Episode 447: I continue to work my way through Bro. T. W. Brents book The Gospel Plan of Salvation, which would be better named Polemics Against Calvinism. In this episode, I look at Brents explanation (eisegesis!) of Ephesians 1.3ff and his pained attempt to force the personal pronouns “us” and “we” mean other than the immediate requires. It is a display of opposition “exegesis,” i.e., when you interpret Scripture in any other way than your opponent does.
Tag Archives: Theology
Deconstruction with Brian Zahnd & Joe Smith
Episode 445: Deconstruction aims to question fundamental assumptions about truth (and other things). A couple examples popped up this week of deconstruction. First, Brian Zahnd took to Twitter/X to have an imaginary conversation about sin which I breakdown. Then, worked through a TikTok clip from a pastor of a church in Florida, Joe Smith, and exposed his assault on the inerrancy of Scripture. Finally, a call to repentance in overtime.
It’s Aliens, Man! (part 1)
Episode 441: Recently there has been an avalanche of information related to extraterrestrials and UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) both in the news and on popular television shows. Why the inundation with information about alien tech and sightings of otherworldly craft? Tune in as I work through what is going on & how to think about it from a Christian perspective.
The Time I Got Written Up by a Brotherhood Publication
Episode 440: It has been nearly a decade since it happened, but I was written up by a divisive preacher in a church of Christ publication. I’ve never talked about it…until now. The controversy centered on an illustration I used to illustrate a sub-point of a major point toward the end of the last of three sermons I preached in October 2013. Tune in as I address the circumstances leading up to the publication of the article as well as the content of the article.
Wayne Jackson, John Calvin, & God’s Grace, part 2
Episode 438: Two-for-Tuesday! I once again take up brother Wayne Jackson’s article “John Calvin and Grace” from his publication Christian Courier and read what Calvin on each verse Jackson cites in a single paragraph – John 3.16, 1 Timothy 2.4, 2 Peter 3.9, 1 John 2.2. Since Calvin was mentioned but none of his work quoted or dealt with, I thought it fair if Calvin got a fair hearing. We have got to do better with our scholastic endeavors!
Wayne Jackson’s article: https://christiancourier.com/articles/john-calvin-and-grace
Wayne Jackson, John Calvin, & God’s Grace
Episode 437: The late brother Wayne Jackson was a prolific writer, both of books and for his publication Christian Courier. One of his articles, “John Calvin and Grace,” came across my radar providentially in recent days. However, I was disappointed with the level of engagement with Calvin’s actual writings and arguments. In this episode, I explore the sections in Calvin’s writings which should have been addressed, including from Calvin’s Institutes, his commentary on Titus 2.11, and identifying the distinctions Calvin made concerning God’s grace.
Brother Jackson’s article: https://christiancourier.com/articles/john-calvin-and-grace
Nashville School Shooting
Episode 433: A 28 year-old woman opened fire at a school in Nashville earlier this week. In this episode, I unpack the awful truth behind the shooting, a whole spiritual reality involved in this tragic event which left six dead. Worldviews have consequences, and we witnessed the consequences of the worldview of the seed of the serpent.
Richard Dawkins, Greta Thunberg, & the Nature of Facts
Episode 432: An episode about unbelievers who say the quiet part out loud. Richard Dawkins affirms only two sexes – male and female. Greta Thunberg is awarded an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Helsinki. These two events help us think through the nature of facts. What are facts? We explore the common ground everyone (except for the extreme fringe) would agree upon before pulling the carpet out from under the unbeliever to demonstrate their feet are firmly planted in mid-air when they claim to know facts.
Climate Change – Episode 279
Global Warming – Episode 127
Cross-Purposes: How Distorting the Cross Distorts the Gospel
Episode 431: Liberal/Progressive theologians reinterpret the cross of Christ in a variety of ways. On this episode of the podcast, I tackle two primary ways liberal theologians distort the meaning of the cross of Christ: claiming the cross is “cosmic child abuse” and claiming “there is nothing divine in the blood of the cross.” Then, utilizing John R. W. Stott’s work, I explain the centrality of the cross to the life and message of Christ and why it was necessary for the Son of God to go to the cross.
Divine Impeccability & Incarnation
Episode 427: “Could Jesus have sinned?” Most people assume that since Jesus was tempted, and for a temptation to be a true temptation it must be possible for the person tempted to sin, that “Yes, Jesus could have sinned.” In this episode, we cut this assumption out at the knees theologically and Christologically by situating divine impeccability, the doctrine that God is unable to sin, within the person of Christ, He being fully human and fully divine. Just in time for Epiphany!
Live from the Pulpit 