The Westminster Podcast

In the 1980s the Southern Baptist Convention found itself at a crossroads. While many of its churches were faithfully teaching biblical Christianity, the seminaries where its pastors were trained had been immersed in theological liberalism for decades. In a lot of stories, this is where the split would occur. But this time something different happened. Instead of dividing, a group of courageous Christians decided to change the equation. They came up with an unprecedented plan to turn Southern Seminary from liberal theology, back to its confessional roots. Politics. Technology. Identity. Power. Science. Everything seems to be changing. So why not faith? Visit christianityandliberalism.com for more on the book, audiobook, and show. Music: “Line in the Sand (C&L)” by Timothy Brindle Produced by Nobody Special Wrath and Grace Records Music Licensing Codes: SRMLYXTJPKIJ7KT1 DYWHAHXSILHN6QAG

One of Christianity Today’s “100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century”, J. Gresham Machen’s earnest case for true, biblical faith and communion in Jesus Christ has been read around the world for 100 years. Originally published in 1923, this new edition features a brand-new foreword by Kevin DeYoung and is issued with the hope and prayer that the next century will be celebrated as one of reformation and renewal for Christ’s church throughout the world. https://wtspress.com/products/christianity-liberalism-100th-anniversary-edition

On a cold winter’s day in 1921 pallbearers carried the body of one of the great theologians of the 19th and 20th centuries to a graveside in Princeton, New Jersey. Writing to his mother afterwards, J. Gresham Machen would remark that when they carried B. B. Warfield’s body out, that Old Princeton went with him. Old Princeton had been the primary seedbed for pastors and missionaries in the Presbyterian church, but now, more than 100 years from its founding, the roots of declension had taken hold and modernist theology had made inroads, infiltrating the pulpits and pews of the Presbyterian church as well. As Machen saw it, Warfield’s vital orthodoxy had been the last vestige of orthodoxy keeping Princeton from a catastrophic embrace of liberal theology. Over the next 15 years, J. Gresham Machen’s struggle to preserve an orthodox Presbyterianism would become a touchpoint of the larger “fundamentalist controversy” boiling over in churches all around the United States. His book, Christianity & Liberalism, precipitated a series of events that culminated in Machen and other professors leaving Princeton in 1929 to plant a new seedbed for pastors and missionaries called Westminster Theological Seminary. Then, in the 1930s, Machen would break away from the mainline Presbyterian church he had spent his life in and establish a new denomination devoted to faithful teaching of God’s ancient word — an idea completely antithetical to the most influential and powerful forces of the day. Politics. Technology. Identity. Power. Science. Everything seems to be changing. So why not faith? Visit christianityandliberalism.com for more on the book, audiobook, and show. Music: “Line in the Sand (C&L)” by Timothy Brindle Produced by Nobody Special Wrath and Grace Records Music Licensing Codes: HGUBSIMJ58IH3NEB XOORY3CLGEDUW4C5

What does it mean to be a human being created in the image of God? In the brave new world of today, that’s a loaded question. Modern culture in the West has affirmed a radical reinvention of the self that was barely imaginable when J. Gresham Machen wrote Christianity & Liberalism in 1923. Not only is LGBTQ ideology inescapable—in schools, books, movies, fashion, sports, even beer and car commercials. It has become a dogma of the mainstream. And yet, as radical as this seems, there are prescient notes throughout Machen’s 100 year old book, words from his time that can help us make sense of our own. Principles that help us to take every thought captive, even in a world that insists on allegiance to being everything we want to be, whenever we want it, on demand. . . Politics. Technology. Identity. Power. Science. Everything seems to be changing. So why not faith? Visit christianityandliberalism.com for more on the book, audiobook, and show. Music: “Line in the Sand (C&L)” by Timothy Brindle Produced by Nobody Special Wrath and Grace Records Music Licensing Codes: NLBIDNZFO0KSQJKB JAWQDKU3NABLF4LG

What does it mean to be a human being created in the image of God? In the brave new world of today, that’s a loaded question. Modern culture in the West has affirmed a radical reinvention of the self that was barely imaginable when J. Gresham Machen wrote Christianity & Liberalism in 1923. Not only is LGBTQ ideology inescapable—in schools, books, movies, fashion, sports, even beer and car commercials. It has become a dogma of the mainstream. And yet, as radical as this seems, there are prescient notes throughout Machen’s 100 year old book, words from his time that can help us make sense of our own. Principles that help us to take every thought captive, even in a world that insists on allegiance to being everything we want to be, whenever we want it, on demand. . . Politics. Technology. Identity. Power. Science. Everything seems to be changing. So why not faith? Visit christianityandliberalism.com for more on the book, audiobook, and show. Music: “Line in the Sand (C&L)” by Timothy Brindle Produced by Nobody Special Wrath and Grace Records Music Licensing Codes: NLBIDNZFO0KSQJKB KJNJEKWBCFMJQ9GI

Arrested Development. In the 1990s, it was a hip hop group. In the early 2000s, it was a sitcom. But it’s a real psychological phenomenon that happens when, due to a variety of causes, a person or institution stops growing and ceases to thrive. And it’s a phrase J. Gresham Machen uses in his book Christianity & Liberalism to describe the consequences of a liberal theology. In the book, Machen is describing liberals who ridicule Christians for defending a defenseless cause. It’s like defending the belief that the earth is flat, they say, or that miracles happen, or that sins need to be forgiven. What’s the point, says the Liberal. Everyone knows those things are impossible, so why bother defending them? If that sounds familiar, it’s because we hear similar arguments from within the church today. Many are calling for a reevaluation of biblical views on sexual attraction, the sanctity of life, ethnic diversity, or even what it means to be a man or a woman. Although the topics have changed, the motivation for liberalism today isn’t all that different from that scathing critique of the church Machen confronted 100 years ago. Back then, the American church tried to compromise essential tenets of orthodox Christianity in order “to make it work.” And, as Machen predicted, it resulted in arrested development. In the years after Machen’s book, liberal protestant mainline liberal churches folded, thousands made a shipwreck of their faith, denominations split, and scores of ministries succumbed to the trajectory of theological compromise and, ultimately, to decline into the outward appearance of faithfulness—beautiful buildings and good deeds on the outside, but without a genuine saving faith in Jesus within. So, what should we do? Visit christianityandliberalism.com for more on the book, audiobook, and show. Music: “Line in the Sand (C&L)” by Timothy Brindle Produced by Nobody Special Wrath and Grace Records Music Licensing Codes: G1HX88SIQCSCHHVQ RAHXBDKANRLMHSBS

In 1923, the church in the United States was in a crisis. Modernist theology born in pre-War Europe now gripped a country experiencing vibrant technological and societal change. America in the “Roaring Twenties” was booming. Fashion was changing. Music was faster, louder. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were astonishing moviegoers with impossible stunts. The cities were electric. Industry was booming. The country was three years into a progressive prohibition of hard liquor. For the first time, a person could fly non-stop from New York to Seattle. President Harding was the first president to be elected by women who’d won the right to vote. Even so, much of the country remained racially segregated. Mass produced cars, trucks, and tractors had replaced horses and wagons, and were transforming the landscape. Telephones and the advent of radio meant that information traveled faster than ever. Politics. Technology. Identity. Power. Science. Everything seems to be changing. So why not faith? https://wtspress.com/products/christianity-liberalism-100th-anniversary-edition

In this episode, Westminster faculty discuss John Murray on Romans 12, noting how worship of God puts us in the perfect place to follow the commands of God. The power of the Spirit enables us to lead a life commensurate with Christ, to whom we are united. This life is a life that glorifies God and enriches the church.

In this episode, John Murray's exposition of Romans explores adoption in Christ and the full restoration and renewal of all things in him. Westminster faculty also dig into Romans 9 to explain Paul's teaching on God's unconditional, electing love and our justification through union with the person of Christ.

In this episode, Westminster faculty reflect on John Murray's passionate teaching on union with Christ and its pastoral comfort. Union with Christ brings real change in us and offers his personal presence in the midst of our suffering so that we can persevere with hope.

In this episode, Westminster faculty discuss John Murray's work on Romans 6 and how union with Christ changes everything. Being united to Christ defines not just our eternal destiny, but our very identity in the present. His work doesn't just forgive us of sin; it defeats the power of sin in our lives right now.

Mark Garcia speaks passionately of John Murray's childlike joy in the gospel, even in darker passages such as Romans 5. Westminster faculty also talk about the importance of Christ's righteousness, shared by all those who are in union with him. https://wtspress.com/products/the-epistle-to-the-romans

In this episode, Westminster faculty discuss Murray's commentary on Romans 1. Following Geerhardus Vos, Murray points out the importance of what is called a "redemptive historical view" of Christ in Romans 1:1-7. In other words, Murray focuses on the humiliation of the Son of God as our human representative, whose exaltation crowns him with power. This helps us see that we follow in the same path: going through humiliation before receiving our exaltation with the risen Christ. The faculty also discuss the apologetic implications of Romans 1:18 and following.

John Murray’s historic Romans commentary has been republished by Westminster Seminary Press. In this video, Westminster faculty passionately discuss and recall John Murray’s focus on the biblical text, tying this to how we do theology in faithful dependence on God’s Word. They show how Murray’s serious exegetical work produced a commentary that was both careful and devotional, giving pastors and Bible readers the gift of entering the text of Scripture with awe, joy, and certainty. Music Code: LD-NDXFV0XZRVM4F

In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans, one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary Press has reprinted John Murray’s commentary on Romans in an beautiful new hardcover edition, updated with a new introduction by Sinclair Ferguson. In this podcast, we’ll revisit this classic text with some of the pastors and teachers it has influenced the most. Along the way, we’ll explore the ways in which the Paul’s letter to the Romans and John Murray’s commentary on that letter help us to understand, to teach, and to preach in the present day. Music Code: LD-NDXFV0XZRVM4F

In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans, one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary Press has reprinted John Murray’s commentary on Romans in an beautiful new hardcover edition, updated with a new introduction by Sinclair Ferguson. In this podcast, we’ll revisit this classic text with some of the pastors and teachers it has influenced the most. Along the way, we’ll explore the ways in which the Paul’s letter to the Romans and John Murray’s commentary on that letter help us to understand, to teach, and to preach in the present day. Music Code: LD-NDXFV0XZRVM4F

In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans, one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary Press has reprinted John Murray’s commentary on Romans in an beautiful new hardcover edition, updated with a new introduction by Sinclair Ferguson. In this podcast, we’ll revisit this classic text with some of the pastors and teachers it has influenced the most. Along the way, we’ll explore the ways in which the Paul’s letter to the Romans and John Murray’s commentary on that letter help us to understand, to teach, and to preach in the present day. Music Code: LD-NDXFV0XZRVM4F

In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans, one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary Press has reprinted John Murray’s commentary on Romans in an beautiful new hardcover edition, updated with a new introduction by Sinclair Ferguson. In this podcast, we’ll revisit this classic text with some of the pastors and teachers it has influenced the most. Along the way, we’ll explore the ways in which the Paul’s letter to the Romans and John Murray’s commentary on that letter help us to understand, to teach, and to preach in the present day.

It’s a high calling to serve the people of God, and a hard one in today’s world. Pastors need wisdom, encouragement, and guidance to serve people living in the context of secularism. In The Pastor and the Modern World, they get exactly that. Three seasoned pastor-scholars―William Edgar, R. Kent Hughes, and Alfred Poirier―come to the aid of today’s pastor, bringing their experience to bear on cultural engagement, the craft of preaching, and the care of souls. How has secularism infiltrated culture and the arts, and what is a Christian response to it? How does a pastor prayerfully construct a message that moves the hearts of his congregants? What can we learn from Gregory of Nazianzus about being a “physician of souls”? These questions are answered, with many more, in a volume that’s sure to encourage pastors to take up their call with fresh enthusiasm and Spirit-led vigilance.

In Episode 3 of this companion series to the book The Pastor and the Modern World, host Peter A. Lillback and guests John Currie, K. Scott Oliphint, and Todd M. Rester discuss chapter 3: “Gregory of Nazianzus: The Pastor as Physician of Souls” by Alfred Poirier. Code: EVOQLSDDMVZ9RESC

In Episode 2 of this companion series to the book The Pastor and the Modern World, host Peter A. Lillback and guests John Currie, K. Scott Oliphint, and Todd M. Rester discuss chapter 2: “The Heart of the Pastor and the Pulpit” by R. Kent Hughes. Code: EVOQLSDDMVZ9RESC

In Episode 1 of this companion series to the book The Pastor and the Modern World, host Peter A. Lillback and guests John Currie, K. Scott Oliphint, and Todd M. Rester discuss chapter 1: “Are We Really Secular?” by William Edgar. Code: EVOQLSDDMVZ9RESC

In this companion series to the book The Pastor and the Modern World, host Peter A. Lillback and guests John Currie, K. Scott Oliphint, and Todd M. Rester discuss the chapters, “Are We Really Secular?“, “The Heart of the Pastor and the Pulpit”, and “Gregory of Nazianzus: The Pastor as Physician of Souls”.