe Martin did in 2018. This way you can put a face to the voice. https://restitutio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Maurice-Chahilu-interviewed-by-Joe-Martin-2018.mp4   —— Links —— Email Maurice Chahilu ([email protected]) and Joe Martin ([email protected]) Lord’s Harvest International missions organization (LHI), the missionary wing of the Church of God General Conference Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Maurice Chahilu and Rebekah Martin This is part two of our series on God at Work in Kenya with a focus on Kingdom Life Ministries and Maurice Chahilu. In our last episode we saw how Maurice got started in his ministry. (If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, go back and listen to it first). Today, we’ll hear about some of his major challenges, his emphasis on the great commission, and a little more about his needs for growth. What will come through in this episode crystal clear is this man’s utter dedication and commitment to proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom no matter the cost. —— Links —— See part one here: Interview 57 God at Work in Kenya 1 (Maurice Chahilu) Email Maurice Chahilu ([email protected]) and Joe Martin ([email protected]) Lord’s Harvest International missions organization (LHI), the missionary wing of the Church of God General Conference Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

God is doing something in Kenya and churches are forming and growing rapidly. Today we are beginning a series of shows on the work of Kingdom Life Ministries and the visionary who began the work there, Maurice Chahilu. A few weeks ago I went to Africa to visit Maurice and the churches he oversees. I was part of a team of missionaries who were going over to support the work that has been going on in western Kenya for the last 8 years, including Joe and Rebekah Martin, Rolin and Linda Carlbom, and Lacey Dunn. On my last day there, I asked the team for their impressions of what it was like and also recorded Maurice sharing his story. —— Links —— Email Maurice Chahilu ([email protected]) and Joe Martin ([email protected]) Lord’s Harvest International missions organization (LHI), the missionary wing of the Church of God General Conference Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Today is the second and final part of my interview with Leah Fronczek on detoxing your brain. See part one here. We begin by talking about the importance of free will in effecting change before getting into the specifics of how to combat toxic thinking. Learn about multitasking, daydreaming, community, forgiveness, and honesty as ways to combat negativity. This episode will help you in your quest to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12.2). —— Links —— Check out these books by Carolyn Leaf that we mentioned in this podcast. Check out our past young adult event, “Revive“ Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

At the beginning of each year, we have a young adult event called Revive in Connecticut. This year Leah Fronczek was one of the workshop leaders. Her topic was detoxing your brain and I asked her to come on Restitutio to share with you what she learned in studying this topic. This is so important for us as Christians, because God expects us to be able to control our thinking (Romans 12.2). How do you get rid of toxic thoughts? Leah is going to help us think through not only how negative thoughts affect us, but how to combat them. Now, before we get into this, I want to make a distinction. The mind, as we are using it in this discussion, is your mental state, consciousness, memories, feelings etc. , i.e. where you do your thinking, whereas the brain is the physical organ in your head that makes the mind possible. Obviously, these two are connected, but they aren’t necessarily the same. We’ll get into this more, but I just wanted to point that out before we get started. —— Links —— Check out these books by Carolyn Leaf that we mentioned in this podcast. Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Last Saturday while I was attending a Christian festival in Ohio, a 21 year-old man entered a Walmart in El Paso, TX and murdered 22 people, injuring 24 more, making it the 7th deadliest shooting in modern US history. What’s so crazy about this, is that walking into a huge store like Walmart and shooting a semi-automatic assault rifle and hitting 46 people is only 7th! Can you agree with me that we have a gun-violence problem in America? Then, the next day, a 24 year-old man shot 10 people outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio, injuring 27 more. He used another semi-automatic assault rifle. What is the Christian response to all of this? Well, today we are going to hear from two Christians who think it’s time for Christ-followers to lead the way in enacting and living out the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks (and our guns into mattocks.) In fact, they’re already doing just that. I went to see Shane Claiborne and Mike Martin on their “Beating Guns” tour when they came to New Haven, CT (the same town as Yale University). I stood there outside the church watching as a woman whose life was traumatized by gun violence beat on a glowing hunk of metal, that had once been a gun, confiscated by the police and now being transformed into an actual garden tool. As she brought the hammer down on the softened metal, she began weeping. As she continued hitting it harder and faster she started wailing. I stood there watching as she took out her overwhelming pain and personal loss on that piece of metal. It was cathartic, prophetic, and transformative. Now I realize that gun-violence is a hot-button issue in our culture today and that many of you listening to this own guns for a variety of purposes. I don’t expect you to just change what you believe about guns after a single podcast episode, but I simply ask that you listen to these guys as they talk about this subject from a Christian perspective. —— Links —— Check out RAWtools.org and follow them on twitter @RAWtools Get the Beating Guns book in print or in audio format through Christian audio or Audible or visit the website You can follow Shane Claiborne on twitter @ShaneClaiborne Listen to Restitutio episodes Podcast 15: A Theology of Nonviolence, Podcast 67: It’s Just War (Debate), Off Script 38: Killing in War: A Christian View of Violence, and Off Script 43: Can Christians Use Non-Lethal Violence? (Q&A). Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Bill Schlegel lived in Israel for 34 years, much of that time spent studying and then teaching about the geography of the scriptures. In this interview he provides three reasons why every bible-student should study the land of Israel: historical accuracy archeological accuracy geographical accuracy He also talks about his upcoming tour to Israel (March 19-April 2). Get more information about that here. Lastly, he weighs in a little on the modern situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. —— Links —— visit Schlegel’s new website at One God Report read his blog Land and Bible get the Satellite Bible Atlas the details about the trip to Israel Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

An Antique Map of Palestine What do you know about Palestinians? In this eye-opening interview with Gloria Olivier, we discuss the plight of Palestinians today. Did you know that thousands of Christians live in the West Bank today under Israeli occupation? In this interview, you’ll learn a little about the history of this conflict as well as what conditions are like on the ground. Now I realize this can be a sensitive subject, but I just ask that you hear out Gloria and keep an open mind on this important topic. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Also, here’s a picture of some of Gloria’s family when she was only 9 years old and visited Ramallah. (She’s on the right with white top and dark skirt.) —— Links —— Books mentioned in this episode: Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, Fast Times in Palestine by Pamela Olson, Justice and Only Justice by Naim Ateek, and A Wall in Jerusalem by Mark Braverman Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

In our last episode, we laid the theological foundation for a new covenant doctrine: Christ fulfilled the Law and ratified the new covenant, which opened a new way of relating to God apart from obedience to Torah. Now we will discuss a number of texts that sometimes confuse Christians into thinking the Law is still in effect today. We’ll cover Jesus’ obedience to Torah, several scriptures that imply the Torah is forever, the sabbath’s association with creation, and a number of prophecies that mention keeping aspects of the Law in the kingdom. Although, I realize these are not all of the texts and strategies that Torah-observant Christians use to make their case, these are some of the significant ones. —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply Because of Christ’s obedient life, atoning death, and justifying resurrection, he has opened a new way of relating to God via the new covenant. Thus, the old covenant (the Law of Moses) is obsolete for both Jews and Gentiles. Texts that Support This Teaching Acts 15.23-29; Rom 2.25-29; 3.21-31; 4.13-16; 6.14-15; 7.1-7; 8.1-4; 13.8-10; 1 Cor 9.20-21; 2 Cor 3.1-18; Gal 2.14, 19-21; 3.10-29; 4.21-31; 5.1-6; 5.13-25; 6.15-16; Eph 2.11-19; 3.4-6; Col 2.11-17; Heb 7.11-12, 21-22; 8.4-13; 9.11-15; 10.8-22; 12.18-29 The Example/Teaching of Jesus Hebrews 4.15 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. in the context of Jesus’ life, sinless means he kept the Law just b/c Jesus kept the law, doesn’t mean we should continue to keep it, especially if his whole mission was to open a new way for us to relate to God Think of the generation that first received the Torah in the time of Moses. They were not free to continue living the old way if they wanted to relate to God through the new way Moses had delivered to them. Numbers 15.32-36 (the guy who collected sticks on the Sabbath) 32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. 34 They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses. Matthew 5.17-20 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. booster rocket analogy of N. T. Wright Jesus did not abolish, but to fulfill the Law, but once he fulfilled it, a new way became available what is a covenant? it’s a way God has set up to relate to him all of Hebrews teaches that the new way is better he is a better mediator of the covenant than the angels (Heb 1) he offers better salvation (Heb 2) he is better than Moses as a son is better than a faithful servant (Heb 3) his priesthood is better than Aaron’s b/c it’s after Melch

We are now in our second-to-last episode in this 24-part theology class, covering the major biblical doctrines as well as various counterarguments. Today we will focus our time on the New Covenant. We’ll make our way through biblical history in order to understand the grand sweep of the bible, paying special attention to the old and new covenants. Of special note for this lecture is what happened when Gentiles started entering Jewish Christianity. We’ll briefly touch upon the first Jerusalem council, Judaizers, and Paul’s capitulation to Jame’s request. Lastly, we’ll see how Paul’s epistles as well as Hebrews make it clear that neither Jewish nor Gentile Christians need to keep the law in order to be saved. —— Notes —— New Covenant Basics testamentum: covenant, testament, will your bible has one main division between Malachi and Matthew Old Testament relates to the old covenant and NT to the new that came through Christ Jer 31.31-34 is the origin for all talk about the new covenant Jesus’ ministry new wine into new wine skins antitheses in Sermon on the Mount Last supper is when Jesus talks about his death as ratifying the new covenant in his blood nothing happens until the Gentiles start to come in   Historical Progression Gentiles begin entering the church Samaritans? Ethiopian treasurer (he’s the first!) Cornelius, the Italian soldier Peter confronted for entering the house of “uncircumcised men” and eating with them (Acts 11.3) Peter defends his actions by telling them God accepted them so how could he stand in the way? speaking in tongues => God granted them spirit => God accepts them => Peter baptized them, accepting them into the family (Acts 11.15-18) The Antioch Church (lots of Gentiles enter) some Christians preached in Antioch to Greeks (Acts 11.19-21) The Jerusalem leadership sent Barnabas (Acts 11.22) Barnabas “saw the grace of God” and “he was glad” and lived there (Acts 11.23-24) Barnabas went to get Paul and ministered together in Antioch for a year (Acts 11.25-26) Antioch was B&P’s home base before going on missionary trips Paul’s Influence Cyprus: proconsul Sergius Paulus believed (Acts 13.6-12) Pisidian Antioch: B&P turn to Gentiles (Acts 13.45-47) other cities: Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, then reverse order and go back to Antioch Controversy Breaks Out read Acts 14.27-15.5 Paul confronts Peter: “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews” (Gal 2.14) Jerusalem Council first council meets: council called to deal with controversy over Gentiles coming in Peter talks about Cornelius Barnabas & Paul tell about what God has done among the Gentiles James speaks they pen an official letter (Acts 15.23-29) double standard allows for table fellowship Some “Judaizers” teach Gentiles need to keep the Law, especially in Galatian churches Paul started Paul writes to congregations, strongly arguing against Law-keeping Gal 2.19-21 righteousness does not come through the law Gal 3.10-29 no one is justified by the law; Christ redeemed us from the law’s curse for disobedience by becoming a curse; Abrahamic promises before law; God gave law to deal with transgressions until the offspring of Ab. came; law was guardian until Christ came; now that faith

Pull up a chair and listen in as we discuss and wrestle with some verses that proponents of eternal security use to make their case. Now there will be some overlap here with our last episode, but also some new content as well. We’ll discuss texts that seem to imply that salvation has nothing to do with works, that we already have eternal life, that salvation is permanent, and lastly that the holy spirit guarantees salvation. —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply Salvation is a gift given by God’s grace that we receive by faith and repentance, resulting in a lifestyle of obedience. If someone turns away from following Christ, whether in a definitive moment of rejection or through a gradual turning away into sin, he or she becomes lost. Texts that Support This Teaching Mat 7.21-23; John 15.1-8; Rom 11.16-24; 1 Cor 6.9-10; 9.27; 15.1-2; Gal 5.19-21; 6.8-9; Eph 5.3-12; Phil 3.11-14; Col 1.22-23; 1 Tim 4.16; 5.8; 2 Tim 2.11-13; Heb 2.1-3; 3.12-14; 4.1, 11; 6.4-8; 10.26-29; Jam 2.18-20; 2 Pet 2.20-22; Rev 3.1-5   Difficult Texts Below are a number of texts used to teach that salvation cannot be lost. Also, here’s a website (jesus-is-savior.com/Believer’s Corner/eternal_security.htm) to present a strong argument for eternal security. Salvation Is Based on Faith Alone Not Works John 3.16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. “believe” in John is more than just mental assent; it implies obedience John 3.36 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.   Ephesians 2.8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. The initial moment of salvation is truly by grace through faith. However, once saved we need to perform works Ephesians 2.10 (very next verse) 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. several other verses in Ephesians make it clear that sinful living results in destruction Ephesians 5.5-8 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light   2 Timothy 1.9 [God] who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began yes, the calling is not because of our good works but, once we accept the call we must live that out I once got a call from Anastasia at BU, offering me a scholarship I had to accept it, but then I also had to move away and enroll and go to the school the calling was free, but it required action or else it would result in nothing   Titus 3.5-6 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 which he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior yes, we

We’ll delve into the multifaceted theology of salvation (aka soteriology). We’ll look at all three tenses of salvation: how we were saved, are being saved, and will be saved. Now, I realize this can be a very sensitive and controversial subject, depending on what your preexisting doctrinal commitments are. However, I simply ask that you listen carefully and test what I say here against the scriptures to see whether it holds up. Be a good Berean and see where God leads you. —— Notes —— Past Tense[1] In Paul’s letters we find several different ways of talking about what God has done in Christ. The most common is that we are “saved.” Here is (perhaps) the most famous Scripture about how God has saved us. Ephesians 2:8-9 God’s salvation is a gift that we accept by faith. His grace reaches down, and we reach up through faith. Then He pulls us up and out. Because salvation doesn’t depend on works, no one can say, “I’ve earned it; I’m so great.” Instead, we say God did it. Isn’t He glorious? In addition to describing gracious act as “salvation,” we also see these other ways of talking about, each emphasizing a different aspect of what He has done for us through Christ: justified Rom 2:13; 3:4, 20, 24, 28; 4:2; 5:1, 9; 8:30; 10:10; 1 Cor 6:11; Gal 2:16-17, 3:11; 3:24; 5:4; Tit 3:7 reconciled Rom 5:10-11; 1 Cor 7:11; 2 Cor 5:18-20; Eph 2:16; Col 1:20-22 adopted Rom 8:15, 23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5 sanctified 1 Cor 1:2; 6:11; Eph 5:26 redeemed Gal 3:13; 4:5; Tit 2:14 regenerated Tit 3:5 When considering salvation (in the past tense), we may ask the question, “What are we saved from?” This question is extremely helpful in clarifying our understanding. Fortunately, we need only go back up to the beginning of the chapter to get the answer we seek. Ephesians 2:1-10 According to verses 1-3, we’re saved from being dead in sin, going along with evil spiritual forces, living in the passions of our flesh, and being a child of wrath. Verse 7 tells us we have a future to look forward to as well. But, if we’re saved, what does that mean about how our lives should look? Verse 10 tells us the purpose of our salvation is for good works that we should walk in.   Present Tense[2] 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 The Corinthians had already received the gospel some time ago; they believed it when they heard it. Now they are “being saved.”[3] Salvation is not just a one-time event, though there is an entry point. We become saved, and then we continue in that reality. Is it possible to lose your salvation? Southern Baptist Convention Article Nine: The Security of the Believer[4] We affirm that when a person responds in faith to the Gospel, God promises to complete the process of salvation in the believer into eternity. This process begins with justification, whereby the sinner is immediately acquitted of all sin and granted peace with God; continues in sanctification, whereby the saved are progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and concludes in glorification, whereby the saint enjoys life with Christ in heaven forever. We deny that this Holy Spirit-sealed relationship can ever be broken. We deny even the possibility of apostasy.   Lutheran Churches Formula of Concord: XI Election Therefore we should judge concerning this our election to eternal life neither from reason nor from the Law of God, which lead us either into a reckless, dissolute, Epicurean life or into despair, and excite pernicious thoughts in the hearts of men, for they cannot, as long as they follow t

Finally, we arrive at practical theology or Christian ethics. Although, we could easily spend fifteen lectures together building up a full edifice of how God wants us to live, in this episode we’ll simply lay the foundation stones of following Jesus. What I mean by follow is to read his words and do them, especially when what he says conflicts with our sensibilities, comfort, or common sense. If we only “follow” Jesus when what he says agrees with us and then diverge when he disagrees, then we are not following, but merely walking in the same direction occasionally. —— Notes —— Two requirements of Christianity believe the gospel (conversion/soteriology) follow Jesus (ethics)   Following Christ is worth it Jn 10.27-28 sheep hear voice and get eternal life Mt 19.27-30 what will we get for following you? those who follow Christ get eternal life!!! that’s worth it   Confess Jesus as Lord to be saved (Rm 10.9-10) Jesus says can’t call him “Lord” if you don’t do what he says (Lk 6.46) Jesus defines the word “Lord” as those who do what he says if you are a Christ-follower you do what he says even when it disagrees with what you think   Different Jesuses hippie Jesus (love is all that matters) one and done Jesus (salvation and then do what I want)…oh yeah, I prayed a prayer once American Jesus (patriotic, my country right or wrong), we forget Jesus was a middle-eastern Jewish rabbi who counseled against violent revolution against Rome prosperity Jesus (he wants me to be rich!, sow/reap blessings) poverty Jesus (unless I’m dirt poor I’m not a true follower) part-time Jesus (compartmentalized life, Sunday Christians, cafeteria Christianity) real Jesus average Semite was 5’1, weighing 110 pounds (meaning he DIDN’T look like this! [muscular Jesus]) if Jesus worked outdoors as a carpenter, he probably would have weathered tan skin popular mechanics the real Jesus is the one we read about in Scripture but how do we know which Jesus is the REAL Jesus? we are not left without help here the bible tells us who Jesus is and what he wants us to do “The Christ that Harnack sees, looking back through nineteen centuries of “Catholic darkness”, is only the reflection of a Liberal Protestant face, seen at the bottom of a deep well” –George Tyrrell[1]   Absolute Commitment Mk 3.31-35 Those Who Do God’s Will Are Jesus’ Family notice what Jesus doesn’t say he doesn’t say, the one who has an emotional connection to God he doesn’t say, the one who sings uplifting, positive, and encourage Christian music he doesn’t say, the one who prays or reads the Bible or goes to church he says, the one who does the will of God here Jesus redefines the family! this might seem radical to you, but it is merely the first step your closest relatives, according to Jesus, are not truly your mother or brother or sister anymore, but those who are unrelated to you by blood but do the will of God are the Palestinian Christ-follower is more your family than the apple-pie eating American who shares your politics but doesn’t follow Jesus just look at what Jesus says about his own mother   Lk 11.27-28 Blessed Mary Becomes Blessed Obedient 27 While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed.” 28 But he said, “On the

In this lecture, you’ll learn what Jesus and the book of Acts have to say about conversion. From Jesus, we will examine his parable of the Sower with special focus on the good soil–those who hear the message, understand it, accept it, hold it fast, and bear fruit. Next we’ll work through all of the conversions in the book of Acts to discover the four elements of conversion: belief, repentance, baptism, and receiving the holy spirit. Lastly, we’ll dig deeper into each of those elements to understand them better. —— Notes —— Jesus on Salvation comparison of soils in Sower and Seed parable Mt 13.23; Mk 4.20; Lk 8.15 hear, understand, accept, hold fast, bear fruit Four Elements of Conversion in Acts These examples of conversion from Acts that show 4 elements of conversion: believe repent get baptized receive the spirit reference belief repentance baptism spirit Acts 2.38 x x x Acts 3.19 x Acts 8.12, 17 x x x Acts 8.13 x x Acts 8.36 x Acts 9.17; 22.16 x x Acts 10.44, 47-48 x x Acts 11.21 x Acts 13.12 x Acts 13.48 x Acts 14.1 x Acts 16.15 x Acts 16.31, 33 x x Acts 17.30, 34 x x Acts 18.8 x x Acts 19.5-6 x x Acts 28.24 x   Believe the Gospel what is the gospel? message preached, that if believed results in salvation 2 Tim 1.10 what the gospel is not music a biography of Jesus (originally called “according to Mark”, etc.) any kind of good news a general communication about the bible (confusion of the “word”)   Understanding the “Word” Old Testament God’s activity in the world “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (Ps 33.6) “he sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” Ps 107.20; cf. Ps 147.15, 18-19; Is 55.10-11 “The three (spirit, wisdom, and word) are simply alternative ways of speaking about the effective power of God in His active relationship with His world and its inhabitants.”[1] God’s message spoken by the prophet “And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, ‘Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring disaster upon his house.’” 1 Kings 21.28-29 a synonym for the law “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. 17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.” Psalm 119.16-17 New Testament God’s command in the law “thus making void the word of God by your tradition…” Mk 7.13 typically it refers to the message or gospel “word of the kingdom” Mt 13.19 (shortened to “the word” in vv20, 21, 22, 23) the word (v4) = Christ (v5) = the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (v12) = word of God (v14) = word of the Lord (v25) = the gospel (v25) Acts 8.4, 5, 12, 14, 25 can’t be scriptures b/c in Berea they checked Paul’s word against the scriptures to see if was true Ac 17.11 born again through the living and enduring word of God…this is the word which was preached as gospel to you 1 Pe 1.23 God’s activity in the word to search people’s hearts and find out the truth “11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of Go

Last time we looked at the major categories the scriptures use to answer the question, “Why did Jesus die?” This time, we’ll take a journey through church history, making stops along the way to see how our forebearers have made sense of the crucifixion of our Lord. You’ll learn about these seven theories: Ransom Christus Victor Moral Exemplar Satisfaction Penal Substitution Governmental Communal Substitution For each I quote someone from Church History who advocated for that position and offer some criticisms. Note: This episode is from a talk I gave at Restoration Fellowship’s 2016 Theological Conference and you can get the full paper here. —— Notes —— Here is part two of my “Why Did Jesus Die?” paper. You can find the whole essay here. Introduction Are we satisfied to leave matters where the biblical data lies or should we press on to, as James Orr put it, “seek the inmost secret of atonement?”[19] Alas, for centuries, Christians have meditated on Christ’s redemptive work in an effort to better understand what happened behind the scenes. In this part I will cover seven theories in roughly chronological order. Before we begin, I should note that these various ways of looking at atonement are not mutually exclusive. I will begin with the two theories that emphasize spiritual warfare.   1. Ransom Theory Satan once showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and then said, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will” (Luke 4.6). On the basis of this text, some have concluded that when the first humans rebelled against God, they transferred the dominion and authority over this world to Satan. This is why Jesus called him, “the ruler of this world” (John 14.30), Paul said he was “the god of this age” (2 Cor 4.4), and John termed him “the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev 12.9). In Christ’s atoning work, he delivered humanity “from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption” (Col 1.13-14). In fact, when he ascended, “he led a host of captives” with him, liberating them from Satan’s custody. Augustine of Hippo (ad 354-430) writes: For men were held captive under the devil, and served devils; but they were redeemed from captivity. They could sell, but they could not redeem themselves. The redeemer came, and gave a price; he poured forth his blood, and bought the whole world…The blood of Christ was the price. What is equal to this? What, but the whole world?[20] Thus, through Christ’s valuable sacrifice, God paid the devil the required ransom to release us from his custody. But, would Satan just release his captives merely because God offered to purchase them? He probably would refuse. Thus, the ransom theory often includes the element of deception. Somehow God would have to trick the devil into overreaching. The devil only had legal right over those who commit sin. However, when he murdered Jesus of Nazareth, he overstepped his authority. Augustine explains it this way: But the redeemer came, and the seducer was overcome. And what did our redeemer to him who held us captive? For our ransom he held out his cross as a trap;

Why did Jesus die? Historically, we could say it was because the Roman Empire perceived him as a threat or the religious leaders in Jerusalem feared he would ignite an unwinnable revolution. Even so, the bible offers a number of theological answers that go far beyond the immediate circumstances of his crucifixion. In this lecture you’ll learn about the eight main biblical reasons why Jesus died. Then we’ll cover the sometimes controversial subjects of substitution and propitiation. —— Notes —— Definitions at-one-ment: bringing together God and humanity through the death of Christ justify: to make just, right; to declare free from blame reconcile: reestablish a close relationship between those who are not unified sanctify: to make holy (pertains to how you live) 1. He died for our sins 1 Cor 15.3-4 Christ died for our sins in accordance w/ the scriptures was Paul the first person to understand the theological significance of the cross? no, b/c he delivered to the Corinthians what he received himself (from others!) so, who first gave the cross a meaning and when? Jesus explained the meaning of his broken body and poured out blood at the last supper (Mat 26.28; cp. Lk 22.19) but Jesus also firmly believed that the OT explained the meaning (Luk 24.25-27, 44-48) a fact to which Peter likewise testified (1 Pet 1.11) does anyone know the two primary OT texts that point to the cross? Psalm 22 Isaiah 52/53 also the typology of the Levitical sacrificial system (especially the Day of Atonement) as explained in Hebrews also Passover celebration no coincidence that the Last Supper was actually a Seder meal! a number of other texts also[1] 1 Cor 11.23-26 communion memorializes his death (bread is body which is broken for us) 2 Cor 5.17-21: if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. God reconciled us to himself through Christ, not counting our trespasses against us. For our sake God made Jesus to be sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Rom 3.23-26: We are justified by grace (as a gift) through the redemption in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as propitiation by his blood. In this God demonstrated his righteousness because he had passed over previously committed sin and in such a way God is righteous and the one who makes those who have faith in Jesus righteous (justified) as well. more on propitiation 1 Jn 2.2: Jesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world 1 Jn 4.10 God sent his son to propitiate for our sins. Is he then the source and the recipient? Heb 2.17 Chris is the high priest making propitiation for the sins of the people Heb 7.27 he offered himself as the final sacrifice ὁ ἱλασμός BDAG 1. appeasement necessitated by sin, expiation (τῶν θεῶν, Arg. 39; Plut., Fab. 18, 3; cp. Plut., Sol. 12, 5. In these cases we have the pl., prob. referring to the individual actions to be expiated. But also sg.: Plut., Mor. 560d, Camill. 7, 5; Lev 25:9; Ps 129:4; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 174) εἰς ἱ. ἐμοί for my expiation GJs 1:1; so perh. abstr. for concr. of Jesus as the ἱ. περὶ τ. ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν 1J 2:2; 4:10. But mng. 2 has been popular. 2. instrument for appeasing, sacrifice to atone, sin-offering (Ezk 44:27 προσοίσουσιν ἱ. cp. Num 5:8; 2 Macc 3:33) s. above.—S. also lit. cited s.v. ἱλάσκομαι. DELG s.v. ἱλάσκομαι M-M. TW. ὁ ἱλασμός LSJ a means of appeasing, in pl., Plu.Sol.12, Orph.A.39,554,etc. atonement, sinoffering, LXXEz.44.27, 2 Ma.3.33, 1 E

In this episode we’ll consider what the bible says about angels, demons, and Satan. My goal here is to be as biblical as possible, not giving in to wild speculations or dismissing an understanding because it offends my modern sensibilities. The scriptures have a lot to say about the spiritual realm, and we can’t possibly work through it all in one episode, but we can at least overview the various major categories of thought. —— Notes —— Angels “…[A]ngels are spiritual beings separate from God, yet, unless they be fallen, of unquestioned integrity, goodwill and obedience to him.” (New Bible Dictionary, p. 37) 1. Worshipers ever notice God is usually portrayed with others? seraphs, cherubs, living creatures Isaiah 6.1-3 Ezekiel 1.1-3, 5, 22, 26-27; 10.15, 20 Daniel 7.9-10 Revelation 4.1-11; 5.11; 7.11 Genesis 1.26; 3.22; 11.7 2. Messengers The angel of Yahweh speaks to Hagar (Gen 16.7-13): this is called the principle of agency another example is Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3.3-7, 2) deceptive messages: Micaiah’s vision shows how God involves the spirits in carrying out his plans also Luke 1 where Gabriel announces the birth of Christ to Mary 3. Warriors angels who destroy Assyrian army (2 Kings 19.35) angels blinded then destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen 19) angel killed Herod (Acts 12.23) typically they begin by saying “Do not be afraid” Joshua met an angelic warrior (Josh 5.13-15) God is the LORD of hosts (battle name) 4. Helpers fed Elijah when he was severely disappointed (1 Kings 19.5-8) sees a 4th man in fiery furnace (Dan 3.24-25, 28) God sent Daniel an angel to shut the lions’ mouths (Dan 6.22) broke apostles out of jail (Acts 5.19-20) ministering spirits set out to serve (Heb 1.13-14) 5. national vicegerents Deuteronomy 32; Daniel 12: Michael your prince Daniel 10: Gabriel said he was fighting w/ prince of Persia Demons 1. Some spirits “fell” in the time of Noah 1 Peter 3.18-20 2 Peter 2.4-5 Jude 6-7 Genesis 6.1-5 this also happened later Numbers 13.33; Deut 1.28 killed Og of Bashan whose bed was 13.5’ long and 6’ wide (Deut 3.11) Goliath was of the Anakim (1 Sam 17.4) others killed by David’s mighty men (2 Sam 21.16-22) these events could be what Revelation 12 calls the dragon’s tail pulling down 1/3 of the stars and casting them to earth 2. Demons associated with idols Deut 32.15-17 “they made him jealous with strange gods…they sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known” Ps 106.34-38 Israelites mixed w/ nations and served their idols and sacrificed their kids to demons (see also sacrificing to “goat demons” in Lev 17.7) 1 Cor 10.19-22 pagans offering sacrifices to demons; don’t partake! Rev 9.20 during chaotic end-times people don’t repent of worshiping demons and idols an idol is just a statue, but the demon behind the idol may be real 3. Demons are not things but personal agents James 2.19 they believe God is one and shudder Acts 19.15 the spirit said, “Jesus I know, and Paul…” 4. Usage of “demon” Luke: 30% Mat 23% Mark 21% John 9% 1 Cor 6% Rev 4% J

Last time we worked through a ton of scripture, trying to get a multidimensional view of how the bible describes the holy spirit. This time we’ll consider a few scriptures that have confused some into thinking the spirit is really an individual or person distinct from the Father and the Son. This study is pretty technical, though I did my best to make the grammatical Greek points understandable. Even so, it will be difficult to follow along unless you download the handout we used in class. Here is the handout I used in class: Loading... Taking too long? Reload document | Open in new tab Download [857.29 KB]   —— Notes —— I didn’t follow these notes very closely, but instead mostly worked from this handout at least until later in the lecture. Even so, I thought these additional notes may be useful for your study. State the Doctrine Simply The spirit is God/Christ in action Reasons that Support Non-Personality of the Spirit The Holy Spirit Does Not Have a Name The Holy Spirit Never Sends Greetings (1 Cor 1.3; 1 Jn 1.3) The Holy Spirit Is Owned by God (Spirit of God) (1 Cor 2.11) The Holy Spirit Is Never Prayed To (Jn 16.23) The Holy Spirit Is Left Out of Key Passages (Jn 10.30; Mt 11.27; Mk 13.32) The Holy Spirit Not in Visions of Heaven (Rev 3.21; 4; 5) What about All Those Personal Pronouns in John 14-16? the word “spirit” πνευμα in the NT is neuter not masculine or feminine use handout instead of what’s below unless we are short on time Nearly all modern translations have adopted the standard of using personal pronouns (like “he” and “him”) in reference to the holy spirit. This is unusual because the word “spirit” or pneuma is neuter in Greek, and the pronouns the Bible uses are likewise neuter (like it and which). Although it is often the case that masculine and feminine Greek pronouns are translated in English as “it” or “which,” neuter words in Greek are virtually never translated into English using personal pronouns except when referring to the spirit. Immediately, this double standard should grab our attention as a potential area of bias in translation. Jason BeDuhn insightfully explains the matter as follows: Jason BeDuhn on Translating Greek Gender into English Now it turns out that both “masculine” and “feminine” Greek nouns can be used for impersonal things as well as persons. But “neuter” nouns are used only for impersonal things, such as objects, animals, forces, abstract principles, and so on. The same holds true for “masculine,” “feminine,” and “neuter” pronouns…But even though the “personal” category is larger in Greek than in English, the “Holy Spirit” is referred to by a “neuter” noun in Greek. Consequently, it is never spoken of with personal pronouns in Greek. It is a “which,” not a “who.” It is an “it,” not a “he.” This is the case, then, where the importance of the principle of following primary, ordinary, generally recognized meaning of the Greek when translatin

How do you think of holy spirit? In this lecture we’ll build up a biblical theology of the spirit, in an effort to comprehend its variegated facets. We’ll consider the Old Testament and the Synoptic Gospels before spending a good deal of time in John, looking at the fascinating way that Jesus talks about the spirit in the upper room discourse. —— Notes —— The Old Testament on Spirit How ruach is translating in the NASB: air 2 anger 1 blast 2 breath 31 breathless 1 cool 1 courage 1 despondency 1 exposed 1 grief 1 heart 1 inspired 1 mind 3 motives 1 points 1 side 4 sides 2 Spirit 76 spirit 127 spirits 3 strength 1 temper 2 thoughts 1 trustworthy 1 wind 98 winds 7 windy 2 wrath 1   Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period When used of living beings, ruach refers to the essence of the life and vitality in both human beings and animals that is manifested through movement and breathing (Genesis 2:7; 6:17; 7:15; Numbers 16:22; Ezekiel 10:17). Just as “spirit” was considered the essence of human life, so analogously the term “spirit” was used of the presence, activity, and power of God, that is, characteristics that demonstrate that God is truly a “living God” (Deuteronomy 5:26; Joshua 3:10; 1 Samuel 7:26; Isaiah 37:4; Daniel 6:20; Matthew 16:16; Revelation 7:2). Jacob Neusner, William Scott Green editors, Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period ©1996, Hendrickson Publishers, page 298 New Bible Dictionary At its heart is the experience of a mysterious, awesome power—the mighty invisible force of the wind, the mystery of vitality, the otherly power that transforms—all ruach, all manifestations of divine energy. JDG Douglas, New Bible Dictionary (second edition) ©1962, ed. By JD Douglas, FF Bruce, JI Packer, N Hillyer, D Guthrie, AR Millard, DJ Wiseman, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., pages 1137 James Dunn on the Holy Spirit There can be little doubt that from the earliest stages of pre-Christian Judaism, ‘spirit’ (ruach) denoted power—the aweful, mysterious force of the wind (ruach), of the breath (ruach) of life, of ecstatic inspiration (induced by divine ruach)…In other words, on this understanding, Spirit of God is in no sense distinct from God, but is simply the power of God, God himself acting powerfully in nature and upon men. James DG Dunn, Christology in the Making (second edition) ©1989, Eerdmans Publishing Co., page 133. Examples of Ruach: The spirit of God may be taken from one and distributed to others (Numbers 11:17) inspire prophecy (Numbers 11:25, 29; 24:2-3; 1 Samuel 10:6, 10; 1 Chronicles 12:18; 2 Chronicles 15:1; 20:14; 24:20; Nehemiah 9:30; Zechariah 7:12) be a way God speaks to people (2 Samuel 23:2) lead someone to a different location (1 Kings 18:12) transport someone from one location to another (2 Kings 2:16) be defined parallel with the anointing of Yahweh (Isaiah 61:1 cp. Acts 10:38) empower leaders to judge/rule the people (Judges 3:10) impart warlike energy/confidence (Judges 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19) supply supernatural strength (Judges 15:14) cause righteous anger (1 Samuel 11:6-7) impart regeneration/peace (Isaiah 32:15) give the Messiah wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, th

Now I realize we are in the middle of our theology class, but I thought this would be a good time to take a quick break and put out my recent presentation from Restoration Fellowship’s 2019 Theological Conference, titled, “The Trinity before Nicea.” Next week we’ll get back to theology and build up a biblical theology of the holy spirit, but for now, let’s dive into the second and third centuries and wrestle with the question of whether Christians believed in the Trinity before the year a.d. 325. Did Christians believe in the Trinity before a.d. 325 when the Council of Nicaea established that the Lord Jesus Christ exists as one substance (homoousios) with the Father? In what follows, I intend to investigate the beliefs of key Christians in the second and third centuries to answer this question, using Matt Slick’s “Early Trinitarian Quotes” as our guide. —— Links —— Read the entire paper, “The Trinity before Nicea“ Check out the video of this presentation, including slides Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Although later Christianity interpreted the handful of texts that call Jesus God as evidence that he shared the same rank, substance, and age as the Father, a more Hebrew-sensitive reading of these same verses yields more organic fruit. Instead of bringing in complex Greek philosophy to distinguish person from being and divine from human natures, the bible provides clear precedents for the idea that Jesus as God’s agent can be called God because he represents him. Thus, we do not have two Gods, but one God and his representatives, whether human judges, angelic beings, prophets, or the messiah himself. Suddenly centuries of harebrained distinctions and intellectual confusions dissipate like so much fog in the morning sun and we are left with Jesus of Nazareth, God’s man to announce and enact the good news. Texts discussed in this episode include Isaiah 9.6 (by Daniel Calcagno), Matthew 1.23, Psalm 82.1, 6, John 10.34ff, Psalm 45.6, Hebrews 1.8, Exodus 21.5-6, 22.8-9, John 20.28, and John 1.8. To follow along with this class, please download this handout as I refer to it repeatedly. —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply Because Jesus is God’s supreme agent, people can call him “God” in the same sense that God called the judges “Gods” and Israelite kings could be called “God.” He is at once subordinate to God and he bears the divine authority and name as his representative. Texts that Support This Teaching Jn 5.19, 30; 8.28; 12.49-50; 14.10, 28; 1 Cor 11.3; 15.28 Difficult Texts Although we worked through shaky texts last time where the bible might call Jesus God, now we want to work on the remaining key texts, including Hebrews 1.8, John 20.28, and John 1.18. The word “God” is more flexible than you think. Principle of Agency angels prophets judges kings Ex 3.3-6 Ex 4.14-16 Ex 21.5-6 Ps 45.1-7 Ex 20.1-3 Ex 7.1-2 Ex 22.8-9 Is 9.6 Psalm 8.5 Joel 3.16-17 Ps 82.1-8? (Heb 2.7)   Isaiah 9.6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The Messiah is prophesied to be called “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father.” First of all, Trinitarians do not believe that Jesus is the Eternal Father; they believe he is the Eternal Son. So they too would argue that this name should not to be taken in a strict literal sense. Furthermore, there are many others who bore names that included the word God (Heb. El or Yah). Eliab means “My God Father”; Jehoram means “Yahweh Exalted”; Ithiel means “God with Me”; Isaiah means “Salvation of Yahweh.” Having a name doesn’t necessarily describe you it may describe your God. Also, it is possible to call a human being “God” if he represents God to the people. For example, Solomon (or whoever is in mind in Psalm 45) is called God (Ps 45.6-7). The judges of Israel are called Gods (Ps 82.6), a fact which Jesus played upon when he was accused of calling himself God (John 10.33-36). Jesus is called “Mighty God” because he represents the Mighty God. He is called “Eternal Father” because through him the Eternal Father discloses truth (John 14.10).   John 10.27-39 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 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. 30

Last time we considered Jesus’ identity as God’s messiah. Today, we’ll look at a number of texts that are sometimes misunderstood to teach that Jesus is God. We’ll go through three classifications of verses: (1) those with manuscript issues, (2) those with translation issues, and (3) those with interpretation issues. Here is the breakdown. Manuscript Issues: 1 Timothy 3.16, 1 John 5.7-8 Translation Issues: Acts 20.28, Romans 9.5, Titus 2.13, 2 Thessalonians 1.12, 2 Peter 1.1 Interpretation Issues: John 5.18, John 10.30, 1 John 5.20, Colossians 2.9 See below for links to the various handouts mentioned in this episode. —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply Jesus is God’s human messiah—a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst (Acts 2.22). Texts that Support This Teaching Ex 8.10; 19.16-20; 20.1-6; Deut 4.35-39; 5.1-7; 6.4-5; 7.9-10; 10.17-21; 32.12, 39; 1 Sam 2.2; 2 Sam 7.22-24; 1 Kings 8.60; 2 Kings 19.15, 19; 1 Chron 17.20; Neh. 9.6; Ps. 83.18; 86.9-10; 135.5; Is 37.16, 20; 41.4; 42.5-8; 43.10-13; 44.6-8, 24; 45.5-7, 12, 18, 21-22; 46.9; Jer 10.7-10; Joel 2.27; Zech 14.9; Mat. 19.17; Mk 10.17-18; 12.28-33; Jn 5.44; 8.41; 17.3; 1 Cor 8.4-6; Gal 3.20; Eph 4.6; 1 Tim 2.5; Jam 2.19; Jud 25 Difficult Texts Before examining these texts, we should note how even Trinitarians have sometimes observed what a shaky foundation their belief in the deity of Christ rests: Christopher Kaiser: “Belief in the deity of Christ has traditionally been the keystone of the doctrine of the Trinity, yet explicit references to Jesus as ‘God” in the New Testament are very few, and even those few are generally plagued with uncertainties of either text or interpretation.”[1] William Barclay: “But we shall find that on almost every occasion in the New Testament on which Jesus seems to be called God there is a problem either of textual criticism or of translation. In almost every case we have to discuss which of two readings is to be accepted or which of two possible translations is to be accepted.”[2]   Manuscript Issues 1 Timothy 3.16 [NKJ] 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. 1 Timothy 3.16 [ESV] 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. ὅς {A} The reading which, on the basis of external evidence and transcriptional probability, best explains the rise of the others is ὅς. It is supported by the earliest and best uncials (א* A*vid C* Ggr) as well as by 33 365 442 2127 syrhmg, pal goth ethpp Origenlat Epiphanius Jerome Theodore Eutheriusacc. to Theodoret Cyril Cyrilacc. to Ps-Oecumenius Liberatus. Furthermore, since the neuter relative pronoun ὅ must have arisen as a scribal correction of ὅς (to bring the relative into concord with μυστήριον), the witnesses that read ὅ (D* itd, g, 61. 86 vg Ambrosiaster Marius Victorinus Hilary Pelagius Augustine) also indirectly presuppose ὅς as the earlier reading. The Textus Receptus reads θεός, with אe (this corrector is of the twelfth century) A2 C2 Dc K L P Ψ 81 330 614 1739 Byz Lect Gregory-Nyssa Didymus Chrysostom Theodoret Euthalius and later Fathers. Thus, no uncial (in the first hand) earlier than the eighth or ninth century (Ψ) supports θεός all ancient versions presuppose ὅς or ὅ and no patristic writer prior to t

Have you joined the Restitutio facebook group? The idea behind the group is that its a place where anyone can start topics for discussion. So, please join if you’d like to see what’s going on. What is the defining title for Jesus of Nazareth? Although he kept it mostly a secret during his ministry, Jesus’ role as messiah was and is the organizing center of his identity. Join me as we work through the Gospels to understand Jesus by his own words and deeds. —— Notes —— Vocab: מָשַׁח meshach: anoint, spread a liquid. מָשִׁיחַ meshyach: anointed one. (for quiz, what does messiah mean? Χριστός = anointed one, messiah, christ Mashiack = Christos Messiah = Christ meaning anointed   Examples of anointing (prophet, priest, king) Moses anointing Aaron as high priest (ordination) Ex 30.22-33; Lev 8.1-12, so all the high priests were “messiahs” Samuel anointing Saul; David 1 Sam 9.27-10.1; 1 Sam 16.6-7, 11-13 David would not take revenge on Saul b/c he was the LORD’s anointed 1 Sam 24.8-10, so all the kings were “messiahs” Elijah anointing Elisha 1 Ki 19.14-17   THE messiah “The Hebrew word means literally ‘anointed one,’ hence in theory either a prophet, priest or king. In Greek this translates as Christos; ‘Christ’ in early Christianity was a title, and only gradually became an alternative proper name for Jesus. In practice ‘Messiah’ is mostly restricted to the notion, which took various forms in ancient Judaism, of the coming king who would be David’s true heir, through whom YHWH would rescue Israel from pagan enemies.”[1]   messianic prophecies Gen 49.10 scepter will not depart from Judah 1 Chronicles 17.11-14: David’s son, God’s son Psalm 2: God’s son and world ruler Isaiah 11: supremely insightful and just ruler[2] Jer 23.5-6 God will raise up for David a righteous branch to reign as king[3] Zech 9.9-10 king comes on a donkey and cuts off weapons of war and rules from sea to sea   Jesus’ birth Luke 1.31-33 promised to set on throne of David and rule over Jacob Mat 2.2 where is he born king of the Jews?   Interchangeable terms son of God Luke 4.41 demons rebuked for saying “You are the son of God” b/c they knew he was the Christ John 11.27 Martha believes Jesus is “the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world” John 20.31 purpose of Gosp. Jn to believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of God Mat 26.63-64 Messiah, son of God, and Son of Man son of David Mat 12.22-23 this can’t be the son of David, can it? Mat 22.42 whose son is the Christ? they said, ‘the son of David’ king of Israel John 1.49 Nathanael says “you are the son of God! you are the king of Israel!” Mat 27.42-43 if he is king of Israel let him come down from cross; he said, I am the son of God   Messianic secret and the son of man Mark 3.11 demons told to keep quiet about him being the son of God Mat 16.13-20 Jesus strictly charge disciples not to tell anyone he was the Messiah “We know of several other Jewish movements, messianic movements, prophetic movements, during the one or two centuries either side of Jesus’ public career. Routinely they e

How many is God? Although the ancient Shema (recorded in Deuteronomy 6) teaches that God is one, Christian theologians have put forward a number of reasons arguing for a plurality within God. We will examine a number of these words, texts, and reasonings in an effort to agree with Jesus who wholeheartedly affirmed the Jewish Shema as his own greatest commandment. —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply God is one. Texts that Support This Teaching The Shema! שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה׀ אֶחָֽד׃ וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃ Deuteronomy 6.4-9 4 &#8220;Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. &nbsp; story of Akiva Roman commander, Turnus Rufus: “Have you no feeling of pain? Are you a sorcerer?” Akiva: “I am no sorcerer; but I rejoice at the opportunity now given to me to love my God ‘with all my life,’ seeing that I have hitherto been able to love him only ‘with all my means’ and ‘with all my might,’” and with the word “one” he expired”[1] Akiva set a precedent for dying, especially in persecution from the persecution of the Romans that Akiva faced to the forced conversions and subsequent burning at the stake by the Spanish Inquisition of the middle ages to the murmur of Jewish voices in the Nazi gas chambers to the victims of Hamas today this people repeats the words of the Shema in the manner of Akiva over and over and die with it on their lips what a legacy! &nbsp; Isaac Peretz: “The Hebrew language&#8230; is the only glue which holds together our scattered bones. It also holds together the rings in the chain of time&#8230;. It binds us to those who built pyramids, to those who shed their blood on the ramparts of Jerusalem, and to those who, at the burning stakes, cried Shema Yisrael!”[2] &nbsp; Rabbi Shraga Simmons: “Seth Mandel, the father of 13-year-old Koby Mandel who was bludgeoned to death in a cave by Arab terrorists, spoke at the massive pro-Israel rally in Washington DC in April 2002. He told the following story: In the Sbarro Pizza bombing which killed 15 people in Jerusalem, five members of a Dutch family were killed. One was a 4-year-old boy named Avraham Yitzhak. As he was lying on the ground – bleeding, burning and dying – he said to his father, &#8220;Abba, please help me. Save me.&#8221; His father reached over and held his hand. Together they said the words of the Shema. Seth Mandel told the DC crowd: &#8220;My son Koby died alone. I didn&#8217;t have the chance to say the Shema with him. So now I want you to help me say the Shema for the hundreds of Jews who have been killed in Mideast violence. Say the Shema with me in the merit of the boy in Sbarro&#8217;s. And say the Shema with me in the merit of my son Koby.&#8221; He then led the crowd of 250,000 in reciting the Shema together. [3] &nbsp; Talmud: “Jerusalem was only destroyed because its inhabitants desecrated the Shabbat, they refrained from reciting the Morning and Evening Shema…” (Talmud, Shabbat 119b) <

Today we&#8217;ll tackle the biggest question of all: who is God? We&#8217;ll take a journey through scripture together to discover what God is like, stopping at key moments to consider what this or that interaction tells us about him. —— Notes —— theology: one’s understanding of God Ontology vs. Functionality ontology: understanding something based on what it is (it’s essence) tendency to define God based on what he is (omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent) perfect being theology: reasons from perfection to generate characteristics that God must have independent from what he reveals about himself in the bible bible tends to define God based on what he’s done and his relationship w/ people Creator desiring trusting relationships creation Adam and Eve Limited participant in human affairs in time, with us, not aloof (we’ll get to predestination later) Cain and Able warns Cain does not force him or prevent him Lamech Heartbroken exception maker Nephilim Gen 6 Noah’s flood Preemptive preventer Babel the God of Abraham, Isaac, &amp; Jacob the call (Gen 12.1-4) Yahweh is going to be Abraham’s God he’ll have his back bless those who bless curse those who curse he’s just looking for someone to believe him, to trust him, to do what he says three tests of trust leave your land circumcise yourself and all your men the Akedah (binding of Isaac) with Abraham and Sarah we find the opposite of Adam and Eve believed God’s promises left their native land to be with God in promised land trusted God to perform the impossible over time grew more faithful died trusting God by the end of all of this, God irreversibly yoke’s himself to this family through covenants covenant faithfulness and chesed henceforth, God’s dealings w/ Abraham affect how he PRIMARILY refers to himself I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Powerful liberator and god-mocker burning bush how does God introduce himself to Moses? the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the name Pharaoh’s question (Ex 5.1) 10 plagues as God telling Egypt and the world who he is vis-à-vis the Egyptian gods he is the God above all other gods Passover meal memorializes the historical event of God liberating Israel this is how God intends to imprint faith on each generation (festivals) Exclusive moralist ten commandments begin w/ several statements of exclusivity singular pronouns! whenever anyone ever uses a pronoun for God in the bible it is singular: he, him, his, you (sg.) basic moral code 8 attributes of God Exodus 34.6-7 6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, &#8220;The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children&#8217;s children, to the third and the fourth generation.&#8221; chesed (חֶסֶד) John Goldingay: “It is sometimes described as covenant love, though in the OT it rarely appears in the company of the word “covenant.” It is used in two connections: when someone makes an act of commitment for which there is no reason in terms of prior relatio

Today we&#8217;ll take a look at a number of confusing scriptures that seem to indicate that hell is a place where the wicked are consciously tormented forever. We&#8217;ll look at texts that talk about weeping and gnashing of teeth as well as the how the worm will not die nor the fire be quenched. We&#8217;ll consider biblical phrases like &#8220;eternal punishment,&#8221; &#8220;eternal fire,&#8221; and &#8220;everlasting contempt.&#8221; Last of all we&#8217;ll analyze two verses in Revelation that use the language of eternal torment to describe the final punishment. —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply The biblical punishment for the wicked is destruction not an eternal life of torture. This is why we find scores of text that use words like perish, cut off, and death to describe the fate of the wicked. Texts that Support This Teaching Gen 2.17; 3.19, 22-23; 5.5; Ps 37.2, 9, 10, 20, 22, 27, 28, 34, 36; Mal 4.1-3; Mt 3.12; 7.13-14; 10.28; 18.8-9; Jn 3.16; Rom 6.23; Gal 6.8; 1 Tim 1.17; 2 Tim 1.9-10; Heb 10.26-27; 2 Pet 2.6; 3.6-7; 1 Jn 5.11-12; Jud 1.6-7 Logical Arguments that Support This Teaching If Jesus paid our penalty for sin and the penalty for sin is eternal conscious torment, then Jesus had to suffer eternal conscious torment. However, Jesus suffered temporary torture followed by death. What does it say about God that he set up our world to be such that those who refuse him must suffer day and night forever and ever without relief? How is he a God of love? Justice is proportional so if a man sins for 80 years, he should not suffer eternally. If God punishes people infinitely for a finite number of sins, then this is unjust. Difficult Texts[1] Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth in Fire/Outer Darkness Matthew 8.11-12 (cp. 13.42) 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.&#8221; “weeping and gnashing of teeth” says nothing about the duration of a punishment. If someone faces judgement they are likely to weep and gnash, whether it is temporary or ongoing. “weeping” connotes grief and “gnashing of teeth” anger not suffering In the stoning of Stephen the mob got so angry that gnashed their teeth Acts 7.52-54 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.&#8221; 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. [NASB: “they began gnashing their teeth at him”] Acts 7.54 ἔβρυχον τοὺς ὀδόντας Matthew 8.12 ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. Unquenchable Fire, Worm Does Not Die Matthew 3.11-12 11 &#8220;I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.&#8221; unquenchable fire is a fire that cannot be put out it refers to the quality of the fire not to its duration have you ever seen a fire raging so hot, you could not put it out if you tried? think of forest fires in California; they are unquenchable Mark 9.47-48 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thr

What is the destiny of the unrighteous? Christians over the centuries have put forward three major options: eternal conscious torment (traditionalism), temporary torment followed by salvation (universalism), temporary torment followed by destruction (annihilationism). In this lecture we'll cover the main texts supporting the annihilation of the wicked as well as three logical problems with the traditional view. —— Notes —— Understanding Immortality Gen 2.17 what was the original consequence for sin that God promised? death! Gen 3.19, 22-23 expelled from tree of life Gen 5.5 Adam died from the beginning the punishment for sin was death proof 1 only God is immortal by nature (1 Tim 1.17;15-16) 2 humans are by nature mortal (will not by default live forever) 3 God gives the saved immortality through the gospel (2 Tim 1.9-10) through resurrection (1 Cor 15.52-53) therefore damned will not be immortal (John 3.16; Rom 6.23[1]; 1 John 5.11-12) Biblical Language of Destruction Psalm 37 uses terms to describe the fate of the wicked v2 wither quickly like the grass v9 cut off v10 be no more v20 perish v20 vanish like smoke v22 cut off v27 reward for good is to live forever v28 cut off v34 cut off v36 passed away Mal 4.1-3 day is coming that will set them ablaze, they’ll be ashes under your feet Mat 3.12 burn up chaff [wicked] w/ unquenchable fire unquenchable = cannot be put out until it consumes the fuel Jer 7.20: God’s wrath is unquenchable, so he tells Jer to stop praying…but after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and carried the people into exile, his wrath ended Mat 7.13-14 narrow gate leads to life; broad way leads to destruction Mat 10.28 destroy body and soul in hell Hades = greek for Sheol = realm of dead (the grave) Gehenna = valley of Hinnom = burning garbage dump where they used to sacrifice children to Moloch that Jesus used as an analogy for the final judgment Mat 13.40-42 all law-breakers thrown into fiery furnace “weeping and gnashing of teeth” indicates anger not suffering see Luke 13.28: weeping &amp; gnashing b/c you see Abr. Is. Jac. in kingdom but yourselves cast out Mat 18.8-9 better to enter life crippled than to be thrown into eternal fire (hell of fire) life contrasted with fire Mat 25.46 eternal punishment vs. eternal life punishment that lasts forever not that is experienced forever (death penalty is irreversible) Heb 5.9 eternal salvation: process of saving was finite but outcome lasts forever Heb 9.12 eternal redemption: process of redeeming was finite but outcome lasts forever Gal 6.8 sow to the flesh -&gt; reap corruption sow to the spirit -&gt; reap eternal life Heb 10.26-27 those who go on sinning will get a fury of fire that will consume 2 Peter 2.6 Sodom&amp;Gomorrah condemned to extinction as example of what happens to ungodly 2 Peter 3.6-7 future destruction is like Noah's flood Jud 1.6-7 Sodom &amp; Gomorrah are an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire inhabitants of S&amp;G were violently slain by fire Atonement Romans 5.6 “Christ died for the ungodly”</p

In our last episode, we examined the broad scope of scripture, stopping at many texts along the way that teach about a future kingdom when Jesus returns. In this session, we&#8217;ll take a look at a number of sometimes misunderstood texts that seem to imply the kingdom is either already present or in heaven. Here is the picture of the Greek manuscript known as Codex Vaticanus on Luke 23.43 with an arrow pointing to the alleged comma: And here is Codex Sinaiaticus on 1 Timothy 3.16, with the hand of a later scribe &#8220;correcting&#8221; ος to θς, changing &#8220;who&#8221; to &#8220;God.&#8221; —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply The kingdom is the age when Jesus rules over the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem. It is present in that the sense that his followers already recognize him as king and submit to his kingdom way. (It’s been inaugurated but not consummated.) When it arrives, it will fill the earth. Texts that Support This Teaching Gen 1.28; Ps 2.6-9; 37.9-11, 22, 29, 34; 110; Is 11.1-9; 25.6-9; 35; Dan 2.44; 7.13-14, 18, 22, 27; Mic 4.1-8; Am 9.11-15; Zeph 3.8-20; 45.18; Mt 5.5; 6.9-10; 13.24-30, 36-43; 19.27-28; 25.31-46; Lk 1.31-33; 13.23-30; Acts 1.3-8; 3.19-21; 1 Cor 6.1-3; 15.24-28; 2 Tim 2.11-13; Rev 2.26-27; 5.10; 11.15-18 Difficult Texts: Kingdom Is Already Here (Either as Spiritual Reality or Came on Pentecost) Luke 10.9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, &#8216;The kingdom of God has come near to you.&#8217; Luke 11.20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. these two clearly imply the kingdom is not future but present in the ministry of Jesus we don’t have to take an “either or” hermeneutic; we can take a “both and” position Luke 17.20-31 20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, &#8220;The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, &#8216;Look, here it is!&#8217; or &#8216;There!&#8217; for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.&#8221; 22 And he said to the disciples, &#8220;The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, &#8216;Look, there!&#8217; or &#8216;Look, here!&#8217; Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot&#8211; they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all&#8211; 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Albert Nolan: “Many Christians have been misled for centuries about the nature of God’s kingdom by the well-known mistranslation of Lk 17:21: “The kingdom of God is within” Today all serious scholars and translators agree that the text should be read: “The kingdom

We now begin a series of four lectures on the eternal destiny of the righteous and the wicked, including the kingdom and the judgement. For today we are going to focus on what God promises for his own people in the age to come. We&#8217;ll cruise through the entire bible (right from Genesis to Revelation), making key stops along the way to understand the golden thread, woven throughout scripture of the kingdom. —— Notes —— eschatology understanding of the last things or end times destiny of the righteous: kingdom destiny of the wicked: hell 3 dimensions to kingdom hope gospel way we are just talking about hope right now creation theology the first book of the bible begins with a poem, detailing God’s creation of universe Genesis 1 what repeats? And God said let there be and God saw that it was good and there was evening and there was morning&#8212;the ?? day every stanza begins with, “And God said” and “let there be” every stanza ends with, “and God saw that it was good” and “it was evening and morning” more patterns God creates heavens on day 1 God populates heavens on day 4 God creates the waters on day 2 God populates waters on day 5 God creates the land on day 3 God populates the land on day 6 Gen 1.26: The poem climaxes at the creation of humanity first time God brings others into creation the first thing he says about humans is for them to have dominion over everything else on earth Gen 1.27: God made us in his own image we are similar to him in some way also similar to the angels (cf. v26) he does not say the animals are in his image Gen 1.28: first commands God gives reproduce rule the world Gen 1.29: God gives his people food (vegetables, grains, &amp; fruits) robust creation theology is the foundation for eschatology example of Gnostics who believed the physical universe was an accident people generally believe God will get in the end what he wanted in the beginning Isaiah 45.18 God’s plan is not to evacuate but to have his world inhabited last book reflects the first book Genesis records the beginning Revelation records the end river flowing out of Eden river flowing from God’s throne tree of life in the garden tree of life on either side of the river gold, bdellium, and onyx a ton of different precious stones God walking in the garden God dwelling with his people (see his face) garden city probationary permanent satan deceives satan done away with God curses ground no more curse first marriage last marriage what God originally wanted in the beginning he will get in the end! typically people conceive of the end based on what they believe God originally wanted in the beginning Promise to Abraham Gen 17.4-8 father of a multitude of nations (not just Israel!) to be God to you and your offspring give you land Canaan as an everlasting possession Promise to David 1 Chronicles 17.11-14 raise up one of your sins he will build me a house I will establish his throne forever Psalms Psalm 2.6-9 Psalm 37.9-11, 22, 29, 34 Psalm 110</li

In our last episode we looked at what the scriptures teach about humanity, including creation, death, and resurrection. I laid out a case for conditional immortality from several important texts. This time, we will consider a number of challenges to this understanding including: Philippians 1.23 &#8220;depart and be with Christ&#8221; 1 Corinthians 5.8 &#8220;absent from the body&#8230;present with the Lord&#8221; Luke 23.43 &#8220;Today you will be with me in paradise&#8221; Revelation 6.9-10 &#8220;under the altar the souls&#8230;cried out&#8221; Luke 16.19ff Rich man and Lazarus 1 Samuel 28.7ff the witch of Endor —— Notes —— State the Doctrine Simply The dead are asleep—unconscious—until the resurrection when they are brought back to life at the return of Christ. Texts that Support This Teaching Gen 2.7; 1 Kings 2.10; 11.43; 14.20; Job 3.11-14; Ecc 9.5-10; Ps 6.4-5; 13.3; 115.17; 146.3-4; Dan 12.2; Jn 11.11-14;5.28-29; 6.39-40, 44, 54; Acts 2.29, 34; 7.60; 1 Cor 15.6, 21-23, 51-55; 1 Thes 4.13-17 Logical Arguments comfort to know loved one is just resting in peace (RIP) would be weird if they watched everything you do don’t need to pray for them a million times hoping to change God’s mind immortality of the soul opens the door for spiritualism Lev 20.6 people whoring after mediums and necromancers will be cut off Lev 20.27 any medium/necromancer will be put to death Deut 18.9-13 abominable practice, a reason why Canaanites were expelled derives from pagan sources Plato, Egyptians, Norse, Hindu, etc. creepy to think deceased loved ones are watching everything we do has led to church abuse, i.e. sale of indulgences Difficult Texts Hand out article by Matt Perman at Desiring God: The &#8220;intermediate state&#8221; is the time between the death and the resurrection. Some have held that during this time we are unconscious or possibly even go out of existence. We do not think that this is biblical. The biblical evidence is that our soul continues on after death and that we remain conscious in the intermediate state while awaiting our final destiny of resurrected existence in the new heavens and new earth. First, Paul spoke of having the desire &#8220;to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better&#8221; (Philippians 1:23). Notice first of all that Paul speaks of death as a departure (from the body) not into temporary nothingness or unconsciousness but to be with Christ. If we are with Christ once we have died, then we continue existing. Second, notice that Paul speaks of this state as &#8220;very much better&#8221; than the present state. It would be hard to say such a thing of a state of complete unconsciousness. Particularly when we consider that Paul&#8217;s passion was to know Christ, it would seem that the reason the state beyond death is better than this present life is because we are with Christ and know it. If we were suddenly unconscious at death until the resurrection, wouldn&#8217;t it be better to remain in this life because at least then we would have conscious fellowship with Christ? Second, Paul also said that &#8220;while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord&#8221; and that therefore he would &#8220;prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord&#8221; (<a class="rtBibleRef" href="h

In this lecture, you'll learn about anthropology--the bible's view of humanity. In particular, we'll focus on the two ends of the spectrum: creation and death. We'll see how the biblical view of humanity is rather exalted since we are made in God's image. We'll examine what the bible teaches about death and resurrection and how the intermediate state is regularly labeled sleep. —— Notes —— Why start here? it’s where the bible starts (creation) anthropology: your understanding of humanity where do humans come from? two typical answers unguided natural processes based on huge amounts of time and inconceivably unlikely chance events (evolution) God made the first people (imago dei) Genesis account Gen 2.7: God personally creates humans with heavenly bodies God says, “let there be” with plants God says, “let there be” with animals (air, land, or sea) God says, “let there be” with humankind God stoops down he forms us; he shapes us from dust, like clay he breaths into our nostrils the breath of life sounds like mouth to mouth animals have the breath of life, but not such a tender description consider God’s human design 22 square feet of skin 206 bones 25 feet of intestines 45 miles of nerves 100,000 miles of blood vessels can live from hottest equatorial climates to the frigid polar caps skin provides waterproof barrier temperature regulation sensory input fingers are both finely tuned (painting) and strong (boxers) wrists enjoy 160 degrees of motion throw frisbee ride a motorcycle ball and socket shoulder joint allows 360 degrees of motion lift an object from the ground over our heads in one fluid motion hearts pump 2,000 gallons of blood each day never rest stomachs produce hydrochloric acid powerful enough to digest solid metal biped design allows for ridiculous range of activities climb trees run marathons ballet ears pick up incredible range of sounds soft sounds rock concerts voices can whisper, speak, yell, sing eyes allow for nearly 180 degrees of horizontal vision three dimensions brains process everything effortlessly and assemble a realistic perception of the external world capable of thinking abstractly (what’s better courage or integrity?) can imagine future possibilities mental simulator to run through plans art, science, relationships, sports, etc. people are capable of incredible creations Shakespeare your favorite song Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai (more than a half mile high) Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China (more than 100 miles) bicycles, performance cars, submarines, airplanes, and spaceships we are discoverers charted a billion stars catalogued over a million animals species we are producers 130 million books over 28 million songs more than 2 million movies we peer into space far away and examine the minute DNA within the microscopic world you gotta admit, that God did a pretty amazing job making us! God’s creation was good (7x) significant b/c it means God made the universe and people the way he wanted it wasn’t some accident (Gnostics) was God’s origin

In this presentation you'll learn about the core creed of the bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, the Shema, and how that relates to the smattering of texts in which Jesus may be called "God." If Yahweh alone is God then how can Jesus be God too? Are there two Gods or is something else going on? The answer is the principle of agency. Jesus can be called God because he represents God. It is much more likely that Jesus is called God because he represents God, just like Moses did to Pharaoh, the judges did to Israel, and the king did as God’s anointed one. Jesus is the ultimate proxy, God’s agent through whom God’s word became a human being and spoke to his people. Jesus was utterly transparent, always doing his father’s works, pursuing his God’s will, and speaking Yahweh’s words and thus can rightly be called God. He’s not a separate God, but God’s human representative. To meet Jesus is to meet God, not because he is God in himself, but because God was so at work within him. —— Links —— For a written version of this talk, see my article, “Explanations to Verses Commonly Used to Teach that Jesus Is God”Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

We continue our refutation of Michael Brown’s opening statement by addressing a whole smattering of texts, including Isaiah 9.6, John 20.28, Colossians 2.9, 2 Peter 1.1, Romans 9.5, and 1 John 5.20. We explain and debunk Brown's unusual singular verb argument from 1 Thess 3.13, 2 Thess 2.16-17, and Rev 22.3-4. We briefly touch upon Zech 14.3-4 and Mat 28.19 before handling Brown's case for the independent personality of God's spirit (Acts 5.3-4; 2 Cor 13.14; John 15.26; Mat 12.32). We look at the angel passage from Gen 48.15-16 and the whole concept of seeing God in OT times. In the end we find that Brown's case is not only confusing and self-contradictory, but he also repeatedly presupposes the deity of Christ in exegesis, he cherry picks texts without regard for their contexts, and he regularly disregards the Hebrew culture of key passages. In the end we remain unconvinced by his case for the Trinity. Here are two manuscripts on Romans 9.5.&nbsp; The first is Codex Vaticanus and the second is Codex Alexandrinus.&nbsp; Note the very interesting punctuation after the word σάρκα (flesh) in each.&nbsp; This indicates that the 4th and 5th century scribes took the latter clause as a distinct unit from the former in agreement with the punctuation we find in the New American Bible (NAB), "theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen."&nbsp; For comparison, here is the Greek from the NA28, "ὧν οἱ πατέρες καὶ ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν." To help you follow along, here is the relevant portion of the manuscript Brown used for his opening statement: That’s why Isaiah said in 9:6 that one of the Messiah’s titles would be, “Mighty God,” yet in Isaiah 10:21, it is Yahweh who is called “Mighty God.” That’s why Thomas said to the risen Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” in John 20:28. The text is totally clear! Thomas called Jesus his Lord and his God. And that’s why Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9 that “the whole fullness of deity” dwelt in bodily form in Jesus. Peter is clear as well, writing in 2 Peter 1:1 about “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” And it is very likely that Paul speaks of Jesus as God in Romans 9:5, while it is most likely that in 1 John 5:20, John states that Jesus Christ is “the true God.”That’s why Jesus could say that the Father was in Him and He in the Father (John 14:9-11). That’s why Paul identifies the Spirit of God with the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8:9-11. That’s why Paul could pray to the Father and Son together in 1 Thessalonians 3:13, saying, “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,” using a singular verb for the Father and Jesus. And why else would Paul include Jesus in a prayer to the Father, let alone pray to the Father and Son using a singular verb in the Greek – unless they are one? (See also 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, where Paul puts Jesus first in the prayer, using a singular verb again: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”)And that’s why prayer is offered directly to the Son in the New Testament. Stephen prays to Him in Acts 7:59 (“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”); we are taught to pray, “Maranatha,” which in Aramaic means, “Our Lord, come!” And John calls out to Him in prayer in Revelation, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20). Jesus even told us to ask Him for anything and He would do it (see John 14:14). And that’s why, in Revelation 22, we read th

We continue our refutation of Michael Brown's opening statement by addressing some alleged pre-existence texts in John 17.5, John 12.41, Philippians 2.6-11, and Matthew 23.37. (See previous episodes here.) Lastly we spend some considerable time working through Hebrews 1, giving special attention to verses 8 and 10. To help you follow along, here is the relevant portion of the manuscript Brown used for his opening statement: There are other texts which explicitly point to the Son’s eternal preexistence. In John 17:5, Jesus prays to the Father, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Once again, the text is clear. John also tells us in chapter 12 that when Isaiah saw the Lord’s glory (meaning, Yahweh in His glory in Isaiah 6), it was the Son of God he saw, the one who suffers and dies in Isaiah 53. Isaiah saw the Son of God, and the Son was called Yahweh. That’s why Paul tells us explicitly in Philippians 2 that Jesus existed in the form of God yet emptied Himself and became a servant, dying for us. And that’s why Paul uses a text speaking of Yahweh in Isaiah 45:23, where God swears that every knee will bow to Him and every tongue swear to Him and applies the verse to Jesus, saying that every knee will bow to Him and every tongue confess that He is Lord. If the Son is not deity, that’s blasphemous, and it cannot possibly be to the glory of the Father. Just think if the verse were referred to an angel, rather than Yahweh. It’s unimaginable. Note also that Paul in this passage uses the example of Jesus in Philippians as an example of humility. He didn’t take what rightly belonged to Him – namely, the privileges of deity – but rather emptied Himself on our behalf. He who was eternally God came to earth as a servant to die for us! That’s why Jesus says that He had often longed to have mercy on Jerusalem, but it was not willing (Matthew 23:37). He was the one wooing His people throughout Old Testament times. That’s why Hebrews 1:8, quoting from Psalm 45:7, says to the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” Yes, the Son is God and has an eternal throne! (The plain sense of the Hebrew and Greek texts is quite clear and the major reason there is any debate in how to translate the words is because of theological objections to the Messiah being God.) Not only so, but Hebrews continues, quoting from Psalm 102 and applying these words to the Son, “And, ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’” (Heb 1:10-12) The Son is the eternal creator, the one who always was and always will be. That’s what Scripture states! We don’t need to play games with this text and try to make it say something it is not saying. The text clearly and indisputably speaks of the Lord creating the heavens and the earth, which will ultimately wear out, but He – the eternal Lord – will remain the same. Yet Hebrews applies this to the Son! And Psalm 102 makes frequent reference to Yahweh, yet the psalm is referred to the Son in Hebrews 1. Not only so, but the Greek text speaks of the Lord creating the universe in the beginning (archas). There is no denying the plain truth of these words! And Hebrews makes the consistent argument that the Son is greater than the angels, yet in first-century Judaism, the very context of these words, there was no one higher than the angels other than God Himself. —— Links —— You can

In this episode we tackle the next chunk of Michael Brown&#8217;s opening statement in the recent Trinity debate. We address his argument that since God&#8217;s words remain forever and Christ&#8217;s words remain forever, they must be the same (cf. Mat 24.35 vs. Isaiah 40.7-8). Next we briefly explain the grammatical issues related to Titus 2.13 and the alleged Granville Sharp Rule. Then we discuss Brown&#8217;s case for Jesus as the eternal, uncreator, creator of the cosmos (John 1, 1 Cor 8.6, and Col 1). To help you follow along, here is the relevant portion of the manuscript Brown used for his opening statement: That’s why in the Old Testament, Yahweh’s words remain forever (Isa 40:7-8) but in the New Testament it is Jesus’ words that will remain forever (Matt 24:35). The Lord declared in Isaiah 43:11, “I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior,” yet throughout the New Testament, Jesus is hailed as our Savior. Either He is one with God, or there is more than one true savior. Paul leaves us no doubt, referring to “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” in Titus 2:13. That’s the most obvious and clear sense of the Greek. Jesus is our great God and Savior. We also learn from this same section in Isaiah that when Yahweh created the universe, He did it alone. As written in Isaiah 44:24, “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.” Yet the New Testament tells us explicitly that the Son was involved in creation. In John 1:1, John uses the language of Genesis 1:1 in the Septuagint, saying that the Word was in the beginning (en arche), and explaining that what God was, the Word was. And, he continues, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:3-4). And, John tells us, it is this preexistent Word, this Word through which all things were created, which became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). And that’s why John the Immerser explained that Jesus “ranks before me, because he was before me” (John 1:30). That’s why Jesus said that He was from above, that He came down from heaven, that He came from God and was returning to God (John 3:13; 6:38, 41; 8:23; 13:3). That’s why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:6, “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” Even more emphatically, he wrote, “For by him [meaning the Son!] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities&#8211; all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16-17). The text is clear. The Son is eternal. The Son is uncreated. All things were created through Him and for Him. You really have to engage in a hopeless series of exegetical gymnastics to deny the plain sense of these words. And remember: In Isaiah, Yahweh said no one was with Him when He created the universe, yet these texts say He created all things through His Son. That can only mean one thing: The Father and Son are one God! And that’s why Jesus explained that it was His Father’s will “that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father” (John 5:23). —— Links —— For a more extensive treatment of John 1.1, see Podcast 111 with John Schoenheit You can find the other episodes in this series on Refuting Brown&#8217;s Opening Statement here You can li

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Jerry Wierwille and I systematically refute Michael Brown&#8217;s problematic case for the deity of Christ in his recent debate with Dale Tuggy. Due to the number of texts Brown crammed into his opening statement, this will have to be a multipart series. In this episode we begin by covering Brown&#8217;s assertion that believing that Jesus is a glorified man &#8220;neuter[s] the gospel&#8221; since a man&#8217;s death for our sins &#8220;is hardly a demonstration of the immeasurable love of God.&#8221; We discuss his contention that Isaiah 42.8 means that God does not share his glory with anyone else in light of the worship scene in Revelation 5. We explain the absurd claim that Jesus claimed to be the &#8220;I am&#8221; of the burning bush in John 8.58 as well as the alpha and omega texts in Revelation. To help you follow along, here is the relevant portion of the manuscript Brown used for his opening statement: Thanks so much for coming out tonight and for tuning in to our livestream, and thanks, Dr. Tuggy, for your comments, which I’m quite eager to rebut. The fact is, you claim that Jesus is simply a glorified man, and I want to declare in the clearest possible terms that the Son of God of the Bible – the one we rightly worship as God – is infinitely more than a glorified man. To make Him into a glorified man is to deny the clear and consistent witness of Scripture. To make Him into a glorified man is to neuter the gospel, since the idea that a glorified man died for our sins is hardly a demonstration of the immeasurable love of God. To the contrary, when God sent His Son to pay for our crimes, He was giving of His very self. So, again, I’m eager to rebut Dr. Tuggy’s opening comments, and it’s clear that a lot of his difficulties come from the fact that Son took on human form, hence praying to the Father and having the Father as His God. But for now, in my opening statement, I will lay out the clear scriptural case that the Son is fully divine, and since there is only one God, then God must be complex in His unity. Simply stated, this one God has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Spirit, and if we are to accept the testimony of the Scripture, this is the only fair conclusion. For Dr. Tuggy and others, this is a logical contradiction, but the day we can fully wrap our minds around the nature of God is the day we’ve reduced Him to our level, thereby making a god in our image. The God of the Bible is marvelous and transcendent, without beginning and without end, rightly called in Judaism the eyn sof – the infinite One – and, according to the Scriptures, clearly complex in His unity. Will we accept the biblical witness, or will we try to create a god based on our own limitations and perceptions? In the Old Testament, the Lord stated categorically that He would share His glory with no one. As written in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” (See also 48:11, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”) Yet we see in the New Testament that massive glory and honor are given to the Son. As Revelation records, “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every cre

Are you curious how Dale Tuggy thinks he did on the Trinity debate with Michael Brown?&nbsp; In this post-debate interview I ask him about his strongest points as well as what he thought Brown&#8217;s strongest arguments were.&nbsp; I ask Tuggy about Brown&#8217;s Trinity theory and he explains the &#8220;one self&#8221; version of the Trinity as well as some of the major problems with that position.&nbsp; In the end, Tuggy both gave Brown a lot of credit for his rhetorical style while remaining completely unconvinced that Brown&#8217;s position can stand up to the bible or plain old logic. Stay tuned next time when Jerry Wierwille and I discuss Brown&#8217;s opening statement and give brief answers to his many opening arguments. —— Links —— Visit Dale Tuggy&#8217;s website and podcast at trinities.org Check out Tuggy&#8217;s excellent YouTube video entitled, &#8220;Who Should Christians Worship&#8220; You can either listen to the entire debate on podcast 158 or watch it on YouTube Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Are you curious how Michael Brown thinks he did on the Trinity debate last weekend? In this post-debate interview I ask him about his strongest points as well as what he thought Dale Tuggy's strongest points were. We talk about his reticence to use traditional trinitarian language in light of his own unique heritage and ministry focus. I press him gently to explain his view of the Trinity in light of some of the confusion that arose during the debate. Next time, I'll be interviewing Dr. Tuggy and getting his response and then after that Jerry Wierwille and I are planning on thoroughly reviewing and rebutting Dr. Brown's opening statement, verse by verse. Now, I realize that a number of you may not appreciate me giving Dr. Brown an opportunity to defend his view of the deity of Christ, but if you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know that I end every episode with the words "the truth has nothing to fear." For me, that's not just a tag line, it's how I believe. I'm not afraid to hear arguments for the deity of Christ or the Trinity. It's healthy for those of us who are biblical unitarians to be challenged by passionate defenders of opposing positions. If I'm wrong about Jesus, I want to be corrected and if I'm right then hearing another viewpoint shouldn't be a threat. —— Links —— Visit Michael Brown's website and radio show at askdrbrown.org You can either listen to the entire debate on podcast 158 or watch it on YouTube Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Last night Michael Brown (PhD NYU) and Dale Tuggy (PhD Brown U) debated the question, &#8220;Is the God of the Bible the Father Alone?&#8221; Tuggy affirmed while Brown denied. Both scholars recognize the inspiration and the authority of scripture over tradition. Both made an effort to found their beliefs using the bible, reason, and history. The debate went for nearly three hours and followed this format: Opening Statements (20 minutes each) Rebuttals (12 minutes each) 2 Rounds of Cross-Examination (7 minutes each) Concluding Statements (5 minutes each) Questions from the Audience (54 minutes total) Please leave your comments below. Who do you think won? Were both sides fairly represented? Whom should Tuggy debate next? Here are my notes for the two opening statements.&nbsp; They aren&#8217;t perfect, but I tried to keep up with each. —— Notes —— Dale Tuggy&#8217;s Opening Statement The Father is the only God (1 Cor 8.6; John 8.54) Jesus is not God but messiah, God&#8217;s agent (1 Tim 2.5) compare 2 hypotheses in light of 6 indisputable facts 1. NT believe Father is one God alone 2. NT believes one God is the Trinity 6 Indisputable Facts all 4 Gospels feature a &#8220;mere man&#8221; compatible main thesis Jn 20.31 -&gt; that&#8217;s it? nothing about Jesus being God the word God nearly always refers to the Father and no word refers to the Trinity they should sometimes use the word God to refer to the Trinity but they never do in the NT God is nearly always the Father no more than 8 texts where the term God refers to the Son a human can be referred to with the title God Jesus makes that point in Psalm 82 only the Father and Jesus are worshiped no worship of the Trinity no worship of all 3 persons-&gt; no spirit! Phil 2.11 says that Jesus&#8217; worship is indirectly to God by worshiping Jesus we worship the creator that God is triune or tripersonal is never clearly asserted in the NT poor Jewish theology is always assumed Jesus never gets around to telling us that God is 3 persons in 1 essence no controversy about the Trinity in the NT Trinity theories always engender controversy the NT controversies are over whether Jesus is messiah and whether non-Jews can be saved apart from Torah observance no NT author lifts a finger to limit or qualify clear implications of the son&#8217;s limitations Jesus got his mission, authority, message, power, from God no author shows any embarrassment that Jesus is subordinate Jesus is a real human man w/ a real human mom but w/ God as his father he was brought into existence in the womb the one God is eternal why aren&#8217;t the NT authors at all concerned to exert the eternal existence of the son will grant pre-existence but not eternality for purposes of this debate &nbsp; Michael Brown&#8217;s Opening Statement not a catholic bone in my body Son of God is infinitely more than a glorified man this denies Scripture neuters the gospel a man dying for our sins is hardly a demonstration of God&#8217;s love son is fully divine can&#8217;t wrap our minds around the nature of God God is complex in his unity making a God based on our own limitations and perceptions God shares his glory w/ no one (Is 42.8) in Rev 5, massive glory a

Before delving into specific biblical doctrines, we need to first think about what the bible is. In this lecture you&#8217;ll learn what the bible says about itself, some reasons to believe God inspired it, as well as the major types of biblical scholars and how they approach scripture. This episode, along with the last one, serves to round out the introduction to this course. —— Notes —— bibliology: one’s understanding about the bible what is the bible? a library of 66 books written by 40 people how should you interact with it? &nbsp; claims that God inspired the bible Matthew 1.22-23 Mark 12.36 Acts 1.16 Acts 3.18 Acts 4.25 Acts 28.25-26 Hebrews 3.7 Hebrews 10.15-17 2 Timothy 3.16 2 Peter 1.16-21 Revelation 1.1-2 &nbsp; reasons why I believe the bible is genuinely inspired it claims it predictive prophecy unflattering honesty medical insights martyrdom archeology some more reasons ear-marks of eye-witnesses historicity of the resurrection of Jesus changed my life incredible preservation survived some Israelite and Judean kings who disregarded it (Manasseh-&gt;Amon-&gt;Josiah) survived 70 year exile in Babylonia survived Antiochus Epiphanes who tried to destroy the Torah survived destruction of Temple in a.d. 70 survived destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 135 survived several Muslim empires survived all the crusades OT survived in high quality manuscripts (Aleppo, Leningrad, DSS, LXX) Diocletian tried to destroy the NT NT survived in over 5,000 Greek mss 531 language for whole bible, 1329 languages for NT &nbsp; dichotomy today between bible-believing and bible-critical approaches to doctrine refer to youtube video of my lecture on Losing Faith from 500 enlightenment gave rise to intense philosophical and biblical criticisms most bible professors in most secular universities examine the bible from an atheist worldview some Christians affirmed these criticisms but tried to save Christianity Schleiermacher (1822): feeling of absolute dependence; entering into Christ’s perfect God consciousness Albrecht Ritschl (1852): kingdom of God = community of brotherly love (focus on Jesus’ ethics not miracles) Adolf Harnack (1886): fatherhood of God, brotherhood of man, worth of each soul, love rather than law Walter Rauschenbusch (1917): social gospel movement—focus on humanitarian needs other Christians dug in and fought the criticisms John Locke (1695) published The Reasonableness of Christianity William Paley (1802) early proponent of intelligent design Charles Hodge (1874) defended infallibility and attacked Darwinism Fundamentalist Movement (1910) In 19th and 20th centuries the liberals and conservatives fight it out major denominations split (Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans) as universities go liberal and biblical conservatives leave and start new schools 1806 Harvard splits to form Andover Theological Seminary 1908 Lyman Stewart started BIOLA; he’s the man who funded the 1910 “The Fundamentals” 1929 Princeton splits to form Westminster Theological Seminary 1976 Liberty University Founded a

Happy New Year. I&#8217;m so excited to begin with you a new class that covers a whole range of biblical doctrines. In fact, I&#8217;m going to combine two classes into one and I think they will work together really well. The first class was originally titled &#8220;Basic Bible Doctrine&#8221; and it covered approximately fifteen different major beliefs. The goal was to explain these aspects of theology and give supporting scripture and reasons for them. I&#8217;m combining this with a more advanced class called &#8220;Solutions to Bible Texts,&#8221; which deals with commonly misunderstood verses on a bunch of doctrines. I&#8217;m going to attempt to interweave these two, so that you get a comprehensive understanding of theology. Now I realize that you very well may disagree with my understanding on some of these beliefs, so we may have some exciting dialog in the comments on these episodes. I will freely admit at the outset that I don&#8217;t know everything and that I have been wrong in the past. I just ask that you give this class a charitable listen and check it against the scriptures to see if it is true. Hopefully, this will be a good way to lay it all out there and see what you think. To begin with, this episode is an introduction that covers some important basics about approaching truth and building biblical doctrines. —— Notes —— In one sense there’s nothing basic about bible doctrine. Constructing a coherent biblical theology on any topic takes immense effort from collecting the many texts on the topic to interpreting each of them based on their own literary, historical, and theological contexts to conceiving of an understanding that simply yet elegantly embraces the most texts possible while minimizing the number of difficult texts to comparing other doctrinal systems both ancient and modern—the process is anything but “basic.” Even so, the end result is often simple enough to comprehend and communicate, though it rests upon the work of teams of specialists drawn from a variety of fields. the bereans Acts 17.11 what was Paul trying to convince them to believe? neither accepted nor rejected&lt;&#8211;really impressed Paul tested Paul’s message against the scriptures &nbsp; why is it so important to be willing to change our beliefs? b/c it’s easy to misunderstand the bible geographic separation (what’s the Arabah?) cultural separation (did they have divorce? could they read? did they have running water?) different religious groups (what’s the difference between a Saducee and a Pharisee?) language (what language did Jesus speak? how do we know that? ephphatha) metaphysics: function over essence (why did God call the light day?) anachronism: since everything is so different, it takes serious work to not read our own ideas into the bible &nbsp; reasons why it can be hard to change our beliefs easier to keep them the same might need to leave our church might lose friends, relationship with kids (Ray Faircloth), marriage (1 Cor 7) might lose job opportunities identity might be wrapped up in being 3rd generation church of God or whatever remember when I went to BU and got asked what I was anabaptist, adventist, biblical unitarian, restorationist my core identity (what defines me at more core, but doesn’t change no matter where I am on my quest for understanding) love God follow Christ seek truth &nbsp; typical to think doctrine doesn’t matter or worse that it’s divisive not taught to argue constructively head knowledge vs. heart knowledge mind vs. emotions vs. actions fal