# Theocast — Complete Content

> Generated July 17, 2026. Append `?format=md` to any article/episode URL for individual markdown.

## Articles

### That Voice Isn't God

*Published: May 27, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/that-voice-isnt-god*

https://youtu.be/8kWd6aZAWXo

What if the voice constantly accusing you is not the voice of God? In this conversation, Jon Moffitt addresses the fear, doubt, and condemnation that many Christians quietly battle in their minds. Questions about salvation, recurring sin, and God’s love can become overwhelming and spiritually paralyzing. You will hear why constant accusation and despair are not the voice of Christ speaking truth to his people. The discussion points to the freedom and assurance that belong to those who are united to Christ. Instead of captivity to fear, the gospel offers rest for weary consciences.

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---

### Why You Don't Feel Saved

*Published: March 30, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/why-you-dont-feel-saved*
*Tags: assurance of salvation, Rest, Weary*

Come to me all who are weary and I will give you…

What is it that Jesus will give you? What does it mean to come to Him? Who is He talking to? And how do you know if you came to Him properly?

For many, this does not feel simple. It feels like a test you might fail. A door you might miss. A standard you are never quite sure you have met.

But it was never meant to be an impossible maze. It is no maze at all. It’s the most narrow road you could possibly walk _(Matthew 7:14)_. There is only enough room for your feet to be pointed in one direction, Jesus Christ.

And yet, that road is impossible to walk.

No one has ever walked it successfully _(Romans 3:10–12)_. Jesus Himself said there are few who find it _(Matthew 7:14)_. Why? Because you must be able to walk in order to find it.

So which is it?

Is the way simple, or is it impossible?

This is where everything begins to break down.

Because when we miss the metaphors our King is using, we turn His invitation into a burden He never gave.

In the modern error of revivalist preaching, the image of Christ becomes a hardened, angry taskmaster. His eyes burn. His voice thunders. His hands feel like steel. To follow Him requires abandoning everything, picking up your cross, cutting off sin at any cost, and standing firm against every scheme of the enemy.

There is no room for weakness in His kingdom. Only those who finish the course, who remain faithful to the very end, who never give in, not even for a moment.

Don’t even attempt to hold His name if you are not ready for the task at hand.

How dare you claim to be part of His kingdom with such weakness and wickedness?

And if you are unsure of your place within His kingdom, there is no shortage of voices ready to help you doubt your standing. They will not leave you there in your unworthy state. They will give you a system. A path. A way to fix what is broken. They will point to examples of sacrifice, discipline, and devotion, and if you listen carefully enough, you might be able to prove your way into the kingdom.

A good, steady dose of daily self-examination will keep you focused.

And so you measure.

As I write this, I look up and see my son in the hallway attempting to measure himself against the board where all of my other children’s heights are marked. He holds his hand above his head and tries to turn around and see if he has grown.

This is how most Christians are taught to see their faith.

They are given a system.  
A scale.  
A list of markers.

Assurance comes once you reach certain points.  
And disappears the moment you fall behind.

And you can feel it.

The pressure in your chest.  
The weight in your mind.  
The quiet fear that maybe… you don’t measure up.

## **Finally Finding Rest**

Coming to Him was meant to provide rest.

But rest from what?

Until you answer that question, you will misunderstand everything Jesus is saying. Because once you see it, you begin to realize that coming to Jesus does not require strength. It requires the faith of a child _(Matthew 18:3)_.

In Matthew 11, Jesus is not speaking into a vacuum. He is speaking to people who have been crushed under religious leadership. Burdens had been placed on them, not by God, but by men, requiring obedience, performance, and relentless effort just to feel accepted.

And Jesus responds:

_“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;_ 
_yes, Father, for such was your gracious will._ 
_All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him._ 
_Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:25–28)_

Who understands Christ?

Not the wise.  
Not the strong.  
Not the religiously accomplished.

Children.

Those with childlike faith, simple, dependent, with their eyes fixed entirely on the God of the universe. The Son has not revealed Himself to the proud or the self-sufficient, but to the weak, the needy, those who know they cannot carry themselves.

And so Jesus holds out His hand and says, Come to Me.

You can be set free from this burden they have placed on you, a weight no one can bear _(Acts 15:10)_.

They place weight on your shoulders.  
I lift it off.

They demand performance.  
I give you rest.

They measure your worth.  
I give you mine.

They crush you under expectation.  
I am gentle and lowly in heart _(Matthew 11:29)_.

Their path leads to exhaustion.  
My path leads to life.

## **Who can be saved?**

After the rich man walks away grieving, the disciples are shaken. This was not a rebellious man or someone openly opposed to God. This was a disciplined, moral, and religious man. He had done what most people assume is required. And yet, he still walked away empty. That is what unsettles them. If someone like that cannot make it, then the question is unavoidable and deeply personal: “Who then can be saved?” _(Matthew 19:25)_

Jesus does not soften the moment. He does not adjust the standard or offer them a more attainable path. He does not give them steps to improve or a system to follow. Instead, He gives them the truth that cuts against every instinct we have: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” _(Matthew 19:26)_ He does not say it is difficult. He says it is impossible. Not unlikely. Not rare. Impossible.

That is the part we resist. We want salvation to be within reach, something that can be obtained with enough sincerity, discipline, or effort. But Jesus removes that entirely. There is nothing in you that can produce it, nothing in you that can secure it, and nothing in you that can sustain it. Every attempt to achieve it in your own strength will end the same way it did for that rich man, with sorrow, exposure, and the realization that you cannot do what is required.

That is exactly the point Jesus is making. Your salvation is not possible in your hands. It never was. That is why the King calls you to come to Him, not to assist Him, not to contribute something He lacks, and not to complete what He started, but simply to come. Because He Himself is your salvation _(1 Corinthians 1:30)_.

You cannot find it in your own strength because it is not possible to do so. And until that truth settles in, until it strips away every last bit of confidence in yourself, you will continue trying to accomplish what Jesus has already declared cannot be done. But when you finally see it, when you stop looking to yourself and look to Him, the call to come is no longer confusing. It is the only hope left.

## **How do I know I have faith?**

That question is often asked with a kind of quiet panic, as if the answer must be found by looking deeper within yourself. But asking, “How do I know I have faith?” is like asking, “How do I know I am alive?” You do not determine life by staring at yourself long enough. You recognize it by what is plainly true.

First, you see your need to be rescued from death _(Romans 3:23)_. You are no longer pretending you are fine. You are no longer comparing yourself to others or excusing what is broken. You see it clearly. You know you cannot fix it. Second, you see that Christ is your only hope _(Acts 4:12)_. Not one option among many. Not a helpful addition. The only hope. There is no plan B, no second option, no combination of Christ and your effort working together.

This is why Peter’s words are so simple and so powerful: “You have the words of eternal life” _(John 6:68)_. He is not analyzing his faith. He is not measuring its strength. He is not looking inward. He is looking at Christ and saying, There is nowhere else to go.

The Reformers used the phrase _extra nos_, outside of us. Salvation does not come from within you. It is not produced by your sincerity, your experience, or the intensity of your belief. You are not looking at your faith to save you. You are looking to Christ. Faith is simply the act of trusting Him.

That is why faith is not a feeling, not an experience, and not an emotional breakthrough. It does not depend on how strong it feels in the moment. If you were about to slip beneath the water and I threw you a rope, you would not sit there analyzing whether your trust was pure enough or strong enough. You would grab it.

That is the call of the gospel: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” _(Acts 16:31)_. Not believe in your believing. Not confirm your sincerity. Believe in Him.

## **What is this burden Jesus speaks of?**

It is not the burden of maintaining or proving your salvation. It is the burden of belonging to Him. That is a very different kind of weight. Jesus is not placing you under a system you must uphold to remain accepted. He is calling you into a life where you are united to Him, and because of that, you will experience what He experienced.

He tells us plainly, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” _(John 15:18)_. This should not surprise us, because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” _(1 John 5:19)_, and “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” _(2 Corinthians 4:4)_. The hostility you feel is not random. It is not merely circumstantial. It is the natural response of a world in rebellion against its Creator.

Satan hates everything about his Maker. He cannot overthrow Him, so he wages war against those who belong to Him. If he can cause the children of God to doubt the Father, to question their standing, to turn inward and begin measuring themselves, he has already done great damage. But even beyond that, there is open resistance. Rejection. Pressure. Suffering.

This is the burden Jesus speaks of.

Not earning your place.  
Not maintaining your status.  
But carrying the reality that you now belong to a King the world rejects.

That is why Paul writes, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” _(Ephesians 6:12)_. The battle is real, and it is spiritual. And yet, in the middle of that battle, you are not left wondering where you stand. That is why he also says, “Nothing… will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” _(Romans 8:38–39)_.

The suffering is real, but so is your security.

You may be opposed, but you are not abandoned.  
You may be pressed, but you are not rejected.

Because your belonging to Christ was never secured by your strength.

“We love because he first loved us” _(1 John 4:19)_.  
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” _(Philippians 1:6)_.  
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish” _(John 10:28)_.

So how do we know we belong to the King?

Faith.

Do you trust Him?

That trust is not something you produced. Jesus says no one comes unless the Father draws him _(John 6:44)_. If you find yourself trusting Christ, even in the middle of weakness, even in the middle of suffering, that is evidence that you belong to Him.

And that is why it feels so simple.

Because it is.

Jesus called it childlike faith, not because it is fragile, but because it rests entirely on Him

## **What about obedience?**

Do you love the King?

The One who cares for your soul _(1 Peter 5:7)_, who promises to bring you safely home _(John 14:3)_, who intercedes for you even now _(Romans 8:34)_, and who sympathizes with your weakness _(Hebrews 4:15)_. Not distant. Not frustrated. Not waiting for you to improve. That King.

Do you want to serve Him?

Of course you do.

Scripture tells us why: “We love because he first loved us” _(1 John 4:19)_. Your obedience does not create that love. It flows from it. It is the response of a heart that has been rescued, not the condition for being accepted.

Peter even explains what happens when obedience feels weak or absent. It is not that you have lost your standing, but that “he has forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” _(2 Peter 1:9)_. The issue is not that grace has failed you. It is that you have lost sight of it. You have turned your eyes away from what Christ has done and back onto yourself.

Obedience, then, is not driven by fear or the need to prove something. It flows from gratitude. We obey because we have been set free _(Romans 6:18)_, not so that we might be free. The direction matters. One crushes. The other gives life.

And even in that obedience, we are not perfect. We stumble. We fail. We fall short in ways that frustrate us and expose our weakness. But we do not run from our King. We run to Him. Again and again, we come back, not to renegotiate our standing, but to rest in what He has already secured.

That is why Paul can say, “By the grace of God I am what I am” _(1 Corinthians 15:10)_. His life, his obedience, his endurance, none of it is rooted in his own strength. And that is why he can also say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” _(Philippians 4:13)_. The power does not come from within. It flows from Christ.

Obedience is real. It matters. It grows. But it is never the foundation.

Christ is.

## **Don’t be distracted by performance**

Be excited about who Christ is, not what you are doing for Him.

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” _(Hebrews 12:2)_. That is the direction of the Christian life. Not inward, constantly evaluating your progress, but outward, fixed on Christ. Because the truth is, you will never perform to a level that satisfies your conscience. There will always be something lacking, something unfinished, something that reminds you of your weakness.

That is why the Christian life is a life of repentance. Not a one-time event, but a continual returning. We keep coming back, again and again, not to earn forgiveness, but because we already have it. And He keeps cleansing. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us” _(1 John 1:9)_. This is the rhythm of grace until the day we are made new _(Revelation 21:5)_.

Joy does not come from how well you perform. It never has. It comes from how fully you have been saved. From knowing that what Christ has accomplished for you is complete, secure, and unchanging. The more your eyes are fixed on that reality, the more rest and freedom you will experience.

So keep your eyes on the gospel. Let Christ fuel your life, not your obedience. Obedience will come, and it will matter, but it is not the source of your life. It is the fruit of it. It is a gift that overflows to others, not a measurement that defines you.

Christ is your life.

So look to Him.

You don’t feel saved because you keep looking at yourself.

The Bible doesn’t point you there. Jesus doesn’t point you there.

[_The Bible According to Jesus_](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus "The Bible According to Jesus") will help you finally see why.

---

### Does the Bible Require Head Coverings?

*Published: February 18, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/does-the-bible-require-head-coverings*

Few passages create as much confusion and tension as 1 Corinthians 11\. If we are honest, many pastors would prefer to skip it. Some treat it as purely cultural. Others insist it is universally binding. In recent years, we have seen a renewed push in some conservative circles to require head coverings in corporate worship. At the same time, other churches dismiss the entire passage as a relic of ancient customs.

So what are we to do with it?

As pastors who care about rightly dividing the Word of truth, we need to slow down, read carefully, and let Scripture interpret Scripture. We also need to remember the difference between law and gospel. When secondary matters are elevated to primary ones, consciences are bound where Christ has given freedom.

Let us walk through this carefully.

## The Passage in Question

In 1 Corinthians 11:2–16, Paul speaks about headship, authority, prayer, prophecy, long hair, head coverings, and even angels. It is one of the more difficult sections in the New Testament.

Paul writes:

* The head of every man is Christ.
* The head of a wife is her husband.
* The head of Christ is God.
* A man dishonors his head if he covers it while praying.
* A woman dishonors her head if she does not cover it.
* Long hair is a disgrace for a man.
* A woman’s hair is her glory.
* A wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels.

That is a lot to process. And unlike other doctrines Paul teaches repeatedly across multiple letters, this particular set of instructions appears only here.

So we have to ask: what is Paul doing?

## Start With the Broader Context

Before we isolate these verses, we need to zoom out.

First Corinthians is not a celebratory letter. Paul is correcting a troubled church. Division, lawsuits, sexual immorality, misuse of spiritual gifts, chaos at the Lord’s Table. The letter is filled with rebuke.

He confronts factionalism in chapter 1\. He addresses sexual immorality in chapter 5\. He rebukes lawsuits among believers in chapter 6\. He corrects abuses of marriage and singleness in chapter 7\. He deals with idolatry and food sacrificed to idols in chapters 8–10\. Immediately after this head covering section, he rebukes them for corrupting the Lord’s Supper.

In other words, Paul is not writing to a healthy church that is excelling in obedience. He is correcting a church obsessed with externals while neglecting weightier matters.

That context matters.

## Paul and the Nazarite Vow

There is another detail that deserves attention.

In Acts 18:18, Luke tells us that after leaving Corinth, Paul cut his hair because he was under a vow. The most likely explanation is that he had taken a Nazarite vow, which included not cutting one’s hair.

Now consider this.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says that long hair is a disgrace for a man. Yet Luke tells us that Paul himself had long hair during his time in Corinth.

The Corinthians knew what Paul looked like. They had seen him. They had heard him preach. They knew whether his hair was long or short.

So how do we reconcile that?

Either Paul is contradicting himself, or something more nuanced is happening in this passage.

## The Possibility of Sarcasm

We know from the rest of the letter that Paul is capable of biting irony and sharp rhetoric.

In 1 Corinthians 4, he mocks their self-exaltation. In Galatians 5, he makes a pointed remark about false teachers emasculating themselves. He exposes absurdity by pushing it to its logical conclusion.

Is it possible that 1 Corinthians 11 contains elements of sarcasm?

If we read the passage straight through without considering tone, it can sound like Paul is issuing a universal dress code. But when we read it in light of the entire letter and in light of Paul’s own actions, it begins to look different.

The Corinthians were deeply concerned with outward appearances. They were fascinated with status, image, and cultural respectability. Corinthian men prided themselves on certain masculine norms. Roman men often covered their heads in worship. Cultural practices varied.

What if the Corinthians had elevated a cultural expression into a spiritual litmus test?

What if they had taken a secondary matter and treated it as central?

That would fit the pattern of the rest of the letter.

## The Theological Anchor Remains

There are parts of this passage that are not sarcastic and should not be treated lightly.

Paul affirms:

* Christ is the head of man.
* The husband is the head of the wife.
* God is the head of Christ.
* Creation order matters.

Those truths are taught elsewhere in Scripture. Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 reinforce them. Headship and ordered relationships within marriage and the church are not cultural inventions. They are rooted in creation.

But here is the key: those theological truths do not automatically require a specific garment in every culture.

Paul grounds his argument in theology. The Corinthians appear to have taken that grounding and used it to police external appearances while ignoring deeper sins.

## Angels and Cultural Anxiety

The reference to angels has puzzled interpreters for centuries.

Some argue it refers to heavenly beings observing worship. Others say it refers to human messengers. Still others suggest that it reflects Corinthian superstition about spiritual beings.

The text does not provide a detailed explanation. That alone should make us cautious about building rigid requirements on a single obscure phrase.

When a passage is unclear, we interpret it in light of what is clear elsewhere in Scripture.

## Law, Gospel, and Christian Liberty

At the heart of this discussion is a pastoral concern.

When secondary matters become tests of orthodoxy, consciences are burdened. When cultural expressions are elevated to divine mandates, the church fractures.

We must distinguish between moral law that reflects God’s character and cultural practices that may express those truths differently across time and place.

Headship in marriage is not optional. Order in corporate worship matters. Modesty is required of all believers.

But a particular style of head covering, in a particular first-century context, does not carry the same weight as the gospel itself.

When Paul encounters churches that turn secondary issues into primary ones, he does not respond gently. He exposes the absurdity. He defends the gospel. He refuses to let external markers overshadow Christ crucified.

## So Does the Bible Require Head Coverings?

If someone chooses to wear a head covering as a matter of conscience, we have no quarrel with that. Christian liberty allows for such decisions.

But to bind the entire church to a specific garment as a universal requirement is another matter. That goes beyond what the rest of Scripture clearly teaches.

The enduring principles in 1 Corinthians 11 are:

* Christ is our ultimate head.
* Marriage reflects ordered authority.
* Worship should honor God, not cultural pride.
* External appearance must never eclipse internal faith.

When we read the passage in context, the weight shifts away from fabric and toward fidelity to Christ.

And that is where our focus must remain.

The church’s unity does not rest on veils or hairstyles. It rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ, our true covering, our righteousness, and our peace.

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Does the Bible Require Head Coverings? (w/ Doug Van Dorn)](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/does-the-bible-require-head-coverings-w-doug-van-dorn)

---

### What Does “Examine Yourself” Actually Mean?

*Published: February 11, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/what-does-examine-yourself-actually-mean*

We hear the phrase “examine yourself” quoted often in Christian circles. For many believers, those words carry weight, fear, and exhaustion. They are used to question assurance, to measure spiritual performance, and to keep people on a constant treadmill of introspection.

This passage sits at the center of why we care so deeply about context, about the clarity of the gospel, and about handling the law rightly. When Scripture is removed from its setting, it can wound consciences in ways God never intended. When Scripture is read carefully, it brings freedom, rest, and confidence in Christ.

So let us slow down and ask a simple question. What does “examine yourself” actually mean in the Bible?

## Why This Question Matters So Much

There are many Christians who live with relentless self-scrutiny. Day after day, they measure themselves. They review their obedience. They compare their failures to God’s law. They compare their lives to other believers. None of that ever produces peace.

That cycle exists because certain passages are often quoted without context. One of the most common is 2 Corinthians 13:5, where Paul says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.”

Those words are frequently used to call a believer’s salvation into question. They are treated like a command to inspect fruit, obedience, and progress in order to determine whether someone is truly saved.

The problem is that Paul is not doing that at all.

## Reading 2 Corinthians 13 in Context

Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 13 do not appear in isolation. He is responding to a very specific situation in the Corinthian church.

False teachers had entered the church and were challenging Paul’s authority. They questioned whether Christ truly spoke through him. They doubted the legitimacy of his apostleship and the power of his message.

Paul addresses this directly in verse 3 when he writes, “Since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me.”

That sentence frames everything that follows.

When Paul tells the Corinthians to examine themselves, he is not asking them to evaluate their obedience. He is asking them to consider how they came to faith in the first place.

They believed the gospel. They confessed Christ. They saw the power of God at work among them.

And how did that happen? It happened through Paul’s preaching.

So Paul’s point is simple and pastoral. If Christ is in you, then the gospel you received is true. If the gospel you received is true, then the messenger who brought it is legitimate.

The test Paul refers to is belief in the gospel, not moral performance. Failing the test would mean rejecting the gospel he preached. It would not mean struggling with sin or weakness.

Paul is defending his ministry, not dismantling their assurance.

## The Lord’s Supper and Self-Examination

Another passage often used in this discussion is 1 Corinthians 11, where Paul speaks about examining oneself before taking the Lord’s Supper.

Here again, context matters.

Paul is not asking believers to question whether they are Christians. He is correcting an abuse of the Lord’s Table. The Corinthian church had divided itself by status and wealth. Some were feasting. Others were going hungry. The Table had become a place of pride and exclusion.

Paul calls them to examine whether they are discerning the body rightly. The issue is unity, humility, and love within the church.

The examination is about how believers are treating one another, not about validating salvation.

## Galatians and the Call to Gentle Restoration

Galatians 6 also includes language about testing or examining oneself. Paul addresses how believers are to respond when someone is caught in sin.

His instruction is clear. Those who are walking by the Spirit are to restore the struggling believer with gentleness. They are also to watch themselves, recognizing their own vulnerability.

The examination is directed toward the one doing the restoring. It guards against pride and self-righteousness. It does not instruct the church to interrogate the salvation of the one who is struggling.

Paul explicitly acknowledges that Christians can be caught in sin. He does not assign a timeline. He does not revoke assurance. He calls for restoration through the gospel.

## Jesus and the Examination of Fruit

Jesus does speak about fruit in Matthew 7\. This passage is often used to justify constant fruit inspection of believers.

Yet the context is unmistakable. Jesus is warning about false teachers.

He says, “Beware of false prophets.” He explains that their fruit reveals who they are. The focus is on what they teach and what their teaching produces.

This passage is not about believers examining their own salvation. It is about discerning who should be trusted as a teacher. Scripture consistently places greater accountability on those who teach because they shape the faith of others.

The fruit under examination belongs to the teacher, not the congregation.

## When Examination Truly Is Necessary

There are moments when self-examination is appropriate and necessary.

When someone openly rejects God’s truth. When someone denies what Scripture clearly calls sin. When someone insists that obedience contributes to salvation. When someone refuses repentance and embraces false teaching.

In those cases, examination is about truth. It is about whether someone is agreeing with God or replacing God’s truth with their own.

Faith saves because it rests in Christ. Works do not save. Any message that adds human performance to justification is a distortion of the gospel. Paul speaks of this with strong language in Galatians because the stakes are eternal.

That kind of examination is not about fruit counting. It is about believing the truth.

## The Real Focus of Biblical Examination

Scripture does not call us to live with our eyes turned inward at all times. That path leads to despair or pride.

Scripture calls us to look to Christ.

Are we trusting His work? Are we resting in His sufficiency? Are we believing His promises?

Faith is not the thing that saves us. Christ saves us. Faith is the evidence that we have been saved.

Weak faith does not make Christ weak. Strong storms do not sink a sufficient Savior.

The Bible consistently directs our attention away from self-rescue and toward divine rescue. Assurance grows as we know Christ better, not as we monitor ourselves more closely.

## A Word to the Weary Believer

If you feel trapped in constant self-examination, hear this clearly. Scripture does not command you to interrogate your salvation every day. It invites you to trust the One who holds you.

Look to Christ. Study His work. Rest in His promises. Receive His means of grace.

The more you examine His sufficiency, the more your heart will settle. Christ has never failed to save His people. He will not start with you.

That is what “examine yourself” means when Scripture is read the way God intended.

This article is a summary of the following episode: [What Does “Examine Yourself” Actually Mean?](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-does-examine-yourself-actually-mean)

---

### The Bible's Emphasis Isn't Obedience

*Published: February 4, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-bibles-emphasis-isnt-obedience*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Bible's Emphasis Isn't Obedience](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-bibles-emphasis-isnt-obedience)

Modern Christianity often treats the Bible like a manual for self-improvement. People open it looking for quick answers, a verse for a problem, or a list of spiritual steps that will get life back under control. Sermons can reinforce that instinct by placing the main weight on what the believer must do.

That pattern shapes expectations. It shapes preaching. It shapes how Christians read. It also shapes why so many believers carry a constant sense of pressure and insecurity.

Obedience matters. It is commanded. It is expected. It is part of the Christian life. Yet the Bible’s primary emphasis runs deeper than commands and behavior. Scripture sets our focus on God’s work, God’s promises, and God’s redemption.

When that emphasis is lost, the Christian life becomes exhausting.

## Why Emphasis Matters

There is a difference between something being present in Scripture and something being central in Scripture.

All Scripture is profitable. Every passage belongs. Nothing is wasted. Yet Scripture does not give equal space, equal weight, or equal attention to every subject. Some themes show up with steady force from beginning to end. Those themes are meant to govern how we understand everything else.

When the church spends most of its time talking about subjects that Scripture treats as secondary, believers begin to live under the wrong priorities. They become trained to look at the Bible through the wrong lens. They read it like a dictionary or a search engine. They want a quick definition or a targeted solution.

That approach often creates confusion and disappointment. A verse pulled out of context cannot carry the weight people place on it. A command isolated from the story of redemption turns into a burden. A promise assigned to the wrong audience produces frustration.

Emphasis protects us from those mistakes. It teaches us how to read the whole Bible with clarity.

## The Bible Is Not a Theological Search Engine

Many believers were trained to use the Bible like a quick reference guide.

A problem arises. A feeling hits. A decision needs to be made. Then a verse is located, and the matter seems settled.

That approach encourages a chapter-and-verse mindset, where the presence of a reference is treated as proof of understanding. Yet a reference does not equal meaning. Words require context. Promises require context. Commands require context. The story requires context.

Scripture was not designed to function like a modern search bar. It was written to be read as a unified account of God’s redeeming work. When we treat it as a collection of disconnected answers, we miss the whole point.

## Obedience Has a Place, Yet It Is Not the Center

Many Christians assume the Bible’s main concern is obedience. That assumption shapes what people listen for in sermons and what they feel guilty about in their daily lives.

Yet when you read Scripture as a whole, you notice something.

The Bible spends a great deal more time showing what God has done than it spends listing what we must do. The story moves with God as the central actor. God creates. God covenants. God delivers. God preserves. God judges. God promises. God redeems.

Even when obedience is addressed, it usually sits inside a larger purpose. It serves the life of the people of God. It guards the unity of the church. It protects love among believers. It directs the community toward faithfulness in a cursed world.

Obedience functions within the kingdom. It does not carry the weight of securing the kingdom.

## A Simple Illustration of How Scripture Uses Obedience

A team cannot function without rules. A game cannot be played without boundaries. Everyone on the court must obey the standards that keep the game coherent. Yet the rules are not the point of the game.

The goal is the game itself. The goal is unity, coordination, shared purpose, and meaningful action together. Rules serve that goal.

Scripture presents obedience in a similar way. Obedience serves love. Obedience serves unity. Obedience protects the church. Obedience helps believers care for one another through suffering, sorrow, temptation, and weakness.

Many commands in the New Testament are directed toward life together.

Bear one another’s burdens. Forgive one another. Serve one another. Pursue gentleness, patience, meekness, and love. Consider others more significant than yourself.

Those fruits exist for the good of other people. They are meant to be consumed by the church and displayed to the world. They are not trophies for the individual believer.

## The Bible’s Primary Emphasis Is Redemption

If you want to understand the Bible’s emphasis, start by looking at the shape of the story.

Before the world was created, God set His saving purpose in motion. Scripture speaks of God choosing, promising, and preparing redemption before the foundations of the world. That means the story begins with God, not man.

Genesis opens with creation, calling, and blessing. Humanity is placed in the world as image bearers with purpose and responsibility. Then the fall arrives, and the curse enters. The world becomes a place of death, corruption, deception, and sorrow.

In that moment, Scripture introduces a promise. Redemption is coming. God will act. God will rescue. God will restore.

From that point forward, the Bible unfolds as a story of rescue.

The Old Testament reveals human depravity with painful honesty. It also reveals God’s patience, God’s covenant faithfulness, and God’s preservation of His people. The law exposes the need for deliverance. The prophets keep announcing hope. The storyline presses toward the coming Messiah.

The New Testament arrives with the fulfillment.

Christ comes as the redeemer. Christ comes as the lamb. Christ comes as the king. Christ comes to deliver His people from sin, death, and the kingdom of darkness. Christ comes to give rest to the weary.

That is the Bible’s center of gravity.

## The Bible Also Emphasizes the Curse and the Need for Rescue

Scripture refuses to pretend that this world is safe or stable. It repeatedly describes a creation that groans, bodies that decay, and lives marked by suffering.

The Bible also speaks with clarity about spiritual evil. The kingdom of darkness is real. Deception is real. Temptation is real. The need for liberation is real.

When believers lose sight of this, they start to treat Christianity like a program for building a better life. That view cannot survive contact with real grief, real loss, real betrayal, real illness, or real suffering.

Scripture trains the believer to live with a different framework.

You live under a curse. You will face sorrow. You will face weakness. You will face opposition. You will also have hope, because Christ has acted and Christ will return.

That hope does not rest on self-rescue. It rests on a redeemer.

## Why American Christianity Drifts Toward Obedience

A culture obsessed with performance will always drift toward behavior management. A religious culture shaped by revivals and moral campaigns will naturally build its identity around visible obedience.

That creates a man-centered version of the faith where everything becomes “I did.”

I prayed. I walked forward. I got baptized. I disciplined myself. I changed myself. I proved myself.

Yet Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s initiative.

He began the good work. He redeemed His people. He clothed them in righteousness. He sustains them by His power. He brings them into glory.

When that emphasis returns, the church breathes again. Rest returns. Joy returns. Gratitude returns. Obedience becomes fruit instead of a burden.

## What This Means for Reading the Bible

If you open the Bible mainly asking, “What must I do today?” you will eventually feel crushed.

If you open the Bible asking, “What has God done? What is God doing? What has God promised in Christ?” you will start to see the story as it was meant to be seen.

You will learn to read the Bible as a unified message of redemption.

You will start to notice how often Scripture highlights God’s action, God’s faithfulness, God’s rescue, and God’s power.

You will also start to understand why so many people struggle to read Scripture. They are looking in the wrong place for the wrong kind of emphasis.

## A Word to the Weary

If you are tired of sermons that load you down, you are not alone.

Scripture does call you to obey. It also calls you to rest. It calls you to look to Christ. It calls you to trust the one who has already done what you could never do.

You do not prove yourself to God. You do not secure your place by performance. You live by faith in a redeemer.

The Bible’s emphasis is Christ for sinners, Christ for sufferers, and Christ for the church.

When that becomes the emphasis of your reading, the Word becomes a joy again.

---

### Why Christians Struggle to Read the Bible

*Published: January 28, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/why-christians-struggle-to-read-the-bible-1*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Why Christians Struggle to Read the Bible](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/why-christians-struggle-to-read-the-bible)

Many Christians want to read the Bible. They believe they should. They even start strong for a week or two. Then the momentum fades, and the guilt starts to creep in.

That pattern is common, and it rarely comes from laziness. Most of the time, people struggle with Bible reading because they have been handed the wrong expectations, the wrong tools, and the wrong reasons.

This article is meant to put words to that struggle and to offer a path forward. A path shaped by years of pastoral ministry, years of conversations with believers around the world, and years of watching what happens when the Bible becomes a burden instead of a source of rest.

## The Bible Feels Hard Because Many of Us Were Taught to Read It Wrong

A lot of Christians grew up hearing that the Bible is powerful and beneficial. Then they opened it and experienced something else.

Confusion. Condemnation. Frustration. A sense that the whole thing was a never-ending list of demands.

When the Bible feels like that, reading it becomes emotionally expensive. You can tell yourself it matters, yet your heart expects another round of shame. In that moment, distraction makes sense. Avoidance makes sense. Busyness becomes a convenient cover.

If you are thinking, I should want this more, you are not alone. Many people were trained to approach Scripture as a performance metric. Read more. Try harder. Do better. Then maybe life will finally straighten out.

That approach does not produce joyful reading. It produces fear, pride, or despair.

## Practical Barriers Usually Reveal a Deeper Problem

People often say, “I am too busy.”

Sometimes that is true. Life can be hectic. Schedules can be brutal.

Yet for most people, the deeper issue is that Bible reading feels unhelpful. If opening the Bible leaves you confused or crushed, your brain will treat it like a chore. You will find time for what feels life-giving, and you will avoid what feels like punishment.

Many believers read Scripture for years, driven by guilt, shame, or fear. They hoped Bible reading would keep them from sinning. They hoped it would keep them out of trouble. They hoped it would earn a sense of safety.

That kind of pressure does not lead to love. It leads to burnout.

## Emotional Barriers Can Make Scripture Feel Discouraging

The Bible can be hard to open when your heart is heavy.

Discouragement makes you want to numb out. Stress makes you want to escape. When you feel shot emotionally, reading feels like work.

Some believers also carry anger toward God or deep frustration with Him. That often comes after loss, betrayal, illness, or unanswered prayers. In those moments, people can feel like Scripture is full of words that do not match their lived experience.

Grief can make you avoid the Bible even when you know you need it.

If someone has handed you verses like weapons, that pain cuts deeper. You begin to associate the Bible with cold answers instead of real comfort. You learn how to play the church game outwardly while quietly feeling lost inwardly.

That is one reason many people stop reading. It is not because the Bible lacks comfort. It is because they do not know how to find it when they are hurting.

## Misinformation and Misuse of Scripture Can Destroy Confidence

One of the enemy’s most effective strategies is misinformation.

Scripture can be quoted in a way that sounds faithful while steering people away from hope. Satan tried this with Jesus. He quoted Scripture and twisted its meaning.

That still happens. Passages get lifted out of context. Promises get assigned to people who were never meant to receive them in that way. Commands get weaponized. The Bible becomes a club.

When that happens, the book meant to strengthen faith can end up weakening faith.

It leaves believers thinking, “If this is what the Bible is, I cannot survive under it.”

The real issue is not Scripture. The real issue is mishandling Scripture.

## Many Christians Do Not Know Where to Start

Plenty of people begin their reading plans in Genesis because it is the first book. Then they hit sections that feel confusing, strange, or overwhelming.

Genesis is rich and beautiful, and it also carries layers that many modern readers do not recognize. Genre, structure, and purpose matter. Moses wrote to a particular people in a particular moment. The story is not random. It is redemption-shaped.

That is why many believers need a basic map before they need a long reading plan.

They need to know what they are looking for. They need to know how the pieces connect. They need tools that help them find the thread of the story.

## Tools Matter Because the Treasure Is Worth Digging For

A tool can be simple and still uncover something priceless.

A shovel is simple. A child can use it. Yet a shovel can unearth treasure.

Bible reading works in a similar way. You do not need a seminary degree to learn helpful tools. You need basic categories that guide your attention.

Context. Continuity. Covenants. Understanding the difference between law and gospel. How the New Testament teaches you to understand the Old Testament. How the whole story moves toward Christ.

Those tools help you know where to dig and what you are digging for.

Without tools, you can read for years and still feel lost.  
With tools, you can read and actually see what God is doing.

## Reading Alone Can Make the Struggle Worse

Modern Christianity often treats Bible reading as a private project.

That mindset leaves many believers isolated and defeated. It also ignores how communal Scripture has always been.

For most of church history, individual Christians did not own a personal Bible. The Word was heard, taught, discussed, sung, and shared in the life of the gathered church. That communal pattern shaped the way Christians learned to think, believe, and grow.

Even now, many people need a safe place to ask questions. They need fellow believers who can help them think through hard passages. They need pastors and elders who teach faithfully. They need friends who can talk through what they are reading.

The Word is meant to be a shared meal, not a solitary burden.

## Habits Help, Yet Habits Cannot Heal a Wrong View of Scripture

Routine is valuable. Consistency is good. It helps to build habits.

Yet habits cannot fix a heart that associates the Bible with condemnation. A schedule will not overcome confusion. A checklist will not restore joy.

When someone sees the Bible as a place to meet Christ and to receive help, they start returning to it for the same reason they return to food. They need it. They want it. They are nourished by it.

That shift changes everything.

## A Better Goal Than Finishing a Plan

Many Christians approach Bible reading hoping to earn God’s approval or to prove they are serious.

That mentality always leads back to pressure.

Scripture calls believers to walk by faith. It calls them to look to Jesus as the author and finisher of faith. It teaches that divine power supplies what we need for life and godliness.

That changes how you open the Bible.

You open it to see Christ. You open it to be strengthened. You open it to be comforted. You open it to be equipped to love others in a world filled with confusion.

The Bible is not a scoreboard. It is a living word that tears down strongholds and brings real hope.

## A Pastoral Word to the Wounded

Some listeners have stopped going to church because of real abuse and real harm. That pain is not small.

Yet isolation is never the cure. The enemy loves to keep wounded people away from the place where God restores them through the Word rightly taught and rightly applied.

If you have been hurt, I am sorry. I mean that. I also pray God gives you strength to find a church that will handle Scripture with care, with patience, and with mercy.

You deserve better than what you received.

## The Bible Is for the Weary

If you feel close to giving up, Scripture is for you.

It tells the truth about suffering. It tells the truth about hope beyond the grave. It tells the truth about mercy for sinners. It tells the truth about grace for the weak.

The Word of God is not meant to crush you. It is meant to lead you to rest, to wisdom, and to a steady confidence in Christ.

If you have struggled to read the Bible, you are not disqualified. You are not alone. You may simply need better tools, better guidance, and a better view of what the Bible is doing.

May God use His Word to restore your joy and strengthen your faith.

If you are interested in learning more about how to read the Bible as Jesus does, we encourage you to check out [_The Bible According to Jesus_](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus)

---

### Losing the War on Grace

*Published: January 21, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/losing-the-war-on-grace*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Losing the War on Grace](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/losing-the-war-on-grace)

There is a reason this topic has been pressing on me. It feels like we have lost something essential in the life of the church. Not a minor preference. Not a style issue. Something central to spiritual survival.

We have lost the emphasis of grace. And when grace loses its place, the church loses her strength.

The war is not over. Christ has already won. Yet many Christians are living as if they have been left to fight on their own. They wake up under weight, under pressure, under shame, under fear. They assume the answer has to be more effort, more intensity, more self-management, more personal grit. They try to muscle their way through temptation, suffering, discouragement, and doubt.

Then they wonder why they feel exhausted.

## How We Drifted into a Physical Christianity

If you step back and look at the modern church, a pattern shows up. The energy often goes toward what can be seen and measured.

Moralism becomes the engine. Practical living becomes the selling point. Sermons become coaching sessions. The goal becomes a better marriage, better parenting, better habits, better influence, better outcomes.

Politics gets woven in as if power can be secured by strategy. Entertainment becomes a substitute for reverence. Some churches motivate through inspiration. Some motivate through fear. In both cases, the focus is usually the same.

What do you need to do next?

That kind of Christianity feels natural in our time because we live in a world that has trained us to trust what we can see. We measure life with physical metrics. We assess our spiritual condition through external evidence. We treat the church like a system that produces results, and we treat grace like a word we use after failure.

Then the gospel becomes a tool for getting started rather than the power that sustains us every day.

## The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Life

Scripture refuses to let us reduce faith to the visible realm.

Peter speaks of divine power. The writer of Hebrews describes the Word of God as living and active, cutting down to the marrow. Paul teaches that spiritual warfare is real, organized, and relentless.

Ephesians 6 does not describe a conflict that can be solved by human strength. Galatians 3 exposes the insanity of trying to live by the flesh after beginning by the Spirit.

Paul uses a startling word in Galatians. He says they were bewitched. That is not casual language. He is describing spiritual deception. He is describing demonic strategy.

If the enemy can convince Christians that the Christian life runs on effort, then he has cut them off from the true source of power.

## Losing Grace Means Losing Strength

Satan understands what many believers forget. Grace is not a soft religious idea. Grace is the power of Christ at work for His people.

That is why the enemy does not always fight by pushing obvious wickedness. He often fights by shifting emphasis. He can keep the church busy with good things while starving her of the one thing she cannot live without.

Doctrine matters, yet doctrine without the living application of Christ can become cold performance. Justice matters, yet justice without grace can turn into self-righteousness. Service matters, yet service without grace can turn into burnout. Even spiritual disciplines can turn into a ladder that people climb to feel safe.

If the message becomes Christ saves you, then you sustain you, the church has embraced a lie.

That lie produces either pride or despair.

Pride grows in the ones who think they are doing well. Despair grows in the ones who know they are not.

Both outcomes silence joy, crush assurance, and drain love.

## Shepherding by Doubt is Cruel

One of the most destructive habits in parts of the conservative church is the constant practice of calling people’s salvation into question as a routine method of motivation.

That kind of shepherding does not restore bruised reeds. It snaps them.

Romans 8 speaks with clarity. Nothing can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Christ holds His people. None can take them out of His hand. The gospel gives rest to the weak and weary.

That does not remove church discipline. God disciplines His children because He loves them. The church corrects sin to protect the flock and call wanderers back. Yet a steady diet of suspicion and fear does not produce holiness. It produces hiding.

Scripture calls for restoration with gentleness. Galatians 6 makes that plain. People caught in sin need a church that knows how to apply Christ to them with humility, patience, and hope.

Grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness. Grace strengthens the heart. Grace sustains suffering saints. Grace trains believers to live in a world that is still groaning.

Fear can create outward conformity for a season. Grace creates real spiritual fruit.

## The Battlefield is the Pulpit and the Pew

Every Sunday is a battlefield.

The enemy wants pastors to rely on personality, cleverness, and technique. He wants sermons that entertain without feeding. He wants services that distract rather than proclaim. He wants churches that treat the Lord’s Table like an optional extra instead of a means of Christ’s care.

If grace is removed from the church, people will still gather. They will still sing. They will still volunteer. They will still look busy.

They will not be nourished.

The enemy also wants believers isolated from the place where grace is ordinarily delivered through Word, prayer, fellowship, and the gathered worship of the church. Isolation makes people vulnerable. Peter warns about this. Sober-minded vigilance is not a personality trait. It is a posture of war.

A Christian who lives on self-reliance will eventually collapse under the weight of life in a cursed world.

## The Curse is Real, and So is the Lie

We live under Genesis 3\. Bodies decay. Relationships fracture. Suffering lands on the just and the unjust. The world groans. Our bodies groan. The church groans. Scripture does not hide that.

Yet the enemy sells a story that sounds hopeful. Enough effort, enough time, enough money, enough control, and you can arrive.

That is the arrival fallacy. Next year will finally be the year. This new plan will finally fix it. This new leader will finally bring peace. This new discipline will finally make you secure.

The Bible tells us to set our minds on things above because the lasting hope is not found here. The King is coming. When He comes, He will wipe every tear and make all things new.

Until then, His grace is sufficient.

## Grace Makes the Weak Effective

One of the most freeing truths for weary Christians is this. Grace does not require physical strength to accomplish spiritual good.

Someone flat on their back can stand in the strength of the Lord. Someone dying can pray with power. Someone exhausted can still love with real love because Christ supplies what they lack.

Grace does not depend on the body’s abilities. Grace depends on Christ’s power.

That means you are not useless. You are not sidelined. You are not forgotten.

If Christ is in you, your life has purpose in the kingdom. Even one day lived by faith matters more than a lifetime spent chasing smaller dreams.

## Press Into the War with the Right Weapon

We have to recover the category of spiritual warfare. Not as entertainment. Not as fear theater. Not as obsession. As realism.

The enemy fights with lies. Christ answers with grace.

Ephesians 6 says the war is not against flesh and blood. The armor is not self-discipline as a savior. The armor is Christ applied through the means He has given.

That is why the church must keep singing grace, preaching grace, praying grace, and placing grace before the eyes of the saints week after week. We drain constantly. We get attacked constantly. We forget constantly.

So we gather, not to prove our worth, but to receive what we cannot produce.

## A Closing Word for the Weary

If you are exhausted, you need grace. If you are ashamed, you need grace. If you are stuck in sin, you need grace. If you feel numb, you need grace. If you feel afraid, you need grace.

Grace is not God shrugging at sin. Grace is the Father giving you Christ again and again, forgiving you, sustaining you, strengthening you, and holding you fast.

As long as you are breathing, the grace of God in Jesus Christ is sufficient for you.

Do not let the enemy steal the emphasis. Do not let him replace Christ with your own strength. Come back to the gospel. Come back to the gathered church. Come back to the means of grace.

Christ will carry you through.

---

### Grace as Divine Power?

*Published: January 14, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/grace-as-divine-power*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Grace as Divine Power?](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/grace-as-divine-power)

Grace is one of the most used words in the Christian vocabulary. It gets printed on mugs, stitched onto pillows, and spoken in church conversations with ease. Yet many believers have lost what the New Testament means when it uses the word. Grace has been reduced to a past event, a signed verdict, a transaction that settles a record, and then gets filed away.

Scripture speaks about grace with far more weight than that. Grace is forgiveness, and grace is also power. Grace brings salvation, and grace strengthens, trains, restores, and sustains.

That is why the question matters: Is grace divine power?

## What Does Scripture Emphasize?

The Bible contains law, history, poetry, wisdom, and narrative. Yet Scripture emphasizes a central message with relentless clarity. The promised Messiah has come. He has acted for his people. He has secured salvation and continues to work in them.

The word Christ means Messiah. Scripture is not a biography meant to satisfy curiosity. It is a proclamation about what the Messiah is for us.

Savior. Redeemer. King. Prophet. Priest.

When that center is clear, the message of grace becomes more than a theological label. It becomes the living, active way Christ deals with sinners and keeps them.

## Why Grace Feels So Small Today

Modern Christianity often treats grace as the moment God forgives you, then hands you a new assignment. Grace becomes the entrance. Then effort becomes the engine.

Many believers live as if grace cleans the record, while power is something they must generate through discipline, routines, and determination. That mindset quietly trains us to view grace as paperwork rather than strength.

Scripture treats grace as an ongoing gift with ongoing effect. Grace is not only the word that explains what happened to us. Grace is the word that explains how Christ sustains us.

## Paul and the Meaning of “Sufficient”

One of the clearest places to see this is 2 Corinthians 12\. Paul describes a persistent affliction and an attack that will not let up. He pleads for relief. Christ answers him.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

That sentence does not treat grace as a sentimental comfort. It treats grace as the form Christ’s power takes in the life of the believer. Grace is not presented as a soft message meant to calm Paul down. Grace is presented as strength that meets him in weakness.

Two details matter.

First, grace does not remove the weakness. Paul remains weak.

Second, grace supplies the power to endure. Paul learns to boast in weakness because Christ’s power rests on him through grace.

Grace is sufficiency. Grace is endurance. Grace is the way Christ keeps a suffering saint faithful.

## “I Am What I Am” by Grace

Paul uses the same active meaning of grace in 1 Corinthians 15.

“By the grace of God I am what I am… I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Paul does not deny effort. He refuses to credit effort as the cause.

Grace is not only the reason Paul was forgiven. Grace is the reason Paul was sustained and effective. Grace is not a memory from the beginning of his Christian life. Grace is present with him and active in him.

## Grace Strengthens the Heart

Hebrews says, “It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace.” (Hebrews 13:9)

That is not courtroom language. That is inner person language.

Grace strengthens. Grace stabilizes. Grace fortifies the heart. It meets the believer where fear, anxiety, temptation, and weakness live.

Paul tells Timothy the same thing in 2 Timothy.

“Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:1)

Grace comes from Christ and carries Christ’s strength to those who need it. This is why a believer can be outwardly fading while inwardly being renewed. The body weakens. The heart is strengthened by grace.

## Grace Trains and Forms Us

Titus 2 pushes even further. Grace saves and grace trains.

“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation… training us to renounce ungodliness… and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11 & 12)

Grace is not passive. Grace is not God shrugging at sin. Grace is the power of God applied to sinners through Christ. Grace teaches. Grace shapes. Grace trains.

This matters because many believers assume transformation comes from external pressure and internal willpower. Scripture says the deepest change is produced by grace.

## Grace for the Moment You Need Help

Hebrews 4 brings grace into the present tense of daily struggle.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Mercy addresses guilt. Grace supplies help.

In the moment of need, the believer does not bring a résumé. The believer comes confidently because standing with God rests on Christ.

Grace is help. Grace is timely. Grace is given.

## Grace in Suffering and Spiritual Warfare

Peter calls God “the God of all grace” in 1 Peter 5, and then describes what God does after suffering.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

Grace is tied to restoration and strengthening. Grace is how the Lord holds his people in suffering.

James speaks the same way in James 4 when he confronts arrogance, slander, and spiritual adultery in the church. His answer is not a demand for self-improvement. His answer is a gift.

“He gives more grace.” (James 4:6)

Grace is what confronts pride at the root, because pride is a form of self-protection. Grace frees us from the need to preserve ourselves through hostility toward others. Grace creates humility. Grace creates repentance. Grace creates peace.

## The Mistake We Keep Making

We keep thinking spiritual strength is produced the way physical strength is produced. Discipline yields results. Practice yields progress.

There is discipline in the Christian life. There is effort. There is watchfulness. Yet Scripture refuses to make effort the engine of spiritual life.

Effort is fruit. Grace is root.

When we reverse that order, we end up treating grace as a reward for discipline. We look for grace after we have done our part. That turns the Christian life into a cycle of anxiety and self-focus.

Paul confronted that mindset head-on in Galatians 3 because believers were trying to sustain themselves by law-keeping. The law can expose sin and guide the believer. The law cannot create obedience in the heart.

Only grace does that.

## Grace Is Not God Saying “It’s Fine”

One of the most damaging distortions of grace is the idea that grace means God is casual about sin. Grace becomes a shrug. Grace becomes tolerance.

Grace is costly. Grace required incarnation. Grace required obedience. Grace required blood. Grace required the cross.

Grace means Christ lived where we failed, died for our guilt, and rose in victory over death and the powers of darkness. Grace means forgiveness is real, and transformation is real, because Christ is real and active.

Grace is God’s love applied through Christ, with divine power attached.

## The Means by Which Grace Comes

Christ gives grace through means. Scripture, preached and heard. Scripture sung and remembered. Prayer offered with confidence. The table received. Baptism enjoyed as promise. Fellowship built around the word of Christ.

Grace is not a private substance we generate inside ourselves. Grace is a gift Christ gives, and he gives it through his appointed channels.

This is one reason the enemy works so hard to isolate believers from the church and from the word. A disconnected Christian is a weakened Christian. Not because God stops loving them, but because they are cut off from the ordinary nourishment Christ uses to strengthen his people.

## A Life That Can Endure

When grace is recovered as divine power, the Christian life becomes livable.

You can confess sin without despair. You can face suffering without losing hope. You can resist temptation without pretending you are strong. You can obey without using obedience to secure your standing with God.

Grace is the power of Christ for the believer. Grace forgives and grace strengthens. Grace restores and grace trains. Grace guards and grace establishes.

That is a gift worth proclaiming. That is a gift worth building churches around. That is a gift worth giving away to weary saints who have tried every other way to make life work.

And that is why this proclamation matters. Grace is divine power, gifted to you.

---

### Recovering a Supernatural Assurance

*Published: January 7, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/recovering-a-supernatural-assurance*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Recovering a Supernatural Assurance](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/recovering-a-supernatural-assurance)

This is a conversation I have needed to have for a long time. Many believers are exhausted, anxious, and unsure where they stand with God. Not always questioning salvation itself, but questioning God’s posture toward them. Is he pleased? Is he frustrated? Is he distant? Is there a purpose to our lives at all?

What we are increasingly convinced of is this. We have lost the spiritual depth of the Christian faith. We have trained ourselves to interpret everything through what we can see, measure, and evaluate. That instinct has quietly reshaped how we think about assurance.

It is time to recover a supernatural assurance.

## A Disenchanted Faith

We live in a deeply disenchanted world. If something cannot be measured, explained, or proven through visible means, we struggle to trust it. That way of thinking has bled into Christianity.

When believers wrestle with assurance, the default response is often to look inward or outward in visible ways. We evaluate obedience. We measure habits. We examine progress. We assess success, influence, stability, and self-control. We search for physical evidence to answer a spiritual question.

Scripture does not lead us down that road.

Paul tells us plainly in Ephesians 6 that our struggle is not rooted in flesh and blood. He names a real and terrifying enemy that operates in a realm beyond what we can see. That matters because assurance itself sits on that battlefield. Doubt, accusation, fear, and despair are not simply emotional experiences. They are part of a spiritual conflict.

If assurance is treated as a physical problem, we will look for physical solutions. Scripture tells us assurance is a spiritual gift that must be received, guarded, and strengthened through spiritual means.

## Assurance Is Not a Work of the Flesh

Many of us grew up learning to measure assurance by sincerity or transformation. We were taught, sometimes subtly and sometimes explicitly, that confidence before God came from how deeply we meant it or how much our lives had changed.

That approach leaves us trapped. Sincerity has no clear boundary. Transformation never feels complete. If assurance rests on either, it will always be unstable.

Scripture never presents sincerity as the foundation of salvation. The Bible describes us as dead in sin, enslaved to darkness, and unable to rescue ourselves. Dead people do not rescue themselves by meaning it harder.

The rich young ruler was sincere. His obedience was real. His confidence collapsed the moment the law exposed its true demand.

Assurance does not come from how seriously we take God. It comes from how completely Christ has taken us.

## Justification Silences Every Accusation

Romans 8 brings this into sharp focus. Paul asks a devastating question. Who can bring a charge against God’s elect? His answer is simple and final. God is the one who justifies.

That matters because accusations will come. They will come from others. They will come from our own conscience. They will come from the enemy who delights in pointing out our failures.

The question is not whether accusations exist. The question is whether they have authority.

They do not.

Justification is not self-declared. It is God-declared. We are not accepted because we obeyed well enough or believed sincerely enough. We are accepted because Christ stood in our place, bore our guilt, and provided his righteousness.

Assurance rests where justification rests. Entirely outside of us.

## Peace Is Guarded Supernaturally

Philippians 4 tells us something remarkable. The peace of God guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

That peace is not produced by performance. It is not maintained by consistency. It is guarded by Christ himself.

Peace protects what we love and what we think. Assurance lives in that same space. When Christ is the object of faith, the Spirit brings a settled confidence that cannot be generated through discipline or habit alone.

This does not minimize obedience. Good works matter. They encourage us. They serve others. They glorify God. They are fruit.

They are not the root.

## Faith Comes From Hearing

Assurance grows the same way faith does. Scripture is clear. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Assurance weakens when the voice of Christ is drowned out by the noise of the world or the accusations of the enemy. It strengthens when the gospel is preached, heard, remembered, and applied.

That is why the gathering of the church matters. That is why preaching matters. That is why confession, prayer, and the ordinary means of grace matter.

We are not sustaining ourselves. We are being sustained.

## A Kingdom Strength We Do Not Produce

Standing in the strength of the Lord does not require physical ability, visible success, or emotional stability. A believer can be weak in body, overwhelmed in circumstance, and nearing death while standing firmly in Christ.

Strength in the Christian life is not self-generated. It is received.

Peter tells us that everything needed for life and godliness has already been granted by divine power. Not human power. Divine power.

That changes how we face temptation, doubt, and suffering. We do not wake up trying to secure our place in the kingdom. Christ has already secured it.

## Christ Has Done It All

Hebrews 10 brings us to the center of assurance. By a single offering, Christ has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

One sacrifice. A finished work. A permanent standing.

Christ has paid for our sins. Christ has provided our righteousness. Christ is preparing our glorification. We are not managing our salvation. We are receiving it.

The lie that haunts many Christians is the idea that the Christian life is about getting saved, keeping ourselves saved, or proving that we are saved. That lie drains joy, weakens love, and keeps believers turned inward.

The gospel turns us outward. Toward Christ. Toward others. Toward hope.

## Walking by Faith in a Supernatural Reality

We walk by faith. Faith is not wishful thinking. It is trust in a finished work that we did not perform.

The Spirit uses that faith to produce peace, obedience, humility, and love. Not as proof of acceptance, but as fruit of it.

Assurance is not found by searching ourselves. It is found by looking to Christ.

And as we recover that supernatural assurance, weary believers begin to rest, wounded believers begin to heal, and isolated believers find the courage to step back into the life of the church.

That is our prayer. That Christ would once again be seen as sufficient, present, and powerful for his people.

---

### The Christmas Paradox

*Published: December 17, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-christmas-paradox*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Christmas Paradox](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-christmas-paradox)

We love Christmas, and we struggle with it at the same time. That tension sits right at the heart of the season. We sing about joy, light, and peace while carrying grief, disappointment, and exhaustion. We decorate homes while quietly wondering why life still feels so heavy. Christmas promises wonder, yet it often exposes just how broken things are.

That paradox is not accidental. It is actually the doorway into understanding what Christmas truly means.

## The Longing Beneath the Lights

There is nothing strange about wanting Christmas to feel magical. When life has been shaped by loss, sickness, broken relationships, or chronic disappointment, it makes sense to hope for a moment of relief. We want something that feels bigger than our circumstances. We want a break from the weight of living in a fallen world.

That longing is not sinful. It is human. More than that, it is deeply biblical.

Scripture never rebukes our desire for things to be different. It names it. Romans tells us that creation groans. Ecclesiastes tells us that everything under the sun is broken. The Psalms give us words for sorrow, frustration, and waiting. The Bible never asks us to pretend that life feels fine.

Christmas stirs that longing because it touches something true. We were not made for death, decay, or disappointment. We were made for life with God in a world without sin. The ache we feel during this season is not weakness. It is memory. It is the echo of Eden and the anticipation of glory.

## Advent and the Gift of a Clean Conscience

The first coming of Christ was not sentimental. It was surgical. Jesus entered a broken world to deal with the deepest problem we have, which is guilt before a holy God.

At Christmas, we remember that the Son of God took on flesh to obey where we have failed. He did not come to give us better habits. He came to give us a clean conscience. Hebrews tells us that his blood cleanses us from dead works so that we can rest before God.

This matters more than we realize. Many believers live every day wondering whether God is disappointed in them. They fear dying at the wrong moment. They worry that one failure might undo everything. Christmas answers that fear directly.

Jesus came to secure forgiveness that does not expire. He came to give righteousness that does not fluctuate. He came to remove the burden of trying to prove ourselves worthy of God’s love.

Our standing with the Father rests on Christ alone. That truth brings relief into even the darkest seasons.

## The Second Advent and the Hope of Restoration

Christmas also points forward. The first coming of Christ guarantees the second. Advent teaches us to wait with hope, not denial.

We still live in a world marked by pain. Bodies break. Relationships strain. Death still intrudes. Scripture never tells us that these realities will disappear before Christ returns. What it tells us is that they will not have the final word.

The same Jesus who came in humility will return in glory. The same Christ who bore our sins will renew all things. New bodies, restored creation, and unbroken fellowship with God are not metaphors. They are promises.

That future hope gives us permission to be honest about the present. We do not need to pretend that life feels good. We can lament, grieve, and cry out to God without fear. The New Testament encourages this posture. It tells us to set our minds on things above, not because earthly life is meaningless, but because it is incomplete.

## Grace in the Middle of Disappointment

One of the great dangers of the holiday season is placing our hope in temporary relief. We expect certain moments to carry more weight than they can bear. When they fail, disappointment deepens.

The gospel offers something different. Grace meets us in disappointment rather than bypassing it. Christ does not promise to fix everything now. He promises to carry us faithfully until the end.

This is where the Christian life becomes lighter, not heavier. We are free to acknowledge that the world is broken. We are free to admit that our lives have not turned out the way we imagined. We are free to say that some pain will not be resolved this side of glory.

Grace does not shame us for feeling this way. Grace sustains us in it.

## The True Wonder of Christmas

We are surrounded by stories of holiday magic because people are desperate for hope. Beneath every festive myth is the same question. Is there something worth believing in that can hold up under suffering?

Christmas answers that question with a person. Jesus Christ came in weakness to rescue sinners. He lived under the law, suffered injustice, died in our place, and rose victorious. His work does not depend on our performance. His promises do not collapse when circumstances worsen.

The gospel tells us that our entire past has been dealt with at the cross. Our present is held by the intercession of Christ. Our future is secured by his resurrection.

That is not escapism. That is reality.

## Living Between the Advents

We live in the tension of already and not yet. We have forgiveness now. We have righteousness now. We have adoption now. We also wait for resurrection, renewal, and restoration.

This tension explains why Christmas feels both joyful and heavy. It reminds us of what Christ has done and what he will finish. It allows us to celebrate without pretending. It allows us to hope without denying pain.

As we gather with family, sing familiar songs, and exchange gifts, we do so with clear eyes. We enjoy good things without asking them to save us. We celebrate Christ’s birth while longing for his return.

## A Word to the Weary

If this season feels hard, you are not failing. If joy feels mixed with sorrow, you are not alone. If your heart longs for something more, that longing is pointing you to Christ.

Christmas is not about creating a perfect moment. It is about remembering a perfect Savior who entered an imperfect world to redeem it.

We rest in what he has accomplished. We wait for what he has promised. And we walk forward together, anchored in grace.

That is the Christmas paradox. And it is good news for weary souls.

All of Christ for all of life.

---

### The Strange Relief of a Grace-Shaped Life

*Published: December 10, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-strange-relief-of-a-grace-shaped-life*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Strange Relief of a Grace-Shaped Life (w/ David Zahl)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-strange-relief-of-a-grace-shaped-life-w-david-zahl)

We talk often at Theocast about all of Christ for all of life. Not bits of Christ, not slices of the Christian message, but the real Jesus for the real world we are actually living in. Some days that world feels manageable. Other days it feels like a collapsing roof. Most days it feels like a treadmill that keeps speeding up no matter how tired we are.

This is why the word _relief_ keeps coming back to my mind. It is also why David Zahl’s work resonates so deeply with me. When someone in ministry for almost twenty years looks around and says, “The greatest need in our world is relief,” you can feel the truth of it. Because you and I are not dealing with small problems. We are dealing with weary people in a weary world.

I want to share some of what came out of our conversation with David because it touches the core of what we care about at Theocast: helping tired Christians rediscover the joy and freedom that only grace can give.

## **Why Grace Must Be Recovered**

We throw the word grace around, but most of us carry a meaning that looks nothing like Scripture. Many believers hear _grace_ and imagine God offering them an invitation that must then be honored with a life of high performance and constant improvement.

Grace becomes fuel for a treadmill. Or we imagine grace as a gentle push that helps us work a little harder. Or we think of grace as something God gives until he gets tired of us. All of those definitions collapse under the real weight of life.

The biblical meaning of grace is far more shocking and far more relieving. It is God’s love toward sinners given freely, without conditions, without a later bill arriving in the mail. It is God’s kindness poured out on people who cannot clean themselves up, who cannot hold themselves together, who cannot undo the mess they made, and who cannot rescue themselves from despair.

Grace is _God for you_ when all you have to offer is need. Grace is _God with you_ when your strength is gone. Grace is _God holding you_ when you are too weak to take another step. That is where relief begins.

## **A Culture Buried in Pressure**

One of the things David mentioned in our talk struck me deeply. He said that fifteen years ago, a college student asking to talk usually wanted to confess something related to purity. Now, nine out of ten come to confess thoughts of despair. That is a staggering shift.

We are watching an entire generation buckle under pressures they can’t articulate. And it is not only college students. I have had men and women in their seventies sit in my office and confess the same kind of despair.

Everyone is carrying something heavy. Everyone feels like they are behind. Everyone fears they are disappointing someone. People do not simply want inspiration. They need relief.

## **What Grace Does That Nothing Else Can Do**

Grace does not promise to reverse the curse here and now. It does not promise a smooth life. Scripture is honest about sorrow, loss, and death. But grace gives something that makes the suffering survivable.

Grace gives you a God who loves you without condition. Grace gives you a Savior who took on your weakness. Grace gives you a place to collapse. Grace gives you a purpose that is not dependent on your success. Grace gives you a future no grief can touch.

One of the reasons the gospel is truly good news is because it frees us from believing that life depends on our performance. A grace-shaped life creates an unexpected kind of relief: you can stop taking yourself so seriously.

You can breathe again. You can laugh again. You can fail without believing you are ruined. You can suffer without believing you are abandoned. And you can love others without turning every moment into a transaction.

## **Grace Produces a Different Kind of Community**

A community shaped by performance becomes a place where people hide. A community shaped by grace becomes a place where people come alive.

A grace-shaped church is one where:

* People confess sin without fear.
* People carry each other’s burdens.
* People experience comfort, not competition.
* People are met with compassion, not conditions.

And here is the irony: Churches built on high expectations usually implode. Churches built on grace usually flourish, because they give people a place to be honest and a place to find rest.

## **Why We Need a Fresh Reminder**

You and I never graduate from our need for grace. We drift toward performance without noticing it. We drift toward self-condemnation without choosing it. We drift into fear because we forget the heart of God toward us.

So the goal of reminding you about grace is not to inspire you for a moment. It is to re-anchor you in reality.

God is not against you. He is not tired of you. He is not measuring you against someone else. He is not waiting for improvement before he draws near.

He knows the worst about you and still gave you his Son. He knows the battles you face and still promises to carry you. He knows the despair that haunts you and still calls you his child.

Grace is not a soft word. Grace is God’s rescue for people who cannot rescue themselves. That is why it brings such strange relief.

## **A Final Word for Tired Souls**

If you are exhausted by pressure, if you feel the weight of expectations you cannot meet, if you wonder why sadness keeps showing up uninvited, hear this clearly:

Christ is for you. Christ holds you. Christ has you. And Christ will not let you go. Let your heart rest for a moment in that truth. Let the pressure drop. Let the fear loosen. Grace really is as good as it sounds. And it really is for you.

All of Christ for all of life.

---

### The Prosperity Gospel Test

*Published: December 3, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-prosperity-gospel-test*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Prosperity Gospel Test](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-prosperity-gospel-test)

Most of us would never dream of calling ourselves prosperity-gospel Christians. If someone asked, we would quickly distance ourselves from teachings that promise health, wealth, and influence as the outcome of strong faith or generous giving. We know the danger of a transactional view of God.

But there is a subtler form of prosperity thinking that slips into the lives of sincere, reformed, gospel-loving believers. It does not show up in our theology statements. It shows up in our assumptions, our fears, our disappointment, and the quiet ways we measure God’s love.

This version of the prosperity gospel is not about money or success. It is about performance. It is about believing God moves toward us or away from us based on how well we think we are doing. It is pietism dressed up in conservative clothing.

To expose this in ourselves, I put together a handful of questions. They are simple, but they reveal a great deal about where we place our hope.

## Question 1: When life is hard, do you quietly assume you caused it?

Many Christians immediately search their behavior when suffering hits. We wonder if our hardship is punishment for laziness, lack of discipline, weak prayer, or missed devotion.

Scripture certainly teaches that sin brings consequences. Peter says not to suffer for evil. But all suffering is not the result of personal failure. We live in a fallen world, and hardship is universal. The quiet instinct to assume every hard thing is God’s reaction to us is deeply rooted in transactional thinking.

## Question 2: Do you feel God is pleased with you only when your spiritual habits are strong?

Most believers know this experience. You begin the year with fresh resolve. Bible reading is consistent, prayer is steady, and your conscience feels lighter. Then life hits, the rhythm falls apart, and suddenly God feels distant.

This is not the voice of the gospel.  
It is the voice of the scorekeeper we create in our own minds.

God’s affection toward his children does not rise and fall with our performance. His delight is grounded in Christ, not in our discipline.

## Question 3: When blessings come, do you feel you finally did something right?

A good season of life can expose what we secretly believe. When finances improve or relationships flourish, many Christians assume they finally got things together. It is easy to imagine that blessings prove we made good choices, followed the right steps, or impressed God in some way.

Scripture never ties God’s love to our outward circumstances. If it did, Paul, Peter, and the entire early church would have been considered spiritual failures. Blessing is meaningful, but it is never a verdict on your performance.

## Question 4: When you fall into sin, do you believe God steps back from you?

This may be the most common form of quiet prosperity thinking. We imagine God takes a step back until we confess, clean up, and try harder. We assume his nearness is fragile and easily damaged.

Nothing could be further from the gospel. When we sin, we have an advocate. When we fail, we have a High Priest who intercedes for us.

The Father does not pull away from his children when they stumble. He invites us to run toward him with boldness. Our righteousness before him is Christ himself.

## Question 5: Do you measure God’s love by how peaceful or comfortable life feels?

When life feels calm, we say God is good. When life breaks apart, we quietly question what he is doing. This is prosperity thinking in disguise.

Jesus promised that sorrow and suffering will come. He promised trouble in this world. He also promised to be near, to sustain, and to carry us.

Comfort is not proof of God’s love. The cross is.

## Question 6: Do you believe mature Christians should have fewer struggles?

Many believers assume that the older they get in the faith, the smoother life should become. Yet every believer I have shepherded over the years would say the opposite. Temptation does not disappear. Trials often increase. Awareness of sin grows deeper.

Maturity does not remove struggle.  
Maturity teaches us to run to Christ in the struggle.

Paul himself lived this tension. His present tense words in Romans 7 are not the confession of an unbeliever. They are the battle cry of a mature apostle who needed Christ every day.

## Question 7: Do you expect spiritual effort to produce quick results?

This is one of the clearest signs of quiet prosperity thinking. We live in a results-driven world. We assume that more reading, more prayer, more discipline will guarantee transformation. But growth is not mechanical.

Spiritual maturity is slow. It is the work of the Spirit. It happens through the ordinary means of grace, through life in the church, through suffering, through weakness, and through long dependence on Christ.

We do not accelerate sanctification by force of will. Faithfulness matters, but it does not control outcomes.

## Question 8: Do you feel uneasy resting in Christ unless you have first done your part?

Rest sounds passive to many believers. It feels irresponsible. We assume we must meet God halfway. Yet Jesus calls exhausted people, not accomplished people. Rest is not a reward for effort. It is the life we have in Christ.

Rest means this: Your forgiveness is secure. Your righteousness is complete. Your status before God is fixed. Your salvation is upheld by someone stronger than you.

Rest frees you to love, serve, and obey without fear.

## Question 9: Do you believe a strong Christian life should shield you from sorrow?

Some Christians assume sadness is a sign of weak faith. They avoid lament. They suppress grief. They wear a constant smile because sorrow feels like spiritual failure.

Jesus wept. Paul despaired of life itself. The Psalms are filled with tears.

Sorrow is not a lack of faith. Sorrow is part of the life of faith.

## A Quiet Invitation Back to Grace

Here is what all these questions reveal:

Many Christians who reject the prosperity gospel still live as though God’s favor moves up and down based on performance. Many believers who cherish the doctrines of grace still slip into transactional thinking.

But the gospel is not transactional. Salvation is not earned. God’s love is not fragile. Christ’s righteousness is not incomplete.

You do not need to convince God to bless you. You do not need to earn his smile. You do not need to clean yourself up before he comes near.

You already have his attention. You already have his affection. You already have his righteousness. You already have his mercy.

Rest in that.

And from that rest, you will have strength to face suffering, to love others, to confess your sin, and to walk by faith.

The quiet prosperity thinking that creeps into our hearts can be exposed. But we do not fight it by trying harder. We fight it by looking to Christ.

All of Christ for all of life.

---

### Why Do I Still Struggle with Sin?

*Published: November 26, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/why-do-i-still-struggle-with-sin*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Why Do I Still Struggle with Sin? (w/ Luke Kjolhaug)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/why-do-i-still-struggle-with-sin-w-luke-kjolhaugh)

Every Christian eventually asks this question. We come to Jesus with joy, we believe the gospel, we know we are forgiven, and yet the battle within us continues. Temptation remains. Sin still rises up from places we thought had been conquered. We hear sermons about new life, new creation, and holiness, and we wonder why our hearts still feel divided.

Many believers assume something must be wrong with them. Some assume their faith is weak. Others fear they were never saved. But Scripture paints a very different picture. The ongoing struggle with sin is not a sign that God has abandoned us. It is the normal experience of the Christian life.

## Saint and Sinner

Christians throughout history have used the phrase “saint and sinner” to describe the believer’s identity. It simply means this: in Christ we are fully righteous in standing before God, and yet in our flesh we remain sinful until the resurrection. Both realities are true at the same time.

Paul himself speaks this way. He calls himself the chief of sinners while rejoicing in his union with Christ. He speaks of indwelling sin with painful honesty and then lifts his voice in hope because Christ is his righteousness.

This is not a half-and-half identity. We are not fifty percent saint and fifty percent sinner. We are fully counted righteous in Christ and fully aware of the sin that remains in our bodies. We are a new creation, yet we still await the day when our bodies will be raised in perfection.

## The War Within

The New Testament consistently describes a battle between the flesh and the Spirit. Galatians 5 makes this clear. Romans 7 expresses the tension in vivid detail. There is a real war happening inside every believer. The flesh pulls one way, the Spirit another.

Before conversion, there was no war. We followed the desires of the flesh without resistance. The fight itself is a sign of life. A dead heart does not wrestle. A living heart does.

This means your struggle with sin is not evidence that God has turned his face from you. It is evidence that the Spirit is at work in you. The conflict only comes because you belong to Christ.

## The Danger of Forgetting the Gospel

When we remove the saint-and-sinner reality from our understanding, we drift into two unhealthy directions.

Some fall into despair. They assume their failure disqualifies them. They convince themselves that no true Christian would still struggle. They hide their sin. They fear that one more failure will reveal them as frauds.

Others drift into pride. They begin to measure themselves by their performance. They imagine themselves strong. They compare themselves to others and become harsh and judgmental. They reduce the Christian life to checklists and progress charts.

Both paths pull us away from Christ. Both paths rob us of joy. Both forget that the Christian life rests entirely on the finished work of Jesus.

## Why God Expects Us to Struggle

First John tells us that anyone who claims to have no sin deceives himself. Hebrews 4 invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace for help in time of need. These promises are written to Christians. God assumes we will struggle. He expects us to confess. He prepares mercy ahead of time.

We have a Savior who intercedes for us. We have the Spirit who sustains us. We have the Father who welcomes us again and again.

The struggle will be part of our life until the day we see Jesus face to face. That day will come, but until then, we walk by faith. We look to Christ. We rest in his righteousness. We fight with the confidence that the battle does not determine our standing with God.

## The Purpose of the Fight

Understanding this tension does not minimize the call to holiness. It gives the only foundation where holiness can grow. We pursue godliness not to earn anything but because everything has already been granted to us.

Second Peter tells us that God’s divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Our effort is never to secure our place with God. Our effort flows from our place with God.

We obey because we have been loved. We repent because grace makes repentance possible. We serve because Christ has served us.

## Normal Christianity

If you wake up tomorrow and the flesh is pulling at you again, that does not mean your salvation is in question. If you find yourself weary from the battle, that does not mean you have failed. If you find sin still lurking in your heart, that does not mean Christ has withdrawn from you.

It means you are alive. It means the Spirit is in you. It means you desperately need Jesus, which is exactly where faith thrives.

The Christian who understands this tension can finally breathe. You do not have to pretend. You do not have to perform. You do not have to hide. You fight sin, and you rest in Christ. That rhythm is the normal Christian life.

## The Hope That Carries Us

One day the war will end. The flesh will fall silent. The body of death will give way to a body of glory. Christ will wipe away every tear. But until that day, we look to him.

He is the author and finisher of our faith. He began our salvation, and he will complete it.

So take heart. The struggle does not disprove your faith. It reveals it. And the Savior who holds you will not let you go.

---

### The Prison of Self-Preservation

*Published: November 20, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-prison-of-self-preservation*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Prison of Self-Preservation](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-prison-of-self-preservation)

Loneliness has a way of exposing what we worship. When we feel unseen, unloved, or forgotten, the natural instinct is to turn inward and protect ourselves. The message of our culture reinforces that instinct. We are told to prioritize ourselves, to love ourselves first, to build our own happiness. But what often happens is that this pursuit of self-preservation becomes a prison.

## The Lie of Self-Priority

A woman online recently shared her grief over realizing she was not a priority to anyone in her life. She spoke with heartbreak. She felt unseen and unloved. Yet, by the end of her message, she resolved to make herself her own priority. Her words revealed the cycle so many live in.

Our world preaches that joy is found in self-fulfillment, independence, and personal freedom. We are encouraged to avoid dependence, to avoid commitment, and to avoid anything that might require sacrifice. We convince ourselves that if we remain in control, we will remain safe.

But the more we protect ourselves, the more isolated we become. The more we prioritize ourselves, the more we lose the very things our souls long for.

This is what sin produces in the human heart. Scripture teaches that we are born curved inward on ourselves. We naturally assume that self-focus will rescue us. In reality, self-focus is the very thing that destroys us.

## The Freedom of Christ

The gospel exposes this lie. Jesus did not come to teach us how to protect ourselves. He came to rescue us from ourselves. The cross reveals a love that gives rather than grasps.

Philippians 2 tells us that Christ humbled himself, even to the point of death. Then Paul says, “Let this mind be in you.” The call to consider others more significant than ourselves only makes sense in light of what Christ has already done for us.

God’s love is not earned. It is not maintained by our performance. He loved us before we were born. He loved us while we were his enemies. His love is not conditional or fragile. It does not weaken when we fail. He set his affection on us in Christ and sealed what he began. Nothing can separate us from that love.

When we see this, self-preservation loses its grip. We no longer need to guard ourselves from losing something that cannot be lost. We can serve, give, and love because our security rests in Christ alone.

## Created for Communion

We were never designed to live alone. God created humanity to walk with him and to walk with one another. Sin fractured that fellowship. Isolation and mistrust followed.

Yet God is restoring what sin destroyed. And part of that restoration is found in the church.

The church is the place where lonely people are welcomed into a family. Every believer is needed. Every member matters. The church exists to encourage, comfort, and build up the saints in love.

The woman who said she was no one’s priority expressed a longing every human shares. We all want to be loved and known. That longing is not a flaw. It is part of being made in the image of God. We were created for communion.

## The Joy of Self-Giving

Jesus said that no one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. That is the shape of the Christian life. Joy is found not by protecting ourselves but by giving ourselves away.

When we understand how deeply Christ loves us, we begin to reflect that love in our relationships. Marriage becomes a picture of grace. Parenting becomes a place to display patience. Life in the church becomes a rhythm of giving and receiving mercy.

Self-protection promises safety. Christ promises joy.

## The Hope of Glory

Every act of love in this life is a small glimpse of the world to come. A day is coming when isolation will disappear forever. The loneliness and anxiety that mark our culture will be swallowed by the presence of God.

Until that day, we live by faith. We remember that the One who laid down his life for us has given us a place in his family. We rest in the love that cannot be shaken.

The gospel does not call us to preserve ourselves. It calls us to die to ourselves and find life in Christ. That is the only freedom that lasts.

Self-preservation cannot free us. Only grace can. And the Savior who speaks that grace still says, “Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.”

---

### Jesus and the Accuser

*Published: October 30, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/jesus-and-the-accuser*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Jesus and the Accuser (w/ Chad Bird & Ken Jones)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/jesus-and-the-accuser-w-chad-bird-ken-jones)

Scripture tells us that believers have three great enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil. Each one works to steal our peace and shake our confidence in Christ. Yet one of the most powerful and subtle ways the enemy attacks is through accusation. Revelation 12 calls him “the accuser of the brothers,” describing how he stands before God, day and night, bringing charges against the saints.

He accuses us because we give him plenty of material. We have failed countless times. We stumble, we sin, and we fall short. Our conscience agrees with his words. But when we listen to those accusations without the gospel in view, we lose sight of the One who silenced them all.

## The Devil’s Favorite Weapon

Satan is a skilled preacher of the law. He knows how to twist God’s truth and use it to condemn. He points to our sin and tells us that we have disqualified ourselves. He reminds us of our weakness and insists that God must be tired of forgiving us.

He even works through voices that sound good and sincere. He can make condemnation sound holy. Many well-meaning sermons, conversations, and even our own inner thoughts echo his tone—urging us to perform better, feel more, and prove that we belong to God. It all sounds like spiritual advice, but it is a weapon designed to turn our eyes inward.

The law, when separated from Christ, always accuses. It exposes our failure, but it cannot heal us. Satan knows this, and he uses the law to drive us into despair or pride.

## The Gospel Silences the Accuser

The gospel announces a different message. Jesus has already stood before every accusation on our behalf. The cross was the courtroom where all charges were heard and answered. Every sin the accuser names has already been condemned in Christ’s body.

The devil says, “You are guilty.” The gospel replies, “You are forgiven.”  
The devil says, “You are unworthy.” The gospel replies, “You are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.”  
The devil says, “You have failed again.” The gospel replies, “Jesus intercedes for you even now.”

Faith clings to this verdict: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

When we understand this, we begin to see how God views us. He delights in his children. He smiles upon those united to his Son. The Father’s joy in you is grounded in the perfect obedience and sacrifice of Christ, not in your performance.

## Accusations in the Church

Satan does not only accuse us before God. He also accuses us before one another. The same voice that whispers guilt in our ear stirs division and judgment among believers. Churches often wound their own members by holding them to standards that the gospel has already fulfilled in Christ.

When a brother or sister falls, the enemy wants the church to respond with condemnation rather than compassion. He loves to see us treat forgiven sinners as though they are beyond grace. Every time we do, we act as his messengers instead of Christ’s.

The gospel calls us to something different—to restore the fallen gently, to bear one another’s burdens, and to remember that we all stand in grace.

## The Power of the Cross

Jesus has disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame. The battle against accusation has already been won. The cross is not only a place of forgiveness; it is the victory of the Lamb who conquers through sacrifice.

Our confidence is not in our repentance, sincerity, or level of faith. Even the smallest spark of faith clings to the full Christ. Our hope is anchored in what he has done, not in how we feel.

When doubts come, remember this truth: Jesus stands outside of us, unshaken by our weakness. His righteousness is untouched by our failure. His intercession never stops. The enemy cannot reach him, and he cannot undo what Christ has finished.

## Standing Firm

The Christian life is spiritual warfare, but not in the dramatic sense we often imagine. The battle takes place in our hearts and minds, where the enemy seeks to twist the gospel. He does not need to tempt us with spectacular evil. All he must do is persuade us that Christ’s work was not enough.

The way we fight is by standing firm in the truth. We resist the accuser by speaking the gospel to one another and to ourselves. We remind our hearts that Christ’s work is complete and that his promises are sure.

When Satan whispers lies, we answer with Scripture: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”

## Encouragement for the Weary

Many believers struggle with lingering guilt or with the fear that they have out-sinned God’s mercy. If that is you, take heart. The accusations you hear do not come from your Shepherd. The voice of your Savior calls you to rest.

Jesus does not break bruised reeds or snuff out smoldering wicks. He cherishes every faint spark of faith. The same grace that saved you will keep you.

The next time the accuser reminds you of your sin, remind him of your Savior. Point to the cross and the empty tomb. Christ has already spoken the final word over you: forgiven, righteous, beloved, secure.

The accuser has been cast down. The Lamb has triumphed. And you, dear Christian, stand free.

---

### Gospel VS Law Based Living

*Published: October 27, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/gospel-vs-law-based-living*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Gospel VS Law Based Living (w/ Chad Bird & Ken Jones)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/gospel-vs-law-based-living-w-chad-bird-ken-jones)

Every believer wrestles with what motivates the Christian life. Some days we feel driven by guilt or fear, believing that our obedience is what keeps God pleased with us. Other days we glimpse something better, a life moved by gratitude and joy in the finished work of Christ. That tension between gospel-focused living and law-driven living has existed since the earliest days of the church.

## The Weight of the Law

Many Christians live with a kind of spiritual schizophrenia. We know that salvation is by grace, yet we wake up each morning as if everything depends on our performance. We treat the law as a ladder to climb toward God’s favor, rather than a mirror that reveals our need for grace.

When the law is used as a measuring stick for our worth, it only breeds despair. It can show us what holiness looks like, but it cannot make us holy. The law has no power to change the heart. It is holy, righteous, and good, but it exposes how far we fall short.

Paul said it plainly: the law brings knowledge of sin, not strength to overcome it. It is a weapon that kills, not a tool that gives life. Every time we try to use the law as fuel for sanctification, it leaves us weary and afraid.

## The Freedom of the Gospel

The gospel reveals something greater. God does not relate to us based on our performance but through the finished work of his Son. Christ kept the law perfectly, bore its curse, and fulfilled its demands. He now clothes us in his righteousness and calls us his own.

When we see ourselves as God sees us in Christ, everything changes. The Father smiles on us. He delights in his children. He is more joyful about our redemption than we can imagine.

This is the power that the gospel brings to daily life. We are free to pursue holiness without fear of rejection. We no longer obey to earn favor but because we already have it. The Spirit moves us to walk in love, not to prove ourselves but because we are secure in Christ.

## Standing in the Armor of Christ

Paul’s command to “put on the armor of God” is not a call to muster strength. It is a call to stand in what we already possess. The armor is not a new task to complete but a description of who we are in Jesus.

* The breastplate of righteousness is his righteousness covering us.
* The helmet of salvation is his finished rescue.
* The belt of truth, the gospel of peace, and the shield of faith are all gifts of grace that belong to those who are united to him.

We do not forge this armor by obedience. We wear what Christ has already won. God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ. Our task is to stand firm in those blessings, not to create them.

## Seeing Ourselves Through God’s Eyes

If we could see ourselves as God sees us in Christ, we would hardly recognize the reflection. We would see holiness, beauty, and righteousness, not because of our efforts but because we are wrapped in the perfection of Jesus.

Faith is learning to believe that this is true. It is trusting that even when we feel unworthy or defeated, God’s verdict does not change. He sees us through the blood and obedience of his Son.

## Living from a New Identity

Gospel living begins with remembering who we are. We have been qualified by God, transferred from darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son. The Spirit continually reminds us of this reality, shaping our minds and hearts to match what is already true.

The Christian life is not about creating a new identity through performance. It is about living out the one we have been given. We are children of light, forgiven and accepted. We walk in holiness not to become righteous but because we are.

## Rest for Weary Hearts

Law-driven living will always end in exhaustion. Gospel-focused living produces rest. The more we understand what Christ has done, the more we delight in obeying him. The goodness of God leads us to say no to sin and yes to righteousness.

The law exposes. The gospel empowers. The law accuses. The gospel declares, “You are mine.”

When we wake each morning, the call is simple: stand in the grace that is already ours. Put on the armor of Christ. Remember that the battle has been won. The One who began a good work in us will carry it to completion.

The gospel gives what the law never can: assurance, peace, and joy in the presence of a God who is already pleased with his children.

---

### Is the Gospel Really That Simple?

*Published: October 24, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/is-the-gospel-really-that-simple*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Is the Gospel Really That Simple?](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/is-the-gospel-really-that-simple)

When someone asks, “What is the gospel?” many Christians freeze. We worry about saying the wrong thing. We wonder if our answer will sound too shallow or if it will leave something out. We often overcomplicate the message that God has made beautifully simple.

The gospel is deep enough to study for a lifetime, yet simple enough for a child to believe. It is both profound and plain.

## The Gospel in Its Simplest Form

At its core, the gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for sinners. He stood in our place. He fulfilled the law we could not keep. He bore the punishment our sin deserved. He conquered death and the devil.

Faith in Christ alone is what saves. The question is not how much you know or how strong your faith feels. The question is: are you trusting in Jesus or in something else?

The person who believes that Jesus has done everything necessary for salvation is saved. The gospel is not a complex system to master but a simple announcement of what God has already done through his Son.

## The Faith of a Child

Abraham believed God’s promise and was counted righteous. He did not know every detail about the coming Messiah, but he trusted that God would redeem his people. That same faith—trusting God’s Redeemer—is what saves us.

A child who says, “Jesus died for my sins and he will take me to be with him,” believes the gospel. That is the kind of faith that unites us to Christ. We never graduate from that.

The believer who has studied theology for decades and the new Christian who has only recently heard the name of Jesus share the same foundation: Jesus Christ for us.

## Growing in the Knowledge of Grace

When we first believe, our understanding is small. Over time, God deepens our knowledge through discipleship and the church. We grow in clarity, but growth does not make us more saved. We do not advance beyond the gospel. We grow deeper into it.

The believer who has walked with Christ for fifty years still rests on the same truth as the person who was saved yesterday: “Jesus is enough for me.”

Doctrine and maturity help us see more clearly what Christ has done, but they do not add to the gospel. They help us appreciate the fullness of what we already possess in him.

## The Danger of Losing Simplicity

Paul warned the church in Galatia about drifting from the simplicity of Christ. When we add conditions or measures of progress to the gospel, we create another message altogether. The moment salvation depends on our performance or our level of understanding, it stops being good news.

We are not saved by the sincerity of our repentance, the strength of our faith, or the amount of our obedience. We are saved by the finished work of Jesus. Faith simply receives what he has done.

Christians often confuse how we are saved with how we grow. The gospel saves us. The Spirit uses the gospel to mature us. Growth comes through teaching, discipleship, and the ordinary means of grace in the local church. But progress in holiness is never the basis of our acceptance before God.

## Faith in Christ Alone

If you are uncertain about your standing with God, begin here: Do you believe that Jesus has done everything necessary to reconcile you to the Father? Do you believe that his life, death, and resurrection are enough for you?

If the answer is yes, you can rest. Salvation does not depend on the size of your faith but on the strength of your Savior. Jesus keeps all who come to him. He said, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

## The Gospel That Holds

The gospel is not an invitation to prove yourself. It is an announcement that Christ has already secured your salvation. He lived the perfect life you could not live. He died the death your sin demanded. He rose to give you eternal life.

Every believer—from the youngest child to the oldest saint—stands on the same ground: Jesus Christ for us.

The gospel really is that simple. And it is that good.

---

### When Christians Hurt Each Other

*Published: October 24, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/when-christians-hurt-each-other*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [When Christians Hurt Each Other](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/when-christians-hurt-each-other)

Conflict among Christians can be one of the most painful experiences in life. The people who are supposed to embody grace and compassion sometimes wound each other the most deeply. Every believer knows what it feels like to be hurt or misunderstood by another Christian. Every believer also knows the guilt of being the one who caused pain.

The good news is that the gospel of Christ not only reconciles us to God but also gives us a way to live with one another in the midst of our failures.

## Conflict Is Normal

Conflict is not a sign that something strange has happened. It is part of living in a fallen world. Even in the church, where we share the same Spirit and the same hope, we still sin against each other. We have not been freed from the presence of sin yet, which means we will continue to deal with misunderstanding, selfishness, and hurt until Christ returns.

That reality does not make conflict easy, but it should keep us from despair. We can acknowledge what is true without losing hope.

## Begin with Humility

When conflict arises, humility must lead the way. Scripture calls us to consider others as more significant than ourselves. Pride assumes the worst of others. Humility gives them the benefit of the doubt.

When someone offends us, we often jump to conclusions about their motives. We think we know why they said what they said or did what they did. But we do not know another person’s heart. We are called to listen carefully, to ask clarifying questions, and to approach each other with gentleness.

Instead of accusing, we can say, “Here’s how that landed on me. Is that what you meant?” or “I may be misunderstanding you. Can you help me understand what you were trying to say?” Those small acts of humility often keep wounds from deepening.

## Listen with Compassion

James tells us that wisdom is gentle, open to reason, and full of mercy. When someone tells us how our words or actions have hurt them, it is not our job to debate their experience. It is our job to listen and grieve that they have been hurt.

You may not have intended harm, but love acknowledges pain even when it was unintentional. A simple response like, “I am sorry that I made you feel that way. That was not my desire, and I want to understand,” can disarm tension and rebuild trust.

## Address the Deeper Issues

Many arguments are not about the surface issue at all. They are the result of hidden frustration or unresolved hurt. In marriage, friendship, or church relationships, it is helpful to ask, “Is something else bothering you?” Often the real wound has never been named, and that question allows honesty to enter the room.

When believers walk in the light together, bitterness loses its power.

## Remember the Gospel

The heart of reconciliation is the gospel. Jesus has loved us when we were his enemies. He forgave us when we were guilty and unrepentant. He continues to show mercy even when we fail him daily.

That reality changes how we relate to others. Christ has forgiven every sin that believers commit against one another. His death covers not only the offenses we confess but also the ones we do not even realize we have committed.

Because of this, we can forgive those who hurt us. Forgiveness is not easy, and it is not natural, but it is the way of those who have been forgiven much.

## Forgive, Even When It Hurts

Jesus told his disciples to forgive again and again. He was not minimizing sin or pretending the pain is small. He was teaching that forgiveness is a posture of the heart, not a one-time event.

Sometimes forgiveness must be renewed daily. The hurt may linger, and the relationship may never return to what it was. Forgiveness does not always mean full restoration, and it does not erase consequences. But it does release the bitterness that poisons the soul.

Forgiveness frees us to love without demanding repayment. It entrusts justice to God, who judges rightly and never forgets.

## Extend Grace in the Family of Faith

When we are wronged, it is tempting to hold grudges or demand proof of repentance. The gospel leads us in another direction. We deal with one another not according to law but according to grace. We seek peace. We aim to restore, not to punish.

Christians are called to love even when the other person does not respond in kind. Love does not wait to be reciprocated. It moves first. It lays down its rights and chooses compassion over vindication.

## Healing and Hope

There are times when the pain of being hurt by another Christian runs deep. Some wounds take years to heal. There may be seasons where trust cannot be immediately rebuilt. Even so, we can rest in this: Jesus has borne every offense and every sorrow. He knows what it is to be betrayed, misunderstood, and forsaken by friends.

He also promises that a day is coming when sin will no longer separate us. Every tear will be wiped away. Every relationship between God’s people will be whole.

Until that day, we live as forgiven sinners who forgive. We love as those who have been loved first. We remember that the church is not a gathering of perfect people but a community of redeemed ones who are learning, slowly and painfully, to love like their Savior.

When Christians hurt each other, the gospel is still true. Christ is still enough. His mercy is the only thing strong enough to hold us together.

---

### Tempted? Welcome to Christianity

*Published: October 23, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/tempted-welcome-to-christianity*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Tempted? Welcome to Christianity](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/tempted-welcome-to-christianity)

If you have walked with Christ for any amount of time, you have likely wondered why temptation still feels so strong. You may have even assumed that maturity in the faith would mean the struggle gets easier. Many Christians believe that the longer they follow Jesus, the less temptation they will face. The reality is quite different.

The Christian life is one of continual dependence on Christ in the midst of ongoing temptation. That struggle is normal.

## Temptation Is a Common Experience

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” The temptation you face is not unique. Every believer knows the same pull. The desires that draw us away from God have been present since the garden.

Temptation is part of living in a fallen world under the influence of the evil one. The apostle John says that the whole world lies in his power. The devil tempts, the world entices, and our flesh responds. Yet none of this surprises God. He is faithful and does not abandon us to fight alone. Paul reminds us that God “will provide the way of escape,” which means the strength to endure through faith in Christ.

Temptation is not the evidence that God has failed you. It is the reminder that you still live in a body that longs for redemption.

## Jesus Understands

Jesus knows what temptation feels like. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. He felt hunger, exhaustion, and fear. He was confronted by Satan directly. He even prayed in the garden, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” The Son of God knows what it means to feel the weight of temptation pressing down.

Because he understands, we can come to him. Hebrews 4 tells us that he sympathizes with our weaknesses. He is not shocked by our struggles or ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters. He welcomes us to his throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find help in time of need.

## The Battle Within

Every believer lives with two realities: the presence of the Holy Spirit and the corruption of the flesh. We have been made new in Christ, yet we still carry our fallen nature. The Spirit leads us toward righteousness, but the flesh pulls toward sin. This tension defines the Christian life.

You are not broken beyond repair when you feel that internal war. It is the sign of spiritual life. Before we were saved, there was no fight. Now there is resistance. The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is contrary to the flesh. Temptation is the evidence that the Spirit is at work in you, not proof that he has left you.

## God Provides a Way

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10 are not a promise that temptation will disappear. They are a promise that God will strengthen us to endure. The “way of escape” is always Christ himself. He is our refuge and our strength. His faithfulness is greater than our weakness.

The Lord provides means of grace to help us stand. He gives us his Word, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and the fellowship of the church. These are not empty rituals. They are how God feeds and protects his people. We come to the table each week not because we have conquered sin, but because we need strength to face it again.

Temptation is not conquered in isolation. God has given us each other. Confess your struggles to trusted brothers and sisters. Pray together. Encourage one another with the gospel. The church is a community of fellow strugglers who fight the same enemy and rest in the same Savior.

## When You Feel Ashamed

Temptation often brings shame. We wonder why we are tempted by the same sins again and again. Shame drives us to hide. The gospel calls us to step into the light.

When shame whispers that you are alone, remember that Jesus was tempted too. When guilt tells you that God must be tired of you, remember that his mercy never runs out. When you feel defeated, remember that Christ has already overcome the world.

Our Father does not despise weak, tempted saints. He delights in those who run to him for help.

## Enduring Until Glory

The struggle with temptation will last until Christ returns. Every day we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Every day we stand in the strength of the Lord and trust his grace to keep us.

There will come a day when temptation will cease forever. Sin will be gone. The flesh will be no more. The enemy will be silenced. We will finally rest in perfect holiness and joy. Until then, we endure by faith.

If you are tempted, welcome to Christianity. This is the fight every believer knows. You are not alone, and you are not abandoned. Christ is faithful to strengthen, forgive, and keep you until the day you see him face to face.

---

### Processing Evil in Light of Charlie Kirk

*Published: October 14, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/processing-evil-in-light-of-charlie-kirk*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Processing Evil in Light of Charlie Kirk](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/processing-evil-in-light-of-charlie-kirk)

Reports of targeted violence have a way of freezing us in place. Many of us learned of the attack on Charlie Kirk within minutes of hearing about other brutal incidents that same week. The details differ. The ache feels the same. Christians wrestle with shock, grief, and anger, and we wonder how to process what we are seeing and how to shepherd those we love.

This article aims to steady you with Scripture, ground your reactions, and point you to the hope that does not move.

## Name evil as evil

The Bible gives us moral clarity. Evil is real and objective because God is real and holy. Scripture describes a world that groans under the curse, where sin produces death and misery in spiritual, temporal, and eternal forms. When violence erupts, we do not minimize it, excuse it, or numb ourselves to it. We call it what it is and we mourn.

## Expect grief, shock, and righteous anger

Grief and indignation are fitting. You bear God’s image, and your conscience recognizes injustice. The Psalms model tears, protests, and pleas: “How long, O Lord?” Give yourself and your family permission to lament. Read a psalm aloud. Pray with simple words. Ask the Lord for mercy on victims and witnesses. Ask for wisdom for first responders and medical teams.

## Understand the deeper conflict

Scripture explains why our world bleeds. Humanity is enslaved to sin, carried along by the course of this age, and darkened by the lies of the evil one. We do not wage war against flesh and blood. Satan murders and deceives, and people act from corrupted desires. Justice must address crimes, yet Christians also see the spiritual battlefield beneath the headlines and respond with spiritual weapons.

## Honor God’s provision of civil authority

God grants the sword to governing authorities to restrain evil and preserve order. Pray for leaders, for investigators, and for courts to work with integrity. Seek the peace of your city. Participate wisely as a citizen. Where your vocation allows, pursue policies and practices that protect life and honor the vulnerable.

## Remember the mission of the church

The church holds a unique trust from Christ: proclaim the gospel, baptize, teach, pray, and gather at the Lord’s Table. These ordinary means are God’s chosen instruments to bring the dead to life, to free captives, to expose lies, and to build a people who shine as lights in a dark place. When the world shakes, do not abandon the ordinary for the sensational. Double down on Word, prayer, and sacrament. The wisdom of God is displayed through the church to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

## Pastor and parent, speak to your people

* **Acknowledge reality.** Say plainly what happened and that it is evil.
* **Give language for sorrow.** Pray a psalm of lament together.
* **Point to Christ.** He entered a violent world, suffered under injustice, died, and rose. He sympathizes with the fearful and the wounded.
* **Offer concrete care.** Organize prayer, meals, and support for those affected by local incidents.
* **Guard your speech.** Refuse to dehumanize image bearers. Reject careless online posts that inflame.
* **Keep gathering.** Isolation magnifies fear. Presence with the saints strengthens faith.

## Practical steps for the week

1. **Pray daily** for victims, families, first responders, and leaders.
2. **Read and pray Psalm 10, 13, 46, or 94** as a household or small group.
3. **Invite a neighbor to church** and to your table. People are hungry for mercy and stability.
4. **Serve in your vocation** with justice and compassion. Do good work at a fair price. Protect the weak where you can.
5. **Limit doom-scrolling.** Take in enough news to pray intelligently, then set the phone down and open your Bible.
6. **Seek help** if anxiety spikes. Speak with a pastor or trusted friend. You are not alone.

## Hold fast to the sure hope

Jesus came to save sinners and to set captives free. He disarmed the powers of darkness at the cross. He reigns now and will return to make all things new. Until that day, the church bears witness to a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The world needs what only Christ gives: forgiveness, righteousness, restoration, and rest.

Come, Lord Jesus. Keep us faithful until you do.

---

### Make Repentance Great Again

*Published: October 12, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/make-repentance-great-again*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Make Repentance Great Again](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/make-repentance-great-again)

When most Christians hear the word _repent_, their stomach turns a little. For many, it brings to mind fear, guilt, or a sense of failure. The same is true when we talk about confessing sin. But repentance and confession are not meant to crush believers. They are gifts from God that bring life, freedom, and joy.

Repentance is not a punishment for Christians. It is a privilege. It is the fruit of grace at work in us. And it is one of the sweetest rhythms of life in Christ.

## The Heart of Repentance

Scripture calls repentance an _evangelical grace_. That means it comes from God’s mercy. When the Lord regenerates us by his Spirit, he grants us faith and repentance. We turn from sin, but more importantly, we turn toward Christ.

Every act of repentance is a fresh return to the safety of our Redeemer. It is not a way to earn his favor but a way to live in the freedom his grace has already secured. The Christian life is one of continual repentance, not because we fall in and out of God’s family, but because we belong to him and trust him to cleanse us.

Repentance is not about proving yourself. It is about looking to the One who has already done everything for you.

## The Blessing of Confession

Psalm 32 (ESV) paints a clear picture of what confession brings.

> “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

David describes the misery of hiding sin: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away.” But when he confessed, he found forgiveness and peace.

To live with “no deceit” means being honest about who we are. We do not pretend we are fine. We admit we are sinners who need grace every day. There is freedom in that honesty. It is not despairing; it is restful. We can stop pretending to be righteous and cling to the One who truly is.

Confession brings healing because God meets us there with mercy. His hand may be heavy for a moment, not to crush us, but to draw us out of hiding and into the light.

## Repentance in the Family of God

Repentance is not the door into the family of God. Faith in Christ brings us in. Repentance is how we live as children who trust our Father.

When we sin, we are not losing our adoption. We are losing sight of our Father’s goodness. Repentance is simply returning home. The Holy Spirit helps us turn our hearts back to Christ, and in that turning, our joy is renewed.

The Spirit gives us power to resist sin and to love righteousness. He is not shocked by our weakness. He is patient and gentle, always drawing our hearts to look to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.

## Why Repentance Is Good News

Repentance produces humility. When we see our sin clearly, we grow softer toward others who struggle. We remember that we are all dependent on grace.

Repentance also deepens our love for Jesus. The more we see the ugliness of our sin, the more we see the beauty of the cross. The more we feel our need, the more we cherish his mercy.

The Lord delights in forgiving. Scripture says there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. God is not angry when his children come home. He rejoices.

## Daily Repentance, Daily Rest

Christians live in two realities at once. We are justified and forgiven, yet we still battle sin. Our repentance will never be perfect, but our Savior’s grace always is.

Repentance is not about despair. It is about dependence. It is the daily rhythm of turning from sin and resting again in Christ’s finished work.

The cross is big enough for every sin we confess. The blood of Jesus never runs out. His forgiveness is not a single event in the past; it is a present reality that renews us every day.

## The Joy of Returning

God’s kindness leads us to repentance. His mercy never tires. When we turn to him again and again, we are reminded that our relationship with him is secure.

Thomas Watson once said, “As our sin is ever before us, so God’s promises must ever be before us.” Repentance keeps both in view: the depth of our need and the height of his grace.

So we repent not to earn forgiveness but to enjoy it. We confess not to avoid rejection but to remember that we are already accepted. Repentance is not a fearful word for Christians. It is a hopeful one.

Let’s make repentance great again—because every time we turn to Christ, we find mercy waiting for us.

---

### Christless “Expository” Preaching

*Published: October 11, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/christless-expository-preaching*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Christless “Expository” Preaching](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/christless-expository-preaching)

For decades, expository preaching has been the standard many pastors have aimed to uphold. In many ways, that has been a good thing. It brought a renewed seriousness to the pulpit, a return to opening the Bible, and a focus on explaining what the text actually says. But we need to ask a deeper question: what makes preaching truly Christian?

If a sermon explains the text accurately yet never heralds Christ for sinners, it may be expository, but it is not biblical. The New Testament is clear. Preaching is meant to proclaim the person and work of Jesus Christ from all of Scripture. Anything less fails to fulfill what God intends for his Word.

## What Preaching Really Is

The word “expository” means to explain or expound. That is a good and biblical aim. But explaining the Bible is not the same thing as preaching Christ. Teaching may focus on information, background, and context. Preaching is proclamation. It is the public heralding of Christ as Savior, Lord, and Redeemer.

When the church gathers on the Lord’s Day, we come to hear good news. We do not come to receive data or moral instructions. The church comes to hear Christ proclaimed from the whole of Scripture. The preacher’s task is not simply to describe the meaning of a passage, but to show how that passage reveals the person and work of Jesus.

## The Problem with “Running Commentary” Sermons

Many sermons today sound more like lectures. The preacher walks through each verse, explaining words and grammar, but never lifting the listener’s eyes to Christ. It may sound reverent and serious, but it leaves the hearer without hope.

The apostles never preached that way. Every sermon recorded in the book of Acts—from Peter at Pentecost to Paul in Antioch—ends with Christ. Their exposition of Scripture always moves toward the Redeemer who fulfills it.

If our preaching does not reach that point, it stops short of the gospel. It may fill minds with facts but will leave hearts unchanged.

## The Apostolic Pattern

Paul wrote, “We preach Christ crucified.” He did not say, “We preach Scripture explained.” He proclaimed Jesus from all of Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 2:2 he declared, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

That same message runs throughout his letters. He tells the Colossians, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Maturity does not come from biblical data alone. It comes from faith in Christ. And faith comes through hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:17). The power of preaching lies not in eloquence or precision but in the Spirit working through the proclamation of the Savior.

## The True Meaning of Exposition

When Jesus met the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he explained the Scriptures to them, beginning with Moses and the prophets. He showed them that everything written was about him. Their hearts burned within them as he opened the Scriptures. That is the model for every faithful expositor.

The greatest commentary on the Old Testament is not found in academic books. It is found in the New Testament, where Jesus and the apostles reveal how the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms point to the Redeemer.

Faithful exposition does not skip this. It embraces it. Every text finds its ultimate meaning in Christ: his person, his work, his grace, and his promises.

## Why This Matters

A sermon that never reaches Christ is not just incomplete. It withholds life. The Word of God is meant to reveal the glory of the Son. Without him, Scripture becomes a closed book. The Pharisees searched the Scriptures, thinking they could find life in them, yet Jesus said they refused to come to him.

Preaching is not about mastering biblical details. It is about proclaiming the one who fulfills them. The preacher’s job is to lead weary sinners to rest in Christ, to hold out his sufficiency, his righteousness, his mercy, and his finished work.

## All of Christ for All of Life

The Bible is not a collection of moral lessons. It is the story of redemption, beginning in Genesis and fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Every law, every promise, every sacrifice, and every shadow finds its end in him.

That is why the church gathers each week, to see Christ. When the Word is preached rightly, the people of God leave strengthened in faith, not because they learned new information, but because they beheld their Savior.

Christless exposition may sound faithful, but it leaves the soul hungry. True expository preaching feeds the flock with Christ himself, the one who loves sinners and gave himself for them.

---

### Stop Dehumanizing Jesus

*Published: October 10, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/stop-dehumanizing-jesus*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Stop Dehumanizing Jesus](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/stop-dehumanizing-jesus)

Many Christians affirm that Jesus is God but struggle to grasp that he is also truly human. Scripture tells us that he grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. That single verse can unsettle us because it reveals that the Son of God did not only take on flesh. He lived the full experience of human life.

If that thought feels uncomfortable, we need to pause and consider what the Bible is showing us. Jesus of Nazareth is not a distant figure of divine power. He is a man of feeling. He is compassionate, merciful, and gentle. And the reason he can meet us with such sympathy is because he is one of us.

## The Humanity of Christ Matters

The church throughout history has often emphasized the deity of Jesus when it was being denied, and that emphasis was right. But in doing so, many have forgotten to speak clearly about his humanity. Jesus is not part God and part man. He is fully God and fully man, two complete natures united in one person.

Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom and favor with God. Hebrews 5:8 says he learned obedience through suffering. These verses do not lessen his divinity. They reveal the depth of his humanity. As a real man, he walked the road we walk, faced the trials we face, and endured every kind of sorrow.

He knows what it means to be tired, hungry, betrayed, and grieved. He knows temptation. He knows pain. He knows the burden of obedience. Yet he never sinned. He lived as the true man who loved God perfectly and loved others completely.

## The God Who Humanized Himself

Sometimes people worry that talking about the humanity of Christ will make him seem less divine. But God himself chose to take on human flesh. The eternal Son entered time and space to redeem those who bear his image. There is now a man who sits on the throne of God.

Through the incarnation, God revealed his heart in human form. “No one has ever seen God,” John writes, “but the one and only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” We know what God is like because we have seen Jesus.

The one who walked among us shows us the heart of God. He healed the sick, forgave the guilty, touched the unclean, and wept with the grieving. He came to those who had been forgotten and broken. He spoke words of life and compassion to those who thought they had no hope left.

## A Compassionate Savior

From the beginning, God has revealed himself as merciful. In the garden, when Adam and Eve fell, the Lord came to them, spoke promise to them, and clothed their shame. To Hagar, abandoned in the wilderness, he came as the God who sees. Throughout Scripture, God is shown as one who comes to sinners and sufferers with compassion.

That same God came to us in Jesus Christ. He did not simply watch human sorrow from afar. He entered it. He lived among pain, loss, betrayal, and death. When he saw Mary and Martha weeping for their brother, he was deeply moved. He wept with them. That moment in John 11 is not incidental. It reveals the heart of the Savior who grieves with those who grieve and loves those who suffer.

He is not cold or detached. He is the Lord who feels deeply for his people. His compassion is not theoretical. It is personal. He sympathizes with us in every weakness and meets us with grace.

## Forsaken for Our Sake

At the cross, Jesus endured the full weight of our sin. As God, he remained one with the Father. As man, he was forsaken for our sake. He bore the curse that belonged to us so that we might never be separated from God.

When he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he was entering into the deepest human despair. He was standing where we should stand, feeling what we should feel. And because he was forsaken, we will never be.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus because he has already carried that separation for us.

## The Humanity That Comforts Us

We need a Savior who is both divine and human. As God, he is able to save. As man, he is able to sympathize. He is the one who obeyed perfectly in our place, and he is the one who understands every weakness we face.

When we grieve, he knows what grief feels like. When we are tempted, he knows the struggle. When we pray in confusion and pain, he listens as one who has lived in our world and suffered for our redemption.

Christ is not distant from our suffering. He meets us in it. He weeps with us, carries us, and comforts us.

## The Wonder of the Incarnation

The incarnation is not only a doctrine to defend. It is the heartbeat of our comfort and assurance. The eternal Son became a man to reveal God’s love in a way we could see, touch, and understand.

Our Savior is divine, holy, and sovereign. He is also human, gentle, and near. He understands the pain of this world and has conquered it.

So when you are weary and heavy laden, hear his invitation: “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

The one who calls you is God himself, and he is also the man who knows your pain.

That is the kind of Savior we have.

---

### "Accurate" Yet Empty: The Problem with Theological Lectures

*Published: October 9, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/accurate-yet-empty-the-problem-with-theological-lectures*

This article is a summary of the following episode: ["Accurate" Yet Empty: The Problem with Theological Lectures](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/accurate-yet-empty-the-problem-with-theological-lectures)

Many sermons today are filled with careful exposition, accurate grammar, and precise theology, but they miss the one thing that gives the Word life—Jesus Christ.

We can preach with clarity, trace the verbs and nouns of a passage, explain the historical background, and even define the original Greek words. But if our conclusion is not Christ for sinners, we have stopped short of the very point of Scripture. A sermon may be technically correct, but it can still be empty.

## Preaching That Moves the Heart

When Jesus walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he explained the Scriptures to them beginning with Moses and the prophets. He showed them that everything written was about him. As they listened, their hearts burned within them. That is what faithful exposition does. It reveals Christ in such a way that the Spirit opens our eyes and warms our hearts toward him.

When preaching or teaching fails to do this, it may sound accurate, but it lacks life. True expository preaching does not simply explain the text. It heralds the Redeemer who is present in it.

## The Scriptures Testify About Him

Jesus told the religious leaders in John 5 that they searched the Scriptures because they thought the Scriptures themselves gave life. He told them plainly that the Scriptures testify about him. They knew the text, but they did not know the Savior.

This warning is still needed. It is possible to handle the Bible with skill and yet miss the Son of God who is speaking through it. Preaching that only delivers information leaves people cold and weary. Preaching that delivers Christ revives and sustains.

## The Apostolic Pattern

The apostles understood this. Every sermon we have recorded in Acts centers on Christ. Peter at Pentecost proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Psalms. Paul in Antioch connected the entire Old Testament to the risen Redeemer who frees us from sin.

Paul summarized his ministry this way: “We preach Christ crucified.” When he wrote to the Corinthians, he said he resolved to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and him crucified. His message was not moral improvement or religious philosophy. It was Christ for sinners.

The same pattern appears in Romans. Paul begins by saying the gospel was promised through the prophets in the Scriptures concerning God’s Son. He ends by saying that the preaching of Christ brings about the obedience of faith. The Bible’s aim from beginning to end is to reveal Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises and the source of life.

## Doctrine That Leads to Christ

Sound doctrine matters deeply. It protects the church, strengthens faith, and keeps us grounded in truth. But doctrine is never an end in itself. Its purpose is to make Jesus clear. Every teaching of Scripture should lead to the comfort, assurance, and joy found in him.

When we preach about God’s attributes, his holiness, or his sovereignty, those truths should draw us to worship Christ who embodies them perfectly. When we teach about sin, the law, or obedience, those truths should lead us to the cross where the law’s demands are satisfied and grace overflows.

## Preaching With Life

The difference between a theological lecture and a sermon is not the level of accuracy but the presence of Christ. Preaching is proclamation. It announces good news. It calls the weary to rest in the finished work of the Redeemer.

The prophets longed to see what we now know. They spoke of the grace that was to come, searching carefully to understand the person and work of the Messiah. The angels themselves long to look into these things. Every passage, every promise, every picture in Scripture finds its fulfillment in him.

When preachers proclaim the text without Christ, they place a veil back over the hearts of their hearers. When they proclaim Christ from the text, the Spirit lifts that veil and gives life.

## Christ, the Heart of Every Sermon

If a sermon ends with moral effort or self-reflection, it leaves the listener weary. If a sermon ends with Jesus, it leaves the listener resting in his finished work. That is why Paul said, “Him we proclaim.”

Faith does not come by hearing information. Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ.

So we keep preaching him—his cross, his resurrection, his compassion, his promises, and his return. Every page of Scripture leads us there. Every weary heart needs that hope.

Without Christ, even the most accurate sermon is empty. With him, even the simplest message is full of life.

---

### In the Beginning, Jesus...

*Published: October 8, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/in-the-beginning-jesus*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [In the Beginning, Jesus...](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/in-the-beginning-jesus)

When most people open Genesis or Exodus, they think of creation, evolution, or the flood. But those opening books are not first about scientific arguments or historical curiosities. They are about Christ. From the first words of Scripture to the final page, the story has always been about Jesus. The Redeemer who was there from the beginning.

When we read Genesis and Exodus with that lens, everything changes. We begin to see the glory of God’s grace, his covenant love, and his plan of redemption unfold long before the manger in Bethlehem.

## Christ in the Beginning

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Those words introduce us to the triune God who made all things. The Father speaks, the Spirit hovers over the waters, and the Son acts as the divine Word through whom all things were made. John 1 tells us that nothing was made apart from him.

That means the voice that said “Let there be light” was the same voice that cried out, “It is finished.” The Son of God who spoke creation into being is the same Lord who entered it to redeem it.

Even in the garden, the presence of Jesus is clear. Genesis says the Lord walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. When they sinned, it was the Son who sought them. He called out, “Where are you?” and covered their shame with garments. From the very beginning, he was revealing himself as the Redeemer.

## The Promise of the Seed

When the curse fell, God spoke a promise. The seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. That promise came from the lips of the Son himself. The Redeemer was announcing what he would one day accomplish.

The entire story of Scripture unfolds from that moment. Every generation, every covenant, and every shadow points forward to the One who would fulfill it all.

## Christ in the Shadows

The Old Testament is filled with glimpses of Jesus. He appears as the angel of the Lord, the messenger who is also divine. Hagar met him in the wilderness and called him “the God who sees me.” Jacob wrestled with him through the night and walked away changed. Moses spoke with him at the burning bush.

Even the ark of Noah points to Christ. In that story, judgment falls on the earth, yet those who are hidden in the ark are carried safely through. The same is true for everyone who is hidden in Christ.

The pattern continues in Exodus. The Passover lamb, whose blood covers the people from death, prefigures the blood of Christ that shields us from judgment. The crossing of the Red Sea shows the people of God passing through the waters while their enemies are destroyed. Paul says this, too, was Christ at work—leading his people and saving them.

When manna fell from heaven and water came from the rock, God was teaching Israel to depend on him alone. Jesus would later say, “I am the bread of life.” Paul writes that the rock that gave them drink was Christ.

Every symbol, every act of deliverance, and every covenant promise whispers his name.

## The Presence of the Redeemer

At Mount Sinai, the same God who gave the law would later fulfill it. The one who descended in fire and smoke is the one who would descend again in humility and take on flesh. When God revealed his name to Moses—“The Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love”—that was the Son speaking.

The tabernacle, too, points us to Jesus. God’s glory filled the tent where atonement was made through the blood of sacrifice. Christ is the true tabernacle. He is the high priest who carries his people on his heart and shoulders, and he is the final sacrifice whose blood has made permanent peace.

## Christ for His People

When the angel of the Lord led Israel through the wilderness, it was Jesus who went before them. The same Lord who conquered the nations and brought them into the promised land will one day lead his people into the new creation.

Every page of Genesis and Exodus shows us the mercy and faithfulness of God through his Son. He creates, sustains, redeems, and dwells among his people. From the first promise in Eden to the cloud of glory over the tabernacle, Christ has always been present, always working for the good of those who belong to him.

## The Comfort of Christ in All Scripture

Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament is not a theological exercise. It is a comfort to weary hearts. The same Savior who spoke the world into being is the one who sustains it today. He has always been faithful to his people, and he always will be.

When we read Genesis and Exodus, we are not reading ancient myths or moral lessons. We are reading the beginning of the gospel story. The Redeemer has been there from the start, and he will be there at the end.

From creation to covenant, from promise to fulfillment, the message is the same: Jesus was present from the beginning.

---

### No Damascus Road? No Problem.

*Published: September 23, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/no-damascus-road-no-problem*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [No Damascus Road? No Problem.](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/no-damascus-road-no-problem)

Many believers wrestle with their testimonies. Some quietly think, “I don’t have an exciting story. I never had a dramatic conversion moment, so maybe my faith isn’t real.” Others assume that only those who have wrecked their lives in visible ways can truly understand grace. Both ways of thinking miss the point and create unnecessary burdens.

The good news of the gospel is not about the drama of our story. It is about the sufficiency of Christ. Whether you grew up in a Christian home or came to faith late in life, your testimony is not about you but about him.

## All of Us Need the Same Grace

Scripture makes this clear. In Adam, all are condemned. By nature, we are children of wrath. Whether your sins look spectacular or ordinary, the result is the same. You are either in Adam or in Christ. There is no middle ground.

James 2:10 reminds us that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it. Violation of the law in any measure brings condemnation. Paul echoes this truth in Romans and Ephesians: all have sinned, all are ruined, and all need the righteousness of Christ.

This means that every believer, regardless of their past, stands before God clothed in the same grace.

## The Danger of Ranking Testimonies

When we elevate certain stories as “better” than others, we distort the gospel. It creates a subtle form of self-righteousness. Some boast in their dramatic rescue, while others feel ashamed of their “ordinary” story. Both perspectives miss the heart of salvation.

Grace is not measured by the amount of sin you committed before believing. Grace is measured by the holiness of God and the magnitude of Christ’s work. Every Christian has been raised from death to life. That is always miraculous.

## The Same Savior for All

Paul himself illustrates this in 1 Timothy 1:15–16. He calls himself the foremost of sinners, but his conclusion is not that others cannot understand grace like he does. Instead, he points to the mercy and patience of Jesus as proof that Christ will be merciful to all who believe.

The thief on the cross and Timothy, raised in the faith from childhood, both stand in the same grace. Both are loved by God with the same love. Both are preserved by the same power of the Spirit. Both will reign with Christ forever.

## Freedom From the Lie

The enemy loves to whisper lies: “Your life is too ordinary to matter,” or “You have blown it too badly for God to use you.” Both are false. The gospel answers with truth. If you are in Christ, you are forgiven, clothed in righteousness, adopted as a child, and indwelt by the Spirit.

You do not need a spectacular testimony to rejoice in grace. You only need Jesus, and he is enough.

## The Wonder of Amazing Grace

Every believer can sing “Amazing Grace” with tears in their eyes. The miracle is not found in how low you sank or how ordinary your life appeared. The miracle is that God loved you, gave his Son for you, and brought you from death to life.

So rejoice in your testimony, whatever shape it takes. It is the story of God’s mercy. It is the story of Christ’s finished work. And that is always worth telling.

---

### Deliverance from Trials Is Never Promised

*Published: September 22, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/deliverance-from-trials-is-never-promised*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Deliverance from Trials Is Never Promised](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/deliverance-from-trials-is-never-promised)

Many of us have prayed the prayer of Paul. “Lord, please take this away from me.” Not once but many times. It can feel exhausting and confusing when the trial does not go away. For some, it even brings doubt. Does God care? Is he listening?

This conversation matters because we need to be reminded of what God has actually promised us in Christ. The gospel is not transactional. His love does not hinge on removing our hardships. His grace is what sustains us in them.

## God Has Not Promised Deliverance From Trials

Jesus told his disciples that in this life we would have trouble. The apostles echo the same message in nearly every letter of the New Testament. Suffering is not strange for the believer. It is expected. The church has always lived under the weight of a cross in a world at war.

Peter says not to be surprised when fiery trials come upon you. Paul speaks of his own experience in 2 Corinthians 12 when he pleaded with the Lord three times to take away his thorn. The answer he received is the same word that comes to us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

The Lord has never promised to deliver us from every pain or to protect us from every sorrow in this life. What he has promised is his presence and his sustaining grace.

## Grace for Today

Grace is not an abstract idea. It is the supernatural strength of God at work in us. Ephesians 3 says that we are strengthened with power through his Spirit in our inner being so that we may know the love of Christ. That is the grace we need most. In trials, God wants us to see and believe that his love is wide, long, high, and deep.

Paul’s words in Philippians 4 remind us of this reality. He had learned the secret of facing abundance and hunger, plenty and need. He could endure all things through Christ who strengthened him. That same Christ strengthens us.

## Honest Prayers

God invites us to speak to him honestly in our suffering. The Psalms give us language for our groaning. Job cried out in confusion. Paul admitted his pleading. The Lord is not offended when his children come to him with their fears, frustrations, and tears. To bring our pain to God is not unbelief. It is faith.

Hebrews 4 tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find help in time of need. Prayer is not a transaction but the open approach of children to their Father. He promises grace, and he gives it freely.

## What God Is Doing in Our Trials

We cannot always say why a particular trial is happening. Scripture does not allow us to presume on God’s providence. Yet we can say with confidence what he is producing in us. James 1 tells us that trials test our faith and produce steadfastness. The result is maturity.

The trial itself is not good. Disease, death, and suffering are fruits of the curse. But the Lord uses them to work perseverance and hope in us. When we endure through tears and weakness by trusting in Christ, steadfastness is being formed.

## The Love of God Is Not Transactional

God’s love for us is not based on what we offer him. It is one-way love. He loved us when we were his enemies. He sent his Son as the propitiation for our sins. His love is not conditioned on our performance, and it is not withdrawn when we struggle.

This truth anchors us in trials. We may doubt. We may feel forgotten. Yet God’s steadfast love never changes. He has bound himself to us in Christ, and nothing can separate us from that love.

## The Hope That Awaits

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that if our hope in Christ is for this life only, we are to be pitied. Our hope is not limited to relief here and now. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. One day death will be swallowed up in victory. Until then, we live in weakness and trust in the sufficiency of Christ.

This hope shapes how we endure. We do not live as those without purpose. The Lord is rescuing his people through the proclamation of the gospel, and he uses us in that mission. In our weakness, his strength is seen.

## Grace for Weary Pilgrims

Deliverance from trials in this life is never promised. What is promised is something better: the presence of Christ, the grace of God that sustains us, and the hope of glory that awaits us.

Dear saint, your suffering is not meaningless. The Lord has not forgotten you. He is with you. His grace is sufficient for you. And one day soon, faith will give way to sight and sorrow will be no more.

---

### The Re-Purposed Driven Life

*Published: August 15, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-re-purposed-driven-life*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Re-Purposed Driven Life](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-re-purposed-driven-life)

Last week we talked about what it means to be tired in this fallen world. We looked at the reality of life as saints who are also sinners, and how we often imagine that one day things will be easier. That day never comes in this life. This week is about the “now what?” question. If the Christian life is marked by weakness and struggle, what do we do with that? How do we live in light of it?

This is a deeply personal question for us. We do not wake up every day thinking with perfect perspective. But we know where our hope is found, and we want to point each other back to it. Scripture calls us to lift our eyes off of the things that are seen and set them on the things that are unseen. We are physical people, and we are trained by nature to live by sight. But the Lord tells us to live by faith, to see with the eyes of the heart.

Paul’s words in Colossians 3 are a beautiful starting point:

> If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This is our reality in Christ. We have died with him, and our lives are hidden with him in God. When he returns, we will appear with him in glory. This perspective is what shapes how we live now.

## Children of God

We are not merely servants in the kingdom of God. We are his children. That title changes everything. A child approaches a loving father with confidence, not fear. God is more inclined to give us mercy and grace because we belong to him. This identity is meant to steady us, especially when we are weak.

## Temples of the Holy Spirit

Paul tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, God’s presence was confined to the Holy of Holies, approached only once a year by the high priest. Now that same Spirit dwells in us. The presence and power that once filled the tabernacle now fills his people. This is both humbling and empowering. When we speak the truth of the gospel, the Spirit works through us.

## Ambassadors for Christ

Every believer has been sent into the world as an ambassador of Christ. We are citizens of another kingdom, representing our King in the midst of a dark and broken world. The work is not just for pastors or missionaries. God places his people in homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities as his representatives.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10 that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. Through the truth of the gospel, God tears down the lies and arguments that keep people from him. This is his work, and he does it through weak vessels so that his power is clearly seen.

## Hope That Fuels Perseverance

Living with this identity and purpose changes how we face suffering. We know that our labor is not in vain because Christ has already won the victory. The resurrection guarantees our future. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, the mortal will put on immortality, death will be swallowed up in victory, and the sting of death will be gone. Until that day, we labor with hope, knowing that Christ is building his kingdom.

## The Perspective of the Kingdom

The world we live in is scarred by the war of sin and death. Jesus has already won, and now we go into the enemy’s territory to rescue those who are still enslaved. The gates of hell cannot keep us out because Christ has broken them. He is preparing a place for us, and he will return to make all things new. In the meantime, we proclaim the gospel and comfort one another. This is why the gathering of the church matters so much. We need encouragement, discipleship, and restoration so that we can continue in the work God has given us.

## You Matter

If you are alive today, God has work for you. No believer is insignificant in his kingdom. Whether your influence feels large or small, you carry the light of Christ into dark places. You are his child, his temple, his ambassador. Every act of kindness, every conversation about Jesus, every prayer is a part of his work to draw people from darkness into light.

## The Life to Come

Our ultimate hope is not in this life but in the life to come. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our resurrection. One day we will be with him, free from sin and sorrow, and joy will be our constant reality. This hope shapes how we live today. It steadies us in suffering and strengthens us in service.

Until that day, we wake up each morning knowing that Christ is with us and working through us. Our labor is not in vain. We live, serve, and suffer with the certain hope that the King is coming, and when he does, everything will be made new.

---

### Jesus Knows You’re Tired

*Published: August 13, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/jesus-knows-you-re-tired*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [Jesus Knows You're Tired](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/jesus-knows-youre-tired)

Life in a fallen world is often exhausting. Many of us carry the quiet hope that one day things will get easier. We imagine a time when the trials will be lighter, the struggles will fade, and our hearts will finally feel at rest. But the Scriptures never promise that kind of ease in this life. Instead, they prepare us for the reality of suffering, weakness, and ongoing battle with sin. They also give us a greater hope to carry us through it.

This is not just a pastoral truth. It is personal. We feel it in our own lives, in ministry, and in our relationships. If we feel it, you probably do too. So hear this: you are not alone. You are not losing your mind. Christ knows what you are facing, and he is faithful.

## The Lie of Arrival

One of the quiet lies we can believe is that if we just grow enough in our faith, learn enough theology, and live with enough intentionality, we will eventually reach a place where life is smooth and the difficulties feel lighter. It is a subtle form of prosperity thinking, and it leaves us vulnerable to disappointment and doubt.

When the trials come, and they always do, we can start to question ourselves and even question God. We wonder if we belong to Christ at all, or if God is as faithful as he says. The Bible tells us to expect difficulty. Peter warns us not to be surprised by fiery trials as though something strange were happening. Paul says that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character. These truths reframe how we see hardship. Trials are not evidence that God has abandoned us. They are opportunities to learn that his grace is sufficient.

## Suffering and Weakness

The apostles never hide the reality of suffering. Paul describes God as “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.” He does not promise to remove the affliction. He promises to meet us in it. That is the heart of our hope, not that God will make life easy, but that he will sustain us through every season.

Peter says that trials prove the genuineness of our faith and result in praise and glory for Christ. When life is hard, we find ourselves leaning more on Jesus. We rely on his strength, his love, his promises, and his sufficiency. This deepens our joy and confidence in him, even when our circumstances feel like they are draining the life out of us.

## The Ongoing Fight Against Sin

There is another kind of weariness that every believer knows, the ongoing struggle with sin. Scripture says that we are both justified and still sinners. We are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, fully forgiven, and at peace with God. Yet we still carry the old nature, and our flesh still desires what is contrary to the Spirit.

This means that temptation is never far away. Sometimes the fight feels easier. Sometimes it feels harder than ever. And that is normal. The Christian life is not a steady climb toward effortless holiness. The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other, and this battle will not end until we see Christ face to face.

Paul’s counsel is clear: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” The desires may still be there, but the Spirit empowers us to resist them. We depend on Christ daily for strength, knowing that without him, we would give in.

## The Reality in the Church

This tiredness is not just personal. It is communal. Churches are full of redeemed sinners who still wrestle with sin and weakness. Even healthy congregations experience conflict, hurt, and disappointment. The New Testament churches did too. Faithful ministry does not eliminate problems. If anything, faithful gospel work often stirs up opposition, because it presses against the kingdom of darkness.

This should not lead us to despair but to prayer. Pray for your church. Pray for unity, for humility, for perseverance in the truth. Pray for your pastors, who feel the weight of these realities as they shepherd the flock.

## Our Certain Hope

The Christian life is shaped by the cross. Jesus was crucified before he was raised, and we follow him in that pattern. We carry weakness, we bear suffering, and we keep fighting sin. We do all of it with our eyes fixed on him, knowing that our hope is not in this life but in the life to come.

One day, the fight will be over. The suffering will end. The old nature will be gone. Until then, we take our tiredness to Jesus. We remind one another that his grace is sufficient and that he will finish the good work he began in us. He knows our weakness. He is not ashamed of us. And he will bring us safely home.

---

### How Satan Attacks Christians Today

*Published: August 11, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/how-satan-attacks-christians-today*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [How Satan Attacks Christians Today](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-satan-attacks-christians-today)

Scripture speaks often of the world, the flesh, and the devil. These are not abstract categories. They describe active enemies that wage war against the people of God. One of Satan’s chief aims is to obscure the clarity of the gospel and to destroy love and unity within the church.

James 4 addresses this directly. The believers James wrote to were tearing each other down with their words, acting out of selfish ambition and pride. They wanted the acceptance of the world, and their relationships in the church were marked by conflict. James confronts them strongly, calling this “friendship with the world” and warning that it makes them act as enemies of God. But he does not leave them crushed under condemnation. He reminds them that God “gives more grace” and calls them to humility.

Then James gives an important instruction: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This is not superstition or empty rhetoric. It is a sober reminder that behind the world’s influence and the passions of the flesh, there is also an enemy who delights in division and pride. When believers submit to the Lord and walk in humility, they are resisting the schemes of Satan.

## Satan’s Goals in the Church

The devil cannot take a believer out of Christ’s hand. But he can cause believers to turn on one another. He can divide a congregation and cloud the message of the gospel. This is why the apostles spend so much time in their letters on two main themes: the clarity of the good news in Christ and the call to love and unity in the body.

Where the gospel is obscured, hope fades. Where unity is broken, the witness of the church is damaged. Satan aims to achieve both outcomes.

## The Devil’s Playground

Ephesians 4 sheds more light on how Satan works. Paul warns believers not to give the devil an opportunity. In context, he is talking about anger, corrupting talk, bitterness, wrath, clamor, slander, and malice. These are not small matters. They grieve the Holy Spirit and destroy fellowship.

Paul calls the church instead to kindness, tender hearts, and forgiveness. These attitudes reflect the gospel itself, as God in Christ has forgiven us. When these virtues are absent, the devil gains influence and the Spirit’s work is resisted.

## A Call to Vigilance

Jesus prayed for his people to be protected from the evil one. He taught his disciples to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one.” Peter warned that the devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. The New Testament writers were concerned about Satan’s influence because they knew his strategies.

Often, his work is not dramatic or sensational. In many churches, his most effective tactic is to stir up pride, anger, and suspicion among believers. If he can enslave Christians to sin or turn them against each other, the power of the gospel is muted in that place.

## Guarding the Gospel and Our Unity

Every believer has a role to play in resisting these attacks. We are to hold fast to the sufficiency of Christ, keeping the message of grace clear and free from additions. We are to pray for the Lord’s protection, asking him to keep us from the cravings of the flesh and the lies of the enemy.

We are to practice humility, kindness, and forgiveness in our relationships within the church. The local congregation should be a place of safety, mercy, and rest. When we sin against each other, we are to be quick to confess and quick to extend grace.

## The Role of the Church

The ministry of the church is meant to nourish and protect pilgrims on the way to our heavenly homeland. We are not there yet, and the road is filled with dangers. We need the regular preaching of Christ, the sacraments, the prayers of the saints, and the fellowship of believers. These are the means God has given to strengthen and safeguard his people.

A faithful church guards sound doctrine and works to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is vigilant against the schemes of the devil, not out of fear, but out of confidence in Christ’s promise to preserve his people.

## Our Hope

Satan’s goal is to draw believers away from the gospel, because the gospel is the greatest treasure we have. We resist him by submitting to God, resting in his grace, and loving one another well.

Christ has already won the victory. He will keep his people to the end. As we fix our eyes on him, we can walk together in truth and unity, confident that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet.

---

### White-Knuckled American Sanctification

*Published: August 8, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/white-knuckled-american-sanctification*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [White-Knuckled American Sanctification](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/white-knuckled-american-sanctification)

When most people hear the word _sanctification_, they don’t think of peace or joy. They think of pressure. Of effort. Of failure. It feels more like a trip to the DMV than walking with the Lord. There is dread, fear, guilt, and a gnawing sense that they are never doing enough. Sadly, this is the version of sanctification many of us have inherited.

This did not come out of nowhere. It has roots in two powerful movements that have shaped American Christianity for generations: _pietism_ and _revivalism_. These movements have deeply impacted how sanctification is preached, practiced, and pursued. If we are honest, they have turned it into something exhausting and unsustainable.

It is time we recover something better.

## What Is Pietism?

At its core, pietism makes the Christian life revolve around the Christian. The emphasis shifts away from Christ and his sufficiency, and instead lands on personal performance. Affections, effort, and growth become the central focus. The gaze turns inward. The goal becomes measurable spiritual progress.

Piety itself is good. Scripture calls us to godliness and maturity in Christ. But pietism alters the focus. It becomes overly introspective. People begin to measure their faith by how deeply they feel things, how consistently they obey, or how sincere their repentance seems. The eyes turn away from Christ and fix on self.

That is a heavy burden to carry.

## What Is Revivalism?

Revivalism is closely connected. It arose to stir spiritual renewal, but over time it became a method. The idea developed that, if the right mood is created through music, emotional appeals, or passionate preaching, then a spiritual result can be produced.

This led to practices like the anxious bench and the altar call. The measure of faith became a personal experience: a decision, a tearful moment, or a dramatic commitment. The weekly church gathering began to lose its place. The focus shifted to special events designed to produce visible results.

Revivalism does not ask whether Christ is being faithfully proclaimed through the ordinary means of grace. It asks whether the methods are producing the intended emotional effect.

## The Damage to Sanctification

Pietism and revivalism have reshaped how we think about sanctification. Growth in godliness is no longer grounded in the finished work of Christ. It becomes a personal project. Self-evaluation and effort define the journey. Obedience turns into performance. Conviction gives way to shame. Repentance becomes a burden. Joy fades.

We end up white-knuckling our way through the Christian life.

Many of us have felt this firsthand. We spiral into guilt when we fail. We try to prove our sincerity by how badly we feel. We measure growth by intensity. And grace begins to feel like a background idea instead of the foundation under our feet.

This is not what Scripture holds out to us.

## A Different Kind of Sanctification

Biblical sanctification begins with union with Christ. It is God’s work in us. We grow because we belong to Jesus. We grow because the Spirit is at work. This growth is steady and quiet. It is often unseen. It is entirely dependent on grace.

The New Testament calls us to discipline and obedience. We pursue holiness, but not to earn anything. Not to secure our place. We obey as those who are already loved, already accepted, and already safe in Christ.

The Christian life is not sustained by pressure. It is carried forward by promise.

## Replacing Joy with Duty

Pietism and revivalism create a cycle of pride and despair. If you think you are doing well, pride creeps in. If you are failing, despair takes over. Either way, your eyes are on yourself.

Joy disappears. Prayer turns into a performance. Bible reading becomes a spiritual scoreboard. Obedience becomes a weight. Even the fruit of the Spirit gets reduced to a checklist.

This is not how God grows his children.

## What We Need Instead

We need to remember that God is faithful. He began the work, and he will complete it. Jesus is not ashamed of us. The Father is not tired of us. The Spirit has not given up on us.

We need to return to the ordinary means of grace. We gather under the preached Word. We come to the Table. We join our voices in prayer and song. These are not routine. These are the ways God meets with his people and nourishes them.

Sanctification is not our burden to carry. It is the fruit of being united to Christ.

## Living as the Weak and the Loved

Sanctification is not about proving our value. It is about learning to depend more fully on Jesus. It is about walking in weakness and resting in grace.

The New Testament does not tell us to ask whether we are doing enough. It calls us to examine whether we are trusting in Christ. The question is not how fast we are growing. The question is whether we are clinging to Jesus.

When we sin, we don’t need to spiral into guilt. We confess. We grieve. We believe the gospel again. That is the road to real growth.

## Confessional Clarity

Confessional theology helps us recover a healthy view of sanctification. The 1689 London Baptist Confession keeps the gospel clear and the Christian life grounded in grace. It gives us categories to understand what God is doing in us.

We are not aiming to impress. We are learning to walk by faith, rest in Christ, and love our neighbor.

## A Final Word

Sanctification is not something we achieve on our own. It happens in the context of the church. It happens as we gather to hear Christ proclaimed. It happens through the Word, the sacraments, and the shared life of the saints.

We keep showing up. We keep receiving. We trust the Spirit is working in us. We may not always feel it, but we know he is faithful.

There is peace here. There is rest. And there is joy.

Let’s recover that joy together.

---

### The Suspicion of Experience

*Published: August 7, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-suspicion-of-experience*

This article is a summary of the following episode: [The Suspicion of Experience](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-suspicion-of-experience)

_Why the Christian Life Is Deeply Supernatural_

Many of us who have been shaped by the Reformed tradition feel hesitant when it comes to the word “experience.” It can bring to mind emotional hype, theological compromise, or practices we associate with other traditions.

Because of this, we often avoid anything that seems subjective or rooted in feeling. The goal is to stay grounded in the truth. But in avoiding what feels risky, we sometimes forget something essential about the Christian life. It is not mechanical religion. It is life in Christ. It is not simply belief in the right doctrines. It is also participation in what God is doing by grace, through faith, in real time.

Let’s consider how the Christian life is meant to be experienced.

## Faith Is Supernatural

We do not live the Christian life through our natural abilities. The flesh cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. Rules and routines cannot transform the heart. Paul explains in Colossians 2 that man-made religion has the appearance of wisdom but no power to restrain the flesh.

Life in Christ involves resurrection, not self-help. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us (Ephesians 1:19–20). That power does not come from effort or resolve. It is the work of the Spirit.

This reality is not abstract. It shapes our actual lives and how we relate to God and others.

## Worship Is an Encounter

When the church gathers, we are not attending a religious event. We are meeting with the living God. Christ is present with us as we sit under his Word, receive his sacraments, and join in prayer and singing.

These elements are not symbolic activities or exercises in remembrance. God ministers to his people through them. The Lord is with us and works through what he has ordained.

This truth should shape how we approach worship. There is something sacred happening when the church gathers. God is there.

## Singing That Lifts the Soul

Singing in the church is not optional. It is part of how God ministers to us. In Ephesians and Colossians, Paul urges the church to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another. This is not simply a way to express ourselves. It is how we encourage and exhort one another in the faith.

Many believers have experienced seasons when singing felt impossible. But even then, the voices of fellow saints can carry us. In those moments, God is caring for us through his people.

## Preaching That Produces Faith

Paul writes in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. That not only applies to those who have not yet believed. It applies to all who need to be sustained in the gospel.

Preaching is not just an information download. Christ is present when his Word is proclaimed. He speaks peace to our troubled hearts and reminds us of what is true.

This is why we show up week after week to hear again that Jesus is enough.

## The Table That Feeds

When we come to the Lord’s Table, we are not engaging in a ritual for memory’s sake. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 that we are participating in the body and blood of Christ.

This is spiritual nourishment. God strengthens our faith through ordinary bread and wine. We come with nothing but need, and God provides what our souls lack.

## The Church Is a Sacred Place

The church is where God has promised to meet with his people in a unique way. Christ is always with us. But when the church gathers under the Word, around the Table, and in prayer, God draws near in a distinct way.

This shapes how we view the Lord’s Day. It is not a weekly tradition. It is the appointed time to be strengthened by the means of grace.

## Experience Is Part of the Christian Life

We do not put our trust in our emotions or circumstances. But we do trust what God has promised to do when his Word is preached, his gospel is sung, and his people gather.

We do not chase emotional highs. We come with humility and expectation. We believe that God is present. And even when we do not feel it, he is doing something in us.

The experience of God’s grace is not something we manufacture. It is something God gives.

## Learning to Expect

What are we helping our churches look for each week? What are we encouraging people to come and receive?

God has not called us to come and evaluate. He has called us to come and receive. We receive grace. We receive help. We receive Christ himself through his Word and Spirit.

The Christian life is not built on a checklist. It is a life of dependence, nourished by grace. And it is sustained by the regular rhythm of worship, preaching, prayer, and fellowship.

## Final Thoughts

Church is not about attendance. It is not about hype. It is not a way to prove anything. For most of us, showing up on a Sunday is hard at times. We come tired. We come distracted. We come weary.

But we still come. Because Jesus is there. And he gives what we need.

Let us not hesitate to use words like sacred and supernatural. Let us encourage one another to come with hope and expectation. And let us trust that God will do what he has said.

The Christian life is not something we live in our own strength. It is life with God, through Christ, by the Spirit.

That is worth showing up for. Every time.

---

### Thou Shalt Not Misquote

*Published: June 25, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/thou-shalt-not-misquote*

This article is a summary from the following episodes: [Thou Shalt Not Misquote](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/thou-shalt-not-misquote "Thou Shalt Not Misquote")

_Reading the Bible in Context for the Sake of Clarity—and Christ_

You’ve probably seen it on mugs, notebooks, graduation cards—even tattooed on someone’s arm. Jeremiah 29:11\. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

It’s one of the most quoted verses in the Bible—and one of the most misquoted.

The same could be said of Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, lest you be judged.” These are passages that either confuse people or, sadly, crush them under the weight of false expectations. That’s why we’re writing this—not to be contrarian, but pastoral. Not to nitpick, but to clear away the clutter so Christ is seen more clearly.

So let’s look at these two beloved verses, not to diminish their value, but to anchor them in the hope they were always meant to point to.

## Jeremiah 29:11 – Is God Promising Me a Better Life?

Let’s begin with the classic: _“For I know the plans I have for you…”_ This verse gets used in all kinds of ways—encouragement during suffering, hope for your career, assurance about your relationships, and motivation at a graduation ceremony. And we get it. The longing to know that God is for us is deeply human.

But here’s the problem: when Jeremiah 29:11 is used to promise smoother circumstances, better outcomes, or personal prosperity in this life, it sets people up for disappointment. Because when those things don’t happen—when suffering persists, when dreams crumble, when life just doesn’t “prosper”—people are left wondering: _Has God failed me? Or have I failed Him?_

That’s a terrible place to be. And it's also not what the verse means.

### What’s the Context?

Jeremiah is writing to a very specific group of people: Jews who have been taken into Babylonian exile. He’s delivering a word from the Lord to a people who are crushed, displaced, and unsure of what comes next. And the promise is this: _Your exile will not last forever. In 70 years, I will bring you back. I am still your God, and you are still my people._

It’s a promise to Israel in a specific redemptive-historical moment. But does that mean it has nothing to do with us? No—far from it.

### The Real Hope

When we read this passage through the lens of covenant theology and the storyline of Scripture, we see the deeper meaning: God is a redeeming God. He brings His people out of bondage. He keeps His promises. And just like He brought Israel out of exile, He will bring all His people out of sin, death, and the grave.

So is Jeremiah 29:11 for us? Absolutely—but not in the way it’s often used. It’s not about your promotion. It’s about your resurrection. It’s not a promise of present prosperity. It’s a promise of future glory.

God is bringing us home. And not just to a land, but to a kingdom that cannot be shaken—where every tear will be wiped away, and we will dwell with Him forever.

## Matthew 7:1 – Does This Mean I Can’t Call Out Sin?

“Judge not, lest you be judged.” It’s the go-to verse for deflecting any criticism—especially moral or doctrinal critique. In today’s world, it’s often thrown around like a shield to avoid accountability. “You can’t judge me—Jesus said so!”

But again, when we read the whole passage in context, we see something very different than blanket moral relativism.

### What’s the Context?

Jesus isn’t saying, “Never evaluate anyone’s beliefs or actions.” He’s saying, “Be humble. Be self-aware. Don’t approach others in self-righteousness.”

Immediately after this verse, Jesus tells us to take the log out of our own eye before trying to remove the speck from someone else’s (v. 3–5). In other words, we are called to discernment—but it must be done with a posture of humility, not pride.

Later in the same chapter, Jesus tells us to watch out for false teachers (v. 15). That requires judgment. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:1 to restore someone caught in sin “in a spirit of gentleness.” That also requires discernment.

### The Real Call

Jesus isn’t forbidding correction—He’s forbidding condemnation. He’s warning against the kind of pride that looks down on others without acknowledging our own need for grace.

Biblical judgment is always gospel-shaped. It’s gentle, honest, and aimed at restoration—not shame. And it flows from a heart that knows: _“But for the grace of God, so go I.”_

## The Common Thread: The Gospel of Grace

Both of these passages—Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 7:1—are often misquoted in ways that either promote false comfort or prevent real correction. But when read rightly, they do the opposite. They bring real hope and real healing.

**Jeremiah 29:11**, read in context, doesn’t promise us a comfortable life now—it promises us a glorious life forever with Christ. It assures us that God’s plans are redemptive, not circumstantial. It’s not about temporary relief; it’s about eternal rest.

**Matthew 7:1**, read in context, doesn’t forbid discernment—it forbids self-righteousness. It reminds us that we’re all sinners in need of grace. And that grace should shape the way we speak to each other, correct each other, and live in community with one another.

## Final Word: Let the Bible Lead You to Christ

The reason misquoting Scripture is so dangerous is not just because it distorts theology—it’s because it obscures the gospel.

When we read the Bible through a me-centered lens, we miss the point. Scripture is not a grab bag of inspirational sayings. It’s one unified story of redemption. It’s about Christ—His life, death, resurrection, and reign. And every passage, rightly understood, leads us to rest in Him.

So yes—thou shalt not misquote. But not because we’re trying to win a debate. Because we want people to see Jesus.

---

### Examine Yourselves!

*Published: June 19, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/examine-yourselves-1*

This article is a summary from the following episodes: [Examine Yourselves!](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/examine-yourselves "Examine Yourselves!")

_What It Really Means to Test Whether You Are in the Faith_

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.” That verse—2 Corinthians 13:5—gets quoted a lot. And if you’ve spent any time in the kinds of conversations we have around here at Theocast, you’ve probably heard it used in response to how we talk about Jesus. His sufficiency. His finished work. The peace we have with God because of Him. And inevitably, someone will raise their hand and ask, “Okay, but what about self-examination?”

It’s a good question. And Scripture does call us to examine ourselves. But the kind of self-examination many of us have been taught is actually not what Paul has in mind. In fact, the version of self-examination we often hear in churches today ends up producing the opposite of what Paul intends—it produces fear, confusion, and a misplaced confidence in our own obedience rather than in the person and work of Christ.

So what does Paul mean when he says, “Examine yourselves”? And how do we do that in a way that leads to peace rather than anxiety?

Let’s walk through it together.

## What It Doesn’t Mean: Fruit-Checking and Fear

For many of us, self-examination has become synonymous with looking inward to assess our behavior, our obedience, and our progress in sanctification. The assumption is: _If I’m really saved, then I’ll see the fruit—and if I don’t, then maybe I’m not._

So we spiral. We start asking questions like:

* “Am I repenting enough?”
* “Am I progressing in holiness?”
* “Do I feel enough conviction over my sin?”
* “Am I doing enough good works?”

The problem with that kind of self-examination is that it subtly shifts our hope from Christ to ourselves. It doesn’t lead us to trust more deeply in Jesus—it leads us to trust in our track record. And when we inevitably find ourselves lacking, we start to doubt whether we even belong to God.

That’s not biblical self-examination. That’s pietistic introspection. And it’s a dead end.

## What Paul Actually Says

In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul writes:

> _“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”_

Notice what he says: _Are you in the faith?_ He doesn’t say, _“Do you see enough change?”_ or _“Are you good enough?”_ He says, _“Do you realize that Jesus Christ is in you?”_ That’s the test. That’s the examination.

Paul isn’t telling us to evaluate our spiritual performance. He’s calling us to assess our faith—our confidence, our hope, our trust. Not “Are you behaving like a Christian?” but “Are you believing in Christ alone for your righteousness and life?”

This passage isn’t about the fruit. It’s about the root.

## Context Is Everything

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in the midst of a messy church situation. Some so-called “super-apostles” had crept into Corinth, undermining Paul’s authority and questioning whether someone like him—weak, unimpressive, suffering—could really be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Paul responds by pointing to the paradox of the gospel: that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. He boasts not in his strength but in his weakness, because it magnifies Christ.

That’s the backdrop for 2 Corinthians 13\. Paul is essentially saying, “If you think I’m disqualified because I’m weak and because my only strength is in Christ, then maybe you need to examine yourselves. Are you trusting in strength—or are you trusting in Christ?”

That’s the heart of the matter. That’s the kind of self-examination we all need.

## What We Should Be Asking

Here’s what biblical self-examination sounds like:

* “Do I believe that Jesus is enough for me?”
* “Is my trust in Christ alone for my righteousness before God?”
* “Do I believe that His work on the cross is sufficient to save even me?”
* “Do I see myself as weak and in need of His strength?”
* “When I think about standing before God, is my peace grounded in what I’ve done—or in what Christ has done for me?”

Those are the questions that matter. Because fruit can be faked. Behavior can be managed. But faith—that is the root of all true spiritual life.

## You're Worse Than You Think… and That’s Why Jesus Came

A healthy kind of self-examination will always lead us to humility. Because when we’re honest about our thoughts, our motives, our hearts—when we acknowledge just how corrupt the flesh still is—we’re reminded that we are not our own hope.

Even the godliest Christians among us, if their inner life were broadcast on a screen, would run out of the room in shame. The flesh is worse than we think. But the gospel is better than we imagine.

And that’s the point: Jesus didn’t come to save people who had it together. He came to save sinners—weak, failing, exhausted sinners who had no hope apart from Him.

## The Offense of Mercy and Grace

Here’s another test: Are you offended by grace?

If someone sins in a way that offends you deeply, and your gut reaction is, “Not sure grace covers that,” then it’s time to examine your understanding of the gospel. Because if grace isn’t for the worst kinds of sinners, then it’s not for any of us.

Grace isn’t fair. It’s not earned. It’s for those who don’t deserve it—and that includes you and me.

When we start to withhold grace from others, we’re usually forgetting how desperately we need it ourselves. And when we minimize the depth of our own sin, we inevitably shrink the work of Christ.

## The Result of Self-Examination: Peace in Christ

If your self-examination leaves you with doubt and despair, then you’re not doing it right.

Biblical self-examination should drive you to Jesus. It should make you say, “Lord, I’m worse than I realized—and I need you more than ever.” And what do we find when we turn to Him?

Peace.

Romans 5:1 says, _“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”_ Not through fruit. Not through obedience. Through faith.

So if you’re lacking peace, examine where your faith is. If it’s in your performance, you’ll never have peace. But if it’s in Christ alone, peace is already yours—because He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).

## Examine Yourselves… and Look to Christ

So yes, examine yourself. But don’t examine your fruit to determine if you’re saved. Examine your faith. Ask yourself: _Am I trusting in Jesus alone? Do I believe He’s enough?_

And if your answer is, _“Yes. I’m clinging to Him because I have nowhere else to go,”_ then friend, you pass the test.

Because Christ is your righteousness. Christ is your life. Christ is your peace.

And that’s the whole point.

---

### Thoughts on Costi Hinn and Cheap Grace

*Published: June 12, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/thoughts-on-costi-hinn-and-cheap-grace*

This article is a summary from the following episodes:[Thoughts on Costi Hinn and Cheap Grace](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/thoughts-on-costi-hinn-and-cheap-grace "Thoughts on Costi Hinn and Cheap Grace")

  
From time to time, we receive messages asking us to respond to certain sermons or teachings, and while we can’t cover everything, occasionally we engage when it touches on key issues we care deeply about—like law and gospel, assurance, and how Christians should think about obedience.

Recently, many of you shared a clip from a sermon by Costi Hinn titled _“Will Jesus Even Know You?”_ Costi is someone we love and thank God for. The Lord has clearly done remarkable work in his life, and we’re encouraged by his boldness in confronting prosperity theology and pointing people to Christ. So this isn’t a critique born of animosity—it’s a conversation between brothers, meant to help clarify and encourage, especially for the sake of weary saints who might be left confused or frightened by certain language.

So, what was said? And where is there some confusion?

Let’s talk about it.

## Cheap Grace and the Caricature

In the sermon, Costi warns against what he calls “cheap grace”—a kind of easy-believism where someone professes faith in Christ but lives in persistent sin, showing no transformation or obedience. He emphasizes that there must be “proof” of justification in our lives through obedience, or else our profession is false.

That concern isn’t new. It echoes debates from the 1980s when teachers like Zane Hodges promoted what became known as the “Free Grace” movement—teaching that one moment of intellectual assent secured salvation, regardless of any fruit or obedience afterward. John MacArthur famously responded with his book _The Gospel According to Jesus_, and what emerged was the Lordship Salvation debate.

And let’s be clear: we agree that true saving faith will bear fruit. We agree that revivalism and easy-believism have done damage to the church. But here’s where we start to differ—especially on the use of language like “cheap grace” and “proof of justification.”

## Faith Is the Proof, Not the Fruit

The Reformed tradition has long affirmed: _We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone._ Faith inevitably produces fruit—but fruit is not the proof of justification. It’s the result of it.

The moment we start telling struggling Christians that the _proof_ of their standing before God is found in their obedience, we’re on dangerous ground. We’ve shifted their eyes from Christ to themselves. We’ve turned assurance into a performance review.

Evidence? Yes. Encouragement? Yes. But never _proof_. Because fruit ebbs and flows. Obedience is inconsistent. And the line between “enough fruit” and “not enough” is always moving.

We’ve seen this firsthand: Christians terrified that they might not “really be saved” because their lives don’t look radically different. Kids who grew up in the church and trust Christ, but now wonder if they missed something because they never had a dramatic conversion story. People caught in sin, struggling to believe they’re still loved by God.

What they need in those moments is not a checklist. They need Christ.

## Not All Who Sin Are Hypocrites

Another point Costi raises is that many in the church “claim to have faith” but “live sinful lives,” and that’s evidence they’re not truly saved.

Again, it depends on what we mean.

If by “living sinful lives” we mean persistent, unrepentant rebellion while claiming grace—that’s a serious problem, and the New Testament gives us plenty of language for addressing it. But if we mean that Christians who sin regularly (which is all of us) are to examine themselves to see if they’re truly saved, we’ve confused the categories.

Paul doesn’t tell believers who are trapped in sin, “Maybe you’re not justified.” He tells them, _“You have forgotten that you were cleansed from your former sins”_ (2 Peter 1:9). In other words, the problem isn’t that they’ve lost salvation—it’s that they’ve lost sight of the gospel.

Scripture speaks plainly: believers still sin. They often fall short. And sometimes they’re even _trapped_ in sin (Gal. 6:1). But the call in those moments isn’t to question justification—it’s to remember grace.

## Does Grace Produce Obedience? Absolutely.

This is where we want to be crystal clear: grace changes people. The same grace that saves you is the grace that sanctifies you.

Titus 2:11–12 says it plainly: _“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation… training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions.”_ Grace trains us. Not the law. Not fear. Not guilt. Grace.

Grace is not passive. It’s not soft. It’s not an excuse to coast. It’s power. It’s the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit, changing us from the inside out.

We don't preach grace because we want people to get lazy—we preach grace because it’s the only thing that actually works. Law can crush, but it cannot create life. Only Jesus raises the dead.

## What About the Hypocrites?

We understand Costi’s concern. Every pastor has seen people play church. There are those who say “Lord, Lord,” but live as if they don’t know him.

But what’s the solution?

Not moralism. Not ramped-up obedience language. The solution is law and gospel.

We need to preach the law in all its weight—showing the holiness of God and the utter inability of man. We need to preach the gospel in all its glory—showing the mercy of God and the finished work of Christ. And we need to call people to trust, not in their performance, but in Jesus alone.

If someone’s a “faker,” they don’t need to try harder—they need to be born again. And that doesn’t happen through willpower. It happens through the Word.

## Jesus Is the Rock

The last thing we want is to create fear and confusion in the hearts of sincere but struggling Christians. That’s why this conversation matters.

Yes, we want to see obedience. Yes, we want holiness and godly living. But never at the expense of assurance. Never at the expense of the gospel.

Jesus is our only hope. He is the proof. His obedience, not ours. His blood, not our sweat. His cross, not our consistency.

So to those who are tired, confused, and wondering if they’re really in—look to Christ. He will never cast you out. And for those concerned about hypocrisy in the church—keep preaching Christ. Keep holding out the gospel. And trust that the same grace that saves will also train and transform.

We’re grateful for Costi, and we’re grateful for the chance to have conversations like these—not to tear down, but to build up. The church needs clarity. And most of all, it needs Christ.

Let’s keep pointing people to him.

---

### Why Are So Many People Going to Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?

*Published: June 5, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/why-are-so-many-people-going-to-eastern-orthodoxy-and-roman-catholicism*

This article is a summary from the following episodes: [Why Are So Many People Going to Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/why-are-so-many-people-going-to-eastern-orthodoxy-and-roman-catholicism "Why Are So Many People Going to Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?")

It’s happening more and more. People who once identified as evangelical are walking away—not to atheism, but to the incense and icons of Eastern Orthodoxy or the ornate ritual of Roman Catholicism. And they’re not necessarily doing it out of rebellion. They’re doing it because they’re looking for something they feel evangelicalism has failed to deliver: sacredness. Mystery. Stability. Weight.

If you’ve talked to someone who’s made that transition, you’ve probably heard phrases like:

“It just felt hollow where I was.”  
“I wanted something ancient.”  
“I needed something objective—something outside of me.”

We understand that impulse. We really do. And what we want to say as confessional Reformed Protestants is this: you don’t need to go to Rome or Constantinople to find the sacred. You don’t need to abandon the Reformation to encounter the spiritual, the mystical, and the transcendent.

Let’s talk about why people are leaving—and why Reformed theology has better answers than most people realize.

## A Hunger for the Sacred

We’re not talking about superstition or blind ritual. What people are longing for is a kind of holy seriousness—a recognition that God is not just their buddy, but the sovereign Lord who inhabits eternity and meets with his people in glory and grace.

They’re weary of fog machines, TED-talk sermons, and church services that feel more like corporate pep rallies than encounters with the divine. They’re looking for something that doesn’t feel so shallow. Something rooted. Something real.

Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism present themselves as havens of this sacredness. They offer liturgy, history, and a profound sense of continuity. And they emphasize that worship is not entertainment. That’s attractive—especially for people who feel like they’ve been fed spiritual junk food for years.

But here’s the thing: what draws them in is not uniquely Orthodox or Catholic. The Reformers understood sacredness. They embraced mystery. And they took the spiritual realm seriously. We just stopped talking like they did.

## The Reformers Were Mystical (In the Best Way)

It might surprise some people to hear this, but the Reformers weren’t just theologians of doctrine—they were theologians of experience. John Calvin was called the theologian of the Holy Spirit. Thomas Goodwin preached about cosmic spiritual realities. Martin Luther spoke of the sacraments as direct, tangible encounters with the risen Christ.

For them, the preaching of the Word wasn’t just information transfer—it was the voice of Christ to his people. Baptism wasn’t just symbolic—it was union with Christ, the washing of regeneration. The Lord’s Supper wasn’t just a memorial—it was real nourishment for weak and weary saints.

They believed Jesus was really present with his people through Word and sacrament. They believed the local church was a sacred place where heaven touched earth. And they believed in an objective gospel—one that brought comfort to people whose internal lives were falling apart.

Sound familiar? That’s exactly what people are chasing when they leave for Orthodoxy or Rome.

## How We Lost the Sacred

So what happened?

A lot. But here’s the short version: the Enlightenment exalted reason and gutted the supernatural. Revivalism turned the faith inward and emotional. Rationalism stripped our worship of mystery. Pietism made Christianity about personal performance. And pragmatism—well, that made it all about results.

Over time, we traded sacredness for relevance. We traded the Table for TED talks. We traded gospel promises for moral to-do lists. We stopped talking about Christ for us and started talking only about Christ in us. We stopped treating church like the throne room of God and started treating it like a weekend event.

And people have noticed.

They’re looking for something ancient and durable. They want to hear about the power of God, not just the potential of man. They want the presence of Jesus, not just life tips with a Bible verse. And when they can’t find that in evangelical churches, some assume their only option is to leave Protestantism altogether.

## You Don’t Have to Leave

Here’s the good news: the sacred is already here. The mystical, spiritual, rich theology that people are yearning for—it’s not hidden in Rome or behind a Greek iconostasis. It’s right here in historic Reformed theology.

When we gather on the Lord’s Day, Christ is really with us. When the Word is preached, he speaks. When the Table is served, he feeds. When the waters of baptism are poured, he unites sinners to himself. When we sing, we join the angels. When we pray, we approach the throne of grace.

All of that is supernatural. All of that is sacred. All of that is rich with history and weight.

The problem is not that Reformed theology lacks the sacred. The problem is we’ve forgotten how to talk about it. Or worse, we’ve been afraid to.

## What About Rome’s Objectivity?

Another major draw to Roman Catholicism is its emphasis on objectivity. In a world of Instagrammed spirituality and endless self-examination, the Roman Church says, “Come and receive grace through the sacraments.” No performance. No feelings required.

That sounds comforting, especially to those who have been beat down by the never-enough culture of modern evangelicalism. But here’s what gets missed: in Rome’s system, grace is not a guarantee. It’s a drip. A hope-so. An if-you-do-enough kind of grace.

You participate in the sacraments, and you hope it’s enough to outweigh your sin. There’s no assurance. No final word of peace.

But the gospel gives us something better: Jesus himself. We don’t look inward. We look outward. Extranos. The finished work of Christ outside of us, for us, on our behalf. That’s our peace. And it’s delivered to us through the preaching of the Word and the sacraments—not because they work automatically, but because they deliver Christ to those united to him by faith.

## Let’s Recover What Was Always Ours

People are leaving evangelicalism because they’re hungry. They’re tired of novelty. They’re starving for transcendence. They want something real.

As Reformed pastors, we want to say: it’s already here.

We don’t need to chase Rome or Orthodoxy. We need to reclaim the sacredness we’ve forgotten. We need to talk like the Reformers did—about the Holy Spirit, about the mystery of union with Christ, about the heavenly realities we participate in every Sunday. And we need to preach a gospel that actually gives rest to the weary.

Jesus hasn’t stopped being enough. We’ve just stopped pointing to him clearly.

So let’s recover the sacred. Let’s lift our eyes. And let’s help people see that they don’t need to leave to find what they’re looking for. Christ is here. And he is for us.

---

### Credobaptism or Paedobaptism?

*Published: May 29, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/credobaptism-or-paedobaptism*

This article is a summary from the following episodes: Part One: [Credobaptism or Paedobaptism? Pt. 1 Adriel Sanchez and Theocast Discuss Baptism & Covenant Theology](https://youtu.be/HkbXrFuwqiE?si=pSiY-fLfUy%5FGPhe6 "Credobaptism or Paedobaptism? Pt. 1 Adriel Sanchez and Theocast Discuss Baptism & Covenant Theology")  
Part Two: [Credobaptism or Paedobaptism? - Part 2 (w/ Adriel Sanchez from Sola Media)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/credobaptism-or-paedobaptism-part-2-w-adriel-sanchez-from-sola-media "Credobaptism or Paedobaptism? - Part 2 (w/ Adriel Sanchez from Sola Media)")  

_A Conversation Among Brothers_

We love conversations like this one—not because they’re easy, but because they matter. In a two-part video exchange between us (Jon and Justin) and our brother Adriel Sanchez, pastor in the PCA and host of Core Christianity, we got to sit down and talk through the long-standing differences between the Reformed Paedobaptist and Reformed Credobaptist positions.

It’s rare for this conversation to happen with mutual respect, clarity, and warmth. But that’s exactly what we experienced. We’re grateful for Adriel and the work he’s doing, and we’re also grateful to be able to clearly lay out why we remain confessional Baptists.

This article isn’t trying to settle a 300-year-old debate. It’s not a point-by-point rebuttal or a call to arms. It’s a summary of a pastoral, theological conversation between friends. And our prayer is that it helps weary Christians find clarity—not just about baptism, but about the gospel and the covenant promises of God in Christ.

## What Do We Agree On?

Before we dive into the differences, let’s be clear about where we agree. The three of us are confessional. We believe in covenant theology. We’re reformed. We believe in the ordinary means of grace. And most importantly, we’re preaching the same Christ for sinners.

We all agree that baptism isn’t just a public testimony. It’s a sign and seal of the covenant of grace. It signifies union with Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and being buried and raised with Jesus. And we all want to push back against the shallow, symbolic-only views of baptism that dominate much of modern evangelicalism.

We agree that children of believers are to be raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That they are holy—not “vipers in diapers,” but set apart in the context of the covenant community. And we agree that God works through means—through the preached word, through the sacraments, through the community of the church.

Where we begin to differ is in who should receive the sign of the covenant—and what exactly that sign signifies in terms of covenant participation and union with Christ.

## The Covenant Framework: One or Two Administrations?

For Adriel, the theological shift came when he began to see baptism as primarily something God does. It’s a work of grace, not just a work of man. That shift opened the door to seeing continuity between circumcision in the Old Covenant and baptism in the New—and led him to embrace infant baptism within the framework of covenant theology.

From our perspective, we affirm one covenant of grace throughout redemptive history. But we see it unfolding progressively through distinct, successive covenants—Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic—until it’s formally established in the New Covenant in Christ. This means we see more discontinuity than our Paedobaptist brothers do.

For us, the Abrahamic covenant isn’t the covenant of grace per se—it’s a typological covenant that includes both earthly and spiritual promises. Circumcision, then, was a sign of that typological covenant, applied to Abraham’s offspring according to the flesh. It pointed forward to something greater—regeneration, the circumcision of the heart—not unlike the way the land, the temple, and the priesthood pointed to Christ.

The fulfillment of circumcision, then, is not baptism. It’s regeneration. The true circumcision is made without hands. That’s why we give the sign of the covenant only to those who show evidence of the new birth—those who have been united to Christ by faith.

## Visible Church and Covenant Participation

Adriel argues that children of believers belong to the visible church and should receive the sign of the covenant, just as they did under the Old Covenant. He sees continuity in language like “household,” “holy,” and even in the warning passages of Hebrews, which speak of people sanctified by the blood of the covenant who fall away.

We agree that there’s a kind of external participation in the life of the covenant community. There are those in our churches—our children included—who are under the preached word, surrounded by the people of God, and are “holy” in the sense of being set apart. But for us, that doesn’t mean they are in the New Covenant.

Jeremiah 31 describes a New Covenant where all its members “know the Lord,” have the law written on their hearts, and have their sins forgiven. That’s not true of everyone in the visible church. And so we make a distinction between visible church membership and New Covenant membership. Baptism, in our view, is given to those who are in union with Christ and part of the New Covenant. Not just externally, but truly.

To baptize someone into the New Covenant is to say that the blessings of Christ are theirs. If that person later walks away, we’re left with either an over-realized sacrament or the implication that Christ fails to save some of those he mediates for.

## Household Baptisms and Covenant Language

Adriel rightly points out that New Testament baptisms often involve households, and he sees that as a continuation of covenantal patterns from the Old Testament. He argues that Luke’s use of “household” language would be misleading if children were now excluded from covenant signs.

We hear that. But we also note that the text never explicitly says infants were present or baptized. And in many cases, the household is said to have rejoiced or believed along with the head of the house. That suggests conscious participation.

More than that, baptism in the New Testament is consistently tied to faith, union with Christ, and regeneration. Romans 6, Galatians 3, Colossians 2—all describe baptism as being buried with Christ, clothed in Christ, raised with Christ, joined to Christ. There’s no category in the New Testament for someone receiving the sign of baptism without being united to the one it signifies.

That’s where the rubber meets the road for us. The sign is tied so closely to the thing signified that to give it without evidence of the reality is, in our view, inconsistent with New Testament practice.

## Warning Passages and Covenant Holiness

Adriel brings up Hebrews 10 and other texts that speak of people who were “sanctified by the blood of the covenant” and yet fall away. He sees this as evidence that people can participate in the New Covenant externally without having vital union with Christ.

We agree that the warnings are real and serious. And we don’t deny that people can be in the church, receive the means of grace, and even look like Christians, yet not be truly converted.

But for us, those people are not in the New Covenant. They’re part of the visible church. They’re participants in the life of the covenant community. But they’re not in vital union with Christ, and they haven’t received the reality signified by baptism.

We think that distinction matters—not just theologically, but pastorally. Because if we say someone is in the New Covenant and united to Christ, and then that person walks away, what are we left with? Either Jesus fails to save, or our categories need adjustment.

## Pastoral Encouragement and Gospel Comfort

This is where we land the plane. What matters most is not how much water or when it was applied. What matters most is Jesus. The comfort of baptism is not found in our profession, or in the sincerity of our parents, or in our theological precision. It’s found in Christ and his promises.

We encourage people to remember their baptism—not because it proves their faith, but because it points them to Jesus. To his finished work. To his faithfulness. To his gospel.

We love our Paedobaptist brothers. We know we haven’t resolved every difference. But we also know this: we’re preaching the same Christ. We’re pointing to the same grace. And we’re looking to the same promise.

Let’s keep pointing people there.

---

### Why New Calvinism Is Not Reformed

*Published: May 22, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/why-new-calvinism-is-not-reformed*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [Why New Calvinism Is Not Reformed](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/why-new-calvinism-is-not-reformed "Why New Calvinism Is Not Reformed")

Let’s say this right up front: we’re thankful for New Calvinism. It brought a much-needed recovery of God’s sovereignty and the doctrines of grace to mainstream evangelicalism. Many of us would never have found Reformed theology without it. But as helpful as it was—and is in some respects—New Calvinism is not Reformed theology.

That might sound harsh to some ears, but hear us out. We're not trying to pick a fight. We’re pastors. We care about clarity, especially when it comes to the gospel. And over the years, we've seen how the confusion between New Calvinism and historic Reformed theology has hurt people. So we're pulling back the curtain on a few key differences—not to argue, but to help the weary and the burdened see Jesus more clearly.

### A One-Dimensional Calvinism

New Calvinism is primarily Calvinistic in its soteriology. That’s its strongest leg. It champions doctrines like total depravity, unconditional election, and particular redemption. We’re with them there. Absolutely.

But Reformed theology has never been only about the five points of Calvinism. That's like saying a car is just an engine. Important? Yes. Sufficient? No.

Historically, Reformed theology is built on five foundational pillars:

1. **Calvinism**
2. **Confessionalism**
3. **Covenantalism**
4. **Law-Gospel Distinction**
5. **Ordinary Means of Grace**

New Calvinism grabs hold of that first piece but largely leaves the rest behind. And that’s where the confusion—and the exhaustion—often begins.

### Confessionalism: Grounded in Christ for Us

Being Reformed means being confessional. That doesn’t just mean we have a favorite old document. It means we’ve tethered ourselves to a theological framework that is Christ-centered, gospel-rich, and rooted in church history.

Confessionalism keeps us grounded in the external, objective work of Christ. It protects us from drifting into the introspective, subjective spirituality that so often wears people out. When we say “Christ for you,” we mean it—and our confession helps us hold that line.

New Calvinism, on the other hand, tends to be more biblicistic and eclectic. It often mixes Calvinistic soteriology with revivalism, pietism, or even dispensationalism. Without the ballast of a confession, theology becomes more individualistic and less churchly—and over time, less clear about where our hope actually lies.

### Covenant Theology: The Bible Is One Story

Reformed theology reads the Bible through the lens of covenant. We see three major covenants—redemption, works, and grace—that explain the whole story of Scripture and make sense of Jesus as the second Adam who did everything the first Adam failed to do.

New Calvinism doesn’t typically operate with this framework. Instead, it often borrows categories from covenant theology without realizing it. We’ll hear language about the first and second Adam or about substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness—but without the cohesive theological scaffolding that makes those doctrines sing.

Without covenant theology, you might still preach a powerful gospel, but you lose the clarity and consistency that keeps Christ at the center of every page of Scripture. And that affects everything—from how we read our Bibles to how we understand baptism, church, and assurance.

### Law and Gospel: Don’t Mix the Medicine

One of the most critical distinctions Reformed theology gives us is the law/gospel distinction. It’s not just a Lutheran thing—it’s a Reformation thing. And we need it.

Law is what God requires. Gospel is what God gives. The law says, “Do this and live.” The gospel says, “It is finished.”

New Calvinism often collapses these two. It rightly calls people to trust in Christ for justification, but then tends to bring the law in through the back door for sanctification. The result? A gospel that starts with grace but ends with performance. And for many, that becomes a treadmill of guilt, effort, and despair.

Reformed theology insists that both our justification and our sanctification are rooted in Christ alone. Sanctification is not about climbing spiritual ladders; it’s about learning to live from the union we already have with Jesus. The gospel doesn’t just start the Christian life—it carries us every step of the way.

### Ordinary Means of Grace: Jesus Is Still Serving Us

Reformed theology believes in the ordinary means of grace—word, sacraments, prayer, and fellowship—as the primary way God strengthens and sustains His people. But here’s the twist: we believe Jesus is actually present with us in those means. Really. Spiritually. Mystically. Powerfully.

New Calvinism often has a high view of preaching (praise God), but tends to reduce the sacraments to mere symbols. Communion becomes just a memorial. Baptism becomes just an act of obedience. But for us, these are not just reminders—they’re means. Jesus meets us in them, serves us, nourishes us, and strengthens our faith.

If your faith feels weak, you don’t need another conference or another list. You need Jesus. And He’s promised to meet you in the ordinary, week after week.

### Simul Justus et Peccator: Saint and Sinner

Here’s one last thing that often gets missed in New Calvinism: the saint/sinner reality. In Christ, we are righteous and holy—and yet we still battle the flesh every day. That tension is normal. Romans 7, Galatians 5, Psalm 32—they all bear witness to it.

But if you don’t have that category, you end up surprised by your struggle. Worse, you start to wonder if you’re even saved. Reformed theology gives you a better answer: you're both saint and sinner until glory. So don’t look inward for your peace—look to Christ. Rest in His finished work. He’s got you.

**Final Thought**

We’re not mad at New Calvinism. We’re grateful for what it recovered. But we’ve seen how many people have come out of that movement disillusioned, confused, or just plain exhausted.

What we’re holding out here isn’t a tribe or a trend—it’s Jesus. Reformed theology, when rightly understood, gives you Christ in all of Scripture, Christ in the sacraments, Christ in your struggle, and Christ for you in everything.

And that's why we’re here. Not to argue. Not to posture. But to help you rest.

---

### Our Thoughts on John Piper and Falling Away

*Published: May 8, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/our-thoughts-on-john-piper-and-falling-away*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [Our Thoughts on John Piper and Falling Away](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/our-thoughts-on-john-piper-and-falling-away "Our Thoughts on John Piper and Falling Away")

### Introduction: Why We’re Talking About This

Recently, a video clip from the Coram Deo conference featuring John Piper sparked conversation online, specifically around his comments about the possibility of falling away from the living God. In his talk, Piper emphasized the need to preach the warning that believers can fall away. His message was clear: we must take this seriously, and we must not shy away from telling people that they can lose their way.

As is often the case with discussions around assurance, justification, and sanctification, Theocast was brought into the conversation. We received numerous questions from our community asking for our thoughts on Piper’s statements. So, we decided to address this directly—not to stir controversy, but to provide clarity and encouragement to weary believers. Our goal here, as always, is to point you to the sufficiency of Christ and to help you rest in the finished work of Jesus.

### Respect for John Piper and the Need for Clarity

Before diving into our concerns, it’s important to say this: We respect John Piper. God has used him in significant ways in many lives, including our own. However, we also believe it’s crucial to address the theological implications of his comments because they touch on vital issues like assurance, the sufficiency of Christ, and what it means to live in peace with God.

Piper’s comments introduced a tension between the sovereign grace of God and the believer’s security. Essentially, he stated that believers could fall away from the living God and that pastors should preach this warning without hesitation. He added that, of course, if you’re elect, you won’t fall away—but in the same breath, he said, “I, John Piper, can fall away from the living God.” This juxtaposition leaves the hearer with more questions than answers.

### The Issue with Biblicism

One of the major issues at play here is what we call **biblicism**—an approach to scripture that emphasizes isolated proof texts without considering the broader theological context. Biblicism often presents biblical truths as if they are in conflict with one another when, in reality, they harmonize when rightly understood. In this case, Piper appears to pit the doctrine of perseverance against warning passages, suggesting they coexist in tension rather than coherence.

Biblicism often insists on a raw, unfiltered reading of the text without theological reflection. This can lead to an unintended consequence: creating fear and doubt in sincere believers who are already prone to introspection.

### What Does Scripture Really Say?

Let’s consider what the Bible says about falling away. The book of Hebrews, which Piper referenced, certainly warns against falling away. However, these warnings are directed at those who may have been part of the covenant community externally but never truly trusted Christ internally. In other words, these are warnings to those who participate in the life of the church without genuine faith.

In Hebrews, the writer is addressing people who are tempted to abandon Christ and return to the old covenant. These warnings are not aimed at believers who are genuinely resting in Jesus but are meant to caution those who are reverting to legalism and self-righteousness.

Similarly, the New Testament emphasizes the security of those who are truly in Christ:

* **John 10:28-29:** “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
* **Romans 8:38-39:** “For I am sure that neither death nor life... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
* **Philippians 1:6:** “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

The message is clear: **If you are in Christ, you are safe.** No amount of sin, struggle, or weakness can separate you from the love of God.

### The Consequence of Law-Gospel Confusion

The heart of the problem with Piper’s statement lies in **collapsing law and gospel**. The law says, “Do this and live.” The gospel says, “Christ has done it for you.” When these are confused, we end up with a message that sounds like, “Yes, you’re justified by faith, but your final standing before God depends on your continued faithfulness.” This is where Piper’s concept of “final justification” comes into play—a doctrine we find problematic because it undermines the assurance the gospel provides.

When Piper says that a professing believer can fall away, he inadvertently places the burden back on the individual to maintain their salvation. This mindset can create a lifelong struggle with doubt, as believers constantly examine themselves to ensure they haven’t “made shipwreck of their faith.”

### Assurance Comes from Christ, Not Introspection

We understand the instinct to warn against complacency. But true sanctification and growth in holiness come from looking to Christ, not ourselves. When Piper says, “You can fall away from the living God,” he leaves believers with a sense of uncertainty rather than the comfort that comes from the gospel. The Bible’s answer to fear and doubt is to point us to Christ, not to our performance.

Piper’s own comments from a panel discussion reveal this tension. He stated, “Introspection is a dead-end road.” We agree wholeheartedly. But the very theology he promotes inevitably leads to introspection, as believers constantly wonder whether they are truly treasuring Christ enough.

### The Pastoral Problem

As pastors, we encounter people burdened by this very fear. They ask, “How do I know if I’m elect?” Our response is simple: **Are you trusting Christ for your righteousness and salvation? If so, you belong to him.** Assurance doesn’t come from examining our works or our feelings; it comes from the objective work of Christ.

Paul’s letters repeatedly encourage believers to rest in the finished work of Jesus, to rejoice in the certainty that our salvation is secure because it is rooted in Christ’s faithfulness, not ours.

### Why Assurance Matters

Our concern is not just theological—it’s pastoral. Messages like Piper’s can easily foster fear and confusion, leaving believers feeling like they are on shifting sand. In contrast, the gospel tells us that we are safe because Jesus holds us fast. There is no comfort in being told that our assurance is dependent on our ongoing performance. But there is profound comfort in knowing that our salvation was accomplished, secured, and will be completed by Christ.

### Final Thoughts: Let the Gospel Ring Clear

We respect John Piper, but we believe his approach to warning passages undermines the full assurance that scripture offers to believers. Instead of keeping people in a perpetual state of uncertainty, let’s proclaim the sufficiency of Christ without reservation.

Our hope for you, weary pilgrim, is that you rest in the reality that Jesus is enough. When doubt creeps in, don’t look within—look to the cross. Christ’s finished work is your only assurance, and in him, you are secure.

---

### Law & Gospel (with Chad Bird)

*Published: May 6, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/law-gospel-with-chad-bird*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [2025 Law & Gospel Conference](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/law-gospel-with-chad-bird "Law & Gospel")

### When the Law Is All You Know

When we talk about the Christian life, we have to be clear—crystal clear—about two things: what God requires of us and what God provides for us. If we confuse those, if we blur the line between law and gospel, we end up in a place of confusion, fear, and exhaustion. Most of us have lived that. Some of us for decades.

This weekend, a few of us sat down for a live conversation, not to give a theological lecture, but to share our own stories—where we came from, how misunderstanding law and gospel wrecked us, and how the Lord rescued us by his grace.

Some of us grew up in churches where we were saturated with Bible knowledge but never heard the gospel applied personally. Jesus was taught, but not as the Savior who actually did it all for _me_. So we lived in fear. Doubt. The constant anxiety of wondering if we'd done enough, repented enough, meant it enough. It was revival after revival, rededication after rededication. We were taught—explicitly or implicitly—that true preaching left you uncertain whether you were even saved. That's what good preaching was supposed to do.

Others of us grew up in more liberal environments where doctrine was minimized and Christianity was just about "being a good person." But that left us swinging between hypocrisy and despair. We could see that moralism wasn't producing anything genuine, but we didn’t know what the alternative was. We trusted Christ as best we could, but still lived under a cloud of suspicion about God’s love. Constantly wondering, “Is he really for me?”

### How Confusing Law and Gospel Devastates Us

And for many of us, even once we found "better theology," it wasn't always better news. Because what often gets called "gospel" today is actually just another version of law. We heard, "Yes, you're saved by grace, but now you must sincerely obey to stay assured." In other words, your confidence isn’t in Christ alone—it’s in how well you're following him. And that, friends, will wreck you too.

We need to understand this: the law and the gospel are not enemies, but they are different. The law tells us what God demands—perfect righteousness. The gospel tells us what God has graciously provided—Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness. When we collapse those two, we end up with what some of us have called “the gospel of sincere obedience.” And that’s not good news. That’s just a softer form of law.

### What the Law Requires, What the Gospel Provides

The breakthrough came when we learned to distinguish between the law and the gospel. The law is what God requires: perfect love for him and neighbor. The gospel is what God provides: Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law for us, died for all our lawlessness, and now gives us his righteousness as a gift.

The law says, "Do this and live." The gospel says, "It is finished. Trust in Christ and live."

The law is good. It shows us the character of God and what true love looks like. But it cannot save. It can only accuse. Only the gospel saves. Only Jesus saves.

So when someone asks, “What’s the most Christian thing we can do?” the default answer is often a law answer: love God, love neighbor, follow Jesus, surrender all. And while those things are biblical, they’re not the gospel. The most Christian thing we can do is trust in Christ. To fall into his arms, to cast ourselves on his mercy and rest in his finished work. That’s the heart of Christianity.

### Why “Follow Jesus” Isn’t the Gospel

Let’s be clear. Following Jesus matters. But that’s the fruit of the gospel, not the gospel itself. Following Jesus doesn’t make us Christians. Trusting Jesus does. We often confuse discipleship language with gospel language, and that creates a subtle shift from “Christ for us” to “me for Christ.”

Even passages like “pick up your cross” or “surrender all” are often preached as if they’re the gospel. But Jesus isn’t calling us to save ourselves by dying well. He’s calling us to trust that he died for us. He picked up _his_ cross so that we, though weak and failing, might live. His death is our death. His resurrection is our life.

### Deconstruction and Reconstruction

We’ve also walked through seasons of deconstruction. When you realize that much of what you’ve believed about Christianity was actually moralism, pietism, or revivalism, it can be disorienting. And for a time, we can become more defined by what we’re _against_ than what we’re _for_. That’s understandable—but we can’t stay there.

We don’t want to just tear down. We want to build up. Not in ourselves, but in Christ. We want to point people to the rock that is higher than we are. The goal isn’t to just destroy bad teaching. It’s to free weary sinners so they can finally rest in Jesus.

We’re not just trying to remove the rubble. We’re laying bricks on the only true foundation—Christ crucified and risen for sinners.

### The Life of Faith, Not Sight

Living by faith is hard. Because faith lives in tension. We don’t see what we believe. We still sin. We still struggle. We still feel the weight of shame. But we walk not by sight, but by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

Faith doesn’t mean we never doubt or never fall. Faith means we keep coming back to Christ, again and again, empty-handed and open-hearted, trusting that he is faithful—even when we’re not.

And this life of faith is not lived in isolation. We need each other. We need the church. We need to hear the gospel again and again—not because we forget the facts, but because we forget the comfort. We forget the rest. We forget the peace.

### Rest in the Rock That Is Christ

Brothers and sisters, let’s not define our Christianity by what we’re avoiding. Let’s define it by who we’re clinging to. Christ is our life. Christ is our peace. Christ is our hope.

The law will always show us what God requires—and we should listen. But only the gospel shows us what God has provided. And that is the only message that saves.

In Christ, we are secure. We are loved. We are home.

---

### God Really Does Love Us

*Published: April 28, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/god-really-does-love-us*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [God Really Does Love Us](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/god-really-does-love-us-with-dan-cruver "God Really Does Love Us")

If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, you’ve probably said it: "I know that God loves me." We can even go a little further and say, "I know Jesus died for my sins. I know I'm forgiven. I know I’ll be with God forever."

But here’s where it gets tricky.

If someone presses us with the question, "How do you think God _feels_ about you right now?" that’s when the discomfort begins. If they dig even deeper and ask, "How do you feel about how you think God feels about you?"—it’s almost unbearable. Deep down, many of us are suspicious. We wonder: Does God really love me? Is He really _delighted_ to save me? Or did He save me out of obligation—some legal technicality of grace—and now He just kind of tolerates me?

Brothers and sisters, hear us: **God really does love you.** And not in some thin, sentimental way. His love is deeper, stronger, more sure than anything you've ever imagined.

## God's Love Was Never Transactional

Ephesians 1 blows the doors off of any suspicion we might have. Paul writes that before the foundation of the world—before we had done anything good or bad—God chose us in Christ. He predestined us to be adopted as sons.

This means that God's love for us isn’t based on how lovable we are. It’s based on His unchanging character and His eternal plan of grace. He didn’t look into the future, see us at our best, and then decide we were worth it. No, He loved us first. He loved us freely.

As Dan Krueger pointed out in our conversation, the believers in Ephesus came out of a polytheistic culture where the gods were capricious and fickle. People lived every day under the crushing burden of wondering, "Have I done enough to appease the gods today?" Paul's letter to them—and to us—proclaims something radically different: **The true God has loved you before you could ever do anything to deserve it.**

## We Struggle to Believe It

We struggle because everything around us teaches us conditional love. Even the best human relationships are often transactional. Perform well, and you're accepted. Fail, and love is withheld.

Because of that, it’s hard for us to comprehend a love that is unconditional, everlasting, and freely given. It's hard to believe that the Father doesn’t just love us in some abstract, cold way, but that He _delights_ in us. Yet, Scripture insists that He does.

In John 17, when Jesus prays for His people, He says that the Father loves us even as He loves the Son (John 17:23). Think about that. The kind of love the Father has for Jesus—the perfect, eternal love between the members of the Trinity—is the kind of love He has for you.

No wonder Paul says in Ephesians 3 that we need _strength_ to comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of Christ. We can barely wrap our minds around it. We live every day needing to be reminded: **We are loved indeed.**

## The Enemy Wants You to Doubt

Why is it so important to know we are loved? Because the enemy’s primary strategy is to make us doubt it.

In Ephesians 6, when Paul talks about spiritual warfare and putting on the armor of God, he’s not giving us a list of things to do to be better Christians. He’s telling us to stand in the truth of the gospel. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith—these aren’t things we conjure up. They are all about standing in Christ’s finished work.

Satan accuses us by pointing out our sin and failures. He leverages our suspicion against us. He twists God’s law out of context and tries to convince us that we're still condemned. But the gospel is clear: **There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).**

When Satan accuses, Jesus stands as our advocate (1 John 2:1). And He’s not pleading a weak case. He’s standing there in all His righteousness, saying, "I lived for them. I died for them. They are mine."

## God's Love Fuels Everything

When you know you are loved by God in Christ—really know it—everything changes.

* **Obedience becomes joyful** instead of fearful. We don’t obey to earn love; we obey because we are already loved beyond measure.
* **Confession becomes honest** instead of frantic. We don't have to prove we're sorry enough; we come to a Father who already embraces us.
* **Endurance becomes possible.** Life is hard. But knowing that God's love is unwavering gives us the strength to keep walking.

We aren't working for His love. We're working _from_ His love.

## Final Thought

The greatest evidence of God's love for you isn’t found in your feelings, your performance, or your circumstances. It’s found in Jesus Christ—crucified, risen, reigning, and coming again.

God loved you before you were born. He loves you now in the midst of all your struggles and failures. And He will love you forever.

Take a deep breath, weary pilgrim. Rest in Christ.

You are loved indeed.

---

### Christ's Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 4

*Published: April 20, 2025 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/christs-victory-over-the-principalities-and-powers-part-4*

This article is a summary from the following sermon: [The Cross: The Trojan Horse of Hell](https://www.youtube.com/live/Qfizi3w6VOg?si=ful6oPzHtK5c6X-%5F) by Jon Moffitt

We've been spending the last few weeks pulling back the curtain—seeing the depth of Christ’s victory, not just over sin, but over the rulers, authorities, and powers of darkness. And today, we come to the final piece: how the cross became the Trojan horse of hell.

Our anchor text is still Colossians 2:

> “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13–15)

Jesus didn’t just forgive us. He humiliated the powers of darkness. He crushed Satan’s head, just as God had promised all the way back in Genesis 3:15.

But Satan didn’t see it coming.

## The Satanic Gospel

There’s a gospel straight from hell. It wears church clothes, uses Bible words, and sounds close enough to the real thing to deceive even well-meaning Christians.

Here’s how it goes:

* "God wants you healthy, wealthy, and comfortable."
* "Your main problem is you just aren't trying hard enough."
* "Obey, give, serve, and believe—and God will owe you blessings."

But what happens when that gospel fails? When the marriage doesn’t get better? When the cancer doesn’t go away? When the money doesn’t show up?

You start to wonder if God failed—or if you did. Either way, you’re crushed. And that's exactly the point.

The satanic gospel makes you love a god who doesn’t exist—and hate the one who does.

It’s brilliant. And it’s deadly.

And if we're honest, we'd admit we want that gospel to be true. We want a God who answers all our prayers, gives us the life we dream of, and fits into our plans.

But that's not reality. It’s fantasy.

And Satan loves it when we chase a fantasy, because while we’re doing that, we stay enslaved.

## The Inverted Gospel of Jesus Christ

The true gospel is upside-down. It's foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Our King didn't come riding a war horse with armies behind him. He came in weakness, humility, and shame. He laid his life down for his enemies.

And in doing so, he conquered.

Satan’s gospel says:

* "Climb higher."
* "Take control."
* "Protect yourself."
* "Exalt yourself."

Jesus says:

* "Humble yourself."
* "Lose your life to find it."
* "Trust me, even when you can't see."

That’s why faith doesn’t come by sight. It comes by hearing. (Romans 10:17)

We walk not by what we see, but by what we hear from the Word of Christ.

That’s why so many struggle. That's why the real gospel feels almost ridiculous. Because everything in us wants to measure, touch, and control.

But the real gospel demands faith—faith in a King who conquered by dying.

## The Trojan Horse of Hell

Satan thought he had won at the cross.

The Son of God humiliated, beaten, mocked, nailed to a tree. Cursed. Abandoned.

It must have looked like the ultimate victory for the kingdom of darkness.

But the cross was the Trojan horse.

Like the people of Troy pulling the Greek horse into their gates, Satan pulled Jesus onto the cross—and in doing so, he let the very power of God inside his own stronghold.

The moment of triumph became the moment of defeat.

Jesus didn’t lose at the cross—He triumphed.

He paid the debt. He canceled the record of sin that Satan used to accuse us. He disarmed the powers. He put them to open shame.

The cross looked like humiliation. It was actually the coronation of the King.

## How the Resurrection Changes Everything

When Jesus rose from the grave, He didn’t just come back to life.

He declared to all creation:

* Death has been defeated.
* Sin has been paid for.
* Satan has lost.

He stormed the gates of hell itself, took the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18), and set the captives free.

He didn’t just survive death. He conquered it.

And now He sends us—His church—into the world to storm the gates of hell. Not with swords or threats, but with the gospel of grace.

The gates of hell cannot prevail against the advance of the gospel (Matthew 16:18).

Every time the gospel is proclaimed and believed, another captive is set free.

## Living in the True Reality

The world will tell you the cross was weakness. Fantasy. A waste.

But we know better.

We know that true reality—the one we can't see yet fully with our eyes—is that Christ reigns. The victory has been won. Satan has been shamed.

We live in the already, waiting for the not yet.

We don't fight to win. We fight because Christ has already won.

And even when it feels dark—even when the world mocks us, when suffering presses in, when we feel the weight of our own sin—we stand.

Not because we are strong, but because Christ is.

We walk by faith, not by sight.

We look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Because what is seen is temporary—but what is unseen is eternal.

## Take Heart, Christian

If you feel weak today, you’re exactly where you need to be.

This gospel isn’t for the strong. It’s for the broken.

It’s for sinners who can’t save themselves.

It’s for the weary who are done trying to be enough.

The victory doesn't rest on your performance. It rests on Christ’s finished work.

He has triumphed. He has disarmed the powers. He has set you free.

So cling to Him.

Trust what you hear in the gospel—not what you see in the mirror, or in the world, or in your circumstances.

Faith comes by hearing. And the Word you’ve heard is this:

**Jesus Christ has conquered. And you are His.**

---

### The Biblical and Historical Problems with Spiritual Disciplines Part 3

*Published: April 18, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-6*

Jon Moffitt

My previous two articles have focused on Roman Catholic theology and its slow entry back into mainstream Christianity. Until the 1970’s, it was difficult to find any popular materials or teachers speaking on the subject of spiritual disciplines. Research uncovers that Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and Don Whitney are the three most influential writers/teachers to have given this movement sustained credibility.

This man centered approach to sanctification has been introduced back into Christianity and has now infiltrated the majority of books written on the subject. Because of these three men, practicing spiritual disciplines for spiritual growth in sanctification is now the norm and not the exception. What was once limited to the writings of a few puritan authors, and limited to the teachings of a few revivalist preachers, is now a mainstream theological concept in the Christian church? Ask any Christian if they have heard of the concept of spiritual disciplines and most likely they will give you a short list of required actions.

I have examined the writings of these three men in order to further demonstrate that the theology behind these disciplines is not based on sound biblical teaching but rather based on ancient Roman Catholic theology. I mentioned this quote from Foster in my first article, and I think it helps explain how these authors have been influenced. Foster writes,

> When I first began writing in the field in the late 70s and early 80s the term “Spiritual Formation” was hardly known, except for highly specialized references in relation to the Catholic orders.[\[1\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn1)

  
Foster is clearly versed in the writings of these orders and makes references often in his books. In his book _Celebration of Discipline,_ in his teachings on “Forms of Meditation,” Foster writes, “Seek to live the experience, remembering the encouragement of Ignatius of Loyola to apply all our senses to our task.”[\[2\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn2)

As detailed in my second article, Ignatius started the Jesuit movement, and was one of the prominent men who led the counter-reformation against Luther and Calvin. Ignatius openly denied the gospel of grace and directly opposed the reformers in his writings. Ignatius is not the only Roman Catholic influence in Foster’s theology. In the middle of the 20th century, Thomas Merton was a man famously known as a Trappist monk in Gethsemani, KY. He wrote more than 70 books the on subject of [spirituality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality). One of Merton’s best loved books was his autobiography [The Seven Storey Mountain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FSeven%5FStorey%5FMountain) (1948). Foster, in an attempt to encourage the Roman Catholic concept of meditation, points his readers to Merton’s writings,

> Thomas Merton writes that the person “… who has meditated on the Passion of Christ but has not meditated on the extermination camps of Dachau and Auschwitz has not yet fully entered into the experience of Christianity in our time.”[\[3\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn3)

One last example of an influencer of Foster’s Roman Catholic theological leanings is a man by the name of Henri Nouwen. Nouwen was known for teaching that God is already within every human. He writes, “The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is the same as the one who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being.”[\[4\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn4) Foster encourages his readers to partake in Nouwen’s theology of meditation in the opening quote of his book on _The Discipline of Solitude._ Henri Nouwen has noted that

> _…without solitude it is virtually impossible to lead a spiritual life.” Why is this so? Because, in solitude, we are freed from our bondage to people and our inner compulsions, and we are freed to love God and know compassion for others._[_\[5\]_](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn5)

Foster positively introduced three of the most popular catholic mystic writers (two of them from the 20th century) as experts in spiritual growth. Foster never warns us about their misunderstanding of the gospel. He doesn’t provide a foot note about their Roman Catholic background. He simply presents them as authorities on the matter. This is important because Foster’s book is the foundation for the modern-day spiritual disciplines movement. Foster’s impact is greater than most Christians realize.

Most people would not consider Foster’s teaching on spiritual disciplines to be dangerous or damaging because they are not aware he was a quaker mystic who embraced Catholic theology. Conservative evangelicals have noticed Foster’s influence on Christian thinking and unfortunately have embraced it. In the forward of Don Whitney’s book _Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life_, J.I Packer wrote,

> Ever since Richard Foster rang the bell with his Celebration of Discipline (1978), discussing the various spiritual disciplines has become a staple element of conservative Christian in-talk in North America. This is a happy thing.

Dallas Willard is the second author/teacher who has had a large influence in popularizing the spiritual disciplines movement, and he was also a strong influence in both Foster and Whitney’s theology. Willard writes,

> I want to explain, with some precision and detailed fullness, how activities such as solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, service, celebration— disciplines for life in the spiritual kingdom of God and activities in which Jesus deeply immersed himself— are essential to the deliverance of human beings from the concrete power of sin and how they can make the experience of the easy yoke a reality in life. By focusing on the whole of Christ’s life and the lives of many who have best succeeded in following him, I will outline a psychologically and theologically sound, testable way to meet grace and fully conform to him.[\[6\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn6)

Willard’s list of activities (solitude, silence and fasting, among others) are never described in scripture as being able to relieve the power of sin in one’s life. Willard calls his readers to focus on imitating Christ’s life and those who have “best succeeded in following him” to help further sanctify themselves. Christ, however, calls us to faith in Him and His works. Willard has placed the reader’s faith in their faithfulness (their ability to complete these actions), which ultimately points away from faith in Christ’s ability to accomplish righteousness in us. Willard actually argues for this very point on his website,

> Sometimes we think of spiritual formation as formation by the Holy Spirit. Once again. That’s essential. . . . But now I have to say something that may be challenging for you to think about: Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. . . . We have to recognize that spiritual formation in us is something that is also done to us by those around us, by ourselves, and by activities which we voluntarily undertake . . .There has to be method.[\[7\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn7)

Don Whitney is the last of the three authors I am going to review, and of the three, he is the most widely accepted among conservative and some reformed Christians. The influence of both Foster’s and Willard’s writings are very evident in Whitney’s theology. To be fair, Whitney does not go as far as some do in promoting Roman Catholic practices or writings, but he still embraces the belief that practicing certain actions will produce spiritual growth. Early in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Whitney states, “I will maintain that the only road to Christian maturity and Godliness passes through the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines.”[\[8\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn8)

Because Whitney has partially embraced this Roman Catholic view of spiritual growth, it confuses important biblical doctrines such as assurance, which the reformers specifically left the Roman Catholic Church over. Whitney, in an attempt to urge Christians towards spiritual disciplines, writes,

> And so, the urgent question every Christian should ask is, “How then shall I pursue holiness, the holiness without which I will not see the Lord? How can I become more like Jesus Christ?” We find a clear answer in 1 Timothy 4: 7: “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness”(NASB). In other words, if your purpose is godliness — and godliness is your purpose if you are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, for He makes godliness your purpose — then how do you pursue that purpose? According to this verse, you “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.[\[9\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn9)

I believe that Whitney would reject any notion that our good works are the basis of our salvation. However, Whitney’s logic concludes that unless I am demonstrating godliness I will not see Christ; therefore I must be diligent to practice spiritual disciplines so that I can see Christ. The “righteousness required” mentioned in Hebrews 12:14 is not a righteousness of my own, but that of Christ’s. It is imputed righteousness. If Whitney is correct, how much righteousness is enough to be acceptable?

Lastly, I want to draw attention to a new book by David Mathis, Executive Editor for Desiring God Ministries, entitled Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through Spiritual Disciplines. This is the most recent book to gain traction in promoting spiritual disciplines. This book has received much praise and has some big contributors behind it, such as John Piper, Don Whitney, Tim Challies, Jerry Bridges, and even D.A. Carson.

I believe some of these men have endorsed the book because of the reformed view it has appeared to have taken. Mathis uses the language “means of grace” as his baseline reasoning for the spiritual disciplines. While this is a very reformed concept for how we grow in Christ, the problem lies in that Mathis is only creating a bridge between Don Whitney’s book and a reformed view of the means of grace. In the preface he openly admits to the influence of Whitney’s book on his own theology, and it is noticeable in how many times Whitney’s book is referenced. Mathis, in stating his purpose for the book, writes,

> In particular, I am eager to help Christians young and old simplify their approach to their various personal habits of grace, or spiritual disciplines, by highlighting the three key principles of ongoing grace: hearing God’s voice (his word), having his ear (prayer), and belonging to his body (fellowship).[\[10\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn10)

Mathis isn’t offering any new ideas even though it sounds as though he will be taking a reformed approached to this subject. He is simply changing the terms and then giving the same instructions as Foster, Willard and Whitney. He openly admits this very concern,

> Whatever the term, the key is that God has revealed certain channels through which he regularly pours out his favor. And we’re foolish not to take his word on them and build habits of spiritual life around them.[\[11\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fedn11)

Once again, the dilemma presented by Mathis is that I am required to perform certain actions to receive favor from my Father. The call is not to place our faith in Christ and trust that His righteousness, imputed to us, is all we need to find favor with our Father.

[\[1\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref1) //[web.archive.org/web/20100601012402///www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=744](http://web.archive.org/web/20100601012402///www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=744)

[\[2\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref2) Foster, Richard. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, 29.

[\[3\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref3) Ibid, 32.

[\[4\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref4) Nouwen, Henri. Here and Now, p. 22.

[\[5\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref5) Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, chapter 7.

[\[6\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref6) Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines, p.10.

[\[7\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref7) //[www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=58](http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=58)

[\[8\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref8) Whitney, Don. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, p. 16-17.

[\[9\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref9) Ibid, p. 4.

[\[10\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref10) Mathis, Davis. Habits of Grace, p. 16.

[\[11\]](https://theocast.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-3/#%5Fednref11) Ibid, p. 27.

---

### The Biblical and Historical Problems with Spiritual Disciplines Part 2

*Published: April 18, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-5*

Jon Moffitt

Over the last 400 years Christianity has slowly slipped away from a reformed understanding of _sola fide,_ or a life lived by faith alone in Christ, as it concerns our sanctification and have embraced a hybrid of Roman Catholic theology and Evangelicalism. It is commonly believed that we are saved by grace through faith alone, but we are then handed the responsibility of our own sanctification achieved through external effort. The aim of this second article ([adapted from my lecture series](https://cbcnashville.org/event/simplelife/2016-08-28/)) is to demonstrate a gradual shift back to Roman Catholicism through the subtle teaching of spiritual disciplines.

During the protestant reformation of the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) responded by starting what was called the “counter reformation.”1 Ignatius of Loyola founded a group called the Jesuits (also known as the Society of Jesus) who were the main thrust behind the movement. Most of Ignatius’ writings were attacks against the protestant teachings of Luther and Calvin.

Ignatius is most famous for his book _The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola_ (composed 1522–1524). Ignatius leads his readers through a series of mystical ascetic practices believing they will lead to greater spiritual awareness and growth.

Ignatius’ theology was rejected by the reformers because it openly attacked the doctrine of sola fide. As mentioned in the [first article](https://musingsofgrace.org/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-1-notes/), many of the confessions and writings of the reformers charted a course steering their readers far away from this traditional RCC view of spiritual growth.

Martin Luther wrote a staunch warning against ascetic theology,

> Yet all these seeming holy actions of devotion…are nothing else but works of the flesh. All manner of religion, where people serve God without his Word and command, is simply idolatry, and the more holy and spiritual such a religion seems, the more hurtful and venomous it is; for it leads people away from the faith of Christ, and makes them rely and depend upon their own strength, works, and righteousness. In like manner, all kinds of orders of monks, fasts, prayers, hairy shirts…are mere works of the flesh.2

So how did Ignatius’ theology and other RCC teachings on spiritual growth find their way back into popular evangelicalism? It only took 100 years before protestants began to embrace the very theology against which the reformers protested. Pastor and American church historian Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe observed,

> Puritans knew and used classic Catholic devotional works. The most popular, judging from the number of editions, were the works of St. Augustine, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas à Kempis’s perennial The Imitation of Christ, and the primers…It was not unheard of for a Protestant to pirate the work of a Catholic writer and present himself as the author…Perhaps most important, excerpts and phrases from medieval classics and Church Fathers worked their way silently into Protestant devotional manuals, sermons, and treatises and so were passed on to the laity.3

The church historian Richard Lovelace wrote,

> It is not surprising that Puritan writings are saturated with references to patristic authors. There are more references to the fathers than to Luther and Calvin. Puritanism is thus a bridge movement in which modern evangelicals and Roman Catholics may find spiritual common roots. Cotton Mather’s omnivorous spiritual appetite smuggled in many Catholic devices: short ejaculatory prayers, vows and intentions of piety, and day- and night-long vigils (depriving one’s sleep).4

It is noteworthy to mention that the early writings of the reformers never mention spiritual disciplines or spiritual formation. The puritans of the 17th century are the earliest protestants I could find who embraced spiritual disciplines and taught them to their congregations.

Richard Lovelace believes that many of the practices we have today originated from puritan theology.

> Modern evangelical spirituality has retained many instruments pioneered during this era. The “quiet time” at the outset of the day springs directly from the Scripture reading and reflection prescribed for Puritan laity. The Puritans added graces at meals, prayer with spouses, and household devotions at the evening meal. Beyond this they recommended continual short prayers during the day, and also “occasional reflections”—mystical insights drawn from the symbolic meaning of events and objects, a devotion tracing back to the medieval Victorine theologians. Puritans invented the use of spiritual diaries as a kind of Protestant substitute for the confessional.5

I do not believe that any of these actions are sinful or unbiblical. We are commanded to pray and encouraged to engage God’s word. However, many Puritans were creating new practices (spiritual disciplines) and placing the value upon performing them instead of trusting in the promises already given to them in Scripture.

I will admit that it can be difficult at times to see how Puritan teaching is harmful or wrong. Most Puritan theology is not misleading or unbiblical. I’m not warning against all Puritan teaching. I simply want to point out the subtle shift back to RCC influence in their writings concerning how we grow spiritually and how we view our daily responsibilities before God.

As we continue to move through history, the concept of external effort leading to spiritual growth gains traction, but Roman Catholic theology is never overtly embraced. Puritan writings do not promote Catholic resources as do authors like Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.6

During the 18th century, American Christians became deeply influenced by the mind of Jonathan Edwards. Edwards’ 70 resolutions has had a large impact on how Christians think about their daily life in Christ. I would encourage you to read his resolutions and note where Edwards talks of placing his trust in the Spirit’s power to accomplish these resolutions. You will be hard pressed to find him mention faith, belief, or trust when it comes to Christ’s work on our behalf to accomplish these resolutions.

I would consider Edwards to be a solid believer who trusted and taught the gospel faithfully. When it came to sanctification, Edwards was deeply influenced by Puritan theology and had embraced a Roman Catholic understanding, perhaps unknowingly.

Two brothers that helped the evangelicals shift away from a faith-driven sanctification were John and Charles Westley. These men emphasized personal holiness by means of methods leading to the founding of the Methodist movement. Methodist professor Randy Maddox wrote in _Christianity Today_ that John Wesley,

> …championed pursuit of holiness through spiritual disciplines, typically describing the Christian’s goal as “perfect love.” Simultaneously, he issued denials of any “perfect” holiness in this life.7

I would not describe Wesley’s view of spiritual formation as the same as Foster or Willard. Wesley did, however, start a trend of confusion because of his emphasis on personal holiness that leads to perfection. The emphasis of the Christian life became more about achieving “perfect love” then about living by faith in Christ.8

Finally, in the 19th century we see the rise of revivalism in America. Charles Finney has been described as “The Father of Modern Revivalism.”9I mention Finney here because of his strong influence away from historical biblical theology. In his systematic theology Finney asks, “Does a Christian cease to be a Christian, whenever he commits a sin?” He answers,

> Whenever he sins, he must, for the time being, cease to be holy…The Christian, therefore, is justified no longer than he obeys, and must be condemned when he disobeys; or Antinomianism is true…In these respects, then, the sinning Christian and the unconverted sinner are upon precisely the same ground.

> Many other influential preachers would follow Finney’s theology and tactics throughout the rest of the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Two of the most well know men were Billy Sunday and D.L. Moody. They too would attempt to change America’s lack of godliness through moralistic preaching. By this time in American history, reformed theology was on the decline, and morality-driven sermons were on the rise.10

Conclusion: This was a quick demonstration of how Americans have been conditioned to accept moralistic teaching and self-effort improvement over the past several hundred years. The further we move away from the reformation the closer we are to returning to a Roman Catholic theology concerning spiritual growth and piety.

In part three of this series we are going to examine the modern day promoters of spiritual disciplines and their source material. What was once rejected by the reformers in the 16th century is now openly being promoted as helpful and evangelical in the majority of spiritual disciplines material.

  
Recommended Resources: 

* [A Simple Life Of Faith: Examining Spiritual Disciplines (audio)](https://cbcnashville.org/event/simplelife/2016-08-28/)
* [Are Spiritual Disciplines Biblical? (Theocast)](https://musingsofgrace.org/are-spiritual-disciplines-biblical/)
* [Spiritual Disciplines? We asked R. Scott Clark (Theocast) ](https://musingsofgrace.org/spiritual-disciplines-we-asked-r-scott-clark/)

1 //[www.britannica.com/event/Counter-Reformation](http://www.britannica.com/event/Counter-Reformation)

2 Tabletalk, 1626 AD

3 Hambrick-Stowe, Charles E. (1982-01-01). The Practice of Piety: Puritan Devotional Disciplines in Seventeenth-Century New England (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia) (Kindle Locations 596-602)

4 Lovelace, 31

5 Ibid, 30.

6 I will give examples of this in my next article.

7 Maddox, Randy L. Be Ye Perfect? The evolution of John Wesley’s most contentious doctrine. //[www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-69/be-ye-perfect.html](http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-69/be-ye-perfect.html)

8 Ibid.

9 Hankins, Barry (2004), The Second Great Awakening and the Transcendentalists, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, p. 137, ISBN 0-313-31848-4.

10 For further reading on this point in history. Marsden, George M. Fundamentalism and American Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2006.

---

### The Biblical and Historical Problems with Spiritual Disciplines Part 1

*Published: April 18, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-4*

Jon Moffitt

Let’s take a quick simple survey: Can you name five spiritual disciplines? What do you believe is the most important discipline? What do you believe is the purpose of the disciplines?

When this survey is given to a crowd of 10 people or more, I have typically seen several different answers…though everyone’s lists are not the same, there will be some similarities. So who’s right? The last survey question is the most important of the three, “What do you believe is the purpose of the disciplines?” The most common answers I receive are:

* To help us grow in Christ
* To help us be more effective Christians
* To help us meet requirements for sanctification
* To earn God’s favor or blessing on earth

Last year I was asked by the young adults in my ministry to do a series on the spiritual disciplines (also known as spiritual formation). I spent several months working through any book or article I could get my hands on. Very early on in my study I was able to gain greater understanding about how most people develop their motivation for spiritual disciplines.

Every author I read was promoting a particular list of disciplines that if practiced diligently would provide spiritual growth. I became deeply discouraged over time as I discovered a theological thread that was not biblically or historically accurate. I have yet to find a book written on this subject that doesn’t promote external efforts as the means to spiritual growth.

I do want to clarify my last statement. There are good men who have written on this subject. They have clearly stated that we cannot grow in our sanctification without the work of the Spirit in our lives. Some with great enthusiasm promote the power of the Spirit to transform us. The confusion comes with how these authors partner the Spirit’s work with our work in sanctification.

This caused such great confusion in my own study as I worked through the mounds of books and articles. Every author I read led the reader away from a faith-centered focus on sanctification toward a self-effort system. In my opinion, Christianity has been deeply affected by this teaching. For instance, I have given the survey above to a number of people over the last year. No one has ever listed “faith” as one of their five disciplines. Even more revealing is that no one ever picked faith to be the most important discipline. Sadly, most churches today teach that we are justified by faith alone but are sanctified through spiritual disciplines.

Before diving into the biblical and historical problems with the modern-day view of spiritual disciplines, I think it would be helpful to establish what has been taught historically on the biblical view of sanctification. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, asks a very clarifying question, 

> _Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh (Galatians 3:2-3)?_

We are justified by faith, and we are sanctified by faith _alone._ This view of sanctification is not new and has been confessed by churches for hundreds of years. The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession holds that believers and “…their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ.”1

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “…for we are not sanctified, except by faith uniting us to Christ.”2 And later on it teaches that,

> _The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.3_

Historically, the church has objected to any type of external effort to achieve sanctification or holiness before God. Those who promote spiritual disciplines have slipped away from the traditional biblical view and have introduced a hybrid of biblical concepts meshed with Roman Catholicism and Mysticism.

From what I have observed, there are three major authors who have had the greatest influence in the church concerning spiritual disciplines: Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and Don Whitney. We will examine other prominent teachers later on in the series, but for now we are going to look at how this theological perspective was ignited by these three men.

Richard Foster, who is a Quaker writer and theologian, wrote a book in 1978 entitled, _Celebration of Discipline_:

> _…inner righteousness is a gift from God to be graciously received. The needed change within us is God’s work, not ours.4_

This statement seems to align with the historical view, right? But the next paragraph demonstrates the confusion I found in how he tries to infuse the two concepts together:

> _God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.5_

To point back to historical teaching earlier, Foster has added an element to our spiritual growth. Unless we practice certain actions, we will not be receiving the grace needed to progress in our spiritual growth. This is a perfect example of hybrid theology: mixing biblical teaching with Mystic and Jesuit practice (I will explain this point later in the article). In his book, Foster provides an extensive list of various disciplines that help assist in our transformation, example: such as simplicity, solitude, submission, and service to name a few. The problem with this list is that Scripture never states that any of these actions produces spiritual transformation.

Another author/teacher that has influenced Foster greatly is Dallas Willard. In 1988, Willard wrote _The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives_. He states that,

> _Today, for the first time in our history as a nation, we are being presented with a characteristic range of human behaviors such as fasting, meditation, simple living, and submission to a spiritual overseer, in an attractive light. Though still regarded by too few as essentials of Christian living, such practices are widely studied as possibly one important aid to being an effective Christian.6_

What Willard openly admits is that what he was teaching has been rejected for hundreds of years. The next quote from Willard is very important because he admits that material on spiritual disciplines have only come about recently:

> _Lectures, seminars, retreats, and books and articles on them enjoy a popularity that was utterly inconceivable fifteen years ago \[emphasis added\]. They are increasingly looked to as a reliable means of growth in spiritual substance toward maturity in Christ.7_

I researched Willard’s claim to see if this was accurate. Google allows you to search books by subject and date. I did a search for books that contained “spiritual disciplines,” “formation,” and “exercise” in two different date ranges. My first search was from 1400’s to 1977 and yielded two pages of results. There were five to six books from the 1960’s that had the title but were not available to read. I then did the same search from 1978 to the present and google provided 27 pages of results. As I scrolled through the results I noticed the number of authors that have written on this subject in the past forty years has exploded.

The specific reason I chose those dates was based upon Willard’s comments and Richard Foster’s first book, _Celebration of Discipline,_ written in 1978\. In 2004, Foster openly expressed in an article that,

> _When I first began writing in the field in the late 70s and early 80s the term “Spiritual Formation” was hardly known, except for highly specialized references in relation to the Catholic orders.8_

The rest of this series will be dedicated to demonstrating the historical point Foster just made. What is being taught today is not historical Christianity. Practicing spiritual disciplines has felt normal for years because it has been cunningly slipped into the evangelical church as biblical. What was once deemed Roman Catholic and anti-gospel is now fully accepted and taught to be necessary for spiritual growth. The end of Foster’s quote states, “Today it is a rare person who has not heard the term. Seminary courses in Spiritual Formation proliferate like baby rabbits.”9 It is shocking to most people when I bring up my objections. We have assumed what we have heard is biblical…because it sounds biblical.

The goal of these articles is to show how Foster and Willard have adopted a non-biblical view of spiritual growth and how it has spread throughout Christianity in the last 40 years. Many of the sources Foster and Willard use and encourage their readers to engage in are Roman Catholics, Jesuits, Mystics, and open theists (we will be reviewing this material closely in upcoming articles).

Sadly, in recent history, the reformed (and what is known as the Calvinistic crowd) have embraced this misleading theology as well. The most well-known and accepted book among many conservative and reformed Christians today is Don Whitney’s book _Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life._ Whitney wrote that, “the only road to Christian maturity and Godliness passes through the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines.”10

As stated earlier, the reformed and historical Christian faith has taught that we are saved and sanctified by grace alone, through faith alone. Whitney provides a list of disciplines as means necessary to establishing spiritual growth:

> _This book examines the Spiritual Disciplines of Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, service, stewardship, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning. This is by no means, however, an exhaustive list of the Disciplines of Christian living. A survey of other literature on this subject would reveal that confession, accountability, simplicity, submission, spiritual direction, celebration, affirmation, sacrifice, ‘watching,’ and more also qualify as Spiritual Disciplines.11_

It would be easy to find many of the disciplines Whitney provided in the Bible (I don’t agree with his use of them, but at least they can be found); Disciplines like Bible intake, prayer, worship, and evangelism. My next article will take a look at some of the disciplines Whitney suggests and see how they are rooted in Jesuit and mystical religions. As stated earlier, much of Foster’s and Willard’s books promote the same type of disciplines, and I believe Whitney has been influenced by them as well.

One last observation about Whitney’s list is that he explains there are “more” than just the list he provided. Whitney has just removed any boundaries concerning what causes spiritual growth in a believer. The danger in this logic is that if it looks or sounds spiritual, it can be used for spiritual growth. Thankfully, I’m not the first to recognize the problem and danger in this logic.

D.A. Carson writes,

> _It is not helpful to list assorted Christian responsibilities and label them spiritual disciplines. That seems to be the reasoning behind the theology that smuggles in, say, creation care and almsgiving. But by the same logic, if out of Christian kindness you give a back rub to an old lady with a stiff neck and a sore shoulder, then back rubbing becomes a spiritual discipline.12_

The danger in Whitney’s view is that it begins to create rules or laws that the Bible never promises would benefit the believer. For instance Scripture never promises if you live a simple or poor life that you will grow in sanctification. But this concept has been taught for hundreds of years in many forms. Earlier in the article Carson observes,

> _…some of these so-called spiritual disciplines are entirely divorced from any specific doctrine whatsoever…they are merely a matter of technique. That is why people sometimes say, “For your doctrine, by all means commit yourselves to evangelical confessionalism. But when it comes to the spiritual disciplines, turn to Catholicism or perhaps Buddhism.13_

Dr. Carson’s observation aligns perfectly with what I have found written in much of these authors’ material. Dr. Carson concludes that this type of teaching,

> _… subtly cajoles us into thinking that growth in spirituality is a function of nothing more than conformity to the demands of a lot of rules, of a lot of obedience.14_

This is why the study of historical theology is so important. Much of what is taught today concerning spiritual disciplines has been rejected for hundreds of years for biblical reasons. Modern Christianity has only recently embraced them in the last 40 years because of the ignorance concerning former heretical teaching. In my next few articles, I am going to demonstrate from Foster, Willard, and Whitney’s books that they have embraced a non-biblical view developed by Jesuit, Roman Catholic and Mystic theology. 

I want to keep clarifying my position so that the contrasts can be clearly seen throughout the rest of the articles. Faith is the only means by which we are transformed. In closing, here are a couple of quotes from the 16th century explaining the historical biblical view of sanctification. I picked these quotes because they are written by men who were fighting the very theology Foster and Willard are now embracing. The Belgic Confession of the Reformed Faith written in 1561 states,

> _Therefore it is impossible that this holy faith can be unfruitful in man; for we do not speak of a vain faith, but of such a faith which is called in Scripture a “faith working through love”, which excites man to the practice of those works which God has commanded in His Word.15Therefore we do good works, but not to merit by them (for what can we merit?); nay, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not He to us, since it is He who “worketh in us both to will and to work, for his good pleasure”.16_

And lastly, John Calvin in the _Acts of the Council of Trent_ wrote,

> _In short, I affirm, that not by our own merit but by faith alone, are both our persons and works justified; and that the justification of works \[sanctification\]depends on the justification \[forensic\] of the person, as the effect on the cause.17_

Calvin’s point is that we are both justified and sanctified by Faith ALONE.

Next week I am going to trace the concept of spiritual disciplines back to the 16th century and demonstrate why it was rejected by believers then and why there is a large gap between 16th century and 1978.

  
Recommended Resources:

* [A Simple Life Of Faith: Examining Spiritual Disciplines (audio)](https://cbcnashville.org/event/simplelife/2016-08-28/)
* [Are Spiritual Disciplines Biblical? (Theocast)](https://musingsofgrace.org/are-spiritual-disciplines-biblical/)
* [Spiritual Disciplines (D.A. Carson)](https://themelios.thegospelcoalition.org/article/spiritual-disciplines)

1 The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 Kindle Edition, Chapter 16, point 3.

2 Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 29.

3 Ibid, question 89.

4 Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988, 6\. 5 Ibid, 7.

6 Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988, 17.

7 Ibid.

8 Foster, Richard J. Spiritual Formation: A Pastoral Letter. //[web.archive.org/web/20100601012402///www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=744](http://web.archive.org/web/20100601012402///www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=744)

9 Ibid.

10 Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1991, 16-17.

11 Ibid.

12 Carson, D.A. Themelios, Volume 36, Issue 3, 378.

13 Ibid, 377-78.

14 Ibid, 379.

15 Belgic Confession, article XXIV.

16 Ibid.

17 Calvin, Jean, and John Dillenberger. John Calvin: Selections from His Writings. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1971, 176.

---

### Truer Words Have Never Been Written: A Reflection on Romans 7:7–20

*Published: April 18, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/truer-words-have-never-been-written-a-reflection-on-romans-7-7-20*

This article is a summary from the following sermon:[ ](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/would-satan-approve-of-your-morality)[Truer Words Have Never Been Written](https://covbap.org/sermons/truer-word-have-never-been-written-romans-77-20/ "Truer Words Have Never Been Written") by Justin Perdue

Beloved, if you’ve ever wondered whether you’re the only Christian who feels constantly at war within yourself, who does what you hate and fails to do what you long for—Romans 7 is for you.

This isn’t a theoretical passage. It’s not abstract theology. This is personal. It’s raw. It's written by a man who knows what it’s like to feel weak, to struggle with sin, and to long for deliverance. The Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is not describing life before Jesus. He’s describing the Christian life in real time. He’s writing as a man united to Christ, justified by grace, and yet still very much in the fight with his own flesh.

And if that’s where you find yourself, welcome. You’re not crazy. You’re not a fraud. You’re in good company—the company of the saints, the company of Paul.

### 1\. The Law: Good, Holy, and Necessary

Right out of the gate, Paul wants to clear up a misunderstanding: is the law bad? Is it sinful? Should we be suspicious of it because we had to be released from it?

“By no means,” he says. The law isn’t the problem. Sin is.

The law is holy and righteous and good (v. 12). It reflects the very character of God. It’s not defective—it’s divine. But what the law does—and it does this very well—is show us our sin. “If it had not been for the law,” Paul writes, “I would not have known sin” (v. 7).

The law, particularly the moral law of God (think Ten Commandments), doesn’t just give us external standards. It reveals our hearts. Paul uses the example of coveting to make the point. Coveting isn’t just stealing something—it’s desiring something we shouldn't even want. And the law exposes that. It confronts us not just in our behavior, but in our affections, in the deep places of the soul.

So what’s the result?

We see ourselves as we really are.

We see that we’re not okay.

We see that apart from the grace of God, we’re not alive—we’re dead.

Paul says, “I once was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died” (v. 9). What he means is this: there was a time when Paul thought he was doing great. Crushing it. Knocking it out of the park as a Pharisee. Blameless according to the letter of the law.

But then the law came with power—by the Spirit—and exposed him. It killed his confidence in himself. It tore down all his legal hopes. He saw the law for what it really is—spiritual, holy, demanding—and saw himself for what he really was—a sinner, dead in trespasses.

This is the law’s greatest use. It can’t save us, but it can show us our need for a Savior. It reveals the sinfulness of sin. It shows us just how deep the problem goes—not just in our actions but in our desires.

And this? This is grace. Because until we’re cut by the law, we’ll keep trying to live. We’ll keep pretending that sin is manageable. But when the law slays us, it opens us up to life in Jesus.

### 2\. The Flesh: Corrupt, Persistent, and at War with the Spirit

From verse 14 on, Paul shifts gears—but the honesty remains. He says things we’ve all felt but have been afraid to admit:

“I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”  
“I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”  
“I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

This is not a man glibly excusing sin. This is a regenerate man, a Christian, grieved over what he sees in himself.

He calls it what it is: “sin that dwells within me.” It’s indwelling sin. It’s the flesh. And as he puts it in Galatians 5, the flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other. They keep us from doing what we want to do.

This is the internal war. And only Christians experience it. Only those born of the Spirit, who have a new heart and new desires, wrestle like this. The unbeliever might feel guilty at times. He might even feel bad. But he doesn’t have this kind of battle raging within.

This is what Calvin said of the Christian: “They are so divided that with the chief desire of the heart they aspire to God...and yet are drawn down to earth by their flesh.”

Sound familiar?

You hate your sin. You grieve over your failure. You wish with all your heart that you could just obey—fully, freely, joyfully—and yet you don’t. You’re not alone. Paul’s right there with you.

So are we.

And Paul even draws a distinction within himself: “It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (v. 17). He’s not dodging responsibility. He’s naming his identity. The “I” in Christ—the regenerate, Spirit-filled Paul—hates the sin he finds himself doing. He doesn’t want it. He doesn’t will it. But the flesh is real. The corruption is still present.

This is what it means to be at the same time justified and sinner.

We are new. And yet we carry around the corpse of the old man.

The flesh isn’t getting better. It’s not reforming. It’s not being sanctified. It’s being put to death. And that’s a slow, painful process that won’t be completed until we see Jesus.

### 3\. We Are Not Christians Because of What We Do

This might sound strange to say in a world full of moralistic religion, but let’s be clear: you are not a Christian because of how well you behave.

You are a Christian because of what you believe about Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God incarnate, that He lived under the law and fulfilled it perfectly, that He died to satisfy its penalty, and that He rose from the grave. He is our righteousness. He is our pardon. He is our hope.

If you are trusting in Him, you are righteous in the sight of God—even as you war with sin.

This doesn’t make us casual about sin. If anything, it makes us more aware of how deeply we need Christ’s power to fight it. But we fight because we believe. We pursue holiness because we believe. And when we fall, we run to the throne of grace because we believe.

We don’t obey in order to be loved. We obey because we are loved.

And that changes everything.

### 4\. So What Do We Do With All This?

We keep coming. We keep gathering. We keep hearing the law rightly preached—so we see its goodness and feel its weight. But even more, we keep hearing Christ preached, crucified and risen, for us.

We don’t come to church to be told to do better and try harder. We come to be told that Christ has done it all. We come to be reminded that our standing is not in our performance but in His. We come to hear again that even though we do what we hate and fail to do what we love, we are still safe in the arms of Jesus.

And we need to hear that again. And again. And again.

Because the war is real. The flesh is strong. The guilt is heavy.

But Christ is stronger. His righteousness is ours. And in Him, there is no condemnation.

### Final Thought: Take Heart, Christian

If you’re struggling with sin—really struggling—not just the occasional slip-up but the kind of heart-level war that makes you question everything...

If you feel like a contradiction, like a riddle to yourself...

If you wonder how you can love God and still sin against Him...

Take heart.

You are not alone. And you are not disqualified.

The gospel is for you. Jesus is for you. And He has already won the war.

So even as you groan, even as you fail, even as you cry out—know this:

You are His.

And one day soon, when Christ who is your life appears, you also will appear with Him in glory.

Until then, let’s keep clinging to Jesus together.

---

### The Good and The Bad of New Calvinism

*Published: April 16, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-good-and-the-bad-of-new-calvinism*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [The Good and The Bad of New Calvinism.](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-good-and-the-bad-of-new-calvinism "The Good and The Bad of New Calvinism")

If you’ve been around the church world for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the term “New Calvinism” or “the Young, Restless, and Reformed.” This movement gained a lot of traction in the American church, especially in the early 2000s. It was fresh, exciting, and for many of us, it was a breath of gospel-scented air in what felt like a spiritual desert.

But like anything that grows fast and wide, there were real strengths—and real weaknesses.

Today, we want to step back, reflect, and have an honest conversation about the good and the bad of New Calvinism. What was worth celebrating? And what should we be cautious about?

## The Good of New Calvinism

### A Recovery of Sovereign Grace

One of the most significant gifts of New Calvinism was the recovery of the doctrines of grace. In a church culture that often felt man-centered, the emphasis on God's sovereignty in salvation was like a thunderclap. We remembered that salvation is of the Lord from start to finish—that we are dead in our sins and need to be made alive by God’s sovereign hand.

It reminded us that we are saved not because of our own effort, but because God chose to set His love upon us before the foundation of the world.

### A Renewed Interest in Old Theology

New Calvinism sent many of us back to the old paths. Suddenly people were dusting off the writings of men like John Owen, Thomas Watson, and Jonathan Edwards. Banner of Truth books were flying off shelves. Seminaries and publishers realized there was a hunger for deep, historic theology again.

And that has had a lasting impact. Today, more believers are reading the Puritans, studying the Reformers, and even exploring the ancient creeds and confessions of the church because of the trail New Calvinism blazed.

### A Call to Serious Preaching

There was also a noticeable push back toward expository preaching. After decades of topical, moralistic, and seeker-sensitive sermons, many pastors returned to preaching through books of the Bible—chapter by chapter, verse by verse. That shift alone has borne tremendous fruit in the life of the church.

Serious-minded preaching meant a serious-minded view of God, His Word, and the Christian life. That was needed.

### A Greater Concern for Ecclesiology and Mission

New Calvinism also helped many rediscover a healthier doctrine of the church. Conversations about elder plurality, church membership, and biblically faithful missions gained momentum. Instead of merely focusing on attractional strategies, many leaders began asking deeper questions about what it means to actually be the church.

All of that was—and still is—a good thing.

## The Bad of New Calvinism

But it wasn’t all roses. As thankful as we are for what New Calvinism recovered, there were significant weaknesses too.

### Calvinism without Covenant Theology

New Calvinism largely recovered Calvinistic soteriology (doctrine of salvation)—but without the broader framework of covenant theology. Without an understanding of how God relates to His people through covenant, many were left trying to piece things together with only a few puzzle pieces in hand.

This created a serious imbalance. People knew God was sovereign, but often didn't know how to make sense of the Christian life, assurance, or sanctification in a covenantal, Christ-centered way.

### A Pietistic and Revivalistic Bent

New Calvinism carried with it a strong pietistic and revivalistic streak. There was an overemphasis on personal experience, internal fervor, and subjective measures of sincerity.

Instead of grounding assurance in Christ’s finished work, many began looking inward for signs of true faith. Sanctification became something we anxiously tried to perform, rather than something God promises to work in us through ordinary means of grace.

It often left people tired, discouraged, and spiritually anxious—constantly wondering if they were “really” saved or “serious enough.”

### A Biblicism That Rejected Historic Confessionalism

Another issue was biblicism—the allergy to creeds, confessions, and historical theology. Many new Calvinists prided themselves on “just believing the Bible,” but this often led to a flattening of Scripture and ignoring how Christians have faithfully understood the Bible for centuries.

The result? Confusion over key doctrines like sanctification, law and gospel, assurance, the sacraments, and the Christian life as a whole.

Instead of standing on the shoulders of the Reformers, many were trying to reinvent the wheel—and it showed.

### An Overemphasis on Human Effort in Sanctification

Perhaps one of the clearest dangers was how sanctification was often framed. Many taught that while God saves us by grace, we stay in His good graces—or prove our salvation—through our ongoing performance.

This shifted the Christian life back into a subtle form of works-based righteousness. Instead of resting in Christ’s finished work, many believers lived in a cycle of self-assessment, striving, and discouragement.

In short, the movement rescued us from shallow theology, but often left us adrift in practical pietism.

## Where Do We Go From Here?

Here’s the good news: God has used New Calvinism for much good. Many of us are Christians today because of the ministry of those who labored in that movement. For that, we are grateful.

At the same time, we don’t have to stay stuck in its weaknesses. We can press deeper into a fuller, richer understanding of what it means to be truly Reformed—covenantal, confessional, and Christ-centered.

We don’t need to reinvent Christianity. We need to return to the ordinary, beautiful, powerful means God has given us: Word, sacrament, prayer, and the gathered church.

We need Christ—not just at the beginning of the Christian life, but for all of it.

## Final Thought

We’re thankful for New Calvinism. It woke many of us up. But we need more than just Calvinistic slogans and serious conferences. We need the ordinary, steady, joy-giving reality of Jesus Christ crucified and risen—for sinners like us—week after week, year after year, until we see Him face to face.

All of Christ, for all of life.

---

### Christ's Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 3

*Published: April 13, 2025 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/christs-victory-over-the-principalities-and-powers-part-3*

This article is a summary from the following sermon: [Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 3](https://www.youtube.com/live/PB5Se1Jirac?si=kRO88jvNQdDIWnQK) by Jon Moffitt

We’ve been spending these weeks together peeling back the layers of the gospel story—looking deeper than we often do at the cross and resurrection of Jesus. And the more we peel back, the better the news gets.

Christ didn't just die to forgive you. He died to break the power of evil that had enslaved you.

He died to crush Satan and the kingdom of darkness that holds so much of this world captive.

The Apostle Paul gives us our anchor point in Colossians 2:

> “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13–15)

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything—not just for us individually, but for the entire cosmos.

## The Lie That Won't Die

From the beginning, Satan’s primary weapon against humanity hasn’t been brute force. It’s been lies.

Jesus said he was a liar from the beginning. In Genesis 3, Satan doesn't overpower Eve; he deceives her. He gets her to doubt God's word, doubt God’s heart, and believe that there’s a better way than trusting her Creator.

Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. He just got better at disguising them.

Paul warns us that Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). That means the evil one doesn’t always come dressed in red with a pitchfork. Sometimes he comes through people who sound good, smell good, and smile a lot—but their words subtly turn us away from Jesus.

That's why the apostles and prophets—again and again—command us: _Test the spirits._ _Test the messengers._ Not everything that glitters is gold.

And the only way to know the difference is by knowing the truth.

## Job, David, and Israel: Targeted by the Enemy

The Bible shows us repeatedly that Satan and the powers of darkness are active in human history—not just tempting individuals, but moving through cultures, nations, and empires.

In Job, we see Satan using both human attackers and natural disasters to try and destroy Job’s faith (Job 1).

In David’s life, we see Satan tempting David with pride and self-reliance, leading him to sin against God by numbering the people (1 Chronicles 21:1).

In Israel’s history, we see the gods of the nations luring God's people into idolatry—offering them promises of power, prosperity, pleasure, and safety in exchange for their worship.

And the tactics haven’t changed.

Today, we are still being tempted with the same old lies:

* Trust in power instead of God.
* Find your satisfaction in sexuality and sensuality.
* Sacrifice whatever you have to for your own success and happiness.
* Redefine good and evil based on what feels right.

## Cultural Pressure and the Deception of the Flesh

One of Satan’s greatest tools is cultural pressure.

Israel looked around at the nations and said, “We want a king like them” (1 Samuel 8). They wanted to be normal. They didn’t want to be weird or different. They wanted to fit in.

We feel the same pull today.

We are being discipled by our culture—whether we realize it or not—through media, music, education, entertainment. And the pressure is subtle: Don’t be different. Don’t make people uncomfortable. Go along with the flow. Embrace the values of the world around you.

But the values of the world are being shaped by the powers of darkness. And the flow of the world is always away from God, not toward Him.

As Paul says in Ephesians 2, before we were saved, we were “following the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). We were dead and enslaved without even knowing it.

The world is still enslaved. The culture around us isn’t just "neutral"—it’s being influenced by real spiritual forces.

And if we’re not anchored to Christ, we will drift.

## False Teachers: Twisting the Gospel

Another tactic Satan uses is false teachers.

Not all false teachers are obvious. They often sound really good. They quote Bible verses. They talk about love and hope. But they twist the message—subtly, cleverly.

Deuteronomy 13 warned Israel: even if someone performs signs and wonders, if their message leads you away from the true God, don’t listen to them.

The New Testament repeats this warning over and over. Paul says even if an angel from heaven preaches a different gospel, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

John says to test every spirit, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

False teachers will always downplay the sufficiency of Christ. They’ll always downplay the seriousness of sin. They’ll always twist the gospel into something it’s not—either into legalism ("do more, try harder") or into license ("do whatever you want, God doesn't care").

And behind them—whether they know it or not—stands the kingdom of darkness, working to keep people enslaved.

## Satan’s Goal: Silence the Church or Change the Message

Satan knows his time is short. Revelation 12 tells us he’s full of wrath because he knows his end is coming.

So what does he do?

If he can't destroy the church, he'll distract it. If he can't stop the messengers, he'll change the message.

He wants churches full of people who show up, sing songs, hear TED Talks with Bible verses sprinkled in, and never once hear the actual gospel.

He wants the message watered down, confused, or corrupted.

Because as long as the gospel is hidden, the captives stay captive.

## Christ Has Already Won

But here’s the good news: **Jesus has already disarmed the rulers and authorities.**

The power they had—the record of debt against us—has been nailed to the cross. The blood of Christ covers it all. It’s no longer a weapon in their hands.

When Satan accuses us, we can point to the cross.

When shame overwhelms us, we can point to the cross.

When fear rises up, we can point to the cross.

Christ has put the powers of darkness to open shame. He has triumphed over them. He has secured our freedom.

And now, we walk by faith, not by fear. We walk in His victory, not ours.

We proclaim His gospel, knowing that every time a sinner is saved, another soul is pulled from the grip of darkness into the glorious kingdom of the Son.

## Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Brothers and sisters, the world is dark. The lies are thick. The temptations are real. But our hope isn’t in our ability to stay strong. It’s not in our ability to sniff out every false teacher or resist every temptation.

Our hope is in Christ.

We cling to Him. We rest in Him. We preach Him.

Because He is alive. He has conquered. He will come again.

And when He does, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, and every ruler, every power, every principality will be thrown down once and for all.

Until then, we walk by faith. We love one another. We hold fast to the gospel.

And we remember: **The victory is already won.**

---

### The Danger of God's Glory without the Gospel

*Published: April 9, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-danger-of-gods-glory-without-the-gospel*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [The Danger of God's Glory without the Gospel](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-danger-of-god-s-glory-without-the-gospel "The Danger of God's Glory without the Gospel")

If we asked you, "What is the glory of God?"—how would you answer?

There’s a lot of talk about God's glory in the church today, especially among serious-minded evangelicals. And that’s a good thing. God's glory is real. It’s wonderful. It’s something we absolutely should care about.

But here's the problem: if we talk about God's glory without talking about the gospel—without talking about His mercy, His grace, His heart for sinners—we can actually end up misrepresenting Him. We can paint a picture of God that's cold, distant, and terrifying, rather than the God who delights in saving us.

We want to talk about the danger of separating God's glory from the good news—and why the Bible never does.

## God's Glory Is Tied to Redemption

Yes, God is passionate about His own glory. The Scriptures are clear about that. He will be glorified in all the earth. He will be glorified in judgment. He will be glorified in creation. No one is arguing otherwise.

But the primary way God reveals His glory—the primary way He invites us to see and savor it—is through redemption. Through the cross. Through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

From the beginning of the Bible to the end, God's glory is most clearly seen in His grace toward sinners.

The story of Scripture isn't mainly about God flexing His power for its own sake. It’s about God pursuing His people, binding His heart to them, redeeming them at infinite cost to Himself—and delighting in it.

When we talk about God's glory, we can’t skip the gospel. Otherwise, we leave people thinking that God is primarily about Himself, and we’re just footnotes in His story. That's not how the Bible talks.

## God’s Heart Is for His People

There’s a way of talking about God's glory that, even unintentionally, can make Him sound cold and robotic. As if He saved us simply because it was necessary for His plan, not because He loves us.

But Scripture tells a different story.

God didn’t save us because He had to in order to get more glory. He saved us because He loves us. He delights in us. He rejoices over us.

_“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”_ (Zephaniah 3:17)

Jesus didn’t go to the cross because the Father forced Him to. He set His face like flint toward Jerusalem out of love for us. For the joy set before Him—the joy of redeeming His people—He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

God’s glory and our good are not in competition. In fact, they’re beautifully bound together. God is most glorified when He saves sinners and brings them home.

## God Isn't Ashamed of Us

If we're not careful, all our talk about God's sovereignty and glory can leave people feeling like they’re barely tolerated by God. As if He’s primarily concerned about His reputation, and we’re just along for the ride.

But the Bible paints a different picture.

God is not ashamed of His people. Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11). The Father loves us with the same love He has for His Son (John 17:23).

When we fail, we don’t have to hide. We don’t have to wonder if God is done with us. We run to Him, not from Him—because we know He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

The cross doesn’t just prove God's justice. It proves His love.

## Preach the Gospel, Not Just Glory

We need to talk about the glory of God. Absolutely. But let's talk about it the way the Bible does.

Let’s show people God's glory **in the face of Jesus Christ** (2 Corinthians 4:6). Let’s hold up a Savior who bore our shame, carried our griefs, conquered our sin, and welcomes us with open arms.

The glory of God is not an abstract concept. It’s personal. It has a name and a face: Jesus.

And when we see Him—bleeding, dying, rising, reigning—we see the heart of God. We see a glory that stuns us, humbles us, and draws us in.

## Rest in the God Who Loves You

Christian, your God is not cold toward you. He is not merely using you for His plans. He has set His love on you from all eternity. He rejoices over you with singing. He is preparing a place for you. He delights to call you His own.

God’s glory isn’t against your good. His glory **is your good**.

So rest. Rejoice. And behold the glory of God—in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

---

### Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 2

*Published: April 6, 2025 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/christ-s-victory-over-the-principalities-and-powers-part-2*

This article is a summary from the following sermon: [Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 2](https://www.youtube.com/live/ks-XEwdPgU4?si=sHE7gEDIPYtpcGbL) by Jon Moffitt

Most of us know the story: Jesus came to save sinners like you and me. Praise God—that’s gloriously true! But there’s more to the story, more to the battle, and more to Christ’s triumph than we often realize.

Jesus didn’t just rescue us from personal guilt. He didn’t just save us from ourselves. He came to crush the powers that had enslaved the world. He came to liberate His people from the rule of unseen rulers, authorities, principalities, and powers—the dark domain that holds the nations captive.

When Paul says Christ has "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame" (Colossians 2:15), he’s not speaking in metaphor. He’s describing a real cosmic war that Jesus entered—and won.

## A Red Rover Rescue Mission

Let’s picture it the way we explained it to the kids this week.

Imagine two teams locked together, arms tight, daring the other side to break through. The enemy's goal is to tear through our line, to pull people away, to destroy the unity of the body of Christ. But how does he do it? Not usually with brute force. No, he uses lies. Twisted truths. Good things abused and corrupted.

Satan and his forces don't often come through the front door. They sneak in through distraction, division, shame, fear, and false teaching. They take food, sports, success—good gifts—and turn them into idols that divide us. They twist the very gospel that unites us.

That’s why Paul says we must be alert. We must know our enemy. We must know how the enemy attacks—and even more, we must know the One who has already won.

## Where Did the Enemy Come From?

A lot of Christians don't even know how the Bible describes the enemy. We've been discipled more by materialism and rationalism than by Scripture. If we can't see it or touch it, we assume it isn't real.

But the Bible tells a different story.

Genesis 10 and 11 give us the backdrop. After the flood, humanity gathered together at Babel—not to worship God, but to tap back into the power of heaven. They built a ziggurat, hoping to call down the spiritual beings for their own gain, just like the rebellion before the flood.

In response, God confused their language and divided the nations. Deuteronomy 32 tells us something remarkable: when God divided humanity, He assigned spiritual beings—called “sons of God”—to oversee the nations. But He kept one nation for Himself: Israel.

> “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.” (Deuteronomy 32:8–9)

The nations were handed over to spiritual rulers, and their job was to shepherd and govern people toward righteousness.

But they didn’t.

Psalm 82 tells us these sons of God rebelled. Instead of governing justly, they ruled corruptly. They led people into darkness. They accepted worship for themselves instead of pointing people to Yahweh.

So God judged them: "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die" (Psalm 82:6–7).

These rulers—these fallen beings—became the principalities and powers that Paul warns us about. They are the gods behind the nations. They are real, and they are hostile.

## The Nations Turned to Other Gods

Throughout the Old Testament, Israel constantly battles against these false gods—Baal, Molech, Chemosh, and others. These aren't just statues or human-invented myths. They are real spiritual powers.

When Israel yoked themselves to these gods through sacrifices and idolatry, they weren’t just making cultural mistakes—they were committing spiritual adultery. They were handing themselves over to demonic rulers.

And the power these rulers had was terrifying. They promised prosperity, protection, fertility—but at horrific costs, like the sacrifice of children to Molech.

This is why God’s first commandment is so severe: "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). He wasn’t just warning against bad ideas—He was warning against very real, very powerful beings who sought to enslave and destroy.

## Christ’s Rescue Operation

Into this dark and twisted world comes Jesus.

When Paul says that Jesus transferred us out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13), he means it literally.

We weren’t just lost. We weren’t just confused. We were held captive. We were enslaved to rulers who hated us and hated our God. And Jesus came to storm their kingdom, tear open their gates, and set the captives free.

And how did He do it?

He paid our ransom.

> “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers… with the precious blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18–19)

There was a legal demand against us. The rulers of this world held up the record of our sin and said, "You can't have them, God! They belong to us!"

So Jesus satisfied the demand. He didn't bribe them. He didn't negotiate. He didn't compromise. He shed His blood and purchased us forever.

And when He rose from the grave, He put the rulers and authorities to open shame. They thought they had won. They thought they had snuffed out the Messiah. Instead, the cross became their public humiliation. Their grip was broken. Their power shattered.

## The Gospel Marches Forward

But the battle isn’t over yet.

The rulers and authorities, though defeated, are still fighting a desperate, doomed rebellion. They know their time is short, and they are determined to inflict as much damage as they can.

They don't want the gospel to spread. They don't want people rescued. They want to keep the nations enslaved.

That’s why Jesus commissions His church:

> "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…" (Matthew 28:18–19)

Notice: _all authority in heaven and on earth_. Jesus didn’t just win back people—He reclaimed the nations.

And He sends us—weak, small, ordinary people—to advance His kingdom.

The powers of darkness tremble when the gospel is proclaimed. They shudder when captives are set free. They lose their grip every time a sinner repents and trusts in Christ.

## Stand Firm, Church

We aren’t fighting flesh and blood. We aren’t just battling bad ideas or political ideologies.

We are in a cosmic war against real, defeated, but still dangerous enemies.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:

> “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

We fight by standing in Christ. We fight by clinging to the gospel. We fight by proclaiming the good news that the King has already won.

Friend, you are free. You have been ransomed. You are no longer under the domain of darkness. Christ is your King, and His kingdom cannot be shaken.

The rulers and powers of this world will rage. They will lie. They will tempt and accuse.

But they cannot undo what Jesus has done.

They cannot steal you from His hand.

They cannot silence His gospel.

And one day, they will be finally, fully destroyed when our King returns.

Until then, we stand firm. We proclaim Christ. We rejoice that our names are written in heaven.

Because our King reigns—and His victory is ours.

---

### Let's Talk About Idolatry

*Published: April 2, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/lets-talk-about-idolatry-1*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [Let's Talk About Idolatry.](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/let-s-talk-about-idolatry "Let's Talk About Idolatry")

When we were growing up in the church, we used to chuckle at the Israelites. Here they were, carrying around little statues in the desert—as if a chunk of wood or stone could do anything—while God Himself was splitting seas and raining down bread from heaven.

It seemed ridiculous.

But the older we get, and the more honest we are, the more we realize something: idolatry hasn’t gone away. It’s not just some Old Testament relic. It’s alive and well today. And it’s just as dangerous now as it was then.

We need a clearer understanding of what idolatry really is—and why it still matters for us.

## Not Just Good Luck Charms

When we think of idolatry today, we usually imagine something primitive—superstitious people bowing to statues or wearing charms for luck. And while the Bible does mock that kind of thing at times (and rightly so), there’s far more going on.

Idolatry in the Bible isn’t just about dumb objects. It's about **worship**. It's about hearts and minds being pulled away from the living God and given over to something else—something dark.

And here's the kicker: behind those idols, there’s real spiritual power.

The Bible is clear: when people worship idols, they are fellowshipping with demons (1 Corinthians 10:20–21). There’s a dark, unseen reality working to pull people away from God’s truth and into bondage. And it doesn’t always look obvious. Sometimes, it looks religious. Sometimes, it looks noble. But it’s deadly.

## Idolatry Isn’t Just a Heart Problem

Today, especially in the West, we mostly talk about "idols of the heart." Things like sports, family, career, success—good things that we can turn into ultimate things.

That’s real. We don’t deny it. Our hearts are indeed idol factories, as Calvin said. We are constantly tempted to trust in created things rather than the Creator. And yes, football can become an idol. So can food. So can a career. So can a relationship.

But when the Bible talks about idolatry, especially in the Old Testament, it goes deeper than that. It's not just about misplaced priorities. It's about false worship. It’s about allegiance to spiritual powers that oppose God.

It’s about trusting in something other than the Lord to save us, define us, and satisfy us.

And that kind of idolatry is still happening all around us—often in ways we don’t even recognize.

## Idolatry Is Alive and Well

We see it in our culture's obsession with self. We see it in the way we celebrate autonomy, redefine morality, and sacrifice truth for comfort and acceptance.

Think about it: the Old Testament prophets railed against child sacrifice to Molech. Today, we see millions of lives ended before they ever begin—because children are viewed as obstacles to personal freedom. It's the same demonic logic dressed up in modern clothes.

The powers behind the idols haven’t changed. They’ve just evolved their tactics.

Where the Old Testament had temples and shrines, we have entertainment empires, social movements, and political ideologies. But the goal is the same: pull people away from God. Get them to worship created things rather than the Creator.

And sadly, even Christians can get swept up in it if we’re not watchful.

## The Gospel Tears Down Idols

Here's the good news: Jesus came to tear all of this down.

He came to rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us into His kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13). He didn’t just come to give us better habits—He came to set captives free.

We don't fight idolatry by simply trying harder. We fight by clinging to Christ. By proclaiming the gospel to ourselves and to one another. By remembering that our standing before God isn’t based on what we do or how strong we are—it’s based entirely on Jesus’ finished work.

We resist the pull of false worship by being constantly drawn back to the beauty and sufficiency of Christ. We fix our eyes on Him, the author and finisher of our faith.

And we remember: the devil may roar, but he's a defeated lion. Christ has already crushed his head.

## Keep Looking to Jesus

So let's be clear: idolatry isn’t just about ancient statues or misplaced affections. It's about who (or what) we trust, worship, and give our lives to.

And the only one worthy of that trust—the only one who can truly save—is Jesus.

Let’s keep pointing each other to Him. Let's keep hearing the gospel. Let's keep resting in Christ.

Because the only thing powerful enough to tear down the strongholds of idolatry is the power of God—the gospel of Jesus Christ.

---

### Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 1

*Published: March 30, 2025 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/christ-s-victory-over-the-principalities-and-powers-part-1*

This article is a summary from the following sermon: [Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY5YY-hj9aU&list=PL1Va3nlqav0WnSw-GqrJ6cz-1Y9jxU3ox&index=5) by Jon Moffitt

When we think about why Jesus came, most of us immediately go to forgiveness. “He came to die for my sins.” And that’s gloriously true. But if we stop there, we are missing a massive part of the good news.

The cross and resurrection didn’t just deal with your personal guilt. They crushed the powers that had enslaved you. Jesus didn’t just punch your ticket to heaven; He disarmed your enemies and publicly shamed them.

The Apostle Paul pulls the veil back for us in Colossians 2:

> “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13–15)

If we don’t understand the battle Jesus entered into, we’re not going to grasp the fullness of what He accomplished. There’s more happening here than a private, internal experience with God. We are part of a cosmic drama, a war that rages in the heavens and spills into the earth.

And Christ has already won.

## A Real Enemy, A Real War

One of the more sobering realities is this: 26 out of the 27 books of the New Testament mention the presence and activity of Satan, demons, and the spiritual realm. That’s not just a little warning—that’s a floodlight on a real threat.

The Bible speaks about these rulers and authorities, often called “watchers” or “principalities and powers.” These beings were created good. They were tasked with governing and protecting the earth. But like humanity, they rebelled. They didn’t want to serve under God; they wanted to be God. They lusted for power and praise.

And when they fell, they turned from guardians into tyrants.

Rather than pointing humanity to our Creator, they turned our worship inward—or toward themselves. Their goal has always been the same: enslave the hearts and minds of people, keep them away from the living God, and drag them into destruction.

And they are still at it.

## Their Weapon of Choice: The Law

What’s shocking—and honestly brilliant in a horrifying way—is the primary weapon they use against us.

It’s not violence. It’s not even gross immorality.

It’s the law.

The very good, holy, righteous law of God is twisted into a weapon to accuse, manipulate, and subvert.

They hold up the record of debt against us—all the ways we have broken God’s commands—and they scream into our hearts, “Look at you. Look how filthy you are. How could God ever love you?”

And here’s the worst part: if left to ourselves, they’re right.

We are guilty. We have a real debt.

But the gospel explodes into that dark courtroom and declares that Jesus has taken our entire record—every failure, every sin, every unclean thought, every wrong word—and nailed it to the cross. Our debt has been cancelled. It’s not hanging over us anymore.

The accuser holds up an empty file.

Jesus disarmed them. He stripped them of their greatest weapon.

## The Church Under Attack

We don’t often feel this in the West because things seem relatively peaceful. We aren’t waking up to literal demonic manifestations. We’re distracted by grocery prices and gas prices and career stress. It’s easy to forget that there’s an unseen war raging around us.

But when you read the New Testament closely, you see it everywhere. Paul, Peter, John—they all warn the church repeatedly: the enemy is real, and the church is his target.

And the way he attacks us is subtle. It's slow. It's systemic.

It's through guilt, shame, fear, distraction, and false teaching.

It’s through the misuse of God’s law.

## Accusation: Crushing the Conscience

The first tactic the enemy uses is accusation.

He takes God's good law and uses it to beat you down. He whispers: “Look at your life. Look at your sin. There's no way God could love you.”

And the tragedy is that many Christians stay trapped there. Every Sunday feels like a funeral. Every prayer feels like a burden. They know they’re sinners, but they never feel free.

But here’s the good news: **Jesus didn’t just forgive your sins; He silenced your accuser.** He didn’t just sweep your guilt under the rug. He took the full wrath of God against your sin and satisfied it forever.

You don't need to defend yourself anymore. Christ is your defense. The blood of the Lamb answers every accusation.

When Satan stands before the throne and says, “That one right there deserves death,” the Father looks at the Son and says, “Paid in full.”

## Manipulation: Twisting the Gospel

The second tactic is manipulation.

The enemy doesn’t always come at you directly. Sometimes he just shifts the gospel a few degrees.

He says, "Yeah, you're saved by faith... but if you really want to stay saved, or if you really want God’s blessing, you better get serious about obedience."

So many churches—often unintentionally—start preaching this. They trade the finished work of Christ for a to-do list. They start measuring maturity by how disciplined you are, how radical you are, how sacrificial you are.

And it sounds so right. It sounds so good. Because we do want to grow. We do want to obey.

But when the fuel for Christian living becomes law instead of grace, the engine always burns out.

Paul rebukes this kind of thinking hard in Galatians 3:

> “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1, 3)

When we fall into this trap, we’re doing the enemy’s work for him. We are living like slaves, not sons.

Jesus didn’t just rescue you from your guilt. He rescued you from a life of trying to earn your place at the table. You’re already seated with Him in the heavenly places.

## Subversion: Redefining Freedom

The third tactic is subversion.

The enemy wants to redefine freedom. He wants to convince us that true freedom means throwing off God’s law altogether.

“Follow your heart,” he says. “Love is love. Your truth is what matters.”

He twists the idea of grace into lawlessness.

Peter and Paul warned about this constantly. There were false teachers in the early church saying, "Since we’re forgiven, we can live however we want!" They encouraged sensuality, selfishness, and rebellion—and called it freedom.

But it’s not freedom. It's just a different kind of slavery.

Real freedom isn’t the absence of restraint. Real freedom is belonging to Christ, being ruled by His good and gracious Word, and walking in the light.

Subversion looks attractive because it promises immediate pleasure and acceptance. But it leads to ruin every time.

The loving thing to do is not to affirm people in their chains. The loving thing is to tell them that Christ can set them free.

## The Hope of the Resurrection

This is why the resurrection of Jesus is such a big deal.

If all Christ did was die, we might still wonder if the powers had won. But when He rose, He declared victory.

He is alive. He reigns now. And one day, He will come back to finish what He started.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:

> “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:22–24)

One day, every corrupt power will fall. Every lying spirit will be silenced. Every enemy of your soul will be crushed under the feet of King Jesus.

Until then, we live by faith, not by sight.

We trust that the battle has been won, even while the war rages around us.

We hold fast to Christ, knowing that He holds fast to us.

And when the accusations come, when the lies creep in, when the world tells you to find freedom in your own way—remember:

**Christ has already triumphed. You are already free.**

---

### How Could Lot Be Righteous?

*Published: March 26, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/how-could-lot-be-righteous-1*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [How Could Lot Be Righteous?](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/how-could-lot-be-righteous "How Could Lot Be Righteous?")

If you had to pick someone in the Bible to be called "righteous," would it be Lot? We wouldn’t have picked him either.

When we think about righteousness, we instinctively think about moral performance. Who did the right things? Who avoided the wrong things? In that kind of system, Lot wouldn’t stand a chance. His story is filled with compromise, failure, and some truly disturbing moments.

And yet Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls Lot a **righteous man** (2 Peter 2:7–8). Not once, but multiple times.

So what’s going on? How could Lot be called righteous?

We need to rethink what righteousness before God really means.

## Not Righteous by Performance

When we hear words like “righteous” and “godly,” we usually think behavior. We think in terms of obedience. But the Bible consistently teaches that righteousness before God is **not** based on how well we perform. It’s based on **faith**.

Hebrews 11, that great “Hall of Faith” chapter, makes this crystal clear. Over and over, the writer points out that the saints of old—men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and even Rahab—were commended **not** because they lived flawless lives, but because they trusted the promises of God.

Without faith, Hebrews says, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Impossible. No amount of moral effort can bridge the gap. Only faith in the Redeemer can.

Lot was righteous, not because of what he did (or didn’t do), but because he trusted in the God who justifies the ungodly.

## Lot’s Story Isn’t Pretty

Lot’s life, frankly, is a mess. He chose to live near Sodom, knowing full well what kind of place it was. He had to be dragged out of the city when judgment came. He offered his daughters to an angry mob. Later, after escaping destruction, he got drunk and was involved in scandalous behavior with his own daughters.

And yet Peter says his “righteous soul” was tormented by the wickedness he saw around him (2 Peter 2:8). Lot grieved over sin. He hated the corruption of the world. And, most importantly, he clung to the promises of God, however weakly.

That’s faith. And faith is what God counts as righteousness.

## Righteousness Is by Faith, Not Achievement

This isn’t just true for Lot. It’s true for Noah. It’s true for Abraham. It’s true for David. It's true for you and me.

Romans 4:5 says, _"To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness."_

This is why Hebrews 11 isn’t just a celebration of heroes who conquered kingdoms—it’s also a celebration of sufferers, outcasts, and those who wandered in deserts and caves, clinging to promises they hadn’t yet received (Hebrews 11:32–40).

Their hope wasn’t in themselves. Their righteousness wasn’t in their resume. It was in the Messiah to come.

And ours is too.

## Why This Matters Today

In a culture that’s increasingly hostile to the truth, it’s easy for us to fall into self-righteousness. We see the debauchery around us, and like Lot, we’re rightly grieved. But if we’re not careful, we’ll start thinking that our standing before God is based on how well we resist the darkness.

It’s not.

Our standing with God is—and always has been—based on Christ. On His righteousness. On His obedience. On His life, death, and resurrection, counted to us by faith.

We don’t rescue ourselves. We don’t clean ourselves up. God rescues the godly—those who trust in His Son.

That’s the good news Peter wants his readers to cling to. And it’s the good news we need today.

## Keep Trusting the Promises

The call for us, just like it was for Lot, is to keep trusting. To hold fast to Christ in a world gone mad. To pursue virtue, yes—but not because we’re trying to earn anything. We pursue holiness because we already have everything in Jesus.

We live by faith. We die in faith. And we will be raised by the same.

**God rescues the godly. Always has. Always will.**

Not because of what we do, but because of who we trust.

---

### The Most Christian Thing We Do

*Published: March 19, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/the-most-christian-thing-we-do-5*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [The Most Christian Thing We Do](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-most-christian-thing-we-do "The Most Christian Thing We Do").

If we asked you, "What's the most Christian thing you could do?"—how would you answer?

A lot of us might say something like, “Well, not sinning.” And sure, a life of holiness is the fruit of being united to Christ. But we want to offer a different answer today—one that we think captures the heart of the Christian life:

**The most Christian thing we can do is to confess our weakness, admit our need, and throw ourselves into the arms of Jesus.**

That’s it. And when we live there—daily acknowledging our frailty and resting in Christ alone—it leads to real freedom, real joy, and yes, real transformation.

## Not Celebrating Sin, But Confessing It

Let’s be clear. We’re not celebrating sin itself. We’re not rejoicing in the fact that we’re messed up and broken. No Christian should. But we do celebrate the confession of our sin. We rejoice when we see ourselves clearly—that we are weak, dependent, and utterly in need of mercy.

Because it’s in confessing our weakness that we most fully cast ourselves on Christ. It's there—in that humble place—that we experience freedom, assurance, and real sanctification.

This is why, every Lord’s Day, we gather together, covered in the blood and righteousness of Jesus, and we confess. We confess our sins. We confess our need. And we hear, once again, that we are forgiven, that we are righteous in Christ, and that we are safe forever.

## Freedom Through Weakness

The irony of the Christian life is this: real strength looks like weakness. Real maturity looks like deeper dependence on Christ, not less.

We don’t “graduate” from grace. We don’t move past the gospel. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12, when he pleaded with the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, God responded, _"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."_ So Paul says, _"I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."_

The Christian life isn’t onward and upward triumphalism. It’s growing more and more aware of our desperate need—and rejoicing more and more in Christ’s sufficiency.

## Sanctification Starts with Dependence

There’s a dangerous idea floating around that sanctification is mainly about sinning less. That’s not wrong entirely—obedience matters. But that’s not the heart of sanctification.

Sanctification is about trusting Christ more. It's about shifting the weight of our hope off ourselves and more onto Jesus. It's about growing in the humility that says, “I am weak. Christ is strong. I have nothing. Christ is everything.”

And yes, as we trust Him more, real change happens. But that change is the fruit of faith, not the foundation.

When we gather with the church, when we confess our sins to one another, when we pray for each other as James 5 commands—we are living out this truth. We are practicing the most Christian thing we can do: depending entirely on Christ.

## Christ in the Foreground

The problem in much of American evangelicalism isn’t that we talk too much about obedience. It’s that we talk about obedience without keeping Christ in the foreground.

We call people to godliness without reminding them that all of life flows from what Christ has already done. We burden people with the law without comforting them with the gospel. And when we do that, we turn the Christian life into drudgery and despair.

But when Jesus is central—when His life, death, and resurrection are the lens through which we view everything—we find freedom. Joy. Rest.

We learn to confess our sins without fear. We learn to walk in newness of life, not because we’re trying to earn something, but because we already have everything in Christ.

## Sitting in the Redeemer’s Hand

One of our favorite images comes from _The Hammer of God_—a novel that beautifully captures this gospel reality. It describes a Christian as a little bird sitting in the hand of his Redeemer, eating and singing songs in the sunshine.

That’s the Christian life. We are weak, but Christ is strong. We are needy, but Christ is sufficient. We deserve judgment, but we have been given mercy. And we live every day in the safety of His hands.

## The Most Christian Thing We Can Do

So what’s the most Christian thing we can do?

Confess that we are sinners. Admit that we are weak. Acknowledge that we have nothing to offer. And then, with empty hands, trust completely in Jesus Christ.

All of Christ for all of life. Always.

---

### Would Satan Approve of Your Morality?

*Published: March 12, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/would-satan-approve-of-your-morality*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [Would Satan Approve of Your Morality? ](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/would-satan-approve-of-your-morality "Would Satan Approve of Your Morality?")

Here’s a question that might sound strange at first: Is it possible that Satan would applaud the kind of preaching you hear on Sunday—or even the way you talk about the Christian life with your friends?

We believe the answer is yes. And that’s worth sitting with for a minute.

We tend to think Satan’s preferred sermons would be filled with moral chaos—denials of miracles, soft takes on sin, and worldly ideologies sneaking into the church. But what if one of his favorite kinds of preaching sounds a lot more… conservative? What if it upholds virtue, extols disciplined living, and calls people to clean up their lives—but it’s completely devoid of Jesus?

That’s the kind of religion Satan can work with. That’s the kind of Christianity that damns.

### The Sermons Hell Applauds

There is a kind of preaching that the enemy loves—sermons that major on morality but never mention the Mediator. Preaching that’s heavy on law but light on grace. Christless, cross-less messages that leave people with a to-do list instead of good news.

And here’s the thing: it’s often done in Jesus’ name. These sermons might be emotionally moving. They might be packed with biblical language. They might challenge you to be better, try harder, live cleaner, and do more.

But if they fail to point you to the finished work of Christ—if they fail to give you Jesus as your righteousness, Jesus as your hope, Jesus as your very life—they aren’t Christian sermons. They’re just well-dressed despair.

### When the Gospel Is Assumed, It’s Lost

The danger isn’t always false doctrine. Sometimes it’s just the absence of gospel clarity. A church can affirm all the right things in its statement of faith and still leave people starving, because the pulpit assumes the gospel instead of proclaiming it.

In our own tradition, we’ve seen how easily this can happen. After the Reformation, within just a couple of centuries, some pulpits were so overrun by moralism that the General Assembly in Scotland had to pass a law instructing pastors to actually preach the covenant of grace. Imagine that. They had to mandate gospel preaching in a Protestant church.

The temptation to drift from Christ-centered preaching to moral improvement talks is alive and well today.

### Obedience Isn’t the Problem—Obscuring Jesus Is

Let’s be clear: we care about obedience. We preach the third use of the law. We believe the Christian life is one of discipleship, holiness, and bearing fruit. But when those things are disconnected from Jesus—when they become ends in themselves rather than the overflow of union with Christ—they become dangerous.

Without the gospel, moral instruction becomes a tool for self-righteousness. It leads people to believe that their obedience earns them standing before God or status among others. Either way, it’s slavery.

And Satan doesn’t mind it at all.

He’d love nothing more than for churches to become factories of guilt and performance. He’d love for Christians to wake up each day with a burden on their back, wondering if they’ve done enough. He’d love for us to view God not as our Father who loves us, but as a disappointed judge with arms crossed.

### The Christian Life Is Lived in Christ

The antidote to all of this isn’t to stop talking about the law. It’s to keep the gospel front and center. Every call to obedience in Scripture is framed by the love and work of Christ. “Be imitators of God,” Paul writes, “as beloved children.” That’s the pattern. That’s the posture.

So when we talk about sanctification, faithfulness, parenting, marriage, or spiritual discipline, we do it with Jesus in full view. Because it’s only through Him—and because of Him—that we can live the life we’ve been called to.

### Pastors, Pay Attention to the Emphasis

If you’re a preacher, hear this: you don’t have to be a heretic to harm your people. If Christ isn’t clearly and regularly held out as the answer, the hope, and the source of strength for your congregation, you may be feeding them stones instead of bread.

Even church discipline—something many of us in Reformed circles rightly uphold—must be done in light of the gospel. When we call someone to repentance, we’re not pronouncing them lost. We’re calling them back to safety. We’re calling them back to Jesus.

### Don’t Assume—Proclaim

If someone professes Christ but struggles, our first move should be compassion, not suspicion. Maybe they’ve never been discipled. Maybe they’ve been beaten down by pietism or burned out by performance. Maybe they’ve never heard a gospel-centered sermon in their life.

Let’s not assume they’re false professors. Let’s give them Jesus. Let’s remind them of who they are in Him and call them to live in light of that.

### Resting in the One Who Loves Us

The devil wants us focused on ourselves—our progress, our failures, our discipline, our devotion. But the gospel calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

He’s the One who lived the narrow way. He’s the door we enter through. He’s the Savior who loves us, intercedes for us, and never lets us go.

Let’s not give the enemy anything to applaud. Let’s give our people Jesus.

---

### How Satan Uses the Law

*Published: March 5, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/how-satan-uses-the-law*

This article is a summary from the following episode: [How Satan Uses the Law. ](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/how-satan-uses-the-law "How Satan Uses the Law")  
  
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we care deeply about encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ. And one of the things we keep coming back to—because Paul keeps coming back to it—is the danger of legalism. But here’s something we often miss in that conversation: legalism isn’t just a human problem. According to the Apostle Paul, it's also spiritual warfare.

That might sound intense. But we’re not overstating it—Paul himself says it. Legalism isn’t just a theological mistake. It’s a strategy used by the enemy to enslave God’s people and obscure the finished work of Jesus. When we add anything to Christ, Paul says we’re not just tinkering with doctrine—we’re falling under the influence of the kingdom of darkness.

Let’s explain.

### **The Law as a Weapon**

Paul uses strong language in Galatians 4 and Colossians 2\. He talks about “elemental spirits of the world,” “rulers,” and “authorities.” And in both letters, he draws a straight line between these powers and the misuse of the law.

In Colossians 2:14–15, he says that Jesus disarmed these rulers and authorities by canceling “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.” That’s law language. And what did Jesus do with that debt? He nailed it to the cross. That’s not just good news—it’s warfare. Christ publicly shamed the enemy by taking away their weapon: condemnation.

And yet, what does the kingdom of darkness do? They keep holding up the law as a tool to accuse, condemn, and enslave. And far too often, we as Christians—maybe unknowingly—join in.

### **Satan Loves Religion**

We often assume that Satan’s best work shows up in things like murder, exploitation, and moral chaos. But the Scriptures paint a more subtle—and more dangerous—picture. Paul, Peter, and John all warn us that Satan’s strategy is often to masquerade as an angel of light. And when it comes to twisting the truth, he doesn’t need to invent a new religion—he just needs to distort the gospel.

He did it in the garden. He did it when he tempted Jesus. And he’s still doing it today.

As we said in a recent conversation, Michael Horton nails it when he says that if Satan ran the world, it wouldn’t necessarily be a horror show. It might look religious, moral, even virtuous—but it would be void of Christ. That’s the real deception. That’s the kind of “faith” that damns.

Satan doesn’t mind if we believe in God. He minds if we trust in Christ alone. If he can convince us to believe in Jesus plus something—plus obedience, plus law-keeping, plus personal holiness—then he’s already got us wrapped in chains.

### **Paul Doesn’t Hold Back**

If this sounds dramatic, just go read Galatians again. Paul says, “Who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1). That’s not a metaphor. He’s saying, “You’re under a spell. You’ve come under the influence of something dark.” And what caused it? They were adding law to the gospel.

That’s why Paul is so stark. In Galatians 5, he says that if we accept circumcision—if we add even one requirement of the law—then “Christ is of no advantage to you.” Not some advantage. No advantage. Because it’s either all of Christ or none of Him. There’s no middle ground. Legalism doesn’t help us get closer to God. It actually pulls us further away.

This is why we get so fired up. This isn’t just a theological nuance. This is the gospel. This is spiritual warfare.

### **Our Armor Is Christ**

So what do we do? We don’t fight the enemy with cleverness or charisma. We fight with clarity. We proclaim Christ crucified—again and again. We remind ourselves and each other that our standing with God is not based on our performance, but on Jesus’ finished work.

We stand in His righteousness. We wear His armor. We trust His promises. And we rest in His grace.

And when the accuser whispers, “You haven’t done enough,” we point to the cross and say, “It is finished.”

### **Don’t Be Fooled**

Friend, if your heart is being pulled away from Christ alone—even in subtle ways—you’re not just drifting. You’re stepping into enemy territory. When Paul warns us not to be “taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit” (Col. 2:8), he’s talking about teachings that sound religious, sound moral, sound wise—but are not of Christ.

Legalism is not harmless. It’s demonic. That’s not our opinion. That’s Paul’s.

We’re not saying the law is bad. Not at all. It’s beautiful and good when used rightly. It shows us our sin. It guides our lives in Christ. But it can’t save. It can’t justify. And it can’t sanctify. If we use it for those purposes, we’re back under bondage—and we’re playing right into the enemy’s hands.

### **Keep Clinging to Christ**

Let us say this as clearly as we can: We are secure because of Christ, not because of our obedience. We are justified because of His righteousness, not ours. And we are sanctified by His Spirit working through the gospel, not our performance or checklist.

We believe all of Christ is for all of life. Anything less is slavery.

So if someone tells you Jesus plus something else equals righteousness—whether it’s a leader, a book, a podcast, or even that voice in your own head—you can say with confidence, “That’s not from God. That’s from the kingdom of darkness.”

And then keep holding fast to Jesus. Keep resting. Keep hearing the gospel, week in and week out. Keep gathering with others who need it just as much as we do.

The devil may be a roaring lion, but he’s a defeated one. And Christ has already crushed his head.

---

### Struggling with Anxiety?

*Published: December 25, 2024 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/struggling-with-anxiety*

Jon Moffitt  

When we share our deepest fears and anxieties, it’s often because we trust that the person we confide in genuinely cares about our well-being. They have a sincere interest in our lives.

However, sharing isn’t always easy. Sometimes, we hesitate because we don’t want to burden the people we love. Other times, embarrassment holds us back. We might think, “Why can’t I let this go? What’s wrong with me? People must think I’m weak or crazy!” This feeling is all too familiar.

At its core, anxiety stems from a sense of helplessness—a belief that we can’t handle what lies ahead. This is completely understandable. We live in a spiritual warzone where Satan’s dark forces aim to keep us trapped in mental prisons. These prisons rob us of joy and hinder our ability to love and care for others. Paul refers to these as strongholds created by lies. While the lies of a child are easy to detect, the deceptions of “the god of this world,” practiced over millennia, are much harder to expose.

**Paul's Answer to Anxiety**

Paul lovingly reminds the church in Philippi that there is nothing in this world worth being anxious about. His solution? Bring your concerns to God. He says, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).

What worries you? What do you need? Paul doesn’t simply say, “Stop worrying!” Instead, he urges us to talk to our King—our loving Father, the one with limitless power. And what happens when we do this?

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).

This peace doesn’t make sense from the world’s perspective. But according to Paul, it’s real. Notice, Paul doesn’t promise that God will grant every request, but rather that He will give us peace, knowing that our concerns are now in His capable hands.

**Does God Care to Listen?**

One of Satan’s greatest lies is convincing us that God doesn’t care about our anxieties. But Scripture says otherwise. Satan seeks to destroy our trust in God, keeping us from the joy and freedom that come from surrendering our burdens.

Paul writes, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4–5).

When anxiety grips us, we may hesitate to approach our loving King. But Hebrews reminds us of Jesus’ heart:

“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” (Heb. 4:15).

Jesus understands. He sympathizes. His posture toward us is one of compassion and acceptance. Peter echoes this sentiment: “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7).

> "Because He Cares For You!"

To “cast” means to throw off. We’re invited to hurl our burdens onto Jesus, who eagerly waits to carry them.

**How Often Should We Come?**

Peter uses the present tense—“casting”—implying that this is an ongoing process. It’s not a one-time act. Hebrews 4:16 encourages us:

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

As often as we need, we can approach God for mercy and grace. We ask for mercy because we’ve doubted His protection. We ask for grace to strengthen our faith in His promises.

**The Battle Against Anxiety**

Anxiety isn’t something we “get over.” We will continue to battle it until Christ’s return and the restoration of His perfect kingdom. But we are not alone. We can bring our worries to our King, who is eager to carry them. In exchange, He offers peace—sometimes for the day, sometimes just for the moment.

The more we practice casting our cares on Him, the less power anxiety will have over us. Struggles will remain, but they don’t have to imprison us or steal our hope and joy. Don’t complicate giving your King your anxiety. Just start telling him why you are struggling. Know he wants to hear from you, he cares, and he will provide peace when you trust him.

---

### Theonomy: A Reformed Baptist Response

*Published: September 10, 2023 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/theonomy-a-reformed-baptist-response*
*Tags: Theonomy*

Justin Perdue

9Marks Journal, Spring 2023

Theonomy Article  
  
**INTRODUCTION**  
  
**Theonomy: A Definition**  
  
Before engaging with theonomy, we need a good definition. At the level of etymology, the word “theonomy” simply means “God’s law,” coming from θεος, which means “God,” and νομος, which means “law.” In this article, however, we will be dealing with theonomy in a more technical and historical sense.  
  
Theonomy asserts that the judicial laws of the Mosaic covenant are normative for all geopolitical entities. Civil governments are obligated to enforce the old covenant judicial laws, together with their penalties, and any law not included in the old covenant judicial code should be considered out of bounds. Theonomy understands that God has given the universal blueprint for civil government in the Mosaic judicial law. As T. David Gordon wrote, “Theonomy wishes to see _every_ nation conform its civil practices to those revealed in the Mosaic legislation… Theonomy does not wish merely a return to a biblical ethic, or a Judeo-Christian ethic, but to the ethic of the Sinai covenant.”[](#%5Fftn1)  
  
Our definition squares with the writings of the earliest and most influential theonomists.[](#%5Fftn2) Others have offered similar definitions.[](#%5Fftn3) It is good for the reader to recognize that theonomy often comes packaged with Christian reconstructionism and a particular flavor of postmillennial eschatology. Theoretically, it is possible to isolate theonomy from these other two, but practically that doesn’t occur at street level.[](#%5Fftn4)  
  
**The Argument**  
  
_The argument of this article is that theonomy is incompatible with confessional Baptist theology._  
  
For those who may be unfamiliar, at least with the term “confessional Baptist,” allow me to offer some clarification. Confessional Baptists hail from the Reformed tradition and the Puritan stream of that tradition, in particular.[](#%5Fftn5) Confessional Baptists have: a theology, piety, and practice that is articulated by the Second London Baptist Confession (2LCF); a theology, piety, and practice that is grounded in the objective realities of Christ’s saving work in the place of the sinner, by virtue of the covenant of grace; a theology, piety, and practice that is grounded in the local church and realized through the ordinary means of grace.[](#%5Fftn6)  
  
For the purpose of this article, confessional Baptist doctrine defends against theonomy in at least three ways. First, confessional Baptist doctrine maintains a threefold division of the law, as well as the distinction between moral and positive law. Second, confessional Baptist covenant theology—particularly that of 1689 Federalism—affirms the historic covenantal framework of Scripture but upholds the uniqueness of the new covenant as the establishment of the covenant of grace. Third, a confessional perspective on the sufficiency of Scripture, two-kingdoms doctrine, the mission of the church, and the Christian as pilgrim runs counter to the assertions of theonomy.  
  
**Acknowledgement of Others**  
  
Before moving on to the body of this article, I want to make very clear that I have been greatly helped by the writing and teaching of others. Much of what follows is my own articulation and understanding of what numerous faithful men have taught; in everything that follows, I am sitting on their shoulders. Especially to be acknowledged, in no particular order: Samuel Renihan, Pascal Denault, Tom Hicks, David VanDrunen, R. Scott Clark, and D. G. Hart.  
  
**I. THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE LAW AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN MORAL AND POSITIVE LAW**  
  
Confessional Baptist theology maintains a historical threefold division of the law, as well as the distinction between moral and positive law, neither of which square with theonomy. I am beginning here because confessional Protestants of various stripes agree on this subject matter, most notably Baptists and Presbyterians.  
  
**Threefold Division of the Law**  
  
Chapter nineteen of the 2LCF (on the Law of God) articulates the following:  
  
1\. God gave to Adam a Law of universal obedience, written in his Heart, and a particular precept of not eating the Fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; by which he bound him, and all his posterity to personal entire exact and perpetual obedience; promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it.  
  
2\. The same Law that was first written in the heart of man, continued to be a perfect rule of Righteousness after the fall; and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in Ten Commandments and written in two Tables; the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six our duty to man.  
  
3\. Besides this Law commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel Ceremonial Laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties, all which Ceremonial Laws being appointed only to the time of reformation, are by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only Law-giver who was furnished with power from the Father, for that end, abrogated and taken away.  
  
4\. To them also he gave sundry judicial Laws, which expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any now by virtue of that institution; their general equity only, being of moral use.  
  
The law of Moses can be divided into three categories: moral, ceremonial, and judicial.[](#%5Fftn7) The moral law was written into creation and in the heart of man. It is summarized in the Ten Commandments, which the Lord gave to Moses on two tablets of stone. As we will consider more below, the moral law is binding for all human beings at any time and in any place. The ceremonial law contained many typological ordinances, all of which prefigured Christ, along with various instructions of moral duties. The ceremonial laws were fulfilled and abrogated by Jesus. The judicial law was given specifically to the nation of Israel and expired when that nation-state, under the old covenant, ceased to exist. It is now the principles of general equity (i.e., general justice) in the judicial law that are of value.[](#%5Fftn8)  
  
Theonomists, however, advocate for a twofold division of the law: moral and ceremonial. Again, we look to Greg Bahnsen,[](#%5Fftn9) who writes:  
  
The most fundamental distinction to be drawn between Old Testament laws is between moral laws and ceremonial laws… This is not an arbitrary or ad hoc division, for it manifests an underlying rationale or principle. Moral laws reflect the absolute righteousness and judgment of God, guiding man’s life into the paths of righteousness; such laws define holiness and sin, restrain evil through punishment of infractions, and drive the sinner to Christ for salvation. On the other hand, ceremonial laws—or redemptive provisions—reflect the mercy of God in saving those who have violated His moral standards.[](#%5Fftn10)  
  
As others have noted, the conflation of the moral law and judicial law is a critical point to the exegetical arguments of theonomists. Bahnsen collapses the categories of moral and judicial law wholesale. “The moral law of God can…be seen in two subdivisions, the divisions having simply a literary difference: (1) general or summary precepts of morality…and (2) commands that specify the general precepts by way of illustrative application…”[](#%5Fftn11) Bahnsen is saying that the judicial law of Israel _is the moral law_, just illustratively applied. This is how he and other theonomists argue for the continually binding nature of the judicial law.  
  
**Moral Law and Positive Law**  
  
There is a distinction between moral law[](#%5Fftn12) and positive law—a distinction that helps us better understand the various kinds of laws in the Mosaic covenant and how they would or would not apply in the new covenant era.  
  
Moral law is necessitated by God’s immutable character and reflects it. Moral law is revealed in nature and in Scripture. It is written into creation and pointedly into the human race. People know God’s moral law innately because it is written on their consciences. This is Paul’s argument in his letter to the Romans:  
  
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20).  
  
For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law… For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts… (Romans 2:12, 14-15a).  
  
Again, consider the language of 2LCF (chapter nineteen on the Law of God):  
  
2\. The same Law that was first written in the heart of man, continued to be a perfect rule of Righteousness after the fall; and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in Ten Commandments and written in two Tables; the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six our duty to man.  
  
5\. The moral Law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof, and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator; who gave it: Neither doth Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.[](#%5Fftn13)  
  
Positive law is different from moral law. Positive law is _posited_ by decree or kingly fiat. It is more revelatory or governmental. It is also tethered to the covenant in which it is given. It is not inherently moral; it is God’s word attached to the positive law that makes it a moral issue. People would not know they should obey a positive law if not told (e.g., eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, circumcision, etc.). _Very important for our consideration is that Israel’s ceremonial and judicial laws were positive laws_. Israel would not have known its ceremonial or judicial laws if God had not revealed them.  
  
Samuel Renihan is very helpful here when he writes:  
  
Among the laws by which God governed Israel, there are two basic kinds. Israel was governed by moral laws and by positive laws… moral laws transcend transcription. They are known by nature, though suppressed by fallen nature. God delivered the moral law to Israel, summarized in the Ten Commandments. In addition to moral laws, God gave positive laws to Israel. Positive laws are added laws, additional laws. These laws are not morally right or wrong in and of themselves. Circumcision, how to build the tabernacle, which animals to sacrifice for which sins, and what foods you can or can’t eat are positive laws. They were added by God to Israel’s covenantal obligations. Every covenant has its own positive laws that govern the people of that covenant, like the trees in Eden. The Moral law and the positive laws of Israel governed the people. That was their function. Israel’s positive laws are often split up into two groups: the civil law, and the ceremonial law.[](#%5Fftn14)  
  
**Pulling All of This Together**  
  
God’s moral law abides. It existed at creation, before any unique era of redemptive history, before any covenant was made in time and space. And so, it transcends any one era of redemptive history or any one covenant made in time and space. It is summarized in the Ten Commandments. Its requirements are fulfilled by Christ in our place. It guides our living in Christ.  
  
The ceremonial law of the Mosaic covenant contained many typological ordinances, all of which prefigured Christ, along with various instructions of moral duties. The ceremonial law was fulfilled and abrogated by Christ.  
  
The judicial law of the Mosaic covenant ceased to be binding when the nation of Israel (under the old covenant) ceased to exist. On this point, it is very obvious that the structure of the kingdom of God on earth changed from the old covenant to the new covenant. The institutional form of the kingdom of God on earth in the old covenant was Israel; the institutional form of the kingdom of God on earth in the new covenant is the church. Israel was a geopolitical entity. The church is not in any sense a geopolitical entity. It certainly is not a nation-state. It spans the globe and is comprised of people from every tribe, language, people, and nation. This significant change provides a simple and straight-forward rationale for the expiration of the Mosaic judicial law.  
  
Regarding the judicial law, its principles of general equity are of abiding value. God’s moral law is the basis for many of the judicial laws in the Mosaic law. And so, we conclude that “general equity” means that what is contained in the moral law—more particularly, the second table of the law—is for the determination of general justice, broadly. We do _not_ go to a judicial law and ask, “What principle is contained here that we need to apply today?” This is exactly what theonomy says we should do.[](#%5Fftn15) Rather than doing this, we appeal _directly_ to the moral law.  
  
As opposed to matters of general equity, matters of _particular equity_ are those laws that only pertain to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. There are many (e.g., division of land, provision of a kinsman redeemer, regulation of polygamy, particular rules of property and inheritance, requirement for the resting of fields, etc.). In the next section, we will consider how the judicial law given to Israel was unique to Israel’s situation and circumstances—and to the purposes of God through Israel. The judicial law has a positive, temporal element that is bound to a particular era of redemptive history; and there are judicial laws that are undergirded by moral laws. The key for us is to remember that it is the moral law that abides, not the specific judicial law given specially to Israel in a specific circumstance in a specific era of redemptive history.  
  
**II. COVENANT THEOLOGY (1689 FEDERALISM)**  
  
Confessional Baptist covenant theology (1689 Federalism)[](#%5Fftn16) is incompatible with theonomy.  
  
**An Overview of 1689 Federalism**  
  
Let me attempt to give the reader an overview of 1689 Federalism from 30,000 feet. We begin with the _covenant of redemption_ made in eternity past, amongst the persons of the Godhead, most pointedly between the Father and Son. In this covenant, it was determined that the Son would be the covenant head of an elect people. He would become a man to represent men. He would keep the law of nature (God’s moral law). He was tempted by Satan just as Adam was. But he did not fall. He would keep the Mosaic law to fulfill all righteousness (moral, ceremonial, and civil). He would give his life to fulfill the law’s penalty, to endure its curse. His reward for accomplishing this work would be his people, who would be resurrected to live with him forever in a new heaven and a new earth.  
  
We now move on to the two covenants made in time and space: the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. God made the _covenant of works_ with Adam in the garden of Eden. In this covenant, Adam represented the entire human race. He could earn blessedness and life through obedience, for himself and all of his posterity; he would receive death (spiritual, temporal, and eternal) through disobedience, again, for himself and all of his posterity. In the _covenant of grace_, Jesus freely grants the salvation and new creation inheritance he earned in the covenant of redemption to all who receive him by faith. All the merits of Christ are mediated to his elect people by faith, apart from works. The covenant of grace is first promised in Genesis 3:15, when God states that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. The rest of the Bible is the unfolding of the accomplishment of that promise.  
  
God made a covenant with Noah after the flood. He promised he would sustain the common kingdom of the earth. All human beings were represented in Noah and would benefit from this covenant, believers and unbelievers alike.[](#%5Fftn17) Along with sustaining the creation, God would sustain its cultural activities, most pointedly, procreation and the securing of proportionate, retributive justice. It is important for us to see that, beyond his purposes for the common kingdom of the world, God would sustain the creation via the Noahic covenant so that the Savior could come—so that God the Son could take on flesh and enter the creation as a human being in order to accomplish salvation.  
  
Now, back to the _covenant of grace_. It is _promised_ in Genesis 3:15\. It is _revealed by farther steps_ throughout the Old Testament, in and through covenants that are subservient to it (i.e., the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and the Davidic covenant). It is _established and accomplished_ through Christ in the _new covenant_.  
  
**Drilling Down on the Old Covenant**  
  
It is important for us to understand that the old covenant is composed of the covenants made with/through Abraham, Moses, and David.[](#%5Fftn18) In other words:  
  
Old Covenant = Abrahamic Covenant + Mosaic Covenant + Davidic Covenant  
  
In the old covenant, God was doing something uniquely in and through Israel. The culmination of this unique work of God was the coming of Christ and the establishment of the new covenant (covenant of grace). Jesus—and the new covenant in him—is the goal and aim of everything God did in and through Israel. It is in this sense that the old covenant must be understood typologically. The covenants with/through Abraham, Moses, and David were significant in and of themselves. They served a real purpose in their own era of redemptive history. And they pointed to something other and greater that was coming. This exposes a crucial error of theonomy: it misunderstands the biblical covenants. The judicial laws of the Mosaic covenant were uniquely fitted to the nation of Israel under the old covenant. Once the new covenant is established in Christ (the goal of the old covenant), it does not follow that uniquely situated old covenant categories (the judicial law, in this case) would be directly imported into the new covenant. This was not God’s design in establishing the old covenant, in general, nor in giving the Mosaic law, in particular.  
  
In the Abrahamic covenant, we see the beginnings of Israel. God promises Abraham a people and a land. Most pointedly, the Christ would be a descendant of Abraham, and he would come through this people in this land.  
  
Then there is the giving of the law through Moses. The Sinai covenant was a kind of covenant of works—a type of it. There is an echo of the covenant of works in the Mosaic covenant with its “Do this and live” paradigm.[](#%5Fftn19) It is clear that the law of Moses was given by God to govern, regulate, and guide the people of Israel, as well as to prescribe their worship. What is perhaps not as clear to many Christians is that God gave the Mosaic law with a redemptive purpose. After the fall, God did not give the law so that human beings could be justified by it. The first and greatest use of the law is to show human beings our sin and drive us to Christ who kept the law for us.[](#%5Fftn20)  
  
This brings us to the Davidic covenant. God promised David that he would have a son whose kingdom would be established forever. This son of David would be God’s son, and he would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). God then told David’s son, Solomon, that he and his offspring would represent the nation of Israel:  
  
And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne _over Israel_ forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you turn aside form following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off _Israel_ from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and _Israel_ will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples (1 Kings 9:4-7).  
  
As goes the king, so goes the kingdom. The principle of representation (i.e., covenant headship) runs throughout the Scripture. Adam represented the human race in the covenant of works. The Davidic king represented the people under the old covenant. And Christ represents all of his people in the new covenant. This makes all kinds of sense of the witness of the prophets regarding the servant of the Lord and the righteous Branch that would be raised up for David:  
  
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all… by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous… (Isaiah 53:4-6, 11b).  
  
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).  
  
Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever (Jeremiah 33:14-18).  
  
Thank God for Jesus Christ! He is the fulfillment of the entire old covenant. This is the witness of the prophets. This is the argument of the book of Hebrews. Jesus has reversed Adam’s curse. He has fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic law for righteousness. He has fulfilled the ceremonial law—the priesthood, the sacrificial system, all of it. May we never seek to go back to the law now that God has established the new covenant through the blood of Christ.  
  
But what about the judicial law? How did it serve the unique purposes of God in and through Israel? It was given to govern this people—a particular people in a particular place at a particular time for a particular purpose. It was given to make Israel unique, so that other nations would say, “If only we had a God like Yahweh.” This is massively important: it was given to preserve the nation that would give birth to the Christ. The people of Israel were a disobedient and stiff-necked people. The Lord needed to give this people the judicial law to restrain them and to protect the line of promise until the coming of Christ.  
  
The judicial law, as a part of the Mosaic law, also typologically pointed to the kingdom of Christ and the eschatological purposes of God. A couple of examples will make this point. First, consider the curses and blessings of Deuteronomy 28\. God promised material blessing and prosperity to Israel for obedience to the law; he threatened curses for disobedience. This was temporally true and significant for Israel,[](#%5Fftn21) and it points to God’s righteous judgment at the end of the age. Second, consider the punishments of the judicial law. The death penalty was fairly common in Israel under the Mosaic covenant. One was executed, in many cases, for adultery or for breaking the Sabbath. This is different than the standard of proportionate, retributive justice articulated in the Noahic covenant.[](#%5Fftn22) These punishments were typological. They served to show the gravity of sin against God’s moral law and to, again, point to the severity of God’s righteous judgment at the end of the age for all those who have not trusted Christ.  
  
The Mosaic judicial law was specific and circumstantial.[](#%5Fftn23) It was perfect for what the Lord intended to do through the nation of Israel in the land of Canaan moving toward the birth of Christ. The judicial law was ideally suited to do what it did—for the people of Israel living in the land God promised them. Yet, it was circumstantial. It was an outworking of moral law uniquely accommodated to a particular people in a particular era of redemptive history. That nation of Israel had a particular purpose in God’s economy of redemption. So did its judicial laws. Now that the nation has served its purpose (i.e., to bring the promised offspring of Abraham who would save the world), the nation’s judicial laws have served their purpose, as well. We don’t need to be drawing straight lines from Canaan to California. In fact, we shouldn’t.  
  
**The Newness of the New Covenant**  
  
The new covenant is a better covenant than the old covenant. It is enacted on better promises. It is a different substance than the old covenant.[](#%5Fftn24) This is the argument of Hebrews:  
  
This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22).  
  
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises (Hebrews 8:6).  
  
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13).  
  
Therefore is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15).  
  
There is one covenant of grace in all of Scripture. The Scriptures are a cohesive whole. The point of the Bible is God’s plan of redemption accomplished through Christ. And yet, there is significant discontinuity between the old and new covenants.[](#%5Fftn25) This is critical when it comes to carrying over old covenant paradigms into the new covenant era.  
  
In particular, we would not carry over positive laws—ceremonial or judicial—from the old covenant into the new covenant. Positive laws are tethered to the covenant in which they are given. Confessional Baptist covenant theology does not understand that the covenant of grace was established with Abraham. For our purposes here, that means _the Mosaic covenant is not the covenant of grace_. And so, the positive laws of the Mosaic covenant are not binding in the new covenant (the covenant of grace established). The ceremonial law has been fulfilled by Jesus, and therefore, abrogated. The judicial laws ceased to be binding once the nation to which they were given (i.e., Israel under the old covenant) ceased to exist. The principles of general equity in the judicial law that are inherently tethered to the moral law still have value.  
  
Theonomy is prone to the error of what could be called a naked biblicism, meaning it is chapter and verse (proof texting) without an appropriate undergirding hermeneutic. It is devoid of a sound hermeneutical framework. Often, the rhetoric from theonomists goes something like, “It’s either God’s law or man’s law. Which are you going to choose?” Of course, we choose God’s law. But we choose God’s law rightly understood in the context of the biblical revelation. Theonomy misunderstands the biblical covenants, and thereby, misunderstands God’s law.  
  
**III. A CONFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE**  
  
Confessional Protestantism is a distinct tradition within the broader Protestant tradition. This is especially true in the United States.[](#%5Fftn26) A confessional perspective on the sufficiency of Scripture, two-kingdoms doctrine, the mission of the church, and the Christian as pilgrim runs counter to the assertions of theonomy. I will consider each of these in brief  
  
**The Sufficiency of Scripture**  
  
Theonomists often appeal to the sufficiency of Scripture in order to contend for the continually binding nature of the Mosaic judicial code. The argumentation goes something like:  
  
God has given us everything we need to know in his holy, inspired word. We need to know how to function in the arena of civil government, so the word of God must provide us with that instruction. We can call agree that the one place where God himself engages in the project of civil government is in the Mosaic legislation. And so, God has in fact given his perfect, inspired take on civil government. He has given us the blueprint for statecraft. Now it is up to us to decide. Will we go with God’s law? Or man’s law?  
  
This is a misguided understanding of the sufficiency of Scripture, as defined by the confessions. Consider the language of 2LCF (chapter one on the Holy Scriptures):  
  
6\. The whole Counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own Glory, Man’s Salvation, Faith and Life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture… Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God, to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church common to human actions and societies; which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.  
  
In his word, God has revealed everything necessary for his own glory, as well as for man’s salvation, faith, and life (i.e., spiritual life in the church). God has not revealed everything there is to know about everything in the world. What is striking in the above paragraph is how the framers of 2LCF acknowledge that even in matters concerning the worship of God and the government of the church things are to be ordered by the light of nature (i.e., general revelation and natural law). If that is true in the church, how much more so in civil society?  
  
God’s word is sufficient for the purposes for which he gave it. In any of our appeals to the sufficiency of Scripture this must be taken into consideration. The assertion that Scripture is sufficient for everything, or even the assertion that the Scripture is sufficient for the governing of civil society, à la theonomy, misunderstands the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture and diminishes the legitimacy and helpfulness of the light of nature.[](#%5Fftn27)  
  
**Two-Kingdoms Doctrine**  
  
A Reformed understanding of two-kingdoms doctrine[](#%5Fftn28) serves as a safeguard against theonomy, in that it helps us understand God’s rule over the world and especially over the church. This has significant ramifications for how we understand the church’s engagement with the broader culture. Two-kingdoms doctrine can be briefly be outlined as follows:  
  
The _common kingdom_ is established by the Noahic covenant. God will sustain the world, along with its cultural activities (e.g., procreation and securing justice). The _redemptive kingdom_ is established through the promise of the covenant of grace and its accomplishment. Christians live under the Noahic covenant, along with non-Christians; only God’s people live under the covenant of grace. Christians live in the common kingdom, along with non-Christians; only God’s people are a part of the redemptive kingdom. Christians belong especially to the church. As David VanDrunen writes:  
  
Through the church are citizens of heaven even now. This church—God’s redemptive kingdom in the present age—has a distinct membership, faith, worship, and ethic. Its way of life displays a counterculture to the cultures of this world. The church awaits the coming of Christ as a day of glorious consummation, when the bride will see her bridegroom face-to-face as she is ushered into the wedding banquet of the Lamb.[](#%5Fftn29)  
  
The redemptive kingdom of the church and the common kingdom of the world are not one and the same. Many, however, mistake God’s rule in one sphere for his rule in another. God rules the whole world, no doubt. But his rule over the redemptive kingdom is different than his rule over the common kingdom.  
  
The Bible is a story of two Adams—and we are not one of them. Only Jesus can accomplish what Adam failed to accomplish. We are not little Adams. We are not called to pick up where Adam failed and carry the mission on through.[](#%5Fftn30) We will not, through our cultural activities, usher in the new creation.[](#%5Fftn31) The new creation has been earned and attained by Jesus, and he is the one who will usher it in. Our cultural obedience does not contribute to building the new creation. Only the work of Christ has done that. To be clear, we should engage in cultural labors. God has not taken us out of the world. We have a range of responsibilities and callings in the world. This is a good thing! But we are not called to engage in cultural labors in order to build the world-to-come.  
  
In all of this, we must remember that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. As Jesus said before Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). The zeal to rebuild Christendom or establish Christian geopolitical entities on earth may be sincere, but it is misplaced. The church does not need Caesar to do its work. And the church is not called to do the work of Caesar. Caesar is to attend well to Caesar’s kingdom; the Lord will attend to his.  
  
**The Mission of the Church**  
  
Theonomy tends to redefine the mission of the church to include: civil governments adopting and enforcing the old covenant judicial code; building a Christian society; rebuilding Christendom; Christianizing the nations.[](#%5Fftn32)  
  
We are under the new covenant. There is a mandate, but it is not one of dominion. It is a mandate to rightly preach the word of Christ and rightly administer the sacraments for the salvation of God’s people. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ will be built through word and sacrament, through the preaching of law and gospel—in other words, through the ordinary means of grace.  
  
Consider 2LCF 1.7 (on the Holy Scriptures):  
  
All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for Salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient understanding of them.  
  
Also, 2LCF 14.1 (on Saving Faith):  
  
The Grace of Faith, whereby the Elect are enabled to believe the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts; and is ordinarily wrought by the Ministry of the Word; by which also, and by the administration of Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, Prayer and other Means appointed of God, it is increased, and strengthened.  
  
The only solution to man’s condition is not the establishment of civil laws in accord with the judicial law of Moses; it is the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men through the gospel. It must be said that most, if not all, theonomists would agree here. The plea is for them to reason consistently when it comes to the mission of the institutional church.  
  
**The Christian as Pilgrim**  
  
Confessionalism rightly understands the Christian life to be one of a pilgrim. We are sojourners and exiles in this world. This is a thoroughly biblical understanding. And it significantly impacts our thinking regarding the ministry and mission of the church. We have been promised a homeland, but we are not there yet. And between here and there, we face thousands of spiritual dangers. There is trial and temptation on every side. And so, we need nourishment, sustenance, and protection. This is precisely what the ministry of the church is meant to provide. D. G. Hart writes beautifully of this:  
  
For confessionalism a good bit of the Christian life includes a recognition of the spiritual dangers that still afflict believers and their consequent need for spiritual help and sustenance that the ministry of the church is designed to provide. Being a Christian, then, means participating in churchly rites and ceremonies, not simply as means of inspiration for evangelism and Christian activism, but primarily to learn dependence on grace and to persevere through life’s doubts and temptations… Confessionalism’s understanding of the Christian life as a pilgrimage…assumes the weakness and frailty of believers and measures success by the degree to which they continue to trust in God and hope for the world to come despite the trials and suffering of this life.[](#%5Fftn33)  
  
I trust it is clear how this posture runs counter to the ethos and emphasis of theonomy, particularly reconstructionist theonomy. It is important that we understand the countries in which we live are still Babylon. The common kingdom, as a whole, is still Babylon. Our calling in the church is not to turn Babylon into the new heavens and the new earth. We are to concern ourselves with the ministry of word and sacrament and the living of ordinary lives in the covenant community of the church. Through us and in spite of us, Christ will build his church. He will save his people. And one day, we will _receive_ a kingdom. Then we will see the activities and products of human culture destroyed and re-created, things to which we contributed and in which we participated. We will be given the kingdom by the Father. It will be his delight to give it, by the way. We will be welcomed into the holy city, new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God (Revelation 21:2).  
  
In the meantime, may we take heart that what was written of the saints of old is also true of us:  
  
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (Hebrews 11:13-16).  
  
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).  
  
**CONCLUSION**  
  
Confessional Baptist theology provides buttresses against theonomy in three significant areas. First, confessional Baptist theology maintains a threefold division of the Mosaic law, as well as the distinction between moral and positive law. These principles demonstrate that the judicial law of Moses is no longer binding on any geopolitical entity. Second, confessional Baptist covenant theology—particularly that of 1689 Federalism—affirms the historic covenantal framework of Scripture but upholds the uniqueness of the new covenant as the establishment of the covenant of grace. This theological framework makes plain the unique purposes of God in and through the nation of Israel under the old covenant. The Mosaic judicial law served a unique purpose for a unique people in a unique era of redemptive history. The nation has served its purpose in God’s economy of redemption (i.e., bringing the promised offspring of Abraham who would save the world), and so, the nation’s judicial laws have served their purpose, as well. Third, a confessional perspective on the sufficiency of Scripture, two-kingdoms doctrine, the mission of the church, and the Christian as pilgrim run counter to the teaching and the ethos of theonomy.  
  
_Editor’s note: this article was originally published by_ [_9Marks_](https://9marks.org/) _and is republished with their permission._  

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[](#%5Fftnref1) Gordon, T. D. “Critique of Theonomy: A Taxonomy.” _Westminster Theological Journal_, 56 (1994): 23.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref2) For example, one of the earliest and most influential voices in the theonomic and reconstructionist movement(s) was Greg L. Bahnsen. In his book, Bahnsen, Greg L. _By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today_. (Nacogdoches, TX: Covenant Media Press, 2020), he writes the “New Testament does not teach any radical change in God’s law regarding the standards of socio-political morality. God’s law as it touches upon the duty of civil magistrates has not been altered in any systematic or fundamental way in the New Testament…” He continues, “we must recognize the continuing obligation of civil magistrates to obey and enforce the relevant laws of the Old Testament, including the penal sanctions specified by the just Judge of all the earth. As with the rest of God’s law, we must presume continuity of binding authority regarding the socio-political commandments revealed as standing law in the Old Testament” (2-3). He goes on to say, “It is advocated that we should presume the abiding authority of any Old Testament commandment until and unless the New Testament reveals otherwise, and this presumption holds just as much for laws pertaining to the state as for laws pertaining to the individual” (5). In another volume, Bahnsen, Greg L. _Theonomy in Christian Ethics_. 3rd ed. (Nacogdoches, TX: Covenant Media Press, 2002), he writes, “God’s law as revealed in Scripture ought to direct society and the civil magistrate today. A society which is to reflect _Christian_ morality is a society which has the full, distinctive _law of God_ for its direction” (xlii). Bahnsen’s concern is to “show from God’s word that the Christian is obligated to keep the whole law of God as a pattern of sanctification and that this law is to be enforced by the civil magistrate where and how the stipulations of God so designate. That is to say, ‘theonomy’ has a central and irradicable place in any genuinely Christian ethic… Theonomy is crucial to Christian ethics, and all the details of God’s law are intrinsic to theonomy” (36).  
  
[](#%5Fftnref3) I refer the reader to Hicks, Tom. “Why Is Theonomy Unbiblical?” Web log. _Ask the Pastor, Tom Hicks_ (blog), 2022\. <https://pastortomhicks.com/2020/11/17/why-is-theonomy-unbiblical/> and VanDrunen, David. “Theonomy: A Theological Critique.” Web log. _The London Lyceum_ (blog), July 1, 2022\. <https://www.thelondonlyceum.com/theonomy-a-theological-critique/>.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref4) To deal with the contemporary, pop-level mash-up of theonomy, reconstructionism, and optimistic postmillennialism is beyond the scope of this article. I have aimed to engage theonomy in a theological, exegetical, and historical sense. It is also of note that theonomy and theonomists have been heavily influenced by the presuppositional apologetics developed by Cornelius Van Til, as well as the writings of Abraham Kuyper, but a consideration of the development of theonomy is also beyond the scope of this article.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref5) The text of the Second London Baptist Confession was written in 1677 and formally adopted in 1689\. It was adapted from the Savoy Declaration of Faith and Order (1658), which was a Congregationalist confession itself adapted from the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), a Presbyterian confession. These three confessions of faith effectively represent the Puritan stream of the Reformed tradition (i.e., the English Reformation), the other stream of the Reformed tradition being the continental stream (i.e., Three Forms of Unity).  
  
[](#%5Fftnref6) For an excellent consideration of Reformed confessionalism, see Clark, R. Scott. _Recovering the Reformed Confession: Our Theology, Piety and Practice_. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref7) The third category can be called “judicial” or “civil.” Those terms are used interchangeably.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref8) Reformed theologians (along with Thomas Aquinas) have articulated this threefold division of the law. For a good, brief summary, see again “Theonomy: A Theological Critique”. More pointedly, in Calvin, John. _Institutes of the Christian Religion_. Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006, Calvin articulates the threefold division of the law (4.20.15). On the moral law, he writes, “It is a fact that the law of God which we call the moral law is nothing else than a testimony of natural law and of that conscience which God has engraved upon the minds of men” (4.20.16). Regarding the judicial law, having already acknowledged that the judicial laws were taken away, Calvin goes on to say, “For the statement of some, that the law of God given through Moses is dishonored when it is abrogated and new laws preferred to it, is utterly vain. For others are not preferred to it when they are more approved, not by a simple comparison, but with regard to the condition of times, place, and nation; or when that law is abrogated which was never enacted for us. For the Lord through the hand of Moses did not give that law to be proclaimed among all nations and to be in force everywhere…” (4.20.16).  
  
[](#%5Fftnref9) I continually refer to Bahnsen because he is an early voice in the theonomic and reconstructionist movement(s) and is possibly the most deliberate and exegetical in his argumentation.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref10) _By This Standard_, 97.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref11) _By This Standard_, 98.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref12) Moral law is often referred to as natural law.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref13) The reference here is to Matthew 5:17ff, in which Jesus expounds the moral law to the hearts of men. He turns up the temperature as to what the law requires—at a spiritual level. He, of course, is preaching this as the one who came to fulfill all of the law’s requirements in the place of his people.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref14) Renihan, Samuel. _The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, And His Kingdom_. (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2019), 118.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref15) This is precisely what Bahnsen says when he writes, “The Puritans termed these case-law applications of the Decalogue ‘judicial laws,’ and they correctly held that we are not bound today to keep these judicial laws as they are worded…but only required to heed their underlying principles… The Old Testament required that a railing be placed around one’s roof as a safety precaution, since guests were entertained on the flat roofs of houses in that ancient society; with our sloped roofs today we do not need to have the same literal railing, but the general underlying principle might very well require us to have the fence around our backyard swimming pool—again, to protect human life” (_By This Standard_, 98-99).  
  
[](#%5Fftnref16) 1689 Federalism is the oldest view amongst confessional Baptists. On this and all the subject matter regarding Baptist covenant theology, I would strongly commend (in addition to _The Mystery of Christ_): Coxe, Nehemiah, and John Owen. _Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ_. Edited by Ronald D. Miller, James M. Renihan, and Francisco Orozco. Palmdale, California: Reformed Baptist Academic Press, 2005; and Denault, Pascal. “By Farther Steps: A Seventeenth-Century Particular Baptist Covenant Theology.” Essay. In _Recovering a Covenantal Heritage_, edited by Richard C. Barcellos, 71–107\. Palmdale, CA: Reformed Baptist Academic Press, 2014.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref17) God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good; he sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). He gives the nations rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying their hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17). He gives to all mankind life and breath and everything (Acts 17:24).  
  
[](#%5Fftnref18) I make the with/through caveat because the Mosaic covenant was not actually made with Moses; it was made with the people of Israel. Moses was the mediator of the covenant.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref19) See, for example, the argument of Paul in Galatians 3:10-14, 4:21-26.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref20) See Romans 3:19-20, 5:20, 7:13, 9:30-10:4; Galatians 3:19\. Jesus also uses the law this way repeatedly in his ministry (e.g., Matthew 5:17ff, Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 10:25-37).  
  
[](#%5Fftnref21) To argue that God gives life, glory, and prosperity to nations (any nation other than Israel under the old covenant) who enforce and keep his law is a misunderstanding of the biblical covenants.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref22) It is the Noahic covenant, not the Mosaic, that provides the basis for the function of civil government. The proportionate, retributive justice articulated by the Noahic covenant was “an eye for an eye.” If you harm someone physically or financially, the civil authorities should exact an equal and just penalty for the sake of the victim.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref23) Circumstantial should not be understood to mean arbitrary. The Mosaic judicial law was not arbitrary, but it was certainly circumstantial.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref24) This is where 1689 Federalism differs from Westminster Federalism, which understands that the old and new covenants were one covenant under different administrations—in other words, the old and new covenants are the same substance.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref25) The Westminster Confession of Faith, in chapter eight, does make it clear that the one covenant of grace is administered differently in the new covenant and the old. There also chapter nineteen on the law of God, as in 2LCF (considered above). To be clear, according to the Westminster Confession of Faith, theonomy is not orthodox or confessional. That said, when it comes to theonomy, there are inherent pressures in Westminster Federalism. If the covenant of grace is the same substance in the old and new covenants, and is similarly administered in the new covenant, then we should expect the laws and paradigms of the old covenant to continue into the time of the new covenant—unless expressly repealed. This is one of the substantial arguments Presbyterians make for infant baptism.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref26) For a historical-theological analysis of confessionalism in America, see Hart, D. G. _The Lost Soul of American Protestantism_. Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2002.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref27) It is my understanding (and the understanding of many others) that the light of nature (i.e., natural law) is _the_ thing that should guide human beings in the arrangement and government of civil societies.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref28) For an excellent, accessible treatment of Reformed two-kingdoms doctrine, see VanDrunen, David. _Living in God's Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture_. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref29) _Living in God’s Two Kingdoms_, 30.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref30) A common assertion amongst theonomists is that we are fulfill the mandate that was given to Adam. Sometimes this is referred to as “Dominion Theology.” This is related to several theological problems, not least of which is mono-covenantalism, in which the covenant of works is categorically denied and is functionally collapsed into the covenant of grace.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref31) This is contradictory to the teaching of reconstructionist theonomy.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref32) While this is true of theonomy, in general, it is especially true of reconstructionist theonomy.  
  
[](#%5Fftnref33) _The Lost Soul of American Protestantism_, 171-172.

---

### Grace for the Weary

*Published: September 7, 2023 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/hope-for-the-weary*
*Tags: hope*

Jon Moffitt

How do you even contemplate lifting your broken heart to your God when your guilt has you buried 6 feet underground?

How do you find the reason to hope again when shame drowns you in despair?  
  
How do you walk into the light when your conscience drags you into depression?  
  
Grace!  
  
Your Father shouts your name not in anger but as a passionate Father looking for his lost child. He didn’t lose you. Your eyes and ears became deaf to his call because sin has covered your heart and blocked you from seeing his love.  
  
He shouts past the pain, the shame, and the noise of your brain so you can hear his voice. Child, come to me without trepidation. Listen to my words. I love you. I have always loved you. I loved you before you even knew me. I will love you through every trial. I will love you when your heart wanders from me. I loved you first, and remember, my love is never dependent upon you.  
  
His voice echoes through our hearts through the letter he wrote to us. Child, read my letter. Listen to my words. I know your weaknesses. I know the struggles you face. If you listen to my words, you will have the strength to endure this world. My love for you will provide the hope needed to walk another day. Look not to how you walk but to my words. Walk in my words. Look to my Son. He holds you. He died for you. He is preparing your home with me. You are safe. Put down the lies of the adversary and pick up my words. Listen to your brothers and sisters as they point you back to me. Hear my voice in their words. Listen to my songs in their lungs.  
  
Find your strength in my grace. When you do, another wayward child will be freed because you will point them to me. First, find your rest in me. Be renewed. Your joy is no waiting in your performance. Your joy is resting in my Son. Rest in him. And then give this truth to your neighbor so that you both can rejoice together.

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### No Condemnation Now We Dread | Romans 8:1–4

*Published: May 28, 2023 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/no-condemnation-now-we-dread-romans-8-1-4*

This article is a summary from the following sermon: [No Condemnation Now We Dread](https://covbap.org/sermons/no-condemnation-now-we-dread-romans-81-4/ "No Condemnation Now We Dread") by Justin Perdue

Christ has kept his Father's every word. He obeyed the law perfectly. Every ounce of the Father's pleasure, Christ secured—and more. His righteous life is now ours. His merits now belong to us. We are children of God, adopted, loved, and known.

These are the kinds of truths Romans 8 so wonderfully proclaims. Known by many as “the Great Eight,” this chapter meets weary sinners with assurance, hope, and joy rooted not in themselves but in Christ alone. Romans 8 is a refuge for burdened souls because it declares with unflinching clarity: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

## The Comfort of a Clear Statement

Romans 8:1 opens with words that every Christian needs to hear and believe: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

This verse draws together the sweeping arguments of Romans chapters 5, 6, and 7\. Paul has been proclaiming the assurance of our salvation through union with Christ. By faith, what belongs to Jesus belongs to us. His righteousness is counted as ours. His life is our life.

In chapter 6, Paul clarified that being united to Christ does not grant a license to sin. Far from it—our union with Jesus means we have died to sin and now walk in newness of life. In chapter 7, he explained that though believers are freed from the law as a covenant of works, the law itself remains good and holy, exposing our sin and pointing us to Christ.

Now in Romans 8, Paul draws the glorious conclusion: because we are in Christ, there is no condemnation remaining for us. None. The condemnation that once rested on us under the law has been completely removed.

It is important to notice that Paul moves from first-person singular in chapter 7 ("I do the very thing I hate...") to first-person plural here. This assurance is not only for apostles. It is not only for the spiritually elite. It is for all believers. It is for us.

For the Christian, the law can no longer threaten, accuse, or condemn. It has no claim over us. In Christ, we are safe.

## Why There Is No Condemnation

Paul goes on to explain how this freedom from condemnation has come to be:

> "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)

Here, "the law of the Spirit of life" is a reference to the gospel—the message of Christ crucified and risen. "The law of sin and death" points to the moral law seen as a covenant of works. Under that covenant, righteousness demands perfection, and any failure results in death.

Left to ourselves, we could never fulfill the righteous requirements of God's law. The problem is not with the law—it is holy, righteous, and good. The problem is with us. Sin has corrupted our nature so deeply that, in our flesh, true obedience is impossible.

But what the law could not do—justify sinners—God has done.

> "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh..." (Romans 8:3)

The Father sent the Son, truly God and truly man, in the likeness of sinful flesh—fully human, yet without sin. Christ came not only to bear our punishment but to fulfill all righteousness on our behalf. In his life, he satisfied every demand of the law. In his death, he bore the full curse of the law against sin.

Everything that the law demanded—perfect obedience and full satisfaction of justice—was fulfilled by Christ. And now, by faith, all that he accomplished is credited to us.

Paul continues:

> "...in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:4)

This fulfillment does not rest on our imperfect obedience, but on Christ’s perfect work. As John Calvin put it, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us because "the obedience of Christ is accepted for us."

The Christian life, then, is not a frantic effort to achieve what Christ has already secured. It is a life lived by faith—trusting, resting, and rejoicing in what Jesus has accomplished.

## The Danger of Misusing Marks and Evidences

Throughout church history, Christians have recognized that the life of faith produces real fruit: love for God, hatred of sin, growth in holiness. These are good and necessary evidences. However, there is a great danger in misusing them.

Horatius Bonar warned that many sincere believers fall into the trap of seeking assurance not from Christ’s finished work, but from their own feelings, prayers, and spiritual attainments. They make peace with God contingent not on Christ, but on the state of their own hearts.

This is a cruel snare. It leaves believers forever questioning: Am I repentant enough? Is my faith sincere enough? Am I feeling the right things?

If our peace depends on the purity of our affections or the strength of our repentance, we will never have peace. As Bonar said, "the grace of Christ falls short of reaching the sinner as he is."

The gospel reaches us where we are—not where we ought to be. It calls us to behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world—not to behold ourselves and our religious feelings.

## Christ Alone Is Our Peace

Peace and assurance are found not by looking inward, but by looking outward—to Christ. The same Christ who first called us to himself by sheer grace still bids us come. He is still sufficient. His righteousness is still enough. His blood still speaks a better word over us.

We are not Christians because of the quality of our faith, or the depth of our repentance, or the sincerity of our feelings. We are Christians because Christ is faithful. We are Christians because he lived, died, and rose again—and because we trust in him.

When we sin—and we will—we do not run from Christ. We run to him. When we see little fruit, or when our hearts feel cold, we do not stay away until we "fix ourselves." We come needy and broken to the throne of grace, again and again, because we know the One who welcomes us there.

He has secured our salvation. He has promised to keep us. He has assured us that there is no condemnation for those who are in him.

## Final Word of Hope

The Christian life is often a war—a war within our own hearts. We groan, we stumble, we long for holiness we have not yet attained.

But even in the midst of the struggle, one thing remains unshaken: Christ. He is our righteousness. He is our peace. He is our hope.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Not because of our performance, not because of our feelings, not because of anything in us—but because of him.

He will not fail us. He will bring us safely home.

Until that day, we cling to him—and he holds us fast.

---

### Is Doug Wilson A False Teacher?

*Published: September 26, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/is-doug-wilson-a-false-teacher*
*Tags: Doug Wilson, False Teachers, Federal Vision*

Here’s a podcast episode that provides some important context on [Doug Wilson](&nbsp;https://youtu.be/dDOSLx1z2Z4 "Is Doug Wilson A False Teacher?")

[**Other Resources: Episode and notes about his writings on marriage and sexuality.**](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/church-discernment-and-purity-culture)

_**Video Notes By Pastor Jon Moffitt**_

**Doug Wilson Still affirms FV Joint Statement but Denies the Title**

**FV No Mas**

What I Do Not Mean (2017)

This statement represents a change in what I will call what I believe. It does not represent any substantial shift or sea change in the content of what I believe…I am making this lexical shift for the sake of clarity and communication—defining more precisely what was already there.  
https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/federal-vision-no-mas.htm

**Ecclesiastical Reports**

**URCNA: Report of the Synodical Study Committee on the Federal Vision and Justification**

By the standard of biblical and confessional teaching, this reformulation of the doctrine of justification by FV writers stands condemned. Rather than a radical contrast between justification by grace alone through faith alone, apart from works of any kind, a distinction is drawn between “meritorious” works, which play no role in justification, and “non- meritorious” works, which do play a role in justification. (P. 74-75)

**ARP: Minutes General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church**

The “New Perspective on Paul,” and the “Federal Vision,” are in conflict with the teaching of Scripture and as such they are unacceptable. (P. 18)  
https://arpchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Minutes-of-Synod-2009-Web.pdf

**OPC: Report on Justification Presented to the Seventy-third General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church**

The Committee believes that the following points that are held by some one or the other advocates of FV are out of accord with Scripture and our doctrinal standards:  
11\. A denial of the imputation of the active obedience of Christ in our justification.  
12\. Defining justification exclusively as the forgiveness of sins.  
14\. Including works (by use of “faithfulness,” “obedience,” etc.) in the very definition of faith. 15\. Failing to affirm an infallible perseverance and the indefectibility of grace. (p. 88)  
https://www.opc.org/GA/justification.html

**Mid-America Reformed Seminary Doctrinal Testimony Regarding** 
**Recent Errors May 2007** 

Article 52 We deny that faith alone means that the fruits that accompany our faith, such as works of love, or faith in its faithfulness, or faith in its non-meritorious working, or any other kind of works, are included in the definition and instrumentality of justifying faith; and so we deny that justifying faith is faith as a virtue. (p. 42)  
Article 53 We affirm that faith is merely the instrument for receiving Christ and accepting his merit. We deny the claim that God, having withdrawn his demand for perfect obedience to the law, counts faith itself, and the imperfect obedience of faith, as perfect obedience to the law, and graciously looks upon this as worthy of the reward of eternal life (CD, II, rejection of errors 4). (p. 42)  
<http://www.midamerica.edu/uploads/files/pdf/errors.pdf>

Many have claimed that DW does not affirm all of the FV theology, and he has been misrepresented by others. We will examine his writings and compare them to his affirmation of FV.

**CHANGING HISTORIC DEFINITIONS**

Creating a division between works and obedience in scripture.

**Like a Gelatinous Pudding – Blog Post**

In the New Testament, obedience is a good word. Also in the New Testament, works is not, unless it is modified with a word like good. We are called to good works ([Titus 2:7](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Titus%202.7)), but we are not saved by works ([Eph. 2:8-9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph.%202.8-9)).

By way of contrast, sinners do not obey the truth ([Rom. 2:8](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.%202.8)). The Lord is the author of eternal salvation for **all who obey Him** ([Heb. 5:9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Heb.%205.9))…God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him ([Acts 5:32](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Acts%205.32))…But the bottom line is that simple words obey and obedience should not set off alarm bells for people who read their Bibles.  
<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/like-a-gelatinous-pudding.html>

_“What is faith?”_ This is a helpful paragraph from Ligonier on how protestants have always understood the definition of faith:

The Protestant Reformers recognized that biblical faith has three essential aspects: notitia, assensus, and fiducia.

Notitia. Notitia refers to the content of faith, or those things that we believe. We place our faith in something, or more appropriately, someone. In order to believe, we must know something about that someone, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Assensus. Assensus is our conviction that the content of our faith is true. You can know about the Christian faith and yet believe that it is not true. Genuine faith says that the content — the notitia taught by Holy Scripture — is true.

Fiducia. Fiducia refers to personal trust and reliance. Knowing and believing the content of the Christian faith is not enough, for even demons can do that ([James 2:19](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/James%202.19)). Faith is only effectual if, knowing about and assenting to the claims of Jesus, one personally trusts in Him alone for salvation.  
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/faith-defined

DW adds a new dimension to faith, thus adding something to the biblical teaching of faith. Adding these new definitions of works and obedience into faith. He is changing the definition of justification by adding works and sanctification into justification.

**Quotes from _“Reformed is not enough”_**

This book is still available on his website. <https://canonpress.com/products/reformed-is-not-enough/>

Below are several quotes where DW combines works into the definition of faith. He will clearly claim faith alone, but his definition of faith is not protestant because requires works to be a part of the meaning of faith.

In the historic Protestant view, **good works are inseparable from biblical salvation**…Because this is the case, **James can speak of justification by works**.  
Wilson, Douglas . Reformed Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant . Canon Press. Kindle Edition.

DW creates a new understanding of salvation as it relates to the new covenant. This is because he holds to a two-stage understanding of justification. We are only justified if we remain faithful.

Chori Seraiah notes the importance of this in questions of apostasy. “The means by which men apostatize from the covenant is unfaithfulness. The means by which men persevere in the covenant is faithfulness.”43 In other words, to assert that men fall away because their salvation was **contingent upon continued faithfulness in the gospel is not to deny the sovereignty of God at all.** 
Wilson, Douglas . Reformed Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant . Canon Press. Kindle Edition.

Faith is the only instrument God uses in our justification. But when God has done this wonderful work, the **faithful instrument** does not shrivel up and die. It continues to love God and obey Him. If it does not, but just lies there like a corpse, then we have good reason to believe that it was lying there like a corpse some days before—not being therefore an **instrument of justification**. Faith without works is a dead faith, and a dead faith never justified anybody.  
Wilson, Douglas . Reformed Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant . Canon Press. Kindle Edition.

Rightfully so, DW has been accused of being a heretic because he refuses to recant the FV statement and his writings on faith and justification.

Why are we heretics because we say **faith cannot be separated from trust and obedience**, and because we say saving faith cannot be separated from a life of obedience and trust?  
Douglas Wilson, The Monroe Four Speak Out, 5, 6.

To be abundantly clear, we are going to look at other documents where he continues to defend this teaching. So it isn’t one book or one statement, or on sermon, or one blog article we could have possibly misunderstood. He has been clear for years and that is why we are pointing out that he is knowingly leading people away from the clear teachings of the gospel to a false gospel.

In an interview with Christian Renewal magazine, DW was asked:

“Doug, when you cite ‘continuing in goodness’ in Rom. 11 in your 2002 lecture, is that the **cause** **of our salvation or the** **fruit** **of it**?” Wilson replied:

**Yes**(laughter all around).

Look, in Colossians Paul says as you received Christ so walk in him. So **the way** **we become** Christians is **the way we stay**Christians is **the way we finish**as Christians—by faith from first to last.

So we continue in God’s goodness by trust. We stand by faith—they fell, but you **stand**—**doing** **that to the** **end is how you** **come to** **your salvation**. It’s the gift of God lest anyone boast. I believe we are saved by faith from first to last, which is why I have been accused of denying sola fide.  
Douglas Wilson, The Monroe Four Speak Out, 5, 6\. Cited in John M. Otis, [Danger in the Camp](http://triumphantpublications.com/dangerbk.html): An Analysis and Refutation of the Heresies of the Federal Vision (Corpus Christi, TX: Triumphant Publications, 2005), 335.

He is trying to hold both concepts in the same hand, and you can’t. You are either saved by faith as biblically defined and accepted by protestants, or you hold to a works-based salvation. You can’t say you agree and then give an opposing view.

**Living Faith – blog post**

I am treating _obedient faith_ and _living faith_ as synonymous… it is obedient in its life, and in that living condition it is the instrument of ourjustification.  
https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/living-faith.html

The reason Wilson mixes works into faith and justification is that he denies two key biblical understandings. He has openly denied the Law Gospel distinction presented to us in scripture. There is a collapsing of the law into the gospel. He also denies the covenant of works as historically held by the reformed. But for those who may not hold to this term, it isn’t that he denies the term; he is denying the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us by faith alone as apart from works.

Here again, he will state that he holds to imputation but then denies it in his explanation.

We deny that law and gospel should be considered as hermeneutics, or treated as such. We believe that any passage, whether indicative or imperative, can be heard by the faithful as good news, and that any passage, whether containing gospel promises or not, will be heard by the rebellious as intolerable demand. **The fundamental division is not in the text, but rather in the human heart.** 
Joint Federal Vision Statement https://federal-vision.com/ecclesiology/joint-federal-vision-statement/

I believe the covenant of works mentioned in Chapter VII is badly named. I would prefer something like the covenant of life (WLC 20), or the covenant of creation. I believe that this covenant obligated Adam to whole-hearted obedience to the requirement of God. The one stipulation I would add is that, had Adam stood, he would have been required to thank God for His gracious protection and provision. And had Adam stood, he would have done so by believing the Word of God. In other words, it would all have been by grace through faith… **he “covenant of works” was not meritorious and we deny that any covenant can be kept without faith.**  
CREC Examination, Pages 1-2, 4 <http://federal-vision.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WilsonExamAnswers.pdf>

In a fictitious interview on his blog article “Semper Deformanda," DW is arguing for a change of understanding of what happened to Adam in the garden.

“I do not deny the existence of such a covenant. I simply maintain that Adam broke that covenant through his unbelief, and that, had he kept it, he would have done so by **grace alone through faith alone**.”  
https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/semper-deformanda.html

Recommended Resources:

* https://heidelblog.net/2018/08/resources-on-the-federal-vision-theology/
* https://heidelblog.net/2019/07/has-doug-wilson-really-changed-his-mind-about-the-federal-vision/
* https://nocompromiseradio.com/episodes/2022/09/21/aldo-leon-dissects-doug-wilson-part-1/
* Theocast episodes:  
  * (Coming Wednesday) Review of Wilson's theology by Jon and Justin
  * https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/smuggling-works-into-faith-with-mike-abendroth/
  * https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/do-john-piper-and-doug-wilson-obscure-faith-alone/
  * https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/faith-alone-is-radical/

---

### A Righteous King

*Published: August 29, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/articles/a-righteous-king*
*Tags: Jesus, King, King Jesus, Righteous King*

Justin Perdue

Chadwick Boseman recently died from colon cancer. He was 43 years old. His passing has affected many people, myself included. We continue to pray for Christ’s mercy on his family and loved ones. Though Chadwick’s acting career was relatively brief, it was significant. He delivered a number of memorable performances, but none were more notable than his portrayal of King T’Challa in _Black Panther._ As any gifted actor does with his character, he brought King T’Challa to life on screen.

I am grateful for Chadwick Boseman’s performance. It is one of those pieces of art that will stick with me. King T’Challa—and Wakanda under his rule—stirs my heart and creates a sense of longing in me. T’Challa is a good king. He is just. He is upright. He loves his people. He sacrifices himself for their good. I’ve seen _Black Panther_ several times, and each time I have watched it, I find myself thinking, “I want King T’Challa to be _my_ king.”

King T’Challa is as good of a pop-culture depiction of a righteous king as I have ever seen. He well represents the final words of King David from 2 Samuel 23:

“When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.” (2 Samuel 23:3-4)

We all long for such a ruler. We all long for a righteous king, who will execute justice, who will protect us from all our enemies, and who will give us peace—forever. God has given us such a king. His name is Jesus.

“Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

King Jesus laid his life down for us. He took our sin upon himself and atoned for all of our iniquity. He has born our transgressions. He has taken them away from us, and by his stripes, we are healed.

King Jesus has provided us with his own righteousness. His perfect, obedient life is credited to us. He stands, indestructible and unshakable, as our representative. We have been united to him. And everything that is his, is ours.

King Jesus is our protector. He is our refuge. We take shelter in him. He has us in his hands, and no one can ever pluck us out.

King Jesus is our deliverer. He has conquered all of our enemies. He has crushed the head of the ancient serpent, who is the devil. He has defeated death and hell. Christ is victorious. He has triumphed. When he comes again for us, we will be raised imperishable in him. We will be with him. We will reign with him. We will forever praise our glorious king.

I’m grateful for the common grace means God gives us that display his glory, his grace, and his plan of redemption. For me, Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of King T’Challa in _Black Panther_ is one of those means.

Wakanda Forever.

---

### The Danger of Self-Examination

*Published: February 13, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/the-danger-of-self-examination*

Self-examination _feels_ spiritual, but it can quietly turn cruel.

When you look inward to find peace, you will always find mixed motives, weak resolve, and unfinished obedience. The more closely you examine yourself, the louder the accusations become. Your conscience was never meant to be your savior.

Scripture never tells weary sinners to look deeper within. It tells them to look outside themselves. To Christ.

Faith is not strengthened by measuring your fruit. Assurance is not secured by monitoring your performance. Peace comes from fixing your eyes on what Christ has done, not on what you are still failing to do.

When self-examination replaces Christ-examination, faith shrinks, and fear grows. But when Christ is your focus, the soul rests.

Look away from yourself. Look to Christ.

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [What Does “Examine Yourself” Actually Mean?](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-does-examine-yourself-actually-mean)

---

### Salvation By Faith, Not Obedience

*Published: February 6, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/salvation-by-faith-not-obedience*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [The Bible's Emphasis Isn't Obedience](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-bibles-emphasis-isnt-obedience)

Modern Christianity often speaks the language of the Bible while reversing its priorities.

Scripture does not center the Christian life on what we do for Christ, but on what Christ has done for us. Faith is not a footnote in the Bible. It is the engine. Obedience is never the source of life. It is the fruit.

From beginning to end, the Bible emphasizes God acting first. He rescues before He commands. He redeems before He instructs. Sinners are justified while ungodly, not after they prove themselves faithful.

Yet much of modern Christianity shifts the focus. Obedience becomes the priority. Faith becomes the starting line. Growth is measured by effort, discipline, and consistency rather than trust in Christ’s finished work.

This reversal quietly turns Christ from Savior into supervisor and leaves consciences restless.

The Bible’s emphasis is clear. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Not by performance. Not by resolve. Faith in Christ is what produces obedience, assurance, and real transformation. When faith is restored to its rightful place, obedience finally becomes what it was always meant to be. Fruit, not fuel.

---

### When Bible Reading Feels Hard

*Published: January 30, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/when-bible-reading-feels-hard*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [Why Christians Struggle to Read the Bible](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/why-christians-struggle-to-read-the-bible)

Many Christians struggle to read their Bible, and the struggle often brings more guilt than help. We open the pages and fear we will feel nothing. We worry that our inconsistencies reveal something broken in us. Slowly, Scripture starts to feel like another place. We are failing.

Jesus does not measure your faith by your reading streak. He is not waiting for discipline before offering grace. He is the Word made flesh who came near to the weary and the distracted.

Your hope is not found in how well you read the Bible, but in the one the Bible reveals when Scripture feels dry. Look to Christ. When your mind wanders, stop and remember Christ, even when all you can manage is a single verse. He is still giving himself to you.

The Bible is not a ladder you climb to reach God. It is a window that shows you the God who has already come to you in Christ.

---

### Christ Is Our Strength, Not Our Striving

*Published: January 24, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/christ-is-our-strength-not-our-striving*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [Losing the War on Grace](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/losing-the-war-on-grace)

Somewhere along the way, grace was taken from us. Not denied, but replaced. It was exchanged for self-help, pietism, and moralism.

We were taught to look to our discipline for strength instead of to Christ for power. We began to believe the Christian life is sustained by effort rather than by grace.

When grace becomes technique, joy fades. When grace becomes moral performance, hope collapses. And when we forget that a real spiritual war is raging, we try to fight unseen enemies with visible tools.

Grace restores our sight. Grace teaches us that Christ Himself is our strength.

That purpose is not found in our progress but in His presence. That joy is not manufactured by effort but received through communion with a living Savior who stands with His people in the fight.

Grace does not train us to rely on ourselves. It reopens our spiritual eyes to see what is real.

And when Christ is seen clearly again, meaning returns. Hope rises. Joy breathes.

---

### Abundant Grace, Steady Strength

*Published: January 15, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/abundant-grace-steady-strength*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [Grace as Divine Power?](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/grace-as-divine-power)

When Scripture speaks of grace, it speaks of something living and active. Grace is not only God’s kindness toward sinners. Grace is God giving Himself to His people.

Grace is not confined to the past. It is present help. Present strength. Present supply.

Grace is the way Christ stays with weak people. It is His power meeting us where we cannot stand on our own. It is His sufficiency when obedience feels fragile and endurance feels thin.

Grace is not an idea to be understood. It is a reality to be received.

In the Bible, grace is spoken of as something that works, strengthens, and trains. It fortifies the heart. It carries the soul. It holds the believer steady when everything else gives way.

Grace lives in Him. It flows from Him. And it remains with those who depend on Him. Grace has not faded. It has not weakened. It has not moved. Grace is still found where it has always been.

In Jesus.

---

### Assurance Is Not Just Comfort, It Is Contested Ground

*Published: January 7, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/assurance-is-not-just-comfort-it-is-contested-ground*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [Recovering a Supernatural Assurance](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/recovering-a-supernatural-assurance)

There are real enemies who want your faith weak and your conscience unstable. Evil spirits do not need you to abandon Christianity. They only need you to doubt whether Christ truly holds you. If they can keep you questioning your standing before God, they can keep you exhausted, inward, and afraid.

Satan is called the accuser for a reason. His work is not creative. It is repetitive. He drags forgiven sins back into your mind. He whispers that this failure proves you were never really saved. He tells you that God is patient with others but weary of you.

And the moment you try to fight that voice with your own obedience, you have already lost.

You cannot fight spiritual warfare with flesh. You cannot defeat accusations by promising to do better. You cannot silence the enemy by inspecting your performance. That only feeds the lie that your safety rests in you.

Faith is the weapon.

Scripture is how the battle is fought. Not as inspirational language, but as truth that captures the mind. And when the mind is captured, the soul follows. This is why Paul says to take every thought captive. Unchecked thoughts become chains. Gospel truth breaks them.

You have been set free. Not by your consistency. Not by your spiritual intensity. Not by your obedience. You were set free by the blood of Christ and the verdict of God.

To doubt that verdict is not humility. It is surrendering ground the cross already won.

When you stand in assurance, the accuser loses leverage. When you know you are justified, his voice has nowhere to land. He can shout, but there is no hook. No grip. No fear to exploit.

This is why assurance terrifies the enemy.

A believer who knows they are secure does not panic under conviction. They repent and rise. They do not run from God. They run to him. They do not crumble under suffering. They endure it knowing they are loved.

You do not stand in the strength of your obedience. You stand in the strength of the Lord.

And when you stand there, the powers of darkness cannot move you.

---

### Advent Joy for the Weary

*Published: December 17, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/advent-joy-for-the-weary*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [The Christmas Paradox](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-christmas-paradox)

Advent invites us to pause and remember why Christ came. He entered our world to address the deepest ache of the human heart: the guilty conscience. We carry memories we wish we could erase, sins we fear will define us, and failures that whisper we are unworthy. Christ did not come to add weight to that burden. He came to lift it.

In his first coming, he stepped into the very place where shame hides. He took every accusation that stands against you and bore it in his own body. Nothing you fear will rise against. Nothing you regret is left uncovered. He carried it all. His blood speaks a better word than your guilt ever could. It declares you clean.

He also wrapped you in his own righteousness. You do not come before the Father trembling, hoping you will be accepted. You come clothed in the perfect obedience of Jesus. You are not tolerated. You are welcomed. The barrier your conscience once felt has been removed. You stand before God with confidence, not because your record is clean, but because his record is yours.

This is the foundation of Advent joy. Before Christ returns to make all things new, he has already made \*you\* new in the deepest way imaginable. He has silenced the voice of guilt. He has washed the stains you could never remove. He has given you peace where fear once lived.

So as you wait, as you long for that final day when faith becomes sight, remember what his first arrival accomplished. You are forgiven. You are covered. You are clean.

---

### The Big Relief

*Published: December 10, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/the-big-relief*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [The Strange Relief of a Grace-Shaped Life (w/ David Zahl)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-strange-relief-of-a-grace-shaped-life-w-david-zahl)

We live in a world that never stops asking for more. Be more productive. Be more disciplined. Be more spiritual.

And if we’re honest, it’s exhausting.

Even in the church, we can fall into this same pattern: turning the good news of Jesus into another performance review. We know the right words about grace, but in our hearts we still live like the Father’s smile depends on how well we’ve done this week.

So we keep striving. We compare. We measure. We fear. And deep down, we wonder if we’ll ever feel like we’ve done enough.

But here’s the truth: the gospel was never meant to add pressure to your life. It was meant to _relieve_ it.

Grace is not a pat on the back for the nearly perfect. It’s rest for the worn out, the anxious, the ones who keep falling short.

Jesus did not come to give you another burden to carry. He came to carry the burden for you. He obeyed where you’ve failed. He loved where you’ve grown cold. He rested in the Father’s approval so that you could rest in His.

The good news is this: you don’t have to prove yourself anymore. Christ has already proven everything on your behalf.

So when guilt whispers, “You should be doing more,” when fear says, “You’re not enough,” and when pride says, “You can fix this yourself,” look to Christ.

He is your righteousness. He is your peace. And He is enough for every unfinished part of your life. In Him, you can finally breathe. You can stop pretending. You can rest.

Because the gospel really is the big relief. The good news that the pressure is off, and grace is on.

---

### When You're Tired of Trying to Hold It All Together

*Published: December 3, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/when-youre-tired-of-trying-to-hold-it-all-together*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [The Prosperity Gospel Test](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-prosperity-gospel-test)

There’s a quiet kind of exhaustion that settles into the soul. Not the weariness of a long week… But the heaviness of feeling like _you_ have to make life work. That you have to be the strong one. The steady one. The one who gets it right.

Many Christians won’t say this out loud, but inside they live with a constant, low-grade fear: “What if I’m not good enough for God? What if I disappoint Him? What if I fall short again?”

And so they work. They try harder. They hide the parts of themselves that feel unworthy. They carry the pressure of holding together their faith, their family, their heart.

But friend, listen, Christ did not come to give you a heavier load to carry. He came because He knew you were already carrying one too heavy for you.

You don’t have to pretend with Him. He’s not waiting for you to level up spiritually. He’s not watching to see if you’ll finally get your act together. He moves toward you precisely where you feel the most fragile.

When Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest,” He’s not offering a break. He’s offering Himself.

He’s giving you a place where you don’t have to perform. Where you don’t have to protect an image. Where you don’t have to convince Him you’re worth loving.

You already are.

His heart toward you is steady. His mercy doesn’t fluctuate. His love doesn’t rise and fall with your best moments or your worst ones.

And when that truth begins to settle deep into your soul, when you truly believe that Jesus wants you, welcomes you, and holds you, something inside finally relaxes.

The fear loosens its grip. The pressure begins to fade. Your heart stops bracing for disappointment and starts resting in delight.

So if your heart is tired today… If you’re worn thin from trying to be enough… Look to Christ. Let Him be the rest your soul has been craving. Let Him be the One who carries what you can’t. Let His love quiet your fear.

You don’t have to hold your life together. He’s holding you.

And He won’t let go.

---

### The Saint and Sinner Reality

*Published: November 26, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/the-saint-and-sinner-reality*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [Why Do I Still Struggle with Sin? (w/ Luke Kjolhaug)](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/why-do-i-still-struggle-with-sin-w-luke-kjolhaugh)

If you’ve walked with Jesus for a while, you know the tension.  
You love Him… but you still sin.  
You want to obey… but you still fall short.  
One moment you feel close to God,  
the next, you wonder how He could still love someone like you.

That’s the saint and sinner reality.  
Luther called it _simul justus et peccator_,  
at the same time righteous and a sinner.

It’s not a glitch in the Christian life.  
It _is_ the Christian life.

In yourself, you’re still weak, still broken, still fighting sin.  
But in Christ, you are already righteous.  
Already loved.  
Already accepted.

Both are true.  
And the gospel holds them together.

When you fail, don’t look inward for reassurance.  
Look outward, to Jesus.  
He’s your standing before God.  
Not your performance.  
Not your progress.  
Christ alone.

This truth keeps you from despair when you fall…  
and from pride when you grow.

So today, when you feel the war inside,  
between who you are and who you long to be,  
remember this:  
your identity isn’t found in the struggle.  
It’s found in your Savior.

Look to Christ.  
He’s the One who justifies the ungodly, sanctifies the weary,  
and one day, will glorify the broken.

---

### The Joy That Breaks Our Selfishness

*Published: November 19, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/look-to-christ/the-joy-that-breaks-our-selfishness*

This "Look to Christ" is featured in our episode: [The Prison of Self-Preservation](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/theocast/the-prison-of-self-preservation)

Friend, if you’re anything like me, there are days when your heart turns inward.  
You start protecting your time, your comfort, your preferences.  
You cling to your plans.  
You tell yourself you deserve to look out for “number one.”  
And at first, it feels like freedom.  
“No one can disappoint me if I don’t need anyone.”  
“No one can hurt me if I keep my distance.”

But give it time, and that kind of self-protection becomes a prison.  
Selfishness doesn’t lead to freedom; it leads to loneliness.  
It isolates us in our own fears and assumptions.  
It slowly convinces us that life would be easier without the weight of other people.

But then…  
Lift your eyes.  
Look to Christ.

Look at the One who had every right to turn inward, to guard Himself, to stay distant.  
Yet He moved toward us.  
He stepped into our mess, our pain, our need.  
He loved us not because we were lovely, but because _He is love_.  
He gave Himself, fully, freely, joyfully.

And here is the miracle:  
When you see His love for you — I mean really see it — something in your heart softens.  
Fear loses its grip.  
Self-preservation loosens its hold.  
And the Spirit begins to whisper:  
“You are safe. You are wanted. You are known.  
You don’t have to protect yourself anymore.”

Loved people love people.  
Secure people move toward others.  
Those who have been embraced by Christ’s compassion find strength to open their arms too.

The joy you’re longing for is not found in living for yourself.  
It’s found in giving yourself — not to earn love, but because you already have it in Christ.  
It’s found in community, in the messy, beautiful, Spirit-filled act of loving others as He has loved you.

So if you feel yourself pulling away,  
If you sense selfishness creeping in,  
If isolation feels easier than intimacy:

Pause.  
Breathe.  
And look to Christ.

Look to the Savior who came near.  
Look to the Friend who laid down His life for you.  
Look to the Shepherd who carries you, forgives you, and holds you fast.

And as you behold His love,  
ask Him to free you from the fear that keeps you alone.  
Ask Him to fill you with the courage and joy that only come from loving others in His name.

Because in Christ, you will never run out of love to give.  
You are drawing from an infinite well.  
His love for you becomes His love through you.

Look to Christ,  
and find joy not in self-preservation,  
but in self-giving,  
the kind of joy that only grows stronger when it is shared.

---

## Episodes

### Biblically Correct. Stranger to Jesus.

*Published: July 15, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/biblically-correct-stranger-to-jesus*

https://youtu.be/EED03aFvhlw

Can you know the Bible and still completely miss Christ? Jon Moffitt examines Jesus' warning in John 5 that it is possible to know Scripture while remaining distant from the Savior it reveals. This honest conversation explores the danger of being theologically correct but spiritually prideful, especially in today's online Christian culture. Discover why knowledge without Christ leads to empty religion, and how the gospel calls believers to humility, grace, and true fellowship with Him.

[NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”](https://theocast.org/enough-in-christ)

[BOOK: “The Bible According to Jesus - How Jesus Teaches Us to Read the Scriptures”](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus)

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---

### No Longer Reformed... But Still Reforming

*Published: July 8, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/no-longer-reformed-but-still-reforming*

https://youtu.be/uk1Z5Vp0Jbw

What if the biggest problem with the Reformed movement is not its theology, but its attitude? Jon Moffitt explains why the culture surrounding modern Reformed circles often fails to reflect the grace it proclaims. This conversation calls believers to repentance, humility, and a gospel-shaped way of engaging others.

[NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”](https://theocast.org/enough-in-christ)

[BOOK: “The Bible According to Jesus - How Jesus Teaches Us to Read the Scriptures”](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus)

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---

### The Father You Can Finally Trust

*Published: July 1, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-father-you-can-finally-trust*

https://youtu.be/A0Fqs-yckVk

What comes to mind when you hear God called Father? Jon Moffitt explores why your understanding of God should never be shaped primarily by your earthly father, whether that experience was good or painful. Scripture redefines what it means for God to be your Father, revealing a love and faithfulness unlike anything found in this world. Just as the Bible reshapes our understanding of love, it also transforms the meaning of fatherhood. This conversation offers biblical hope and clarity for anyone wrestling with the idea of God as Father.

[NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”](https://theocast.org/enough-in-christ)

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---

### Stop Lawing the Gospel (w/ David Zahl)

*Published: June 24, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stop-lawing-the-gospel-w-david-zahl*

https://youtu.be/wnHLLGeLEU4  

Has the Christian life become an endless list of things to do? Jon Moffitt sits down with David Zahl to explore why believers so often drift from the freedom of the gospel back into performance and self-improvement. Together they unpack the difference between law and gospel, showing how Christ's finished work provides the rest and assurance Christians desperately need. A refreshing conversation about grace, faith, and the sufficiency of Christ.

[DAVID’S MINISTRY: Mockingbird](https://mbird.com/)

[NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”](https://theocast.org/enough-in-christ)

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---

### Drunk Noah and the Gospel? (Genesis 9:20-27)

*Published: June 10, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/drunk-noah-and-the-gospel-genesis-9-20-27*

https://youtu.be/law9GhtDnGg

It's the strangest scene in Noah's story: the man who saved humanity, passed out drunk and exposed in his tent, and a curse that echoes for a thousand years. What did Ham actually do? Why did the curse fall on Canaan instead? And how does the Bible's most uncomfortable story run all the way to the cross? We walk the three views, follow the Leviticus trail, and trace the line from a shamed father to the Son who refused to grasp. From cursed to cured, this is the gospel hiding in Noah's tent.

[NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”](https://theocast.org/enough-in-christ)

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---

### Stand Firm? I'm Barely Hanging On

*Published: June 3, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stand-firm-im-barely-hanging-on*

https://youtu.be/xzZER6fGT6w

What do you do when you cannot even get out of bed, let alone “stand firm” in your faith? Jon Moffitt explores what Scripture really means when Peter and Paul call believers to stand firm in seasons of suffering and despair. This conversation challenges the idea that faith is about trying harder or pulling yourself together. Instead, you will see how the gospel gives weary Christians something solid to stand on outside of themselves. If you feel crushed by fear, exhaustion, or hopelessness, this episode offers comfort rooted in Christ and His promises.

[NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”](https://theocast.org/enough-in-christ)

[BOOK: “The Bible According to Jesus - How Jesus Teaches Us to Read the Scriptures”](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus)

[FREE EBOOK: “REST”](https://theocast.org/collections/books/products/rest-a-consideration-of-faith-vs-faithfulness-ebook)

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---

### Do You Keep His Commandments? - 1 John 2:4

*Published: May 20, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/do-you-keep-his-commandments-1-john-2-4*

https://youtu.be/HtbnooVDagg  
  
Has 1 John 2:4 brought you comfort or quietly crushed your assurance? In this conversation, Jon Moffitt examines one of the most misunderstood verses in 1 John and explains what it really means to keep Christ’s commandments. Many believers read this passage as a measure of performance and walk away discouraged or fearful. You will see how John’s words were meant to bring clarity, comfort, and confidence to struggling Christians. The discussion also explains who should actually feel warned by this passage and why context matters. At the center of it all is the assurance found in Christ rather than in personal performance.

NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”

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---

### Dear Reformed, We Have A Prosperity Gospel Too!

*Published: May 13, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/dear-reformed-we-have-a-prosperity-gospel-too*

https://youtu.be/Mz0pMe3uU1k  

What if a softer form of the prosperity gospel has been hiding in faithful churches? In this conversation, Jon Moffitt explains how believers can quietly assume that obedience should produce comfort, stability, or an easier life. When suffering comes, that expectation often leads to confusion, disappointment, and questions about God’s goodness. You will hear why this mindset resembles a subtle version of the prosperity gospel, even in conservative circles. The discussion points to a biblical understanding of suffering, faithfulness, and the Christian life. The goal is to bring relief and hope to weary believers who are asking why life feels so hard.

NEW FREE EBOOK: “ENOUGH IN CHRIST”

[BOOK: “The Bible According to Jesus - How Jesus Teaches Us to Read the Scriptures”](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus)

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---

### Do I Have Enough Faith? (Review of D.A. Carson)

*Published: May 6, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/do-i-have-enough-faith-review-of-d-a-carson*

https://youtu.be/i0DmQpm34r0  

What if your faith has been pointed at the wrong object? In this conversation, Jon Moffitt addresses the confusion of placing faith in faith itself or in personal faithfulness. You will hear why the object of faith matters and how this mistake can undermine assurance. A powerful clip from D. A. Carson highlights the beauty and clarity of the gospel. The discussion centers on what it truly means for Christ to be the object of faith. The aim is to bring clarity and confidence back to the sufficiency of Christ.

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---

### Should YOU Critique Other Christians?

*Published: April 29, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-biblical-case-for-public-critique*

https://youtu.be/c56qy8hjPbo  
  
Do you have to confront someone privately before critiquing them publicly? In this conversation, Jon Moffitt addresses a common appeal to Matthew 18 in discussions about public criticism among Christians. Examining whether this passage requires private confrontation in every situation before speaking publicly. The discussion clarifies the context of Matthew 18 and how it should be applied. Jon also considers how believers should think about online critique and accusations of sin. The goal is to bring biblical clarity to a question that comes up often.

[JON’S NEW BOOK: The Bible According to Jesus - How Jesus Teaches Us to Read the Scriptures](https://theocast.org/products/the-bible-according-to-jesus)

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---

### Modern Prophecies and Healings (w/ Remnant Radio)

*Published: April 22, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/modern-prophecies-and-healings-w-remnant-radio*

https://youtu.be/Qzf4\_rzF1MI  

Are there still healings and prophecies today? Can Christians who disagree on spiritual gifts still have meaningful unity? In this episode, Jon Moffitt sits down with Josh Lewis, Michael Rowntree, and Michael Miller from Remnant Radio. These pastors share a commitment to Christ and the sufficiency of Scripture while holding to a continuationist view of spiritual gifts. You will hear a thoughtful discussion on prophecy, healing, and tongues, along with how they approach exposing false teachings. The conversation also highlights how believers can sharpen one another even in areas of disagreement. If you want a clear and charitable dialogue on a debated topic, this episode will encourage you.

[REMNANT RADIO](https://www.theremnantradio.com/)

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---

### Do Catholics Believe in Grace? (Responding to Fr. Mike Schmitz)

*Published: April 15, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/do-catholics-believe-in-grace-responding-to-fr-mike-schmitz*

Do Roman Catholics really believe in salvation by faith? In this episode, Jon Moffitt interacts with a video from Father Mike Schmitz on faith, works, and grace. You will see why definitions matter when it comes to salvation and how different traditions understand faith and justification. This conversation walks through key passages and historical teaching to clarify where agreements and differences exist. The goal is to help you clearly distinguish between the Protestant view of justification and what the Roman Catholic Church has traditionally taught. If you want a deeper understanding of faith, grace, and works, this episode will help.

https://youtu.be/LFbZvKbTbXY

James (Saved by works) Episode: <https://youtu.be/wYwO94izSv0si=EMpZpuNvyKp03b3y>

Philip Anthony Mitchell: <https://youtu.be/5FnCG6NwjUo?si=IiP5l0ahlE0kVrYf>

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---

### Aliens or Demons? (A Biblical Response to Ruslan)

*Published: April 8, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/aliens-or-demons-a-biblical-response-to-ruslan*

https://youtu.be/nlR0uZx5VpU  
  
Are aliens actually demons, and should Christians even engage this question? This conversation is not going away, and ignoring it is not helping anyone. In this episode, Jon Moffitt takes a serious look at a viral discussion and helps you sort through it with a biblical lens. You will hear why these questions are affecting real people and even shaking some in their faith. Jon brings clarity, cuts through speculation, and points you back to the sufficiency of Scripture and the hope of the gospel. If you want to think clearly about a strange cultural moment, this episode will help.

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---

### Is 1 John a Test for Christians? (Paul Washer Sermon Review)

*Published: April 1, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-1-john-a-test-for-christians-paul-washer-sermon-review*

Is 1 John meant to test if you are truly saved? In this episode, Jon Moffitt responds to a sermon from Paul Washer at the Shepherds Conference 2026 where 1 John is used as a test of genuine faith. Jon explains why this is a misapplication and walks through the original purpose of the letter. 1 John is meant to strengthen assurance rather than create doubt. Jon also highlights areas of agreement and offers clearer biblical paths for applying similar warnings. If you want clarity on assurance and how to read 1 John rightly, this episode is for you.

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---

### "I Never Knew You!" Paul Washer Sermon Review

*Published: March 25, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/i-never-knew-you-paul-washer-sermon-review*

https://youtu.be/hX\_wm2QKHL4  

Who is Jesus talking to when he says, “I never knew you”? In this episode, Jon Moffitt walks through a sermon from Paul Washer at the Shepherds Conference 2026 on Matthew 7\. This passage raises serious questions about judgment, assurance, and the meaning of true faith. Jon examines the context of Jesus’ warning and evaluates how it is being interpreted and applied. You will be challenged to think carefully about who these words are for and what they mean for your confidence before God.

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### “Pluck Out Your Eye?” A Review of Philip Anthony Mitchell’s Sermon

*Published: March 18, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/pluck-out-your-eye-a-review-of-philip-anthony-mitchell-s-sermon*

https://youtu.be/5FnCG6NwjUo

What happens when a passionate sermon still misses the gospel? Jon Moffitt reviews a sermon from Atlanta pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell. While the message is passionate and sincere, Jon explains how confusion between law and gospel can quietly rob believers of assurance. You will see why true repentance must be fueled by the gospel and not by pressure or fear. Walking through the sermon to show where the message helps and where it falls short. If you want to better understand how the gospel gives real assurance and produces true repentance, stay tuned.

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### From Chaos to Christ - Dillon Chase’s Story

*Published: March 11, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/from-chaos-to-christ-dillon-chase-s-story*

https://youtu.be/5Ot0dq-17yc  

In this episode, Jon Moffitt sits down with Dillon Chase for a candid conversation about pain, grace, art, and the gospel. You will hear how Dillon’s story, from childhood trauma to ministry and music, has shaped songs that bring honesty to suffering and hope to weary souls. Jon and Dillon also talk about how good theology forms faithful art, why music can serve the church, and how Christ meets you in the darkest places. If you need a conversation that is raw, thoughtful, and rooted in grace, this episode is for you.

[DILLON CHASE MUSIC](https://www.dillonchasemusic.com/)

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### Lordship Salvation: Responding to Got Questions

*Published: March 4, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/lordship-salvation-responding-to-got-questions*
*Tags: Lordship, Lordship Salvation*

Do you feel confused when people talk about Lordship Salvation? In this episode, Jon Moffitt responds to a popular Got Questions video on the topic and helps you see where clarity is needed. You are guided through what is said well, what is misleading, and where the law and the gospel often get mixed together. This conversation is not about attacking motives but about helping you understand why Lordship Salvation can create confusion for weary believers. Stay tuned for gospel clarity and discover true assurance in Christ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqB5\_GDLyRo 

[GOT QUESTIONS: Lordship Salvation Video](https://youtu.be/BiomUqv%5FSxU?si=kcS5ew5tdENNe7P4)

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### Where Real Spiritual Experience Is Found (w/ Reformed Pastor Clips)

*Published: February 25, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/where-real-spiritual-experience-is-found-w-reformed-pastor-clips*

https://youtu.be/BzLTIY-B4v0

What if your morning changed because you remembered where you are right now in Christ? You are not just forgiven, you are united to the risen Jesus and, in Him, your life is already secure and hopeful. In this episode, Jon Moffitt is joined by Daniel, also known as reformedpastorclips, to unpack union with Christ and why it is the heart of the gospel. You will hear how this doctrine reshapes assurance, sanctification, and even the pull toward Rome or Eastern Orthodoxy by offering real transcendence without trading Christ for rituals. If reading the Bible feels confusing or heavy, this conversation helps you see Scripture as a guide that leads you to Jesus and fills your joy.

[REFORMEDPASTORCLIPS](https://linktr.ee/reformedpastorclips)

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---

### Does the Bible Require Head Coverings? (w/ Doug Van Dorn)

*Published: February 18, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/does-the-bible-require-head-coverings-w-doug-van-dorn*

https://youtu.be/9RRIcWrzjbg

Should women wear head coverings in church, or is something else going on in 1 Corinthians 11? This passage has puzzled believers for years and is gaining new attention in both conservative and Reformed churches. In this episode, Jon is joined by Doug Van Dorn to explore how this text should be read and understood. You will see why context, culture, and authorial intent matter when interpreting difficult passages of Scripture. Rather than focusing on surface-level conclusions, this conversation equips you to read the Bible more carefully.

[DOUG’S WEBSITE](https://www.douglasvandorn.com/)

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---

### What Does “Examine Yourself” Actually Mean?

*Published: February 11, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-does-examine-yourself-actually-mean*

https://youtu.be/2XfpduQdbOI

Do verses about self-examination leave you anxious or afraid about your salvation? You may have heard preaching encouraging you to “examine yourself,” in other words, measure your faith by your fruit. In this episode, Jon Moffitt walks through these well known texts in their proper context. You will see what the authors actually intended and why that matters so much. Instead of fear or self-doubt, this discussion aims to bring you comfort in Christ. If these passages have haunted you, this episode is meant to set you free.

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---

### The Bible's Emphasis Isn't Obedience

*Published: February 4, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-bibles-emphasis-isnt-obedience*

https://youtu.be/Kufm5sLTfLE

Many Christians assume the Bible's main focus is on what you must do. Obedience matters, but Jon challenges you to consider what Scripture actually emphasizes. Is it primarily a rulebook, or is it pointing you to something deeper? In this episode, discover the true heartbeat of the Bible and the hope it holds for you. This could shift your whole perspective.

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---

### Why Christians Struggle to Read the Bible

*Published: January 28, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-christians-struggle-to-read-the-bible*

https://youtu.be/AqxTXLk8b3Y

Have you ever felt like reading the Bible is difficult? Many Christians love Jesus but quietly struggle to read His Word. Not because of laziness, but because they don’t understand it. What should be a source of joy and strength often feels like a weight dragging you down. In this episode, Jon Moffitt helps you rediscover the Bible as a gift meant to lead you to Christ, not crush you with confusion or guilt. Come find clarity and relief in the Word that was always meant to be good news.

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### Losing the War on Grace

*Published: January 21, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/losing-the-war-on-grace*

https://youtu.be/EY\_BHu98MCM

If grace is your greatest weapon, wouldn’t it make sense for Satan to attack it first? In this episode, Jon Moffitt walks you through how the enemy shifts your focus from the sufficiency of Christ to moralism, fear, and performance. Many churches and podcasts today emphasize obedience over Jesus. That distortion is not harmless, it’s spiritual warfare. You are invited to consider how the gospel has been quietly replaced and why turning to Christ is essential for your assurance, growth, and hope. This is a call to rest in the gospel that truly saves and sustains.

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### Grace as Divine Power?

*Published: January 14, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/grace-as-divine-power*

https://youtu.be/ckjUfKmpLS8  
  
Is grace just a nice word, or is it spiritual power? In this episode, Jon talks about re-enchanting grace. Restoring its true, supernatural weight. Paul didn’t use grace as a soft or passive term but as a force directly connected to Jesus Christ. Grace forgives, yes, but it also strengthens and empowers. Stay tuned for a fun and meaningful discussion that will deepen your appreciation for what grace really is.

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---

### Recovering a Supernatural Assurance

*Published: January 7, 2026 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/recovering-a-supernatural-assurance*

https://youtu.be/kNrRMOkjHgM

Struggling with assurance of salvation can feel like spiritual warfare… Because it is. Satan wants you to doubt your standing with God and keep you anxious and uncertain. Today’s episode is about how assurance is not found in your sincerity or obedience but in Christ alone. Jon discusses why you can’t fight this battle with fleshly means, but only with gospel truth. Exploring how the spiritual battle for assurance is directly linked to the comfort found in the finished work of Jesus.

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---

### The Christmas Paradox

*Published: December 17, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-christmas-paradox*

https://youtu.be/\_jBqIT9ezss

Hooked by the holidays? Or just hoping to get through them? Whether you’re counting down to Christmas with excitement or bracing for the season’s sorrow, this episode is for you. Jon talks about the joy found in Christ during this time of year, regardless of your emotional state. The first coming of Jesus offers hope for the cheerful and the hurting alike. Tune in for a timely reminder that Christ meets us right where we are.

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---

### The Strange Relief of a Grace-Shaped Life (w/ David Zahl)

*Published: December 10, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-strange-relief-of-a-grace-shaped-life-w-david-zahl*

https://youtu.be/AVWGLvzuKoA

Many Christians wrestle with anxiety, discouragement, and even thoughts of despair. Our performance-driven culture distorts our view of God and grace, leaving us feeling exhausted and hollow. In this episode, Jon interviews David Zahl about his new book: “The Big Relief.” We discuss how grace reorients our lives, bringing joy, purpose, and rest for weary souls. If you’re craving real relief, this conversation is for you.

[DAVID’S BOOK: The Big Relief - The Urgency of Grace for a Worn-Out World](https://amzn.to/3MywSRk)

[DAVID’S MINISTRY: Mockingbird](https://mbird.com/)

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---

### The Prosperity Gospel Test

*Published: December 3, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-prosperity-gospel-test*

https://youtu.be/tkQwYLXO2ko

You probably don’t believe in the prosperity gospel, at least not the version that promises wealth and health in exchange for faith or donations. But what if traces of it still influence your Christian life? In this episode, Jon explores how transactional thinking subtly creeps into the hearts of even Reformed believers. We often assume God's nearness or blessing is based on our performance, which can rob us of joy and rest in Christ. This episode aims to expose hidden prosperity thinking and point you back to the comfort of the true gospel.

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---

### Why Do I Still Struggle with Sin? (w/ Luke Kjolhaug)

*Published: November 26, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-do-i-still-struggle-with-sin-w-luke-kjolhaugh*
*Tags: ongoing sin struggle, Struggle with sin, struggle with the flesh, Struggling*

https://youtu.be/m67ArN9QjJA

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/m67ArN9QjJA)

Have you ever wondered, “Why do I still struggle with this?” Many Christians expect that with maturity, temptation will decrease and sin will lose its appeal. But Scripture offers a more realistic view. In this episode, we talk about the saint-sinner reality. How believers remain both righteous in Christ and yet still battle the flesh. Jon is joined by special guest pastor and author, Luke Kjolhaug, to explore what the Bible actually says about spiritual growth, expectation, and daily struggle.

[LUKE’S BOOK - Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life](https://shop.1517.org/products/9781964419152-sinner-saint?srsltid=AfmBOorAtkjs41ncwm%5FIhYbPncUacu1OjKReehUIM6-UXY1TxJmgSHBS)

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---

### The Prison of Self-Preservation

*Published: November 19, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-prison-of-self-preservation*

https://youtu.be/SSf4fSO69Pw

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/SSf4fSO69Pw)

Do you ever feel alone, like something is just wrong with you? Many people silently wrestle with loneliness while living in a culture that celebrates self-prioritization and self-love. But instead of healing us, this only leads to deeper isolation. In this episode, Jon reviews a thought-provoking video and discusses a humble truth about why loneliness persists and how the gospel offers real liberation. Stay tuned for hope and clarity.

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---

### When In Despair... (w/ Chad Bird @ 1517)

*Published: October 29, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/when-in-despair-w-chad-bird-1517*

https://youtu.be/EeOnKVEZ\_ys

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/EeOnKVEZ%5Fys)

Do you ever feel stuck in despair, wondering if God is still near? In this conversation, Jon Moffitt, Justin Perdue, and Chad Bird discuss how Christ meets us in our darkest moments with real comfort and sustaining grace. Recorded live at 1517’s Here We Still Stand 2025 Conference in San Diego, we explore how the Psalms, the church, and the gospel itself anchor us when life feels overwhelming. This conversation reminds weary sinners that our hope is not in ourselves but in Christ alone.

[CHECK OUT CHAD BIRD](https://www.1517.org/contributors/chad-bird)

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### Jesus and the Accuser (w/ Chad Bird & Ken Jones)

*Published: October 22, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/jesus-and-the-accuser-w-chad-bird-ken-jones*
*Tags: Satan*

https://youtu.be/xxTZYSpdlCM

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/xxTZYSpdlCM)

Satan’s primary weapon against believers is accusation, especially when we fail. At our recent Law-Gospel conference, Justin Perdue preached on Jesus and the Accuser, showing how Satan targets our assurance and tempts us to trust our own righteousness or despair entirely. What follows is a panel discussion with Chad Bird, Ken Jones, Justin, and Jon Moffitt, diving deeper into how Christ defends us when Satan attacks. If you want to hear the full lecture, check out the link below. This panel discussion stands on its own and offers real hope for those battling doubt.

[JUSTIN’S LECTURE: JESUS AND THE ACCUSER](https://youtu.be/jix%5FD1SoWSc)

[THEOCAST CONFERENCE 2025 LECTURES](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OjtM2rVrI01Sy%5F8BbxHaqVnneV9RjtE)

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---

### Gospel VS Law Based Living (w/ Chad Bird & Ken Jones)

*Published: October 15, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/gospel-vs-law-based-living-w-chad-bird-ken-jones*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

https://youtu.be/Xz-w7gLYWgQ

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/Xz-w7gLYWgQ)

What truly motivates the Christian life: the gospel or the law? Too often, we confuse gospel-driven living with law-based performance. This panel discussion, recorded live at our 2025 Theocast Conference, explores how the distinction between law and gospel shapes our motivations, obedience, and joy in Christ. Featuring a post-lecture conversation with Chad Bird, Ken Jones, Justin Perdue, and Jon Moffitt, this episode unpacks what it means to live by grace. If you're tired of legalism and looking for gospel clarity, this one's for you.

[JON’S LECTURE: GOSPEL VS LAW FOCUSED LIVING](https://youtu.be/ZXWV7U7tZaM)

[THEOCAST CONFERENCE 2025 LECTURES](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OjtM2rVrI01Sy%5F8BbxHaqVnneV9RjtE)

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---

### Is the Gospel Really That Simple?

*Published: October 8, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-the-gospel-really-that-simple*
*Tags: Gospel*

https://youtu.be/Wxe\_sLBz9MQ

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/Wxe%5FsLBz9MQ)

I regularly sit across the table from people and ask them to tell me the gospel. I can see how nervous and anxious that question makes them. Maybe you have had that experience: someone asks you, "What is the gospel?" and suddenly you do not know how to respond. You worry you might not say the right thing. Often this happens because we have made the gospel far too complicated in the way we talk about it. That robs us of the peace, hope, and assurance the Lord intends for us to have. The gospel is unfathomably deep, yet it is also beautiful in its simplicity. Jon and Justin have a conversation about that today. We hope it encourages you.

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---

### When Christians Hurt Each Other

*Published: October 1, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/when-christians-hurt-each-other*

https://youtu.be/US8-srcN7Hc

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/US8-srcN7Hc)

Justin and Jon love this phrase: All of Christ for all of life. That is what this podcast is about today. The doctrine of Christ is important, and we need to get it right—but it is also for our daily lives. This is where it becomes a balm and a joy. It allows us not only to have rest but also to give rest. So we want to talk about what all of Christ looks like in areas such as relational conflict. How do we apply the wonders of Jesus for us, and how do we use something like the third use of the law to proclaim the light of the Kingdom while resisting the darkness? We live in a dark world, so considering all of Christ in conflict is a really important conversation. It was helpful for us, and we hope it will be encouraging for you as well.

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---

### Tempted? Welcome to Christianity

*Published: September 24, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/tempted-welcome-to-christianity*
*Tags: Temptation*

https://youtu.be/St8pgZJPhd8

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/St8pgZJPhd8)

Something I wish Christianity would address more often is the normal battle with sin. Or, to put it another way: temptation. Temptation is a normal experience. That word "normal" is the key. We tend to think that as we grow in Christ, temptation decreases. But that is not what Paul says about our experience. It’s important to understand that you will not only struggle with sin, meaning you’re fighting it, but the temptation to sin may actually increase as you mature in the faith. Paul gives us some very important ways to think about temptation and how to endure it. This is a really important conversation. If you're struggling and feel the weight of temptation beating you down, this episode is for you.

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---

### Make Repentance Great Again

*Published: September 17, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/make-repentance-great-again*
*Tags: repent, Repentance*

https://youtu.be/tvrP93zylU0

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/tvrP93zylU0)

When I say the word repent, how do you feel? When I say confess your sins, what does that evoke in you? If repentance feels scary, threatening, or uncomfortable, or if confession feels the same, this podcast is for you. Jon and Justin are going to have a sweet conversation about how good God is to us, how forgiving and merciful He is, and how, since we have been united to Jesus by faith and brought into the family of God, it is actually a joy to live a life of continual repentance and honest confession of sin. We want to walk in the light together. There is real freedom and lasting joy in doing so. So let's make repentance great again.

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---

### Processing Evil in Light of Charlie Kirk

*Published: September 11, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/processing-evil-in-light-of-charlie-kirk*

https://youtu.be/k0j\_EUMitEs

This conversation was recorded before the official announcement of Charlie’s death. Our hearts and our prayers are with his family. May the Lord Jesus Christ comfort them now and always.

There is so much evil and pain in this world, and in this life. It all just feels too much to bear. We don't just face the evils of men; day by day, we are confronted with truly wicked and demonic powers that look to steal our hope.

In our darkest hours, we must remember the light of Christ and His gospel. Jesus defeated death so you can live.

---

### Christless "Expository" Preaching

*Published: September 10, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christless-expository-preaching*
*Tags: Christ Centered Preaching, preaching*

https://youtu.be/p1lxdrYnOMs

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/p1lxdrYnOMs)

Expository preaching has been very popular for the last 30 to 40 years, and we are thankful for that. But the Bible actually tells us how the Word is to be explained and expounded, and that is what this episode is about. Jon and Justin are going to make the argument that if Christ is not part of the explanation, then technically it is not a Christian sermon. It is not a biblical sermon. It is not biblical exposition. It is a bold claim, but this conversation really matters. We are going to argue from Scripture what biblical expositional preaching actually is. To avoid burying the lead: it is about Jesus.

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---

### Stop Dehumanizing Jesus

*Published: September 3, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stop-dehumanizing-jesus*
*Tags: Jesus*

https://youtu.be/fGu05yTfBoI

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/fGu05yTfBoI)

Is there a man who sits on the throne of God? And what does that mean for us? Can Jesus identify with us and have compassion on us in the midst of our struggle, our fear, and our discouragement? Does He feel things for us? Is Jesus of Nazareth a man of feeling? The answer to those questions is yes. He is a man of feeling. He is with us, compassionate, merciful, and gentle. This has everything to do with the fact that He is not only God; He is truly human. Jon and Justin are going to have that conversation today, and we hope it encourages and comforts you in Christ.

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---

### "Accurate" Yet Empty: The Problem with Theological Lectures

*Published: August 27, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/accurate-yet-empty-the-problem-with-theological-lectures*
*Tags: Christ Centered Preaching, preaching*

https://youtu.be/f7fV\_3KB66M

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/f7fV%5F3KB66M)

Today's episode is definitely a little more in your face, as you can tell from the title, but it's so important. Jon and Justin want to talk about preaching and how we understand Scripture in general, including expository and exegetical preaching. We want to help you see that if your conclusion is not Jesus, then something is missing. And we have reasons for saying that, based on the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. So if your sermon is exegetically and historically sound but does not end with Christ, we are going to challenge that. Because without Jesus, the sermon is ultimately empty.

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---

### In the Beginning, Jesus...

*Published: August 20, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/in-the-beginning-jesus*
*Tags: Christ in the Old Testament*

https://youtu.be/sflwjw2h0Po

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/sflwjw2h0Po)

When you read Genesis or Exodus, the very first books of the Bible, what comes to mind? Do you think of creationism versus evolution? An ark in Kentucky? Or do you think about Christ, how He has been present from the very beginning and is woven through every book of Scripture, including Genesis and Exodus? Jon and Justin are having a conversation today about Christ in the beginning. We’re going to survey Genesis and Exodus and help you see Jesus, not in a strange or forced way, but in a sound, biblical, apostolic way. Christ is there. He is for you. He has always been the Redeemer. We hope this encourages and comforts you.

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---

### No Damascus Road? No Problem.

*Published: August 13, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/no-damascus-road-no-problem*

https://youtu.be/115k7CZTMWI

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/115k7CZTMWI)

Some of you may feel like your testimony isn’t exciting enough to be worth sharing. Maybe you’ve wondered if you're even saved because you haven’t experienced a dramatic life transformation. Others may think only those who’ve hit rock bottom can truly understand grace. In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about why that’s not true; and why every believer, no matter their story, needs the same amazing grace.

[9 Marks Church Matters Journal Giveaway!](https://www.9marks.org/theocast/)

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---

### Deliverance from Trials Is Never Promised

*Published: August 6, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/deliverance-from-trials-is-never-promised*
*Tags: trials*

https://youtu.be/D\_sy2hgXaxc

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/D%5Fsy2hgXaxc)

Many of you have probably prayed the prayer of Paul: “Lord, please take this away from me.” Not just once, but many times. It can become exhausting, frustrating, and even lead to doubt. That’s why today’s podcast is so important. We need to talk about trials and God’s grace, and how the two go together. What promise do we actually have from God? We dive deep into the reality of His love for us, especially how it’s not transactional, even in the midst of our suffering. We hope this encourages you. And if you find it helpful, please share it with someone. It might give them strength and hope in their own season of suffering.

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---

### The Re-Purposed Driven Life

*Published: July 30, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-re-purposed-driven-life*
*Tags: human weakness, Struggling, Weakness*

https://youtu.be/BrabO9XbZG4

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/BrabO9XbZG4)

In this life, we’re offered all kinds of reasons and purposes to live. But when you try them, you often realize that, in the end, you’re still weak, still unsatisfied, and still not measuring up. Then comes the question: “What is the purpose of my life? Why am I even here?” That’s a really tough place to be. This episode connects closely to last week’s: [“Jesus Knows You’re Tired.”](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/jesus-knows-youre-tired) So what now? Do we just give up? Is that the message of Christ? No. He gives us new hope, a new identity, and a new purpose. And it’s in our weakness that we find our greatest significance. That’s what today’s episode is all about. We hope it encourages you.

[LAST EPISODE: “JESUS KNOWS YOU’RE TIRED”](https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/jesus-knows-youre-tired)

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---

### Jesus Knows You're Tired

*Published: July 23, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/jesus-knows-youre-tired*
*Tags: Struggle with sin, Struggling, trials*

https://youtu.be/bhwgil-MObI

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/bhwgil-MObI)

Maybe you’ve heard the term arrival fallacy; the idea that once we reach a certain point in life, things will finally get easier. We can fall into the same mindset in the Christian life, believing that one day suffering will lessen, trials will be lighter, or the battle with sin won’t be as intense. Some even think that if we just get church and doctrine right, the problems will go away. But that’s not biblical. In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about the ongoing reality of weakness, struggle, and suffering in the Christian life. You’re not alone, you’re not crazy, and Christ is for you and with you.

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---

### How Satan Attacks Christians Today

*Published: July 16, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-satan-attacks-christians-today*
*Tags: Christian Living, Satan, Spiritual Warfare*

https://youtu.be/a8VfuqKa2Dc

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/a8VfuqKa2Dc)

James 4 gives us an interesting warning: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. In Ephesians 4, Paul talks about not giving the devil a foothold—don’t give him room in the congregation. What we want to talk about today is this: What does that actually look like, and what is Satan after in both of those contexts? We would argue that, throughout the New Testament, the writers are trying to protect something specific from Satan—and it’s vitally important that we understand what that is. Why? Because it’s directly connected to our spiritual health and life. These are real attacks from a real enemy.

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---

### White-Knuckled American Sanctification

*Published: July 9, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/white-knuckled-american-sanctification*
*Tags: Sanctification*

https://youtu.be/a6UN1EQMt7Y

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/a6UN1EQMt7Y)

Should we be brute-forcing sanctification? Are we relying on our own strength to produce holiness? The American church often places heavy emphasis on the _growth_ of the Christian—living each day simply to behave better than the day before—instead of emphasizing trust and rest in the finished work of Christ. It becomes more about avoiding sin than clinging to Jesus. In today’s episode, Jon and Justin are joined by a panel of pastors from the recent Grace Reformed Network 2025 General Assembly conference. Together, we discuss key doctrinal failings within the broader American church and how the Holy Spirit truly brings about sanctification in us.

[GRN Website](https://www.gracereformednetwork.org/)

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---

### The Suspicion of Experience

*Published: July 2, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-suspicion-of-experience*
*Tags: Emotionalism, Worship*

https://youtu.be/pHeptNJUgSw

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/pHeptNJUgSw)

In Reformed circles, we can be wary of the word _experience_—often for good reason. Emotional manipulation and manufactured moments have led many to question what’s truly spiritual. But Scripture is clear: God promises His supernatural presence in the gathering of His people. Church is an encounter with the living God—a true spiritual experience where our souls are fed and refreshed. In this episode, we explore how God meets us in real, tangible ways and why we should expect to walk away encouraged by Him.

[GRN Website](https://www.gracereformednetwork.org/)

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---

### Thou Shalt Not Misquote

*Published: June 25, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/thou-shalt-not-misquote*

https://youtu.be/IuajlYEFXYg  

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/IuajlYEFXYg)

Today, Justin and Jon want to cover two passages that often confuse or even hurt people. One is Jeremiah 29:11—about your future. You might be wondering how that verse applies to you, especially if everything is going horribly—or even if everything is going great and you're attributing it to that promise. We’re going to talk about that verse, and also Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Our goal is to help you read these passages properly—and more importantly, to see Christ in them and trust in His sufficiency.

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---

### Examine Yourselves!

*Published: June 18, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/examine-yourselves*
*Tags: Self-Examination*

https://youtu.be/mvJYSjcc8P0

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/mvJYSjcc8P0)

"Examine yourselves to determine whether or not you are in the faith." Have you ever heard those verses raised? We have here at Theocast—especially because of how we talk about Jesus, His sufficiency, and the reality that He has done everything necessary for us to have peace with God. People sincerely ask, “Brothers, what about the call to self-examination?” Jon and Justin are going to have that conversation today. Self-examination is good, but what we’re examining might be different than what you’ve been told. It’s not so much about what we do—it’s about what we believe and who we trust.

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---

### Thoughts on Costi Hinn and Cheap Grace

*Published: June 11, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/thoughts-on-costi-hinn-and-cheap-grace*
*Tags: Cheap Grace, Costi Hinn, Free Grace*

https://youtu.be/Ctw0Fx4FvBA

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/Ctw0Fx4FvBA)

Throughout the years, Theocast has received all kinds of messages and emails. At times, you ask us to address certain topics, and while we can’t respond to everything, we do our best to select a few. This is one we wanted to talk about. We love our dear brother Costi, and in this sermon, he’s expressing a concern about Christian hypocrisy—people who claim to believe while showing no obedience. Jon and Justin want to reflect on this sermon, share our thoughts, and point out where there may be some law/gospel confusion. We also aim to interact with Costi’s concerns and offer some helpful insights from both Peter and Titus.

[Costi Hinn’s Sermon on Christian Hypocrisy](https://youtu.be/cjWXT3Zz1RE?si=3so0edDjHTHKeYop)

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---

### Why Are So Many People Going to Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?

*Published: June 4, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-are-so-many-people-going-to-eastern-orthodoxy-and-roman-catholicism*
*Tags: Catholicism, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics*

https://youtu.be/8IaoF5lQaWc

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/8IaoF5lQaWc)

Why are so many people leaving evangelicalism and turning to the Orthodox Church—or even to Rome? When you talk to them, you find that they’re longing for a sense of sacredness. They’re seeking a spiritual experience. They want to know that their faith is grounded in something outside of themselves. We have a lot to say about that. In this episode, we’ll explain how we got here—the state of the evangelical church—and why you don’t need to go to Rome or the Greek Orthodox Church to find the sacredness and supernatural power of the Christian faith.

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---

### Credobaptism or Paedobaptism? - Part 2 (w/ Adriel Sanchez from Sola Media)

*Published: May 28, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/credobaptism-or-paedobaptism-part-2-w-adriel-sanchez-from-sola-media*
*Tags: baptist, baptist covenant theology, Believer's Baptism, Credobaptism, Infant Baptism, Paedobaptism, Presbyterians*

https://youtu.be/SrXWEbGrEVE

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/SrXWEbGrEVE)

[Check out Part 1 of this discussion on Sola Media’s YouTube channel!](https://youtu.be/HkbXrFuwqiE?si=wfZkNhlqPpafr%5F4o)

On today’s special episode of Theocast, Jon and Justin are joined by Adriel Sanchez of Sola Media to continue a thoughtful conversation on the differences between baptizing believers only and baptizing infants. This isn’t a debate but a dialogue between three Reformed brothers who share a deep love for Christ and his church. We explore key theological distinctions in covenant theology, union with Christ, and the role of baptism as a sign and seal of God’s promises. The discussion touches on continuity between the covenants, the objectivity of the sacraments, and pastoral implications. Whether you're undecided or simply curious, this episode offers biblical reflection and gospel-centered clarity. All of it is rooted in humility, respect, and unity in Christ.

[Adriel’s Podcast: Core Christianity](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8oIOkAqgPGdCzmL7O9uwDDFZMskvI5yh)

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---

### Why New Calvinism Is Not Reformed

*Published: May 21, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-new-calvinism-is-not-reformed*
*Tags: Calvinism, Calvinism vs Reformed, Calvinism Vs Reformed Theology, New Calvinism, Reformed Theology*

https://youtu.be/FEchtLmsxnA

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/FEchtLmsxnA)

New Calvinism, while it has some good aspects, has also caused a lot of problems for many people today. Jon and Justin are going to have a conversation about how historical Reformed theology differs from New Calvinism—a movement that has really taken shape and gained a lot of traction over the last few decades, particularly in America. There are good things about New Calvinism, which we discussed a few weeks ago. But there are also key differences—differences we believe are vital for the clarity of the gospel and for emphasizing Christ for us. So today, we're going to talk about those differences and give you some helpful categories. We hope this conversation brings clarity, and more than anything, we pray you are comforted in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has done everything necessary to save you.

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---

### Law & Gospel (with Bob Hiller @ 1517)

*Published: May 14, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-with-bob-hiller-1517*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

https://youtu.be/20-z0X917CA

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/20-z0X917CA)

Today's episode is a special recording from the 1517 Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. Jon and Justin are joined by Bob Hiller, senior pastor of Community Lutheran Church in Escondido, California, and a valued member of the 1517 family. In this episode, we explore the challenges of balancing grace and law, emphasizing that the Christian life is about receiving Christ's work rather than striving for perfection through self-effort. We discuss the freedom found in the gospel, encouraging each other to trust in Christ's completed work rather than relying on our own achievements for spiritual growth.

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---

### Our Thoughts on John Piper and Falling Away

*Published: May 7, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/our-thoughts-on-john-piper-and-falling-away*
*Tags: Assurance, John Piper*

https://youtu.be/X9WeY6ekw\_Y

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/X9WeY6ekw%5FY)

Recently, a video clip from the Coram Deo Conference began circulating online, featuring John Piper making comments about falling away from the living God—and how that warning needs to be preached. The message that one can fall away must be clearly communicated, with no punches pulled. Theocast was brought into the online conversation surrounding this video, and we've received a number of questions about our thoughts on what Piper said. Today, we aim to charitably engage with John’s comments and express our concerns about his message. We hope this conversation brings clarity and answers some of your questions. Ultimately, as always, our desire is to point you to Jesus Christ and to help you see from the Scriptures that He truly is enough to save you—and that you don’t need to be afraid.

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---

### Law & Gospel (with Chad Bird)

*Published: April 30, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-with-chad-bird-1*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

https://youtu.be/qgD2CVP90\_Y

[WATCH HERE](https://youtu.be/qgD2CVP90%5FY)

Today’s episode is a special live podcast recording from our 2025 Law & Gospel Conference! Jon, Justin, and our special guest, Chad Bird, discuss their theological journeys that led them to understand the importance of the law and gospel distinction and what it means for the Christian. After the discussion, the guys hold a Q&A with the audience!

[CHECK OUT CHAD BIRD’S RESOURCES](https://www.1517.org/contributors/chad-bird)

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---

### God Really Does Love Us (with Dan Cruver)

*Published: April 23, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/god-really-does-love-us-with-dan-cruver*
*Tags: God's Love*

https://youtu.be/d0fHvLvhxEE?si=m0TsXqkpp0xUs-X1

As Christians, we often say we know God loves us and that Jesus died for our sins so we could be forgiven and accepted in Christ. But when asked how we think God _really_ feels about us, we tend to get uncomfortable. If we're honest, many of us quietly wonder if God truly delights in us or if His grace was more of a reluctant necessity. Maybe He saved us, but does He actually enjoy us? Today, Jon and Justin are joined by Dan Cruver, author of _Love Indeed_, to talk about the deep, assuring love of God. Our hope is to encourage one another—and you—with the truth of how deeply God loves sinners like us.

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---

### The Good and The Bad of New Calvinism

*Published: April 16, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-good-and-the-bad-of-new-calvinism*
*Tags: Calvinism*

https://youtu.be/gat0fQxaenc

New Calvinism: The Young, Restless, and Reformed Movement. This has been a significant movement—a major groundswell—in recent decades within the American and Western Church. What’s good about it? What’s maybe not so good? That’s the conversation Jon and Justin are going to have today from our typical confessional and Reformed perspective. There is much to celebrate, but there are also aspects where we might say, "Maybe not the best."

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---

### The Danger of "God's Glory" without the Gospel

*Published: April 9, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-danger-of-gods-glory-without-the-gospel*
*Tags: Theology of Glory, Theology of the Cross vs Theology of Glory*

https://youtu.be/7SPyHCK0Lcc

If I asked you, "What is the glory of God?" how would you answer? The glory of God is a central focus in the evangelical church, and rightly so. It is a wonderful reality that must be understood biblically to avoid misrepresenting His character. God is glorified in creation, in executing justice, and above all, in saving His people. He has always loved us, bound His heart to us, and takes the greatest joy in our redemption. Jon and Justin will discuss how separating God's glory from Jesus and the gospel can be dangerous, as it risks misrepresenting His character.

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---

### Let's Talk About Idolatry

*Published: April 2, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/lets-talk-about-idolatry*
*Tags: Idols*

https://youtu.be/\_5yM1uWh8JE

If you're like us and were raised in the church, you probably chuckled when you first learned that the Israelites carried around small idols in the desert—almost like little good luck charms. They had the power of God on their side, the One who split the sea, provided them with food, led them by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day. Yet, they still clung to these idols. How foolish those Israelites must have been, right? But that’s not quite how the story goes. Idolatry and idol worship may seem like an Old Testament issue, but they haven’t disappeared. The powers behind them are still at work today. That’s exactly what Justin and Jon want to discuss. We need to have a proper understanding of idolatry and recognize that it remains a real danger in our lives.

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---

### How Could Lot Be Righteous?

*Published: March 26, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-could-lot-be-righteous*
*Tags: Righteousness*

https://youtu.be/7d4pZStvj1A

If I had to pick one person from the entire Bible and give him the title of "righteous" based on his actions, it wouldn’t be Lot. I’m sorry, but what that man did is not the definition of righteousness. Yet, that’s often how we think about godliness—righteousness as a comparison of who obeys the law. "I didn’t do these things; therefore, I’m righteous. You did those things; therefore, you’re unrighteous." But that’s not the definition used in the books of Hebrews and 2 Peter. They present a different perspective. In today’s podcast, Justin and Jon discuss why Peter refers to Noah and Lot as righteous—and what that really means.

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---

### The Most Christian Thing We Do

*Published: March 19, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-most-christian-thing-we-do*
*Tags: Christian Living*

https://youtu.be/-xSvQyidkN0

What is the most Christian thing we could do? If you're like many out there, you might say, "Well, I would not sin." Fair answer. That certainly is a fruit of being united to the Lord Jesus Christ. But Jon and Justin offer a different perspective today. Perhaps the most Christian thing we could ever do is confess and acknowledge our weakness and then cast ourselves into the arms of Jesus Christ. We believe this leads to all kinds of good things, including freedom, joy, and peace. It is also a path to sanctification and transformation of life. If you're wondering how that could be the case, stay tuned for today's episode.

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---

### Would Satan Approve of Your Morality?

*Published: March 12, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/would-satan-approve-of-your-morality*
*Tags: Holiness, Legalism, moralization, Satan*

https://youtu.be/LthGX6Byqzc

Is there a kind of preaching that Satan would approve of? We often assume it’s the kind that denies miracles and weakens morality, but he may just as well applaud preaching that exalts virtue and moral living while leaving out Jesus. At Theocast, we believe this kind of Christless preaching is dangerous, as it shifts the focus from the gospel to mere behavior. Today, Jon and Justin will discuss this issue and how it affects life in the local church. How do we talk about obedience, faithfulness, and discipleship without obscuring Jesus or assuming the gospel? Our goal is to keep Christ at the center of every conversation, and we hope this discussion is helpful to you.

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---

### How Satan Uses the Law

*Published: March 5, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-satan-uses-the-law*
*Tags: Holiness, Law and Gospel, Legalism, Satan*

https://youtu.be/ezAsTdifjnM

It is safe to say that the Apostle Paul was one of the most vigorous defenders of the gospel, and he said many things to protect it from legalism. However, there is an aspect of Paul's discussions that often goes unnoticed—his argument that legalism is not only a human issue but also a tool used by the kingdom of darkness. Paul explains that when Jesus put the rulers of this age to open shame, it was because they were using the law to condemn us. Jon and Justin discuss how the law can be manipulated by demonic forces to draw us back into legalism, which is entirely opposed to the gospel.

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---

### Despisers of Grace

*Published: February 26, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/despisers-of-grace*
*Tags: grace, Legalism*

https://youtu.be/pQ895NEBAMs

When people look at the liberal-conservative divide—or perhaps the loose versus strict legalistic divide—in the church, they assume there is nothing in common between these groups. However, Jon and Justin disagree. We believe that both of these groups can be described as despisers of grace. Today, we’re going to explain what we mean by that. We’ll have a conversation about the law, the gospel, the grace of God, and the path to true freedom and rest in Jesus.

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---

### More Than Forgiven

*Published: February 19, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/more-than-forgiven-1*
*Tags: Sanctification*

Many believers struggle with doubts about whether they truly belong to Christ, often because their lives don’t look the way they want. Is Jesus only enough for the forgiveness of sins, or is there more to what He has accomplished in us? The answer is yes—He is better than you’ve ever imagined. He not only forgives and justifies but also works in us by His Spirit to sanctify us. Through our union with Him, we are safe, secure, justified, and being sanctified, and we will be with God forever. Today, Jon and Justin discuss union with Christ, based on Romans 6 and Justin’s new book, _More Than Forgiven_.

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https://youtu.be/jH\_Vgr2\_S2Q

---

### What About Tongues, Healing, and Prophecy?

*Published: February 12, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-about-tongues-healing-and-prophecy*
*Tags: Spiritual Gifts*

Have you ever had someone say, “The Lord told me to tell you…”? How do you process that statement? What about modern prophecies, miracles, visions, and dreams? As Reformed, conservative Christians, how do we interpret these things through Scripture? That is the focus of today’s podcast. We want to have a meaningful conversation about assurance and the hope we have in Christ.

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https://youtu.be/wnoceGtT3bw

---

### Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

*Published: February 5, 2025 | Author: Theocast Inc*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/whose-voice-are-you-listening-to*

As human beings, we constantly hear many voices, whether we realize it or not. A key question to ask ourselves is: Whose voice am I listening to? Is it the voice of Satan, who accuses and deceives? The voice of my flesh or the world? Or the voice of my Savior, who speaks truth and life? The voice we listen to shapes our daily experience and how we see the world. Jon and Justin hope this conversation helps us recalibrate our ears to hear the voice of Jesus.

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https://youtu.be/wB1Kxd9YCHw

---

### Why Is Life So Hard?

*Published: January 29, 2025 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-is-life-so-hard*
*Tags: Trials*

Disappointment is part of the human experience, rooted in our expectations that life should be free of struggles. We often forget that trials are inevitable and that everyone will eventually die. Today's podcast explores this utopian view of life and how hardships can shake our faith, causing us to question God’s purpose. Jon and Justin discuss why this happens and where true hope is found. The world is groaning under suffering, but the ultimate solution is always Jesus.

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https://youtu.be/2D\_CS4qSRLY

---

### What Does It Mean to Confirm Our Election?

*Published: January 23, 2025 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-does-it-mean-to-confirm-our-election*
*Tags: Assurance, Obedience, Pietism*

At Theocast, we get this question a lot: What about 2 Peter when it says that we should be confirming our calling and election by our obedience? Isn't that really a way for us to examine ourselves and find our assurance, saying, "Look, my obedience aligns with my confession?" Yes and no. That passage has probably hurt more people than it has helped. But Peter wrote it to help them—he actually wrote it to encourage them. So if you read 2 Peter 1:10 and feel discouraged, you should keep listening. That is not what was intended.

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https://youtu.be/aTcFDbviAM4

---

### Does Jesus Weep With Us?

*Published: January 22, 2025 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/does-jesus-weep-with-us*
*Tags: Jesus*

What comes to mind when you think about God? Do you feel comfort, safety, and love, or do you wrestle with doubt, dread, and judgment? It's been said that our thoughts about God shape every area of our lives, and today Jon and Justin dive deep into this idea. Join them as they explore who God is, what He is like, and how He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. Tune in for a thoughtful and honest conversation about faith, feelings, and the character of God.

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https://youtu.be/z-uH11WxxWA

---

### Have You Overcorrected in Your Deconstruction?

*Published: January 1, 2025 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/have-you-overcorrected-in-your-deconstruction*
*Tags: Deconstruction*

What comes to mind when you think about God? Do you feel comfort, safety, and love, or do you wrestle with doubt, dread, and judgment? It's been said that our thoughts about God shape every area of our lives, and today Jon and Justin dive deep into this idea. Join them as they explore who God is, what He is like, and how He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. Tune in for a thoughtful and honest conversation about faith, feelings, and the character of God.

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https://youtu.be/z-uH11WxxWA

---

### As A Christian, Do My Emotions Matter?

*Published: December 18, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/as-a-christian-do-my-emotions-matter*
*Tags: Confessionalism, Feelings*

What comes to mind when you think about God? Do you feel comfort, safety, and love, or do you wrestle with doubt, dread, and judgment? It's been said that our thoughts about God shape every area of our lives, and today Jon and Justin dive deep into this idea. Join them as they explore who God is, what He is like, and how He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. Tune in for a thoughtful and honest conversation about faith, feelings, and the character of God.

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https://youtu.be/z-uH11WxxWA

---

### Thinking About God: Dread or Comfort?

*Published: December 18, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/thinking-about-god-dread-or-comfort*
*Tags: Delight not dread, Pietism, Rest*

What comes to mind when you think about God? Do you feel comfort, safety, and love, or do you wrestle with doubt, dread, and judgment? It's been said that our thoughts about God shape every area of our lives, and today Jon and Justin dive deep into this idea. Join them as they explore who God is, what He is like, and how He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. Tune in for a thoughtful and honest conversation about faith, feelings, and the character of God.

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https://youtu.be/z-uH11WxxWA

---

### Gutting the Scripture of Its Power

*Published: December 11, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/gutting-the-scripture-of-its-power*
*Tags: Assurance, Gospel, law gospel distinction, Pietism*

Many Christians today feel absolutely drained and powerless. They have tried every solution under the sun to overcome their sin, grow in Christ, and mature in their faith, striving for sanctification. Yet, they feel defeated and often question, “_Am I even God's? Do I truly belong to Him?”_ It seems as though the power of Christianity has disappeared. How did that happen? That’s exactly what Justin and Jon want to discuss today. How did the power of the gospel become gutted from the Bible?

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https://youtu.be/J0RUO4SlIVs

---

### Gospel-Lite and Law-Heavy Living

*Published: December 4, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/gospel-lite-and-law-heavy-living*
*Tags: Christian Living, law gospel distinction*

Does the Christian life ever feel like you're sitting on a bicycle, pedaling as hard as you possibly can, but not going anywhere—only to realize there's no chain on the bike? That's what we call "gospel-lite, law-heavy living." You feel like you're putting in a lot of effort but not making any progress because you've been relying on the wrong power source. That's what Justin and Jon want to talk about today: where the true source of light and power comes from.

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https://youtu.be/0npSHbYGWLo

---

### Living by Faith Isn't Easy

*Published: November 20, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/living-by-faith-isnt-easy*
*Tags: Christian Living, Faith*

Over the years, Jon and Justin have sought to defend the gospel message: that we are saved by Jesus Christ through faith in Him alone. This belief has often been met with criticism. People frequently object, saying, "Surely it’s not that simple—it has to involve more than just faith in Jesus." In response, Jon and Justin argue that faith is not as easy as it might seem. Walking by faith, rather than by sight, is challenging for us as human beings. In today’s discussion, they will explore this concept further, referencing scripture and addressing recent debates about justification, obedience, and good works. They’ll also examine our tendency to want to hold onto or point to something we’ve done as a measure of our salvation.

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https://youtu.be/SPUFealMH58

---

### How Do We Know God Is Pleased With Us?

*Published: November 13, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-do-we-know-god-is-pleased-with-us*
*Tags: Assurance, pleasing God*

Many Christians often struggle with a significant question: How does God truly feel about me? We are aware of the sins we try to hide and the personal struggles we face. God knows all our weaknesses and failures, and deep down, we question whether He is angry or disappointed with us. We may wonder if He will discipline us or pursue us in judgment because we continue to fail. How can God keep loving someone who repeatedly falls short? This is an essential question, and today, Justin and Jon want to address it. Understanding God's attitude toward you is transformative, as it shapes your experience in this world and your journey in the Christian faith. We want to reassure and remind you that God's disposition toward you is not dependent on your performance. Join us as we explore how the gospel frees you from the burden and shame that often weigh heavily on our hearts.

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https://youtu.be/uC46uTVz8So

---

### Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering?

*Published: November 6, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-does-god-allow-evil-and-suffering*
*Tags: evil, Sin, suffering*

If God is both sovereign and good, why does He allow evil and suffering in the world? These are questions we often ask. For Justin, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, they’ve just gone through a hurricane, so there are many people asking these questions. Today, Jon and Justin are having a conversation about this, and we acknowledge that we don’t have specific answers to every question. The secret things belong to the Lord. But we’re going to talk about God—His power, His character, His nature, His love for us—and the truths we know about Him that anchor our souls when everything else is giving way. We hope this conversation encourages you and offers you hope.

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https://youtu.be/lQ-NlgT2c-k

---

### An Introduction to the Law and Gospel Distinction

*Published: October 30, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/an-introduction-to-the-law-and-gospel-distinction*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

The distinction between law and gospel is one of the most important topics covered at Theocast, as it lies at the heart of resting in Christ. Many struggle with trusting in Christ's sufficiency because they mistakenly mix the law with the gospel, believing there's something they must do to earn God's acceptance. This episode compiles key points from previous episodes to help clarify this important distinction and encourage listeners to rest in Christ's finished work.

Check out the full episodes featured in this compilation:  
  
[Law/Gospel Distinction is Life-Changing | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/law-gospel-distinction-is-life-changing/)  
  
[Intro to Law and Gospel Distinction | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction/)  
  
[The Law, the Gospel, and Sanctification | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction/)  
  
[There is No Power in the Law | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/there-is-no-power-in-the-law/)  
  
[Law, Gospel, and Jesus (w/ The Pactum) | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/law-gospel-and-jesus-w-the-pactum/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/\_5lzNLdaNZ0

---

### Reading the Bible Through Law/Gospel Lenses

*Published: October 23, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/reading-the-bible-through-law-gospel-lenses*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

Is there a right and wrong way to read your Bible? We're going to argue that yes, there is. There’s a dangerous way where passages are misapplied—for example, reading the law as gospel or the gospel as law, which leads to confusion and distorts the message. In today's podcast, we discuss how to read your Bible with a law-gospel distinction. We'll cover how to think about different parts of the Bible, like narratives, Psalms, Proverbs, prophecy, and the New Testament gospels, ensuring you approach them with the right perspective to avoid muddying the gospel.

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https://youtu.be/DVsHikYWXN4

---

### Gospel Shrewdness and Discernment Ministries

*Published: October 16, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/gospel-shrewdness-and-discernment-ministries*
*Tags: Discernment Ministries*

Today's conversation is one that Jon and Justin wanted to have as they look at the broader Christian landscape. Even within their own churches, it seems that many Christians operate out of fear and are overly concerned with certain theological directions. This fear may prevent us from partnering with sincere, well-meaning Christians to promote the gospel and could stunt our own growth by keeping us from learning from those outside our tradition, who have valuable insights on many aspects of the Christian life. This episode is two pastors processing things in real time, and we hope it will be helpful, freeing, and comforting for you.

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https://youtu.be/FYb336LdmbE

---

### How Humility Helps Us

*Published: October 9, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-humility-helps-us*
*Tags: humility*

When you hear the word "humility," what comes to mind? How do you feel when you recall how a pastor, perhaps in your past, spoke to you about the need to be humble? How did that affect you? In today's episode, Jon and Justin have a conversation about humility—specifically, humbling ourselves before and under the mighty hand of God. The purpose of humility may not be what you're expecting. It leads to much good, because God is mighty to save and deliver us. He is our faithful God who loves us and desires that we come to Him with all our anxieties and burdens. All of this is tied to being humble before Him. We hope this episode comforts and encourages you in Christ.

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https://youtu.be/uYjcRkZZc8s

---

### Assurance of Salvation? (w/ Room for Nuance)

*Published: October 2, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/assurance-of-salvation-w-room-for-nuance*
*Tags: Assurance, assurance of salvation*

Jon and Justin were recently invited onto the Room for Nuance podcast with Sean DeMars to discuss various topics surrounding assurance of salvation, law-gospel distinction, and the relationship between faith and works. We hope you find this conversation informative and encouraging!

[ROOM FOR NUANCE](https://roomfornuancepodcast.com/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/2HWDXb5p0gA

---

### The Gospel of Sincere Obedience

*Published: September 25, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-gospel-of-sincere-obedience*
*Tags: Obedience*

Oh no, Jon and Justin are talking about obedience again. Yes, we are—and it’s an important subject because, to be frank, we truly want everyone who listens to this podcast to obey sincerely. The question is, how is that accomplished? There is no good news for those who only emphasize obedience. We have to look to a power beyond ourselves, and that’s what we’re going to be discussing today.

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https://youtu.be/1piXjO-q6YU

---

### How to Disagree as Christians

*Published: September 18, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-to-disagree-as-christians*
*Tags: Disagreement*

We live in a time where we’re prone to throw mud, be condescending, self-righteous, and accusatory, and we often misrepresent those with whom we disagree. This behavior doesn’t seem to align with what Scripture teaches about being gentle, kind, patient, and avoiding arguments. So, today, Jon and Justin are going to talk about that. We’ll also discuss the hope we have, our citizenship in heaven, and our Savior, Jesus, and how all of this should inform our posture and interactions with others. We hope this conversation is helpful to you.

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https://youtu.be/ZGecJGACDK0

---

### Radical Discipleship

*Published: September 11, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/radical-discipleship*
*Tags: Biblical Discipleship, Discipleship*

Do you ever wake up thinking, "I just don't do enough for God"? You feel like you need to be doing more. You see so many people with radical ministries and faith, helping so many, and all you do is, well, just go to church. If this sounds familiar, this podcast is for you. The idea of radical discipleship—the belief that you need to do more or something extraordinary for God—creates a pressure that God never intended for anyone to bear. Yet, He gives you a promise of how you can contribute to His kingdom, and it’s called, well, ordinary.

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https://youtu.be/GJBFoe8Fmeg

---

### Law and Gospel (w/ Remnant Radio)

*Published: September 4, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-and-gospel-w-remnant-radio*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

Today's episode is a special one. Jon and Justin were recently interviewed by the hosts of Remnant Radio, Josh and Michael, and had a great conversation about all things law and gospel. We discussed the history, confusing passages, and how it is often misused to rob us of assurance. More importantly, we explored how, when used correctly, it can provide deep assurance. We hope you find this conversation encouraging!

[Remnant Radio](https://theremnantradio.com/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/cEtdV6r7Ygk

---

### Godliness vs. Legalism

*Published: August 28, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/godliness-vs-legalism*
*Tags: Legalism*

What is the difference between godliness and legalism? Sometimes, when people define godliness, they actually describe legalism or even pietism. Understanding this distinction is crucial, and the Bible addresses it often. Today, Jon and Justin will explain where true, heart-filled, God-glorifying godliness comes from and reveal the damage caused by the lies of Satan—legalism and pietism. We pray you are encouraged by this conversation.

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https://youtu.be/\_XRDfTQfZPM

---

### We Sin, We Suffer, We Die... Where's the Good News?

*Published: August 21, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/we-sin-we-suffer-we-die-wheres-the-good-news*
*Tags: suffering*

The Christian life is often depicted by American culture as one of prosperity and health, but more frequently, our pilgrimage through this fallen world is characterized by sin, suffering, and ultimately death. Jon and Justin have discussed suffering, sickness, death, and our only hope to escape this harrowing reality in many episodes of Theocast. This compilation features the most informative and helpful portions of those episodes, with the aim of being extremely clear about where we stand, who and what we look to for comfort, and how we should view and endure suffering in this world.

Here’s a list of the episodes featured in this compilation:

[Hope in the Midst of Hell | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/hope-in-the-midst-of-hell/)  
  
["Where Are You, God?" | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/where-are-you-god/)  
  
[Anxiety and the Gospel | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/anxiety-and-the-gospel/)  
  
[He Gets Us | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/he-gets-us/)  
  
[Train Wrecks Welcomed | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-those-who-destroyed-their-lives-ran-to-jesus/)  
  
[Feeling Cold and Discouraged? | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/feeling-cold-and-discouraged/)  
  
[Does God Really Love Me? | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/does-god-really-love-me/)  
  
https://youtu.be/bi3CkrwP0rM

---

### For the Outcasts

*Published: August 14, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/for-the-outcasts*
*Tags: Encouragement, Gospel*

Maybe you're out there feeling weary, burdened, beat up, or left behind. Even in your experience as a Christian in the church, you feel like you've been run over, like you don't fit. You know that Jesus is real, but you wonder if the problem is with you. If you've felt this way repeatedly, and if you've been made to feel this way over and over, this podcast is for you.

Today, Jon and Justin are going to have a tender and honest conversation about the things that matter most to us as pastors and why Theocast exists at all: to hold out Jesus Christ for us. He came to save people like you and me. Join us as we rejoice in Him today and talk about Him. We hope you are encouraged.  
  
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https://youtu.be/yR9f8LIOft4

---

### What Robs Us of Rest?

*Published: August 7, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-robs-us-of-rest*
*Tags: Anxiety, Encouragement, Rest, Resting in Christ, Struggling*

Have you ever found yourself resting in Christ, only to suddenly lose that peace? What can rob you of your rest in Christ? Today's podcast addresses this very issue. We will explore the pitfalls that either trap us, preventing us from finding rest, or trip us up once we are at rest, causing anxiety, pain, and suffering. These pitfalls can undermine the very hope we have in the sufficiency of Christ. Join Justin and Jon as they walk through three different areas of life that cause us to lose our rest in Christ. We pray this is encouraging to you.

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https://youtu.be/YfHPZgaMBFs

---

### Stop Preaching the Pietism 'Gospel'

*Published: July 31, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stop-preaching-the-pietism-gospel*
*Tags: Pietism*

If you are directed inwardly to find the comfort and assurance that Christ has saved you from your sin, you will be of all men most miserable. Jon and Justin have spoken about pietism and its effects on the Christian life in many episodes of Theocast. This is a compilation of the most informative and helpful portions of those episodes, with the aim of being extremely clear on where we stand, what problems we see with pietism, and the subtle yet devastating fruits of the pietism 'gospel' within the local church.

Here’s a list of the episodes featured in this compilation:

[What is Pietism? | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-is-pietism/)  
  
[What Robs Us of Joy? | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-robs-us-of-joy/)  
  
[NOT Sinning Is NOT the Purpose of Your Life | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/not-sinning-is-not-the-purpose-of-your-life/)  
  
[The Prove Yourself Gospel | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-prove-yourself-gospel/)  
  
[Leaving Pietism | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/leavingpietism/)  
  
[How Pietism Ruins Good Works | Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/how-pietism-ruins-good-works/)  
  
https://youtu.be/75wksOfPVlU

---

### Where Is Jesus in My Suffering? (w/ Mike Abendroth)

*Published: July 24, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/where-is-jesus-in-my-suffering-w-mike-abendroth*
*Tags: joy in suffering, suffering*

Today, it seems like if you are not suffering from some kind of ailment or cancer, you know someone who is or have had a family member or friend who has died because of it. It is a painful experience to watch someone lose their life and wither away. At times, our faith is crushed, and our assurance is called into question. Where is Jesus in all of this suffering?

We have the privilege of hosting a special guest, Mike Abendroth, who has recently written a book about this experience from his own perspective. We know this will be encouraging for you. If you get an opportunity to purchase the book, we highly recommend it!  
  
[NoCo Radio](https://nocompromiseradio.com/)  
  
[Mike’s Book: _Cancer Is Not Your Shepherd_](https://a.co/d/8Deve2V)  
  
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https://youtu.be/ZdIxjDkPMG4

---

### There Is No Power in the Law

*Published: July 17, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/there-is-no-power-in-the-law*
*Tags: law, law gospel distinction, Three Uses of the Law*

Some of you are probably really concerned about this title, thinking we've gone too far. Well, we're here to defend not ourselves, but to show you from Scripture that all power remains in Christ and Him crucified. The law is only here to guide or convict us. We're going to talk about the different uses of the law, but the law is powerless to save and powerless to sanctify. Let us prove it to you from Scripture.

[Our episode on the Three Uses of the Law](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-three-uses-of-the-law/)  
  
[Our episode on Walking by the Spirit](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-does-it-mean-to-walk-by-the-spirit/)  
  
[Join the Theocast Community!](https://www.theocastcommunity.org)  
  
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https://youtu.be/MUt47zf4M9o

---

### What Does America Need?

*Published: July 10, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-does-america-need*
*Tags: America, American Politics, Culture, Engaging culture*

People often criticize us here at Theocast, saying that we are not concerned about society, the culture in which we live, or even the country of which we are citizens. So today, Jon and Justin are going to address that. We're going to discuss the gospel and what the Lord is doing in building His church. How do all of these things affect our perspectives on society, culture, and the countries in which we live? We hope that this is encouraging and clarifying for you.

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https://youtu.be/wsPb5XkKbmY

---

### Psalm 1 Is NOT About You

*Published: July 3, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/psalm-1-is-not-about-you*
*Tags: law gospel distinction, Psalms*

One of the most famous Psalms that nearly everyone reads is Psalm 1\. Jon and Justin want to highlight the distinction between the law and the gospel in Psalm 1, showing that it is not about how God blesses those who obey Him. Psalm 1 is not about you! You don't appear until Psalm 2, and that is where the gospel is!

[Join the Theocast Community!](https://www.theocastcommunity.org)  
  
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https://youtu.be/QAnQE-J-Kvw

---

### Missing the Gospel in John 3

*Published: June 26, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/missing-the-gospel-in-john-3*
*Tags: Christ in the Old Testament, Gospel, Old Testament*

In listening to a lot of preaching today, it's clear that it's possible to talk about the gospel or even about the work of God without actually getting around to preaching the gospel itself—preaching Jesus Christ for sinners. This can happen with any number of passages, but today Jon and Justin are going to have a conversation about a well-known text: the interchange between Jesus and Nicodemus from John chapter three. There's a lot of truly epic content in this passage, including the sovereign grace of God, the work of God, and regeneration in the new birth. Unfortunately, the gospel message within this passage—the Son of Man being lifted up for us—is often not talked about enough. We hope this discussion is encouraging and clarifying for you.

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https://youtu.be/9bTHySpu2\_o

---

### The Old Testament Preaches the Gospel

*Published: June 19, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-old-testament-preaches-the-gospel*
*Tags: Christ in the Old Testament, Gospel, Old Testament*

Many Christians struggle with reading and understanding the Old Testament. They know it's supposed to be about Jesus, and they've read the New Testament, but they're just disconnected from the Old. Today's podcast is our attempt to give you reasons why you should read your Old Testament. By doing so, you will see the wonder and glory it defines for us, which leads us to Christ and His grace.

[Join the Theocast Community!](https://www.theocastcommunity.org)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/JtUx7b2BzMU

---

### What Happened to Freedom in the Gospel?

*Published: June 12, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-happened-to-freedom-in-the-gospel*
*Tags: Freedom, Gospel*

Jesus said that those whom the Son sets free are free indeed. But maybe you're listening to this podcast and thinking, "I don't really feel free." There may be reasons for that. The gospel is marvelous and wonderful, and it has many facets. At times, certain aspects aren't discussed as much. The forgiveness of sins, absolution from guilt, and the imputation of Christ's righteousness are wonderful truths. Additionally, we have been set free from the kingdom of darkness and from the evil one. Today on the podcast, Jon and Justin have a conversation about that freedom and how it is an essential part of the gospel message.

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https://youtu.be/C25mCKC1BBM

---

### Can Christians Struggle with PTSD? (w/ 1517)

*Published: June 5, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/can-christians-struggle-with-ptsd-w-1517*
*Tags: Anxiety, Depression, Mental Illness, PTSD*

Recently, Christian social media has been ablaze with the topic of mental illness and whether or not it is a real thing. In particular, diagnoses such as ADHD, PTSD, and OCD. We thought we would lend our voices to this discussion from a theological lens, analyzing the implications of the fall of Adam, a world of suffering, and compassion for our fellow man. For today’s discussion, Jon and Justin are joined by Scott Keith and Chad Bird of 1517! We hope and pray you find this conversation encouraging!

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https://youtu.be/PLn9DlJHFRk

---

### A Conversation Between Baptists and Anglicans

*Published: May 29, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/a-conversation-between-baptists-and-anglicans*
*Tags: Anglican, theology*

What do Baptists and Anglicans have in common? Jon and Justin recently had the opportunity to be on the Doth Protest podcast with our friends James and Drew, who are Anglican. We discussed the Reformation, our backgrounds, what we believe, and what we have in common. In particular, the emphasis of the podcast centered around Jesus, God's grace, and the sufficiency of our Savior. We were encouraged by the conversation, and we trust that you will be too.

[Doth Protest Podcast](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC0hedxlKzLYLGtPf1czV8w)  
  
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https://youtu.be/-IhvdnFLLuc

---

### "Where Are You, God?"

*Published: May 22, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/where-are-you-god*
*Tags: hope, Struggling, suffering*

Exhausted? Beat up? Suffering? Where are you, God? Why is this happening? Why can't I hear you? Why can't I feel your presence? For those who have these feelings and are exhausted, just needing a glimmer of hope, Justin and Jon have something for you today. We want to point you to Christ and His gospel.

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https://youtu.be/oIApaRJwR8w

---

### Antinomianism (w/ The Pactum)

*Published: May 15, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/antinomianism-w-the-pactum*
*Tags: Antinomianism*

What is antinomianism? Are Jon and Justin, here at Theocast, antinomian? What about the law and the Christian life? Does the law have a place in the life of the believer? What about the difference between lordship salvation and antinomianism? Is it one or the other? Recently, Jon and Justin had an opportunity to discuss these topics—the uses of the law, union with Christ, and many other good subjects—with our friends over at The Pactum, Pat Abendroth and Mike Grimes. We hope this episode clarifies these issues for you and encourages you in your Christian life.

[Pat’s new book! _The Active Obedience of Christ_](https://a.co/d/eBckeVm)  
  
[The Pactum](https://www.thepactum.org/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/jg\_K3YUtU4M

---

### Anxiety and the Gospel

*Published: May 8, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/anxiety-and-the-gospel*
*Tags: Anxiety, Depression, hope*

For those of us who are feeling anxious, depressed, dark, and discouraged, this is a conversation for you. How do we take what we feel and put it in the light of the gospel and the objective reality outside of ourselves? How do our feelings tend to adjust and change towards the truth of the gospel? We pray you find this conversation encouraging!

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https://youtu.be/xiwIUNqWyjw

---

### Law, Gospel, and Jesus (w/ The Pactum)

*Published: May 1, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-and-jesus-w-the-pactum*
*Tags: law gospel distinction*

It has been said that Jesus is the greatest teacher of the law. Many would come to him and say, 'How can we enter into your kingdom?' We assume Jesus would give them the gospel. But if you read these passages, it sounds like law because he tells them to obey the law and live. Today's episode is a discussion about the law-gospel distinction with our good friend Pat Abendroth from The Pactum. We tackle a lot of the hard passages in both the Old and New Testament.

[Pat’s new book! _The Active Obedience of Christ_](https://a.co/d/eBckeVm)  
  
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https://youtu.be/bfxNUuwZNoM

---

### What Does It Mean to Walk by the Spirit?

*Published: April 24, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-does-it-mean-to-walk-by-the-spirit*
*Tags: Obedience, Sanctification, Walk by the spirit*

Do you ever wonder what it means to walk by the spirit? It's a phrase found in several places in the New Testament. If you asked ten different Christians what it means to walk by the spirit, you'd likely get ten different answers. But today on the pod, Jon and Justin are going to take a swing at answering that question. We're going to explore this concept and offer our perspectives. Our answers might surprise you.

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https://youtu.be/jzZNhyDBhZ4

---

### Saved by Works? (w/ The Pactum)

*Published: April 17, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/saved-by-works-w-the-pactum*
*Tags: Active Obedience of Christ, Good Works, Obedience, Works*

Are we saved by works? The answer to this question might astonish you. In fact, we are saved by works! The real question is, whose works save us? Ours? Or someone else’s? In today’s episode, Jon, Justin, and our friend Pat Abendroth from The Pactum will be discussing the active obedience of Christ, a vital biblical doctrine that helps sinners see Jesus better. We pray you will find this conversation informative and encouraging.

[Pat’s new book! _The Active Obedience of Christ_](https://a.co/d/eBckeVm)  
  
[The Pactum](https://www.thepactum.org/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/4NUJS53PZTc

---

### Why We're Not Antinomian

*Published: April 10, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-were-not-antinomian*
*Tags: Antinomian, Antinomianism*

Emphasizing grace, grace boys, antinomianism, the law, preaching, harsh - these are all words that seem to be circulating widely on the internet. We wanted to address this topic. First and foremost, what is antinomianism? Is preaching Christ from all of Scripture, Christ-centered preaching, generally considered antinomian? Moreover, why is it that Reformed theology, and Theocast, is wrongly considered antinomian? We'll explain this by examining the uses of the law and church discipline.

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[Jon’s Course: Saint, Sinner, and the Supernatural](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/saint-sinner-and-the-supernatural)

[Justin’s Course: Law and Gospel Distinction](https://www.theocastcommunity.org/c/law-and-gospel-distinction)  
  
[Our episode on Romans 7](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-you-cant-stop-sinning/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/vBoNVVlyX7c

---

### The Baptism Debate

*Published: April 3, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-baptism-debate*
*Tags: Baptism, baptist, Covenant Theology, Presbyterians*

The baptism debate. Typically, when we hear this, we cringe because it's not really done well; there are a lot of strawmen. We don't represent each other's side well, and it becomes heated and emotional. We don't want to do that today. We want to talk about the differences and where they stand biblically, and then why we would hold to a position known as the credo-baptist position: the 1689 Baptist view of baptism. Most of all, we pray that you're informed and encouraged. We love our brothers who are paedo-baptists, and we hope that comes out in this podcast.

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[Sam Renihan’s book, _The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant & His Kingdom_](https://a.co/d/bToBUI4)

[Jewett’s book, _Infant Baptist and the Covenant of Grace_](https://a.co/d/0SRr3X3)

[VanDorn’s book, _Waters of Creation_](https://a.co/d/1v3are6)

[Nettles’s Article, _Baptists and the Ordinances_](https://www.modernreformation.org/resources/articles/baptists-and-the-ordinances)

[Our “Remember Your Baptism” episode](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/remember-your-baptism-2/)

[COVENANT Conference](https://covbap.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1931256)

https://youtu.be/q\_AT5WR0Y74

---

### Why We're Not Presbyterian

*Published: March 27, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-were-not-presbyterian*
*Tags: baptist, Covenant Theology, Presbyterians*

Have you ever wondered what the differences are between a confessional Baptist position on covenant theology and a confessional Presbyterian position? (We know you have--because you’ve asked us.) Jon and Justin talk about the differences today. It really all comes down to how one understands the covenant of grace to be revealed and then established. We hope this conversation brings some clarity for you!

[Sam Renihan’s book, _The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant & His Kingdom_](https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Christ-His-Covenant-Kingdom/dp/1943539154)

[1689 Federalism Website](http://1689federalism.com/)

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[COVENANT Conference](https://covbap.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1931256)

https://youtu.be/\_tW1Z3\_qa\_M

---

### Are Baptists Reformed?

*Published: March 20, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/are-baptists-reformed*
*Tags: baptist, Covenant Theology, Presbyterians*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin have a conversation about the Reformation and the streams that flowed out of it pertaining to covenant theology. While there are disagreements amongst and between various traditions, Presbyterians, the Reformed, and confessional Baptists agree on a lot! This discussion covers some history, as well as the significant points of agreement. Let’s make Reformed catholicity a thing!

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[More episodes on Covenant Theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/topics-index/)  
  
https://youtu.be/wTc2iUoEw48

---

### Covenant Theology VS Dispensationalism

*Published: March 13, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/covenant-theology-vs-dispensationalism*
*Tags: Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism*

What are the major differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism? That’s a question we get a lot. Jon and Justin sit down to discuss the differences under three main headings: Christ in all of Scripture, law/gospel distinction, and the covenant of works (active obedience of Christ).

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https://youtu.be/wxlE-jAXExQ

---

### The Power of the Gospel (w/ Chris Gordon)

*Published: March 6, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-power-of-the-gospel-w-chris-gordon*
*Tags: Gospel, Power of the Gospel*

Paul declares to the church, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God." He urges us not to feel ashamed because the gospel embodies a power that transcends our universe – God's power. This concept often perplexes modern Christians. How can mere words encapsulate God's power? This episode delves into this question, exploring how we can embrace the gospel's benefits. Essentially, Paul emphasizes that while the world may ridicule it, Christians recognize the gospel as God's power for their lives.

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https://youtu.be/rgk0ZqXuRLw

---

### How to Feel Christ's Love

*Published: February 28, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-to-feel-christs-love*
*Tags: God's Love*

Here is the reality for Christians: the one we love the most is the one we’ve never seen. There are times we have a hard time comprehending what God is like. We have a hard time feeling his love for us. And so, God can feel distant from us. It is hard for us to feel safe approaching him. Jon and Justin talk about our relationships with Jesus, his love for us, how he is with his people, seeing him in the Word of God and more in today’s episode.

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https://youtu.be/tAvpSvJkAgY

---

### He Gets Us

*Published: February 21, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/he-gets-us*
*Tags: Condoning Sin, Liberalism, Sin, Wokeness*

Many of you watched the Super Bowl and saw the “He Gets Us” ad. Many of you are aware of the controversy surrounding Alistair Begg in recent weeks. There is a lot of concern amongst Christians about wokeness and liberalism and condoning sin. In today’s episode, Jon and Justin have a conversation about our call to love others--even those outside the church. Does showing compassion to an unbeliever who is engaging in sin mean we are condoning that sin? What does it mean to be salt and light and the aroma of Christ? What about speaking the truth of the law? What about sharing the gospel?

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[COVENANT Conference](https://covbap.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1931256)  
  
https://youtu.be/IP69oBFHXbw

---

### Be Honest... Are You Scared of Jesus Coming Back? (w/ Chris Gordon)

*Published: February 14, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/be-honest-are-you-scared-of-jesus-coming-back-w-chris-gordon*
*Tags: End Times, Eschatology, Fear, Second Coming*

Are you afraid of the second coming of Jesus? You might have been taught a fearful eschatology. The book of Revelation should not be a scary thing for the Christian. Instead, we should find ourselves encouraged and our hope strengthened by our study of it. Join Jon and Justin in a conversation with Rev. Chris Gordon from Abounding Grace Radio in this podcast from the January 2024 Theocast/AG Radio Conference, "Suffering & The Hope of Christ's Return."

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https://youtu.be/uAGpBewAg-g

---

### Why Doctrine Can Feel Cold

*Published: February 7, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-doctrine-can-feel-cold*
*Tags: Doctrine, God's Love, theology*

Do you ever feel like you know a lot about Jesus--but you can’t remember the last time you felt that he loves you? Has doctrine ever felt cold to you? Have you ever been tempted to pit doctrine and experience against each other? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, today’s podcast is for you. Jon and Justin have a conversation about Jesus and his love for us. The guys make an effort to pull us into God’s story of redemption and into the way Christ loves us.

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https://youtu.be/leOO0YRvwEw

---

### The Burden of Bible Reading

*Published: January 31, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-burden-of-bible-reading*
*Tags: Bible Reading, Pietism*

For many people, reading the Bible can feel like a burden. It seems that the whole conversation around Bible reading is riddled with guilt and shame. It shouldn’t be that way. It is good that we would know and love the Word of God! It is important that we, as Christians, be regularly engaging with the Word. That said, there are a number of ways that we can do that. Jon and Justin consider how we are called to know, love, and obey the Word in today’s episode.

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https://youtu.be/QFo5-Dn\_pik

---

### Satan, Did You Know?

*Published: January 24, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/satan-did-you-know*
*Tags: Satan*

Every year around Christmastime, Christians love to argue about the song “Mary, Did You Know?” That’s another conversation for another day. (Mary did know some things, but she didn’t know everything.) A more significant question is, “Satan, did you know?” Did you know that Christ was bruising your head at the cross? How much did Satan know of the gospel?

Jon and Justin talk about the victory of Christ over Satan in today’s episode.  
  
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https://youtu.be/WQP0AweEgPk

---

### Law, Gospel, and Sanctification (w/ The Baptist Broadcast)

*Published: January 17, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-and-sanctification-w-the-baptist-broadcast*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction, Sanctification*

When you assess your life and your sanctification, do you conclude that there’s no way you could be God’s child? If so, it is possible that the categories of the law and the gospel have not been clearly explained for you. In today’s episode, Jon and Justin have a conversation with Josh Sommer (host of The Baptist Broadcast) about the law/gospel distinction and sanctification.

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https://youtu.be/yoDRiIddOVg

---

### How to Repent of Sin

*Published: January 10, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-to-repent-of-sin*
*Tags: Biblical Repentance, repent, Repentance, Sin*

Perfect love casts our fear. And certainly, the love of God for us is perfect. Yet, fear reigns often--in our hearts before God and even in our relationships with others in the church.

Here’s the thing, fear is actually a hindrance to repentance. Are you having a hard time repenting? The answer is not fear and dread. The answer is to lean into the love of God for us. United to Christ, trusting his righteousness, we walk by the Spirit. And there is freedom unto repentance.  
  
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https://youtu.be/NfqMnvior84

---

### How to Lose Friends and Alienate People!

*Published: January 3, 2024 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people*
*Tags: Disagreement, how to disagree, theology*

Happy New Year from us here at Theocast! We assume that you might’ve had some difficult conversations over the holidays about Jesus or about matters of theology and the Christian life. In light of that, how should we approach disagreement--amongst our family and friends, or even in our churches? (Hint: patience, gentleness, and love are generally useful.)

We hope this conversation is a help to you as you think about engaging others around you.  
  
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https://youtu.be/PobKXeFQAPY

---

### How Then Shall We Live?

*Published: December 13, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-then-shall-we-live*
*Tags: Christian Life, Kingdom of God*

It matters how we live as Christians.

In light of Jesus--because he has saved us and because he loves us--how do we live our lives? What is our purpose? What is our mission? Why do we pursue obedience and holiness? Does God have a plan for our lives?  
  
Jon and Justin talk about all of this in today’s episode. We hope it encourages and motivates you to live for the sake of the kingdom of Christ.  
  
Book: [Gospel and Kingdom](https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Kingdom-Graeme-Goldsworthy/dp/184227791X) \- Graeme Goldsworthy  
  
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https://youtu.be/hwF5X0ADIG0

---

### Concerns About Obedience?

*Published: December 6, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/concerns-about-obedience*
*Tags: Obedience*

Many people raise sincere, well-intentioned concerns toward us here at Theocast--and toward other confessional Reformed believers--that perhaps we don’t talk enough about obedience. Or that there isn’t enough application of Scripture being done, as it pertains to our personal conduct and holiness. How would Jon and Justin respond to these concerns? The guys have that conversation in today’s episode.

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https://youtu.be/Jkj3WZiPW\_8

---

### Train Wrecks Welcomed

*Published: November 29, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/train-wrecks-welcomed*
*Tags: Friend of Sinners, Gospel*

Fairly regularly, we see posts or correspondence discouraging people from listening to Theocast because this podcast attracts those whose lives are shipwrecked. From our perspective, we are happy to receive such a compliment. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to save sinners. He came for the weak and frail. He came for those who were weighed down by guilt and shame. This is the gospel. And, here’s the thing: it is anything but the celebration and condoning of sin.

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https://youtu.be/oG94Fl8k07E

---

### The Meat of the Word IS NOT About Your Obedience

*Published: November 15, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-meat-of-the-word-is-not-about-your-obedience*
*Tags: Holiness, Meat of the Word, Obedience*

If you think the “meat of the word” is about our obedience and what we do, this episode is for you. Jon and Justin explain how holiness and obedience is a fruit of our growth in Christ--but how to eat the meat of the word is to grow in our understanding of the gospel of Christ, our union with Christ, the mystery of Christ, and even of the local church.

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https://youtu.be/IybL55IKXlQ?si=6cuSnEBXdBQJGGth

---

### The Clarity of the Gospel (w/ Kelsi Klembara of 1517)

*Published: November 8, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-clarity-of-the-gospel-w-kelsi-klembara-of-1517*
*Tags: Gospel*

In this episode, Jon and Justin sit down with Kelsi Klembara of 1517 (host of “Outside Ourselves”). The guys talk personally about their own experiences in the church and how they came to grow in their understanding of Christ and the gospel. After that, the conversation centers on the clarity of the gospel but covers a number of topics, including trends in the contemporary church, half-gospels, the sacraments, and what’s going on with people in our generation.

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https://youtu.be/X6Jvx0BCcYM

---

### Hope in the Midst of Hell

*Published: November 1, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/hope-in-the-midst-of-hell*
*Tags: hope, hopelessness, Struggling*

Life under the sun is often brutally hard. We live in a world where we bury our children. Only an insane person would look around and say that everything is as it should be. So, what hope do we have? The hope is not for anything in this life or in this world. The hope is in the life--and the world--to come. Jon and Justin have a very personal and pastoral conversation about hope in the midst of heartbreak and pain. Jesus has promised us that he has gone to prepare a place for us and that he will bring us to be with him where he is. We take him at his word.

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https://youtu.be/vr5eTfEXdQU

---

### Saints Who Still Sin

*Published: October 25, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/saints-who-still-sin*
*Tags: saint and sinner, Sin*

There are many believers who think that the longer they are Christians, the less they will sin. More than that, the battle against sin will get easier. But, if we’re honest, we all know sin remains--and that the battle rages on. Christians are, at the same time, saints and sinners. Today’s episode is a conversation amongst four pastors about how understanding the saint/sinner reality informs pastoral ministry, fosters real sanctification, and produces honesty and compassion in the church.

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https://youtu.be/j4ygv9HjX9I

---

### The War in Israel: Reformed Thoughts

*Published: October 18, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-war-in-israel-reformed-thoughts*
*Tags: Nation of Israel*

The events in Israel in recent days have sparked a lot of theological debate. Here at Theocast, we have gotten a number of questions from listeners. How should we think about the horrific terrorist attack on Israeli citizens and the turmoil that rages on? Are these events the fulfillment of end-time prophecy? What do these events mean for the mission of the church? Jon and Justin respond to these questions and more in today’s episode.

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https://youtu.be/ksOyjnIN1aA

---

### Law/Gospel Distinction Is Life-Changing

*Published: October 11, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-distinction-is-life-changing*
*Tags: Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

Today’s episode is a conversation amongst four pastors about how understanding the distinction between the law and the gospel changed their understanding of Scripture and their ministries. It is a very pastoral and personal conversation.

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https://youtu.be/qCaXuRtIc3s

---

### Remember Your Baptism

*Published: October 4, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/remember-your-baptism*
*Tags: Baptism*

For far too many of us, baptism is about us. It is something we do. It is about our testimony. It is about our faithfulness to God. Or maybe, it’s a sentimental thing. But, biblically, baptism is God’s gift to us. It is a sign of our union with Jesus, of the remission of our sins, of our being raised to walk in newness of life, and of God’s pledge to keep us unto salvation. Baptism is a source of great comfort, encouragement, and strength for believers. If you’ve never thought about it this way, stay tuned to today’s episode.

[Jon’s Sermon on Baptism](https://gracereformed.org/media/dhsqr37/how-to-remember-your-baptism)  
  
[Justin’s Sermon on Romans 6:1-4](https://covbap.org/sermons/baptized-into-christ-romans-61-4/)  
  
[Our Series on the Sacraments](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-happened-to-baptism/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/7YD\_4Zhn1\_Y

---

### The Difference Between Reformed Theology and Calvinism

*Published: September 27, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-difference-between-reformed-theology-and-calvinism*
*Tags: Calvinism, Calvinism vs Reformed, Calvinism Vs Reformed Theology, reformed, Reformed Theology*

For many people, “Reformed” means “Calvinism.” While Calvinism is certainly a piece of Reformed theology, Reformed theology is much more than Calvinism. In this conversation, Jon and Justin talk about the differences between the modern Calvinistic evangelical movement and the historic Reformed faith. The guys talk autobiographically and also aim to put words to the experiences of many Christians.

Note: If you have not listened to the previous two episodes, “[What Is Pietism?](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-is-pietism/)” and “[What Is Reformed Theology?](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-is-reformed-theology/)”, we would encourage you to do so before listening to this one.  
  
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[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
https://youtu.be/cxCPakuLN\_s

---

### What Is Reformed Theology?

*Published: September 20, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-is-reformed-theology*
*Tags: reformed, Reformed Theology, what is reformed theology*

We often get the questions, “What does it mean to be Reformed?” and “What is Reformed theology? In today’s episode, Jon and Justin answer these questions by discussing five historical tenets of Reformed theology: covenant theology, Calvinism, confessionalism, ordinary means of grace, and the law/gospel distinction. (The guys sneak in one additional matter of doctrine at the end, as well.)

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[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
https://youtu.be/wHF5dOWS46c

---

### What Is Pietism?

*Published: September 13, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-is-pietism*
*Tags: Pietism*

Pietism is something we have discussed many times over the years on Theocast. Four years into recording together, Jon and Justin pointedly revisit the topic in today’s episode. What is pietism? How would the guys explain it to someone visiting their respective churches? How does pietism affect the individual Christian? How does it affect churches and even corporate worship? And what about the church’s tendency to hitch its wagon to politics and social causes--does that have anything to do with pietism?

[Join the Theocast Community!](https://www.theocastcommunity.org)  
  
[Partner with Theocast!](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/partner/)  
  
[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
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[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/hfAi0CzsKDU

---

### How Do I Put on the Armor of God?

*Published: September 6, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-do-i-put-on-the-armor-of-god*
*Tags: Armor of God*

What is the armor of God? It is hard to put something on if you don’t first know what it is. Jon and Justin first help identify what Paul was using as the armor of God and then explain how the believers use the armor for their protection in their daily lives. The most important part of the armor is understanding what it protects, the acceptance of the believer before God.

[Join the Theocast Community!](https://www.theocastcommunity.org)  
  
[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/partner/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
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[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/vnsXCgqg0Fc

---

### How's Evangelism Going?

*Published: August 30, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/hows-evangelism-going*
*Tags: Evangelism*

If you want to make Christians feel badly about themselves, one question to ask is, “How is evangelism going?” Many Christians think the way to do evangelism is through things like street preaching, handing out tracts, or sharing the gospel with someone on an airplane. Those things are fine and good--but they may not be the main way to do evangelism according to the New Testament. In today’s episode, Jon and Justin talk about loving our neighbor and doing evangelism, as well as what to say when we have opportunities to speak of Christ.

[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/partner/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
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[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/AKA44NHR\_CI

---

### Feeling Cold and Discouraged?

*Published: August 23, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/feeling-cold-and-discouraged*
*Tags: Battling Discouragement, human weakness, Struggle with sin, Struggling*

Christians struggle. We are often weak. We often feel cold and apathetic--even toward the things of God. We battle discouragement. Many believers are afraid to admit these things are true, but most of us live here. Jon and Justin talk openly about all of this on today’s episode. Take heart, there is hope for the weak!

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about some exciting changes that are coming to Theocast!  
  
[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/partner/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
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[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/uwRhVDeuSUU

---

### Does God Really Love Me?

*Published: August 16, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/does-god-really-love-me*
*Tags: God's Love*

Does God really love me? If we’re honest, this is a question we all ask ourselves. Because of our sin, our consciences, and the assaults of the enemy, we often doubt whether God really does love us. Is he not frustrated, fed up, and displeased with us? Does God really delight to give us good gifts? Does he really delight to save us? Jon and Justin seek to answer these questions from Scripture in today’s episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk openly with the members about what keeps them going and also update the members on some exciting changes coming to Theocast!  
  
Resources:  
  
[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/give/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
[FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/kHAjsL2Yxtg

---

### When We Don't See Satan's Accusations

*Published: August 9, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/when-we-dont-see-satans-accusations*
*Tags: Spiritual Warfare*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin talk about the accusations of Satan that often go undetected. We are conditioned to think that the evil one’s accusations look a certain way, but he is subtle and deceitful. Just by virtue of the fact that we live in the world (which is influenced by Satan), there are ways we think that cause us to question our legitimacy at every turn.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk very personally about their own battles with shame and guilt that have nothing at all to do with what God has revealed in Scripture.  
  
Resources:  
  
[Grace Reformed Network Charter Meeting Information](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/give/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
[FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/DzFvf\_EwJYA

---

### Does Too Much Grace Lead to Sin?

*Published: August 2, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/does-too-much-grace-lead-to-sin*
*Tags: grace, Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction, Sin*

Does too much grace lead to sin? Quite the opposite, actually. It is the preaching of Christ that leads to repentance. The right division of the law and the gospel--and the heralding of the mercy and grace of God--produces repentance in the saints. These things build a culture in a local church where it is safe to confess real sin. All of this fosters real sanctification. Jon and Justin talk about this on today’s episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about mercy, grace, confession, and forgiveness in the church amongst the saints. The guys also consider that the holier and more mature Christians become, the more gentle, patient, and merciful they become.  
  
Resources:  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/give/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
[FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/5o9fkSnh\_uc

---

### What is the Gospel?

*Published: July 26, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-is-the-gospel*
*Tags: Gospel, law gospel distinction, self righteousness*

What is the gospel? Sadly, the answer many church-going people would give has a lot to do with us. This has left some self-righteous and proud. This has left many anxious and fearful. The gospel, however, is the message about what Jesus alone has secured for sinners: the forgiveness of sins, imputed righteousness, and an eternal inheritance.

Note: Semper Reformanda is included as part of the regular episode  
  
Resources:  
  
[Our episode on Introduction to Law/Gospel Distinction](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction/)  
  
[Our episode on What Is (and Is Not) the Gospel](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-is-and-is-not-the-gospel/)  
  
[Our episode on The Prove Yourself Gospel](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-prove-yourself-gospel/)  
  
[Our episode on Why the Gospel Terrifies Christians](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians/)  
  
[Our episode on Following Jesus Is Not the Gospel](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/following-jesus-is-not-the-gospel/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/faithvsfaithfulness/)  
  
[SUPPORT Theocast](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/give/)  
  
[YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/theocast)  
  
[FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
[TWITTER](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
[INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)  
  
https://youtu.be/kwowiSAX-F0

---

### The Dark Side of Christianity

*Published: July 19, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-dark-side-of-christianity-1*
*Tags: Church*

Jon and Justin revisit the first episode they ever recorded together, “The Dark Side of Christianity.” If we are going to live honest and helpful lives in the church, we have to acknowledge that things often feel dark. Where does this darkness come from? It comes from the corruption of our flesh, and it comes from the work of the evil one. The guys talk about both in this episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin go a little bit deeper into the realities of the demonic realm and spiritual warfare.  
  
Resources:  
  
[“The Bruised Reed” by Richard Sibbes](https://a.co/d/4oFrQGa)  
  
[“The Whole Armor of God” by Iain Duguid](https://a.co/d/cGL5mgY)  
  
[Our episode on Romans 7](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-you-cant-stop-sinning/)  
  
[Our episode - Christian, There Will Be Sin](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/christian-there-will-be-sin-w-ken-jones/)  
  
https://youtu.be/8-rcVktP-b0

---

### Forgiveness for Homeschoolers and Hitlers

*Published: June 28, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/forgiveness-for-homeschoolers-and-hitlers*
*Tags: Forgiveness*

In the church, we are to preach the gospel indiscriminately to all mankind. God is in the business of saving very sinful people, and if we’re honest, this can be hard for us. Alongside this, once we are saved into the church, we lock arms with other believers in order to live lives of faithfulness and holiness. Here is the rub: the church can be grossly misunderstood in both facets of its life--in both the free offer of Christ to sinners and in the practice of piety and discipline. Jon and Justin discuss all of this in today’s episode.

Semper Reformanda: In light of our understanding of the gospel and the need for compassion toward fellow sinners, Jon and Justin consider several questions: Should Christians be pacifists? What about the rule of law? Are we just enabling abusive behavior? The guys also talk about encountering harm and hatred for Christ’s name.  
  
Resources:  
  
[“The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters” by Sinclair Ferguson](https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Christ-Antinomianism-Assurance-Why-Controversy-ebook/dp/B01AIM65CQ/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1503625151&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Whole+Christ+%28Sinclair+Ferguson%29&linkCode=sl1&tag=theocast-20&linkId=4ac2c33b1a0f3996d7e79e8b738f7fa3)  
  
[Our episode: Why the Gospel Terrifies Christians](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians/)  
  
[Our episode: Who Does the Gospel Offend](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/who-does-the-gospel-offend/)  
  
[Grace Reformed Network - Charter Meeting Information, October 2023](https://gracereformednetwork.org/charter-meeting-october-2023/)  
  
https://youtu.be/8WP1YDp8l4A

---

### NOT Sinning Is NOT the Purpose of Your Life

*Published: June 21, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/not-sinning-is-not-the-purpose-of-your-life*
*Tags: saint and sinner, Sin*

If you listen to many in the church today, you would think that the purpose of the Christian life is abstinence from sin. Is that really it? Jon and Justin talk about what we are called to in the Christian life. Because of what Jesus has done, because we have rest, because we have been filled, we now go and serve and love. What does it mean to live as an ambassador of the kingdom of Christ? Why is it that we should seek to be spent for the cause of Christ?

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about getting up every day and continuing on in the fight. How do we do that? Then, the guys talk about sanctification--ways it has often been presented and what it is really about. It is a fun conversation, including a reference to an old hymn, “Stand Up for Jesus”!  
  
https://youtu.be/v\_vdT0I\_bx8

---

### Why You Can't Stop Sinning (Romans 7 Reality)

*Published: June 14, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-you-cant-stop-sinning-romans-7-reality*
*Tags: Romans, saint and sinner, Sin*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin consider why it is that we can’t stop sinning. There has been debate about Romans 7 throughout the history of the church--as to whether Paul is writing as a Christian or not. (Disclaimer: It is our position that he is writing as a Christian.) The guys spend some time in the text of Romans 7 and then go on to consider the experience of sinner-saints in this fallen world. Truer words have never been written about the Christian experience than Romans 7.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about their presumptions as preachers. What do they understand about themselves and about their people? How does this affect preaching? If we are sinner-saints, what do we need to hear when we gather on Sundays?  
  
Resources:  
  
[Justin’s Sermon: Truer Words Have Never Been Written (Romans 7:7-20)](https://covbap.org/sermons/truer-word-have-never-been-written-romans-77-20/)  
  
[Justin’s Sermon: The Cry of Every Believer (Romans 7:21-25)](https://covbap.org/sermons/the-cry-of-every-believer-romans-721-25/)  
  
https://youtu.be/pADTY-sPpww

---

### The Misplaced Zeal of Cultural Transformation

*Published: June 7, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-misplaced-zeal-of-cultural-transformation*
*Tags: Christian Nationalism, Eschatology, Return of Christ, Theonomy*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin have another conversation related to end-times theology. This time, the guys consider the perspective that the church is to be ushering in a golden age prior to Christ’s return--that through the faithfulness of the church, things will continue to get better and better. Is this what the Bible teaches? How does this perspective affect the method and messaging of the church?

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss whether movements like Christian Reconstructionism and Christian Nationalism are related to prosperity theology. And what about persecution? Is it a good thing? Should we pray for it and seek it out?  
  
Resources:  
  
[Our episode on Two Kingdoms w/ David VanDrunen](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/two-kingdoms-with-david-vandrunen/)  
  
[Our episode on the Reformed Response to Theonomy](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/a-reformed-response-to-theonomy/)  
  
https://youtu.be/rFJtYEG6x0k

---

### Leaving Behind the End Times

*Published: May 31, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/leaving-behind-the-end-times*
*Tags: Eschatology, Judgement, Return of Christ*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin talk about the end times. For many in the church, the conversation about last things--and the return of Christ--has been steeped in fear. The return of the Savior is presented as a frightful thing for the believer, and this is supposed to motivate us to action. The New Testament presentation is different. The return of Christ is meant to both give the believer hope and motivate us to action now.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on last things by considering heavenly reward and a judgment according to works. The guys also touch on the “other-worldliness” of confessionalism.  
  
https://youtu.be/vbOmn3YmXwk

---

### A Pastoral Response to Theonomy

*Published: May 24, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/a-pastoral-response-to-theonomy*
*Tags: Theonomy*

In the second of two episodes on theonomy, Jon and Justin consider some of the practical fallout of theonomy: the gospel tends to be obscured, the mission of the church is confused, and burdens are placed on the saints that we were never meant to bear. How should we respond pastorally to these concerns and the assertions of theonomy?

Note: Semper Reformanda is included in today’s episode.  
  
Resources:  
  
[1689 Baptist Perspective: Confessionalism and Theonomy](https://www.9marks.org/article/a-1689-baptist-perspective-confessionalism-and-theonomy/)  
  
[Why is Theonomy Unbiblical?](https://pastortomhicks.com/2020/11/17/why-is-theonomy-unbiblical/)  
  
[Is the Law Relevant Today? ](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-the-law-relevant-today/)  
  
[Covenant Theology: Introduction & Overview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCfzmujnlHo&list=PL5OjtM2rVrI30Net4GA-ZeC4BJd65UA4-&ab%5Fchannel=Theocast-RestinChrist)  
  
https://youtu.be/YeLPRW6-0vk

---

### A Reformed Response to Theonomy

*Published: May 17, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/a-reformed-response-to-theonomy*
*Tags: Theonomy*

In the first of two episodes on theonomy, Jon and Justin seek to generally define theonomy and then respond to it theologically. The guys consider a confessional understanding of the threefold division of the law, the distinction between moral and positive law, and 1689 Federalism as safeguards against theonomy.

Note: Semper Reformanda is included in today’s episode.  
  
Resources:  
  
[1689 Baptist Perspective: Confessionalism and Theonomy](https://www.9marks.org/article/a-1689-baptist-perspective-confessionalism-and-theonomy/)  
  
[Why is Theonomy Unbiblical?](https://pastortomhicks.com/2020/11/17/why-is-theonomy-unbiblical/)  
  
[Is the Law Relevant Today? ](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-the-law-relevant-today/)  
  
[Covenant Theology: Introduction & Overview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCfzmujnlHo&list=PL5OjtM2rVrI30Net4GA-ZeC4BJd65UA4-&ab%5Fchannel=Theocast-RestinChrist)  
  
https://youtu.be/tiOsq1DmnNQ

---

### Who Does the Gospel Offend?

*Published: May 10, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/who-does-the-gospel-offend*
*Tags: Gospel, self righteousness*

At multiple points, Paul writes that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Why did he need to write that? What is it about the gospel that could bring shame on someone who preaches it--or believes it? The gospel offends us in our self-righteousness. That’s clear. It also offends us in our licentiousness. The truth of our union with Christ and liberation from sin’s dominion can fly in the face of the desires of our flesh. In all of this, the Lord has us and will complete the good work he has begun in us! Jon and Justin talk about all of this on today’s episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider how we will bear reproach for the sake of Christ and the gospel. This is the normative experience of Christians.

https://youtu.be/NCk611ASwUA

---

### Why God Rejects Your Righteousness (Romans 5:12-21)

*Published: May 3, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-god-rejects-your-righteousness-romans-5-12-21*
*Tags: Righteousness, self righteousness*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin consider how our own righteousness only leads to death. In Romans 5:12-21, Paul makes it clear that we have all been counted with Adam’s guilt--and that the only hope we have is that we would be counted with Christ’s righteousness. By faith, Jesus becomes our representative. This is great news! We have gained more in Jesus than we lost in Adam. This is the message of the entire Bible.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss the imputed righteousness of Christ and what that means for our good works. How do imputed righteousness and our obedience go together?  
  
https://youtu.be/JPRbwa0BYkk

---

### The Function of Men and Women in the Church and in the Home (Part 2)

*Published: April 26, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-function-of-men-and-women-in-the-church-and-in-the-home-part-2*
*Tags: Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Roles of Men and Women in the Home*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin continue a lengthy conversation about men and women--and how we relate to one another in the home and in the church. There has been a lot of cultural baggage that has influenced the church through history on these matters. There has been a lot of pain caused and damage done. This conversation is not comprehensive or exhaustive. We thank you for listening with charity and kindness, as we all seek to grow in our understanding.

NOTE: There is no Semper Reformanda this week due to the nature of the conversation.  
  
Resources:  
  
Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett  
  
[Justin’s sermon on Ephesians 5:22-6:9](https://covbap.org/sermons/out-of-reverence-for-christ-ephesians-522-69/)  
  
https://youtu.be/RCXbPmD9Bow

---

### The Function of Men and Women in the Church and in the Home (Part 1)

*Published: April 19, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-function-of-men-and-women-in-the-church-and-in-the-home-part-1*
*Tags: Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Roles of Men and Women in the Home*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin begin a lengthy conversation about men and women--and how we relate to one another in the home and in the church. There has been a lot of cultural baggage that has influenced the church through history on these matters. There has been a lot of pain caused and damage done. This conversation is not comprehensive or exhaustive. We thank you for listening with charity and kindness, as we all seek to grow in our understanding.

NOTE: There is no Semper Reformanda this week due to the nature of the conversation.  
  
Resources:  
  
Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett  
  
[Justin’s sermon on Ephesians 5:22-6:9](https://covbap.org/sermons/out-of-reverence-for-christ-ephesians-522-69/)  
  
https://youtu.be/xqDKQkqTcU8

---

### From Death to Comfort (Ezekiel 36-37)

*Published: April 12, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/from-death-to-comfort-ezekiel-36-37*
*Tags: preservation of the saints, Resting in Christ, salvation, Sovereignty of God*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin talk about the fact that it is God who saves sinners--meaning, he does it all. From the beginning to the very end, salvation is a work of God. He brings us all the way home. To have this conversation, the guys consider Ezekiel 36 and 37\. The Lord says some strong things about our condition and about his work. May our souls be comforted in him.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about the reality of suffering and weakness in this life--and how the thing that is most helpful to us is getting glimpses of God’s eternal plan.  
  
https://youtu.be/Fnqk0IM\_ClY

---

### Christian, There Will Be Sin (w/ Ken Jones)

*Published: April 5, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christian-there-will-be-sin-w-ken-jones*
*Tags: Sanctification, Sin*

For today’s episode, Jon and Justin are joined by Ken Jones (pastor of Glendale Baptist Church and host of Saints and Sinners Unplugged). The guys talk about the fact that Christians will sin--perhaps very badly for a really long time. What is the normal Christian experience? If we have been united to Christ and justified in him, how should we think about our battle against the corruption of our flesh? How can is it the church can be a safe place for sinners?Semper Reformanda is included in today’s episode for free!  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon, Justin, and Ken speak to the fact that Christians struggle with all kinds of sins--even sins related to our sexuality and gender. Then, the guys have a very good conversation about church discipline and when it is that a Christian should question his/her salvation.  
  
Ken’s Show - Saints and Sinners Unplugged

* [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@saintssinnersunplugged-ym8xp/featured)
* [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saints-and-sinners-unplugged/id1173039301)
* [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/210DJsmeSm7MNlafp58L2P)
https://youtu.be/QF3Yf9bE6z8

---

### Revivalism (w/ Ken Jones)

*Published: March 29, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/revivalism-w-ken-jones*
*Tags: Pietism, Revivalism*

For today’s episode, Jon and Justin are joined by Ken Jones (pastor of Glendale Baptist Church and host of Saints and Sinners Unplugged). The guys talk about revivalism. There are two distinct traditions within American Protestantism: one is the confessional/ordinary means of grace tradition; the other pietistic and revivalistic. What are the differences between the two? What about the First Great Awakening? What is it that characterizes any genuine movement of God?

Semper Reformanda is included in today’s episode for free!

Semper Reformanda: Jon, Justin, and Ken answer the question, “What do we make of the Puritans?” And then, the guys go on do discuss the Marrow Controversy and how it is applicable to today.

Ken’s Show - Saints and Sinners Unplugged

* [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@saintssinnersunplugged-ym8xp/featured)
* [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saints-and-sinners-unplugged/id1173039301)
* [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/210DJsmeSm7MNlafp58L2P)
 https://youtu.be/WTg9qZsidqM

---

### Where's Jesus in Our Preaching? (w/ Ken Jones)

*Published: March 22, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/wheres-jesus-in-our-preaching-w-ken-jones*
*Tags: Christ Centered Preaching, preaching*

For today’s episode, Jon and Justin are joined by Ken Jones (pastor of Glendale Baptist Church and host of Saints and Sinners Unplugged). The guys talk about what it is to preach Christ from all of Scripture--and how there are many approaches to preaching that claim the label “Christ-centered” but are not really heralding the person and work of Jesus to sinners. And what about application in preaching? How should we think about that?Semper Reformanda: Jon, Justin, and Ken talk about the preachers and theologians who have most impacted them and then offer some thoughts on commentaries for preachers and laypersons.  
  
Ken’s Show - Saints and Sinners Unplugged

* [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@saintssinnersunplugged-ym8xp/featured)
* [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saints-and-sinners-unplugged/id1173039301)
* [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/210DJsmeSm7MNlafp58L2P)
https://youtu.be/3ejCv8VU2-g

---

### Pitfalls for the Reformed

*Published: March 15, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/pitfalls-for-the-reformed*
*Tags: Pietism, Revivalism*

In today's episode, Jon and Justin reflect on the world of conservative reformed Christianity. Taking a dive into dead orthodoxy on one side to pietism and revivalism on the other, the guys ask: how did we get here? What is God expecting? Can we identify these pitfalls in our own lives? This episode is not about just pointing out faults but being able to recognize harmful habits we've fallen into and moving past them.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss the purpose of the Christian life and more personal aspects of their understanding on recent events in the reformed world.  
  
[Join the SR community here!](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/sr/)  
  
https://youtu.be/DFLBlCcVD\_o

---

### What's It Like to Leave Emotionalism? (w/ Chris Gordon)

*Published: March 8, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/whats-it-like-to-leave-emotionalism-w-chris-gordon*
*Tags: Emotionalism, Revivalism*

While on the west coast, Jon and Justin were invited by Chris Gordon (host of Abounding Grace Radio and pastor of Escondido United Reformed Church) to do some recording. This episode is the third portion of that conversation. The guys talk about what it’s like for an evangelical to walk into a confessional church. What is hard? What is confusing? Yet what is it that’s so attractive? What are pastoral concerns for those making the transition out of emotionalism?

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about differences between emotionalism and confessionalism--when it comes to corporate worship. In short, we come to receive from the Lord. What does that mean? What does that look like?  
  
[Part 1 of this conversation](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/give-me-jesus-not-self-improvement-w-chris-gordon/)  
  
[Part 2 of this conversation](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/christianizing-the-nations-w-chris-gordon/)  
  
https://youtu.be/Y6aoaw1P4NA

---

### Resting in Jesus Christ

*Published: March 1, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/resting-in-jesus-christ*
*Tags: Resting in Christ*

The objective in this episode is simple: to talk about the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and the rest he provides to sinners. In order to do that, Jon and Justin consider the law, the judgement seat, and the gospel--which is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. We ought not be afraid of wrath or condemnation. We ought not be afraid to go to Jesus in our time of need. He really does bid us to come to him for rest.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider why many people actually want their pastors to preach law and about the “foolishness” of the gospel.  
  
Resources:  
[Justin's sermons in Romans](https://covbap.org/romans-christ-our-only-righteousness/)  
  
https://youtu.be/jWlVilCMCHU

---

### Christianizing the Nations? (w/ Chris Gordon)

*Published: February 22, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christianizing-the-nations-w-chris-gordon*
*Tags: Mission of the church*

While on the west coast, Jon and Justin were invited by Chris Gordon (host of Abounding Grace Radio and pastor of Escondido United Reformed Church) to do some recording. This episode is the second portion of that conversation. The guys discuss the Great Commission. What is it? Is it a call to Christianize the nations? Or is it the preaching of Jesus Christ for the justification of sinners? (Hint: It’s the latter.)

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about theonomy--how it confuses the law and obscures the gospel.

https://youtu.be/T6MvzEdDht8

---

### There Is No Gospel in Romans 2

*Published: February 15, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/there-is-no-gospel-in-romans-2*
*Tags: law gospel distinction*

"God will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life...glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek" (Romans 2:6-7, 10). Is Paul writing that our works are a piece of our righteousness before God? Is he arguing that our works factor into our salvation? Jon and Justin consider the law, the gospel, and the argument of Paul from the early chapters of Romans in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more pointedly about modern commentators and theologians who confuse Romans 2, as well as the dangers and fallout of this confusion.

Resources:  
[Justin's sermons in Romans](https://covbap.org/romans-christ-our-only-righteousness/ "‌")  
[Category Resource Page: Law/Gospel Distinction](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/theocast-categories/ "‌")

https://youtu.be/mEYgzLNyeXs

---

### Give Me Jesus, Not Self-Improvement (w/ Chris Gordon)

*Published: February 8, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/give-me-jesus-not-self-improvement-w-chris-gordon*
*Tags: preaching*

While on the west coast, Jon and Justin were invited by Chris Gordon (host of Abounding Grace Radio and pastor of Escondido United Reformed Church) to do some recording. This episode is the first portion of that conversation. The guys discuss differences between the preaching of Christ and the preaching of self-improvement, problems with an over-emphasis on application in preaching, as well as the most important thing to look for in a church.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin give a recap of their recent trip to California, which included recording content with The Babylon Bee, The Pactum, NoCo Radio, The Heidelcast, and Abounding Grace Radio.  
  
[Abounding Grace Radio](https://agradio.org/)  
  
https://youtu.be/SHR9FnSAM\_0

---

### Crusade for Glory

*Published: February 1, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/crusade-for-glory*
*Tags: Theology of Glory*

"What's wrong with the church in America?" That's a question many people are asking today. Underneath that question are a number of other questions: What is the mission of the church? What is the purpose of the Christian life? Is the church called to transform society? Is Christianity meant by God to dominate a culture? Or is it a counter-culture this side of Christ's second coming? Jon and Justin consider these things as they discuss how the American church has bought into a theology of glory.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about what they are most concerned for as pastors and what they see as primary concerns in the church. Justin also talks about a Christmas program he recently attended.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on Theology of the Cross](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/tag/theology-of-the-cross/)  
[Our episode on Two Kingdoms (w/ David VanDrunen)](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/two-kingdoms-with-david-vandrunen/)  
[Our episode on Mission Critical](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/mission-critical/)  
[Our episodes on the Tactics of the Accuser](https://youtu.be/Uzk%5F%5FJICbnQ)  
  
https://youtu.be/ZW39cJfGt0o

---

### Our Interview with the Babylon Bee!

*Published: January 25, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/our-interview-with-the-babylon-bee*
*Tags: Interview*

The Babylon Bee sits down with Jonathan Moffitt and Justin Perdue from Theocast to talk about pietism and revivalism being the soil American Evangelicalism grew out of and how that might be messing with the assurance of the Gospel. They also hit topics like reading the Bible literally, the Law/Gospel distinction, and, just for fun, how to interpret the Book of Revelation. If that wasn’t enough for you, they also discuss non-controversial topics like whether or not the nation of Israel is God’s chosen people and why some Christians might object to watching The Chosen.

[The Babylon Bee Podcast](https://babylonbee.com/podcasts/the-babylon-bee-podcast)  
  
https://youtu.be/2teOo8shZyM

---

### Getting the Gospel Right (w/ NoCo Radio, The Pactum, and The Heidelcast)

*Published: January 18, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/getting-the-gospel-right-w-noco-radio-the-pactum-and-the-heidelcast*
*Tags: Gospel*

In this special podcast, Jon and Justin are joined by fellow reformed podcasters, Mike Abendroth from No Compromise Radio, Pat Abendroth and Mike Grimes from The Pactum, and R. Scott Clark The Heidelcast!

Recorded live at Westminster Theological Seminary California, all the guys discuss Covenant Theology, Assurance, Law/Gospel Distinction, and Sola Fide!  
  
[Check out No Compromise Radio](https://nocompromiseradio.com/)  
  
[Check out The Pactum](https://www.thepactum.org/)  
  
[Check out The Heidelcast](https://heidelblog.net/the-heidelcast/)  
  
https://youtu.be/8u2VyoWMzaA

---

### Tactics of the Accuser (Part 2)

*Published: January 11, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/tactics-of-the-accuser-part-2*
*Tags: Spiritual Warfare*

Today's episode is the second of two on the tactics of the accuser, Satan, the ancient serpent who is the devil. Jon and Justin continue the conversation on spiritual warfare and the work of the evil one by considering how he tempts the saints. And then, the guys spend the bulk of the time discussing how Satan distracts us in the church--with things that are not inherently bad; in fact, often he distracts us with things that are good and even appear pious. The work of Satan to tempt and distract us deters us in our mission in the kingdom of Christ. We are called to be sober minded. The guys consider what that means.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about our calling as believers. We are to be soldiers of Christ who are not distracted by civilian pursuits. We are to look to Christ and set aside things that weigh us down and entangle us. Finally, the guys talk some more about sober mindedness and glorifying God.

https://youtu.be/8W\_KeNM0tgc

---

### Tactics of the Accuser (Part 1)

*Published: January 4, 2023 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/tactics-of-the-accuser-part-1*
*Tags: Spiritual Warfare*

Today's episode is the first of two on the tactics of the accuser, Satan, the ancient serpent who is the devil. Spiritual warfare is real, and as C. S. Lewis wrote, Christians tend to either hardly consider the devil's power or obsess over his power and activity. Neither of these perspectives are helpful or biblical. Jon and Justin consider this and then talk at length about perhaps the first of Satan's tactics against the saints: accusation. He seeks to rob us of the peace, rest, and hope that is ours in Christ. He seeks to cause us to question whether God is really our Father and whether Christ is really our savior.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about the reality of spiritual warfare, the accusations of Satan, the sufficiency of Christ, and how this relates to the mission of the kingdom of Christ.

https://youtu.be/Uzk\_\_JICbnQ

---

### The Danger of Denying Works (w/ Pat Abendroth)

*Published: December 14, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-danger-of-denying-works-w-pat-abendroth*
*Tags: Covenant of Works, Covenant Theology*

On today's episode, Jon and Justin are again joined by Pat Abendroth, pastor of Omaha Bible Church and cohost of The Pactum. In the second of two conversations on the covenant of works, the guys consider the implications of the covenant works. Does it really matter if one affirms the covenant of works? What are the dangers of denying it? In particular, the guys focus on how an understanding of the covenant of works relates to our understanding of the work of Christ, the gospel, and assurance of salvation.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk with Pat Abendroth about the wreckage produced by a denial of a covenant of works/covenant of grace framework. We see this wreckage all around us in our day.

Resources:  
[Our teaching series on covenant theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/introduction-to-covenant-theology/ "‌")  
[Our episodes on the implications of the covenant theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/un-perplexing-the-old-testament/ "‌")  
[Our episode "I Just Believe the Bible"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/i-just-believe-the-bible/ "‌")  
[The Pactum Podcast](https://www.thepactum.org/ "‌")

https://youtu.be/zJ\_V33Xl7Jk

---

### Is the Covenant of Works in the Bible? (w/ Pat Abendroth)

*Published: December 7, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-the-covenant-of-works-in-the-bible-w-pat-abendroth*
*Tags: Covenant of Works, Covenant Theology*

On today's episode, Jon and Justin are joined by Pat Abendroth, pastor of Omaha Bible Church and cohost of The Pactum. In the first of two conversations on the covenant of works, the guys answer the question, "Is the covenant of works really in the Bible?" The guys seek to make a case for the legitimacy of the covenant of works from the Scripture and begin to venture into the significance of affirming (or denying) it.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk personally with Pat Abendroth about his ministry and about his "journey" from dispensationalism to covenant theology.

Resources:  
[Our teaching series on covenant theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/introduction-to-covenant-theology/)  
[Our episodes on the implications of the covenant theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/un-perplexing-the-old-testament/)  
[Our episode "I Just Believe the Bible"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/i-just-believe-the-bible/)  
[The Pactum Podcast](https://www.thepactum.org/)

https://youtu.be/M5U1tiFmbho

---

### Stop Watching "The Chosen"

*Published: November 30, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stop-watching-the-chosen*
*Tags: Second Commandment, Sufficiency of Scripture, Worship*

"The Chosen" is a phenomenon in our day. Many people watch it. Many people are passionate about it. It is a polarizing show. Is it a good thing to watch "The Chosen"? Is it wrong to watch it? In today's episode, Jon and Justin aim to have a conversation that goes underneath the specific questions about "The Chosen" and gets to the real issues pertaining to the sufficiency of Scripture, how we are to worship God, the second commandment, and the quest for illegitimate religious experience.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more openly about the dangers of media like "The Chosen," as well as the potential value of so called "secular" media.

https://youtu.be/pBxfgIC7nWs

---

### The Doctrine Most Missing in the Church

*Published: November 23, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-doctrine-most-missing-in-the-church*
*Tags: Justification*

UPDATED: We were recently contacted by Dr. Steve Lawson's ministry with an update after this episode went live (onepassion.org/statement-on-justification). We are thankful for the update. We were unaware of this update when we recorded this episode. We normally record 4-6 weeks in advance. Justin and Jon's concerns are not fully addressed in this update which is why this video has remained live on our channel.

A video was released by One Passion Ministries in which Steve Lawson answered the question, "What doctrine is most missing in churches today?" His answer was the doctrine of regeneration. While that sounds good, where he went with it was concerning. In the video, Dr. Lawson said that justification by faith alone in Christ alone is, in a sense, just paperwork in heaven--and that it does nothing to change your life. What do we make of that? How should we respond? Jon and Justin have that conversation on today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation around Steve Lawson's comments about justification, the new birth, and the change of life. The guys also talk about reasons for recording an episode like this.  
  
Resources:  
[Steve Lawson's video "What doctrine is most missing in churches today?"](https://youtu.be/BJb1KuIdbbk)  
[Our episode on “The Resting Heart Rate of the Christian Life”](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-resting-heart-rate-of-the-christian-life/)  
[Justin’s sermon on Faith Alone, In Christ Alone](https://covbap.org/sermons/faith-alone-in-christ-alone-romans-116-17/)  
  
UPDATE: Statement by Lawson's ministry [onepassion.org/statement-on-justification](http://www.onepassion.org/statement-on-justification)  
  
https://youtu.be/HtxrfYIP71o

---

### The Spirit Will Lead You into All Truth

*Published: November 16, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-spirit-will-lead-you-into-all-truth*
*Tags: Holy Spirit, Sanctification, Truth*

Many Christians in our day are convinced that they can grow in understanding and reach a better knowledge of the truth on their own. The perspective is, "I have the Bible. I have the Holy Spirit. I'm good to go." After all Jesus says the Holy Spirit will lead the disciples into all truth when he comes. That's true. But how does he do this? Jon and Justin examine the Scriptures--that the Holy Spirit inspired--to see how we are grown in our knowledge of the truth.

Semper Reformanda: Jon answers questions submitted by members in today's S|R episode.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on "I Just Believe the Bible"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/i-just-believe-the-bible/)  
[Our episode on "Authority Gone Wrong"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/authority-gone-wrong/)  
[Our episode on "Is Your Theological System Any Good?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good/)  
[Our episodes on Law/Gospel Distinction](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our episodes on Covenant Theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/introduction-to-covenant-theology/)  
  
https://youtu.be/sxcbW\_flwt8

---

### I Just Believe the Bible

*Published: November 9, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/i-just-believe-the-bible*
*Tags: Biblicism*

"I'm just saying what the Bible says." "I just believe the Bible." "That's what the verse says." Have you ever heard people say these things while contending for a theological position that sounds off to you? This practice has a name. It's called biblicism. As Christians, we all want to be people of the Word. The question is whether we are handling the Word correctly. Many people through history have drawn false conclusions by "just reading the Bible" divorced from orthodox theological frameworks. Jon and Justin have a conversation about all of this in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about the inherent inconsistency of biblicism, as well as the significance of theological debate through the history of the church.

Resources:  
[Our episode: “Is Your Theological System Any Good?”](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good/ "‌")  
[Our Introduction to Covenant Theology Series](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/introduction-to-covenant-theology/ "‌")  
[Justin’s sermon: “The Promised Gospel of God’s Son”](https://covbap.org/sermons/the-promised-gospel-of-gods-son-romans-11-7/ "‌")  
[”Reexamining the Eternal Sonship of Christ” from John MacArthur](https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A235/reexamining-the-eternal-sonship-of-christ "‌")

https://youtu.be/iq9rsE\_6Vq8

---

### The "Prove Yourself" Gospel

*Published: November 2, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-prove-yourself-gospel*
*Tags: Faith Alone, Obedience*

It is Reformation Week. And here at Theocast, in the tradition of the Reformation, we always seek to clarify the gospel. When we do, people respond in somewhat predictable ways. "Well, you do believe that Christians are required to obey, right?" "Obedience is required for salvation." Are these questions indicative of misunderstanding? How should we respond to these kinds of questions? Jon and Justin double down on union with Christ by faith in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss the vitriol that often meets the clear proclamation of the gospel. The guys talk quite a bit about holiness and how many people's definitions of holiness are off-centered.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episodes on 1 John](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/have-we-missed-the-point-of-1-john-part-1/)  
[Our episodes on Lordship Salvation](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/a-critique-of-lordship-salvation/)  
[Our episode on Easy-Listening Legalism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/easy-listening-legalism/)  
  
https://youtu.be/nDi7YpXh7Kc

---

### Have We Missed the Point of 1 John? (Part 2)

*Published: October 26, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/have-we-missed-the-point-of-1-john-part-2*
*Tags: Assurance*

In today's episode, the second of two episodes on 1 John, the guys consider some specific passages from the letter that are often used to unsettle Christians and cause them to question their standing in Christ. 1 John 2:3 and surrounding, as well as 1 John 3:4-10, are discussed. How should we understand John's words on keeping the commandments and making a practice of sinning? Should these verses produce fear and doubt?  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin put a bow on the conversation about 1 John. The guys rejoice in the goodness of the letter and contrast that with how it is often taught.  
  
Resources:  
[Justin's sermon series on 1 John](https://covbap.org/4919-2/ "‌")  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50\_dKdCNwtI

---

### Have We Missed the Point of 1 John? (Part 1)

*Published: October 19, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/have-we-missed-the-point-of-1-john-part-1*
*Tags: Assurance*

At Theocast, we get as many questions about 1 John as we do any book in the Bible. It is often a book that has been used to cause Christians to question whether they are really legitimate. But is that the reason John wrote the letter? In today's episode, the first of two episodes on 1 John, Jon and Justin give an overview of the letter and discuss the purpose for which the apostle wrote it.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about how far removed we are from the historical context of 1 John--and why that matters. The guys also reflect further upon the apostle's gentle, pastoral, and reassuring tone in the letter.

Resources:  
[Justin's sermon series on 1 John](https://covbap.org/4919-2/ "‌")

https://youtu.be/r99B\_n-GzRg

---

### Authority Gone Wrong

*Published: October 12, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/authority-gone-wrong*
*Tags: Abuse, Authority, Pastoral Authority*

Fallen human beings have always had issues with authority. And, in a fallen world, authority is often abused. All of this is true in our day--even in the church. In today's episode, Jon and Justin have a conversation about authority, how it can be used well, and how it can be abused. The guys give some particular time to discussing how not to abuse pastoral authority. That part might surprise you.

https://youtu.be/pUzatCxIvFc

---

### My Personal Relationship with Jesus? (w/ Chad Bird)

*Published: October 5, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/my-personal-relationship-with-jesus-w-chad-bird*
*Tags: Relationship with God*

On today's podcast, Jon and Justin have Chad Bird on to discuss the ideology of having a personal relationship with Jesus. Where does this ideology and language come from? Is it helpful? Is it biblical? The guys consider these things and then move on to discuss the fact that the Christian life is inherently corporate and our Christian devotion is church-shaped. Why do we need the church? What is the point of the corporate gathering? (Hint: this has everything to do with our need for Jesus to minister to us and give us his gifts.)  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk in more depth with Chad Bird about a theology of the cross versus a theology of glory--and how these two ways of doing theology manifest themselves in our perspective on church.  
  
Resources:

[Our episode: "Your Sanctification is Not For You"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/your-sanctification-is-not-for-you/)  
[Our episode: "Have We Missed the Point of Church?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/have-we-missed-the-point-of-church/)  
[40 Minutes In The Old Testament from 1517 Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/40-minutes-in-the-old-testament/id960525367)  
[Hidden Streams from 1517 Podcasts](https://www.1517.org/podcasts/hidden-streams)  
[About Chad Bird from 1517 Podcasts](https://www.1517.org/sections/chadbird)

https://youtu.be/G1xIza1A1dQ

---

### Easy-Listening Legalism

*Published: September 28, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/easy-listening-legalism*
*Tags: Faith Alone, Good Works, Works*

Jon and Justin follow up on the conversation last week about smuggling works into faith. Today's episode is a little different than the norm. The guys critique teaching from John Piper, John MacArthur, and Doug Wilson on the relationship between faith and works. Multiple excerpts and quotes are cited, all of which are available in the show notes. The reason for this episode is to defend the clarity of the gospel--that we are saved by Christ alone and receive his merits by faith alone, apart from any works we could ever do.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about the legitimacy of critiquing doctrine that has been publicly taught and distributed. And then, the guys make a number of observations about the ways social and political concerns seem to be the tie that binds in many conservative Christian streams.

Resources:  
[Is DOUG WILSON a FALSE TEACHER?](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-doug-wilson-a-false-teacher/)  
[Our episodes on the Law/Gospel Distinction](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/tag/law-gospel-distinction/ "‌")  
[Our episode on "Smuggling Works into Faith"](https://youtu.be/rvZkqxmpa8s "‌")

**Show notes with Quotes:** 

### **What is faith?**

1689 LBCF Chapter 14 - Saving Faith

1. The grace of faith, by which the elect are enabled to believe so that their souls are saved, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts.1 Faith is ordinarily produced by the ministry of the Word.2 By this same ministry and by the administration of baptism and the Lord’s supper, prayer, and other means appointed by God, faith is increased and strengthened.3  
1[2 Corinthians 4:13](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2%20Cor%204.13); [Ephesians 2:8](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph%202.8). 2[Romans 10:14](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%2010.14), [17](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%2010.17). 3[Luke 17:5](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Luke%2017.5); [1 Peter 2:2](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Pet%202.2); [Acts 20:32](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Acts%2020.32).
2. This faith may exist in varying degrees so that it may be either weak or strong.11 Yet even in its weakest form, it is different in kind or nature (like all other saving graces) from the faith and common grace of temporary believers.12 Therefore, faith may often be attacked and weakened, but it gains the victory.13 It matures in many to the point that they attain full assurance through Christ,14 who is both the founder and perfecter of our faith.15  
11[Hebrews 5:13](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Heb%205.13), [14](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Hebrews%205.14); [Matthew 6:30](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%206.30); [Romans 4:19](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%204.19), [20](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%204.20). 12[2 Peter 1:1](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2%20Pet%201.1). 13[Ephesians 6:16](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph%206.16); [1 John 5:4](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20John%205.4), [5](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20John%205.5). 14[Hebrews 6:11](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Heb%206.11), [12](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Hebrews%206.12); [Colossians 2:2](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Col%202.2). 15[Hebrews 12:2](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Heb%2012.2).
1689 LBCF Chapter 11- Justification
1. Those God effectually calls he also freely justifies.1 He does this, not by infusing righteousness into them but by pardoning their sins and accounting and accepting them as righteous.2 He does this for Christ’s sake alone and not for anything produced in them or done by them.3 He does not impute faith itself, the act of believing, or any other gospel obedience to them as their righteousness. Instead, he imputes Christ’s active obedience to the whole law and passive obedience in his death as their whole and only righteousness by faith.4 This faith is not self-generated; it is the gift of God.5  
1[Romans 3:24](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%203.24); [8:30](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%208.30). 2[Romans 4:5–8](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%204.5%E2%80%938); [Ephesians 1:7](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph%201.7). 3[1 Corinthians 1:30](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor%201.30), [31](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Corinthians%201.31); [Romans 5:17–19](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%205.17%E2%80%9319). 4[Philippians 3:8](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Phil%203.8), [9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Philippians%203.9); [Ephesians 2:8–10](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph%202.8%E2%80%9310). 5[John 1:12](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John%201.12); [Romans 5:17](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%205.17).
2. Faith that receives and rests on Christ and his righteousness is the only instrument of justification.6 Yet it does not occur by itself in the person justified, but it is always accompanied by every other saving grace. It is not a dead faith but works through love.7  
6[Romans 3:28](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%203.28). 7[Galatians 5:6](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Gal%205.6); [James 2:17](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/James%202.17), [22](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/James%202.22), [26](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/James%202.26).

### **John Piper**

These works of faith, and this obedience of faith, these fruits of the Spirit that come by faith, are necessary for our final salvation. No holiness, no heaven (Hebrews 12:14). So, we should not speak of getting to heaven by faith alone in the same way we are justified by faith alone. Essential to the Christian life and necessary for final salvation is the killing of sin(Romans 8:13) and the pursuit of holiness(Hebrews 12:14).<https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/does-god-really-save-us-by-faith-alone>Final salvation from future judgment is conditional. It will not happen apart from our persevering faith. … “salvation” refers to our future deliverance from the wrath of God at the judgment and entrance into eternal life.John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Multnomah Books, 1996, 42\. says that on the day of judgment…people will “go away into eternal punishment” because they really failed to love their fellow believers: “As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matt. 25:45-46). There is no doubt that Jesus saw some measure of real, lived-out obedience to the will of God as necessary for final salvation.John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World. Lifeway Press, 2015, 160.Though it may cause confusion, it is possible to use the word “justify” to describe how the fruit of good behavior works in the day of judgment. The fruits can “justify” us in the sense of proving that we are believers and belong to Jesus and have a right standing with God in him. That is how I understand Matthew 12:37, “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”What Jesus Demands from the World, 161n. It is not accidental that the title of this book has a double meaning. The Future of Justification draws attention not only to where the doctrine itself may be going, but also to the critical importance of God’s future act of judgment when our justification will be confirmed. How will our obedience function in that Day?John Piper, The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright. Crossway Books, 2008, 183-184.Present justification is based on the substitutionary work of Christ alone, enjoyed in union with him through faith alone. Future justification is the open confirmation and declaration that in Christ Jesus we are perfectly blameless before God. This final judgment accords with our works. That is, the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives will be brought forward as the evidence and confirmation of true faith and union with Christ. Without that validating transformation, there will be no future salvation.John Piper and N.T. Wright, compiled by Trevin Wax. “The Justification Debate: A Primer.” Christianity Today, June 29, 2009, accessed October 31, 2017,In final salvation at the last judgment, faith is confirmed by the sanctifying fruit it has borne, and we are saved through that fruit and that faith.“Does God Really Save Us by Faith Alone?” https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/does-god-really-save-us-by-faith-aloneAs Tom Schreiner says, the book “tackles one of the fundamental questions of our human condition: how can a person be right with God?”The stunning Christian answer is: sola fide—faith alone. But be sure you hear this carefully and precisely: He says right with God by faith alone, not attain heaven by faith alone. There are other conditions for attaining heaven, but no others for entering a right relationship to God…Such faith always “works by love” and produces the “obedience of faith.” And that obedience— imperfect as it is till the day we die—is not the “basis of justification, but . . . a necessary evidence and fruit of justification.” In this sense, love and obedience—inherent righteousness—is “required of believers, but not for justification”—that is, required for heaven, not for entering a right-standing with God…Thus Schreiner closes his book with a joyful testimony—and I rejoice to join him in it: ”My confidence on the last day . . . will not rest on my transformation. I have too far to go to put any confidence in what I have accomplished. Instead, I rest on Jesus Christ. He is my righteousness. He is the guarantor of my salvation. I am justified by faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.”[Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification](http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Alone----Doctrine-Justification-Reformers/dp/0310515785/?tag=bettwowor0e-20), by Thomas Schreiner (September, 2015)

### **John MacArthur** 

MacArthur says of the rich young ruler: "No matter what he believed, since he was unwilling to forsake all, he could not be a disciple of Christ"The Gospel according to Jesus (78)Judas, MacArthur says, "had responded positively to Christ, but never with all his heart." The Gospel according to Jesus (103)“Salvation isn’t the result of an intellectual exercise. It comes from a life lived in obedience and service to Christ as revealed in the Scripture; it’s the fruit of actions, not intentions. There’s no room for passive spectators: words without actions are empty and futile… The life we live, not the words we speak, determines our eternal destiny.”Hard to Believe, page 93"Many people believe justified means "just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned." In other words, God says, "I count you righteous even though you're really not." It is true that God makes that declaration, but there is also a reality of righteousness. We are not only declared righteous; we are made righteous (Justification by Faith, 1988, 98).This making righteous is accomplished by infusing Christ's righteousness into Christians: "God actually credits righteousness to our account. He imputes righteousness to us; he infuses divine life into us. He regenerates and sanctifies us. He makes the unholy holy, and therefore declares that we are righteous.... There is a reality--God gives us righteousness, and thus he can declare that we are righteous" (Justification, 121).MacArthur writes: "The believing sinner is justified by righteousness infused into him" (Justification, 122)."The word justification is a technical term that refers to our legal standing before God: We have been declared to be just because of our faith. But the word also embraces a radical and real transformation. Our moral character has been altered eternally through regeneration. Justification by faith means that God has both declared us righteous and made us righteous. We have been regenerated - made new by faith.... Justification is not only a state of being righteous; it is actual regeneration. We are made righteous by faith" (Justification, 132).This, of course, is the official teaching of the Roman Church. Canon XI of the Council of Trent states:"If any one saith, that men are justified, either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and the charity which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, and is inherent in them; or even that the grace whereby we are justified is only the favor of God: let him be anathema." Canon XII states: "If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified: Let him be anathema."

### **Doug Wilson**

**Denies the covenant of works**:I believe the covenant of works mentioned in Chapter VII is badly named. I would prefer something like the covenant of life (WLC 20), or the covenant of creation. I believe that this covenant obligated Adam to whole-hearted obedience to the requirement of God. The one stipulation I would add is that, had Adam stood, he would have been required to thank God for His gracious protection and provision. And had Adam stood, he would have done so by believing the Word of God. In other words, it would all have been by grace through faith… he “covenant of works” was not meritorious and we deny that any covenant can be kept without faith.[CREC EXAMINATION, PAGES 1-2, 4](http://federal-vision.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WilsonExamAnswers.pdf)We deny that law and gospel should be considered as hermeneutics, or treated as such. We believe that any passage, whether indicative or imperative, can be heard by the faithful as good news, and that any passage, whether containing gospel promises or not, will be heard by the rebellious as intolerable demand. The fundamental division is not in the text, but rather in the human heart.[JOINT FEDERAL VISION STATEMENT](https://federal-vision.com/ecclesiology/joint-federal-vision-statement/)**Changing the definition of faith**In the New Testament, obedience is a good word. Also in the New Testament, works is not, unless it is modified with a word like good. We are called to good works ([Titus 2:7](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Titus%202.7) ), but we are not saved by works ([Eph. 2:8-9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph.%202.8-9)).By way of contrast, sinners do not obey the truth ([Rom. 2:8](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.%202.8)). The Lord is the author of eternal salvation for all who obey Him ([Heb. 5:9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Heb.%205.9)). All nations are summoned to the obedience of faith ([Rom. 1:5](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.%201.5)). Obedience is unto righteousness ([Rom. 6:16](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.%206.16)). Every thought is to be brought to the obedience of Christ ([2 Cor. 10:5](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2%20Cor.%2010.5)). God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him ([Acts 5:32](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Acts%205.32)). And of course, obedience is an evil thing when it is rendered to the wrong master ([Rom. 6:12](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.%206.12)), which should be obvious enough. But the bottom line is that simple words obey and obedience should not set off alarm bells for people who read their Bibles.<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/like-a-gelatinous-pudding.html>Faith is the only instrument God uses in our justification. But when God has done this wonderful work, the faithful instrument does not shrivel up and die. It continues to love God and obey Him. If it does not, but just lies there like a corpse, then we have good reason to believe that it was lying there like a corpse some days before—not being therefore an instrument of justification. Faith without works is a dead faith, and a dead faith never justified anybody.Reformed is not enough (p. 48).The means by which men persevere in the covenant is faithfulness. In other words, to assert that men fall away because their salvation was contingent upon continued faithfulness in the gospel is not to deny the sovereignty of God at all.Wilson, Douglas . Reformed Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant . Canon Press.Because this is the case, James can speak of justification by works. He is not speaking of rabbinical works-righteousness or Pelagian self-salvation or medieval merit theology. Rather, he compares it to the relationship of body and spirit—a living, organic entity.Wilson, Douglas . Reformed Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant . Canon Press.Not bare bones faith. Not assent. Devils have that. True faith is more than assent. We are being accused of denying sola fide because we deny solus assensus. This is the rub, since we’re all affirming this. Why are we heretics because we say faith cannot be separated from trust and obedience, and because we say saving faith cannot be separated from a life of obedience and trust?Douglas Wilson, The Monroe Four Speak Out, 5, 6When asked in the interview, “Doug, when you cite ‘continuing in goodness’ in Rom. 11 in your 2002 lecture, is that the cause of our salvation or the fruit of it?”, Wilson replied:Yes (laughter all around).Look, in Colossians Paul says as you received Christ so walk in him. So the way we become Christians is the way we stay Christians is the way we finish as Christians—by faith from first to last.So we continue in God’s goodness by trust. We stand by faith—they fell, but you stand—doing that to the end is how you come to your salvation. It’s the gift of God lest anyone boast. I believe we are saved by faith from first to last, which is why I have been accused of denying sola fide. Wisdom is vindicated by her children.Christian Renewal,The Monroe Four Speak Out, cited in The Counsel of Chalcedon, Volume 1, May 2004, 38.True faith and works of obedience are never in opposition[TESTIMONY ON THE MARS TESTIMONY](https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/testimony-on-the-mars-testimony.html) – Blog articleife and obedience are essential characteristics of the instrumentality of faith[OBEDIENCE UNTO JUSTIFICATION](https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/obedience-unto-justification.html) \- Blog articlet is indisputable that works is the animating principle of faith.[FAITH, DEAD OR ALIVE?](https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/faith-dead-or-alive.html) \- Blog articleI am treating obedient faith and living faith as synonymous… it is obedient in its life, and in that living condition it is the instrument of our justification.[LIVING FAITH](https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/living-faith.html) \- Blog article “14\. Including works (by use of ‘faithfulness,’ ‘obedience,’ etc.) in the very definition of faith .”  
  
No. To include faithfulness in the very nature of living faith is not to intrude works. Faithful faith justifies. Faithless faith does not.[THE OPC REPORT ON THE FEDERAL VISION](https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/the-opc-report-on-the-federal-vision.html)Does obedience (in the context of justifying faith) mean works, or does it mean life? If the former, then mixing it into justifying faith is death warmed over. If the latter, then leaving it out is death stone cold.[RECAPITULATION DRIVES OUT GRACE](https://dougwils.com/the-church/s16-theology/recapitulation-drives-out-grace.html) \- Blog articleThough not ordinarily challenging the terminology of “justification by faith alone,” they have changed the definition of faith and have therefore changed the meaning of “faith alone.”[OPC REPORT ON JUSTIFICATION](https://opc.org/GA/justification.pdf), 26https://youtu.be/vaZMEYSRQ0Q

---

### Smuggling Works into Faith (with Mike Abendroth)

*Published: September 21, 2022 | Author: Nick Boudoin*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/smuggling-works-into-faith-with-mike-abendroth*
*Tags: Faith Alone, Good Works, Works*

Jon and Justin are joined by Mike Abendroth, pastor of Bethlehem Bible Church and host of No Compromise Radio. The guys have a conversation about faith--and, in particular, how works are often smuggled into faith in the evangelical church. How do we appropriately define saving faith? How do we understand the relationship between faith and works? Why is it that obedience, love, and good works are regularly woven into the definition of faith?

Semper Reformanda: Jon, Justin, and Mike talk more pointedly about Federal Vision, Lordship Salvation, final justification, and biblicism. What do all of these have in common? They all, in various ways, smuggle works into faith.

Resources:

[No Compromise Radio Hosts](https://nocompromiseradio.com/about/hosts/ "‌")

[What is the Law?](https://youtu.be/TQj8J8oiBCg "‌")

[Our episode: “Intro to Law and Gospel Distinction”](https://youtu.be/RDjkKGIu0xQ "‌")

[Our episode: “Why I Left Lordship Salvation”](https://youtu.be/thtTV5hv41k "‌")

[Mike Abendroth’s Article: “My Pilgrimage from ‘Lordship’ to Law/Gospel”](https://heidelblog.net/2022/06/my-pilgrimage-from-lordship-to-law-gospel/ "‌")

[Our episode: “Do John Piper and Doug Wilson Obscure Faith Alone?”](https://youtu.be/Z7tlAGv8c3k "‌")

[Mike Abendroth’s Book: ](https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Assurance-31-Day-Guide/dp/0996819819?keywords=mike+abendroth&qid=1661960618&sprefix=mike+abend,aps,81&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=theocast-20&linkId=4dcc7c3669f263845fabb9513ae54f65&language=en%5FUS&ref%5F=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl "‌")[“Gospel Assurance](https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Assurance-31-Day-Guide/dp/0996819819?keywords=mike+abendroth&qid=1661960618&sprefix=mike+abend,aps,81&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=theocast-20&linkId=4dcc7c3669f263845fabb9513ae54f65&language=en%5FUS&ref%5F=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl "‌")”

[Our episode: “A Critique of ](https://youtu.be/9nidOt4Bc5k "‌")

[Lordship Salvation - Part 2”](https://youtu.be/9nidOt4Bc5k "‌")

[Mike Abendroth’s “Law & Gospel” Series on American Gospel](https://www.watchagtv.com/law-gospel-mike-abendroth "‌")

https://youtu.be/rvZkqxmpa8s

---

### I've Never Known Love Like This

*Published: September 14, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/ive-never-known-love-like-this*
*Tags: Love*

We all tend to buy into the world's definition of love. We view love as transactional. And, if we're honest, love is really about our self-gratification. This understanding of love robs us of true joy in our relationships and it robs us of peace before God. The love of God for us is unconditional, sacrificial, and steadfast. We know what love is by looking to God's love for us. And we love because he first loved us. If we understand these things better, our relationships with one another in the church and in our homes will profit. Jon and Justin talk about these things in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on love by talking about the necessity of the means of grace in the church. That's right. If you're wondering how these things are connected, give the episode a listen.

Resources:  
[Jon's Sermon on Relationships, Dating, and God’s Love](https://gracereformed.org/media/vp6cvf2/romans-8-31-38-relationships-dating-and-god-s-love "‌")

https://youtu.be/Bku6ihj9MCM

---

### Hard to Forgive

*Published: September 7, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/hard-to-forgive*
*Tags: Forgiveness*

In a fallen world, we sin against others--and we will be sinned against. Sometimes, we are sinned against in ways that are indescribably painful. In today's episode, Jon and Justin talk about forgiveness. It can be hard to forgive those who wrong us. And, yet, the teaching of the Scripture is clear. We are to forgive those who sin against us, as God in Christ has forgiven us. The guys have a compassionate and pastoral conversation about these matters.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about forgiveness, the clarity of the Scripture on the matter, and how this is obscured in our day. The guys finish with thoughts about how forgiveness cannot be based upon our assessment of the quality of another person's repentance.

Resources:  
[Our episode on "Repenting of Our Repentance"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/repenting-of-repentance/ "‌")

[Ask Theocast on "What if I'm struggling to forgive? Can I still have assurance?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-if-im-struggling-to-forgive-can-i-still-have-assurance/ "‌")

https://youtu.be/zlagDb9\_S6g

---

### Church, Discernment, and Purity Culture

*Published: August 31, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/church-discernment-and-purity-culture*
*Tags: Church, Discernment, purity culture*

In today's episode, the guys have a conversation about a very sensitive but important topic: sexuality. Over recent years and decades, there have been various approaches to how to handle issues of sexuality in the church. Jon and Justin talk honestly about their concerns regarding crass and crude language that is used to talk about sex--and the abuses of pastoral authority that often occur (e.g., Doug Wilson and Mark Driscoll). The guys also discuss their concerns with purity culture (Joshua Harris comes up here) and the very negative ways sex is portrayed in that kind of setting. There is a better and more biblical approach.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about abuses of pastoral authority that occur in the church when it comes to sex in marriage. Then, the guys talk about how we often try to use outside means to address a heart-level problem.

Resources:

[Sexuality, Acceptance, and the Gospel](https://youtu.be/gWpjkyrIltU)

**NOTE: The quotes below are only provided at the request of our listeners. We in no way recommend these articles or books, for they go against the biblical understanding of how one should speak or write about women, marriage, or sexuality.** 

**Quotes from Doug Wilson's blog articles and books:** 

> _“In other words, however we try, the sexual act cannot be made into an egalitarian pleasuring party. A man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts. This is of course offensive to all egalitarians, and so our culture has rebelled against the concept of authority and submission in marriage. This means that we have sought to suppress the concepts of authority and submission as they relate to the marriage bed.”_

– Douglas Wilson, Fidelity: What it Means to be a One-Woman Man (Moscow, Idaho: Canon Press, 1999), 86-87.

> _"Say a woman — for some egalitarian and very foolish reason, declines to have her dinner date walk her back to her car in some urban center after dark. Let us say she is raped and murdered. According to what RHE says, my response is going to be some variant of “served her right.” Now you would have to be a fool not to see the connection between her refusal of an escort and what happened to her, but you would also have to be pretty vile to say that walking to your car deserves the penalty of rape and murder. You would also have to be pretty high up among Obama’s advisers to falsely accuse someone of being that vile._
> 
> _One consequence of rejecting the protection of good men is that you are opening yourself up to the predations of bad men. I fully acknowledge that this is not what such women think they are doing. They think they are rejecting the patriarchy, or some other icky thing, but when they have walked away from the protections of fathers and brothers, what it amounts to is a tacit (implicit, in principle, not overt) acceptance of the propriety of rape."_

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/110222.html>

> _"Next time you are in a grocery store check out line check out (no, I don’t mean check out) the partially dressed female on the cover of the nearest women’s magazine, the kind my kids call a day-old doughnut. Right, the one with the fake bake tan, the abs of a sixteen-year-old boy, the boobs of a wet nurse, and the knock-your-eye out bottle blondisity."_

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/bottle-blondisity.html>

> _"That sets the tone, and the pestering is then made complete by small-breasted biddies who want to make sure nobody is using too much hot water in the shower, and that we are all getting plenty of fiber."_

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/smash-the-complementarity.html>

> _"My point is that jiggling your boobs for a YouTube clip is a response to an ignorant Muslim that works equally well as a response to the apostle Peter, which is to say, not at all."_

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/boobquake-and-the-meaning-of-history.html>

> _"You see the strategy. Minimize the seriousness of this, but not so that you can feel good about indulging yourself. Minimize the seriousness of it so that you can walk away from a couple of big boobs without feeling like you have just fought a cosmic battle with principalities and powers in the heavenly places, for crying out loud. Or, if you like, in another strategy of seeing things rightly, you could nickname these breasts of other woman as the “principalities and powers.” Whatever you do, take this part of life in stride like a grown-up. Stop reacting like a horny and conflicted twelve-year-old boy."_

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/dealing-with-nuisance-lust-2.html>

> "So let me tell you what this symbolism really means. This is what _they_ are saying. They are shamelessly declaring to the world that they are just a couple of cunts."

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/that-lutheran-jezebel-lady.html>

> _“Stephanie lost her temper completely and totally and shouted at him, “Lionel, I already have a pussy. What made you think I was in need of another one?”_  page 139
> 
> "Ace stood there for just a moment, and then he heard a voice, wafting up from below. “Uhhh. Do it again. Uhhh.Harder, harder.” As Ace walked over to the switch that would activate the compactor, he was nodding his head slowly, and very deliberately. Her voice was fading, but against the dead quiet of the late evening recycling plant, he could still hear it plainly. “Ride me, ride me,” the plaintive voice was saying. “Okay,” Ace said, “ride, Sally, ride,” and he flipped the switch.”'

<https://canonpress.com/products/ride-sally-ride-a-novel/>

> "The first time the dishes are not done, he must sit down with his wife immediately and gently remind her that this is something which has to be done. At no time may he lose his temper, badger her, call her names, etc. He must constantly remember and confess that she is not the problem, he is. By bringing this gently to her attention, he is not to be primarily pointing to her need to repent; rather, he is exhibiting the fruit of his repentance.
> 
> He does this, without rancor and without an accusative spirit, until she complies or rebels. If she complies, he must move up one step, now requiring that another of her duties be done. If she continues to rebel after patient effort, he should at some point call the elders of the church and ask them for a pastoral visit. When the government of the home has failed to such an extent and a godly and consistent attempt by the husband to restore the situation has broken down, then the involvement of the elders is fully appropriate."

Doug Wilson,Federal Husband,Canon Press, 2011,chapter ‘Not Where They Should Be.’

> "Second, wives need to be led with a firm hand. A wife will often test her husband in some area, and be deeply disappointed (and frustrated) if she wins. It is crucial that a husband give to his wife what the Bible says she needs, rather than what she says he needs. So a godly husband is a godly lord."

Wilson, Douglas (2009-04-01). Reforming Marriage (p. 80). Canon Press. KindleEdition.

> "So he must be attractive to you, but you must also have a good understanding of the laws of attraction. If you are not attracted to a guy because he is a milksop, you shouldn’t feel bad about that. You are pleasing God through not being attracted. You are doing your duty. But if there is a guy you actually do respect, but you are not crushing on him, or your heart is not doing a gymnastic floor exercise, and as a result you worry that you are not “attracted,” this means you that probably are misinterpreting the laws of attraction at the deeper level. You are not attracted to a guy you know you could lead around. Goodfor you. But you might think you are not attracted to a guy because you are nervous about where he might lead you. Not so good."

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/laws-of-attraction.html>

> "He should be aggressive enough, and well-endowed enough, to satisfy you sexually."

<https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/laws-of-attraction.html>

> "Unbelieving women either compete for the attention of men through outlandish messages that communicate some variation of “easy lay,” or in the grip of resentment they give up the endeavor entirely, which is how we get lumberjack dykes. The former is an avid reader of _Cosmopolitan_ and thinks she knows 15K ways to please a man in bed. The latter is just plain surly about the fact that there even _are_ any men."

https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/on-why-christian-women-are-prettier.html

> "...but who are themselves pushy broads, twinkies in tight tops, or waifs with manga eyes."

https://dougwils.com/the-church/waifs-with-manga-eyes.html?fbclid=IwAR2zTXD3jtwXOje5g1KM5xXEv94ReOhhc1HRdbb\_2XbbLMCfBShBXrEm7Pw

https://youtu.be/45dgb7\_DtzE

---

### When Two Baptists and Two Presbyterians Walk into a Podcast...

*Published: August 24, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/when-two-baptists-and-two-presbyterians-walk-into-a-podcast*
*Tags: Baptists, Guilt Grace Gratitude, Presbyterians*

Jon and Justin recently had the opportunity to be guests on the Guilt Grace Gratitude podcast. In this episode, two Baptists and two Presbyterians talk about confessionalism and the local church. The conversation is wide-ranging, including: confessions of faith, the objective work of Christ and his sufficiency, the law and the gospel, the ordinary means of grace, the mission of the church and the point of the Lord's Day gathering, the sacraments, the effects of revivalism and pietism, and much more.  
  
Resources:  
  
[Guilt Grace Gratitude Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guilt-grace-gratitude/id1527106099)  
  
[Our episode on Confessionalism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-confessional)  
  
[What is Reformed Theology?](https://youtu.be/nCna6v28IpI)  
  
https://youtu.be/crYJ0s4YPgg

---

### What Happened to Preaching?

*Published: August 3, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-happened-to-preaching*
*Tags: Means of Grace, preaching*

The guys continue the series on the means of grace by discussing preaching. What has happened to the preaching of the word of Christ? Jon and Justin begin by distinguishing preaching from teaching. Then, they consider the preaching event. It is an event. (Live streams and sermon audio is not preaching.) The guys conclude with a lengthy discussion on the content of preaching. Preaching is to extol and herald the person and work of Christ in the place of sinners, and preaching requires the right dividing of law and gospel.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about some of the critiques that are raised against Christ-centered, redemptive-historical preaching, along with the false dichotomy introduced between grammatical-historical and redemptive-historical approaches to exegesis. (Warning: It's a passionate discussion.)

Resources:  
[Our episode on "Introduction to Law/Gospel Distinction"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction/ "‌")  
[Our series on Covenant Theology](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/introduction-to-covenant-theology-part-one/ "‌")  
[Our episode on "Is Your Theological System Any Good?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good/ "‌")  
[Our episode on "Legal Preaching"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/legal-preaching/ "‌")  
[Our episode on "Christ-Centered Preaching"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/tag/christ-centered-preaching/ "‌")

https://youtu.be/KuD7GVdyIaY

---

### What Happened to Communion?

*Published: July 27, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-happened-to-communion*
*Tags: Communion, Means of Grace*

The sacrament of communion was given to us by God as a means of His grace. In the Lord's Supper, Jesus is really and spiritually present to minister to us. We are confirmed in the faith and in all the benefits of Christ's death. We are nourished, sustained, and strengthened through receiving the bread and the cup. In other words, the Table is for our assurance and for our growth in the faith. Sadly, this is not how communion is typically talked about in the church. What happened? Why is it not talked about this way? In today's episode Jon and Justin have a theological, historical, and biblical conversation about communion as a means of grace.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss Reformed worship--and communion as a part of that. In addition, the guys give some thoughts regarding churches that do not observe communion regularly.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on "What Happened to Baptism?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-happened-to-baptism/)  
[Our episode on "The Resting Heart Rate of the Christian Life"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6BIzl4ca20)  
[Ask Theocast on "What Are the Means of Grace?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6XJNbq1QAs)  
[1689 LBC 30.1](https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-30)  
["Truth We Can Touch" by Tim Chester](https://www.amazon.com/Truth-We-Can-Touch-Communion/dp/1433566575)  
[Barcellos's book on the Lord's Supper](https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Supper-Means-Grace-Memory/dp/1781912688)  
  
https://youtu.be/BvlDocddteU

---

### What Happened to Baptism?

*Published: July 20, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-happened-to-baptism*
*Tags: Baptism, Means of Grace*

The sacrament of baptism was given to us by God as a means of His grace. Baptism is about our union with Christ. It is a sign of being grafted into him in his life, death, and resurrection. It is a sign of the remission of our sins. It is a sign of God's promise to keep us unto salvation. Sadly, this is not how baptism is typically talked about in the church. What happened? Why is it not talked about this way? In today's episode Jon and Justin have a theological, historical, and biblical conversation about baptism as a means of grace.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue to discuss baptism as a sign of our union with Christ. In particular, the guys consider how pietism, revivalism, and Arminianism have affected how many have understood union with Christ--and thereby, baptism.

Resources:  
[Our episodes on Lordship Salvation](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/tag/lordship-salvation/ "‌")  
[Our episode "The Resting Heart Rate of the Christian Life"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6BIzl4ca20 "‌")  
[Our episode on "Leaving Pietism"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FUbF22sguOg "‌")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unK42bWBGzo

---

### God's Will Hunting

*Published: July 13, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/gods-will-hunting*
*Tags: God's Will Hunting, Will of God*

In today's episode, the guys talk about God's will. Many Christians agonize over the will of God for their lives. Is there a secret will of God that we are called to discern? Can we make decisions that put us outside the will of God? Has God spoken to what His will is for our lives? Jon and Justin consider these things and more.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on the will of God. What do we say to people who fear they have ruined their lives through a past sin?

Resources:  
[Our episode on "Mercy for Those Who Doubt"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/mercy-for-those-who-doubt/ "‌")  
[Our episode "What is Biblicism? Why Is It dangerous?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/biblicists-beware/ "‌")  
[Our episode on "Leaving Pietism"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/leavingpietism/ "‌")

https://youtu.be/QFdHhmVGoJA

---

### I Come to the Garden Alone?

*Published: July 6, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/i-come-to-the-garden-alone*
*Tags: I Come to the Garden Alone, Individualism, Isolation*

The title for today's episode comes from a 20th century hymn. That hymn is illustrative of the common mindset in the evangelical church--that the real stuff of the Christian life happens when we are alone. Is that what the New Testament teaches? How is it that we grow in the faith? How is it that we become mature in Christ? Jon and Justin consider these questions and discuss how the Christian life is inherently corporate, how devotion is church-shaped, and how the corporate realities of the gathered church drive our private lives.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin give some of their perspective on personal time of Bible reading and prayer. What are healthier ways to approach these things? How does the corporate life of the church help us devotional lives?  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on "How Not to Read Your Bible"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/how-not-to-read-your-bible/)  
[Our episode "Have We Missed the Point of Church?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/have-we-missed-the-point-of-church/)  
[Our episode on "Leaving Pietism"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/leavingpietism/)  
[Our episode on "Your Sanctification Is Not for You?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/your-sanctification-is-not-for-you/)  
[Our "Dazed and Confused" episode on Hebrews 12:1-14](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/dazed-and-confused-hebrews-121-14-and-holiness/)  
  
https://youtu.be/aXycpYjdDXQ

---

### Prayer Requires Righteousness

*Published: June 29, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/prayer-requires-righteousness*
*Tags: Prayer, Righteousness*

This is the second of at least two episodes from James 5\. In James 5:16, the apostle writes that the prayer of a righteous person is effective. This raises the question: is righteousness required for prayer? If so, what kind of righteousness is James talking about? He gives the example of Elijah and how effective his prayers were. How are we to understand that? Jon and Justin discuss all of this--and more in today's podcast.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about positional and personal righteousness. And, the guys go in on pietism and revivalism, in particular, as to how these things have resulted in confusion and have hindered us in approaching God.

Resources:  
[Our episode on "Do John Piper and Doug Wilson Obscure Faith Alone?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/do-john-piper-and-doug-wilson-obscure-faith-alone/)  
[Our episode "Self + Righteousness = Rubbish (Are You Struggling With It?)"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/self-righteousness-rubbish/)  
[Our episode on "Why the Gospel Terrifies Christians"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians/)  
[Our episodes on Lordship Salvation](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/tag/lordship-salvation/)  
[Jon's two sermons on Faith and Healing](https://youtu.be/Rj3ZjmM46Z4)

https://youtu.be/mhdIDzTTuVc

---

### Prayer for Healing

*Published: June 22, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/prayer-for-healing*
*Tags: Healing, Prayer*

This is the first of at least two episodes from James 5\. In James 5:14, the apostle writes that if a person is sick he should have the elders of the church anoint him and pray for him. Then he says that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. How are we to understand this? What kind of healing is in view? What is the prayer of faith? Jon and Justin consider these questions and more.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk in more depth about interpreting the Bible. They consider tools that help us interpret the Bible, as well as how we should approach debated passages.

Resources:  
[Our episode on James 2](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/faith-without-works-is-dead-james-2/)  
[Our episode "Dying with Dignity"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/dying-with-dignity/)  
[Our episode on "There Will Be Weakness"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/there-will-be-weakness/)  
[Jon's two sermons on Faith and Healing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj3ZjmM46Z4)

https://youtu.be/JEuxJK0Y65s

---

### The Self-Validation Project

*Published: June 15, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-self-validation-project*
*Tags: law gospel distinction, Three Uses of the Law*

In the church, we can struggle to rightly understand and apply the grace of God in Christ. We know we need grace on the front end of salvation, but then, once in, we flip to an economy of merit. And now, we're just collecting stars and earning cookies. It is as though we think that through our working we can retroactively vindicate God's saving of us and turn ourselves into the kind of people God would've been happy to save in the first place. In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about how the Christian life is a project of self-validation for many.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue to consider how a lot of teaching today communicates that the Christian life is a project of validating ourselves as legitimate. The guys talk about the effects of unhealthy introspection, as well as better motivations for Christian living.

Resources:  
[Our episode on James 2 "Faith Without Works Is Dead"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/faith-without-works-is-dead-james-2/)  
[Our episode on "How Pietism Ruins Good Works"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/how-pietism-ruins-good-works/)  
[Our episode on "Leaving Pietism"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/leavingpietism/)

https://youtu.be/1enVzZ9tGuo

---

### Is the Law Relevant Today?

*Published: June 8, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-the-law-relevant-today*
*Tags: law gospel distinction, Three Uses of the Law*

In this third of three episodes on God's law, Jon and Justin talk about the threefold division of the law. This conversation is important for anyone who has ever wondered what to make of all the laws God gave to Israel in the Old Testament. What is binding for us today? What is not? What do some of these obscure sounding commands have to do with us in the new covenant era? In short, the confessional, Reformed understanding of the threefold division of the moral, ceremonial, and judicial law is very helpful for our understanding.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider the fourth commandment in depth regarding the Sabbath day. There is some division of opinion--even amongst Reformed types--as to what observance of the Lord's Day should look like. The distinction between the moral and ceremonial law is a factor, as is one's understanding of covenant theology.

Resources:  
[Our first episode in this series on Law & Gospel Distinction](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our second episode in this series on The Three Uses of the Law](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/intro-to-three-uses-of-the-law/)  
[Our first episode in a series on Covenant Theology](https://youtu.be/iCfzmujnlHo)  
[Our first of three episodes on Implications of Covenant Theology](https://youtu.be/AwajhpDAT6c)

https://youtu.be/55hay4xXgGw

---

### Intro to Three Uses of the Law

*Published: June 1, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/intro-to-three-uses-of-the-law*
*Tags: law gospel distinction, Three Uses of the Law*

In this second of three episodes on God's law, Jon and Justin talk about the three uses of the law. In considering the three uses of the law, we are essentially answering the question, "Why did God give the law?" The first use of the law is to show us our sin and drive us to Christ. The second use is to teach all men right and wrong--and to restrain our corruption. The third use is to serve as the guide for our living in Christ. Without these uses in view, we are prone to make all kinds of errors in our application and understanding of God's law.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider how the uses of the law are often collapsed in our day and the resulting fallout of this confusion. In contending for the uses of the law, we are simply seeking to use the law lawfully (1 Timothy 1:8).

Resources:

[First episode in this series: "Intro to Law and Gospel Distinction"](https://youtu.be/RDjkKGIu0xQ)  
[Our episode on "What Must I Do to Be Saved?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved/)  
[Our episode on "John Piper on Holiness"](https://youtu.be/Recw%5FsMjZ8g)  
[Our episode on "Following Jesus Is Not the Gospel"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/following-jesus-is-not-the-gospel/)  
[Our episode on "Faith Without Works is Dead: James 2"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/faith-without-works-is-dead-james-2/)

https://youtu.be/AG-ZMlbZ4Fg

---

### Intro to Law and Gospel Distinction

*Published: May 25, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/intro-to-law-and-gospel-distinction*
*Tags: law gospel distinction*

In this first of three episodes on God's law, Jon and Justin talk about the distinction between the law and the gospel. The law and the gospel are both contained in the Old and New Testaments, respectively. The law and the gospel are distinct and ought not be mixed--and, yet, they are complementary in God's economy of salvation. The guys introduce the listener to this historically Reformed doctrine and consider why it is so important.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider how covenant theology and law/gospel distinction complement one another in a Reformed theological framework. The guys talk about how useful these tools are for rightly understanding the Scriptures.

Resources:  
[Our episode on "What Must I Do to Be Saved?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved/)  
[Our episode on "Are You a Legalist or an Antinomian?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/are-you-a-legalist-or-an-antinomian/)  
[Our episode on "The Law, the Gospel, and Sanctification"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-law-the-gospel-and-sanctification/)

https://youtu.be/RDjkKGIu0xQ

---

### Stop Trying to Make Sense of Suffering

*Published: May 18, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stop-trying-to-make-sense-of-suffering*
*Tags: pain, suffering*

Often in the church, we try to figure out exactly what God is doing when we are going through difficult things. Simply put, we shouldn't do that. The secret things belong to the Lord, and we are not privy to the counsel of God when it comes to our suffering. In today's episode, Jon and Justin aim to point out things that God has clearly revealed and promised to us in his Word. We do have an unshakable hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is what we cling to--in the midst of joy or pain.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on suffering by considering less-than-good ways suffering is talked about and dealt with in the church. We have a gentle, patient, and merciful Savior. This should inform how we interact with one another in the midst of pain.

Resources:  
[Our episode on "There Will Be Weakness"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/there-will-be-weakness/)  
[Our episode on Two Kingdoms](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/two-kingdoms-with-david-vandrunen/)  
[Our episode on "The Quest for Religious Experience"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-quest-for-religious-experience/)

https://youtu.be/Uv8C6wTY8y4

---

### Gospel Power for the Weary

*Published: May 11, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/gospel-power-for-the-weary*
*Tags: Struggling, Weary*

In today's episode, Jon and Justin aim to have a pastoral conversation with two groups of people in view. First, those who are beat down and weary, who are seeking to find rest. And second, those who have found rest in Christ but still wrestle with what that rest means for their Christian lives. Where does the power for sanctification come from? What do we do now that we know Christ has done everything for our salvation?  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin have a fun conversation about Jesus, calming down, assessing ourselves honestly, looking to God's Word, and loving our brothers and sisters. Resources:  
  
Our episode on "How Pietism Ruins Good Works" [https://youtu.be/19OhlchARt0 ](https://youtu.be/19OhlchARt0)Our episode on "Your Sanctification Is Not for You?" [https://youtu.be/nfDuTYz3pnA ](https://youtu.be/nfDuTYz3pnA)  
Our episode on "Have We Missed the Point of Church?" [https://youtu.be/JLHz0Cgga4s ](https://youtu.be/JLHz0Cgga4s)  
Our episode on "What Is--and Is Not--the Gospel" <https://youtu.be/NmrZA951WYU>  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYL-Um-74z0

---

### John Piper on Holiness

*Published: May 4, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/john-piper-on-holiness*
*Tags: Holiness, John Piper*

In this episode, Jon and Justin discuss a message recently given by John Piper on Christ's death and the holiness of the believer. The guys interact with clips from the message and seek to consider it from a biblical, confessional, and Reformed perspective. At Theocast, we are in complete agreement that Christ's work has secured the holiness of the saints. Significant things to consider along these lines are: union with Christ; the active obedience of Christ; the relationship of justification and sanctification; and the proper way to preach the law and the gospel.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on the holiness of believers. The guys consider better--and more biblical--ways to pursue and instill holiness in the church.

Resources:

Our episode on Hebrews 12 https://youtu.be/QvdOXbBlnv4

Our episode on "Your Sanctification Is Not for You" https://youtu.be/nfDuTYz3pnA

Our episode on "Piper and Wilson Obscuring the Gospel" https://youtu.be/Z7tlAGv8c3k

https://youtu.be/Recw\_sMjZ8g

---

### Following Jesus Is Not the Gospel

*Published: April 27, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/following-jesus-is-not-the-gospel*
*Tags: Following Jesus, Gospel*

Following Jesus is not the gospel. There are a number of things that are fruits of regeneration and fruits of the gospel that are not the gospel. Biblically speaking, the gospel has nothing to do with us whatsoever. The gospel is completely about the person and work of Jesus Christ, our substitute and mediator. Jon and Justin talk about the fruit of the gospel, the order of salvation, and justification from a confessional, reformed perspective.  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys talk about the legitimacy of using confessions and of critiquing the doctrine of notable figures. Then, they go into more depth on some of the ways justification is under assault in our day.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on "What must I do to be saved?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved/)  
[Our episode on Take up your cross](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/take-up-your-cross/)  
[Our episode on biblicism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/biblicists-beware/)  
[Our episode on how pietism ruins good works](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/how-pietism-ruins-good-works/)  
  
https://youtu.be/lJlHlwndPQ0

---

### Stop Taking Jesus Out of the Bible

*Published: April 20, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/stop-taking-jesus-out-of-the-bible*
*Tags: suffering, Theology of the Cross*

We believe that all of the Bible--from Genesis to Revelation--is a testimony about Jesus. We believe there is law and gospel in the Old and New Testaments. These convictions are historical, confessional, Reformed convictions. Yet, many in our day get very nervous about seeing Christ in all of the Bible and of understanding the Scriptures in terms of law and gospel. Our fear is that, at the end of it, well-meaning people discourage the saints from seeing Christ for them in all of the Scriptures. Jon and Justin talk about this on today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue to talk (passionately) about the tendency of many to remove Jesus from many passages of the Bible. Then the guys talk about how effective the heralding of Christ actually is.

Resources:

Introduction to Covenant Theology: https://youtu.be/iCfzmujnlHo

Desiring God Article: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/exposition-or-imposition

The Master's Seminary Article: https://blog.tms.edu/is-christ-in-every-verse

Grace To You Article: <https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A235/reexamining-the-eternal-sonship-of-christ>

https://youtu.be/KfFeQNVPtkg

---

### There Will Be Weakness

*Published: April 6, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/there-will-be-weakness*
*Tags: suffering, Theology of the Cross*

We are often made to think that the Christian life is one where we move from triumph to triumph--and from spiritual experience to spiritual experience. But that is not reality. It is not the promise of the Scripture. This side of the resurrection, we are learning to trust Christ in the midst of weakness and the battle against the flesh. We are learning to depend more upon grace. It is not a bad thing for us to come to a place where we know Christ is all we have. The guys consider all of this in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin answer listener questions on Two Kingdoms doctrine and also on views of eschatology as it relates to the redemptive-historical framework of Scripture.

Resources:  
[Our episode on triumphalism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/tag/triumphalism/)  
[Our episode on Two Kingdoms](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/two-kingdoms-with-david-vandrunen/)  
[Our episode eschatology (Left Behind?)](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/left-behind-a-conversation-on-eschatology/)

FREE EBOOK Theocast.org/primer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY8uVFMAE0c

---

### Exciting Update: Gospel Advancement

*Published: April 5, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/exciting-update-gospel-advancement*
*Tags: Grace Reformed Network, GRN*

Jon and Justin talk about the start of a new network of confessional Baptist churches, called the Grace Reformed Network. The guys explain the need for the network, as well as the theological positions of the network. If you'd like to learn more, please visit [gracereformednetwork.org](http://gracereformednetwork.org).

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more personally about what led to starting the Grace Reformed Network and the need for more confessional churches.

https://youtu.be/8\_uoihF7Lqo

---

### What Must I Do to Be Saved?

*Published: March 30, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved*
*Tags: Good Samaritan, Lordship Salvation, Rich young ruler*

Jon and Justin seek to answer the question, "What must I do to be saved?" This is a question that was posed to Jesus at numerous points. The apostles also addressed this question repeatedly. The guys consider two parables from the Lord Jesus: the Good Samaritan and the Rich Young Man; and also a passage from the apostle Paul: Romans 2:6-13\. Reformed categories of law and gospel are essential if we are going to rightly understand these passages.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider how obedience is talked about in a context where law and gospel are confused. The guys talk about so much of what is preached is effectively easy-listening legalism and prosperity theology.

Resources:  
[Our episode on What Is-and Is Not-the Gospel?](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/what-is-and-is-not-the-gospel/)  
[Our episode on Law/Gospel Distinction](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our episode on Why the Gospel Terrifies Christians](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians/)

https://youtu.be/5nmMk0cdWJo

---

### Left Behind? (A Conversation on Eschatology)

*Published: March 23, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/left-behind-a-conversation-on-eschatology*
*Tags: End Times, Eschatology, premillennialism*

Jon and Justin have a discussion on views of eschatology and how it has affected modern biblical interpretation. Do historical Dispensational views contradict the clear teaching of Scripture on the atoning work of Christ? Is one's view on eschatology a measure of orthodoxy? Should our views of eschatology drive the rest of our theology, or is it the other way around?  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk in more depth about eschatology and hermeneutics. What should guide us in formulating our views on eschatology?  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on "Is Your Theological System Any Good?"](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good/)  
["A Case for Amillennialism" by Kim Riddlebarger](https://amzn.to/36oa02d)  
  
https://youtu.be/WIJYXylbexM

---

### Do John Piper and Doug Wilson Obscure Faith Alone?

*Published: March 15, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/do-john-piper-and-doug-wilson-obscure-faith-alone*
*Tags: Doug Wilson, Federal Vision, Final Justification, John Piper*

Do John Piper and Doug Wilson Obscure Faith Alone? Here is how we approach this question in today's episode.

Every generation has to come to grips with the gospel. The imputation of the righteousness of Christ to sinners--as our whole and only righteousness--has often been under assault in the history of the church. It is in our day in the form of the Federal Vision and the teaching of final justification. Jon and Justin engage with both of these errors today in an effort to clarify and defend the heart of the gospel, which is the righteousness of Christ counted to sinners.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin go into more depth on the Federal Vision and then contend for the importance of confessions of faith, as well as the safety provided by a sound theological framework.

Resources:  
[Podcasts from Mid-America Reformed Seminary on Federal Vision](https://www.midamerica.edu/podcasts/mid-america-reformed-seminarys-round-table/108/federal-vision-what-is-it)  
[R. Scott Clark on Federal Vision](https://heidelblog.net/2018/08/resources-on-the-federal-vision-theology/)  
[Our episode on final justification (live from CA)](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/live-qa-on-final-justification-mark-jones/)  
[Our episode on how the gospel terrifies Christians](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians/)

https://youtu.be/Z7tlAGv8c3k

---

### Repenting of Repentance

*Published: March 9, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/repenting-of-repentance*
*Tags: repent, Repentance*

Repentance is a threatening word for many in the church. It shouldn't be. Repentance is often taught and discussed in a way that is unhelpful. In this episode, Jon and Justin consider repentance from a biblical and Reformed perspective. God is the one who repents us. Repentance, at its heart, is an agreement with God and a siding with God against our sin. The turning we do in repentance is always a turning to Christ. And, it is possible to be repentant even in the midst of ongoing sin.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue to talk about repentance and ways in which discussion of the topic typically goes off the rails. Rather than weaponizing repentance and sanctification, there is a better way.

Resources:  
[Our episodes on Lordship Salvation](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/a-critique-of-lordship-salvation/)  
[A Critique of Lordship SalvationWhy I left Lordship Salvation ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thtTV5hv41k&ab%5Fchannel=Theocast-RestinChrist)[Our episodes on Calvinism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/product/introduction-to-calvinism/)  
[Our episode on how pietism ruins good works](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/how-pietism-ruins-good-works/)

https://youtu.be/sK3p4BXcHEU

---

### What Robs Us of Joy?

*Published: March 2, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-robs-us-of-joy*
*Tags: joy*

Building off of last week's episode, when we find no joy or rest in our religion, we tend to seek it elsewhere. Christians are prone to clutter their lives will all kinds of things that might be good--but they end up keeping us from the things that will truly bring us joy. On top of this, we naturally think that we need to do things to find rest, when, in reality, we rest in order to do. Jon and Justin talk about all of this on today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk personally about leaving pietism and about the spiritual abuse that even occurs in some environments. The guys close by considering how Jesus, himself, is the gospel.

Resources:  
[Our episodes on the quest for religious experience](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-quest-for-religious-experience/)  
[Our episode on leaving pietism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/leavingpietism/)  
[Our episode on how pietism ruins good works](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/how-pietism-ruins-good-works-sr/)

https://youtu.be/zqpNn3utVBs

---

### The Quest for Religious Experience

*Published: February 23, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-quest-for-religious-experience*

Is the Christian life one where believers move from spiritual experience to spiritual experience? Or from triumph to triumph? Or is the Christian life one where we learn to trust Christ in the midst of weakness and the battle against sin? What does it mean to be satisfied in Christ? Jon and Justin seek to answer these questions and consider how the quest to find true religion in anything subjective leaves us unsettled and exhausted.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk personally about what a subjective emphasis in religion tends to produce--and then the guys turn to consider how the gifts of God to us don't have anything to do with us.

Resources:  
[Our episodes on the implications of covenant theology](https://theocast.castos.com/episodes/un-perplexing-the-old-testament-covenant-theology-1)  
[Our episode on law/gospel](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our episode on theology of the cross](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/take-up-your-cross/)  
[Our episode on "More Than a Feeling"](https://theocast.castos.com/episodes/more-than-a-feeling-1)

https://youtu.be/Z6qS-NjPzkU

---

### Faith Without Works Is Dead (James 2)

*Published: February 16, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/faith-without-works-is-dead-james-2*

In this episode, Jon and Justin consider James 2, and in particular, the apostles' assertion that faith without works is dead. How should we understand this in the context of the entire letter of James? How has our quest for personal religious experience clouded our understanding of a passage like James 2? What are the good works we should be concerned with? And how is it that the commands of God are not burdensome? The guys discuss all this and more.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about the clear emphasis of the New Testament that the saints love one another. The guys also touch on the confusion that exists around good works in the church today.  
  
Resources:  
[Jon Moffitt's sermons in James ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48xOcx7-Bg0&list=PL1Va3nlqav0VS2QvxIItLdCwW%5FVReyIYf&index=10&ab%5Fchannel=GraceReformedChurch)[Our episode on pietism ruining good works](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-law-the-gospel-and-sanctification/)  
[Our episode on the law, gospel, and sanctification](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-law-the-gospel-and-sanctification/)  
[Our episode on sanctification not being about us](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/your-sanctification-is-not-for-you/)  
  
https://youtu.be/wYwO94izSv0

---

### Christian, You Are Not on Parole

*Published: February 9, 2022 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christian-you-are-not-on-parole*
*Tags: Final Justification, Lordship Salvation*

As a Christian, do you ever feel like you are on probation or even on parole? As though you've been set free from prison, but now you need to do well enough to be finally free from fear and the threat of punishment? Many of us feel this way. Many in the church talk this way. Jon and Justin consider justification and the finished work of Christ--and what that means for the Christian life in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about final justification and why it is harmful. Then, the guys move on to consider being a fruitful Christian, as well as the writing of John Owen. Enjoy!

Resources:  
[Our episode on the law, the gospel, and sanctification](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/the-law-the-gospel-and-sanctification/)  
[Our episode on why the gospel terrifies Christians](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians/)  
[Our episode on more than forgiven](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/more-than-forgiven/)

https://youtu.be/zl\_E-Wb\_sOU

---

### How Pietism Ruins Good Works

*Published: January 27, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-pietism-ruins-good-works*
*Tags: Good Works, Pietism*

When we preach the gospel, there are often objections. One of the most common is, "Yeah, but what about good works?" In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about good works from a confessional perspective. What are good works? Who and what are they for? Why do we do them? How do we do them? The guys answer these questions and consider how pietism has damaged our thinking about good works.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider how pietism has made us less effective in doing biblical good works for the good of neighbor and honor of God. The guys also talk about how the contemporary church has much more in common with the medieval church than many would like to admit.

Resources:  
[Our book: Rest](wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer)  
[What is Peitism?](https://youtu.be/duvvK91%5FDGo)  
[Leaving pietism](https://wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/leavingpietism/)  
[Our episode on spiritual disciplines Series on Spiritual Disciplines](https://youtu.be/MNLsxbBxR-4)

https://youtu.be/19OhlchARt0

---

### Why the Gospel Terrifies Christians

*Published: January 19, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-the-gospel-terrifies-christians*
*Tags: Gospel, law gospel distinction, Pietism*

It sounds a little crazy to say that the gospel terrifies Christians. But it clearly does. Christians are prone to qualify the grace of God in Christ. Christians are prone to hedge on justification by faith alone. At times, Christians can even be unsettled by the preaching of Christ from all of Scripture. Why are these things so? Jon and Justin consider history, fear-based theology, pietism, law/gospel confusion, and Christ-centered preaching in today's episode.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on why the gospel is frightening for Christians. The guys answer some potential objections to a reformed understanding of the sufficiency of Christ.  
  
Resources:  
[FREE Ebook](wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer)  
[Our episodes on Lordship](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/a-critique-of-lordship-salvation/)  
[Our episodes on pietism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/leaving-pietism-transcript/)  
[Our episode on law/gospel](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcgz6guBsug

---

### If I Knew Then What I Know Now

*Published: January 12, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now*

Today's episode is a little different than normal. Jon and Justin talk personally and autobiographically about their pilgrimage into finding rest--from a confessional and covenantal perspective. If you have been listening to Theocast for some time, we hope this encourages you. If you are newer, this will be a good and personal introduction to a number of the things we regularly discuss. Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin hone in on the Christian life--and how a confessional perspective is completely different than that of pietism.

https://youtu.be/Mvp4Wpfeezw

---

### This World Is a Sinking Ship

*Published: January 5, 2022 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/this-world-is-a-sinking-ship*
*Tags: suffering*

We all tend to hope in things of this world that will ultimately disappoint us. Our anger and frustration and despair make this abundantly clear. Jon and Justin talk about some of these things we tend to hope in--and how the church, at points, has only encouraged us to do so. At the end of it all, peace, rest, and hope can only be found in Jesus Christ and the promises God has made to us in him.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk more about how we tend to place our hope in things that cannot deliver. The guys also consider the theology of the cross and how we need to constantly remind one another of the hope we have in Christ.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on the theology of the cross](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/what-is-the-theology-of-glory-vs-the-theology-of-the-cross/)  
[Our episode on Two Kingdom doctrine](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/two-kingdoms-with-david-vandrunen/)  
[Our episode on the purpose of the church](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/have-we-missed-the-point-of-church/)  
[Our episode on the cravings of the flesh](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-cravings-of-the-flesh-transcript/)  
  
https://youtu.be/zHTzqBGYozA

---

### Christmas is Scandalous (with 1517)

*Published: December 21, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christmas-is-scandalous-with-1517*
*Tags: 1517.org, Christmas*

In today’s episode, Jon and Justin have a conversation with friends from 1517 on the scandal of Christmas. We grow accustomed to talking about God becoming a man in order to suffer and die to save his people. But that is shocking news! Who would have ever planned salvation this way? We certainly would not have. But God did. The group discusses the humanity of Jesus, the purpose of the incarnation, the struggle of the disciples to understand the mission of Christ, as well as the point of Christmas.

Podcast: 

[30 Minutes in the New Testament](https://www.1517.org/podcasts/30-minutes-in-the-new-testament) \- Chad Bird & Daniel Emry Price

[40 Minutes in the Old Testament](https://www.1517.org/podcasts/40-minutes-in-the-old-testament) \- Eric Sorensen & Daniel Emry Price

---

### Mercy for Those Who Doubt

*Published: December 15, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/mercy-for-those-who-doubt*
*Tags: Assurance*

In today's episode, Jon and Justin consider two kinds of people: the people who are arrogant in their sin and do not think they need mercy; and the people who doubt and struggle wondering if there is in fact mercy for them. The guys talk about the law and the gospel, church discipline, and the posture of God toward the weak.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk further about observations they have made in the church regarding those who doubt and those who are arrogant in their sin. The guys get into church discipline, as well as how pastors have failed to rightly divide the law and the gospel.

Resources:  
[Our episode on the cravings of the flesh](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/cravings-of-the-flesh/)  
[Our episode on law/gospel](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our episode on the dark side of Christianity](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-dark-side-of-christianity-2/)  
[Our FREE ebook on "Rest"](wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht0j633QcPs

---

### Can't Believe I Did It Again

*Published: December 8, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/cant-believe-i-did-it-again*
*Tags: ongoing sin struggle, simul justus et peccator*

We all battle besetting, habitual sin. The normal experience of the Christian in this fallen world is to battle against the corruption of our flesh. This war will go on until we die or Christ returns. We struggle to process this battle, though. We are often discouraged. And the church hasn't always helped. In this episode, Jon and Justin have a historical, theological, and biblical discussion on the battle against the flesh and the hope of Christ.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin answer some potential objections. They also consider how the grace that justifies is the grace that sanctifies, as well as the Christian's need for the church.

Resources:  
[Our video on habitual sin](https://youtu.be/jjVYOXV5crs)  
[Our episode on the cravings of the flesh](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/cravings-of-the-flesh/)  
[Our episode on pietism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/leavingpietism/)  
[Our episode on biblicism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/biblicists-beware/)  
[Our episode on law/gospel](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our book on assurance, "Safe"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product/safe-paperback/) 

https://youtu.be/YP3kMUBwg4w

---

### Narnia, the Reformation, and Hopelessness

*Published: December 1, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/narnia-the-reformation-and-hopelessness*
*Tags: Resting in Christ*

Many of us, if we are honest, often live lives characterized by fear and hopelessness. This is the plight common to fallen man, true. But how has the church failed to help the saints have hope and peace? Jon and Justin talk about how a recovery of sound doctrine and of a confessional, otherworldly perspective is essential for our hope, peace, and rest.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider some of the most significant issues of doctrine that the saints need to be acquainted with. These include: a confessional perspective, law/gospel distinction, uses of the law, and covenant theology.  
  
Resources:  
[Our three episodes on implications of covenant theology](https://youtu.be/AwajhpDAT6c)  
[Our episode on law/gospel](https://youtu.be/EMSfwPUuuVk)  
[Our episode on "Have We Missed the Point of Church?"](https://youtu.be/JLHz0Cgga4s)  
  
https://youtu.be/swHr3ufjC3A

---

### The Resting Heart Rate of the Christian Life

*Published: November 17, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-resting-heart-rate-of-the-christian-life*
*Tags: Resting in Christ, Union in Christ*

What is the resting heart rate of the Christian life? From a biblical and Reformed perspective, it is union with Christ. By faith, we are in Christ, and everything that is ours is his. Through union with Christ, we are justified, sanctified, and glorified. And, we are also united to one another in Christ. God has given us the church, the ministry of the word, and the sacraments. These, too, are about our union with Jesus. Jon and Justin consider all of these things in today's episode.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin continue to talk about the inherently corporate nature of the Christian life, as well as how union with Christ produces unity in the church.  
  
Resources:  
[Our episode on More Than Forgiven](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/more-than-forgiven/)  
  
https://youtu.be/p6BIzl4ca20

---

### Have We Missed the Point of Church?

*Published: November 10, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/have-we-missed-the-point-of-church*
*Tags: Purpose of the Church*

Have we missed the point of church? From a Reformed, confessional perspective, it seems we have. In short, the point of church is the forgiveness of sins, the declaration of righteousness on account of Christ, and the fellowship of the saints. If these things are rightly understood, the question, "Why do you need the church?", answers itself. Jon and Justin consider all of this and how the church is the way God sustains his people in this life.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about plans for something called the Grace Reformed Network. The guys also consider more implications of a confessional perspective on church.  
  
Resources:  
Episode: [Pop Church Circus](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/pop-church-circus/)  
Episode: [Struggling with the Church](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/struggling-with-the-church/)  
  
https://youtu.be/JLHz0Cgga4s

---

### A Guide to Deconstruction

*Published: November 3, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/a-guide-to-deconstruction*
*Tags: Covenant Theology*

There seem to be a number of people "deconstructing" these days--and by that we mean deconstructing the Christian faith and leaving it. At Theocast, we are not unfamiliar with deconstruction. We do some deconstructing of unhelpful theology in an effort to pull people toward the sufficiency of Christ for sinners. On this episode, Jon and Justin make observations about the "Christianity" people are leaving, as well as offer thoughts on how to do deconstructing well.

Semper Reformanda: The guys continue the conversation on deconstructing by speaking more to those in a confessional environment about the dangers of always having to be against something. Ultimately, we need to remember that the goal of everything we do is for the saints to rest in Jesus Christ.

Resources:  
[Episode on struggling with the church](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/struggling-with-the-church/)  
[Episode on leaving pietism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/leavingpietism/)  
[Episode on assurance](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/assurance-podcast/)

https://youtu.be/X4YDBt88I2Y

---

### More Than Forgiven

*Published: October 27, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/more-than-forgiven*
*Tags: Covenant Theology*

In our third of three episodes on the implications of covenant theology, Jon and Justin discuss the significance of the covenant of works as it relates to the work of Christ. When we begin to see the relationship between the covenant of works and the work of Christ in our place, it becomes clear how are more than just forgiven through our union with Jesus by faith. We are declared righteous. We have peace with God now and forever. It really is finished. All really is well.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about the fallout produced by a denial of the covenant of works. The guys discuss final/future justification as a part of that and then conclude with some thoughts on the sufficiency of Christ to save sinners.  
  
Resources:  
[Our series on covenant theology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCfzmujnlHo&t=3s)  
[Our episode on Final Justification by Mark Jones](https://youtu.be/mE%5FWbhH3UKw)  
Jon's covenant theology series:  
[Part One](https://subspla.sh/bt7ycdh)[ Part Two](https://subspla.sh/zp5t3sr)  
  
https://youtu.be/ruPNfMxZaSc

---

### The Bible Is Not an Instruction Manual

*Published: October 20, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-bible-is-not-an-instruction-manual*
*Tags: Covenant Theology*

In our second of two episodes on the implications of covenant theology, Jon and Justin consider the purpose and point of the whole Bible. It's not an instruction manual. It's not a step-by-step guide to godliness. It's not a medicine cabinet to cure everything that ails us. Rather, the Bible is about redemption. It's about Jesus. The guys unpack the implications of that and consider how to go to the Bible, how to use it, and how to understand it.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about the relationship between covenant theology and redemptive-historical theology (hint: they're the same). After that, we take a deeper dive into covenant theology. In particular, we discuss the tri-covenantal framework of redemption, works, and grace.

Resources:  
FREE Ebook: <wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer>  
[Our series on covenant theology ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCfzmujnlHo&t=15s)[Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored Second Edition ](https://amzn.to/2Xtn95H)["The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, & His Kingdom" by Samuel Renihan](https://amzn.to/3pkRJdk)

https://youtu.be/ZriZKvraykQ

---

### Un-Perplexing the Old Testament

*Published: October 13, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/un-perplexing-the-old-testament*
*Tags: Covenant Theology, Old Testament*

For many people, when they go to Old Testament, they leave confused. The Old Testament seems to be a disjointed collection of stories and full of different kinds of literature that don't seem to hang together. When seen through the lens of covenant theology, the Old Testament, is a cohesive presentation of God and his plan to save sinners through his promised Christ. Who is this God? What is he like? Can he be trusted? How will he save us? Jon and Justin discuss these questions and more in today's episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin consider how important types and shadows are in the Old Testament--and how an over-emphasis of a literal interpretation of the Old Testament is unhelpful.

Resources:  
[Our series on covenant theology](https://youtu.be/iCfzmujnlHo)

https://youtu.be/AwajhpDAT6c

---

### The Problem: An Anemic Gospel

*Published: October 6, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-problem-an-anemic-gospel*
*Tags: Gospel, Pietism*

People make various diagnoses of what ails the church today. To some, it's a loss of a commitment to moral and social values. To others, it's a general lack of acceptance. To others, it's that we don't preach obedience and holiness enough. If we were to fix these things, would it cure what ails us? Jon and Justin consider these questions and suggest that the issue in so much of the church today is that we're preaching an anemic gospel.

https://youtu.be/l1SL4devb5E

---

### The Bible Is Not a Billy Club

*Published: September 29, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-bible-is-not-a-billy-club*
*Tags: Bible Reading, Covenant Theology*

Many people, if they were honest, would admit to being confused by the Bible--but not only confused, discouraged. It shouldn't be this way. The Bible is the testimony about Jesus Christ, who came to save sinners like us. In it, we should see our only true and lasting hope. How should we approach the Bible in order to better understand it in light of Christ? What are things we need to know so that the Bible becomes a balm for our souls, rather than a billy club?

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about the priesthood of the believer and how it has been misunderstood and misapplied. We also consider how we got to this place in the evangelical church where hope in Christ is often not what we are given from the pages of Scripture.

Resources:  
FREE Ebook wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer  
[Redemptive Historical Bible Reading Plan](https://storage.snappages.site/3JNNCC/assets/files/Redemptive-Historical-Bible-Reading-Plan-53.pdf)

Books:  
["Sacred Bond"](https://amzn.to/2XSWMGe)  
["The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant & His Kingdom"](https://amzn.to/39SMBUF)  
[Our Covenant Theology teaching series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCfzmujnlHo&t=1s&ab%5Fchannel=THEOCAST)

https://youtu.be/l34HKiLzYpE

---

### The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

*Published: September 22, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill*
*Tags: Mark Driscoll, Rise and Fall of Mars Hill*

Many people are listening to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. Many people have been impacted by Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church--in positive and negative ways. It seemed appropriate to us to have a conversation about the podcast. Our aim is not to cast shade on Mark Driscoll or Mars Hill, but rather, to consider things that we all can learn. We bring on our newest regular contributor, Patrick Crandall, for this conversation.

Semper Reformanda: The guys talk about an appropriate posture regarding the failures of other Christians and Christian leaders. And then, we consider how pastors and members can work to build healthy cultures of leadership in our churches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX1r2morO-g

---

### Is My Faith Legit?

*Published: September 15, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-my-faith-legit*
*Tags: Assurance, Faith Alone, Saving Faith*

Is your faith genuine? We all struggle. We all wrestle. We all doubt. That's part of what it means to be fallen, but this produces real questions: Is the message regarding faith in Christ legitimate? If so, what is saving faith? How should we define it? And what about that bit about the demons believing? Jon and Justin seek to answer these questions from the Scripture and from the confessions.

Semper Reformanda: The guys give pastoral counsel to the person who is wrestling with the legitimacy of his/her faith. (Hint: Our counsel involves the local church.) We also talk a little more about the state of the church in our day.

Resources:  
[Our episode on law/gospel Our episode on assurance](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/assurance-podcast/)

SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)

FACEBOOK: Theocast: [https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org ](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)

TWITTER: Theocast: [https://twitter.com/theocast\_org ](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)

INSTAGRAM: Theocast: [https://www.instagram.com/theocast\_org/ ](https://www.instagram.com/theocast%5Forg/)

https://youtu.be/ZRaheqsN60I

---

### Two Kingdoms (with David VanDrunen)

*Published: September 8, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/two-kingdoms-with-david-vandrunen*
*Tags: David VanDrunen, Theonomy, Two Kingdoms*

On today's episode, we have a special guest, David VanDrunen. We talk about the doctrine of Two Kingdoms and its implications. In short, we talk about Christianity and culture. What are Christians to be doing? What is the mission of the church? Are we to be ushering in the kingdom of God? We answer these questions and more.  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys talk with David VanDrunen about common objections to Two Kingdoms doctrine. We cover objections from advocates of Neo Calvinism and theonomy. Does Two Kingdoms doctrine promote apathy toward cultural involvement?  
  
[Giveaway: Living in God's Two Kingdoms by David VanDrunen](https://amzn.to/3ndhLyg)  
  
https://youtu.be/FhbX-Pvm7tE  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Coming soon...

---

### Pop Church Circus

*Published: September 1, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/pop-church-circus*
*Tags: Church, Seeker church*

There are so many unrealistic expectations heaped upon pastors and congregants in the popular church. And there hasn't been much sound thinking on what really matters. Maybe you've experienced this? Maybe you're exhausted? Confused? In this episode, the guys seek to make the main things of church life clear--in order to set us free for life in the body of Christ.  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys talk about anything and everything as it pertains to church: the primacy of Sunday morning and the preaching of Christ, pastoral care, music, church programs...you name it, it might be in there.  
  
Giveaway: [Faith vs Faithfulness](wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer)  
  
https://youtu.be/CWVOjH0wCHk  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, we have a discussion around the insanity of the modern church as it relates to the pastor and congregants, and how often church feels more like an exhausting circus moving from one big program to the next. And then we're going to spend some time talking about what biblical Christianity is. What is the responsibility of a church pastor and a church congregant? We hope you find this conversation edifying. We definitely pray that you find rest.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Today, what we are going to talk about is pop church circus. I think the person that we are aiming to speak to today, maybe you are that church member or that church attender where you feel like you show up to church on Sundays and you're looking around and you're seeing all of these things happen around you—different people volunteering, etc. Everybody seems to be very busy, very involved, and very much part of the movement, but you actually have no idea what's going on or you have no idea what all of this is. It can be really disorienting, particularly here in the United States.  
  
The reason why we titled this _Pop Church Circus_ is if you've ever been to a circus, you walk in and 1,001 different things are fighting for your attention, whether it's the skee-ball machine, or the bearded lady, or the conjoined twins, or whatever it might be. There are a thousand things that you can look at and give your attention to, and it's almost too much, it's almost too overwhelming.  
  
I'll just speak from personal experience. In the different churches that I've been involved in, it always seemed like there was a new initiative or a new movement and corresponding matching t-shirts to go along with it. What we're seeing, particularly in our generation—the post boomer, I think that would be Gen Z millennial—is you see a lot of deconversion stories or ex-evangelicals, is a lot of times what they call themselves, where essentially they're running away from this kind of circus. What we want to do today is just talk about and hopefully bring hope and rest to that kind of person. What do we do in that kind of situation?  
  
But maybe before we get there, would one of you want to step in and flesh this idea out a little bit more?  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm happy to jump in for a second here and put it maybe in my own words. I think there are all kinds of expectations heaped upon people in the church, and that would include pastors and congregants. And then there are a lot of unhelpful notions in the popular church of what pastoral ministry looks like. And there are also a lot of unhelpful notions about what being a church attender or a church member looks like in the popular church. Because it's this fire hose coming at them. I love the analogy of all these different things going on. There's a t-shirt for every program and there's a t-shirt for every new thing that we're doing and every initiative. It all can just be exhausting.  
  
We talk about the rest that is ours in Christ all the time on this podcast. I think one of the goals of today's conversation is to liberate people who are exhausted by the popular church. Whether you're a pastor, whether you're paid to do vocational ministry, whether you're a lay elder perhaps and you're helping pastor a church in that regard, or whether you're a member of a church or an attender of a church somewhere, our hope for the today is that you walk away from this podcast with some simple handles and takeaways. The Christian life is unfathomably deep, but at the same time, it's actually quite simple—and so I can give myself to these few things and I'm going to be absolutely inside the will of God. I'm probably going to be a little bit more rested. I'm probably going to be more effective in the things that I'm doing. That's sort of where I'm coming from in having this conversation.  
  
Jon, do you have thoughts that you want to add to that before we maybe get into the content itself?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Sometimes, what's helpful when you are wrestling and you're thinking, "That doesn't seem right. That seems wrong. That seems off," then you can sit down with someone and you just touch it to see what happens and then they completely regurgitate back to you. It helps you just calm down and go, "Okay. I'm not crazy. I'm not the only one who thinks that is a circus and I don't want anything to do with it." That is definitely the conversation we want to have with you.  
  
If you're looking at modern churches and what seems to be popular, if you drop a pin in any church in any city and look at what the mega churches are doing—what's popular, what's moving—and even most church plants, it does feel like a circus. It feels as if the culture drives whatever works and that's the pressure we all fall under. The way I describe it is that it feels superficial. It feels as if no one can have problems. Whatever is the most important thing going on in the culture is the most important thing going on in the church.  
  
Justin Perdue: And you feel like there's no way that any ordinary church can pull this off because it's this incredible machine that's been built and it requires millions of dollars a year. How in the world could we, just as ordinary Christians and ordinary pastors, ever do this thing?  
  
Jimmy Buehler: I would just pipe in here and say this is a plague, I would say, in our modern culture in the church scene. Jon, you said the haunting words, which is whatever works. Our measurements and metrics and definitions of what successful churches have become so far away from what I think Scripture teaches and frankly—we're coming from a Reformed perspective—what a lot of the Reformed confessions teach.  
  
That's what we want to get into a little bit. Everything just seems like the rat race where, I don't know about you guys, but our life is tremendously busy. We have little kids. I know some people are listening and they have kids that are perhaps in sports or in different activities. We're just getting into that. I just know how easy it can become when you're part of a church. And it seems like any day that ends in why, you are either at the church building or you're doing some sort of church related activity.  
  
Justin Perdue: I just had a conversation yesterday with a guy who just started attending our church, and he was just asking me about life and the rhythms of our congregation. And I let him know that we unashamedly prioritize Sunday and time together in terms of just kickin it, getting to know each other, and being in one another's lives. But we intentionally don't fill up everybody's calendar with church activities because we don't think that that's the best way to try to arrange our lives together. That may be a different podcast for a different day, but I think that observation is good.  
  
Didn't mean to interrupt you.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: No, that's okay. I was saying that I think it's very easy to become so busy and so oriented around activity in church. To use the cliche phrase, the actual being the body of Christ to one another just actually never happens.  
  
Justin Perdue: We've programmatized it to death. I think in having this conversation, we might take two different groups of people one at a time for the next bit and see where this goes. We'll speak first to pastors, to people who are in leadership in the church and have been set aside to do that work. And then we'll talk more specifically to congregants, which would be the vast majority of people, we trust, listening to the podcast.  
  
When it comes to being a pastor, the three guys sitting here behind these microphones are in vocational ministry. We all have planted churches. In particular, in the church planting sphere, some of this circus of the popular church is more obvious and more in your face. All the pressures and the expectations that are placed upon guys who are going to plant churches and be pastors can be off the charts overwhelming. Guys can feel like, "Oh my gosh. I'm going to be a pastor. What in the world do I give my time to? There's a million things I could do." Which is true. Especially if you're in a situation like you, Jimmy, where it's not your full-time job, you've got very limited bandwidth. What do you need to give your time to?  
  
We're going to talk about just the very few things that we would see in the Scriptures and that the Reformed confessions would also bear witness to. I'm just going to go ahead and lay them out and we can talk about them one at a time.  
  
You are fulfilling your job description as a pastor if you give attention to the following things (and it's not a long list): (1) preach the Word of Christ and administer the sacraments; (2) oversee the church, and by that we mean not run it like an organization but oversee it doctrinally and guide it in that sense; (3) love your people, which would include meeting with them and shepherding them.  
  
Jon Moffitt: As Jesus says, "Tend my sheep."  
  
Justin Perdue: Tend the flock. And then (4) invest in other people who can also be pastors, because the best way to pastor the church is to see the pastoral ministry multiply in that regard.  
  
So it's pretty simple. Preach the word and administer the sacraments, oversee the church, love your people, tend to the flock, invest in other people who can lead. If you're doing that, you're gonna be doing well. There's a million other things you could give your time and attention to, and if you got the bandwidth for it, knock yourself out. But if you're thinking you don't have that kind of capacity, pay attention to these few things, and you will be doing a faithful job as a pastor of the church where you are.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I went to a preaching magazine conference here in Nashville. I walked through the exhibit hall and was engaging and trying to hold my nose for most of the time. What I saw were I could get a doctorate and degrees in leadership and I could get it in a church organizational structure. What I didn't see were help for pastors on how to shepherd, how to counsel, how to care, how to deal with loss, how to deal with suffering. It was really geared towards taking your ministry to the "next level" and reach that moment of pinnacle of 500 or a thousand people. These are what the successful pastors are doing. This is how they're preaching. They're doing leadership training. They're focusing on basically how to communicate in a style where it's more effective—communicating your mission and your objectives. It was exhausting. I lasted one day but I was supposed to be for three.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm tired listening to it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I didn't go back. To which then the two series of sermons I did hear about were about racial reconciliation, and how I was a white pastor and it is my fault that racism is in the United States. It wasn't what I came for.  
  
I was at a coffee shop yesterday with one of the guys I planted a church with, Patrick Crandall. I literally looked around the room and there were four other pastors meeting with staff or church members in there. I was obviously the most underdressed out of all of them. I apparently didn't shop wherever they shop, and I definitely didn't have my hair cut wherever they got their cut. I just chuckled on it. I didn't really care. I know most of these guys' churches and I've been to their websites. I have been in conversations with them. I look at the pressures that they live underneath to try and keep up with what's happening.  
  
I was talking with a Presbyterian pastor that's a very good friend of mine in Colombia, and he described modern Christianity in this way: most Christians jump from one church to the next because there is no connection. This one now offers this, or this offers this, or this sermon series here. I love the word circus because a circus kind of shows up, it blows in, it blows up, it blows out to the next city, and it does its song and dance. You either increase the song and dance, you either make the attractiveness better, or you're going to lose your congregants to the next big thing. I have congregants rolling into my church saying, "I am exhausted by the circus of Christianity." I know for a fact there are pastors who are exhausted by the system. They get chewed up, spit out, and they leave ministry because they can't keep up with guys that are exploding churches of up to 5,000\. it's just a machine that just chews people up.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: There is something that very much happens in the church in the States, which is the pastor becomes either the CEO or the spiritual guru that has wisdom on almost every area of life. Whether it's parenting, marriage, finances, work, or whatever it may be, your pastor has all of the answers on how to do these things and do them well, and to create results, and to create metrics, and so on and so forth.  
  
My wife and I have been married for 11 years, so we're not rookies per se. But at the same time, there is a profound sense of a lot of areas that I just don't know. I would not go write a book on marriage right now because there's just so many areas that we don't have figured out.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Actually you could, Jimmy: everything you shouldn't do.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: If you want the book of mistakes, I can tell you that, but I don't have any solutions. The same thing with parenting. I still go to older members of our church that have raised teenagers that are still walking with the Lord. And I ask them, "How do you do this? Because my kids are driving me nuts right now."  
  
Justin Perdue: A joke about parenting is to talk to the couple that has a one-year-old and it's their only child.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: They tell you everything you need to know. Exactly. But this is often the expectation that is laden on pastors. Sometimes, that can go one of two ways: one, the pastor gets an enormously huge head because they all of a sudden believe that they are the expert on everything. And then they become the celebrity. Or two, what Jon has mentioned: they end up burning out because they become the answer guy. If you need to know anything about life, they will know it. What is it that a pastor is supposed to do? This is what we see in the Book of Acts, that the elderly shepherds give themselves to prayer and ministry of the Word. And frankly, I would say there is probably a really good chance, a high percentage—I would say in the 90s—that your pastor does not have time for those things because of all of the other expectations that have been thrust upon him concerning being the spiritual guru or the life coach that many people want him to be  
  
Jon Moffitt: To add to the weight of what Jimmy is saying, I read this list in an installation service I did on Sunday. I just want to read it to you here. "Here's the various hats that people expect pastors to wear: preacher, counselor, leader, financial planner, designer, project manager, entrepreneur, videographer, supervisor, volunteer, coordinator, theologian, receptionist, greeter, webmaster, community, community activist, rider recruiter, life coach, shipping department, coordinator (done that), strategist, social media, dreamer, student, disciplinarian, teacher, social activist, event specialist, chaplain CEO, COO, CMO, CFO, operations manager, janitor, salesmen, and communication specialist." That's just to name a few.  
  
Justin Perdue: The thing that's interesting is a lot of that stuff that you just read, Jon, the vast majority of it, and Jimmy, using your language of the pastor being a CEO and a guru—none of that's in the Scripture at all. I would go so far as to say, if I was really going to talk about the most important thing that pastors do, we would all probably liberate ourselves a little bit if we were content for every aspect of our ministry to fail-safe the preaching of Christ. But then, I think there are other things that we need to be doing.  
  
As I'm thinking about my own job, giving people Christ in the service every Sunday is paramount in the Word, in the table, and in baptism. That's critical. Beyond that, the other thing that happens twice a month at our church is our pastors meet together to pray for our people and to discuss matters of oversight of the church. Those are the most essential things that I do, and therefore they should receive a lot of my attention and energy as a pastor. Other things that occur are important, like the meetings with people. Jon and I were just talking about meeting with congregants because he and I are both full-time pastors. I had three meetings with individuals yesterday and I've got one today. I think Jon's the same. So you give yourself to that where you meet with your people when you talk with them about their lives—and you often just listen to them talk and offer what you can. But you're not a guru. You can't answer every question. You're mainly just listening and pointing them to Christ and encouraging them in him.  
  
I think the task is weighty and thrilling, but the main things that we need to do are actually few. It's a relatively simple job description in that regard. It's beyond our capacity and we need the sufficiency of the Lord. Amen to that. But we don't do ourselves a service when we overcomplicate this and we make the list a million items long.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I was talking with a dear saint who is a pastor in Texas. He was describing to me some of the pressures he's been feeling as a church planner, like all the things that are expected of him. One of the words he used was "entrepreneur". "If you don't have an entrepreneurial spirit, then you know, you're not going to be a successful church planner." I just told him that is nowhere in the requirements of a pastor or church planter.  
  
I love that the illustration used is that of a shepherd. Jesus literally says to Peter—who, by the way, is not a very successful human being at the moment—he is hearing these things, he has denied Jesus, he's hiding in a room. He's just not your primo example of the leader that you want leading the flock of God. And what does Jesus do? He loves him, he gives him mercy, grace, and forgiveness. And then he says to him, "Feed my sheep."  
  
Shepherds are designed to do two things: feed and care for, and protect the congregation. When a pastor starts to feel the weight needed to be a public speaker, he needs to be this, he needs to be that, his attention throughout the week is drawn away from the very moment that he should be present, which is administrating the Word and then caring for those receiving the Word. When I think about what pastors spend their time doing, I can't help but wonder how it is related to the one thing they've been called to do. They become administrators. They become a communications specialist. You said influencers. We're not influencers. Pastors don't have to have a public persona to do their job effectively. They don't need to have a massive podcast or YouTube channel or whatever else is out there.  
  
Not only that, just because the pastor is popular and has a big following doesn't mean what he says is more influential. I'm going to just be a little cranky right now and say that I get exhausted being compared to what other famous pastors have said. I don't care what they say because they're not in my context, they're not in my city, and they're not in my church. Therefore what they say has no authority. Period.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: The celebrity pastor notion is just absurd. I've said this to people and they look at me like I'm nuts: when they listen to their favorite celebrity preacher and I tell them he has no authority in their lives because he's not your pastor. He might say some good things that are helpful, but he bears no authority to call you out on things because he's not your pastor.  
  
The other thing that I was going to say is there is often a weight to place on pastors that they were never meant to bear—and those are the things that you listed off. I'll never forget what one of my mentors said to me one time, and it kind of haunts me to this day even as I think about the various things that our church does, where he said your church can be very busy and productive and yet the hand of God can still be against you. I remember that hitting me in the chest, like a sledgehammer because at that point, I was leading a ministry that was "successful". But we were very busy and we were doing things, but I think our metrics and measures of success were just so far out of whack.  
  
I realize that not everybody listening to this is a pastor, but I think also as congregants as well, some of the things that can happen is congregants, as we've mentioned before, can be part of a church. Let's just describe the typical standard fare of what a typical congregant might experience in church today. The expectation is this: you attend church on Sunday morning where perhaps you volunteer in some way, whether that's teaching Sunday school, volunteering in the nursery, maybe you're an usher, or maybe you're a deacon, or maybe you're a cleanup or set up crew—whatever it might be. And then Monday night, you have some sort of church meeting where you have to discuss some matter of the church. Tuesday night, you have your community group, or your home fellowship group, or your small group, Wednesday night, you have the kids or youth program that you volunteer in and that you have to show up. Thursday night, you have to do your own family things. Friday night, you have a worship night that you have to attend and be part of. And then Saturday morning, there's a serve day. And then eventually, before you realize it, you're actually not really living in the community in which you live; you just keep driving 20 minutes to the church building and doing church-related activities. You have no time to interact with your spouse. You have no time to interact with your own kids. And then eventually you realize, "I am so exhausted. My marriage is on the rocks. My kids don't want to go to church anymore because all we're doing is church-related functions and activities."  
  
Is this realistic? Is this sustainable? What do we do?  
  
Justin Perdue: Short answer: no. We do realize that the vast majority of people listening to this are probably not in pastoral ministry. The comments about pastors that we hope are helpful to the congregant in thinking about what you should look for in a person who's going to be your pastor. Hang onto those things and set realistic expectations in your own mind and heart for your pastors, for your shepherds.  
  
Jimmy, you lay it out well. I think a lot of people are flat out exhausted by the demands that the church puts on them and the rigor of church life and all the events and things. There are, I trust, good debates that can be had about what's valuable and what isn't. Let me just start with this: the only thing that's essential in the life of any congregation is the Sunday morning gathering. Anything outside of the Sunday morning gathering is a wisdom call. I think we would do everybody a service if we could just talk like that out of the gate because a lot of times, I think people think that there is an absolute, if not biblical requirement, close to it to have all of these various other things going on in the church calendar and in the life of the congregation.  
  
I'm going to go ahead and lay out a few things that I think are the most simple and basic things that congregants should concern themselves with. This list is even shorter than the list that we had for pastors.  
  
If you are a person who attends a church, you're a Christian, and you want to be involved in a church somewhere, three things: one, join a church. Become a member of a church—and we'll talk about that in a minute. It sounds crazy to some, but join. Two, show up. Your primary ministry in your local church is to show up to service on Sunday. Three, love the brethren, love the saints. That's it. Join, show up, love each other.  
  
Volunteering could be a subset of loving one another—and we realize that there's a lot of implications biblically, but let that be your motivator. Let that be your guide.  
  
I don't know which one we want to take on first. I have a number of thoughts about each of these. Church membership? Do we want to start there?  
  
Jimmy Buehler: I think so. I have some words on that. I know that church members are kind of all over the board, probably, for our listeners. For some people, it doesn't mean anything. And then I would say on the opposite extreme, I think for some people, dare I say it almost means too much where...  
  
Justin Perdue: Like it's a primary doctrine.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Yeah. And I would say there are areas that maybe the church has authority in somebody's life that they don't need to have authority. But that's a whole different podcast.  
  
But I would say for most people, 9 out of 10, the average listener church, what church membership might mean in your church you get to vote on important matters and then maybe someday you can become a leader of some ministry, or you can become an elder or whatever it might be.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or you can play in the band.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Right. You can play in the band.  
  
I think membership can be underthought and it can be overthought—at least my own ideas are. I do think church membership is biblical. There's always been an in and out of God's people. What I communicated to our people when we were starting this church is church membership or becoming a member at a church communicates to that body, to that pastor, "I am here and I am one of you. I belong here and I am committed to this place." Second, I think it gives you the best avenues to love and encourage the saints to "carry out" the imperatives of one another that we find in the New Testament. I think those are the important things.  
  
Justin Perdue: Church membership is about defining who we are. What we are doing is we are submitting to the same doctrine, to the same pastors, and we know who we are so that we can love one another and watch over each other.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Yeah. And we submit ourselves to the discipline of the church from both a positive and a negative sense because discipline isn't always negative.  
  
Justin Perdue: The most frequent kind of discipline is formative.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Right. And part of that discipline is just weekly sitting under the preaching of the Word in the care of the elders.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think what's hard when you've never been in a local church that actually administrates God's word the way it was designed from its inception, and you're a part of this "circus", you don't have affections towards circuses. You go, you enjoy, you leave. You don't get a membership to it.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: It's where I spend a lot of money and I'm really tired and my kids become cranky.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. But they're entertained. We did something as a family, and to be fair, not all churches are that way. I was listening to Jady Koch on his podcast Stand Firm, and he made a statement that the American evangelical church has failed because it has not catechized its congregants correctly. So we don't understand theological concepts like ecclesiology, the purpose of the church, the purpose of preaching, the purpose of the local body. We don't understand those things. I had a conversation with a guy about this in Texas: church membership could be a sales lead in. "Oh, you go to the same mega church I do. Oh, great!" And now they have a connection.  
  
Church membership becomes where I associate my identity. It is not where I see the extension of myself. I want our church members to go, "Oh, this is family." I literally have people who've been in my church now for nine months and they said, "I'm closer in nine months to the people in this congregation than I am my own blood relatives." First of all, it sounds biblical because that's exactly how Jesus described those of us who are connected to him in his body. But church membership becomes that identity where you say, "I am going to be held responsible for the love and care of the other members in this congregation." Because literally, the New Testament says when you function properly, you build yourself up. Consider how to build one another up and love so you're not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Consider how to sing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, carrying one another's burdens. Being a member in a local congregation isn't where you give money and serve in the nursery. It's where you live life for the sake of spiritual health and protection. It's a whole other way of thinking.  
  
A lot of times people consider themselves a member at a church because that is where they go. Biblically speaking, you know, can you argue that the word "membership" is in the New Testament? It's not in the Scripture. But the concept of family and body, which is much stronger—it's almost like maybe we need to get rid of membership and say, "What body are you a part of? How are you connected?"  
  
Justin Perdue: What church membership is is the commonly agreed upon principle that is very old, that Christians have said, "This is the best way for us to practice with the New Testament outlines in terms of our relationships to each other. It's to be a member here. So that we make up this body of Christ in this location. So that we're able to love each other, do these things for each other, submit to this leadership, and so that church discipline can be practiced. Membership is necessary." That's how the saints have always thought.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: On the opposite spectrum of this, I think one of the things that we see today in churches is where people tend to flock. People tend to go where there's exciting initiative and movement. We're chronically attracted to that. We're chronically attracted to things that are exciting. I might offend a lot of people here and that's fine because I'm not on the podcast as much as you guys are, so you guys can deal with it later.  
  
Justin Perdue: We'll clean up the mess, Jimmy.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Thank you. I appreciate that. I'll put my Twitter on you.  
  
I would say if you are part of a body where your church is always coming up with the next initiative or the next movement, that is a massive red flag for me. Why? Because I would say that what they're communicating is that the Word is not enough to do what it says that it does. And so when people come to our church, we are very open with the fact that we don't offer programs, but we offer a mindset shift. The mindset shift is, over the course of your life, we invite you to sit with us under prayer and ministry of the Word, and we trust that God's Word is going to shape and save and do what it says that it does. We are not looking for the immediate flashy results or the next big thing or movement, but rather we are trusting that God is going to use his ordinary means to do extraordinary things within our lives.  
  
What's our initiative? Our initiative is what Jesus commanded his apostles to do, which is, "Make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I've commanded you to do." Teaching everything that Jesus said? That's going to take a long time. And so we're going to have to do that over the course of life. Last week, my sermon was on Romans 12:9-21, where Paul just basically lists a bunch of common sense things where he says let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. And what I told our people is something that I read in Michael Horton's book, _Ordinary_. The quote that he says is, "Everybody wants to do big things for Jesus, but nobody wants to do the dishes." Everybody wants to do the building, of wells in Africa, or raising money for sex trafficking—which is fine. Those things are not bad things. But at the end of the day, if we're chronically plagued by the next initiative, eventually we're going to become exhausted and burned out by those things.  
  
Justin Perdue: We only have a few minutes left on the regular portion of the podcast today. I'm going to land the plane with this one.  
  
I can't even count how many times people have come to CBC because it is so different from what they've ever experienced. This is especially true for people who are really zealous and they want to love Christ, serve him, and be useful. I more or less tell people to calm down and just show up to church. And they look at you like you have lost your ever-loving mind. Like there has to be something else that they need to do.  
  
In our church context, if you just faithfully show up to church not once a month, but you're there most Sundays—you just show up feeling good some Sundays and feeling terrible on others, but you just come. Everything else flows out of it. That corporate reality drives everything else in your Christian life, but it also is the way that relationships get deepened. It facilitates all of that stuff. This is how coffees and lunches get planned. But more than anything else, if you just continue to show up on Sunday, you're going to partake of the ordinary means of grace, which is huge. But then also, inevitably, you're going to be asked to do various things in the church because it becomes clear that you're going to be effective in doing it. And over the long haul, you just showing up on Sunday will result in you being all kinds of fruitful and effective, and you will feel as though you didn't even try to make it happen because it just happened, like that's how the Lord does that.  
  
The American church has to wrap its mind around this: preaching only occurs when the church has gathered. You can listen to a podcast, a sermon, from a great preacher who you have learned a lot from, and it be beneficial. At the same time, that is not preaching. It is not a means of grace, in that sense, because the preaching of the word happens when a man stands in the presence of God's people, and God uses that man to preach the Word of Christ, and we corporately sit under that Word. That is a different thing than listening to a sermon in your earbuds. And I think so many people in the states would be helped to just understand that content, that situation, that they need to be present for the preaching of the word and the administration of the Lord's Table, and for prayer and song in the context of the gathered church, because the Lord uses it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The same men or elders who administrate the Word to you should be the same men that tend to you. They should be the same men that confront you when you're trapped in sin. They should be the same men that pray for you when you're discouraged.  
  
Church is not the sermon on Sunday. I have more to say about that in the SR. I guess I'm the one that brings it over.  
  
Justin Perdue: By all means, take us there.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's been a whirlwind of a day already. It's exciting. I do. There are two things I want to talk about: there's more to church than just on Sunday, and there are, what I would say, phases of leaving pietism. I want to talk to our SR members about this. There is being exhausted by Christianity and wanting to leave that; you find rest in confessional theology, the sufficiency of Jesus, and you're there for a while; and then you move over into the last stage, which is where you get to then lead other people to rest in Christ. What does that look like in a local church? Because that happens not on Sunday, that happens throughout the week. So we're going to talk about the three different phases where you might be, and how to help your pastors in churches in administering God's Word and tending to the sheep.  
  
Where we're going is what's called Semper Reformanda. We started another podcast and it's to continue on the conversations that we're having, but do it on a much deeper, more intimate level. Often, the filters come off. I am definitely holding back. I've got some thoughts that I want to keep for over there. This is family time.  
  
If you want to learn more about it, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. We have a private podcast feed. We have an app where we do lots of interaction with people. We're working on starting up local and online groups that you can participate in. If you wanna learn more about that, come join us over there. For those of you that are not joining us for Semper Reformanda, we'll see you next week.  
  
Just to let you guys know, if you're wondering, Jimmy is going to be back with us soon. He's starting school. He's going to get that up and rolling. Then we'll get him back in here as one of our regular contributors.  
  
We'll see him in a few weeks. We'll see you guys later.

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### A Critique of Lordship Salvation (Part 2)

*Published: August 25, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/a-critique-of-lordship-salvation-part-2*
*Tags: Lordship, Lordship Salvation*

In this second of two episodes on Lordship Salvation, Jon and Justin seek to further clarify concerns about LS theology. These concerns include: (1) confusion about the order of salvation; (2) a redefinition of faith; (3) a collapsing of law and gospel; (4) confusion on the uses of the law; and (5) a confusion of the relationship between justification and sanctification.  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys talk about a sustainable approach to theology and the Christian life. What is it that will last over the long term? We also consider the posture and tone we desire for the ministry of Theocast.  
  
Resources:  
  
**[Lordship Salvation Part One](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/a-critique-of-lordship-salvation/)**  
[Our episode on law/gospel](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
[Our episode on "When the Faithful Falter"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/when-the-faithful-falter/)  
[Our episode on Assurance](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/struggling-with-assurance/)  
[Our series on Covenant Theology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByARBXbQfCo&list=PL5OjtM2rVrI38rdQ8qB2CuI06qvb6sxN3)  
  
Giveaway: ESB Bible from [Post Tenebras Lux Bible Rebinding](https://ptlbiblerebinding.com/)  
  
https://youtu.be/9nidOt4Bc5k  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are doing a follow-up episode to one that was released a few weeks ago. This is _A Critique of Lordship Salvation_ part two. We got a lot of feedback from our listeners on the first episode that we did about Lordship salvation. What we are going to try to do today is give, if possible, more clear comments on the concerns that we have with lordship salvation theology. We're going to try to give you some clear talking points and handles as to what the concerns are from a Reformed and confessional perspective.  
  
We hope the conversation's encouraging. We hope you enjoy the conversation. And as always, we hope that you are encouraged in the Lord Jesus Christ. Stay tuned.  
  
As the listener will have seen, this is _A Critique of Lordship Salvation_ part two. This is a follow up episode to one that we recorded a few weeks ago. It's been out for a few weeks now, at least I know that's true, where we did a critique of lordship salvation. In that particular episode that we did before, we interacted quite a bit with a book by John MacArthur entitled _The Gospel According to Jesus_ and we talked about that book some, we talked about the content of that book obviously, and ended up interacting quite a bit with John MacArthur's theology. Lordship salvation is a camp that John MacArthur is very much identified with.  
  
What we wanted to do today is follow up on that original episode. We got a lot of feedback from our listeners on the first episode. People were encouraged and helped by that, which we praise God for, and then there were questions that people had. Mainly the questions were around just seeking clarification. "Could you guys say more about this? Could you be perhaps more clear about lordship salvation itself and the concerns that you have with it? Can you give me some handles that I can wrap my hands and my mind around as I'm trying to think about lordship salvation from a Reformed confessional perspective?" What we're going to try to do today is to give you those handles to be really succinct and give you talking points in terms of our concerns about lordship salvation from a Reformed confessional perspective.  
  
I'll go and say this: Jon and I have gone back and listened to our first episode and we stand by everything that we said there. We do lament the fact that it became so much about John MacArthur and about his theology in particular. I think that was less than helpful. And I think perhaps, in an attempt to be gracious to John, because we always want to be gracious and kind towards other people and towards other Christians, I think that we were perhaps not as clear as we could have been. What we want to do today is try to clean that up a little bit and be as clear as we possibly can be.  
  
We're going to get into our talking points here in just a minute, but for those who may be tuning in for the first time and you haven't listened to the first episode, we thought we would take just a few minutes very quickly at the beginning of the show here and talk about lordship salvation and how it arose historically, and sort of our take on the movement itself as a whole before we get into our points for today.  
  
So, Jon, if I were to ask you to simply define lordship salvation, how would you answer that question?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Just to backtrack before answering that, I think it's becoming of a Christian to always disagree agreeably, that we always show meekness, patience and gentleness. We did get a lot of emails and comments from people that said, "I need to learn more from you guys on how to disagree agreeably," or with kindness. I would hardly say amen to that, which is what we're going to continue to do as we critique anything—particularly doctrines that I think are confusing categories. I would not call them heretical but definitely confusing categories. We need to be gracious and patient with people that we disagree with.  
  
In my definition, I would stand pretty strongly in that in the majority of books and definitions and sermons that I have heard, lordship salvation would be described as one unable to be saved unless they first repent of all their sin and then make Jesus Lord of their life. The greatest example of this that is used, not only in John MacArthur's book but by a lot of other people who hold to this theology, is the rich young ruler. He was unwilling to repent of his love of money and make Jesus Lord of his life. So he kept his money and he stayed lord of his life—or you could say his finances stayed lord of his life. Therefore that man did not receive eternal life because of those two requirements that he failed to meet. I think that would be the definition that I would present.  
  
Justin Perdue: We interacted with the rich young ruler in the first episode and we may bring the rich young ruler up again today, but we'll be talking about the confusion of law and gospel later on in the show.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. And that being the greatest example, I think the five points we are going to offer are going to be very clear.  
  
Justin Perdue: Just a couple more comments along those lines to set it up before we jump into our points today. Historically, how this arose in the eighties and nineties, there was some theology coming out of Dallas Theological Seminary associated with a man named Zane Hodges most notably. It is sometimes called Free Grace Theology, where it was coming from a more Arminian, semi-Pelagian perspective where the teaching was that man could make this decision, this act of faith, to believe the gospel and to trust in Christ. Based upon that one act of faith that man does, he is then justified, he is good with God forever—"once saved, always saved," in this mechanical sense that was being propagated in the eighties and nineties in the evangelical church.  
  
Some adherence of that kind of Free Grace Theology would even talk in ways that made it seem as though it didn't even matter how one lived after that one act of faith. It matters no more what you do. You're good with God. Once saved, always saved. It doesn't even matter if you keep believing, if you listen to some of these folks talk, because you did one time perform this act of faith, this, this thing that you did that justified you once and for all, and now you're good.  
  
And so John MacArthur and others in the lordship salvation camp, as it came to be known, were responding to that bad theology—that free grace, Zane Hodges, DTS stuff. Our take here at Theocast—and we say this humbly but we want to be clear—we think that lordship salvation is yet another example of an overreaction against bad doctrine. And so in seeking to respond to the bad theology of that Free Grace Movement, our fear is that John MacArthur and others in the lordship salvation stream became off-centered themselves and started to confuse categories. It's not altogether unlike the sanctification debate in the early 2010s that occurred in the Calvinistic evangelical church where—some of the listeners may be aware of this—Protestant people lost their ever loving Protestant minds for a time in saying things about sanctification that were basically Roman Catholic because they were trying to push back against things that they perceive to be antinomian in nature. And we don't ever want to do that as Christians. We don't want to become off-centered ourselves in pushing back against something that's off-centered. We want to maintain a centeredness and balance and all those kinds of words that we would use to describe sound doctrine.  
  
And so our effort today is to do just that: to hold the line in this Reformed confessional way, and speak clearly about lordship salvation and the concerns that we have with it. And again, just so we're very clear, we've got five points to talk through.  
  
Jon Moffitt: All five of these points that we're going to argue from are systematic and, I would say, theological derivatives from confessions—and I would say Reformed theology in general. If you listen to Zane Hodges and those who espouse the Free Grace Movement, and those who espouse lordship salvation, there are category confusions. Both sides, I would say, do not come from a historically Reformed confessional understanding, a covenantal, law-gospel distinction, third use of the law understanding of Scripture, which is why both sides say things that are confusing.  
  
By the way, we also got criticized for inappropriately describing Zane Hodges' theology of free grace. There's a first. One on either side, I guess. But the reason I mentioned this is that we aren't just throwing lobs out there because we just don't like this theology—it does go up against historically sound theology that's been taught. And if you say, "I love Reformed theology. I think it's biblical," this is why we're saying when you compare what's being taught by both ends—free grace and lordship—they both contradict Reformed historical theology.  
  
Justin Perdue: Yeah. Reformed historical orthodoxy. That's what we're talking about—it's the history of interpretation, the rule of faith, as has been passed down in the confessions.  
  
So here we go. Concern number one with lordship salvation is that it confuses the order of salvation—or in a more theological way, there's a confusion in the _ordo salutis_ or the order of salvation. What we're talking about here is how people are actually saved and what this looks like in a human being's life. In particular, what we're getting at here is that the historical Reformed understanding is that regeneration precedes faith and repentance and obedience and all those things. In fact, repentance and obedience in particular are fruits of salvation; they are not what saves a person. There is a confusion of all of that in the lordship salvation stream because it comes across, it sounds as though a person, in order to be saved, must repent of sin—like you said, Jon—and at least be willing to obey all of the commands of the Lord, if not be obeying them in order to be right with God.  
  
Our pushback against that is no, we do not have to do anything in order to come to Christ. Christ bids us to come to him, to cast ourselves upon him, to trust him for everything that we need in terms of salvation and our standing before God. This is very similar to the Marrow Controversy that broke out in the Church of Scotland in the 18th century. There was a small rural presbytery, the Auchterarder Presbytery, where it became a very controversial matter in terms of this one question of examination that was effectively getting at this issue: must somebody forsake sin in order to come to Christ? It split the Church of Scotland because there were some known as the Marrow brethren, because of the book _The Marrow of Modern Divinity_ and their association with that book who were adamant. And we would agree with the Marrow brethren that no, we must not do anything in order to come to Jesus. Because if we do need to do anything in order to come to Christ, then we're all damned. So lordship, we fear, is very confusing on this because it sounds like there's stuff that you need to do in order to be able to legitimately come to Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I'm going to go to Ezekiel 36:26\. This is the promise of the new covenant, and just even understanding the nature of the new covenant. It says in verse 26, "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you," notice who's the acting agent here—God, "a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." The first acting part is God removing death and then giving us life, giving us the Spirit, and then giving us the capacity to obey. Notice the nature of that. That just flows into the New Testament. You start hearing Paul say, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins, but He made you alive," Ephesians 2\. Later on he says that He now causes you to walk in the good works that He had preordained for you, but the order is important: it's dead, alive, obey. That's the order as the Reformed describes the _ordo salutis_. It's the way in which we understand regeneration in the process of sanctification afterwards. It's not sanctification before. We'll get to that in a little bit. But the order is important; one, it's given to us in Scripture, and two, it also is important because it helps you understand how the nature of salvation works. You're dead, the gospel is heralded, new heart, now you obey.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. The message of Christ, the word of Christ, is preached, which is the means that the Lord ordinarily uses to save people. So as Christ is heralded and Christ is preached, God gives literally new hearts to people. He acts upon their hearts and gives them a life. And upon being given life, the scales fall off of our eyes, our hearts are set free. We're actually rational for the first time in our lives. We see Christ, and we don't know everything at that moment, but we know we need him. That's how this works. God does this supernatural thing. He performs a miracle and gives us life in the new birth, which then results in faith, and then results in repentance and obedience, etc.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I know that there are objections because there are a lot of people who love Calvinism and then would also love lordship salvation. They would say that those who espouse lordship salvation would agree with their understanding of _ordo salutis_, that no one can ever be saved. But this is where we say there's category confusion. This is the inconsistency when you don't have historical theology and orthodoxy and understand the categories that I think bump up and keep you from making errors in your theology. They will say things like, "No, no. We believe that regeneration must happen before there's obedience." And then in the same breath say, "But unless you repent and make Jesus Lord, you cannot be saved."  
  
Justin Perdue: What you're doing there is inverting the relationships—you're changing that order. We're going to get to this more on our last talking point, actually, when we get to talking about justification and sanctification, but streams only flow one way. They only flow downhill. You cannot reverse the order or invert relationships here. This is where, again, it matters that we say regeneration, faith, repentance, then obedience. One is the fruit of the other. So whenever you speak in a way that makes it sound like repentance and obedience are just part and parcel of being saved, and it gets confusing as to what comes first and how this actually happens, and what produces the other, that's a problem.  
  
Our first concern with lordship salvation is confusion about the order of salvation. Number two, we are concerned that lordship salvation redefines faith in what it even is. As compared to a historical Reform definition of faith, the lordship stream is very confusing here because they seem to desire to weave things into the definition of saving faith that the Reformed have not historically understood to be a part of faith.  
  
For example, in the lordship camp, there is a desire to say, to teach, to preach even that repentance and obedience, or even a desire to obey, are a part of what faith itself is; that faith is inseparable in terms of its essence, and what it is faith is inseparable from repentance and obedience. We want to be really clear: the Reformed have always said that where there is saving faith, repentance and obedience will be present. That is true. But there always has to be a distinction maintained between faith and repentance, and between faith and obedience. They are not one and the same. Saving faith, for example, as the 1689 London Baptist Confession would define it, consists of trusting, resting, and hoping in the Lord Jesus Christ for justification, sanctification, and glorification on the basis of the covenant of grace. As you hear, even that definition—that's in 14.2 of our confession—there is nothing there about repentance and there is nothing there about obedience. Our confession says things about repentance and it says things about obedience, but not when it defines what faith is. Our concern with lordship is that those things are collapsed together, and it sounds as though repentance and obedience is a part of faith.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Under "Good Works" of the London Baptist Confession, and this would be the same as Westminster, chapter 16, what we're trying to help explain here is redefining faith. So it says in point three: "Their ability to do good works does not arise at all from themselves, but entirely from the Spirit of Christ." So what he's describing that as is the result of, it's not the cause of.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's not even part of.  
  
Jon Moffitt: No. Being able to go back and look at the confessions and look at the Scriptures that they use as far as an explanation in defending the positions by which they have come to these conclusions is helpful. Because when you read certain passages, for instance, that say, "Repent and believe for the kingdom is near," we get all kinds of categories. They'll say, "Jon, it literally says that in the text so I literally have to believe it." One, that's Biblicism, which we did our whole entire podcast on that—and you can go and listen to it. We'll put it in the notes. But being able to distinguish and understand and read... basically the whole argument is redefining faith. It's turning it into something that it seems that the rest of Scripture is in complete disagreement with.  
  
Justin Perdue: Like faith includes obedience or faith includes repentance. Our is that no, it doesn't. Faith is actually separate and distinguishable from those things. And yes, where there is saving faith, there will be repentance and obedience. Absolutely true. The Reformed have said that for centuries.  
  
Jon Moffitt: There's never a disconnect there. Then you're going against what James says.  
  
Justin Perdue: I think the damaging results of this, whenever you start to change the definition of faith and you weave repentance and obedience into that definition, you rob people of any possibility of assurance. Because now, in order to even have legitimate faith in the Lord Jesus, I need to be adequately repenting and I need to be adequately obeying. And nobody, of course, can define that standard in terms of what adequate repentance or adequate obedience looks like. Because God's Word is pretty clear, when it comes to obedience in particular, that only perfection passes muster. Nothing short of perfection is acceptable. Then we have to talk about sincerity and our motivations and all this kind of stuff, and it gets uber confusing—to the point where I don't know that any of us are saved if adequate repentance and obedience are a part of what it even means to believe in Christ. It's very confusing. It's very harmful.  
  
Do you have any other thoughts about that before we move on to the next?  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is where certain kinds of preaching comes, where they are always trying to snuff out the lazy Christian, the fake Christian, the nominal Christian, those who said the sinner's prayer but aren't really believers. This has been coming more and more into the Facebook group. People are just sending me more and more clips by prominent Calvinistic preachers who are making claims that the majority of Christians in churches today have a false sense of assurance. What they're doing is they're pointing to this issue that we're talking about, which is redefining faith.  
  
Justin Perdue: Some of these other categories, I think, will apply to those preacher clips as well. We'll probably talk about that as we go.  
  
We're now moving on to talking point number three. So number one is confusion about the order of salvation. Number two, a redefinition of faith. Number three, a collapsing of law and gospel.  
  
We are concerned that lordship salvation collapses law and gospel. Probably if you've been listening to the Theocast for much time at all, you've heard us talk before about the distinction between law and gospel. That is a Reformed and Lutheran category that's been around for a long time, where law exists in the Old and New Testament, and gospel exists in the Old and New Testament. And whenever you hear words of things that we are to be doing, you are hearing law. Whenever you hear of what God has done, particularly in the person and work of Jesus, that's gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Before you give an example, I want to give an introduction to what you're about to say. Collapsing the law and gospel means you end up changing the very nature of them. For instance, the law becomes achievable and the gospel now has something to achieve.  
  
Justin Perdue: The law is now a means of salvation and the gospel now contains all kinds of things to do.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. And that's why it becomes achievable. You lower the standard of the law and it is now, "If I repent enough, I can be saved." And now the gospel is, "When you repent enough, you can be saved." there becomes such a mixture between the two that we really don't know the difference between what is the law that condemns us and what is the gospel that now saves us.  
  
Justin Perdue: Whenever you confuse law and gospel, the way I like to summarize it to people a lot in terms of it's damaging fallout is that the gospel is turned into a covenant of works that needs to be kept for righteousness. So this is where you get all that language of the demands of the gospel, or even another John MacArthur title, _Hard to Believe_. The gospel ends up sounding hard when the law and the gospel are confused.  
  
Let me give an example from Luke 10 of how lordship salvation and others confuse law and gospel. It just becomes really concerning for people and people don't know what to do. This is right before the parable of the good Samaritan, beginning in Luke 10:25: "And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'" So this lawyer comes and asks Jesus this question. Jesus said to him, "'What is written in the Law? How do you read it?' And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.'" The lawyer is going to go ahead and ask who his neighbor is, seeking to justify himself and all that. But here's the point: in the lordship camp, you hear people say both things when they represent Jesus and the message that Jesus brought and taught. They'll say, "Well, Jesus, on the one hand, says that we need to believe in him for eternal life. But then on the other hand, Jesus says that you need to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself if you're going to live forever."  
  
What ends up happening is we pit the two against each other and create all kinds of confusion. That's what happens in the lordship camp. Whereas for us in a Reformed law-gospel place, we say no, Jesus says, "Believe in me for eternal life," when he preaches the gospel. But then when he teaches the law, this is a summary of the law: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is law and not gospel. So instead of pitting the two against each other, "Believe in me," and, "Love God with all your heart," if you're going to have eternal life, we realize that belief in Christ actually provides righteousness. We have not loved the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. But through faith in Christ, his perfect obedience is counted to us as though we kept the law. That's how we would say you rightly understand law and gospel. When Jesus talks about loving God and loving neighbor, he's preaching law. When he talks about coming to him and believing in him and receiving what he has done, he is talking about gospel.  
  
Belief in Christ provides the other righteousness according to the law. The lordship salvation camp confuses these things and then starts to say that—and again, it's biblicism—"You heard Jesus say it: if you're going to live forever, you better love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." To which I want to raise my hand to say, "If that's true, then we're all damned because none of us have done that even for five minutes." So there must be something else. Maybe belief in Christ provides us with all the righteousness that we need, because he always loved God perfectly, and he always loved his neighbor perfectly, and he always kept the law perfectly.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Part of the New Testament is the Pharisees and the Sadducees lowering the standards of the law to make it achievable. And Jesus is always coming and saying the famous phrase, "You've heard it said, 'Do not sleep with another man's wife.' But I tell you you're going to be condemned of the law if you lust." What you have Jesus doing is that these people walk up to prove they are acceptable and righteous in the eyes of God. Jesus says, "You want to be acceptable in the eyes of God." Then he gives them the requirements to be acceptable in the eyes of God. We hear that and we collapse law and gospel. We hear, "Oh, that's what it must mean in order to be saved by Jesus. I have to forsake my mother and my father. I have to pick up my cross. I have to do this. I have to do that." What Jesus is saying is if you want self-righteousness to be acceptable in the eyes of God, this is what it looks like. Because to the sinner who is broken and comes to Jesus, he says, "Come to me." At that moment, Jesus has already presented himself to be Messiah—perfect One, sent by God, Redeemer, the Final Lamb. "Behold, the Lamb of God." When Jesus says, "Come to me," all of those titles are what that means. "When you come to me, I am Priest. I am Prophet. I am King. I am Redeemer. I am Lamb." You aren't coming to Jesus to prove to him you mean business.  
  
This is where I scratch my head because depravity is a doctrine that most people who believe in lordship hold to, but yet it seems to go out the window. Because no one can obey God unless the Spirit grants them. That is John 6\. That is Ephesians 2\. Yet somehow, we get to a place where the law allows us to adjust the _ordo salutis_. No, the law condemns; the gospel saves. There's nothing to do in the gospel other than you receive it—and you can't even do that unless the Spirit grants you faith. That's Ephesians 2\. It is a gift of God, lest any man should boast.  
  
So when you come up against a passage with Jesus putting a requirement on you, and you're feeling the weight of it, you need to hear that as Jesus is beating down any self-righteousness that, I might want to try and claim so that God would accept me. Then you hear the tender words of Jesus saying, "There's nothing for you to do to be saved but to believe in me," now you're understanding the gospel.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. Two really quick thoughts before we move on. We've said this before, but it bears repeating. If you read through the gospels with this lens on, I think it's very helpful.  
  
Notice how Jesus interacts with those who think that they're righteous, or who think that they can achieve righteousness, and then go through the gospels and observe how he interacts with people who know they're not righteous and realize they got nothing to stand on and nothing to bring. Look at how he interacts with them. And I would say, with basically no exceptions, for all of those who come to him trusting in their own righteousness or who think they can achieve it, he is at times harsh. He is really crushing them with the law. It's like he is saying to them, "Okay, you think you've done it? You haven't done it. And here's what the law requires." He speaks and you hear it, then you conclude it's impossible. Exactly.  
  
But then when he interacts with people who know they've got no merit, they've got no righteousness, and they've got nothing to stand on, he looks at them like he does the woman of the city in Luke 7 and says, "You're forgiven. Though your sins be many, you're forgiven."  
  
Jon Moffitt: You have the prostitute and the, and the Pharisee in the same room. And how does he talk to them differently?  
  
Justin Perdue: Correct. We're not saying that to be a Pharisee is bad and to be a prostitute is good, because some people ridiculously draw that conclusion. No, we're not saying that. Both are sinners in need of a Savior, just like all of us. The point of it is not what you've done; the point of it is do you know you need Christ? Right. And when people know they need him, Jesus is gentle and lowly. It's Matthew 11\. He bids people to come to him. "All of you who are weary and heavy laden." With what? The demands of the law and the things that the Pharisees had put on them. "Come to me and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart." His yoke was used to describe the yoke of the law. Christ said, "Take my yoke upon you because it's really light." How is that? "Because I've kept the law for you. Come to me and you'll find rest for your souls." And lordship salvation confuses this relationship and the gospel ends up sounding hard.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Even going back to Luke 7\. The whole illustration of why Luke records that is when Jesus says, "She loves much because she's been forgiven much." And then Jesus goes on to say that this Pharisee never showed any affection towards Jesus at all because he didn't see the need for Jesus. The law should be that tool that knocks you in the shins and causes you to, in pain, fall to the ground and say, "What a wretch I am." Jesus often had to keep upping the law and they still didn't get it.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or it's that weight that's placed upon you that literally just pins you to the floor and you can't get out from under it. That's what the law is.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He's not saying only those who are dedicated, only those who are fully going to abandon everything, or it's only those who really put on the hiking boots...  
  
Justin Perdue: Or all of those whose affections are in the right place all the time.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. There are multiple passages where, you already said, that Jesus basically says to obey all the Law and the Prophets and you will be saved.  
  
Justin Perdue: They think that is part of the good news. No, that's the law. It's a summary of the law.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And It's not only that—they are so blind by their own sin that they assume they can actually keep the law. That's what I'm saying about a lowering of the law. If you lower the level of the law and make it achievable, you're no longer looking at the law. You've collapsed it in the gospel.  
  
Justin Perdue: What's interesting is that the lordship stream will often criticize guys like us because they'll say that we're not taking the holiness of God or the law of God seriously enough. That's not true because what we're trying to uphold here is the holiness of God and the holy righteous requirements of the law that no one can meet. You're talking about the law in such a way that it sounds as though we can actually do this. So you're having to relativize its standards, as you've said, which is not a good thing to do.  
  
Let's keep talking a little bit about the law moving on to talking point number four. Number one is the confusion of the order of salvation, number two is a redefinition of faith, and number three is the collapsing of law and gospel. The fourth concern we have about lordship salvation is a confusion on uses of the law.  
  
Just a summation, at least in our confessional tradition, of how we define the three uses of the law: first use is to show us our sin and drive us to Christ; the second use is the civil use to restrain our corruption and teach us what's good, what's bad, what's right, what's wrong; third use is to guide our lives in Christ—by the Spirit of Christ that works in us, we will be conformed to the law though the law no longer threatens us because Christ has kept it for us and has taken our punishment as a law. He became a law breaker and took the punishment of the law for us. We're no longer condemned by it. It's no longer a fearful thing for us, but it guides our lives. It's our kind adviser, as John Calvin would say.  
  
Our concern with Lordship salvation is that there is an utter collapsing and confusion of these uses of the law. To me, the only kind of tone that's ever used when talking about the law in the lordship salvation camp is a threatening, exacting tone. And it's not because they're only preaching the first use of the law; they're actually preaching the law Christians, but it sounds scary. Obey or else. And we would say that the third use of the law ought not be done in an exacting, threatening way. To guide the Christian's life, it's not, "Do this or else." No, you've been united to Christ, and here's now how we live together in the church. Here's how we live as those who have been united to Christ by faith.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I don't know how many people who espouse lordship salvation understand the uses of the law. Again, I can remember when I was trained at TMS, I never heard this concept until I started engaging in Reformed confessional theology.  
  
Justin Perdue: And the confessional Lutheran theology, too.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Specifically, the first use and third use are very important because the first use is only always condemn: perfection, condemn. If you want to know what causes you to be alienated from God and under His condemnation, the first use of the law is designed to be that schoolmaster who will absolutely teach you that you're condemned.  
  
Justin Perdue: Can I interject one thing really quickly? I think the first use of the law can be preached to Christians, but here's what it sounds like: it's not, "You are condemned." It's more of, "Hey, let's all remember what God requires. Let's remember that even now on the backside of conversion and union with Christ, we can't keep the law adequately." Today, just like the first day we believed, we are saying, "Were it not for Christ, I stand condemned." We can talk like that as Christians, but we're not threatening people with it. We're reminding one another of the impossibility of keeping the law and why we need Jesus. But that's not what's going on in the lordship string.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. So then we get to the third use of the law, which is to guide us as Christians. In the third use of the law, you never hear, "Do this and live." A good example of this would be something like Ephesians 4: walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. 2 Peter, 1:3-9, which talks about adding to your faith godliness. They're always saying this is the reflection, and the Bible says that if you are a believer, you do these things.  
  
It's not, "If you want to obey." This is the new covenant promise. You will walk in these truths. This is why even in the confessions, they say those who have faith obey at varying levels.  
  
Justin Perdue: You've got a new identity now. You're in Christ. You have a new status now. You're justified. You've been adopted into the family of God and here's how God's kids live. That's what the third use is.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. We believe in church discipline because it is there to protect the church and the believer.  
  
Justin Perdue: And to restore those who are going astray.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Galatians 6:1 is important. Romans 15\. Matthew and the steps of church discipline. But here's where the danger is: sometimes you hear the first use of the law being given to believers. It's the "obey or else" kind of attitude in that if you don't live up to a certain level of Christianity, a certain level of obedience—which I have been questioning how much obedience for years—then you're truly not a disciple of Jesus Christ. And the danger in that is that you are trying to motivate people by two things: fear and condemnation. But there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. And number two, what does 2 Peter 1:9 say? If these truths are not true about you and increasing—godliness, patience, kindness—what does he say that you forgot?  
  
Justin Perdue: You've forgotten the good news.  
  
Jon Moffitt: You've forgotten that you've been cleansed from your former sins. He doesn't point back to the first use of the law; he actually points back to the gospel for their motivation of obedience. Lordship salvation often calls into question the faith of the Christians who have been tossed about by every wind of doctrine, Ephesians 4, and who are not strong in their faith. Whereas Paul even to the Corinthians, you don't see Paul doing this. "I want to come and preach Christ to you." Or 2 Peter 1:9\. "You've forgotten you've been cleansed." The motivation for the believer who is weak in obedience is not condemnation under the law—first use—but it is encouragement in the gospel. Act as what you have received. You've received mercy and grace, now live in it.  
  
Justin Perdue: There's a lot I could say, but we're running short on time and we need to get to our fifth talking point. We trust there'll be more podcasts to be recorded where we can talk a little bit about the uses of the law. We actually have talked about how we've not done a podcast on the uses of the law. We need to do it soon. Maybe that'll be coming down the pipe. We'll see.  
  
Fifth talking point. I just recap them all as we go lest there be any confusion. Our concerns with Lordship salvation: number one is the confusion about the order of salvation, number two is a redefinition of faith, number three is the collapsing of law and gospel, and number four is a confusion of the uses of the law. Finally, number five is a confusion of the relationship between justification and sanctification.  
  
Justification is the declaration of God that we are just in His sight on the basis of what Christ alone has done in our place. He has paid the penalty we deserve, and we have been credited with and we have been given the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness has been imputed to us, credited to our account, and it's as though we did everything that Jesus did, and God looks at us and says, "Just." That is justification. Sanctification is the process by which we are transformed more and more into the image of Christ, into the likeness of Christ, and we are conformed even to live more and more according to God's law. And this is going to be over the course of our lives. It will ebb and flow. It will look different in different seasons. It is ultimately a work that God Himself, by His Spirit, does as a result of our union with Christ.  
  
We do agree that all those who are justified will be sanctified. It is not a question. It is certain because God will see to it. At the same time, there must be a proper distinction maintained between justification and sanctification. What lordship salvation does is collapse the two. Instead of talking about it the right way, where our sanctification flows out of our justification—that's the Reformed understanding—lordship makes it sound as though we are building our justification on our sanctification and we are anchoring our righteous standing before God on our obedience, on our desire to obey, or even on the adequacy of our repentance. Nobody would ever say it like that, but that's how it comes across. It's that "prove it" kind of theology. It's that "prove it" mentality. It's like you need to obey in order so that you might prove that you're really justified—and that is not how the Scriptures taught, it's not how the Reformed have understood it. You're making some category shifts and you're confusing some things because it is true that all those who are justified will be sanctified. "If you're not being sanctified at all, you may very well not be justified." True. "Therefore, pursue sanctification like crazy to know you're justified." Wrong. You can't do that. And that's what lordship does: prove you're justified through your obedience, through your desire to obey, through your repentance, and the like. It doesn't work that way. The stream does not flow uphill.  
  
Like you said, it's 2 Peter 1\. You've got to point people back to the gospel. That's the source. That's the fountainhead.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Calvin argued that the essence of the Christian life is assurance; it's not the pursuit of the Christian life. In lordship salvation, the pursuit of the Christian life is assurance. We are pursuing good works so that we can find a firm footing in assurance and you're reversing it—you're looking at your sanctification to clarify your justification. You're supposed to look to your justification as the root cause of your sanctification.  
  
We'll just quote Scripture here: Philippians 1\. "He who began a good work in you will complete it." Not you. Sanctification is not synergistic—it's not you and God working together. But at the same time, he says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Amen to God. And what he means by fear and trembling is not dread and doubt; he means with reverence and awe. He says to work it out because God is the one working in you. Galatians 3, he asks who tripped them up. It's not, "You come to faith and now you do the rest." He says the same way you start is the same way you continue: it's by faith and the Spirit.  
  
When you start emphasizing your sanctification as a means to clarify your justification, and these might be two big words for someone who's brand new to this... I feel like these passages are very clear. Yes, we obey. It is a part of the Christian life. Just like human beings breathe, Christians obey. At times we don't obey like we should, and at times we can go for long periods of time, which we've done multiple podcasts on. But if you are grounding your standing before God as an adopted child based upon your obedience, that means it is possible for you to go from being an adopted child to not being an adopted child. That is dangerous.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm tempted to read the John Calvin quote again that I read in the first one that people liked so much, and that might be a good way to put a bow on this.  
  
John Calvin in _The_ _Institutes_ writes this: "For if they begin to judge their salvation by good works," which is what we're talking about right now, "nothing will be more uncertain or more feeble; from this it comes about that the believer's conscience feels more fear and consternation than assurance. If righteousness is supported by works in God's sight, it must entirely collapse, and it is confined solely to God's mercy, solely to communion with Christ, and therefore solely to faith." So he's clear there at the end that this is all about mercy, this is all about union with Christ, this is all about faith when it comes to even our good works that we would perform. It's all done that way and we can not look to validate our standing before the Lord through our good works. Nothing will be more feeble and nothing will be more damaging because we can't do it. That occurs often in the teaching of the Lordship salvation stream.  
  
We hope this episode has been good in adding maybe some clarifying comments in giving you some handles and takeaways in terms of what the concerns are that we have with lordship salvation. Jonathan, you got one more thing to say before we head over to.  
  
Over in SR, I think we're going to have a conversation about sustainability and the Christian life. What is it that will really last over the long term? Then we may even talk a little bit more about the posture and the tone that we aim to strike here at Theocast, because that's a relevant thing to discuss in light of critiquing another stream of theology.  
  
Anyway, we're grateful for all of you guys for listening. We sincerely hope that this has been clarifying and encouraging for you. We hope that you are encouraged all the more in the Lord Jesus Christ. He really has done enough. We are forgiven and we have been declared righteous on the basis of Christ alone, and we receive what he did by faith alone.  
  
We are now making our way over to the Semper Reformanda podcast. That's the other podcast we record every week. This is kind of our family time with people that have partnered with Theocast. That's a fun conversation every week. We kind of pull the filter down a little and talk about things behind the curtain. We just talk very honestly with our listeners about just the Christian life and how we need to do this thing. So if that sounds like something you'd want to listen to, you can find out more information about Semper Reformanda, and in general, how you can partner with us over on our website at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. We've got an app and all kinds of things related to that ministry where we're trying to connect people all over the place—geographically situated groups and virtual online groups—where we can continue this kind of conversation about rest in Christ. Check out all that out on the website. Avail yourselves of that.  
  
For those of you headed over to SR, we'll talk with you there. For the rest of you, we will speak with you again next week. That's all we got. Grace and peace.

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### Battling Discouragement

*Published: August 18, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/battling-discouragement*
*Tags: Anxiety, Battling Discouragement, Depression*

Life in this fallen world is often hard. We struggle in our minds and hearts with any number of things. We fight against our own sin and are affected by the sin of others. In other words, the reasons for discouragement are many. Not surprisingly, we continually find ourselves in a battle against discouragement. If that is you, you are not alone. What can we say to these things? What hope is there in the struggle? Jon, Justin, and Jimmy discuss these things on today's episode.  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys continue to consider the battle against discouragement and particularly how it is fought within the context of the local church. We offer some thoughts on how to assess your church context, but mainly the discussion centers around the necessity of living life in the body of Christ.  
  
Giveaway: ["By Grace Alone" by Sinclair Ferguson](https://amzn.to/3iSlhLQ)  
  
https://youtu.be/7TH4qh8MzbQ  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Coming soon...

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### For God So Hated the World

*Published: August 11, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/for-god-so-hated-the-world*
*Tags: Angry Preaching*

Listening to many preachers and teachers, it sounds like God, deep down, hates the world. Yes, he sent his Son to save sinners, but he does that only for his own glory--and even then, reluctantly. Jesus, too, really didn't care for sinners. He came holding his nose and was really on earth to rebuke everyone. This presentation of God has produced a lot of fear, or perhaps even hatred of him. But, the question is, is this presentation biblical? Jon and Justin consider that on this episode.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about adoption--how God has brought us into his own family through the blood of his Son. We now call God, "Father." The guys also get into some law/gospel stuff and a biblical understanding of God's holiness.

Giveaway: ["The Bruised Reed" by Richard Sibbes](https://amzn.to/3fVP6ZV)

Scripture References:  
John 2:13-17  
Mark 2:23-27  
Luke 6:6-11  
Luke 13:1-5  
Mark 7:1-23  
Luke 18:18-27  
Luke 15  
Matthew 9:12-13  
Matthew 11:28-30  
Matthew 12:18-21  
John 10:14-18  
John 14:1-3  
John 17:24  
Luke 12:32  
Luke 7:36-50  
Romans 8:15  
1 John 3:1

https://youtu.be/xoeBfWWICdA

**Podcast Transcript**

Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we're going to be talking about God; in particular, we're going to be talking about God's posture towards us. If you listen to many preachers and many theologians talk, it seems like God deep down hates the world and hates us. He redeems us and He saves some sinners, but He does that purely for His own glory, but He doesn't really want to do that. Then even Jesus himself came into the world kind of holding his nose and not very happy about the mission that he was on, and all of his interactions with sinners was really just to rebuke and yell at people. God is presented as harsh and Jesus is presented the same way. What this has produced in so many Christians, and so many of us, is fear, where the thought of standing before Christ or being with the Lord is a terrifying prospect. So the question is, is that presentation of God biblical? Is it accurate? Is that presentation of Jesus accurate? That's what Jon and I are going to be talking about on today's episode. If this interests you, which we assume it does, stay tuned.

This is a good conversation we're going to have. This has been prompted by a number of things, even by some posts that we've seen recently, but I think this is more of just an ongoing observation.

I think a lot of times, the way that God is depicted in general, is that deep down, God really just hates us: He hates sin, He hates sinners, and He is just completely and altogether displeased with us. The only reason that he would ever save sinners like us is because it brings Him glory somehow—but He reluctantly does that. Even Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, took on flesh and entered into this world—and he really did it while holding his nose, not wanting to be here, not wanting to come and do what he did. He interacted with sinners on earth and hated it the entire time. He came to yell at the Jews because they had misunderstood true religion. He also came to spend time with tax collectors and sinners, but he only did that so that he could effectively rebuke them and yell at them too.

It is just this depiction of Christ as a very harsh and exacting, threatening, and even frightening person; the last thing in the world you'd want to do is be near him. It's very clearly a misrepresentation of him because sinners, in particular people who knew that they had no righteousness, could not stay away from him. The people that thought they were righteous had a problem with him, but those who knew that they were bankrupt and devoid of righteousness seemed to flock to him in droves and wanted to be near him and hear what he had to say.

Not to bury the lead here. The title of this episode is one of the punchier titles we've come up with in a while: _For God So Hated the World_. What we're trying to depict here is that far from God just hating all of us, hating everything, and reluctantly saving us, and Jesus coming into the world, hating his mission, hating us, and just coming to rebuke every week, the Scripture actually bears witness to the fact that Jesus willingly did this and that God loves us. God delights to save us. He is gracious and merciful and compassionate and tender. Jesus says these things about himself: "He came the first time, not to judge us, but to save us." This is the testimony of the Scripture.

The reason why this matters a lot to me is I know for myself personally, because of the kind of teaching that I was exposed to for years combined with my natural constitution and an anxious conscience, what this means is that in my low moments, when I'm melancholy and struggling, feeling flat and dry spiritually, I do not have naturally good feelings in those moments about standing before Christ at the end of time.

 I think for many people, they feel the same thing: the thought of standing before Christ at the end of it all is a frightening and terrifying prospect. The last thing in the world that you think would be good for you is to be near him because the only picture you've really ever been given of him is that he is holy and terrifying and hates sinners.

Today in this podcast, we want to be able to unpack the biblical representation and presentation of Jesus in his earthly ministry, and then connect that to God, because Jesus says, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." I hope that this conversation is really comforting for people and encouraging. I trust that I'm going to be comforted as we keep talking about this stuff. I already have been comforted in my own mind as I was thinking about some of these things this morning, and then certainly talking with Jon before we recorded.

Let me throw a quick disclaimer out before we go any further, because we don't like being misunderstood, and we don't want to be in this episode.

Nothing that we're about to say should be understood to mean that Jesus came into the world indifferent about sin. God hates sin and there's a reason why He sent His son so that we could be delivered and rescued from it, and so that we could be given a righteousness that we don't have. So it's not that Jesus was indifferent about sin or that Jesus came with all this compassion, gentleness, and meekness, and he never told anybody they were wrong, or that he's just affirming people in their sin and is saying, "Hey, do whatever you want. It really doesn't matter. All we want to do is just celebrate everybody and we ought not judge each other." That's not at all what we understand Jesus to have done. So we're not communicating that in any way. But what we want to do is use a little bit of law-gospel and some other tools that are in our tool belt and approach the ministry of Jesus from an accurate perspective and chop it up a little.

Jon Moffitt: This is where law-gospel distinction is very important. (If you're new to this, in our notes, we will provide a couple of podcasts. We have a specific one on law-gospel.) What we like to do is then use that paradigm to explain Scripture, explain the nature of God, the nature of Jesus, and the nature of men.

We believe firmly that in the Reformed tradition that we have been handed, that we do use a law-gospel distinction—law being that which only condemns and gospel being that which brings to life good news.

What you're describing, Justin, in the introduction, the way I had it in my mind is Jesus, the righteous Son, walks around and says, "Hey, you peasants. If you don't repent of your evil ways, I shall boot you out of the Kingdom. I'm here to deal with you peasants. It's annoying to me that I have to come here because y'all can't obey." This is not the Jesus we're talking about.

We don't understand the position versus the disposition of God. So it is clear in Scripture that the position that we have in relationship to God is child of wrath. Enemy. We can use passages like Psalm 7:11, where it says God is a righteous judge and He has indignation all of the time. You and I had mentioned Nahum 1:2 and the following. Let me just read you a couple of verses and we'll jump down, but it says, "The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies." Jump down to verse 6: "Who can stand before the indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken into pieces by him."

So we will uphold, with firm foundations, the absolute indignation and righteous holiness of God. Under the law, that is true. This is why you can't lower the law or make the law achievable, otherwise, you are saying that you can endure God's wrath. The point of the law is that you see the law and you see the requirements of the law.

Let's just do one command of the law: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, above all other gods or anything. We don't even need to look at the rest of the Old Testament. Don't even look at the rest of it. Just do that one law, and you should say, "Yeah, I am condemned. And then the conclusion should be now what Nahum was saying about you.

Justin Perdue: If that's the greatest commandment, I have so failed to keep it that I am ruined.

Jon Moffitt: By God's nature, which is hard for us as humans to understand, we somehow categorize God into emotions or we categorize Him into responses. Some describe God as an angry God, and then you have other people describing God as a loving God as if it's two separate beings. And yet in the complexity, God can be both. We don't understand that His anger and love can be something that is true of both statements. Outside of Christ, He is angry at me; inside of Christ, He's not—but that doesn't work with how Paul describes things. The difference between our position, a lot of times the Old Testament prophets, and even Paul when he says there is none righteous, we're all under God's condemnation, that is your position but that doesn't mean that's God's disposition towards you. While we were yet sinners, what does it say? Christ died for us. We can acknowledge our position as sinners and being underneath the wrath of God, but we have to also acknowledge the rest of Scripture that describes the disposition of God towards sinners.

Justin Perdue: That he's a Redeemer. And it's not just that He saves people because it brings Him glory—of course it does—but it is His nature that He delights to pour out grace and mercy on people who, by definition, don't deserve those things.

Jon Moffitt: Can I read verse seven in continuation? Nahum 1:7: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him." So those are the kinds of things that we understand law and gospel to be. That passage from Nahum is a great example of a law and gospel passage.

Justin Perdue: His indignation and wrath are so intense. What is the only hope for sinners? It's to take refuge in the Rock of Ages where we can hide ourselves.

Jon Moffitt: So there's our introduction. So Justin, let's go ahead and get into the meat of what we wanted to talk about today: Jesus' disposition towards sinners. What does Jesus want us to know about him?

Justin Perdue: Last preliminary statement: I don't want to impugn anybody's motivations. I assume that when people are preaching holiness and wrath and some of the things that I described in a punchy way where Christ is depicted as a frightening figure, I assume that they mean well, and that what they're meaning to do is give legitimate credence to the holiness of God, the righteousness of God, and like you said, God's indignation rightly against evil and sin. But rather than producing reverence and awe before God, all it ends up doing is producing a fear of Him that causes us either to hate Him or to be absolutely terrified of being near Him. Rather than the right preaching of law and gospel and of holding Christ out—as he has described himself and as his ministry would depict him—when you preach law and gospel and hold Christ out to people, I think what you do end up producing is reverence and awe before the Lord. That holy God loves me, He is graciously inclined toward me, He has given me mercy, and He has done so much for me that He has provided me with all the righteousness and holiness that I need, and He just gives that to me. He has dealt with my sin because He is righteous, but He has done it in such a way where he took the punishment that I deserve. Now I want to be near Him and worship Him. I'm in reverence. I'm in awe.

Jon Moffitt: And I would say the greater the authority, the greater the mercy means. For instance, if my neighbor gives me mercy because I accidentally mowed over onto his side of the lawn too far versus a judge who gives me mercy because I murdered somebody, the level of authority and the level of intensity... When it says, "fear of the Lord," it's one of those things that says understand His authority, understand His position, understand His power, but yet you don't walk in trembling as far as you're waiting for the hammer to pounce you. That's the exact opposite description we get from Jesus.

Justin Perdue: The way that I might start this conversation about Jesus in his earthly ministry is with this (I hope) clarifying comment: if you were to survey the gospel accounts—and again, those are not always the best names for them, but it's the life and ministry of Jesus according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—I think that we will notice that Jesus and his disposition towards different groups of people is different. There are times when Christ does act and speak in a way that is very direct—breathtakingly direct at times; it comes across as harsh and even condemnatory—and then there are other times where he speaks and carries himself in a way that is very gentle, compassionate, tender, lowly, and meek even. People have a hard time parsing this out because in some measure, they don't have a good distinction of law and gospel in view in terms of what Christ is meaning to do. There may be other things associated with this. But I would suggest, as I've studied these passages and these books of the Bible, that pretty much without exception, the times when Jesus is harsh and breathtakingly direct and condemnatory are when he is interacting with people that think that they're righteous, are trusting in themselves that they're righteous, or think that they can achieve righteousness through the law. Then on the flip side, pretty much without exception, whenever he is around people who know that they're sinners, or who are not claiming to be righteous, or understand that they're in a position of need and they are coming with no confidence whatsoever, he is compassionate and gentle and tender and forgives sins. I think that's incredibly instructive for us if we're going to rightly understand Christ.

So I don't know which one you want to start with, Jon. Maybe we start with the direct harsher stuff first and unpack some of that so that we can then land on the sweeter stuff?

The first one that often comes to people's minds is when Jesus is flipping tables over, fashioning a whip, and is basically wrecking shop and turning the temple court inside out and is rebuking people. "My Father's house is meant to be a house of prayer for all nations and you have turned it into a den of robbers." You and I were talking about this passage before we recorded. The way that you and I both understand it, and Reformed Christians have for centuries have understood this, is that all of this hoopla is not the sale of animals itself. It's not that that is so wicked—it was necessary actually because of the sacrificial system and people coming from a long way away and couldn't have brought animals with them. The reason Christ is upset and is indignant is because where all of this hoopla and this circus was taking place is in the court of the Gentiles. It's the only place in the temple complex where the nations could come and have access to God, and in particular, have access to the forgiveness of sins in the Lord's name. Christ is indignant that this whole enterprise and this fiasco that's going on is hindering people; it's hindering the nations in coming to God for the forgiveness of their sins. And so he is indignant about that, rightly, and that's why he turns the place inside out. But a lot of times we just see that as a blanket indictment on everyone—that Jesus is upset about false worship wholesale and that basically, every one of us is in the cross hairs here and Jesus is generally telling all of us that our worship is illegitimate.

Jon Moffitt: If I were to summarize, I'd say Jesus is upset about people who are blocking the gospel. They are blocking grace from the nations, and so he gets upset saying they need to get out of the way. What breaks my heart about the interpretation of some people is that they immediately turn it into some kind of repentance of sinners. He's not upset at the Gentiles; he's upset at the Jews. It's the religious system that blocked grace from people. Justin and I often, on this podcast, get very upset when people block the gospel or block grace from people, requiring something of them or putting a hurdle in their way, and almost making it impossible to believe or follow Jesus.

Justin Perdue: It's not that Jesus is just indignant at sinners in general. He is indignant, like you just said, about barriers that are being erected between people and redemption, forgiveness of sins, and salvation. That needs to be said.

Next example that we came up with was Luke 13\. This is where Jesus is talking again to a Jewish audience and people bring to his attention the Galileans who were slaughtered by Pilate, mingled with these other pagan sacrifices. Jesus says to this group of people, "Do you think that these people were any worse than you? Well, they weren't. You need to repent or you too will likewise perish." Jesus continues, "What about those 18 people in Siloam on whom the tower fell and they died? Do you think that they were worse than you? No, they weren't. You too need to repent." it's very clear in the context. He's talking to people that think they are better than other people. Their base mentality is, "We're not like those people are and thereby are not as sinful or not in the same kind of need, or maybe not even worthy of the same kind of judgment or bad things happening to them. And Christ is meaning to blow up that kind of stupidity and let people see themselves for what they are."

Jon Moffitt: The word "repent" there. We have to ask ourselves what Jesus means by repent. What are they repenting of? We just throw that word out there as if it always means repent of immorality of some sort.

Justin Perdue: I think you're exactly right. I think what Jesus is most often aiming the gun at when it comes to repenting is he is telling them to repent of self-righteousness. Repent of all of these things that you're trusting in that are not going to save you. And in fact, you're trusting and stuff that is at best filthy rags. Stop.

Jon Moffitt: There are some sections where Jesus is dealing with the immorality of a woman. He says, "Go sin no more." Put an Excel spreadsheet together of who Jesus tells to repent of self-righteousness versus who he tells to repent of sin, and he's always poking a finger in the self-righteous' eye, because without the righteousness of Christ, you have no righteousness. And so he's always telling them to repent of their own righteousness.

Justin Perdue: But even that account that you just mentioned in John 8—and I understand that that's a disputed text but still the point is made; it's in our Bibles—and Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more. What has he done in that circumstance? He has protected her, he has defended her, he has protected her in particular from Pharisees who wanted to stone her. Then he says, "Woman, who is left to condemn you?" And she says, "Nobody." He says, "Well, neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more." He is gentle and encouraging. You've just been forgiven, clearly, now go and sin no more—to which we say praise be to God.

Jon Moffitt: Which, as an exegetical note, I don't believe was a part of the original text, but I don't think it's inconsistent with the nature of Jesus.

Justin Perdue: There's a reason why it's been included in the canon.

Other examples are how Jesus is very, very confrontational with the Jewish religious leadership regarding the Sabbath Day. There are a number of passages we could point to where they are trying to either trap Jesus or Jesus will raise things in their presence, whether it's over healing a man with a withered hand or plucking a head of grain on the Sabbath. Jesus makes it very clear that these people—this is one example of many of how they have codified a godly life to death and how they are trusting in living a codified life to earn them something before God. They clearly think they are crushing it and doing what the Lord would require and desire of them in the ways that they have put this fence around the Sabbath. Jesus, again, is blowing up that kind of system and that sort of a schema of religion that, "No, you have not understood this at all. In fact, you think that man was made for the Sabbath when in reality, the Sabbath was made for you. It's for your benefit. I am Lord of the Sabbath and my word stands."

Jon Moffitt: One of the things I'm teaching my church is to look at all the Scripture before you make conclusions about one particular section of Scripture or a doctrine. We did this last time at men's group. Someone was mentioning a section of Romans 10\. And I said, "Yes, but let's read that in light of what all of Scripture has to say about justification." What ends up happening is that someone's disposition towards a particular theological bent, like angry Puritan preachers or even modern day street preachers, is they tend to emphasize one aspect of the nature of God or of the nature of redemption, which is the law .Part of redemption is the law. We have to do it in balance. When we look at Jesus, you see the balance in what Jesus goes after. I think we have to use the posture and the nature and the purpose of Jesus. Jesus literally says, "I have come to do the will of my Father." And what was the will of his Father? It wasn't to bring a sword; he brought redemption. He laid down his life. That was his purpose and will.

Justin Perdue: You're alluding to John 6 amongst other places where Jesus says that basically, he came to do the will of his Father, which is to save sinners and that he would actually lose none of any who come to him. And any who come to him, he will never cast them out. "It is the will of my Father that anybody who believes in me should not perish, but be raised on the last day. And I will do that."

Jon Moffitt: I love the descriptors the New Testament gives Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." He is the Shepherd. He is our brother. For sinners, he is living water. For sinners, he is living bread.

Justin Perdue: He is the bread of life that came down from heaven.

Jon Moffitt: Right. For sinners. That's the thing about it. We somehow think it's for those who have made this transition. It's, "While we were in sin, Christ died for us," not, "When we repented, Christ died for us."

Justin Perdue: Or, "Once we have repented adequately and feel the way we should about our sin and are fighting hard enough, then God is pleased to sustain, bless us, and show us grace." It's crazy.

Jon Moffitt: And a lot of this is rooted out of a comment that we had read recently. This is not an uncommon statement within some areas of Christianity: "Jesus is with sinners and the reason he is with them is to call them to repentance." Let's just do an analysis again.

Jesus is described as a friend of sinners. Jesus spends time with sinners so much that he's being described as a drunkard, being criticized for letting prostitutes touch him—and just to be clear, touch not in an inappropriate way. "She's a dirty woman. How could you let her touch your feet?" And yet, when he's dealing with sinners, he describes himself as gentle and lowly. When he's dealing with the self-righteous, he is angry. John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers.

Justin Perdue: Jesus calls the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs" because on the outside they look good, they're doing the right stuff, they're checking the boxes, and they've got all these codes that they follow, but inside they're dead.

Jon Moffitt: So what's the difference between a Pharisee, a whitewashed tomb, and a sinner? Jesus says he has come to save the lost or find the lost. So as a sinner, it makes sense. If Jesus is saying, "These people understand why I'm here—they have no righteousness, they have nothing to cling to, and the Pharisees or the self-righteous are clinging to their own sin." So he's calling them to repent.

Justin Perdue: They're clinging to their own righteousness.

Jon Moffitt: That's right. He calls the self-righteous to repent and he tells those who are beat down by the law and by their sin. He says, "Come to me."

Justin Perdue: So we've already kind of naturally made the transition. There are many other passages we could go to where Jesus is like dropping bombs and setting grenades on the table and pulling the pin. We're already transitioning naturally to some of the other things that he says.

What you just said, Jon, is exactly right. For example, Matthew 9:12-13, where the Pharisees have challenged Jesus. They say to Christ's disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And then what does Christ say? "When Jesus heard it, he said, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice." For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'" To your point, this is why he came. He didn't come for those who think that they're righteous already; he came for those who are sinners, and this is why he's here. And what's his posture toward those people? Matthew 11:28-30—which is where we got our tagline from—where he says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden..." With what? The demands of the law. Perhaps even the code that had been thrown on top of the law by the Pharisees. "And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." That is the invitation of Jesus to sinners.

Jon Moffitt: Gentle and lowly.

Justin Perdue: Yes. "And I will give you rest. If you're weary and you're burdened, and you're weighed down and getting crushed, I'm who and what you need. Come to me."

Jon Moffitt: I will say this again, and it needs to be said a thousand times: if the invitation of Jesus does not lead you to rest, you have got the wrong invitation from the wrong Bible. How can you miss the point? Weary sinners who feel the weight of the law—which is the purpose of the law. We need the law. The law must be preached. Jesus was the greatest preacher of the law. Bar none. Period. He executed that position clearly because without the law, Jesus cannot be the Redeemer. He presses the law on people, to the point where the disciples say, "Well then, who can be saved?" the rich young ruler also asked, "Who can be saved?" And he says, "With man, it's impossible. But with God, all things are possible." That's what the law should do to you. You should say, "Well, that's impossible."

And I love how the modern day American will say, "Well, everybody is a sinner." that's not what you should say. What you should say is who can be good—and the problem is nobody can be good.

Justin Perdue: I'm just struck by the way that Jesus came and did ministry. Did he call people to repentance? But just to reiterate, what we often mean when we say that is to repent of your immorality—and that's really it. Whereas what Christ means is repent of your immorality, yes, but repent of your own virtue in and your own righteousness in your own eyes and effectively come to him. That's what he's calling people to do. "Come to me and trust me. Find your righteousness here and find your rest here."

Jon Moffitt: As crazy as this sounds—and we probably need to do another podcast on this—but I think it's impossible to repent of all sin.

Justin Perdue: Of course it is.

Jon Moffitt: Because I can't love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, even though it's my ambition.

Justin Perdue: There's a million sins that we commit that we're not aware of.

Jon Moffitt: Which is why you have to repent of the one sin, which is your self-righteousness. Don't hold onto that.

Justin Perdue: These are not the words of Christ, but this is Matthew's description of Jesus, citing the prophet Isaiah—which is where Richard Sibbes got the title for his book, _The Bruised Reeds_.

So Matthew is talking about Jesus and he's healing people and he's doing these things. Matthew says this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah because Jesus is telling people not to make him known yet. "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope."

So again, you have this posture of this servant of God who is Christ, who will not break a bruised reed, he will not snuff out the wick that is just flickering and barely hanging on, but instead he will bring judgment to victory for all those who trust in him. What a marvelous presentation of Christ and his mission. At least the tone and the tenor of that sounds very different than how Christ is often preached.

Jon Moffitt: One more illustration to throw in there. I remember preaching John 4 on the woman at the well. Jesus knows who this woman is, knows what this woman has done, and completely engages with her, which is a surprise to the woman. " How is it that you, being a teacher, are asking me for water?" What does he offer her out of the gate? Living water, not repentance. She's trying to quench her thirst by the flesh, and Jesus says, "Are you tired of that yet? How about I give you water so that you will never thirst again?" And she says, "Give me that water," which she don't doesn't really understand. And when he finally reveals it to her, she loses her mind and runs back into the city to tell people, "Do you know who I just found?"

What I love is that Jesus always has these missionaries that are the broken of the community. They're the scum of the earth. Thinking about Zacchaeus too, right? And in John 20, when Jesus walks into the room and the disciples are there, they have abandoned Jesus, the doors are locked. Luke describes them as screeching like little girls when Jesus appears to them. And he says to them, "Peace be with you." And he shows them his scars in his hands and on his sides. And then he commissions them to complete the Father's mission.

Paul finally makes the description. Not many of us are wise. Not many of us are strong. He describes those whom Jesus saves and he saves the weak, rejected, no-name people, and that's who God uses. Why? Because in the end, Jesus gets all the glory, and we don't want any because we don't have anything to be happy about. Because we're nobody.

Justin Perdue: To be clear about what I said at the outset, God most certainly is glorified in the work of redemption. That is not up for debate. But we totally misrepresent him when we do not say—Luke 15, the parables of Christ—that God delights, finds great joy, and actually celebrates over sinners who repent. God is brought joy in this whole enterprise of salvation. It is not just that He's going to be renowned and praised—of course He will be, but He in His person delights to do this. That to me is one of the biggest mind blows in the universe. The holy God who made us, against Him, we have committed cosmic treason—to use the words of RC Sproul—loves us so much and delights to save us in such a way that He is effectively throwing a party in heaven every time a sinner repents. It's astonishing love, mercy, and grace.

Another passage. Jesus, in John 10, calls himself the Good Shepherd. This is picking up on the language of Ezekiel 34 where the Lord says that He will be the Shepherd of His people, He's going to seek them out, and He's going to save them and bring them to pasture and gather them from where they've been scattered. It's been dark and scary, but He's going to get them and they're going to be safe, and He's going to set up over them his servant, David. By the time Ezekiel was alive, David's been dead for a minute. He's talking about the Christ, the greater David who would come, and Jesus says, "I'm him. I'm the Good Shepherd. I have come, not like a hired hand. I have actually come. I know my own sheep and they know me, and I have come to lay my life down for them. The Father has given me this mission, but I do this of my own accord. I lay my life down willingly. Nobody takes it from me." He's not reluctant in this.

A few chapters later in John's gospel, when he's talking to the disciples during the last night that he's on earth, what is all of that from John 13 on through the high priestly prayer? It's all words of comfort. Because we're told that Jesus had loved his disciples while he was on earth, and then he loved them to the end, and he gives them all these words of comfort, including the beginning of chapter 14: "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, what I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." And he prays for us in John 17:24\. "I desire that you'll be with me where I am to see the glory that the Father gave me before the foundation of the world." Jesus wants us with him.

Jon Moffitt: One last illustration. What does Jesus say to the woman who's washing his feet in the Pharisee's home? Her sins have been forgiven, so she has shown him much love. The point of it is this woman understands her position and understands Jesus' disposition towards her. She feels the freedom and the right to be with Jesus. Think about this. She feels the freedom and the right to wash his feet, not out of fear, but because she knows he loves her. Unreal.

Justin Perdue: The posture that she's coming with is one of humility and meekness. She's not arrogant. She's not trusting in herself. She's a prostitute of the city, for crying out loud.

Jon Moffitt: She's crying over her forgiveness.

Justin Perdue: Exactly. Simon the Pharisee is wigging out and is thinking to himself, "If Jesus knew, if this man was a prophet, he wouldn't have anything to do with it." And Jesus, of course, knows the thoughts of man and confronts the Pharisee. But where that all ends up is, to your point, Luke 7:47 and following, these words are incredible to me: Jesus says to Simon the Pharisee, "Therefore, I tell you, her sins—which are many—are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little." How does Jesus treat this woman who is a prostitute of the city? Does he drop the hammer on her? What are his first words to her? He just said in her presence to the Pharisee that she's forgiven. But then he looks at her and he says, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who are at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Because only God can do that. And then verse 50, to conclude the account, Jesus says to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." Not her faith in and of itself, but her faith in what? In Jesus. "It has saved you, now go in peace." That is Christ's word to wretched sinners such as us who come to him, knowing that we need him.

Jon Moffitt: What's waiting on the other side of when we come to Jesus is peace. When Jesus tells the disciples, "Peace be to you," and he shows him the scars in his hands, if the Jesus that's being presented to you—which we'll get into in SR—is not one that you can run to with your sin, you've been given the wrong Jesus. He is gentle and lowly, he draws sinners to himself, he has already taken on your sin, and you can run to him boldly, according to Hebrews, and to receive mercy and grace, and it's promised to you every single time you ask for it. That's the Jesus of the Bible.

Justin Perdue: Amen, brother. What an encouraging thought, what an encouraging, incredible message that this is the God of the universe, and this is what He's done for us. Jesus, what a friend for sinners. Just talking about it has been good for my heart. I'm encouraged by God's Word and talking about this and just thinking about the life and ministry of our Savior. I hope, for those of you who have listened to the conversation today, that you too have been encouraged and comforted, and your takeaway from this is that Jesus loves you and offers you peace and rest, and you can go to him because of that.

So Jon and I are about to continue the conversation. We're going to talk more about the posture of Christ and even the disposition of God toward us, even in thinking about how God has adopted sinners into his own family. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of adoption through which we call Him Father now—which is mind blowing in and of itself. That podcast that we're about to record as an additional podcast we do each week called Semper Reformanda. That is for people who have become Semper Reformanda members who have partnered with Theocast to see this message of the sufficiency of Christ spread as far and wide as possible. If you're curious about that podcast and you want to know how you can get access to it, you could go over to our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and find out more there about Semper Reformanda and what that means. We've got an app, a community that's being built of people, just like you, who are learning; just like Jon and I are still learning about what it means to rest in Christ. We can lock arms together virtually or in geographical groups and all these kinds of fun things that are going on. So go over to the website and check that out.

Jon Moffitt: I just want to add, if you want to have a conversation like Justin and I just had about this, then that's what the app is for. It allows you to connect with other people and talk like Justin and I just did.

Justin Perdue: So avail yourselves of all of that, and you can get that information at the website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. For those of you who may not be heading over to SR, Jon and I will talk to you again, Lord willing, next week in this format. For the SR members, we will have another conversation with you in just a moment. See you.

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### Faith Never Saved Anyone

*Published: August 4, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/faith-never-saved-anyone*
*Tags: Faith Alone, Sola Fide*

Here's a controversial statement: Faith never saved anybody. While that may sound shocking to many Christians, it's true. Faith doesn't save sinners; Jesus does. Faith is simply the means through which the merit and work of Christ are applied to us. Jon and Justin talk about the confusion that exists in the church today and how we tend to place our faith in things that don't save.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin encourage the listener who has struggled with assurance and who is now being told he/she is an antinomian or a hyper-grace advocate. The guys also talk obedience under the sufficiency of Christ.  
  
Resources:  
[Our podcast on "Dying with Dignity"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/dying-with-dignity/)  
[Justin's sermon on Genesis 12:10-14:24](https://covbap.org/sermons/faith-fear-and-gods-faithfulness-genesis-1210-1424/)  
  
Book Giveaway: ["Putting Amazing Back into Grace" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3CgOSGc)  
  
https://youtu.be/BMHimsDL5sk  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, here's our topic: _Faith Never Saved Anyone_. I know it sounds controversial and it actually is. Justin and I are going to do our best to show you from a biblical and historical perspective what actually saves you—and it's not your faith. Stay tuned.  
  
At times we like to pick very punchy topics, but this one is a very significant and very important topic because of how much it impacts people's day-to-day life, their choices of churches, and how they interact with Christ. We're going to talk about the three different ways faith has been used within the history of evangelicalism and even within Scripture, and then present for you the biblical and historically Reformed perspective as it relates to our faith.  
  
We're going to start with examining how, in the last 300 years more prevalently, it has influenced the United States, and now broadly, even the world, that we put our faith into our faith—the idea that we have belief in something that gives us the confidence and the assurety that God is good with me, that I can be justified, and that at the end of my life all will be fine because I have faith.  
  
So, Justin, why is it a problem theologically and biblically to say that my faith is what saves me?  
  
Justin Perdue: The thing that we're really answering today is if somebody were to ask you how you know that you're saved, how you know you'll be finally saved, how you know that you'll make it to heaven, or however you want to frame that question. That's essentially what we're trying to wrestle with today. You just highlighted one of the answers that's given. I would say that this is probably the very common answer amongst the average evangelical Christian in America: you know you're safe when you have faith. That's the answer. In one sense, you are offering faith as the thing that would save you. Or if you were to stand hypothetically—and this is taking some liberty with the illustration and we're going to do this throughout—if you're standing before the judgment seat and you're being asked on, what basis should you be admitted into heaven, the answer on the part of many evangelical Christians would be, "Well, I believe." And we're going to unpack this more throughout this episode.  
  
Dear friends, saints who are listening to this episode, if your answer to the question on what basis should you be admitted into heaven begins in the first person, you've gotten it wrong. If it begins with, "I have done anything," including, "I believe," that's not the right answer.  
  
Jon, I think it might be good for us to go ahead and lay our cards on the table quickly and then continue to unpack this. So, our answer to that question, biblically speaking, of "On what basis would we be admitted into heaven? On what basis are we reconciled to God?" The answer is Jesus. Period. He is it. That's why we're saying faith has never saved anybody; Jesus saves sinners and faith is the means through which the work of Christ is applied to us. We're going to think more about that throughout this episode and we're trying to get at it in several different ways.  
  
The issue here, Jon, as I look at this, in answering this question, not only are you placing confidence in something that is related to you that is somewhat subjective in that sense, it just does not hold even biblically. I know immediately there are objections that always get raised to this. We even get this on our social media sometimes. People say, "What about like Luke 7 when Jesus looks at the woman of the city and says, 'Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.'" We would respond to that by saying that the woman in that account comes to Christ in a Pharisee's home. It's very clear that she has no confidence in anything pertaining to her. She has no righteousness on which she's going to stand, she's not confident in herself in any way and is casting herself completely upon Christ as the one who can save her. So, it's clear that the one who she is trusting is the one who does the saving. It is not her faith that does that. Faith, even in that account, is simply the means through which Christ's saving work would be applied to her.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Throughout all of the book of John, Jesus calls people to believe in him. Literally in John 6, they say, "Make it plain that you are the Messiah." And he says, "I've already given you all the evidence, but you don't believe in me." That was his point. It's not faith in general. He is proving to them that he is the source of their justification, or he is the source of their hope into the Kingdom. This even goes back to the rich young ruler when he walks up to Jesus, the one he should be trusting, and asks, "What must I do to be saved?" What he's saying is, "What can I trust to get what I want?" And Jesus says, "I'm standing right here, and the fact that you don't know that is the answer that you need." So, he tries to crush the man who trusts in himself. The man literally starts with, "I'm trusting this so far. What else do I need to trust? I have obeyed the law." In the end, Jesus sends him away because he's unwilling to trust Jesus. It's not faith in your faith. The way I would reword this, and this is going to sound heretical, and maybe we can kind of work it out, but the way I would say it is that faith is the evidence of your salvation. Because I am saved by Jesus, therefore I believe. So, you're resting in the sufficiency of Jesus to hold on to you; you are not resting in the sufficiency of holding on to Jesus. Because Jesus saved me, therefore I believe that he is sufficient to carry me home. This is what Paul says: he who began a good work in you will complete it. Where are we putting our faith? In Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's good to mention where this comes from in the contemporary evangelical movement. You had a lot of people back in the eighties or so who began to articulate things like this, where there was a good motivation to emphasize the freeness of the gospel. But then what ended up happening was it was kind of a hyper Arminian, very man-centered approach to this whole thing. You had Zane Hodges from Dallas Theological Seminary, famously in his book _Absolutely Free_, begins to articulate what is necessary is to have this one moment where you make this decision of faith, it's this one act of faith, and then at that point, based upon that act, a person is secure forever. That's where you get this language of "once saved, always saved" in this mechanical sense. What is the basis of that "once saved, always saved"? It was that one act, that decision of faith that you made at that one point, and you're looking back to that as the ground of your assurance before God. That is problematic because then in that view, what ends up happening—and where Zane Hodges went with this—is that once you've made that one decision of faith, it really doesn't matter what happens after that. It doesn't even matter if you continue believing. It's kind of crazy the way that it goes. I think that's the greatest example that we could give of placing faith in your faith, or placing faith in one decision that you made, as the ground of your hope before the Lord and the ground of your reconciliation to Him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The problem starts with—and this is where the whole Lordship thing came out—the gospel that's being presented. The good news is not this. The good news is Jesus Christ saves sinners and presents them as righteous by his own obedience. What they're hearing is, "If you say this prayer, you can be saved," or, "If you dedicate yourself, you can be saved." It's like you're the acting agent in salvation; the gospel is Jesus is the acting agent in salvation.  
  
Justin Perdue: I think one of the reasons why it's so damaging is that if you're putting faith in your faith and yeah, and faith is this one decision you made or this act of faith that you do, effectively, what you're saying is that faith is a work that you accomplish. You're saying that you are capable of mustering up faith, and that faith that you have produced is what is your confidence—and that's a really big dilemma.  
  
What I would want to say to those individuals who are going to say, "Well, I believe in Jesus, and that is the basis of my admittance into heaven," I assume that if you're like every other person I know in that your faith—pick your descriptor: the strength of it, the quality of it, the consistency of it, the vitality of it, the fervor of it, etc.—that ebbs and flows not only by the year or the day, but by the moment sometimes. If your confidence is based in something so subjective, like how you feel about Christ or how strong your faith is in this moment, how in the world could you ever have peace? And the answer to that is, if you're saying and you're objectively assessing it, you couldn't.  
  
Jon Moffitt: People put faith in all kinds of things that have no reality to them. I've met people who have all kinds of beliefs and things but there's no reality to their faith. They believe strongly in it, but they cannot place a reality connected to their faith. You're asking this question, Justin: how is it that you can go from condemned to child, from unrighteous to righteous? Faith is not what does that. Jesus doesn't look at you and go, "Oh, you believe that can happen? Therefore, it's yours." No, there has to be a substance; there has to be a key access. For instance, just because I believe a plane can take me from point A to point B doesn't mean that the plane actually does it until the plane actually takes me from point A to point B. Faith doesn't make the plane fly; the plane does. So, Jesus is the one who saves and sanctifies and presents us as righteous. I know it sounds nuanced, but it is important because in the end, when I stand before God and He lets me into His Kingdom as His child, it has nothing to do with me and it has everything to do with what Christ did on my behalf. We reword faith and almost say it's an acceptance. Do you accept the reality that without Jesus, you cannot be saved? Yes. I accept that. Do you accept the reality that without Jesus' obedience, you cannot be seen as righteous? Yes. I accept that reality. Then you are given all the benefits of Christ; faith is acceptance, it's not doing.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's not acceptance, it's receiving. I would say it's also trusting. The real question at the heart of the matter is who are you trusting? What are you trusting? Are you trusting in your faith? Are you trusting in something about you? Or are you trusting in Christ in his sufficiency? And that is where we're headed with this whole thing.  
  
I want to go ahead and introduce this now, Jon. I think people need to understand, and this is related to putting faith in faith and even faith being a work, that in the immediate aftermath of the Reformation, you had rightly a lot of people preaching and emphasizing faith over and against works to the extent that even back in the day—and I think this happens even in our context too, which is what we're highlighting here—people made such a big deal about faith that it began to sound like faith was a work that we do that then reconciles us to God. It was even to the extent that Roman Catholic theologians responded to the Protestant Reformation. Some of them even drew the conclusion, "We see that you, like us, believe in salvation by works. You just have a different set of works. Yours is faith; ours is this other stuff," in terms of the sacraments and the like, "but we all believe in salvation by works." This is where Luther, Calvin, and the Reformers had to make great effort and take great pains to demonstrate that faith, first of all, was purely a gift from God, biblically speaking, and that it was not faith itself that saved anyone, but it was the object of our faith, namely Jesus, who saved us, and that faith was simply the means through which the righteousness and the suffering and the satisfaction made for sins by Christ are applied to sinners. Historically, this has happened before, and we, like the Reformers and the Protestants through history, need to be careful that we articulate this in ways that are accurate biblically and don't turn faith into a work that we do that saves, but rather see faith as the means through which the work of Christ is applied to us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Quoting here Romans 10 real quick—just so you can hear it in Paul's words. He's talking about the legitimacy of what's backing your faith, and he's even using this illustration. Romans 10:6: "Righteousness based on faith." Then he even says in verse nine, "Because, if you confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord," where is he pointing? The object of your faith. He says you're pointing it to the reality of who Jesus is. I believe Jesus is Lord, and he's saying that's the evidence or that's what saves you. "And believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved." So, the faith is in the object of Jesus and what he did. I love that about Romans 10\. We always use that verse as having to say it with your mouth in order to be saved and you miss the point. Faith is in who Jesus is and what he did—that's what saves you; not the actual faith in itself. Just having faith.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's very clear that the presentation of the Scriptures is that it's the righteousness of God, it's the righteousness of Christ that's being counted to sinners and faith is a means. Think about Romans 1:17, think about Ephesians 2:8-10, think about Philippians 3:7-9\. It's very clear that it's somebody else's righteousness, namely the very righteousness of God, in Romans 3:21-22, that is received by faith. So, it's not faith itself that God counts to us as our righteousness; it is the righteousness of Jesus counted to us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And it's evidenced by faith.  
  
Justin Perdue: Let's move on to the next. We dealt with placing faith in faith, which is a very broad evangelical issue. Now we want to speak more to an issue that would be more prominent amongst Calvinistic or Reformed-ish evangelicals.  
  
This would be, as you put it before we recorded, if the first one is faith in our faith, this category would be many people putting faith in our faithfulness. The answer here would be something along the lines of on what basis should you be admitted into heaven. And you would begin to point to your obedience, you would begin to point to your discipline and your faithfulness. Because I understood these things, I believe these things, I did this stuff that then demonstrated and validated my faith. That's the argument—that you need to prove the legitimacy of your trust in Jesus through what you do.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. This is probably a subject that we handle all the time in Theocast. It's definitely a tricky situation. We're going to be a little bit more pointed in and try to be very nuanced and careful here. There's a kind of a razor's edge here and it feels like we can get pushed off onto either side. We are going to try to be as scripturally relevant here as we can, because what people end up hearing is that obedience isn't necessary, and that is by no means Reformed, confessional, or biblical in any shape at all.  
  
Obedience is a consequence. It's what's going to happen. Even Ezekiel says, "I'll pull out your heart of stone and I'll put it in a heart of flesh and will cause you to walk in my ways." Obviously, Christians who have the Spirit's power in them are going to obey.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm thinking of a bunch of Scripture passages: Romans 6—union with Christ, we've been delivered from the dominion of sin, we become obedient from the heart; Romans 8—we're being conformed into the image of Christ; Romans 12—we're being renewed in our minds. All of these things are our reality as a result of union with Christ by faith. Of course, like you just said, because we have been fundamentally changed and united to Christ and his Spirit is now at work in us, he is going to change us and that is going to result in good works and obedience. And we, along with the Reformed and the orthodox of all time, see that as a necessary consequence of saving faith and a necessary consequence of salvation. The problem is—and you said this so many times, Jon, and I agree with you—the problem is this kind of "prove it" mentality that exists out there because you start to try to make the stream flow uphill and you invert the relationship by saying, "Prove that you're saved by what you do." You actually can't do that; you have to be saved first and then the fruit is born. And when you invert the relationship, we got all kinds of problems.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We've gone from one side to the other, right. We are saved by our faith, now we're being saved by our faithfulness—which no one would say in the conservative Calvingelical world. To be fair, that is what ends up leading people down that road, because what is the basis foundation? Where are they resting? What's fueling their assurance? And what's fueling your assurance is the evidence of fruit in your life. Often, I would even say, it's not fruits of the Spirit, it's fruit of Christianism that's been handed down to us. As crazy as this sounds, the moment you say the desire to read your Bible daily is the evidence of your salvation and the ground of your assurance, I'm sorry, but that can't be it because your desires for anything are going to ebb and flow up and down. This is why Paul talks about the war against the flesh and the Spirit against the flesh: we are going to have our desires that go up and down. Even if you were to say you don't desire Jesus above everything else every single moment of every single day, you should not have assurance, again, you are saying the ground of your salvation—that which justifies you before God—is based upon either your actions or your emotions or your level of dedication. This is why in the Baptist world that I grew up in, the call to rededication was so relevant because it was like they were saying, "You should question whether you're good with God. You should question whether God is going to save you because look at your life. You're not fully dedicated to Him." we would have these rededication services to the point where some would even get rebaptized—Justin, you know this world—because your assurance level dropped so low that it was like they were doing a re-up on the membership here just to make sure that all things are good. And when you are looking to dedication or faithfulness as the ground of your assurance, then you have a massive problem. This is why so many people who listen to Theocast contact us and say, "For the first time in my life, I feel like I truly have assurance because I am not looking to a prayer on one side, or I'm not looking to my faithfulness on the other side because prayer and faithfulness never saved anyone."  
  
Justin Perdue: Certainly, this whole premise of walking the aisle, praying a prayer, and making a decision one time, saving someone—that is foreign to the Scriptures. This other thing of the emphasis on your disciplines and your faithfulness and the fruit in your life, and basically pointing people to that to know that they're saved, is a hopeless endeavor. I've said this recently, I think, but I'm going to go and say it again: none of us on our deathbeds will ever be comforted by our obedience. You know why? Because all of us who have been united to Christ and who have been given a new heart and a new spirit, who are actually tender in our consciences and want to obey, we will reflect back on our lives and we will be hyper aware, I trust, of how we could've done so much more. We could have obeyed so much more. We could have sinned so much less. You can't comfort someone with that because we are imperfect at best, even in our obedience, and our sincerity and how we feel about obeying ebbs and flows. So, if we're being pointed to that, not to encourage us—we agree with the confessions and the Scriptures that we can have our assurance bolstered by being shown the change in our lives—but if you're being pointed to that as how you know and on what basis should you be admitted into heaven? "Well, I've got these good works to prove that I'm legit." That is assurance robbing and peace destroying. Many saints have been wrecked by that, even in our modern context.  
  
This, in my mind, is bad Puritan theology where there is an overemphasis on moral transformation. The gospel is assumed. Of course, Christ is preached and all that, but that's in the backdrop. It's the background and really, the focus is now on the Christian's life, disciplines, obedience, performance, and the like.  
  
If we begin to answer the question of on, what basis should you be admitted into heaven in the first person in any way, we are wrong. If it's our faith, our obedience, or the fact that we persevere to continue, brother, sister, you're looking in the wrong spot.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To be clear, I want to go back and say this. I feel like people misquote me and Theocast quite often. I think Christians should and must be very disciplined in their lives as it relates to their sin and their actions, and I would even say, as it relates to the Word of God, because God's Word and God's people point us to the one who is saving us, and the more disciplined and dedicated we can be to focusing our attention on the substance of our salvation, the stronger our faith and obedience can and should be.  
  
Justin, I know you're about to get to this here in this illustration you're going to use: the emphasis is put on your faithfulness, but the emphasis has to be put on Christ and his faithfulness. This is 1 John when it says what we are, we are not yet. But we, in anticipation of this, we purify ourselves as he is pure. The looking to is Christ, not to our faithfulness. I know people can feel like we're being nuanced here, but I will tell you the flip on this: the difference between rest and no rest. You can rest seeking obedience, disciplining yourself, understanding the benefits of living a godly life, and loving those and giving grace, mercy, patience, and longsuffering, resting in the reality that it's Jesus' sufficiency that brings me home. Or you can pursue godliness and all of these other things as they ebb and flow, go up and down; as they do, so does your assurance, and so does your emotional dryness because you're trying to find comfort in yourself and in your self-sacrificing, and it cannot be found. This is why Paul says, "I am," present tense, "the greatest sinner I know." And where does he find his hope? In the sufficiency of Jesus.  
  
Justin Perdue: He does, which is where we're turning.  
  
The title of the episode, _Faith Never Saved Anyone_, is an entirely true statement. Faith does not save sinners; Jesus does. Faith, as we've been saying this whole podcast, is simply a vehicle, or a conduit, or a means—whatever word you want to use. It is the object of our faith that is the one in whom we trust who saves us. Even our confession and the ways that it will outline what saving faith is—it is receiving resting and trusting in Christ alone for salvation for all of it: justification, sanctification, and glorification. It is as 11.1 in the 1689 points out with respect to justification. It's not that God infuses righteousness into us, but He pardons our sins and accounts us as righteous. How? He does it for Christ's sake alone, not for anything produced in us or done by us. He doesn't count faith itself, the act of believing, or any other obedience to us as our righteousness. Instead, God credits; He imputes. Christ's active obedience to the law and passive obedience in his death is our whole and only righteousness by faith—and that is a beautiful definition of what justification looks like, and even of what saving faith looks like, and that's what we're trying to outline and articulate here today.  
  
What we want to do now is continue to unpack this Reformed answer to the question, "On what basis should we be admitted into heaven?" The answer is Jesus. Period. There's nothing else to say. He is the one who has saved us, and we look outside of ourselves always to him as the ground of our assurance and peace before God.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I know you mean this, but not just Jesus, the good teacher, or Jesus, the good person—it's Jesus, the replacement for our sins; the substitute; Jesus, the righteous one; Jesus, the intermediary, the one who intercedes for us; Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. That's the one who saves you. Just to be clear.  
  
Justin Perdue: Like I said, from our confession, it's his obedience to the whole law—so his righteous life—and its obedience in his death in which he paid for our sins, took the punishment we deserve as law breakers. It's all of that counted to us so that we are not only viewed by God as though we have never sinned, we are also viewed as having all of the obedient works of Jesus credited to our account. It's phenomenal news—and faith is the means by which all of that is applied to wretches such as we.  
  
A few illustrations by teachers that most people that are listening to this podcast will probably have heard of, and these are really, really good and helpful. So, the first is Tim Keller. Keller has given an illustration at multiple points to demonstrate how it is God and His promises that saves sinners, grounded in what Jesus has done. So, he says to envision the Exodus where the people of Israel are going to be crossing through the Red Sea. This is an insane event where God miraculously parts the waters. Can you imagine what it would have been like to walk through on the floor of the Red Sea with these, we presume, walls of water on either side. You're being pursued by the Egyptian army. Keller will rightly point out that you have to assume that there would have been people in that mass of Israelites walking through the Red Sea who would have felt all kinds of different ways about this event. Some of them would have been super confident in God and in Moses, their leader: "Here we go. God is going to deliver us." And then there would have been some, no doubt, who would have been scared out of their minds. But as Keller points out rightly, both those who were confident and those who were terrified made it through to the other side. Why? Because God was their deliverer. It was not about them and their confidence; it was about God and His faithfulness.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Again, it's the substance of what saved them. Obviously, they had to believe. And how do we know that they believed?  
  
Justin Perdue: They walked.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. That's such a good illustration.  
  
Justin Perdue: Another one. This one's excellent. Don Carson. So, he presents this hypothetical conversation between two Israelites the night the Passover's going to go down. God has said He's going to come through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn. He has instructed His people as to what they are to do and how they're to make this meal, kill a lamb, make this meal and eat it in haste, put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their house, and God's going to pass over that household. Carson paints this picture of two men having a conversation about all this. One of them is absolutely losing his mind. He's like, "I just don't know about all this. I'm scared. I don't know how this is going to go down. What are we supposed to do? How is this going to go down for us?" And the other man responds, "What are you talking about? The Lord has told us everything that we need to know. We can have complete confidence in what He has told us. We just need to do this with the lamb, and we need to put the blood on the doorposts and all this. Everything's going to be fine." And he's super confident. The other guy goes, "Oh my gosh. Yeah, I guess I'm going to go do that. But I just don't know. I just don't know how this is going to go down." So that happens. The one man in confidence goes and does the thing and the other man with a lot of doubt and fear and trepidation goes and does the thing. And then this question: whose house was visited by the angel of death that night? Neither. Why? Because the issue in terms of God passing over the house did not hinge upon the quality of the faith of the people; it hinged upon the quality of the promises and the One who made the promises; it hinged on His character, that the Promise Giver is the Promise Keeper, and it is His nature and His character that carries the day. It's not how the people felt and how much confidence they have.  
  
This last one has been circulating around social media lately and it's so good. So, Alistair Begg is a preacher known to some, maybe known to many. There's a clip two minutes long of him giving a message. He begins by saying some really helpful things about that first and third person stuff, about how, if you were to die and you stand before the proverbial judgment seat, you're asked on what basis you should be admitted into heaven. If you begin to answer in the first person, he says we're wrong. It must be answered in the third person because he has done these things, not because I believe, not because I obey, not because I continued.  
  
And then he gives the illustration of the thief on the cross—and he takes some liberty with these things, but the point is still made. The thief on the cross, as people know, was cursing Jesus, and Jesus said some wonderful things to him, and this man ends up trusting in Christ and clearly taking Jesus at his word, where Jesus even looks at him and says, "Today you'll be with me in paradise." Begg paints the picture of this man standing before the judgment seat, and there's the angel there—again, he takes liberty—and the angel asks this man, "On what basis are you here?" And the thief says, "I don't know." "What do you mean you don't know?" "It means, I don't know." So, this angel gets very frustrated and goes and gets his supervisor angel, who then comes to question the thief. And this supervisor angel asked the thief and he said, "Okay, tell me what you know about the doctrine of justification by faith." And the thief says, "I've never heard of it in my life." So, he says, "Okay, let's then go to the doctrine of Scripture immediately. Let's talk about that." And it's just crickets. Nothing. So even the supervisor angel is now frustrated with the thief and, and he says, "Okay, on what basis are you here?" And the thief looks at him and says, "Well, because the man on the middle cross told me I can come." Even as he gives the message, the air is let out of the room and everybody's like, "Amen, brother." You know as a Christian, as someone acquainted with your own sin, you're like, "That is right." Because that is the only way that we could ever have peace: because Christ has told me, on the basis of his unshakeable life and on the basis of his death in my place, he has told me that I can come, and he has secured that for me. That's good news. How did this shake out for the thief? He was cursing him one minute and now he's in paradise. Why is he there? Because Jesus told him he could come.  
  
Jon Moffitt: "I have come to seek and to save sinners." And the thief on the cross is a great example of a sinner. "I've come to seek and to save the lost." Not those who have found their way, but those who have lost their way. It is so counter self-righteousness so that none of us may boast.  
  
Justin Perdue: Why is it that we can be confident? Not only because of what Jesus did for us while he was on earth, but like we talked about in a podcast recently, he has ascended to the heavens and sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for his own—all of us. He's able to save us to the utmost. He advocates for us when we sin. His word stands. He's telling us, "Those of you who have trusted in me, you can come. I am the one who guarantees that. I am the guarantor of the new covenant. I'm the mediator here and what I say goes." The one in whom we trust, the object of our faith, is our confidence. It's not our faith. It's not our obedience. It's Christ and what he's done for us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One last illustration before we go over to our next podcast. The disciples are in a locked room. They're afraid the Jews might find them. Mary’s already told him, "Hey, Jesus is alive," but they still haven't figured it out yet. These are cowards. Peter has rejected Jesus three times and knows he's ashamed of it. Then Jesus appears in the room and the first word out of his mouth is "Peace be unto you." And he goes back to quote Jeremiah where he says the prophets are proclaiming peace when there is no peace, because Israel is in the absolute rejection of God. And he says, "You are unwilling to repent." These men who are in the room, not repenting, and Jesus appears before them and says, "Peace be unto you." I love what John says: he showed them the scars on his hand and his side. The substance of their peace was Jesus' death on the cross. My goodness. That's something you should believe in.  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen. It's Christ's gentle posture toward them as a gentle and lowly Savior. "Peace to you. Let me show you, my scars. My scars are your salvation."  
  
Jon Moffitt: "By his wounds, we are healed." Not by our faithfulness, not by our faith, not by our obedience.  
  
We're going to continue this conversation in our family time. It's where we gather together to talk about how we take this message and move it out into the world to encourage each other to ask hard questions. This is called Semper Reformanda. It's a two-part ministry: we do a podcast every week right after this one to continue the conversation, and then we continue that conversation in local and online groups on our app. You could go in there and join the conversation, whether it's in the Tavern or in a local and online group. So, if you want to learn more about that, listen to the podcast, join the group. You can go to Theocast.org, and we would love to have you there.  
  
Justin let's go ahead and head over to the other podcast. We'll see you guys all next week.

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### When the Faithful Falter

*Published: July 28, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/when-the-faithful-falter*
*Tags: Struggle with sin*

Often in Scripture, the faithful falter. For example, Abraham is called "the man of faith" by Paul, and he is upheld as the model of justification by faith in all of the Bible. Yet, he sold his wife into defilement and adultery--twice. Or, consider the disciples. In the aftermath of Jesus' death and resurrection, they are hiding together in a room, terrified. What do we make of these things?

Semper Reformanda: The guys talk about preaching the Old Testament--and in particular, preaching on the lives of Old Testament saints. What are better and worse ways to do that? What are some common objections raised against redemptive-historical preaching?

Scripture references:  
Genesis 12:10-20  
John 20:19-23

Resources:  
[Justin's sermon: Faith, Fear, and God’s Faithfulness | Genesis 12:10-14:24 ](https://covbap.org/sermons/faith-fear-and-gods-faithfulness-genesis-1210-1424/)[Jon's sermon: John 20:19-23 – When Jesus Says “Peace”](https://gracereformed.org/sermons/john-2019-23-when-jesus-says-peace/)

Giveaway:[ "Night Driving" by Chad Bird](https://amzn.to/3i6xNa8)

https://youtu.be/R1gv7\_4ZnSg

**Podcast Transcript**

Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we're going to talk about when the faithful falter. For example, Abraham is called by the apostle Paul "the man of faith", and he is upheld as the model of justification by faith in all the Bible. Yet this is a man who, on two different occasions, sold his wife out to defilement and adultery. What do we do with that? Even the disciples, as they are sitting in a room, huddled up together, terrified in the aftermath of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection—what do we do with that account? Why are passages like this in the Bible? That's what John and I are going to have a conversation about today. We hope that you leave this episode being encouraged in the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ and how he has you and has saved you. So stay tuned.

The title of the episode, everybody has seen it, is _When the Faithful Falter_. Why this topic today? I'm preaching through Genesis. This past Sunday Was in Genesis 12:10 and following all the way through the end of chapter 14\. One piece of that section of Genesis is Abraham and Sarai in Egypt. Many may know that that's the first of two situations where Abraham effectively sells his wife out to defilement, basically motivated by selfishness, self-preservation, and fear. Abraham, of course, has held up as the man of faith and the model of justification by faith in all of Scripture, but it's quite clear that his faith faltered at points. In other words, his faith was like ours.

And then Jon, you are preaching through John's gospel. Where were you this past Sunday?

Jon Moffitt: This is the disciples hiding in a room with the door locked. This is right after Jesus' resurrection. He meets Mary, and John's gospel sends Mary off to go tell the disciples that he is going to their God and to their Father. Then Jesus appears in the room. From the moment of Jesus' arrest in the garden to the moment that Jesus is standing there in that room, you don't see the strong disciples who said, "We'll go with you anywhere. We'll die for you." All you see is the constant faltering of the disciples. We're going to take both the New Testament and the Old Testament and show how the narrative seems to be the same.

Justin Perdue: Totally. So this is going to be a conversation about Genesis; it's going to be a conversation about John. And then we'll probably talk a little bit about redemptive-historical preaching, and that's probably where we're going to go in the SR portion, maybe in more detail. So get ready. If you like Genesis and John, today's podcast is for you.

Let's start out in the book of Genesis. If you have a Bible near you and you want to look along, you totally can. It's Genesis 12:10-20\. We're not going to go verse by verse or anything, but if you want to read the account that we're talking about, that's where you can find it.

Basically the situation is there's a famine in the land where Abraham is, and that famine drives him into Egypt to find food. This is going to happen again with Abraham's descendants as we know. Jacob and his children are going to go down into Israel as well. Kind of cool how those patterns repeat themselves over and over again in redemptive history, but that's another podcast for another day.

So as Abraham is driven down into Egypt for food, he's faced with a decision. Because he's going down there as a sojourner, which means that he doesn't have rights, he doesn't have legal recourse, he doesn't have protection in those ways. He's vulnerable as a Sojourner and he knows that. So as they're going down into the land of Egypt, Abraham says to his wife, "Okay, look, you're a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they're going to notice that. And they're going to want to get rid of me because you're so beautiful. They're going to want to eliminate me from the equation so that they can do with you what they want to do."

Jon Moffitt: At what point do you think she's thinking, "Aww. This is a great compliment." And then she goes, "Oh, he's being real. He's being serious."

Justin Perdue: He's like, "For real, for real." Basically, he says this: they'll kill me, but they'll let you live. So in verse 13, he pitches the plan. This is what he says: "Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake." So it's very straightforward in terms of what his plan is and what his hopes are. Because Sarai is beautiful, she is going to tell them that she's not Abram's wife—she is his sister—so now they will treat Abram well Because of that. And in verses 14-16, that's exactly what happens. They go into the land of Egypt and it all unfolds according to Abram's plan. (I'm using Abraham and Abraham interchangeably—forgive me for doing that. The studious amongst us will know that he is not called Abraham until Genesis 17.)

Verses 14 to 16, the Egyptians see that Sarai is beautiful when they enter into the land. And then the princes of Pharaoh commend her to Pharaoh, Pharaoh takes her into his house to be his wife. He treats Abram well—verse 16, "And for her sake he dealt well with Abram," and gives him a bunch of stuff. It's all working out according to Abram's plan.

But then in verse 17 is where it really takes a very interesting turn. We read that the Lord afflicts Pharaoh's house on account of Sarai because of the defilement, the adultery that's going on. Then Pharaoh, in verse 18, approaches Abram. It's wild. This whole scenario is insane in how it unfolds. In this account, it's almost as though Pharaoh is set up as the one who is the righteous man and Abram is the one who is the selfish liar. So Pharaoh confronts Abram in verse 18, "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She's my sister,' so that I took her for my wife?" In other words, he wouldn't have done that if he had known that she was married to Abram. "Here is your wife; take her and go." And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

This is a remarkable account because Pharaoh is very upright in the way that he deals with Abraham here. When he finds out about the adultery, not only does he stop the adultery, he doesn't continue, but he confronts Abraham and even rebukes Abraham for lying about it all. He doesn't kill Abraham, which would have not been uncommon, and he had been giving a bunch of stuff to Abraham because of Sarah and he doesn't demand any of that stuff back; he lets Abraham keep it all. Then he sends them away out of the country and gives orders to his men to make sure they get out safely. He is kind and merciful and all these things. It's like the Pharaoh is more concerned for Sarah's welfare than Abraham is. It is not Abraham's finest day; he does not handle this in an exemplary manner. That's very clear.

Let me just say this at the outset before we riff on this. Disclaimer—we've got to do this because we don't want to be misunderstood: sin is wrong and sin is destructive; it ruins lives; we ought to flee from it; we ought to pursue righteousness. Nothing that we are about to say excuses, sin in any way. We are just going to have an honest conversation about the nature of life in this fallen world and the fact that God's people still sin—sometimes heinously. What can we learn from these kinds of accounts about God, about ourselves, and about His ways with us? That's the question.

Jon Moffitt: There you go. You have to make the observation that Abraham is one of the few men who had the privilege of speaking with the Lord, he has conversations with Him. We do know that Abraham believes in God. What his theology is at this point, I don't know. Obviously, if Pharaoh knows what he's doing is wrong, Abraham knows what he's doing is wrong. So let's just get this clear: it's obvious Abraham knows what he's doing is wrong and yet fear is what seems to be his reason.

Justin Perdue: Yeah. Self-preservation. Selfishness.

Jon Moffitt: Fear and selfishness seem to be his motivation. It's a random story. Let's just think about the narrative here for a moment: we understand that the story of the Bible is the unfolding redemption of sinners by Christ. What did this really add to the unfolding story of the redemption of Jesus Christ? We know that Abraham is in the line of Christ's seed. It's from Abraham we get to the Messiah. Why did the Holy Spirit find it necessary to put that in there? I think it's very important because every word, according to Paul to Timothy, is profitable for reproof, for instruction, and in doctrine. I'm going to say very clearly for reproof, instruction, in doctrine, and for holiness; it's obvious to see that men who are often raised to be faithful are the ones who Scripture describes as faltering. So if you want to talk about the faithful one, we're going to have to point to Christ. But in this narrative, I can see very clearly why the Holy Spirit put this in here because one of the most famous important men in bringing us the Messiah faltered—not once, but multiple times.

Justin Perdue: Some observations here. What I said before I do think matters in terms of a pattern for Israel, because Abraham is going down into Egypt, has dealings with Pharaoh, is brought out by God into the promised land, and Israel will be, too. But I agree with you. Why all the details of his failure? This is one of the things, too, that people have said about Scripture for ages—and I agree; I know you do, too. One of the things that commends Scripture in terms of its truthfulness is the fact that it does not give a flattering presentation of its major figures. This is not a flattering presentation of Father Abraham, the man who is called by the apostle Paul "the man of faith", who is the pattern for justification by faith in all of the Bible, and yet we see him doing this. I just want to be super clear: the point of none of this is that sin is no big deal. That's ridiculous. It's absolutely absurd.

Jon, I think to what you just said, the point of this is that God saves sinners, that God justifies the ungodly, and that he doesn't just save upright, likable, virtuous people. The point is that he saves wretches in need of mercy and gives us the righteousness of Christ—a righteousness that we don't deserve and could never earn. That's what he did with Abraham.

Here's the deal—and you pointed at this, too—as Christians, we all sin and some of us will commit sins as Christians that are shameful. But God will keep us through it all. People will then raise that we can't be engaged in habitual sins. We're doing something that's heinous; surely we should learn from that first experience and never do it again. People would say that about Abraham here. After this and this whole thing and how it shook out, surely he'll never do this again. Well, he does in chapter 20—and he does the same thing again. He's going to sell his wife out to defilement again. Not excusing his behavior, but the point is that he is going to fall in the same way again, yet at the end of it all, he will be finally saved on account of the righteousness of Christ—and so will we.

Now, if you hear that and—in the face of that mercy, that grace, and that love—your immediate thought is, "Oh, good. Well, we can just go sin now," I don't know that you've understood the gospel. When we are confronted with that kind of mercy and grace, and that kind of love in the face of our sin and failure, our thoughts should be, "What a God. What a Savior. What good news. I want to go out of here now, love my neighbor, and pursue righteousness because of what God has done for me."

Jon Moffitt: Outside of Christ, there are temporal consequences and there are eternal consequences. The world knows there's temporal consequences. That is why things like AA exist. People don't like the effects of sin; most don't. Look at Pharaoh; he even knows this is wrong. He said, "Why are you doing this?" To think that to promote grace is to make sin acceptable is wrong. I will say that a lot of times I encourage men in my own church to say, "Hey, look, you need to take a long, hard look at your fight against sin and realized that there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but the temporal punishment or consequence is you don't want to go through that." Justin and I both have had to walk people through absolute shattered lives. The scars they carry with them until death are horrendous. It's disgusting.

Justin Perdue: A guy from my congregation and I were having a conversation after the service on Sunday. He was greatly affected by the sermon and the service in general. He was just astonished at thinking about Pharaoh and Abraham and all this. Abraham committed this heinous sin, yet God's going to deliver him. That's true. And at the same time, we're not told all of the details in terms of the fallout that Abraham and Sarai and everybody had to go through. And there's going to be more in subsequent chapters when he sleeps with Hagar, and then Ishmael was born, and all of those absolutely tumultuous stuff that occurs in his household as a result of that. In chapter 20, when he sells Sarai out again, we're not told about all of the fallout in terms of their lives on earth. Our lives are wrecked by sin and we ought to flee from it for the good of our neighbor, for the good of everyone who loves us and is close to us, and we ought to pursue righteousness and flee from sin because it does honor the Lord.

One thing to comment on before we leave this Old Testament section and jump into John's gospel—and we may pick up more on this later even in SR—something I said on Sunday is we would do really well to talk honestly about the lives of saints as they are described on the pages of Scripture. In other words, we would do well not to whitewash them. We ought not try to domesticate things and edit out the ugly parts in this kind of flannel board presentation of the lives of the saints. I am convinced that the Scriptures are such a tremendous gift from God to those who seek to be honest about our struggle with sin. We're able to look at texts even like this and see how Abraham, this man of faith, sinned and struggled and yet is going to be finally delivered. We are able to see something there of how the Lord will deal with us.

Are there things commendable about Abraham's life? Absolutely. We talked about some of those in our service on Sunday; we'll talk about some of those things moving forward. But there are plenty of things about his life that are not exemplary, and this is why we don't preach sermons on how to be like Abraham. We don't preach a sermon series on "Dare to be a Daniel", or "7 Ways to be Like David", or a 31-part series on the life of Jeremiah. There's a reason that we don't do that. Abraham, if he were sitting here today, would be the first to say, "Be like me? That's not a good idea." Because seriously, Jon, you and I both have a number of godly men in our congregations who have not sold their wives out to defilement for their own protection and profit.

Jon Moffitt: Nope. 30 years of marriage. Never once.

Justin Perdue: Abraham, I think, would tell us, "Look, there's really only one thing about me that you would want to imitate—and that is to believe God. Believe in the one who justifies the ungodly. Believe in Jesus, God's promised One who has saved us from our sin." Abraham's best moments were when he took God at His word.

Jon Moffitt: To defend what you're saying, let me quote Paul. In 1 Corinthians 10, he is describing the fall of Israel, and he describes a lot of falter. He says, "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man." If you think that you don't have the same capacity to fall as they did, you better take heed. When someone says, "Well, Jon, these are examples," I'm like, "Yes. That you too can fall."

Justin Perdue: In other words, that's an example because you are just like Abraham and Abraham is just like you. You could end up doing the exact same thing that Abraham did, though you shouldn't.

I don't think it takes a lot from us to be able to look at our people and say, "You know, it's probably not good to sell your spouse out to defilement." If I need to open the Bible to convince you of that, we need to have another conversation.

Jon Moffitt: That's called "the law in our hearts".

Justin Perdue: For real. The law is written into the human heart and there's a civil use of it where, like you even said, Pharaoh is clearly aware that to commit adultery or to take another man's wife is inappropriate.

Jon Moffitt: Let's transition to John. This is going to be a slightly different perspective but the same conclusion—it's always Jesus—but let's look at it from a different perspective.

Jesus recruits these men and in this narrative, someone even argued that maybe even Mary and some other people are in this room. Obviously Thomas is not because Thomas asked to see later. But at this point, the disciples have abandoned Jesus. Peter has denied him three times. It's a mess of a story. Of course, Jesus told them this would happen. Some of the disciples here walk with Jesus and eat with him; they don't know it's him and they're trying to figure it out. Then he appears in this locked room. John describes that Jesus appears within this locked room and uses a phrase that's not uncommon: "peace be to you". It's a very common phrase.

I think John has an unbelievable sense of humor and he is very sarcastic and snarky at times, in my humble opinion. In Greek, Jesus magically appears and the words he uses are like, "Hey, guys!" To which Luke describes them as yelling out and saying, "It's a ghost!"

John describes the very next thing that makes Jesus' words come to life. It makes sense. It's not just a simple, "Hello. Peace to you." So in Jeremiah, twice Jeremiah yells out to the people—and I would never want to have to have Jeremiah's job because all he did was preach doom and gloom and wrath upon Israel—and twice he comes after them and says, "The false prophets are saying 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. You better beware and you better repent because if you don't, judgment's coming upon you." And of course, what ends up happening is judgment does come upon Israel and it's a mess.

Jesus walks into the room of men who have abandoned him, who are afraid of being killed because they're followers of Jesus, who are doing everything wrong. He appears before them and he says, "Peace be to you." What does John say? Immediately, he showed him his hands and his side, and then said again, "Peace be to you." Why do they now have peace with the Father? Jesus is showing them it is not their actions, it is not their faithfulness, it's not their dedication; it is his scars in his hands and in his side. He received the wrath that Jeremiah was talking about that was coming because there was no peace between God and man, and now there's peace between God and man.

This is where things are a little bit different. I want to talk about the motivation for obedience. Because in this same section, it says, "When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you.'" I love this. This is their motivation. They're all good because of Jesus. This is what he says: "'As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.'" Men who are locked in a room, afraid that they may be caught as a Jesus follower, Jesus comes in and uses what to motivate them? Not fear, not dread, not death, not warning. What does he motivate them with? "All wrath and anger and punishment has been put upon me. Here's the proof. Now I'm sending you out to finish what the Father has started." you want to talk about your motivation to obey coming from the gospel? What a point, right?

Justin Perdue: Yeah. I'm just sitting here listening to you talk about it. I'm looking at the text, I've got my Bible open over here, and it's very clear. What is it that is to drive and propel and motivate the disciples? It's peace with God that Jesus alone has accomplished.

Like you just said, all the wrath that is due sin, all of the righteous indignation that God has against all of the wickedness that all of His people have ever committed, all of his wrath against just our inherent corruption and rebellion against him and all of those things, all of His righteousness and holiness and everything that that requires, in one sense, in terms of His justice. All of these things have been poured out in full on Christ. His scars are evidence of that. It's like Romans 5:1: because we have now been justified by faith, we have peace with God because of what Christ has done. It's like what I was saying earlier: in the face of this astonishing grace and mercy, to be crushed by the Father is what we deserve, but instead Jesus was crushed for it. When we think about how we deserve that, but now we have peace and love and grace and fellowship and security and all of these things, now I get to go be part of what the Father is doing in this world through His Son.

Then the question is, "Why would we then want to go sin?" And the answer to that question is because the flesh is real. It is a reality where we are born again, we have been united to Christ, and his Spirit has taken up residence within us. And by virtue of that, we now have become obedient from the heart, we delight in God's law in our inner man, and we want to obey. Because we hear the gospel and we see how good it is, and we've considered the mercy and the privilege and all that that is ours in Christ, we want to go and love and preach Jesus, flee from sin, and pursue righteousness. Yet the flesh remains, it's real, and the flesh at times overcomes the saints. But yet the confidence that we have is that at the end of the day, Christ is victorious because he brings judgment to victory.

Jon Moffitt: Which is not a justification for sin.

Justin Perdue: No. That's a huge disconnect and a non-sequitur.

I, for the life of me, don't understand it. Because we've got to have this conversation when it comes to sin: what is your motivation to flee from sin and pursue righteousness? Is it fear? Is it dread? Is it merit? Because if you're talking in those terms, those are legal terms where you still, in some way, are thinking that you've got something to escape or something to earn before the Lord. But God has told us that Christ has handled that. So the motivation has to be something else: and it's love, peace, security, and knowing that the wrath that was due me, Jesus took it.

Jon Moffitt: As we're talking through this, there's been all kinds of failures in the last five years. My wife says it's inevitable.

Justin Perdue: It's never ending. From various theological streams.

Jon Moffitt: There's a reason why Paul says, "Take heed lest you fall," because it doesn't matter what your theological knowledge is; if you find confidence in yourself in any part of your journey with Christ, whether it be your assurance or your fight against sin, you are priming the pump for Satan to come knock you off that stool, buddy.

Justin Perdue: What causes sin? The flesh and the tempter. It's not theological positions. Granted, we care a ton about sound doctrine and theology. It's why we do this podcast. Doctrine matters a ton for our peace before the Lord and for our lives in the local church and all of those things, but good theology has never made anyone immune to sin. And sin does not directly come—in every case—from bad doctrine. It comes from the flesh and the cravings of the flesh that overcome the saints at points. It comes from the work of the enemy, even, in his is battling and waging war against us.

Jon Moffitt: Dare I say, if you have good theology, you probably have a bigger target on your back because you're doing greater work. You think about some of the things that Paul even experienced and suffered. If he wasn't preaching the gospel faithfully, he probably would have been left alone. In some ways, you're going to be targeted even more if your theology is correct. I just think it's foolish to think your theology is what makes you immune to temptation

We have things in our lives—protections and fences and gateways—because we know that our flesh is weak. We can be Abraham. We can be the disciples. This is why Paul says these are examples for us. The strongest are the ones who fall the hardest, so don't take your faith in your strength; you put it in Christ.

Justin Perdue: This is why we preach, on the one hand, our weakness and the strength and faithfulness of Christ: because it is the only hope for sinners. I imagine that every one of us have all done things that we swore we would never do, and we've all certainly thought things that terrify even us. Personally, I think that has to be true. It's true for every Christian I know, and every member of our church, our pastors included. We all see this in ourselves and realize that were it not for the grace of God, there go I. But the point of all that is, my goodness, Christ is our only hope. This is why we need the church and we need each other, and we need to be in one another's lives talking honestly about the cravings of our flesh and our battle against sin, so that we have people in our lives that can look at us and say, "That's really hard, brother, but don't go there. That will destroy you and it's going to destroy all these people who love you. It will dishonor God. That doesn't please the Lord. He has told you that's terrible. This over here is a good thing—you know that. Keep pursuing this and let me help you walk that way."

We come back to this: If we're saved not only by our faithfulness, but even by the quality of our faith, may the Lord help us. This is a little teaser for what we're going to talk about next week. We started by talking about Abraham and we mentioned how Paul calls him the man of faith and how he is held up as the model of justification by faith and Scripture. Yet his faith faltered big time at several points in his life that are recorded on the pages of holy Scripture. In light of that, I think the takeaway should be Abraham's faith is just like mine and just like yours. It isn't always strong. Sometimes it's like we can't even find it.

I said this in the sermon on Sunday, and I said this to you earlier: we need to talk honestly, and well, and accurately about faith. We ought not make too big a deal about faith itself because sometimes evangelicals, in wanting to not preach salvation by works, will emphasize salvation by faith—and that's good, but you gotta gotta be accurate about this because faith has never saved anybody. Faith in and of itself has never saved anybody. That is the conversation that we're going to have next week. It's actually something else, someone else who saves us and we'll talk about how faith relates to that.

Jon Moffitt: And what the confusion looks like.

Justin Perdue: What the confusion looks like and why it has everything to do with our assurance and our peace before God when our faith is faltering.

Jon Moffitt: In our next podcast, Justin will explain what that is. We should talk about some of the objections that we receive when it comes to Old Testament and even New Testament faltering, and how we, as Theocast, have tried to help people walk through these objections as it relates to preaching Old Testament saints.

Justin Perdue: And we may riff a little bit on Old Testament saints, redemptive-historical preaching, the "Dare to be a Daniel" kind of mentality. There could be some humor and some lightheartedness, but we hope to be helpful to the listener in trying to be precise about what we mean, and even, like you said, let's respond to some objections that are really quickly thrown at us. For example: "Would you guys never want to make moral demands of any kind?" And that is not true. We'll talk about why over on the Semper Reformanda podcast.

We're going over to the Semper Reformanda podcast, sometimes shortened to just SR. What that is a podcast for those of you who have partnered with Theocast and have joined Semper Reformanda, and you have partnered with us, not only financially, but you're supporting the ministry and wanting to be a part of this community that we are seeking to build where there are many of you who want to continue to be able to have conversations about the podcast, about this kind of theological stuff and the transitions that you're walking through, and things that you're learning. Semper Reformanda is a community being built to facilitate those conversations.

A piece of Semper Reformanda is this podcast that we record weekly alongside the regular episodes. So that's where Jon and I are headed. If you want to find out more information about SR and how you could partner with Theocast in those ways, become a part of this pretty cool community of people, and help spread the Reformation, you can find that information over at our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com

We appreciate all of you who have tuned in. We hope this has been encouraging to you. Continue to trust Christ, flee from sin, pursue righteousness.

We'll talk with you again next week.

---

### The Forgotten Part of the Gosp...

*Published: July 21, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-forgotten-part-of-the-gosp*
*Tags: Ascension, Resurrection*

What is the gospel? Rightly, many people point to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus--through which we are forgiven of sin, absolved of guilt, counted righteous, and promised to be raised from the dead. Praise God for that! But, there are parts of the gospel that tend to be left out or assumed. Jesus intercedes and advocates for us at the right hand of God. He has given us his Spirit. He reigns from the throne of God. And he is coming back for us. All of these things matter for our assurance and peace!  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys talk pointedly about the return of Christ. We discuss the implications of this for the mission of the church, as well as why Christ's return is such good news for us.  
  
Scripture references:  
Hebrews 1:3-4, 7:23-25, 10:11-14  
1 John 2:1-2  
Romans 8:9-11, 31-34  
1 Peter 3:22  
Revelation 21:3-5  
John 5:22-27, 16, 20  
  
Resources:  
  
Sermon: [John 20:11-18 – The Missing Part of the Gospel (Jon Moffitt)](https://gracereformed.org/sermons/john-2011-18-the-missing-part-of-the-gospel/)  
  
Giveaway: ["The Gospel Driven Life" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3zju3Yv)  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
https://youtu.be/mMzJgj6EAGA  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Coming soon...

---

### A Critique of Lordship Salvation

*Published: July 14, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/a-critique-of-lordship-salvation*
*Tags: John MacArthur, Lordship Salvation*

We have gotten a number of questions regarding Lordship Salvation and the historic, reformed position on it. So, today, that is what Jon and Justin talk about. We talk about concerns over the definition of faith, the collapsing of law and gospel, and confusion on the uses of the law. We interact with John MacArthur's book, "The Gospel According to Jesus," as well as Michael Horton's "Christ the Lord."  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys talk more on uses of the law--and how confusing the first and third use of the law is particularly damaging. Justin also offers thoughts on how some Puritan theology is unhelpful.  
  
Resources:  
Podcast:[ Law/Gospel](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
Podcast: [Are You a Legalist or an Antinomian](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/are-you-a-legalist-or-an-antinomian/)  
  
[FREE EBOOK: Safe in Christ - A primer on rest](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer/)  
  
Giveaway: ["Christ the Lord" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3wCvMqg)  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
https://youtu.be/rpm-qPBEuBg  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are going to be talking about lordship salvation. Many of you have asked us questions and have even asked us to give the historic Reformed take on lordship salvation—and so that is what we are going to offer in today's episode. We hope you enjoy the conversation.  
  
Today we're talking about lordship salvation. The title of this episode is _A Critique of Lordship Salvation_. That's what we're going to be doing from a pastoral perspective. Hopefully with grace and clarity, we're going to raise some concerns that we have, as Reformed guys, with so-called lordship salvation. For many people at the pop level, at least, in the church, a figure that is most often associated with lordship salvation is John MacArthur. This podcast is not a review of John's book that's entitled _The Gospel According to Jesus_, but we will be interacting some with that content and some of the other things that MacArthur has said and written over the last 30 years or so.  
  
We will also be referencing _Christ the Lord_, which was edited by Michael Horton. There were a number of guys that contributed to that volume: Robert Godfrey, Rod Rosenbladt, Kim Riddlebarger, and others had chapters in that book. That's a response from a Reformed and confessional perspective to the lordship salvation debate that was really, really heated back in the late eighties and the nineties. Inevitably, we're going to interact with some of that material. This podcast is not a review of that material specifically. We're going to be talking about lordship salvation in a more broad way.  
  
If we were going to define it just very simply for people, lordship salvation is this conversation about the idea that you can make Jesus your Savior but not your Lord—or is it even possible for Jesus to be your Savior, but not your Lord? There's this distinction that's introduced between those two things as though he can be one or thought of as one without being the other.  
  
And of course, the argument from the lordship salvation side or John MacArthur's side, and guys and gals who agree with him, is that you cannot make Jesus Savior without also consciously making him Lord of your life. And so we're interacting with that idea and that language that's often used about submission to the lordship of Christ; what we understand that are at best confusing things that are said from that camp.  
  
Maybe we want to start by outlining the debate as it took place historically just to give people a little bit of context. In the eighties and nineties, there was a debate between John MacArthur and Zane Hodges. Zane Hodges was articulating a kind of theology. His book _Absolutely Free_ articulated this theology that a person is justified by a single act of faith. Now, Hodges is coming at this from an Arminian, semi-Pelagian perspective where he understands that human beings can make this decision of faith and this act of faith is something they can do. And so once this act of faith occurs, once this decision to believe in Jesus occurs, at one point in time, a person is justified forever. And it matters not at all what happens in a person's life thereafter—whether or not they continue believing, whether or not they are sanctified, whether or not they desire to obey God, whether or not there are good works in their life, etc. It doesn't matter because a person is justified and they're good with God.  
  
Of course there's a lot of stuff within that kind of theological schema, where if you are obedient, if you are sanctified, if you become a disciple, and you're not a carnal Christian, then there will be blessings for you in eternity and the like. But then, MacArthur's response to that bad doctrine—and we're going to talk about this more in a minute as to why Hodges' theology is bad—is that no, that is not biblical Christianity. And in fact, there is a lot demanded of us if we're going to be legitimately Christian. And so John's book, _The Gospel According to Jesus_, is his attempt to articulate what the gospel is, what the message of salvation is, and what is required of us, in one sense, if we're going to be legitimately in Christ Jesus. That's the debate as it has historically taken place. We agree that Hodges is wrong but we also have concerns with the way that MacArthur and others have articulated the gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think that's a good introduction. I appreciate that. I would agree wholeheartedly with John's assessment and in a lot of conservative, dispensational, and Reformed men's assessment of that theology. It is very confusing, and I will also say dangerous, because (1) it does confuse the gospel, (2) it confuses the nature of salvation, and (3) it confuses what I would even say _sola fide_ is. He almost thinks he's promoting a _sola fide_ position, but he's not.  
  
Justin Perdue: He's undermining it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He is. Because you're putting your faith in an action, not in Christ's actions. That's the danger of this theology in that (1) it's a confusion on the gospel, and (2) it is a confusion on the nature of the Christian.  
  
Justin Perdue: And union with Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Those who have been put in union with Christ will show the evidence of the Spirit in their life. You can't get away from passages that speak about the obedience of the Christian as being a part of the nature. May it be varying at times at different degrees, you will see the desire and the nature of a Christian to obey. So all of those critiques of this movement are accurate. We would agree and stand wholeheartedly and say that is not an accurate representation of Scripture. Not only is it not accurate, it's actually quite disturbing at times.  
  
Justin Perdue: The theology of Zane Hodges can rightly be called antinomianism. It is legitimate antinomianism.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Anti as in against obedience or anti-law.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. Like the law has no place in the life of the Christian, and it just doesn't even matter what we do. That's legitimate antinomian theology. It's actually quite rare but it was being articulated by Zane Hodges. So we agree with John MacArthur and his critique of it.  
  
Just really quickly, because we are going to be talking about MacArthur inevitably today, we want to go and say from the outset that we are grateful to God for John MacArthur and he has done a lot of good, and has been a man who has demonstrated himself to be in ministry for decades, aiming to preach the word of God faithfully. We want to commend that. And even in his book, _The Gospel According to Jesus_, just to be very clear, there've been three editions of it—there was the original, and then a significantly revised second edition, and then now a 25th anniversary edition that's been released in recent years. The book _Christ the Lord_ was interacting with the first publication of _The Gospel According to Jesus_ and raised some significant critiques. It's clear that MacArthur and his camp heard some of those critiques based upon how the second edition was revised.  
  
We say all of this too, to be clear, that as it stands today in the way that MacArthur articulates lordship salvation, in the way that he even writes _The Gospel According to Jesus_, he is not rejecting any historical Protestant Reformed doctrines outright. He's not a heretic. He even has a chapter that was added thankfully on justification, he's clear on faith alone—at least means to be clear—he'll make assertions about faith alone. We would argue that he confuses it in ways, and we're going to come to that. He's clear on God's grace versus our effort or our merit. He's even clear on the imputation of Christ's righteousness. He'll even say good things about the law, about how it was given to show us how sinful and how disobedient we are.  
  
Sadly, in other ways he's going to collapse some categories, and we're going to get to that. But we just want to be clear from the outset that this is not a roasting of John MacArthur wholesale, and we are not understanding him to be a false teacher or preaching another gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want to say, to that point, that we are interacting with the most recent material. It's unfair to go back and just criticize the old book. Both of us have the newest book—that's the book we interacted with.  
  
I want everyone else to also hear that we aren't foreign to John's ministry. I actually was trained and taught by him in the classroom, trained underneath his ministry while at the Master's Seminary. Justin's also very familiar with this ministry as he engaged with John on a personal level as well. We aren't foreign. A lot of times people say, "You don't understand his teaching," or, "You haven't engaged enough with his theology or his sermons." We have on a very deep level. We do not ever want to misrepresent people if we can help it. I hate strawmen. I don't want to be involved in that.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's unhelpful to our listeners, too.  
  
When I first encountered Calvinism, I was helped by John MacArthur as a young man and was grateful for him. He was always very personally kind to me as I interacted with him just through various ways over the years.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We are not a discernment ministry. The one thing that we want to do is clarify things. We want to clarify the gospel from a historical, biblical, Reformed perspective using documents and categories like law-gospel distinction, three uses of the law, confessionalism, Reformed definitions of faith. What we're really doing is taking John's writing and holding it up against what would say is historical theology and making our assessments that way.  
  
Just know that our conclusions aren't new to us. Nothing we say today is anything Justin and I have come up on our own. We are just trying to articulate it for our listeners because it has been asked.  
  
Justin, let's go ahead and jump right into some of the heart issues of this. I do want to say one thing, Justin: I really did appreciate a lot of what was written in the book. I found myself agreeing with the majority of the book when it was describing certain things about the nature of Christianity. I had to slow down and make sure that I fully understood. I didn't want to misrepresent something or take it out of context; you can always take a paragraph way out of context. In the years that I've been a part of these conversations about lordship salvation and Reformed theology, the number one thing is that people say, "You misunderstood John." That being said, Justin and I had tried to be very clear in listening and representing what he has said consistently recently about lordship salvation.  
  
Justin Perdue: I think we could begin with this because this one is going to be less significant in the more updated versions than it was in the original version of _The Gospel According to Jesus_. I don't think we'll have to spend as much time here. The way that MacArthur seeks to define faith is one thing that we would raise some issues with. Again, in the original version of _The Gospel According to Jesus_, this language was much more troubling and much more concerning, but the language has been revised in the second and the third edition, which we give thanks for, frankly, because it's better.  
  
The thing that, it seems to me, is that John MacArthur is desiring at least to weave categories of repentance, obedience, and a desire to obey into the way that we would define saving faith. Even the subtitle of the book, "What is Authentic Faith?", I think conveys that message. Originally in the first version, there were stuff that were said that were just full-blown Roman Catholic theology. That no longer exists in the more updated versions—praise God. But there is still language at points about obedience, for example, being inseparable from faith.  
  
Let me just quote from _The Gospel According to Jesus_. MacArthur writes this, "Clearly the biblical concept of faith is inseparable from obedience. Belief is treated as if it were synonymous with obey in John 3:36," and then he cites the verse. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life." So even here in the most updated version, you do see this desire to effectively say that you can't separate obedience from faith. That's something that is concerning to us as historically Reformed guys because we understand that saving faith is comprised of the facts about Jesus' ascent, affirming that they're true, and then trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how the Reformed have always defined faith. And then even in our own confession, there's language of trusting, hoping, and resting in Christ for justification, sanctification, and glorification on account of the covenant of grace. That's how we would define saving faith. In terms of how the Reformed have defined faith, there never has been any language of obedience, or repentance, or a desire to obey as being a part of saving faith. Those things need to be kept distinct because they are.  
  
Now, we would be the first to say, as the Reformed have always said, that when saving faith is present, good works, repentance, and those other things will be present.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And we've heard this: "You guys are being petty," or, "You're splitting hairs," or, "You're misrepresenting." We're really trying not to. I say this with as much humility. John has obviously been preaching and studying God's word for a very long time. These are not our conclusions against John; these are just things that we have learned ourselves. But you can see where John will quote and admit to _sola fide_, he will say you are not saved by works alone. So he's very orthodox in his understanding of the nature of salvation. The nature of salvation is—he literally says—a sovereign work of God that cannot be boast upon about works.  
  
Justin Perdue: And it's based on faith and our works don't contribute. He's going to say that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I appreciate the clarity on that. Where the confusion is that he is trying to show the significance of one's life who is in Christ. And this is where he will state his orthodox position, which we herald amen to, then confuses it a little bit—well, I would say a lot—with collapsing the law onto the gospel. I think the longest section in his book is probably the rich young ruler; the one that comes and asks Jesus, "Lord, what must I do to be saved?"  
  
Justin Perdue: I think what you end up seeing is that MacArthur is trying to bake submission, obedience, and a desire to obey into the nature of what it is to trust and believe in Jesus. He's not saying that fruit and obedience and all these kinds of things are the basis of being saved—that's not at all what he's saying. But it does seem good works, fruit, and all these kinds of things are the basis by which we can be assured that we are saved—and that's where we would want to raise some issue. It's as though we are building our justification upon our sanctification. Like we're deriving our justification from the sanctifying work of God in our lives—and that just flat out can't be done because as soon as we do that, we've sort of given the whole thing away.  
  
Calvin writes this: "For if they begin," they being Christians, "to judge their salvation by good works, nothing will be more uncertain or more feeble. From this it comes about that the believer's conscience feels more fear and consternation than assurance. If righteousness is supported by works in God's sight, it must entirely collapse and it is confined." So now he's talking about what salvation is; he said, "It is confined solely to God's mercy, solely to communion with Christ, and therefore, solely to faith." And so I think that's our concern is that there's a confusion of exactly what faith is at times, but then there's certainly a collapsing of justification and sanctification in a way that robs the believer of peace with God and assurance.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And historically speaking, the confessions and Reformed theology have acknowledged that good works are necessary and obviously bolster, encourage, or build upon the assurance of the believer. Wholeheartedly, it says that you should do good works, and these works of course arise only out of the Holy Spirit. The evidence of these good works bolster our salvation, but those who attain the greatest heights of obedience possible in this life are far from being able to merit reward by being beyond duty. You never, at a moment, can look to your good works as the ground of justification.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or as the basis of your assurance.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. And again, I do not want to misrepresent him. So we're going to use a couple of sections of his passage. When we're dealing with the rich young ruler, he rightly exegetes the passage.  
  
Justin Perdue: Now we're moving into the law-gospel stuff now.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. A lot of things: law-gospel, uses of the law... So he rightly exegetes the passage and says that Jesus doesn't give him the gospel. Amen to that. John's right—Jesus doesn't.  
  
Justin Perdue: He is so right for so long about the rich young ruler, and how it ends poorly.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I know. It's funny as I was reading it—I know I've read this a long time ago, but this is a lot of really great stuff. I was very encouraged by a lot of what I was reading. I was like, "I agree, agree, agree. That's historic. That's Reformed." Where the confusion comes in is his assessment of what he's trying to prevent from happening, which is you can say a prayer, live however you want, walk an aisle, sign a card, get baptized...  
  
Justin Perdue: Or believes certain things, but not really surrender your life to Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Which we would all agree. And the Reformed would say if one professes Christ and is unwilling to live for Christ, they obviously don't understand the gospel because the gospel transforms you from life to death. If you're in Christ, then the evidences of Christ will come through. We agree with all of that. But he says things in such ways that, I think, causes some confusion.  
  
I have a couple of quotes here that I wanted to read. It comes from this section about the rich young ruler. Let me back up: this is the one that we did a whole podcast on, which is Matthew 7\. You remember that episode that we did? "Lest anyone says to me, 'Lord, Lord'." In the end, he says that, "Clearly no past experience—not even prophesying, casting out demons, or doing signs and wonders—can be viewed as evidence of salvation apart from a life of obedience." And I understand what he's getting at, but in the context of Matthew 7, you're dealing with people who are rejecting Jesus as Messiah; they aren't rejecting obedience. So there's a confusion there.  
  
Justin Perdue: If anything, I think they're placing confidence in their works, not confidence in Christ. That's the irony.  
  
Jon Moffitt: So he says, "viewed as evidence of salvation apart from a life of obedience", which they were pointing to their obedience as the evidence itself of salvation, and Jesus rejected them because he says it's not your obedience that saves you...  
  
Justin Perdue: "It's not the works that you've done in My Name—it's Me."  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. That was one I was tracking with until that last statement. There's a confusion on the application here. Jesus actually is pointing to their obedience and saying that's not what justifies you.  
  
Justin Perdue: Just to be very clear for those who are listening in: the stuff that we pointed out already are some concerns about how faith is even defined or described, and now we're pointing out concerns about how MacArthur and the lordship camp tends to collapse the law and the gospel, and also how they collapse the categories of the uses of the law. That's really where we're launching into now by talking about the rich young ruler. A number of these things are just going to come out and we'll talk about them as they do.  
  
So his exposition, like you said, Jon, of the rich young ruler is pretty good for a while. And then sadly, it just ends really, really bad in terms of the takeaway.  
  
Here's perhaps the most significant quote from that section. This is MacArthur's conclusion: "Our Lord gave this young man a test: he had to choose between his possessions and Jesus Christ. He failed the test. No matter what points of doctrine he might affirm, because he was unwilling to turn from what else he loved most, he could not be a disciple of Christ. Salvation is only for those who are willing to give Christ first place in their lives." That's guiding MacArthur's exposition of the text; that's his takeaway from the passage.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Just so people understand, when we talk about the categories of the law and the gospel, if you've not heard our episode understanding the difference between the two, I would encourage you to go do so. Gospel is always what has been done by Christ for sinners. It's a declaration of the good news of the freedom from the punishment of sin and the gaining of righteousness done by the works of God, through Christ, for our benefit. That is good news of declaration. The law is the demand for perfect obedience and righteousness to everything that is in the nature of God and in His Word, and the two are never, ever collapsed in on each other. So you have the good news of what is done, and then you have the declaration of what you must do.  
  
He admits in this section that Jesus never gets to the gospel, and yet says that basically he could never get to the gospel because the young man was not willing to basically come to receive the gospel.  
  
Justin Perdue: What's crazy is that MacArthur even gets right that Jesus effectively is aiming to get this young man to prove his love for God and neighbor. He even almost says that language verbatim, which was shocking to me because we agree that's what Jesus is doing when he tells the young man to sell everything he has given to the poor and then come follow him. That is him saying to the young man. "Okay, you think you've kept the commandments, now prove your love to God and neighbor." And that is still a message completely of law. This is where MacArthur kind of collapses these categories because his takeaway, like so many people from that section, is there is this element in which we must surrender all if we're going to be saved or we at least have to be willing to do so.  
  
So this collapsing of law and gospel forces MacArthur to do this whole kind of backpedaling thing where he's going to say—I'll just read this quote right now: "Do we literally have to give away everything we own to become Christians? No. But we do have to give Christ first place. That means we must be willing to forsake all for him." So now he has to backpedal on the requirements of the law and he has to dumb them down and relativize them and say, "We don't all literally need to sell everything we have in order to follow Jesus, but we need to be willing to do that."  
  
My question is, where is willing and the idea of willing in the passage? It's not there. Because Jesus is giving this man straight up law: "Prove your love to God and neighbor, and you will be perfect." And the man can't do it. That's the whole point of it. And the one who could provide him righteousness and atone for his sins is standing right there in front of him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Another quote later on down, it says, "He left not because he heard the wrong message, not even because he didn't believe, but because he was unwilling to forsake what he loved most in the world and commit himself to Christ as Lord. Instead of taking him from where he was at getting him to make a "decision," Jesus had laid out the terms that were unacceptable to him. In a sense, Jesus drove him away." To which we would say the rich young ruler came in and asked, "What must I do?" And Jesus told him what he had to do. The confusion on that is that that's somehow then connected to what it's required to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus never gave him what was required in order to be a follower, or let's put it this way: saved from his sins. That wasn't the conclusion. So if you collapse that down in there and say Jesus is setting up the requirements of what it looks like to be a follower of him in forgiveness, that's a confusion of the law and the gospel.  
  
Justin Perdue: Which is where you get this language of the "demands of the gospel".  
  
The lordship camp loves to use that kind of language, that the gospel demands everything from us and requires everything from us, and it will cost us our very lives and all those kinds of things. There are ways in which we agree that it will cost us our lives in that we are forsaking anything about ourselves that could ever be meritorious before the Lord, we are following a crucified Savior, and all of those things; we absolutely and heartily affirm. But the language of the demands of the gospel is Exhibit A when it comes to the collapsing of the law and the gospel, in turning the gospel effectively into a kind of covenant of works, where there are all these things required of us if we're going to be worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ.  
  
This is just another observation. MacArthur, like us, would affirm that Roman 7, for example, is about a Christian where Paul writes this language of wanting to obey but finding himself not obeying: the good things he wants to do he doesn't do, the bad things he doesn't want to do, he does. Whatever he wants to do right, evil lies close at hand, etc. "I delight in the law of God in my inner man, but there's another law waging war against me," and that's sin in his members and all these things.  
  
And so MacArthur agrees with us and agrees with the Reformed through history that that's about a Christian's state—the internal war we fight as believers. He does not maintain that Christians can be perfect. Because he collapses law and gospel, and because he also maintains Christian imperfection, he then is forced to talk about this willingness to obey, and then he is also forced, as we've already talked about, to relativize and tone down the requirements of the law. It's interesting the positions that force us into that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want to read one more quote. It says here, "The ultimate test was whether this man would obey the Lord. Jesus was not teaching salvation by philanthropy. He was not saying it is possible to buy eternal life with charity. In effect, He was saying, 'Here is the test of true faith: Are you willing to do what I want you to do? Whom do you want to run your life, you or Me?' The Lord was putting his finger on the very nerve of this man's existence. Knowing where his heart was, He said, 'Unless I become the highest authority in your life, there is no salvation for you.' By placing himself alongside the man's wealth and demanding that he makes the choice, our Lord revealed the true state of the man's heart."  
  
Look, I don't disagree, but did you see where it was slipped in in that quote? Jesus never offered him what he was saying. Jesus told him he never offered him eternal life; he only offered him earning it. Like you can earn it. It's not a gift. We know that that salvation faith is a gift—this is Ephesians 2\. Faith is gifted to us; it's not earned. The phrase here where he says the test of truth is are you willing to do whatever you want to do? No. No one is ever willing to do that. You are dead in your trespasses and sins. You cannot make yourself alive. This is where John is a Calvinist, but then uses non-Calvinistic language.  
  
Justin Perdue: In another sense, like some of the Reformed through history have done, he puts all of these qualifiers on faith. And there's all these things that have to be, if not done, at least qualifications that need to be met in order to come to Christ. We don't have time to get into it, but that is what the whole Marrow Controversy was about in the Church of Scotland. Do we need to do anything in order to be eligible effectively to come to Jesus? And the conclusion there from the Marrow brethren, which we agree with, is no, we don't need to do anything in order to come to Christ.  
  
We come to Christ in faith and through union with him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In essence, you can make the conclusion from John that this man needed to do something before he truly be a follower of Christ and that's the mistake.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or he had to be willing to give everything away for Christ. I don't know that anybody is on the front end, apart from a sovereign work of God, that would give us eyes to see as we hear the law and then the message of Christ and the gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Even in John 3:16, when Jesus tells Nicodemus those who believe are the ones granted eternal life. He's talking about this regeneration of new birth. What's hard is that Jesus isn't talking to a believer, telling him, "Hey, if you're claiming faith in me, this is what life should look like." So to confuse that conversation, Jesus is talking to an unbeliever who isn't seeking Jesus for salvation but is seeking the law for salvation. We always have to keep the context of the passage at hand. There are times where Paul flat out says, "Hey, if you're up saying you're a believer and you're not acting like it, that's a problem." But that's not the context of the rich young ruler.  
  
Justin Perdue: As we continue with this law-gospel track, and even the law itself and how it should rightly be used, let's talk briefly on MacArthur's treatment of the Sermon on the Mount. So we understand along with the Reformed through history that the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon on the law that's ever been preached. We're not saying exclusively, but largely, the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount is an exposition of the law and an application of the law to man that will condemn and crush us in our own attempts to be righteous, and would thereby drive us to the one preaching the sermon who came to fulfill the law in our place. But MacArthur's take on the Sermon on the Mount—and I think some of this has to be derived from his dispensational convictions and how he thinks about the law existing in a different era of redemptive history, and now with the coming of Christ, we're in a different redemptive dispensation. He says, for example, citing Matthew 7:13-14, which is the broad road and the narrow way and all that, his conclusion from those verses is this: "This passage crushes the claim of those who say the Sermon on the Mount is not gospel, but law. In fact, these closing verses are pure gospel with as pointed an invitation as has ever been issued." He goes on to say, "You will not find a plainer statement of the gospel according to Jesus anywhere in Scripture." He's saying that about the narrow way and the broad road in particular.  
  
My initial take on that is no, the Sermon on the Mount is not gospel—it's law. There's a confusion of law-gospel all over the place going on there. Then when he says you can't find a plainer statement of the gospel according to Jesus, I think you can. For example, Jesus' words to the woman of the city in Luke 7\. The prostitute who comes and washes his feet, etc. He says to her, "Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." I think that's a better word of gospel. " You're forgiven and your faith in me has saved you. Go in peace."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Jesus uses a lot of illustrations in his ministry, like the eye of a needle and the camel. He's talking about the impossibility of one finding salvation on their own or one earning salvation by their own merits. So the whole the road is narrow, the idea of it is you don't find it, you don't logically discover it, you don't earn your way into it. Taking that verse and using it in that way, you should hear that and respond as the disciples do and say, "Then who could be saved?" Jesus says, "Well, no one can. With man, it's impossible. With God, everything is possible."  
  
Everything Jesus says when it relates to the law and earning salvation, you should hear impossibility. Nicodemus did. He said, "How am I going to reenter the mother's womb?" Well, now you've got it. You got the impossibility.  
  
Justin Perdue: Now you understand that this is a work of God.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Later on, he even says that this is the work of the Spirit. You can't even manipulate the Spirit. It's like the wind and we don't know where it's going. There's nothing you can do to manipulate salvation—not before and not after. It is an entire work of God. And that's where there's the confusion of the law and the gospel. You add the law into the gospel, you are then saying there is something that you are involved in prior to regeneration. We're saying, no, it's all after regeneration, which I agree happens simultaneously, but you cannot put anything before the gift of salvation through faith.  
  
Justin Perdue: And the free offer of Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I need to clarify something. John MacArthur is not Roman Catholic and he is not noting works in front of salvation. I don't want to misrepresent him. It's just the confusion of his language at times where you wonder, "Is that what he's saying? Because it sounds like that's what he's saying."  
  
Justin Perdue: And all we are asking for in this whole thing is clarity of language, clarity on the gospel, clarity on justification, clarity on the sufficiency of Christ, and all of these things.  
  
One of the things too that we want to hit on in this regular portion of the podcast is how there is also not just a collapsing of law and gospel, but there's a confusion and a collapsing of the uses of the law—in particular, the first use and the third use. Very quick definitions: the first use of the law is to show us our sin and drive us to the Savior. It's the pedagogical, the teaching use, and the mirror use. Then there is also the third use, which is the guide that the law is for the Christian's life. Once we're united to Christ, the law guides our living in him, and we seek to be conformed to it by God's grace through the Spirit. It seems that in much of the teaching from the lordship camp and from John MacArthur, there's a confusion and collapsing of these categories.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think Sermon on the Mount is a good example of this. There are a lot of people who don't agree with the uses of the law. They say that it's not biblical. I think it's very helpful. Obviously, if you believe in church discipline, you have to believe in the uses of the law. I don't know how you don't.  
  
A good example of using the first use of the law, which is designed for sinners, as a third use of the law for believers, which is guiding the Christian's life, is Paul Washer's famous youth sermon that he preached. If you go in there and you'll listen to it, he rightly preaches law, but he's using it in such a way to condemn Christians and get them to believe that they're not Christians, and call into question their faith. He's doing it in such a way where people who hear that sermon... I remember the first time I heard it, there was this sense of "Am I truly a believer?" Because he's using the first use of the law to garner holiness.  
  
I know this is so nuanced and we're going to have to get into this later. We can't do this now, which is kind of the purpose of the Semper Reformanda podcast, to go into things a little bit deeper. But you can never use the first use of the law to encourage holiness in Christians because it will only condemn them, crush them, and push them away from Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: I know in my own church, I preach the first use of the law to the saints pretty much every week, but I do it in this way: I am reminding us of our utter inability to keep the law and to do everything that God requires so that we might anew be reminded and be driven to Christ and cast ourselves completely upon him. Even in preaching the first use of the law, lest we get it confused, we can not do this. Trust Christ. That is a first use of the law since, but it's still not done with this condemnatory edge to it that is often taking place. For example, you mentioned that sermon from Paul Washer.  
  
The other thing is whenever we talk about the third use of the law, the law for the Christian cannot condemn. And so our tone ought not be condemnatory as we are talking to people about how they ought to live. And we've made this observation before that a lot of times, the third use of the law to guide the Christian is preached like it's the first use, which is to condemn and crush those outside of Jesus who are trusting in themselves. It really is harmful because what you end up doing effectively is just unsettling every saint who is thoughtful, and who has a tender conscience thinking, "I've not really done what God requires."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Two examples of the third uses of law that we use all the time: one would be Ephesians 4 where Paul says for those of you that have been chosen, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to what you've been called, with meekness, gentleness and longsuffering. Those are commands and they are in relation to the nature of Christ, and that you should obey them, but they're not condemnatory. Peter says in 2 Peter 1:9, he lists all of these things that are godly, and he says if you're not doing these things, you have forgotten that you've been cleansed from your former sins. He's not condemning the believer because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but he is saying you're not a very effective Christian.  
  
To condemn a Christian by using the law is...  
  
Justin Perdue: Is not to use the law lawfully. Let's just put it that way.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's an inappropriate use of the law and it's a confusion of law-gospel. So when you confuse the law and the gospel, you will immediately confuse the three uses of the law and the demands of the law. I think this happens a lot when we collapse these.  
  
If I'm going to boil it all down and say the one thing that I would love to dialogue more with the guys in this camp—and really, there's a whole generation of people that are my age that are wrestling with these truths—it's a place of emphasis. This is the very thing that we talk about. The Reformed faith and the confessions emphasize the finished work of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ on our behalf, and then obedience. We find ourselves safe in Christ; now obey. And that emphasis has been reversed. Your sufficiency and security and safety in Christ is called into question based upon your level of dedication. We aren't drawn into obedience because we're safe in Christ; we're pushed into obedience out of fear and anxiety of possibly losing what we have in Christ or proving we never were in Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. Like we've got to prove ourselves to be legitimate, therefore we obey. You and I are on the same wavelength because that's exactly where I wanted to go. As I stated at the outset, and you did too, while MacArthur and the lordship camp, generally speaking, has not directly denied any historical Reformed or Protestant doctrine, at least what has occurred is that the accent has been moved from Christ to the Christian in this kind of theology. People who are familiar with Theocast are gonna hear that and they're gonna say, "Yeah, we've heard you guys talk about that before." In so many ways, when we talk about pietism. That's what we're saying. It's not that Christ isn't preached. It's not that we're not even clear on justification or whatever it may be. It's that the emphasis and the accent has been shifted, and rather than Jesus being in the foreground in the Christian life and the Christian being in the background, that's inverted. And really the focus becomes the Christian. The same thing has happened in this conversation when it pertains to lordship salvation.  
  
I think we're going to make our way over to the Semper Reformanda podcast in just a minute.  
  
And a couple of things before we actually make our way over there. First thing is if you want to dive a little bit more into some of these things that we've been discussing today, a great thing for you to do would be to go and download the free ebook version of our primer on rest. That's called _Faith vs. Faithfulness: A Primer on Rest_. We're going to be talking about things from a Reformed confessional perspective when it comes to the sufficiency of Christ and clarity on the gospel and all that good stuff. There's a free ebook available, or you could always go on Amazon and buy the hard copy if you're a guy like me who likes to have a book in your hands.  
  
The second thing is that a big piece of Semper Reformanda is the app that's been created that connects all of the SR members together. And that's a forum in which this conversation, and conversations like it, can continue to be had in a safe place and in a place where we can talk about these things with charity and grace. We would encourage you to consider signing up and being a part of Semper Reformanda so that you can join the community of people who are thinking and wrestling with the same things that you are, and also to help us spread this message of the sufficiency of Christ as wide as we can, as far as we can.  
  
Over in the SR podcast, which is where Jon and I are headed, we're going to talk about a few things. I think we're going to keep talking some about the collapsing of the first and third use of the law. Jon may make some more comments on that.  
  
And then I want to talk about Puritans a little bit, because I think in the book that MacArthur wrote the gospel, according to Jesus, he cites a number of Puritan writers. And he seems to do that generally in a way that I think is a little bit indiscriminate. I don't want to impugn him in this way, but not all Puritans are the same. I think that some of the lordship salvation stuff that I read seems like a reworking of some of the less good Puritan theology from the 17th, 18th century and the like. We're going to talk a little bit more about that over in SR. So if you want to be a part of that conversation, sign up and become a member. And part of that means that you'll listen in on this extra podcast we do every week.  
  
We hope this conversation has been enjoyable and easy to track with. Hopefully this has brought some clarity for you as you think about lordship salvation and some of the things that you hear and see maybe in the Twittersphere and wherever else you may see comments about these matters.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One last parting shot. Wherever you talk about this, you need to do it in obedience to Paul with meekness and patience, seeking to maintain the bond of peace.  
  
Justin Perdue: And I would argue that Twitter is not the place to have significant debates. We'll leave that with the listener.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Come join us in the SR.  
  
Justin Perdue: We'll speak with you again next week.

---

### Dying with Dignity

*Published: July 7, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/dying-with-dignity*
*Tags: Prosperity Gospel, Rest*

In the church, we care for souls. But what is it that we are doing in that work? It is our conviction that we are helping one another die well--with dignity and hope. That may sound like a strange thing to say, but we are convinced it's biblical. In this life, we are weak and frail. We experience suffering and pain. Yet, Christ is our hope. And he has secured for us a life that is beyond this one.  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys discuss a theology of the cross versus a theology of glory. And, we consider the point of our sanctification.  
  
Resources:  
[Episode: Take Up Your Cross](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/take-up-your-cross/)  
  
Giveaway: ["Recovering Eden" by Zack Eswine](https://amzn.to/3wgUdJH)  
  
FREE EBOOK: Theocast.org/primer  
  
https://youtu.be/cl1BAv\_PDHU  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we're going to be talking about what we are trying to do in the church when we care for people's souls. A lot of things are said about these things, but it's our position here that really what we're effectively doing is helping people die well—helping people die with dignity and with hope, and that hope being in the Lord Jesus Christ. A lot of the things that are said about sanctification, even growth in the Christian life, give us the wrong idea. So we want to try to define some terms and define things appropriately today, as well as think well about our weakness and our frailty in this life, and the hope that Christ has given us in the life that is to come ,and to think well together about the faithfulness of God in the midst of our suffering and pain. We hope that this conversation is encouraging for you.  
  
And then over in the SR podcast today, we're going to get into some theology of the cross and theology of glory conversations. We hope that you enjoy that conversation as well.  
  
We're going to be effectively talking today about the care of souls and what it is that we're doing in caring for souls in the church. The title of the episode is _Dying With Dignity_, which really is borrowed from something that John said on a podcast a few months ago about what we're doing in the church as we watch over and care for people, which is this: we are helping people die with dignity and hope, and effectively we're helping people die well, trusting in the Lord Jesus, knowing that deliverance has been accepted for them and that our final deliverance is coming because of Christ. And so this is a conversation in some ways about suffering, in some ways about sanctification, and trying to talk about it in a way that's honest that squares with our experience. Because a lot of times, at least this is my take and I know you agree, that the way that growth and sanctification and even healing—to use some of that therapeutic language—is talked about. I think it gives us the wrong idea of what it's going to be like.  
  
This conversation today is, we hope, a kind of a reset. And I personally think it's encouraging. We do not mean in saying this, in anything we're about to say, we do not mean to sound fatalistic as though life is gonna be terrible and Jesus is going to come back. That's not what we're saying. We're trying to biblically take a balanced posture on what it is the Lord is doing in our lives and what we can expect this life to look like between now and when we die, or between now and when Christ returns.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. When we use the word dignity, one of the things that came to mind when I first started to give this theology to our church—I was trying to describe to our church. What are we doing every week? What are we trying to accomplish? I always want to be careful not to tear the churches down, but a lot of what I was seeing presented by other churches has given such a bad taste in my mouth, because if that's the end goal—which is big buildings, big programs, big livestream...  
  
Justin Perdue: Everything bigger and better and higher.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is probably not what they're doing, but again, my own impression: it sounds like we're drowning out people's problems. It's like, "Come be a part of this movement and you can forget about your problems." That kind of system just chews people up. All of a sudden they look around to the people to the left and the right who are clean and who are all well put together.  
  
My kids and I just watched this movie called _The Mitchells Vs. The Machines_. In the movie is this dysfunctional family. They're comparing themselves to their neighbors who are all fit, who have perfect skin tone, and they all do yoga. It's just funny. Their vacations are perfect. That's how it can feel—you show up to church and it's like the Instagram family. That's exactly what it was. At the end of the movie, her neighbor says, "Hey, I just wanted to tell you I am so impressed with you. I'm now going to follow you."  
  
But the point of it is that you look around with the people next to you and you think, "Their lives are all put together and mine's not. I'm in a disarray. I have all the problems and I can't get myself together." And you see people flailing about to try and preserve their health, to preserve their looks, to preserve their money, to preserve their status and fame.  
  
I was having this discussion with someone yesterday at lunch about this person who just retired from baseball. What do they do with their life now? They're 40; their lives are half over and what used to bring them excitement, joy, and hope is gone, and you see often people start flailing about. This is where drugs come in. This is where all kinds of sexual deviancies come in.  
  
Justin Perdue: The proverbial midlife crisis.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. And the church should be able to step in and say, All of this is of no value to our life—our health, our wealth, our fame—it will not transfer to the real world, to our new world, to our new home. So when we say die with dignity, what we mean is you don't see someone grasping ridiculously to things that absolutely will perish. You're not taking them to the grave with you. What allows you to do this is your hope. If your hope is not in what this world provides, but in what is to come, which is what Christ provides, then you have that. How do you do that though? It's easy to say, "I want to die with dignity." But the question then becomes this: how is that accomplished? Is it accomplished alone? We're going to talk about that in today's podcast.  
  
Justin Perdue: There's language that's used in the church in various streams. For example, in the Calvinistic evangelical stream of things, you often hear language about growth or language about maturation in the faith, or even language of strength or getting stronger as a Christian. We've released an episode called _Strong Disciples Only_. We talked about some of that stuff and how disciples are often weak and afraid and things of that nature. But I think that language of growth and maturation and strength can be misleading because we tend to then think that as I grow, as I mature, as I get stronger, then my spiritual muscles and my spiritual capacity for work is just greater.  
  
I'm a fitness guy, and the way we define fitness is the ability to do work over a domain of time. As your fitness increases, so does your capacity to do things. Things that once were hard are now much easier. I can do more work over a period of time or I can bear more load or whatever it is. I think we think like that in the Christian life. That sometimes can be unhelpful because it's not always going to look like that. "Now that I've grown and now that I'm stronger, I can do a lot more and handle a lot more than I could five years ago or 10 years ago." Maybe. But it depends on how you define that. Or another kind of language that's used a lot in the church—and this is not necessarily all bad, but it can be if left unchecked and undefined—is the therapeutic language of healing, where people will talk about all the things that have happened to them, or even the things that have been brought upon their lives by their own sin and they are pursuing healing from those things.  
  
When some people use the word "healing", what they mean is—in their own minds—is they're going to get to a place tomorrow or a year or 10 years from now. Eventually when they have healed from this, when they look back on that thing or that experience, or that season of their life, it will no longer hurt or it will no longer affect them like it does today. To that I would like to say that I trust that over time, time alone will do some work—God, by His Spirit, will give you wisdom and perspective on your pain. Amen. Yet I trust that there will be things that we look back on for the entirety of our days on earth. And we look back and we say that still was hurtful, that still is painful, it's still hard to think about that. It's still hard for me to think about the death of my loved one. I still remember and I still grieve because that's how God made us. We're not made to forget pain and we're not made to forget sin. This is why we constantly are having to look outside of ourselves and outside of our experience to find hope.  
  
We need to be able to talk in these terms to help each other really live life in this fallen world.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. We like to poke fun at the prosperity gospel—it's an easy target. I think we equate prosperity gospel with money.  
  
Justin Perdue: But there's a different kind of prosperity theology.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. This can be seen in conservative churches as well. God is going to prosper... let's change the word because "prosper" has such dirty taste in our mouth. I like the words "heal", "progress", "bless", "strengthen", or "provide". God will provide for your needs, your job, your health, or whatever it is, because X, Y, Z is done. And what you hear is your faith, your actions, your discipline, your dedication, your faithfulness, steadiness, etc., is related to your health, your job, your anxiety—whatever you want to put in there. This is a great example of dying without dignity. Enough failure in these prosperities will create absolute disparity because you can only take so many failures. There's only so much time that eventually you realize, "I am a failure at this game. I can not accomplish this. It cannot be done." Not only that, to Justin's point, to the person who has had a minimal failure, they feel as if they can recover. But to the person who's had an epic failure—and I don't mean failure like it's their fault, but something like their spouse died, their child died, they were hurt, they were molested—  
  
Justin Perdue: An epic loss or just an epic, absolute heartbreak. Like life failed them. Like something was done to them that they will never be able to move on from.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. I said this in my sermon a couple of weeks ago. When I said that what the resurrection restores for us—in final restoration—is the loss of what we feel now. But you cannot have the restoration of death now. Unfortunately, in our church, we've suffered a lot of loss this year—children and parents and spouses. It's been a difficult year. As a church grows you're going to experience more and more suffering. Do I walk up to those parents and offer them some kind of solution to restore that pain? It cannot be restored. It's a scar that will remain until we reach glory when all will be restored. So you don't offer someone restoration; you offer them hope, which then creates a place of dignity where they can look around and go, "Okay, I can suffer now with some dignity, where I'm not going to look foolish trying to grasp onto something that just isn't going to work."  
  
Justin Perdue: And I can suffer knowing that I do have an unshakable eternal hope, and that unshakable, eternal hope may or may not change how I feel about this thing right now.  
  
As I was listening to you talk a minute ago, you were talking about how prosperity gospel, prosperity theology stuff, is often easy for us to spot, but there are different kinds of it that exist in the church. I think what we're talking about today, whether we use the therapeutic language of healing or whether we use the more Calvinistic evangelical language of growth, maturation, and the like—I'm not saying it has to because if it's done well, it's fine—but I think it can quickly become a kind of easy listening prosperity theology, where we're told that if we pursue things the right way in terms of our healing, or if we do things the right way in terms of our pursuit of godliness, then we will experience certain levels of healing or growth that will make our life better now. Maybe our lives will be better now—and I trust there will be ways that our lives are better but we don't really realize.  
  
This brings me to a few thoughts. I'm very tempted to talk about a theology of glory versus a theology of the cross. I trust maybe we'll get there and maybe we'll talk about that in SR. It could be a good conversation.  
  
Let's just talk for a minute about how sanctification even works in this life. Laying cards out on the table, Jon and I believe that sanctification is monergistic—and by that, we mean that God is the one who does it. Justification—our being absolved of guilt, forgiven of sins, and declared righteous—is monergistic; there's one worker and that's God. And then even in our sanctification, we participate because we've now been given life, but God is the one who effectively does it. He accomplishes our sanctification and conforms us into the image of His Son.  
  
I think it becomes very obvious that sanctification is monergistic when we talk about it honestly. Because how does it so often occur in our lives and in our experience? I would suggest that we are most sanctified by things that we would never have foreseen, that we would never have planned for ourselves, that we would never have signed up for, and that frankly—in our lives as they exist today—we don't like. This, to me, makes it very clear that God is the author and God is the one who accomplishes that sanctifying work in us. We encounter trials of various kinds. Again, we don't pray for trials, we don't foresee or anticipate them. We're not God; we don't see them coming. If we could change it, we would. But He ordains trials so that, like James 1:2-3, we're told to count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Or you have Romans 5 where Paul begins that chapter by saying, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." That's a big deal.  
  
But then verse two, "Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace into which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So there's that hope piece. "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." So we can rejoice in suffering, we can count it joy when we encounter trials of various kinds, because we know that God is working steadfastness in us. That is a miracle that only God can accomplish. Because logically speaking, at a human level, the kinds of suffering that we're talking about—we're not talking about some adversity and you need to push through it to make you stronger stuff. This isn't that "climb the mountain and be a conqueror" trash. We're talking about real hardship and calamity and suffering.  
  
The human response to that is that if there is a God, I hate Him. We're just going to be driven more deeply into our selfishness and our sin. Not, "Oh, this is going to produce hope and steadfastness and character in me." That is the work of God almighty—and He does it this way. I think this is helpful for us to realize that this kind of sanctifying work is of the Lord, and we often do not see it as it's happening. We're terrible evaluators of our own growth. We need other Christians around us to help us see it. I think we can only see it individually as we pan out from our lives and we realize that we are different than we were 10 years ago, and we were different than we were 15 years ago. God has worked some stuff in me and praise be to His name.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And different in that you trust Him more.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. It's a perspective change. What is wisdom? It's effectively God's perspective that we now have to a greater degree: we actually have a better perspective on our past and we trust the Lord through it. We more readily acknowledged that the secret things belong to Him and I don't fully understand.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What you're describing is what I see all the time: it's a camouflage prosperity gospel. It's been rebranded. Satan is the father of all lies; he doesn't need you to deny the gospel or deny God or even important theology, he just needs you to get discouraged to get you off your faith. And on your faithfulness, he's just going to change something slightly. A great example of what you're talking about here—and I would even say Paul himself is debunking this camouflage prosperity gospel—in 2 Corinthians 12, he says, "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"  
  
Now our situations probably will be very different from Paul. We're not dealing with the issue of conceitedness, but if you compare this with James and Romans, the idea is that often, God will allow things to be in our lives so that our weakness drives us to our knees. Another way of saying this is that our weakness drives us to the point where we don't have strength and our strength has to come from something else. And that's when he says God's grace is sufficient, for His power is made perfect in weakness.  
  
Go back to the episode about strong disciples only. The New Testament just cuts that thing off at the knees and says, no, it's not about strength; it's about God's faith and our faith in God's strength.  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen, brother. If there's anybody’s strength that we need to worry about, it's God’s.  
  
Jon Moffitt: If you feel like this is off, if you're hearing sermons, or you're reading books, or your brain has been trained to think that a strong Christian looks like this, but a weak Christian looks like that, a strong Christian is one who has strongly put their faith in Christ and his sufficiency. Their hope is not in their ability to do something, but in God's ability to do something for them.  
  
To be clear on all of this, often I'm convinced that people want to hear what they want to hear and they don't actually hear what we're saying. It sounds like you guys are just giving up and just letting God do something and you're not being held responsible for yourselves.  
  
Justin Perdue: And that's not what we're saying at all. To some people listening to this, I trust that some of this might sound like blasphemy, that we are somehow short-selling the Holy Spirit and you guys need to be encouraging people towards a victorious and triumphant Christian life. We've been delivered from the dominion of sin and you need to be encouraging people towards growth and maturation. I'm not discouraging growth and maturation; I'm just saying, let's talk about it accurately. And like you just said, actual maturation and real strength is knowing that you don't have it and that God is faithful and strong. In your weakness, His grace is sufficient and His power is displayed.  
  
The 1689 London Baptist Confession, chapter five, paragraph five on Divine Providence talks about these very things—how God, in His perfect and wise and holy providence, uses suffering and pain and even our own sin for His good and holy purposes in our lives. And what are those? The ones that are outlined in the confession include us being humbled, so that we might know more and more how much we need Christ and how dependent upon God we are. That's huge. God uses suffering and pain to continue to drive us to Jesus and to continue to remind us of our weakness.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Chapter 17 on sanctification, point one: "Even though many storms and floods arise and beat against them, yet these things will never be able to move the elect from the foundation and rock to which they are anchored by faith. The felt side of the light and the love of God may be clouded and obscured from them for a time through their own unbelief and the temptations of Satan. Yet God is still the same; they will certainly be kept by the power of God for salvation, where they will enjoy their purchased possession. For they are engraved on the palms of his hand, and their names have been written in the book of life for all of eternity." The point of it is—and this is Paul in 2 Corinthians—that when you get tossed about, and at times your vision is cloudy, your foundation is in his hands. It's engraved there. In other words, you belong to him.  
  
In point 3, it says this: "They may fall into grievous sins and continue in them for a time, due to the temptation of Satan and the world, the strength of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of means of their preservation." Means of grace is so important. "In so doing, they incur God's displeasure and grieve his Holy Spirit; their graces and comforts become impaired; their hearts are hardened and their conscience wounded; they hurt and scandalize others and bring temporary judgments of themselves. Nevertheless, they will renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end." We believe this to be true. I often think people linger in sin longer because they're waiting for that moment of freedom but no, it's just a lifelong struggle and we rest in Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: I agree wholeheartedly. That was a great interjection with chapter 17\. Just finishing chapter five, paragraph five, and then I want to mention something from 2 Corinthians as well: so God uses pain and suffering and even our own sin to discipline us; He's a loving Father who disciplines His children—Hebrews 12\. But He's humbling us, He's teaching us how much we need Him, how dependent we are upon Christ, and He's also teaching us in such a way that we might—down the road, when we encounter things that are similar—we may have a different perspective than we had this time. So God's doing all those good things through our pain and even our own sin.  
  
But think about these words from 2 Corinthians at the beginning of the letter. This is from chapter one, verses eight and nine. Paul says this: "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." Amen. That's what we're saying: God will use suffering and trial to the point where in our experience—listen to the words of the apostle—we despaired of life itself. We feel like we've received the sentence of death. We are perishing and sometimes I wish I just would, because it's so hard. But what is God doing? He is teaching us to rely not on ourselves, but on Him and upon Jesus who has provided us with atonement for sin and righteousness, and who has secured our resurrection.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Amen. To make a little bit of a shift and change here, this hopefully is an encouragement to the one who might be realizing they find themselves duped by a different form of prosperity gospel. They're not the failure; this life is the failure. We live in a cursed world; our heart and our bodies have been cursed. And there can be a form of victory as long as we don't have to live in the bondage of sin. It doesn't mean our struggle with sin is ever going away, but we don't need to be in bondage to it, as according to Paul. We do not do that, but you can not, should not, and do not do this on your own. Many people have also fallen into this prosperity gospel: you can succeed in the Christian life by yourself. You put in the work and God blesses you. And this is so far from the truth.  
  
Justin, you and I often get criticized because people will say, "You guys are deemphasizing Bible reading; you're deemphasizing spiritual disciplines. Basically, you are telling people that you are deemphasizing the necessity of sanctification." To respond to that, we are not deemphasizing sanctification. I want every single one of my congregants to be the exact image of what Paul describes in Ephesians 4: in perfect harmony in the fullness and wisdom and knowledge of Christ. I want every single one of my congregants to be there, and myself included, I want nothing to be in their way. I don't want anything to hinder them because that's where they're going to find the most hope, the most joy, the most peace, the most ability to long suffer. And so why would I want to remove something out of their pathway to help them in that sanctification process? It's just that we have been so trained to individualize, white knuckle, pull yourself up by the bootstrap sanctification process—and it's just not the case.  
  
The purpose of the church—and I think you can talk about discipleship, evangelism, or the means of grace in this phrase—is to help people die with dignity and hope. The only way you can die with dignity and hope is that, first of all, your hope has to be outside of this world and outside of yourself. The way in which you find yourself on death's door, and you're not at that place where you're flailing about trying to hold on to everything, it's because your brothers and sisters around you are holding you up. They're speaking Christ to you.  
  
We quote this almost every podcast, but I can't help not to. This is Hebrews 3: "Consider how to build one another up daily so that you aren't hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves as such as you are. When the body functions properly, it builds itself up in love." This is what I love to say to someone who's walked in—and I've had to say this a lot lately with so many people coming into the church—they walk in and their lives are messed up. They've made massive mistakes, they've done things that they regret, and they often feel like they're damaged goods and there's really nothing for them in the church other than show, tithe, then leave. Because how can God use such damaged goods? Here's what's great about the gospel: that you don't need a degree, you don't need a lot of money, you don't need a different past in order to love, care, and support other brothers and sisters in Christ to give them exactly what they need to rest and find hope in Christ. As a matter of fact, you can be one of the most effective Christians on the planet by simply learning to love, care, be patient, carry burdens, and allow people to have hope and be there when they die so they die with dignity.  
  
I ask them if they think they could do something like that, and the look on their face comes alive. They had nothing in the sense that they are not going to write books, or lead worship, or all this kind of stuff that they think Christianity is about. No, real Christianity is about holding the hand of a dear saint who has no hope and giving them hope.  
  
Justin Perdue: Real Christianity is trusting Christ, loving your brothers and sisters, pursuing righteousness, fleeing from Satan—that's what we're doing together. The reason why we discourage people from pursuing sin—there are a number of reasons. It dishonors the Lord, it's terrible for their lives, it wrecks this because it actually robs people of dignity. It absolutely just ruins lives: it ruins marriages and everything else.  
  
Because we love people, because we've been born again, we desire to honor God with our lives. We've become obedient from the heart (Romans 6:17). We encourage one another to continue to trust Christ and to continue to pursue righteousness. That's what it looks like to die well with hope and dignity. I'm hoping in Jesus, I'm trusting that he has me, that he's provided me with everything that I ever need. I was talking about this yesterday with one of the guys who's on staff with me and a member of our church. I am struck more and more all the time, especially in light of difficult circumstances that I find myself in or difficult circumstances that I am just very much aware of in our own congregation. There is just heartbreaking stuff going on all the time. Granted, I know that Christ is my righteousness in my best moments. I don't dispute that for a second. But then in my lowest and weakest moments, I am really just driven to rock bottom. What do I have here? What do we have here? When I'm hurting, when I'm discouraged, when I'm tired, when there just doesn't seem to be a lot of hopeful stuff going on in my life, what do we have? I've got Christ. What do I even mean by that? I believe there is a God, I believe He's holy, and I believe I'm not. I believe the Scripture is true and that Christ is coming back and he's going to judge all men. And what do I have on that day if this is where it's all going? I'm going to bank on the fact that, as I have understood Christ and the gospel, and as Christians have understood Christ in the gospel for 2000 years, that Jesus is gentle and gracious and faithful and compassionate toward those who trust in him. I am going to trust him that he's done everything for me that he has promised, and that he looks upon me with favor because I know I'm weak and I know.  
  
At the end of the day, that's the comfort for me. It doesn't necessarily make me feel better. I may still feel the exact same way about my circumstances or about the circumstances that others are going through, but we do believe that there is hope outside of this life, and there is objective hope in Christ and what he has accomplished that stands outside of how I feel, what I think, how I'm doing. I want to help my brothers and sisters continue to trust him, too. I want to help them flee from sin because it'll ruin their lives. I want to sit and listen when they're struggling and I want to hold people's hands as they pass from this life to the next. That's really what we're doing. I agree so wholeheartedly.  
  
And it sounds like a short sell to say that we're helping people die with dignity and hope. Aren't we doing more than that? At the end of the day, I think that is what we're doing and we're doing a heck of a lot by doing that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: As cheesy as this is gonna sound, when we talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus, I see the church holding those dear precious people as they pass from here to there; they're passing with the hope of Christ next to them, to the reality of Christ in front of them. I see that to be a very serious ministry. The way I look at pastoral ministry now and Theocast is that... I don't want people to suffer needlessly and alone; I want them to walk away with the reality that there is more to this life than more money, more fame, more fitness, more family. All of those will fail and have failed, and it seems like we, as humans, are so stupid and Satan is so smart because the same thing that's been tripping up people from day one is still tripping people up today. What got Adam in trouble? The want for more power. It is still getting people in trouble today.  
  
Right. I have the joy of walking in—when someone is in the midst or has destroyed their life and they have no hope—to sit down and show them there's nothing they can do to restore this, but that doesn't mean your life is over because there's so much you can do to help others. And there's something you can do to have hope. That's what we're talking about.  
  
I love the reality that every week, Justin and I get to preach on Sundays, do our ministry throughout the week, and hop on a podcast and know that people are going to hear the power of God and go, "Well, my life has purpose." We were talking about this before the podcast. I'm overwhelmed that people say, "Theocast has forever changed my life." No, the gospel has forever changed your life; we just happened to be how you heard it.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's like what Charles Spurgeon said about the Bible where people asked him if he felt the need to defend the Bible because of all the stuff going on in his day, slide into liberal theology, etc. He's basically saying, and I paraphrase, "Defend the Bible? I'd sooner defend a lion. Because all I need to do is basically set the Bible loose and it will defend itself." The same is true with this message. All Jon and I are aiming to do is set loose this message of the sufficiency of Christ, because Jesus will handle it. The spirit of Christ will handle the application of this thing. All we're doing is trying to say stuff that not that many people have said on this continent, sadly, at least, especially not in our world, in a credobaptist world. We're not saying anything new and I don't think we're uniquely special in any way, but we're preaching a message that is incredible. Again, quoting ol' Chuck Spurgeon, he said, "People may preach the gospel better than me, but they will never preach a better gospel  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is the point of Semper Reformanda. We want to gather people together to learn how to do this: how to care for people, how to love on them, how to help them in our churches and in our community and in our families. One of the ways to do that is to understand this whole entire podcast has been really about the theology of cross versus the theology of glory, which we're going to dive into deeper and explain to you how to use the two in encouragement, counseling, and pastoring in the church in the next conversation with Semper Reformanda.  
  
But if you'd like to be a part of this community where we are helping more people find rest in Christ, helping them die with dignity and hope and supporting the churches, then join our ministry, Semper Reformanda, and you can download the app and listen to our private podcast feed, join the conversations, and join local groups where we meet locally and online to discuss this theology as we try and increase our awareness of Christ and decrease our trust in ourselves.  
  
Justin Perdue: In transitioning over to the SR podcast, if you've ever thought that much of what you hear about in the church, even when it comes to your growth in the faith, and it seems earthbound, it seems to focus on this life and not the one to come, that's very much related to this conversation that we're about to have—theology of glory versus a theology of the cross. Because I agree that much of the talk that we hear about sanctification and growth and maturity and strength and all that has everything to do with our life now. And in reality, where people who are not hoping in anything for this life, we are living for the life to come that Christ is secured for us. So if you're interested in listening in on that, Jon has already talked about Semper Reformanda and what it is. You can find any information that you want about this other podcast that we do, and the SR community that's been created over on our website wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com.  
  
So for those of you who are going to make your way over to the Semper Reformanda podcast, we'll talk with you in just a second. And for those of you who may not, at least yet, be heading over to the SR podcast, we're grateful for you. We're glad you tuned into this episode. We hope you enjoyed the conversation and were encouraged by it.  
  
We'll talk with you again next week.

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### Marks of a Strong Christian

*Published: June 30, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/marks-of-a-strong-christian*
*Tags: Lordship Salvation, progressive sanctification, Sanctification*

How would you describe a strong Christian? If you were to make a list of what characterizes a mature Christian, what would you put on that list? At Theocast, we are convinced that many would not answer these questions the way the apostles would have. As we look to the New Testament, what does it say about those who are strong in the church?  
  
Semper Reformanda: The guys discuss parachurch ministries and how they have often contributed to the confusion about what characterizes a strong Christian. Then, we talk more about the necessity of ordinary faithfulness in loving the weak in the church.  
  
Giveaway: ["Spurgeon's Sorrows" by Zack Eswine](https://amzn.to/3qyt4R4)  
  
FREE EBOOK: [wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer)  
  
Scripture references:  
Romans 15:1-4  
Galatians 6:1-2  
1 Thessalonians 5:14  
Ephesians 4:1-3  
Hebrews 3:15  
John 13:34  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
https://youtu.be/zLoJL9uT9Ks  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Let me ask you this one question: what is a strong Christian? Is it one who is disciplined? Is it one who has read a thousand books on Christianity? How would you describe a strong Christian according to the Bible? That's what Justin and I are going to talk about today on Theocast. We might have a little bit of a twist to the question. We're going to look at it from Romans 15\. We hope you enjoy. Stay tuned.  
  
What are the marks of a strong Christian? Often, things that can cripple us and drag us down are things like depression and the dark night of the soul. This conversation is birthed out of a conversation we had at a men's Bible study and a sermon that I preached recently. We'll put the sermon in the notes as well.  
  
The conversation we want to have today are the marks of a strong Christian and those marks, if we were to do a survey, it would probably have been fun to do and see what people would have come up with. I'll throw a couple out, Justin. I'll let you throw a couple out. Ones that we've heard that normally, when we think of someone who is strong, this is someone who for 20 years has been faithfully on their knees for 30 minutes in the morning, an hour in the word, and really just hasn't missed unless they've been sick. The mark of a dedicated, faithful, disciplined Christian—that right there is a strong Christian.  
  
Justin Perdue: For me, whenever I've heard people talk about being a strong Christian, the first word that pops into my mind is discipline. It's a person who is disciplined in their life—and that may be with respect to prayer, Bible reading, but it could be any number of things. It's a regimented, ordered kind of life. I think a lot of times we think of Christians as being strong when they don't struggle with particular kinds of sins—the more taboo, public, obvious kinds of sins—they don't deal with those in the same way that others do, and so therefore they're strong.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the guys described it as there are no extremes—you don't see an extreme high, you don't see an extreme low, they're just steady. Steady Eddie, the guy with the gray hair who just always is: he's always there and he's always faithful. That's the strong Christian. Some of these things are true.  
  
Justin Perdue: Some of these things are good. To be really clear, we're not saying that discipline, steadiness, and not struggling with certain kinds of obvious sins are bad—all of those things are good.  
  
I'll just go ahead and say this, Jon, that if you were to take a survey of the top five things that should characterize a Christian, I am relatively confident that most of us would not answer that and would not fill that out the way the apostles would have. As we're getting to the number one thing that should mark us, it's pretty obvious in the New Testament and it's not what we would put first.  
  
Jon Moffitt: No, it is not.  
  
We're going to look at several passages, but we're going to look at Romans 15 as our starting point and. Our desire is that everyone would be a strong Christian—that they would find their firm foundation and effectiveness. As we have mentioned in the past, 2 Peter 1 talks about an effective Christian, and we would agree that Christians should be effective, but effective in what? What should they be effective in? When we think about strength, we think about the characteristics of strength, we need to allow Scripture to characterize those.  
  
I think often we have allowed businessmen, leadership skills, and I would even say self-made isolation tactics to determine what Christians are.  
  
Justin Perdue: When you hear us use the language of a strong Christian, you could also insert the word "mature". We're talking about what makes a strong Christian, what characterizes a strong or mature Christian according to the New Testament.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Out of the gates, Paul uses a different way of describing it, but he's saying, "Those of you who are strong, this is what you should be doing." In other words, you should have the capacity to do this, or the ability to do this.  
  
Let me just read you the first verse of Romans 15\. He says, "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." And then he uses our motivation and example, "For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.'" We'll start there before I read verse four. Immediately, Paul is assuming strength with something that seems very contrary to modern day explanations of strength. He is saying strength is tied to the capacity and the ability to care for not yourself and your own sins, but to the ability to care for the sins and the failing of the strength of others.  
  
Justin Perdue: Verse one is just pretty epic. If you are strong, then you have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak. Your strength is actually meant to be used and poured out for the good of the weak in your midst. It's gripping.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Verse four—this is becoming one of my favorite verses more and more as I read it—"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  
  
What I love about it is he says not only must you deal with the failings and the weakness, but here's your motivation, here's your encouragement and endurance: it comes from looking at the hope of Christ in the Old Testament. (Of course, Paul is writing the New Testament at the moment. He was one of the writers.) He's always pointing us to Christ as one, example, and two, as hope. So we gain our encouragement and our endurance by looking at Christ; not our stability, not our long track record, not our discipline.  
  
Some people say, "I've been doing this for 20 years." They gain stability over the discipline or the longevity of whatever it is that they have accomplished, and Paul says, "No, your endurance and your encouragement come from what you're not doing; it's coming from what's been done."  
  
Justin Perdue: I love it. Consider Christ. He is the epitome of the one who is strong, giving himself away for the sake of the weak. Right. Consider him, seek to imitate him, strive to be like him, but he doesn't stop there. He gives us the ground underneath it all. And the thing that's actually going to drive, sustain, and propel us in that seeking to imitate Christ is to remember, recall, know, trust in the hope that you have in Christ, because this is what God has been revealing from the beginning. That's wonderful.  
  
Another passage that is great with respect to this conversation we're having today: Galatians 6\. Just the first couple of verses of that chapter. I'm gonna go and read the verses and then we'll comment on these a little bit.  
  
Paul writes, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Another mark of a strong Christian is shown by Paul right here. If anybody is caught in sin, if anybody is mired in sin and transgression, you who are spiritual—you who are mature, you who are strong—should restore that person in a spirit of gentleness. And keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted, lest you too fall.  
  
Marks of a strong Christian from Galatians 6 are gentleness toward people who are caught in sin and humility with respect to your own frame. Realize that were it not for the grace of God, there go you. And so what we ought to be doing—those of us who are mature, those of us who are strong by God's grace—we ought to be seeking to restore those who have fallen and to restore those who are struggling, who are trapped and caught in sin. We ought not be proud, we ought not be haughty, we ought not be condescending, we ought not be harsh, we ought not bludgeon people and just drop hammers and bombs all the time. We should gently seek the restoration of the weak.  
  
And then verse two, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We ought to seek to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters. If the Lord has given you strength, if the Lord has given you some level of maturity, then use it to bear the burdens of your brothers and sisters in the church.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. It's so powerful to think about the difference between how we see a strong Christian and how the New Testament describes a strong Christian. If someone who is underneath the weight of their sin, who is so immature that they are so introspective, looking at themselves all the time, only worried about themselves, Paul says the spiritual people—the strong people—are the ones who have the ability to look and carry other people. It's not isolationism; it's the exact opposite.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's charity. It's humility. It's compassion.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One other passage from Paul... just a quick couple of verses. 1 Thessalonians 5, he again uses the gospel as our motivation: "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you were doing."  
  
And then later on, he continues the admonishment. He says in verse 14, "And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." Can you follow the transition here? He's going to do this again in Ephesians. The glory of Christ, we're not destined for wrath, live in that hope; and then he says to take the motivation that you get from that hope and admonish each other, encourage each other, and then be patient with all. The one thing I am trying to teach my congregation is the power of patience. I think I say it in every marital counseling issues that we're dealing with, people who have their families trapped in some weird religion, or weird church organization, or the unbeliever, or they've got an unbelieving spouse, the thing that the gospel can provide and should provide is patience because we are waiting for Christ's return and we're waiting for God to do His work here on earth. Even 2 Peter 1 describes this. The capacity for patience and godliness and longsuffering are the acts of the fruits of the Spirit that we are to add to our faith. And then it says if these are missing or lacking, you have forgotten that you've been cleansed from your former sins. So a strong grasp of the gospel leads to a strong capacity in meekness, gentleness, and patience.  
  
Justin Perdue: When you say that, I can't help but think about 1 Timothy 1:15 and 16 where Paul talks about how patient Jesus has been with him. So then his word to the saints is to consider how patient He will be with you as well.  
  
And I agree, brother, that the gospel should help us all be patient with one another because we consider how patient the Lord has been with us, and now we're going to be patient with each other; we're going to play the long game and we're going to be longsuffering when it comes to our dealings with others.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In Romans 14:1, Paul says, "As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but do not quarrel over opinions." This is why you will not see us in the Facebook group often jump into dumb stuff. The longer they listen and the stronger their faith will get, these quarrelsome things will go away.  
  
Justin Perdue: True. Ephesians 4:1 and following. Many will know that the first three chapters of Ephesians are all about the grace of God and the mystery that's been hidden for ages in God, that is the plan of redemption that Jesus has accomplished—and it's just absolute soaring, glorious stuff of what God has done for us, what Christ has accomplished for us, the security that we have in Jesus and the inheritance that we are awaiting, and the fact that we've been promised this wonderful kingdom that the Lord is just delighted to give us. That's the first three chapters of Ephesians.  
  
And then Paul transitions in the last three chapters, as it's divided in our modern translations, to exhort and encourage the church. In light of all that, here's how we live together. How does he start? I remember when I preached through Ephesians and I got to this section, I set up the first sermon in Ephesians 4 with this question, and I think it's relevant for now: if you were to write a letter to a church about how they're to live together in light of everything that you've ever read, everything that you've ever heard, everything that you've ever been taught, how would you start that letter? How would you begin it? Here's how you're to live with each other. Let that sit in your mind and then consider how Paul begins. "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called." Walk in a way that is commensurate with the gospel. And he goes on to describe it: "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  
  
What does Paul say to a church? How do you live together? What's the most important stuff that would mean that we're walking in a way that's commensurate with the gospel? We're walking in a way that makes sense in light of what Jesus has done for us: with humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, pursuit of unity. There we have it.  
  
Those things should mark mature, strong Christians. If we're talking in those terms, if you're going to be one of those, then these things—humility and gentleness toward your brothers and sisters, patience with your brothers and sisters, bearing with one another in love (which is just another way to say be longsuffering), be patient, love each other even when it's hard because people are going to fail and people are gonna be stupid and all those kinds of things. Pursue unity; don't be dividing over everything, don't bicker, don't bite and devour each other, but pursue unity. That's what the strong and mature among us need to be about doing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He goes on to explain that and the rest of the chapter—which we have probably mentioned on every episode ever in the history of the podcast because I've been in love with Ephesians for my entire ministry—but Ephesians 4, he goes on to describe that maturity built up into Christ is not an individual effort, but it's a corporate effort. Not only is a strong Christian one who cares for the needs of others, but the way in which one becomes a strong Christian, to do that is by others.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's through the corporate ministry of the church, which is going to include pastors and teachers that the Lord has given to teach sound doctrine which gives us stability and keeps us from being knocked around. And it is through every member of the body playing his or her part, so that we together, when the body is functioning properly, as the text says, we build ourselves up in love.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Now this is probably mind-bending from many people who are listening and it's probably very complicated. Justin, one of the things that you and I are facing is the longer we describe biblical Christianity, which is not me and Jesus, but it's Jesus and his body—that is biblical Christianity -people are struggling because the church has just failed. Let's just be frank here. The church has failed. I was on the phone with a pastor yesterday. Everybody in California is moving to Tennessee for whatever reason. I am not kidding—it is a weird sensation. You cannot rent a house or buy a house because there are none available; all the Californians took them up. I'm glad they're here because they're all in my church. We had nine families from California visit in one day at our church.  
  
The struggle has been people hear what we're saying, and they want to experience that, but the churches that they're in, they're not experiencing what we're describing. Not even on a simple level. The emphasis of the church is not on the corporate gathering or the corporate caring for each other; the emphasis is a pietistic, individualistic, go-home-and-try-harder emphasis. I get how that's a struggle when you hear what we're saying and you want to go apply it. In many ways, it's really hard to do that because of the context that you're finding yourself in—you can't. We understand that struggle.  
  
But there comes a moment where you, if you believe this strongly enough, if you're convicted by this, something's got to change. You either try and change the context that you're in or you change the context, meaning you got to go to a different one.  
  
Justin Perdue: I think that one of the ways that the church has failed—and I think this is been evident in the things that we've been saying today—is that the church has given us the impression, at least, there's at least an implicit message of this, if not an explicit one often, that what the Christian life is about is our own individual strength and growth. That, I would say, is a very American perspective. That's a very modern, obsessed-with-self kind of perspective, that what really matters is my own growth and my own arrival. We have absolutely lost the biblical emphasis of, like you said a minute ago, this is not about me and Jesus—this is about us and Jesus.  
  
I was having a conversation with a brother who I love dearly in our church and he's going through some hard times. This has just popped into my brain and I feel like it's applicable here and encouraging. He was talking about any number of things, we were talking about any number of things sitting on the tailgate of my truck. At one point, he is lamenting this: "I feel like right now, my faith would not exist if it were not propped up by other people around me." And he was saying that as though that was a really bad thing. And I said, basically, "Amen, brother." I said, "Do you hear what you're saying? Do you hear yourself talk?" Because he and I have had some conversations recently about why we need the church. I said, "Why do we need the church?" He said, "Brother, it's almost like that's how the Lord set it up. It's almost like God meant for it to be that way." There are going to be times in all of our lives where if it were not for the brothers and sisters around me, more pointedly who are carrying me and I am propped up on them, I don't know that I would even have faith. That's how the church is designed to function. We need each other far more than we realize. And that's not to say that we don't need Christ and the Holy Spirit; of course we do. But Christ and his Spirit minister to us through the church. We will know Jesus most tangibly in this world through the church, and through our brothers and sisters in the local church that we're a part of.  
  
We just don't think in those terms. We often tend to think that there's something wrong with me if I need other people so desperately. No, you actually are starting to understand it. We are all clinging to each other as we all cling to Jesus.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Let me just read to you the exact words from Hebrews, "But exhort one another every day, as long as it's called "today," that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confessing firm to the end." So he's saying we encourage each other to share in Christ, and we hold on to that to the very end because that's what's going to save us. So a strong Christian is one who has concern for others, but also a strong Christian, as Justin just said, is one who knows his strength does not come by his individualism, but his strength comes in numbers. It's the gathered body that finds our strength as we share in Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen. And obviously it comes from God through the means of the saints. That's why we'll say things that sound flat out insane to people. For example—I believe this with all my heart and I know you do too, John—that assurance of salvation is a community project. That sounds bananas to people. Maybe this is even more scandalous to say: sanctification is a community project. Growth in the faith. I'm not saying that the Lord doesn't do anything in us when we're alone or in our private time. Don't hear me say that. But I am absolutely confident, on the basis of the New Testament, that the primary way that we are grown, sustained, and assured is in the corporate context of the church, like you just read from Hebrews, as we encourage and exhort and admonish one another, we all cling to our confession and we all claim to our hope that we have been given in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we point one another to him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It is a scary concept to think that I have to trust in something outside of myself in order to accomplish the thing that God has given me. We don't want to hear that. And I get it. I love my church and Justin loves his church; I told Justin that if I ever get out of ministry, I'll move to Asheville to be a part of his church. Our churches are so full of problems and all kinds of messes, but the one thing we get right is we get the gospel right. We are starting to understand community and sharing in Christ. Our church is starting to see this.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. It takes time. I'm over five years in, you're over three years in—this doesn't happen overnight. You can't microwave this.  
  
Jon Moffitt: No, because we had to change people's perspectives of churches that they've come from. We do have new converts in our context, but we're also in the Bible belt so we're also dealing with a lot of people who grew up in Christianity. We have to reprogram people to not trust themselves. You are going to be deceived by sin and it will entangle you.  
  
I think it's so interesting when someone comes into the counseling with us and we start unraveling the problem—they confess their sin, we start talking about how it was caused, and the solutions we hand them are not isolated steps. The end goal is to allow the church to now carry this with you to the end, and it terrifies people to think other people are going to know about this. How else do you think you're going to get help? I don't have the ability to carry this by myself as the pastor.  
  
As a matter of fact, Paul doesn't say in Galatians 6 that pastors need to carry the burdens of the church. He says "you who are strong," not pastors. Paul is writing to the congregation saying the congregation is to do that.  
  
Justin Perdue: And then tells them to bear one another's burdens. It's very clear that that's an encouragement and an exhortation to everybody.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. To go back to Ephesians 4, he says the pastors and teachers are designed to equip the church for the work of ministry.  
  
Justin Perdue: Equip the saints for the work of ministry so that the body will grow and mature and build itself up in love.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Part of the Reformation that has to take place is not only theology, which Justin and I are heralding rest in Christ, but the transformation and reformation that must happen is we've got to get back to the biblical perspective of the church so that people can find rest again—and they can truly.  
  
Justin Perdue: And the gospel that we herald and the doctrine that we teach and confess in our respective churches drive that kind of culture in the church.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. There's a massive drive for social justice on all levels right now in almost every brand of Christianity that is out there. Everybody's throwing out the virtue signaling for racism and for everything that's going on. The church now is focusing outward, but it's leaving all of its members behind and they're being exhausted by all of this. I think it's easier to be involved in social justice movements because it's at a distance, and you can see immediate movement towards a change.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's easier to be involved in movements of social justice than it is to just love people in the church.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Because some people's weaknesses and failures... there is no improvement.  
  
Justin Perdue: There's not a fix. This is a limp that they're going to walk with for the rest of their lives, and they need to be loved.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. The burden of people in my church is their spouse left them or their child died or they were abused; that's a burden that cannot be fixed but can only be carried. Those are the things that don't sell. You don't do conferences on those. Our first conference should be on how to carry the burdens of other people.  
  
Justin Perdue: We may get into this more in the SR podcast, but things like conferences and short-term mission trips and stuff like that, it's easy to get excited about those things. It's easy to get people fired up and geeked up about them. They're just sparkle and fade type of things. The difficulty and the real marrow of the Christian life is what we are talking about today; it's locking arms with other fallen human beings and loving one another as we so often limp our way by the Holy Spirit's power toward the Celestial City. We're just trying to love each other in such a way that we help one another to trust Christ and die with dignity—and that's just not a sexy message for many people.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Christianity really is moving from one Super Bowl to the next—we're just looking for that one high.  
  
Justin Perdue: If you're saying American Christianity, then I agree with you completely.  
  
Even the movement thing that you're talking about, Jon. There's a reason why every 18 to 24 months, there's something new.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's like we have to find motivation for what we're doing.  
  
Justin Perdue: If you read the Christian blogosphere and you just go back over the last 15 years, I promise you that you'll find five to eight big issues. Every four years you've got politics—the election cycle. But then there's been a number of other things sprinkled in from various issues of social justice, whether that's having to do with gender stuff or race stuff. There was a big emphasis on sex trafficking years ago.  
  
Again, we should pursue justice. Amen. But there's always gotta be a new thing, it seems, that people can pay attention to.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The reason why there's always a new thing is that modern Christianity is just one epic failure after the next because we aren't paying attention to Scripture. There has been no success. You can't even call numbers success because then Joel Osteen is the most successful strong Christian on the planet because he's got one of the biggest churches in the world. Numbers are not success. When Paul describes a successful Christian or church, he is not describing these things that are changing culture or overcoming. We're always going to have social issues. We're always going to have problems. But when he describes a successful strong Christian, he describes something that is just not talked about today.  
  
I want to speak to the pastor out there and the Christian worker who's been faithfully serving in their ministries year in and year out: success has nothing to do with the books you write, the podcasts you make, and the number of people in your church. That is not what success is. A successful pastor or a successful Christian is one who gets down and carries and cares for, and is patiently longsuffering with people day in and day out. No matter how many people those are—if it's one, two, or 5,000, it does not matter. But you can go to bed at night and say, "You know what? According to 2 Peter 1, I was an effective Christian today because I cared for people. I cared for them and that's what my job is." I'm a good Christian not because of the sins I conquered—I'm not saying you can live in sin—not because of all of the things I did spiritually. No, we cared for the failings and the weak and those who are suffering and we carried burdens. I can die as a man going, "You know what? I did what God asked me to do, which is to care for the people around me in my church. That's what I've been called to do. I'm a successful pastor."  
  
Justin Perdue: And God has given me Christ's very own righteousness and has dealt with my sin so that I am set free to do that work without fear of condemnation and judgment.  
  
A couple of thoughts for me to close—and I realize it's not exactly related to what you just said, but I hope this makes sense.  
  
Two big ones: number one, back to that whole idea of a survey. If you were going to fill one out, what should mark a Christian? If we don't put love for the brethren, then we are flat wrong when it comes to what the Bible reveals. Jesus himself says in John 13: how is the world going to know that we're Christ's? It's by the way we love each other. And then John picks that up in his first epistle, in chapter two, verses seven and following, where his exhortation is to love each other. This is the commandment and this is what the redeemed do. So we need to talk in those terms.  
  
The second thing is related. If we're going to really love one another and get down low and bear each other's burdens, it requires a lot of things that we've been talking about today: humility, patience, gentleness, and the like. If that's going to characterize us in the church, we've got to get rid of self-righteousness because self-righteousness and humility, gentleness, patience, compassion don't go together. They're like oil and water.  
  
I said this in a conversation this week, and this is kind of where I'm going to conclude my thoughts on this people think in the church: people think in the church today that the epidemic that's plaguing us is nominalism, that the problem is that there are too many false converts or there are too many Christians in name only. That's the issue for them. I think that's a pretty myopic and short-sighted perspective. The problem that has always existed in the church from the jump, regarding the New Testament, is self-righteousness—people trusting in their own works, trusting in their own righteousness, going back to the law. It manifests itself in a number of ways, but that's the issue.  
  
I said this to a guy this week: my main objective in terms of what I want to see in all of our lives is I want to make it my mission to destroy self-righteousness at CBC, and I want us to trust in Christ's righteousness alone and despair of our own. If that actually starts to happen for us, guess what's going to be produced? This stuff: love, compassion, patience, gentleness, and charity toward the weak and toward the struggler, rather than this kind of posture that we all contend to have where we look at the weak and the struggler and we say, "You should be better by now. You shouldn't be doing that."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Amen. We're gonna end this podcast and we're going to move over to our next one, which is called Semper Reformanda. This is a new ministry that we started for the purposes of those who want to join in what we're doing. If you want to be a part of the Reformation, you want to see change happen, then we'd encourage you to join us. It's two parts: we do a podcast and then we also have a ministry where you can gather with other listeners and talk about the podcast each week. We have an app for it, so you can join. Once you join, you can download our private podcast feed and then join a local group. We already have 20 groups we've started around the country and we're working on doing more. We have several online groups and while you're waiting for your local group, you can join in. We have a great time discussing the podcast.  
  
Today, Justin and I are going to head over there and we are going to talk about parachurch failures as it relates to the marks of a strong Christian. It's going to be a fun conversation. We'll see over there.  
  
For those of you that won't make it with us, we'll see you next week.

---

### Biblicists Beware!

*Published: June 23, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/biblicists-beware*
*Tags: Biblicism, Christ in the Old Testament, Typology*

Biblicism might sound like a good thing...but it's not. Biblicism is a methodology that tends to introduce confusion and mystery into the Scriptures where there isn't any. It also tends to confuse doctrinal and theological categories such as law/gospel distinction and faith versus works. Jon and Justin consider these things and more in this episode.

Semper Reformanda: The guys discuss how biblicism is related to theonomy and unhelpful views on the nation of Israel. And, as a bonus, we get into a little bit of eschatology.

**Resources:**  
Episode: [Is the whole Bible about Jesus?](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-the-whole-bible-really-about-jesus/)   
Episode: [Is your theological system any good?](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good/)  
Series: [Covenant Theology series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCfzmujnlHo&list=PL5OjtM2rVrI30Net4GA-ZeC4BJd65UA4-)  
Book: ["Living in God's Two Kingdoms" by David VanDrunnen](https://amzn.to/2T0r2wC)

SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/](https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video%5Fdescription&redir%5Ftoken=QUFFLUhqbkZvNHpvdFZLNjVXZ1A5MWRrUmdjc210VXZFQXxBQ3Jtc0tuVGdiVXBYZVVnNkJzUGhLamh2UDhGanFWU2FBamdmdmZ6amd5S1Jibk5mYmF1U1doVl95X1RCZzdtSmFhNjMwNFBQd0ZTU19TNW8wWXpmTDV6YU45b3dvVFVjdjlvSjQ0SU5NSXpSeS1TbTJ6LV8xQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Ftheocastorg.wpengine.com%2Fgive%2F)

https://youtu.be/Dd-b7t1Ht8A

**Podcast Transcript**

Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, we are going to be explaining what biblicism is. There's a lot of theological confusion and categories and systems and theologies that have been birthed out of biblicism. We're going to explain to you what it is, how to refrain from it, and how to spot it when you see it. Stay tuned.

Today is a podcast we probably have been needing to do for a long time and we reference it often.

Justin Perdue: We even promised to do a podcast on it multiple times.

Jon Moffitt: I know. The real estate on the podcast is very small so we have to be choosy on what we pick.

Biblicism is a word. I saw someone use it the other day, saying, "I'm a biblicist." Someone should tell him not to say that.

Justin Perdue: It's not a badge of honor.

Jon Moffitt: It's a negative thing and we're going to explain to you why. Someone may think, "Why would 'Bible' and '-ism' be a bad thing?" Typically, "-ism" isn't good. Not always the case; Calvinism isn't necessarily bad—it has gotten a bad rap—which I just did an introduction to that on Ask Theocast. Check that out.

But to stay focused: biblicism. Justin, give us a quick definition of what it is. Then we are going to work through about five or six examples of what happens when you don't use Scripture properly, or you're a biblicist, this is what it ends up producing.

So what's a good definition, a simple definition, of a biblicist for our listeners?

Justin Perdue: Let me define it in a simple way, and even use pop level accessible language in talking about this. You already alluded to it once when you said a person would describe themself as a Bible person. Another way that you hear this commonly presented is people will say, "no creed but Christ", or, "no confession but the Bible". People will say that the only thing that we need to use is Scripture and any kind of framework outside of the Bible, or any tools outside of the Bible are not useful; it's not faithful or it's not responsible to use such things to understand the Scripture. And so you end up getting this kind of a situation where people will say that if the text does not say it explicitly, then we cannot preach it and we cannot teach it.

Jon Moffitt: Or the reverse is true: "The text explicitly said it, therefore I'm going to preach it."

Justin Perdue: Sure. We're going to give illustrations of this, like you said, in broad categories and the like.

What ends up happening is you make the Bible sound very schizophrenic because you quote chapter and verse in isolation and you don't interpret that verse within its broader context, even maybe within the book that it's situated in, let alone within the epoch of redemptive history that it's situated in, or let alone the entire Bible. And so you end up introducing mystery and tension into the Scripture where it does not exist, and you end up introducing things that sound contradictory and really confusing your listener when the Bible—rightly understood on its own terms with appropriate theological systems in place—is not contradictory. It is not confusing. There is going to be mystery, but we want to put the mystery in the right place.

Biblicism is dangerous on a number of levels because as you're going to hear us talk about, there really are hardly any key areas of doctrine that would not be compromised or confused by a biblicism. If you're using biblicism and you're a biblicist, you're going to confuse almost every major doctrinal category.

Jon Moffitt: Can I give an example here? A simple one would be Colossians 1:15: he is the firstborn of all creation. You could conclude that Jesus is born, or even is a created being, and I would even dare say the Trinity, if you do not allow all of Scripture to inform you about the nature of who Christ is. Many biblicists in the past have become heretical. Arian would be a great example of this, where they isolate texts and they don't allow the analogy of faith or all of Scripture to speak into a theological position or a particular text. A good example of this is that there are many people, even in recent days, who do not understand the nature of Jesus because they read individual texts and say, "Well, that's what it says. I'm going to take it literally in English without even using biblical language. That's exactly what it means in the English. That's exactly what it means. Therefore, that's what I believe."

Justin Perdue: Proof texting is an example of biblicism where you cite chapter and verse in isolation to prove a point. That's a common mistake that people make. Maybe a humorous way to put this is when you get people really worked up about these things and they will say, as I alluded to earlier, "I have no confession but the Bible and no creed but Christ," as they wave their study Bible in your face. What do you think those study notes are other than an exercise in systematic theology and biblical theology and everything else that people seem allergic to?

We did an episode a while back, Jon, something along the lines of is your theological system any good? That would be a useful episode for people to go back and listen to because we are going to contend today that the Scriptures present to us certain frameworks and systems of theology that come up out of the text that we then can utilize to better understand the text. A couple of those are going to be the redemptive-historical framework, and for us as Reformed guys, a covenantal framework of the Bible. Those things are really helpful. And a biblicist is going to press really, really hard against both of those things. They're gonna say, "That's the system that you're imposing down on the Bible and you shouldn't do that. You're being irresponsible in the ways that you're understanding and interpreting the Scripture." Hopefully, we're going to demonstrate how, if anything, biblicism is the much more dangerous and irresponsible perspective today.

Jon Moffitt: I do a lot of internet research for things and recently I'm doing a series on Calvinism for Ask Theocast and just reading different arguments here and there. And the proof texting on either side, the Calvinist or free will...

Justin Perdue: Just to be very clear, there are people that could consider themselves to be Reformed who can be biblicists from time to time. We want to be fair. Anybody can be a biblicist. I'm sure you and I have been at certain points, not meaning to be.

Jon Moffitt: What we're arguing is that being able to identify biblicist tendencies or passages that we may have interpreted in the past where we have not allowed context and tried and true theological categories.

Let me give you this one illustration. It's the most simple one that I've always used. When you read any text of Scripture that has relation to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—if you are an evangelical who's been trained in a good church, you never read those without understanding that that is one in three. Another way of saying that is you're reading it by a theological system called Trinitarianism. It's important that you do so because it helps you fully understand that this isn't one God working in opposition or in isolation to the other gods, because we're not polytheists—we're monotheists; _poly_ meaning multiple, _mono_ meaning one. Where are monotheists who believe in a Trinity. It is a complicated system, but it's important to believe that because Jesus will say things like "I and my Father are one." These have to be read in a Trinitarian context.

I have met biblicists who will allow a Trinitarian context to be set on the text, but that's as far as they will go. They won't allow any other theological systems because "it's not biblical", yet they allow the Trinitarian system to guide them. It's not the only theological system in the Bible presented to us clearly in the text. We're going to argue for a couple others here in just a minute.

Justin Perdue: One of the categories that's most important that Jon and I are convinced of—and we're not alone amongst the Reformed in seeing this—is that biblicism really just botches the distinction between law and gospel. There are a number of places we could go. I'm mindful of several examples in the life and ministry of Jesus where people will cite Christ in terms of chapter and verse, in terms of what God requires out from the lips of Jesus himself and say, "See? There it is. There's the road to salvation. That's the way of salvation." When Jesus has in fact been actually speaking a message of law, like, "Here is how you inherit the kingdom of God. Here's what you need to do in order to be in a right relationship with God." People will say that's somehow a part and parcel of the good news.

One of the greatest examples of this is a large section of Scripture called The Sermon on the Mount, where people will say things like The Sermon on the Mount is gospel, to which we would say no. A much more careful reading of that text—a redemptive-historical reading of that text, and a reading of that text with an eye for law and gospel distinction—would actually lead you to conclude that that sermon is a sermon on the law, not the gospel, in terms of what God does require of us, not just at the level of outward conformity, but at the level of the heart, mind, desires, and everything else. That becomes quite clear as Jesus begins to discuss the law pointedly in Matthew 5:17 and following: here is what you've heard, but here is what it actually means for you. And he more or less damns everybody who hears him by saying, "You think you've done okay, but you haven't; you haven't kept the law. This is what the Lord requires of you. In fact, you need to be perfect like your heavenly Father is perfect." That confusion of law and gospel and the life of ministry of Jesus is a big deal.

Jon Moffitt: The gospel is the way in which the Bible presents its message or information, but it also is a theological category. The word "gospel" is a very closed tight knit bubble. There's only so much that can be in there, and if you add anything into it, you are now changing what the gospel is. This is why Paul gets very upset and even says, "If anybody comes to you and starts teaching you anything other than what you've already been taught, adding to the gospel," Paul is arguing for the clarity and he's saying, "this is encapsulated and cannot be changed. It's been set forth." You have to read every passage of the Bible with a clear understanding of gospel, because if you don't, then you will get "glawspel"—you get the law and the gospel together. So the gospel must be clarified.

A great example of this is the rich young ruler, which we use in the past as an example. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus gives him what he needs to do if he wants to inherit it, like if he wants to receive it by earning.

Justin Perdue: Jesus says, "If you would be perfect."

Jon Moffitt: That's not gospel, that's law. When you understand gospel, and you have the category of gospel and you're holding that lens in your mind, and then you read Jesus, you go, "Jesus didn't give him gospel, but what do we do?" The biblicist will say "No, Jesus answered the question; therefore, it's good news."

Justin Perdue: Jesus just told people what they need to do to inherit eternal life so we need to go about the business of doing it.

Jon Moffitt: That is, to forsake everything. We need to sell all our possessions.

Justin Perdue: That is the conclusion of the biblicist when law and gospel are confused.

Another great example from the Old Testament: the prophet Micah, chapter six. The context in Micah 6—the Lord begins that chapter by indicting his people. They're guilty. They stand condemned before Him and then the prophet goes on in verse six and following of Micah 6 to write these things. He's hypothetically speaking for the people here: "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?" And sense the sarcasm here: Lord, you're extreme; what do you require? "Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" And then Micah says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Now, what people do with that passage is they read that and they say, "See? Here it is. The Lord is not satisfied with empty ritualistic religion. He is not interested in people's sacrifices. What he is interested in is the true religion of doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly before it." And so now you need to be a true religion, an old time religion kind of person, who is characterized by the doing of justice, the loving of kindness and the walking humbly before your God, and the Lord will be pleased with you. Again, that's biblicism. The prophet there is not giving people a message of gospel either; he's telling folks that a better understanding of what the Lord requires actually is this heart level reality. It's not external conformity to a written code, but it's a heart level reality of doing justice and loving kindness and walking humbly before your God. Nobody's ever done it well enough. That's the thing.

This is where you go to that verse. Micah 6:8 is often posited as an Old Testament presentation of the gospel. It's not. It's an Old Testament presentation of the law very similar to how Jesus presents it in the Sermon on the Mount and other places in his ministry. Learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."

Jon Moffitt: I believe with all my heart that God blesses righteousness. He does not lie. It reflects who He is. Paul tells us there is none righteous and our good works, according to Jeremiah, are compared to really disgusting, filthy rags. Those are important. They're not in opposition to each other.

Justin Perdue: You just beautifully segued to another category. Law and gospel are massive. This one is at least as important and it is the confusion between faith and works. Biblicism is notorious for muddling this up to the high heavens. How is it that we're justified? How is it that we're finally saved even? Is it by faith or is it by our works? The classic text for me is Romans 2\. In this context, Romans 2-3 are really illustrative.

Paul has already indicted all the brilliant Gentiles at the end of Romans 1\. Then he begins, at the beginning of Romans 2, to talk to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, because we all pass judgment on other people for not meeting our own standards. If people don't meet our standards and we pass judgment on them, we need to realize that we don't meet our own standards and thereby we condemn ourselves with our judging. If we haven't even met our own standards, how much less so have we met God's standard? We misunderstand God's kindness, not understanding that it's meant to lead men toward repentance.

And then Paul goes in Romans 2:6 and following, and as the Reformed theologian Robert Haldane once said, you either leave Romans 2:6 and following a Protestant or a Romanist—and I think he's right. There's no middle ground here in terms of how you can interpret it. And let me say this kindly, but sincerely: if you pick up a Romans commentary, there are a lot of guys who otherwise are pretty reasonable who absolutely lose their minds when it comes to Romans 2:6-13.

Let's just read a few of these verses and talk about what biblicists do with it, and then talk about how we should understand it in the context of Romans. Romans 2:6; this is true about God: "He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified."

What you hear people say—again, otherwise pretty orthodox, like sound teachers, Protestants—they come to Romans 2:6-13 and they'll go, "We know that we are justified by faith, but somehow—you can see it right here it says in the text—somehow our works will factor into our final salvation, because it says so right here that God will render to each one according to his works. Those who do good, He's going to reward with eternal life. Those who do evil, He's going to punish with wrath and fury." No. That's not the way to interpret that passage, somehow mysteriously our works factor into our final salvation, because this question has to be asked in the broader context of Romans: what is Paul doing? There's a flow of his thought that's going to culminate in Romans 3:21\. He's arguing that everybody has judged themselves and judged others. We don't need our own standard, let alone God's. God is an impartial righteous judge who rewards those who do good and punish those who do evil.

The problem though is that nobody's good. Because he's going to go there in Romans 3:9 and the following: "Nobody is good. There's not one righteous. No, not one." We should be thinking we are all damned. How can anyone be saved? Which is why he says in verse 21 and following: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." He concluded that whole section of his argument in verses 19 and 20, where he says that the law condemns everyone, Romans 3:19, and verse 24, by works of the law, no human being will be justified in His sight because the law only crushes people. But yet, in a biblicism kind of way, we go to Romans 2:6, and we go to Romans 2:13, and we quote it and say, "Ah, but guys, we've got to work for this. We got to do something. Even though we're saved by faith, somehow our works factor in." And that's just an irresponsible presentation. What does it do? It confuses the nature of the gospel itself and robs the saints of assurance.

Jon Moffitt: This is another way of saying this: understanding the nature of man and understanding the gospel are two categories we have to hold in both hands as we read every text. We know from scripture that we are in Adam, meaning that we have received the curse of Adam which is that our spiritual nature, the capacity to love and obey and please God, to trust in Him, has been cursed unto death. Paul describes it as being dead cause we've had to go from death to life. Obviously we are not physically dead; he is speaking about the cursed nature that we have. So you cannot demand a cursed dead nature to do that which it has no capacity to do, which is to obey God.

This is even in James: the classic quote, "faith without works is dead." We really needle down into that. And if I am looking at someone who says to me, "I'm a Christian," and yet they don't see the necessity of producing good fruit in keeping with repentance and obedience, all that... "I don't need to do that. I just need to say a prayer and I'm good." I would agree that they are confused. James is even getting it out in the context saying, "You're saying you're a follower of Jesus, but the way that you are acting is contrary to that. And if you're unwilling to repent of that, then the faith you were claiming is a dead faith." At that moment, you don't call someone to do something they can't do. Because at that moment, you go, "Okay, you don't understand the gospel. This isn't a works issue; this is a gospel issue." Because those who have saving faith are going to obey.

Justin Perdue: It's a gospel issue, it's a union with Christ issue, and it's a regeneration issue. If you have been born again and if you are not just giving some kind of mental assent to some truth about Jesus, but you are trusting him, and you're hoping in him, that only occurs via the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. You have now been united to Christ and you will bear fruit. That's what the Scriptures say. But to confuse that, to invert that, to proof text it and say, "Faith without works is dead; show me your faith by your works," to then conclude, "We need to go about telling people to do good work so that they know they're saved." Wrong. That's not the conclusion that we draw. We go about preaching Christ. We tell people to trust Christ. Through their union with him, fruit will be produced. You can't invert that relationship, but biblicism confuses that relationship to no end.

Jon Moffitt: I'll just reference this here for two reasons: one, we have a podcast on it and two, we have a podcast coming. On repentance and biblicism, we did a needle down, focus in on that a couple of weeks ago. You can go back and listen to _What Is Repentance?_ We really unfold that from what biblicism is. I would also say lordship salvation falls into this, where a lot of the arguments that you will see again in the next coming weeks... we're going to give you some more examples on this, but I'll just say this now: I think lordship salvation is built upon a biblicism platform.

Justin Perdue: It completely is in that there's a collapsing of law and gospel. There's a confusion of faith and works and repentance. There's really a different definition of faith that is given in the lordship camp where obedience and repentance and a sincere desire to obey and all those kinds of things are woven into the definition of faith. And that is something that, historically, Protestants have been very careful to not do. And we'll talk about that in some subsequent episodes.

Jon Moffitt: One example that's like a precursor to that is as someone Reformed and even Calvinist, when you understand the depravity of man and the sovereign election of God as it relates to our salvation, the biblicism of lordship doesn't seem to work. I would agree with the fact that when Jesus saves me and brings me to new life, I am now owned by him—and I'm gladly thankful that he is my Lord. But I don't have the capacity to make that change within myself or determine that that is handed to me. It's not something that is given to me as if there's something I must do in order to be a child of God.

Justin Perdue: And the bottom line is that when you have been united to Christ by faith, you now—Romans 6:17—have become obedient from the heart. You actually do desire to obey God, but the desire to obey is not a piece of faith itself. The new birth that is worked by God produces faith and then the fruits of regeneration and faith are a desire to obey, amongst a whole host of other things. But you can't confuse that. We're going to talk more about that in the coming weeks and I'm excited for those conversations.

One of the last couple of big categories in the regular portion of the podcast is also a reference back to an episode. We did one on typology and types and shadows and all those kinds of things called _Is the Whole Bible Really About Jesus?_ Just to briefly pick back up on this and to help explain how biblicism is unhelpful here: we talk regularly about how the whole Bible really is about Christ, that it's about the plan of redemption that God has had since before the foundation of the world, that centers on Christ, that's accomplished through him, that's then applied to us by the work of the Holy Spirit—all to the praise of God's glorious grace. And so we interpret every passage of Scripture in light of that main message, in light of that main point.

We realize that the way that God has revealed His plan of redemption by farther steps through history, and in the pages of Scripture, there are all of these things that serve as types of something greater to come, their shadows and the substance is going to come. There are pointers to things that are going to come later that are ultimate, that will fulfill them. And so when we preach anything in the Old Testament, for example—I could think of a number of examples, the obvious ones are the Passover, when we preach the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, when we preach the day of atonement or whatever it may be, we're talking about those in light of Christ and what he would come to do. He's the Passover Lamb. He is the one who has atoned for our sin and removed it from us. He is going to deliver us not out of bondage to Egypt, but from bondage to sin and death and Satan. But we would argue preaching the entire Old Testament this way.

Sometimes people get really worked up when we preach in a very Christocentric, a Christ-centered way, from the Old Testament, a biblicist will say, "Brother, you are not giving appropriate attention to the original author's intent. Did Moses fully understand everything that you're saying about Jesus? Did David fully understand everything that you're saying about Jesus from the Psalms? Did Micah understand everything that you're saying about Christ?" Fill in the blank. A biblicist will rail against a Christ-centered sermon sometimes from the Old Testament because we are not doing justice to the original author's intention—to which I want to say this humbly, but I would stake my ministry on this: is it legitimate, for example, to preach baptism from Noah and the Ark? Yes. Peter makes that connection for us in 1 Peter 3\. But what should we preach when we preach a sermon on the Ark and the flood? We should preach salvation, we should preach baptism, and we should preach Christ as the emphasis of that passage.

What should we preach when it's the Passover or the day of atonement? We should preach Jesus. What about the temple? We were having this conversation before we hit record. There is an obsession in some circles with the temple and the rebuilding of the temple and all these kinds of things, and when we see the temple being built in the Old Testament—God's having a house built for Him where he's going to dwell with His people—when we see the tabernacle for that set up in the camp of Israel, we should be preaching Jesus from those passages. Why? Because Jesus shows up on the scene and says himself that he is the fulfillment of the temple. He is God's presence on earth. Then as he ascends and sends his Holy Spirit, the church is now the fulfillment of the temple. The Spirit of God Himself dwells in the church with His people and the like. Then in the new heavens and the new earth, there will be no temple because God will be there and the Lamb will dwell among us. There's no need for a temple anymore. This is how we should preach the temple. And there are going to be people who are going to be saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Should you preach the temple that way in the Old Testament?" Yes. If we're a Christian, we should.

Jon Moffitt: All of Scripture is Christian Scripture.

Justin Perdue: This is where I think I get really upset with biblicism, maybe as much as any place: Romans 2 and 3 get me worked up, but this stuff really works me up because people almost call into question whether we should preach Christ from the Old Testament from these things that prefigure him and point to him, as though it's, "Maybe you should, but that shouldn't be the emphasis of your sermon." The last time I checked, we are Christians and we preach Christian sermons, do we not? We want to read Genesis or Exodus or Micah or Esther as Christians, for crying out loud.

Jon Moffitt: I think there's a fear of allegorizing there. I remember when I was in Bible college and even in seminary, it's like, "Oh, we don't want to fall into that trap where we're allegorizing everything in the text and putting things in the text that aren't there." That's a legitimate argument: you can't force into the text things that aren't there. I would argue that if you got five points of how to be faithful like David...

Justin Perdue: Tell me where that is in the text.

Jon Moffitt: No, it's not in the text at all. Let me read you something real quick from Romans 15\. I think it will make your point, Justin. Paul says this: "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." And then Paul gives us the motivation—and it's interesting how he gives us motivation—pay attention to this in verse four: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope." So he's referencing Christ, he's referencing our needs to bear with the weak, and our motivation is the Old Testament leads us to hope. There is no way you can conclude that Paul isn't meaning hope in Christ because he just got done arguing for it in chapter 14... well, I would say all of Romans. The point of it is that anytime you see these New Testament writers referencing the Old Testament, they are referencing it as these are designed for endurance and encouragement because the Old Testament gives us hope. Because what is the Old Testament about? It's about Jesus. This is one more example of a text of interpreting the Old Testament for us.

Justin Perdue: I know we said this last week; I'm gonna say it again: whenever we do what we're describing, where we interpret and read and preach the Old Testament in this Christ-centered way, we're doing what Jesus told us to do and we're doing what the apostles did. Full stop.

I understand there's a danger of allegorizing everything, and that is not at all what we are advocating for; all we're advocating for is to read the Old Testament the way the apostles read and understood it. There are countless examples that we could give from Paul, from Peter, from the writer of the Hebrews, from John, where it's obvious that they see things in the Old Testament. If they were in a hermeneutics class in most modern day seminaries, they would get a failing grade for saying what they're saying. "Oh, what about the original author's intent? Did the Psalmist really mean that in Psalm 68? Were they really talking about Jesus's ascension and the giving of gifts, Paul, like you say in Ephesians 4? Or the rock from 1 Corinthians 10:4 referencing Exodus 17?" All of these things are just example after example after example of how the apostles read the Old Testament. The writer of the Hebrews—what's the sacrificial system about? What's the priesthood about? It's about Christ. It all pointed to him. Why would we go back to something that's been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus? What was Abraham about ultimately? He was justified by faith as a pattern for everyone who had ever believed the promises of God realized in the Messiah, and we would be saved the same way. This is how we should read all of these things. Jesus himself in John 3, the snake that's lifted up on a pole in Numbers 21—it's about him and how he would be raised up, and when we look to him and what he's done, we're saved.

Jon Moffitt: We could go on and on and on, but we are running out of time. We did have one left. We're going to leave it for the other podcast we're about to do. We're going to talk a little bit about eschatology and biblicism.

For those of you that are new and listening, we have a ministry called Semper Reformanda, "always reforming", and we started this as a way to connect with our listeners, but also to go to a deeper level. There are many who love what we're saying on Theocast but have questions and want to go to that next level of conversation. Justin and I step into a different role in that way, where we interact with our listeners a little bit more and we take this conversation to a little bit deeper level. And you can join us.

Semper Reformanda is two things: one, it's a podcast that we do, but two, it's also a community. It's an online community, and believe it or not, a local community. By now, our app is out and you can go and sign up to get our private podcast feed, and also join a group. Download our app and see what groups are available. You can join an online discussion group, or you do it over zoom, or you can do it locally in your town. Those are growing. I think we're over 20 plus so far. People are getting signed up to start their own. So if you want to learn more about that, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com.

Excited to continue this conversation. We'll see you next week.

---

### Is the Whole Bible Really About Jesus?

*Published: June 16, 2021 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-the-whole-bible-really-about-jesus*
*Tags: Biblicism, Christ Centered Preaching, Christ in the Old Testament, Christ-Centered, Typology*

Is the whole Bible really about Jesus? Here at Theocast, we believe that it is. Jon and Justin consider the pattern of Jesus and the apostles with regard to how they understood the Bible. The guys consider typology and how it is useful in understanding the Scriptures--and biblicism and how it is not helpful.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Justin talks about the thing that has most impacted his preaching. Jon and Justin then discuss how important it is to see that every promise of Scripture finds its fulfillment in Jesus.  
  
Resources:  
Episode: [Is Christ-Centered Preaching Dangerous?](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-christ-centered-preaching-dangerous/)  
"The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant & His Kingdom" by Samuel Renihan  
["Preaching Christ in All of Scripture" by Edmond Clowney](https://amzn.to/3pVT0pm)  
["The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament" by Edmond Clowney](https://amzn.to/3wtJQTL)  
  
FREE Ebook: [wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer)  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
https://youtu.be/KvOnPDF1P3M  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are going to answer the question, "Is the whole Bible really about Jesus?" We don't like to bury the lead here at Theocast, and so our position is that yes, in fact, the whole Bible is about Christ and what he has accomplished on behalf of sinners in order to save us. We're going to have this conversation from a couple of different perspectives. We're going to talk about typology and how that works in the Bible. If you don't even know what typology is, don't worry, we're going to define it and try to explain it for you.  
  
We're also going to talk about Biblicism and how it is unhelpful to understanding the Scriptures accurately. Again, if you don't know what Biblicism is, stay tuned. We're going to try to explain it to you and help you see how it relates to this conversation.  
  
We really hope this is an encouraging and life-giving conversation for you, and that is a conversation that will open up the Scriptures and show you how from Genesis to Revelation, Jesus really is the point of it.  
  
The title of the episode is _Is the Whole Bible Really About Jesus?_ What we want to do today is answer that question. But we're really just pulling the curtain back here and having a conversation about a couple of different things—and I'm going to try to explain briefly what we mean by these terms and then we'll just kind of take-off and run with this.  
  
We're having a conversation today about typology and somewhat also about Biblicism. And so just briefly to define those terms for the listener: when we talk about typology, we are talking about the way that God reveals Himself, the way He reveals redemption—in particular, the way He reveals redemption through Christ in Scripture—where there are things that occur earlier on in biblical revelation, referred to as types, that are significant in and of themselves but they point to something that is greater, different, and ultimate. So those greater, different, ultimate fulfillments of the types are often referred to as antitypes. We're going to talk about examples of some of that today. But if the Bible is read appropriately in a typological way, we are going to see types and shadows and pointers to Jesus all throughout the Old Testament before Christ even shows up on the scene in the New Testament.  
  
If you think about, for example, the writer to the Hebrews and how he explains the fact that the sacrificial system, and so many of the other things that were revealed to Israel in the law, were ultimately about Christ. They were ultimately shadows and pointers to Jesus and the redemption that would be accomplished through him. That is a biblical example of typology. We're going to talk about some other biblical examples of typology in this episode. So we're having that conversation about how typology is really helpful in coming to the Bible, and it's helpful to us, in particular, in seeing Christ through all of Scripture.  
  
But then we're also going to be having a conversation about something referred to as Biblicism. The goal of a biblicist is a good goal; it's a good aim. It's admirable that you want to be a Bible person and only say things that the Scripture says, and you don't want to add to it or take away from it. That's a good aim. But oftentimes, the way that Biblicism presents itself is that if the text does not specifically and explicitly say something, that it just must not be true. And so there's a real concern in Biblicism for some of the systematic categories, the covenantal categories, the redemptive-historical categories that the Reformed have always had that help us to see Christ in all of Scripture. The biblicist gets very anxious about that. We're going to explain what we mean by that, too.  
  
Before you check out, if you're sitting here and you're thinking, "Oh my gosh. This is an academic conversation and this is something that's going to be over my head," it is not going to be. We're going to talk about this at a street level, as a couple of pastors who deal with the Scriptures regularly and are trying to teach the Scriptures to our people. This conversation ultimately is about seeing Christ in all of Scripture in ways that are legitimate and responsible, and really upholding what Jesus Christ himself says about the Bible, namely, that it's all about him. We hope that you come away from this episode more encouraged to study the Scriptures, more encouraged to sit under the Scriptures on the Lord's Day as you hear your pastor preach them to you, or if you're a pastor out there and you're more excited to get in the pulpit and herald Christ from any text in the Bible.  
  
I might just launch us off, Jon, in thinking about the words of Jesus Christ himself in Luke 24 and in John 5\. Luke 24, the road to Emmaus. Jesus is resurrected and he appears to a couple of his disciples and he says to them that they are slow of heart to believe everything that the Scriptures have revealed. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to these disciples everything in Moses and the prophets that was written about him.  
  
Then in John 5, at a couple of different points, Jesus makes it very clear to his Jewish audience. He says to them, "You search the Scriptures thinking that in them you find eternal life; yet it is they that bear witness about me." And then he goes on later in John 5 to say they talk about Moses a lot, and, "if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me."  
  
This is the conversation that we're having today. I get excited for this because this has changed my Christian life. It has changed the way that I think about the Bible wholesale. This is probably the single greatest thing that informs my preaching from a week to week basis: it is the fact that all of the Scriptures from Genesis to revelation are about Christ and what he has done for sinners.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I was preaching through the book of John, and John is probably one of the greatest prolific writers when it comes to the Old Testament in terms of how much he references in typology, in referencing to ceremonies and the law. He mentions the Psalms and Isaiah a lot. He won't do a direct quote, but he'll even say things like "to fulfill scripture" to allow the reader to know what Scripture something is in reference to.  
  
To add to the Scriptures that talk about Jesus in the Old Testament, there's a couple more. You have Acts 8:35: "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus."  
  
Book of Acts. Let's do some math here. The New Testament has not been written at the moment; it's being recorded as past history. What Scriptures is he referencing? What is he talking about?  
  
Justin Perdue: Whenever we hear the apostles in the New Testament reference the Scriptures or Jesus reference the Scriptures, they're talking about what we call the Old Testament.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Philip is telling the eunuch about Jesus from the Old Testament, which I can tell you right now that Justin and I both can preach the gospel clearly from the Old Testament because the apostles did. We can use Old Testament text to preach Christ and we do, and we'll always do. We are not crippled by only having the New Testament in order to preach the gospel because what else was Philip using?  
  
Another verse that would be connected to this is Acts 18:28 where he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that Christ was Jesus. Again, Scripture has to reference the Torah, the Old Testament, and he's referencing the Old Testament to show that it is about Jesus. It's not one little reference. I know sometimes people say, "Well, you guys always quote Luke 24 and you're basing an entire theological system and way of reading the Bible based on one verse. It's not. There are multiple examples of New Testament writers using the Old Testament to teach us about Jesus. There is much that can be learned and should be learned about Jesus.  
  
Now, this is where understanding typology is so important. It took me a long time to understand this and so I'm going to say it in such a way that if you're brand new to Reformed theology, if you're brand new to redemptive-historical biblical theology or covenant theology, typology is really important. When someone said "type" and "antitype", my brain didn't have a category for that. So if you're smart unlike me and you already know it, you can fast forward the next 30 seconds. But if you're like me and you need help in these categories, the antitype thing is what threw me off.  
  
A type is an example or a picture of something, but not the reality of it. We use these illustrations all the time, but one of my favorite ones is if you go to a Mexican restaurant and you get that real big laminated menu. I love that the more expensive ones will have a picture of the burrito and underneath it, it says, "Not the actual size." Thanks for clarifying. But it's a picture; it's a type of the burrito. You look at it, anticipate it, and are excited about what you see, but the picture is not what you taste, it is not what sustains you, it is not what gives you energy. The substance, or the real burrito, is called the antitype.  
  
So when we say type and antitype, which we're going to give some examples here in the Old Testament, those are the theological terms for it. A great example of this is when Jesus says to Nicodemus, "as the serpent was raised in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." The serpent in the wilderness was a type, an example, a picture of what is going to happen to Jesus, because those who looked on the serpent and believed were healed, and those who looked to Christ on the cross and believed are also healed of their sins. That's a good example of type and antitype as it relates to Jesus being referenced in the Old Testament, pointing us towards the New Testament reality.  
  
Justin Perdue: Jesus, of course, picks up on that very thing in his conversation with Nicodemus in John 3\. The New Testament is replete with examples of this kind of thing being done by Christ and the apostles.  
  
You mentioned earlier how the apostles write what I might even call the apostolic pattern when it comes to this conversation. When we are saying that we read the Bible from a redemptive-historical perspective, meaning it's redemptive history with Christ at the center, and we read it in that Christ-centered way, and we read it with an eye for typology—types and shadows and pointers and fulfillment and all those things—all we are saying and all we are advocating is, "Hey guys, let's read the Bible. In particular, let's read the Old Testament the way that the apostles understood it and the way that Christ understood it." We're not coming up with anything new. We are looking to Christ, Paul, Peter, John, and the writer to the Hebrews, and we are just following their lead in terms of how they understood the Old Testament Scriptures to bear witness to Christ and the redemption that he would accomplish for sinners.  
  
This is maybe one of the more controversial pieces of this conversation: we have freedom to not only go to the texts that the apostles specifically reference, but we have freedom to read the entire Old Testament that way, because they have given us a pattern; they have shown us how to do it.  
  
For example, the way that Peter in 1 Peter 3 connects the ark and the flood and what happened there, to redemption and to baptism. That means that it is legitimate to now go back to the Old Testament as saints have done for a long, long time and see other passages, to use Peter's language, where the saints are brought safely through water. And we can see those things as a pointer to our baptism, through which we are united to Christ, we are sealed into him, and our sins are drowned in the waters of baptism because Christ ultimately has taken the judgment of God for us. We've died in Christ to the law.  
  
So Peter connects that in 1 Peter 3 to Genesis 6-8\. But then there are other ways that the saints have seen the same connection, like Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea, where God's people walk safely through water. People have said this is a pointer to baptism—they're entirely right about that. Because it's a pointer ultimately to the deliverance that God would accomplish for us through the Lord Jesus Christ.  
  
But a lot of times—again, talking about that Biblicism thing where it's gotta be on the face of the text and if the text doesn't say it, we shouldn't draw the conclusion—if you do that, if you go to the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus, where if you were to preach the flood from Genesis and you were just conclude that Moses, in writing about the ark and the flood, doesn't say anything about baptism, doesn't say anything about Jesus and the ark being a type of Christ, and so as you preach this, you think, "The original authorial intent must have been this thing and this is what I need to say." In order for you to do that, you have now divorced the account of the ark and the flood in Genesis 6-8, you have divorced that from the entire canon, you have divorced it from the entire context of the whole Bible, and have actually been irresponsible in preaching it if you do not preach Christ and baptism from Genesis 6-8.  
  
That's the really controversial thing, I think, to say here. There is such an obsession sometimes over original authorial intent in the Old Testament that we almost academically, thinking that we're smart, convince ourselves to not preach Christ from the Old Testament.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To go back to explain what you mean by authorial intent, for those who this might be new to if you didn't grow up a part of a church that does expository teaching or preaching, what Justin is getting at is that when an author like Moses sat down to write the history, inspired by the Spirit, there's a reason behind their writing. That's authorial intent. What's the intention of the author? You can see these things in the epistles, you can hear in the beginning when Paul says, "I'm writing you for this reason." Even in the gospels, you can see the introductions to the gospels and what they're writing them for. The argument has been—within conservative, evangelical Calvinistic churches—is that you cannot give any other application than the original intention of that individual author. What we mean by author is Paul, David, Moses, etc.  
  
There's a danger when you read Scripture in that way because it disconnects the Bible as if it's a library of books that are all of the same time period, and God is a part of them—but they're not all connected as if there was one theme.  
  
Our argument is that according to the New Testament, there is a theme and there is a driving message. We can go to Ephesians 1 and it literally says that before the foundations of the world, God made a _pactum_, a covenant, that there would be salvation promised to sinners. This was before the first mention of Scripture; this is before creation. We take great heart in that because Paul is saying there's a greater theme that's going on; there's a major theme of what all of Scripture is about. Paul thankfully gives us a good peek into that to say, "This is how you should read your Bible: from a redemption of sinners that unfolds through history." This is why we use the term that's been used for many years: redemptive-historical understanding of Scripture.  
  
So our argument would be the author of Scriptures, the intention of the author, which is God by means of the Holy Spirit. The authorial intent is redemption. And then you go down into the writer. I would argue the author is God, the writers are the humans; they're instruments. So the authorial intent is always God and His redemptive plan as revealed to us in Scripture. And then we go down and say, what did the writer say in their context? We don't want to interpret it in our own means saying, "Well, I can say whatever I want now because the writer just wrote something." No, the writer wrote it for a purpose, but it's not disconnected from all of Scripture and God's authorial plan, which was told to us before.  
  
Justin Perdue: A few comments here. 1 Peter 1:10-12 in that area. The apostle there makes it clear. I'll just read 1 Peter 1:10 and following: "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look." That's 1 Peter 1:10-12\. What that is saying is that the prophets of old, as they wrote down things inspired of the Holy Spirit, did not fully, in their humanity, understand everything that they were writing. That right there has to be taken into consideration when we have this conversation about original authorial intent.  
  
Did Moses understand everything that he wrote completely in terms of how it pointed to Christ and would be fulfilled in Jesus? No, he didn't. Did Isaiah in Isaiah 53 fully understand what was going to happen? No, he didn't. So if you are going to govern yourself by what Isaiah or Moses or David or whoever understood then you're going to gut the Scriptures of their ultimate meaning that point to Christ and his work for sinners to save us. That's just one thing for us to keep in mind.  
  
Here are two examples that I think are very illustrative and perhaps provocative when it comes to this conversation. They are both from the pen of the apostle Paul. 1 Corinthians 10, in particular, verse four is where I want to get. But I'm going to begin with chapter 10 in verse one and read it real quick. Paul says, "For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." That is a reference to Exodus 17\. Now, in Exodus 17, what's happening? In verse four of 1 Corinthians 10, it's a reference to that chapter; in Exodus 17, the people had been brought out of Egypt, they've been brought through the Red Sea, and they are grumbling because they're thirsty. And Moses says to God, "What am I supposed to do with these people?" Basically. And God says, "I will stand before you there on the rock of Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." and Paul is saying that that rock and the water that came out of it is about Jesus.  
  
Can you imagine in an Old Testament class or in a hermeneutics class, if a student in many seminaries today were to preach that text or to write an expositional paper on Exodus 17 and to ultimately make the point of that. "Well, Jesus is the point of this." You will get a failing grade in many seminary classes because that is irresponsible hermeneutics and exegesis of the text. But that's what the apostle Paul does.  
  
Another passage that perhaps is even more illustrative of what we're talking about is Ephesians 4:7 and following. Paul has just been talking about how there's unity in the church. Then he goes on to say, he's going to talk now about how each of us have been given gifts for the use of the body and for the building of the body. He says, "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says," and he is referencing now Psalm 68, "'When he ascended on high he led a host of cap his, and he gave gifts to men.'" And then he goes on to talk about how that's ultimately about Jesus giving gifts to the church.  
  
If a person were to read Psalm 68, that psalm is about God being enthroned on Mount Sinai, traveling from the wilderness to Mount Sinai and being thrown on Mount Sinai. We would be looking at that again in an Old Testament class, an exegesis situation, or a hermeneutics class. And if someone were to stand up and say, "Hey, that right there—God being enthroned on the mountain—what that's ultimately about is Jesus Christ and his ascension. And then it's about him giving gifts to the church." Again, I think that many people would be rebuked for such an interpretation. I think Paul himself would have gotten an F in many seminary classes for saying that that's what this is ultimately about. He would be scolded to consider original authorial intent. "Paul, what are you doing?" These are the things that we're talking about, and we could give a dozen, 20, or 30 more examples like that from the New Testament and how the apostles write. And so all we're contending for today is for us to interpret the Scriptures just like Paul. Let's look to the Old Testament and when we preach the old Testament, let's preach it asking this question: where does this text stand in relation to Christ? It's so helpful because then we are kept from moralizing.  
  
Think 1 Corinthians 10, Exodus 17\. We can talk about the people grumbling, we can talk about our sin and all those kinds of things, and we can talk about God's provision for the things that people need. But ultimately, what are we going to leave people with? That God in His grace—not only has He already rescued people from bondage to Egypt, which is a pointer to the rescue that's going to come from our bondage to Satan and sin, not only has He brought the people safely through the Red Sea, which is a pointer to baptism and how we've been brought safely through water. But now He's sustaining His people in the wilderness while they are sojourners. And He is saying that the water that He gives for their sustenance is ultimately about Jesus Christ himself. That's what we can say. It's so wonderful. It's beautiful.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In Sam Reniham's book, _The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom_, chapter 13 on the mystery of Christ is really helpful in this because that is what we're dealing with: the revelation of the mystery of the Messiah and the final consummation where Jesus does finally show up from type to antitype, or from shadow to substance.  
  
I want to allow Justin and I to speak into this for a moment where it does change two things: I think it changes God in the way in which God interacts with you and His Word, and number two, I think it allows the Word of God to come alive. My kids love putting together puzzles. They're up there right now. It's summer break and they don't have school. I wake up and they're out there putting together a puzzle, which I don't do. To me, I'd rather read a book or something. Puzzles just seem puzzling to me. But if I were to go in there and flip the puzzle upside down where all the color is now gone and there are only shapes, they could painstakingly, and probably with not a lot of joy, put that together. It's going to be confusing and they could get the outer border and the frame down. But after that, it's just not gonna be as enjoyable because part of the puzzle is seeing the progress. That's how most people read the Bible; they don't see the picture, they don't have the box cover, and they are not looking at the live colors of the illustration. They hear about how powerful the Word of God is, they hear about how wonderful it is, but what they look at is a puzzle turned upside down. I can see the general idea; I know the corner pieces are obvious, but the rest of it doesn't make sense.  
  
What we're trying to say is once someone introduced to us the historical understanding—and this is how the Word of God has been taught and read for hundreds of years—all of a sudden, we couldn't stop putting the puzzle pieces together and seeing Christ come to life as the Old Testament reveals him.  
  
Justin Perdue: You just talked about power. People were told that the Word of God is powerful. Last I checked, Jesus Christ is the power of God: the gospel and the message of Christ and his cross are the power of God unto salvation. If the word of God is powerful, which it is, and if the word of God accomplishes its work, which it does, ought we not herald the one that the Word is about, who is described as the power of God, the wisdom of God, our Redeemer, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption? Yes. We should preach him. I get geeked up about this, which is probably evident even on this podcast today.  
  
I'm going to continue to illustrate some of this just to maybe demonstrate my excitement over this and how this fires me up. I'm saying this publicly so I'm bound to this forever: if someone were to push me on my favorite book of the Bible, I usually say whichever one I'm reading and studying or preaching through at the moment. It's my favorite because it's on the front of my mind. But I think I am at a place finally in my life where if somebody told me to pick one book, it is unquestionably the book of Hebrews for me at this point because of this very reality.  
  
What's the book of Hebrews about? It's about Christ and how he's greater than everything and how he's the point of it all. The writer is telling people, "Don't go back to the law. Don't neglect such a great salvation and go back to the law. You know why? Because Jesus is greater than the law. He's greater than angels. He's greater than Moses. He's greater than Aaron. The law, the sacrificial system, the priesthood, and the whole nine yards: all of that was about Jesus Christ. He has accomplished your salvation. He has once and for all made an atonement for your sins. He is seated at the right hand of God in the heavens and he's coming back. He's got you and you've been given a Kingdom that can never be shaken. It's ultimately all about Jesus and what he's done for you. And so now, in full assurance of faith, draw near to the throne of God with confidence and boldness." What a wonderful message. That's one.  
  
Another one is John 6\. This just pops into my brain and it encourages me to no end. This illustrates our point too: when Jesus has given this whole business to people about how he's the bread of life, and how he's the bread that came down from heaven, he references the manna in the wilderness. He says your fathers were fed with bread from heaven. How many people, in preaching manna from the Old Testament, are gonna preach Christ? Because we should. As Jesus spoke about it, he said, "I am the bread that comes down from heaven. Just like your fathers were sustained in the wilderness by heavenly bread, you and your pilgrimage on this earth will be sustained by me. You need to eat my flesh and drink my blood because I am true food and true drink for you." He's pointing to the Lord's Supper, but ultimately he's talking about union with him, how he is our nourishment, and how he is what we need.  
  
This is just another example of how we often are not taught from the whole Bible everything that Christ understood the Scriptures to be saying about him. When I come to the Scriptures and when I sit under the Word, I need instruction on wisdom. I need instruction on things that I need to avoid doing because they'll wreck my life. I need instruction on things that I should pursue because it will be good for me. I need good teaching on God's law so that I understand what God requires and how I have not met the test. But ultimately, what do I need and what do you need when we come to the Scriptures? We need Christ proclaimed to us because he's the only hope for sinners—and he is everywhere.  
  
I've said this before and I just want to clarify. Forgive me for being excited about all this, but when we talk about preaching the Bible and understanding the Bible this way, we are not saying that the Bible is a _Where's Waldo?_ book, Jesus is Waldo, and on every page, we're trying to find him hidden underneath words and rocks and everything else. It's not what we're saying, but we are asking the questions of the text, always knowing that everything in the Bible is oriented toward and around Christ. And so then we preach that way and we understand it that way. To your point, Jon, it makes the Bible come alive.  
  
There's actually good news all throughout. Because if I'm only told about wisdom or if I'm only given law, there's no good news in that. Or if I'm only told that God is holy and God is good, or if I'm only told that Jesus is Lord, there is no inherent good news in that for me because I'm a sinner. You've got to give me the whole thing and you got to tie it together for me with Christ as my Savior.  
  
Jon Moffitt: If I were to hand you a drill that's got a screwdriver bit in it and there's no battery in it, and you're over there and you're twisting it, you're getting the job done. You're using it like a screwdriver. That's how most people see the Old Testament. They understand it's supposed to screw or unscrew something. Then I walk over, I pop a battery in, I hit a button and I say, "Watch this. Your mind is going to explode at the capacities and the abilities of how much more you're going to be able to accomplish." That is understanding the Old Testament in light of the power of the New Testament.  
  
One more passage I want to give as an example of this is 2 Corinthians 1:20 where it says, "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him." He just summarized the Old Testament. The Old Testament is just one massive unfolding promise. It started with Adam, clarified with Abraham, moving on to David and Solomon, and all the way through the prophets. And he says, "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory." So Paul in the beginning of his letter in 2 Corinthians, he's concluding for you that Jesus is the finality of all that has been written. He is it; he is the point. There's nothing wrong with asking how this promise is connected to the greater reality of Christ. So when we look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets and all of that, he says all the promises of God. All of them. If Paul didn't mean to say that, he should have clarified it like "some of the promises of God". But he says, "all of them" are pointed in a redemptive nature to a Person of redemption who saves sinners. It is exhilarating to go back and read a book full of, you can say fantasy, but it's not fantasy, but it feels like fantasy, because there's so many miraculous texts in there. It's Narnia on steroids.  
  
When you go, "Hey, this is God showing how He's going to fulfill the promise of a Messiah, and Paul already told us it's going to happen. So let's go back and watch it over," now you have one conclusion. You begin to read the Bible as one story, promise, and one covenant after another of God always being faithful. Even when the children of Israel went down to one person, God was still faithful to preserve His seed, to preserve His promise in the midst of debauchery and sin and absolute chaos. God is still in control. You look at the death of Christ, which is utter chaos, and yet John says that was according to the plan.  
  
Justin Perdue: Well, how many times does it look like the light is going out on redemption as you read the Scriptures? I just preached the account of Noah and the flood not long ago because we're in Genesis right now, and the line of the promise is down to one guy and his family. There are going to be other points like David and Goliath: is redemption about to be over if this giant kills this guy? What's going to happen? And that happens over and over again in the Bible. Ultimately that's about God and what He's doing—this is His movie and we should sit on the edges of our seats with our popcorn and jumbo Coke ready, watch it, and behold what our God has done.  
  
This is maybe my closing thought: let's just say that you watch a really good movie for the first time and you're watching all these things unfold. Then you get to that point in the movie where this thing happens that makes everything that happened before it clear. It makes everything that happened before it obvious. Everything that you were watching for the last two hours was about this. It changes everything for you in terms of how you think about that movie.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I give one example? _The Village_.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. That's a good illustration of what we're discussing today. Jon, if you go back and watch _The Village_ tonight, you're going to watch it knowing that, and it's going to change how you see it, because you're going to identify all of these things throughout the movie before that revelation really occurs—and we read our Bibles that way now because we've been told the point of it all, and we've been shown how to read it by the apostles and by Christ himself. Why on earth would we go back and read the Scriptures that were written before Christ came as though he isn't the point? We shouldn't.  
  
It's kind of crazy. And I think it's just a joyful and joyous experience for people when you read and study the Scriptures, or you sit under preaching, where it becomes very clear that there are sermons about Christ all throughout the Old Testament. What a wonderful book the Bible is.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I know you're going to take us into the Semper Reformanda and explain what it is, but in there, I would like to talk about the dangers of not reading your Bible this way and how modern day history, through different biblical interpretation models that have been given to us, have actually caused pietism, legalism, doubt, fear, and anxiety when it relates to the Old Testament, instead of hope and joy.  
  
Justin Perdue: We'll have that conversation. Saints, if we're going to leave you with one final thought today, it's that read your Bible, study it, and sit under the preaching of God's Word knowing that the whole Bible is about your Savior who died for you, who atoned for your sin, in whom you died to the law and your penalty has been dealt with, and he is the one who provided you with righteousness and you're secure in him. Read your Bibles that way and they'll come alive, we pray, for you.  
  
We are now headed into our Semper Reformanda podcast. This is a second podcast that we record every week for people that have partnered with our ministry. If you're not familiar with Semper Reformanda and what it is, you can go over to our website wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and you will find all the information that you need to know about Semper Reformanda over there. We would encourage you, if you've not already done so, to go check that out and consider joining the Reformation as we seek to spread this message of the sufficiency of Christ and the rest that is ours in him as far and wide as possible. We would love for you to lock arms with us.  
  
For many of you that are listening to the regular podcast and will not be listening to the other one, we'll talk with you again next week. For those of you Semper Reformanda folks, we'll talk with you guys in just a moment.

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### Strong Disciples Only?

*Published: June 9, 2021 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/strong-disciples-only*
*Tags: Biblical Discipleship, Discipleship*

People often get the impression that being a disciple of Jesus is only for the strong. When it comes to discipleship, there is no room for fear or doubt. Is that the presentation of the gospel writers? Is that what we see in the New Testament epistles? Are followers of Jesus ever afraid? Do they doubt? Jon and Justin consider these things.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss the apostle Paul and how he understood himself to be the foremost of sinners. And then the guys go on to talk about the corrosion in the local church that has contributed to saints living in fear and anxiety.  
  
Resources:  
Episode: [Discipleship is not about you ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/discipleship-is-not-about-you/)Episode: [Take up your cross?](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/take-up-your-cross/)  
1689 LBC, Chapters 13 and 18  
  
Giveaway: ["A Place for Weakness" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3pCpKUo)  
  
FREE Ebook: wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
FACEBOOK: Theocast: [https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org ](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
TWITTER: Theocast: [https://twitter.com/theocast\_org ](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
INSTAGRAM: Theocast: https://www.instagram.com/theocast\_org/  
  
https://youtu.be/ln4NtJCw\_Sg  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, we are going to be talking about the nature of discipleship. We hear that once you become a disciple, you should have courage and boldness, be able to share your faith, and have a progression in holiness. Then there are those who don't experience such changes.  
  
Not only that, we read in the New Testament how there are secret disciples, disciples who waiver, go up and down, and they struggle with their own sin. There's a lot the Bible has to say about discipleship and we don't think it's a clean, straight line to the top. We hope you enjoy the conversation.  
  
Today we're going to talk about discipleship specifically, as the title says, _Strong Disciples Only_. That's how we hear the Bible described. For those of you who are new in Christ.—God has called you to Himself, regenerated, at that moment, you have been infused by the Spirit, and also because of the Spirit not living within you, you now have the spirit of boldness and strength. Evangelism is not what you're afraid of. You're willing and ready to die for Christ and to take on any kind of persecution. That's the way in which the New Testament describes true discipleship.  
  
Justin Purdue: Yeah, you're strong, you're not weak, you're never afraid, and you never doubt or wrestle or struggle.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We can take verses like when Jesus says in Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." This is an absolute radical life transformation that you have to be willing to forsake everything in order to become a part of Jesus.  
  
I said this one Sunday, and I'll say it here: if that's your interpretation, I could also make the interpretation that Jesus is basically saying to hate everybody. "I don't like anybody anyways. That just works out for me. I like that kind of discipleship. Just me and Jesus. I hate everybody else." You can make that conclusion, but that's not what he says. Also in Luke 14:33, when it says, "So therefore, anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."  
  
We talked about this particular passage in the past, which is "take up your cross and follow me", which we'll link to in the notes as well. The problem we're about to face here is we're going to look at all of Scripture and we're going to look at everything the Bible has to say about discipleship, and we're going to then look at the examples given to us, and then compare it to what's being told of us today, which is all disciples everywhere, once they come to Christ, should be willing and ready and have no problems with fear. Unfortunately, that's just not what we're about to see.  
  
Justin Purdue: I think the presentation that so many people receive and the contexts where many people have either found themselves for a season, or maybe still find themselves today, you get the idea that if you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, that you're like a Green Beret. You're a special ops soldier and you need to come and be a part of this force of people. You need to be unafraid, you need to not waffle, doubt, struggle, wrestle, or anything like that—and that's because only the strong survive. That's the message that many people are given: you must persevere—which is a true thing to say.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I would say everything you said it's true as well. We do not have reasons to be afraid. If Christ is our Savior and God is our King, we don't have reasons to be afraid. But that doesn't mean people don't struggle with fear.  
  
Justin Purdue: In our experience, we struggle with fear and doubt, and that is because we are still fallen. We are saints and sinners at the same time. Because of that reality, our experience and how we feel—from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, week-to-week—will ebb and flow. This presentation that one must always be just ready to charge the wall, and that you are never fearful, that you don't doubt, that you don't struggle, that you're not weak, is not something that squares with the New Testament presentation of disciples. And that's the kind of stuff we're going to look at today.  
  
Because we are having this from a pastoral perspective, my hope is that it encourages the weary saints out there who know themselves to be afraid at points of various things and also know themselves to struggle with doubt and wrestlings of various kinds.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want to begin by reading our confession. I think it will be helpful here in understanding that the position that we are presenting is a very old one. It's been concluded, argued over, and written down to be confirmed as we confess as believers. As it relates to the moment you come to Christ, sanctification does begin the process of us being transformed not only in our soul, but also in our mind, in how we engage God and how we think about Him. It isn't always an absolute moral transformation. My kids aren't morally struggling at the moment, but there is a mind transformation.  
  
I think it's very helpful how the writers of the confession write this. This is chapter 13 on Sanctification. Point two says, "This sanctification extends throughout the whole person, though it is never completed in this life. Some corruption remains in every part. From this arises continual and irreconcilable war, with the desires of the flesh against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh." And they reference some verses here that Justin and I mention quite often, which is Galatians 5:17, 1 Peter 2:11\. Then in point three, it says this: "In this war, the remaining corruption may greatly prevail for a time. Yet through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part overcomes." This is why we can take great comfort in the doctrine for perseverance or preservation of the saints. That is what they're teaching there. But they can acknowledge and do acknowledge that at times, the remaining sin that Christians still have, the saint-sinner reality—we live in a dualistic understanding where we are saved by Christ, but yet we struggle with the flesh; this is Galatians 5:17—that discipleship isn't a straight line. There isn't this immediate infusion of power to the point where all struggle is gone.  
  
Justin Purdue: I was going to add a little piece from the confession from a different chapter that I think speaks to some of these things too. Even in chapter 18 on Assurance of Grace and Salvation of the 1689 London Baptist Confession, in paragraph three, this language is helpful too that we understand that assurance is ours in Christ Jesus, but we don't always feel it. They say, "This infallible assurance is not such an essential part of faith that it is always fully experienced alongside faith, and true believers may wait a long time and struggle with many difficulties before obtaining it." And then they go on and say other things. I think we need to understand that our experience will not always be one of rock solid confidence in Christ and in our standing in him that would then produce this kind of fearlessness and would drive away all doubt.  
  
Many times the presentation—just to reiterate and be crystal clear—is that if you are legitimately in Christ and you are a true disciple, then there are certain things that should characterize you, and there are certain things that should not. And if those things are characterizing your life, ala this conversation—fearfulness, doubt—then you should be concerned. Our posture as pastors is seeing how that's piling it on the weary saint in a way that Christ doesn't, in a way that the gospel writers don't, and in a way that the apostles don't.  
  
Take us away, brother. Give us example number one.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The first example we're going to explain to you is that there aren't followers of Jesus and then disciples, like there are those who are in the Navy and then there are Navy seals. It's not two levels. Right. There are those who are in Christ and those who are not.  
  
Justin Purdue: To be in Christ is to be a disciple.  
  
Jon Moffitt: So to be in Christ is to be a disciple. To be a disciple, there are clear requirements, there are clear instructions, there are laws for us to obey—this is the new use of the law, or the third use of the law that we speak about. But we also know that there's grace, mercy, and repentance. It's a very complicated situation that the clearest focal point we always have is Jesus.  
  
Today, we're gonna talk about some of the complications that you may find yourself in, and that the text leads us to and gives us examples of. A great example for me is I am finishing up John. Every time I get to a new section of John, I am always dumbfounded by what I don't know, and just how amazing the gospel writers present the glory of Christ and the frailty of man.  
  
So Jesus is about to be buried, and John writes the most unique account of the burial of Jesus. He mentions things and says things that all the writers do not say. His account is quite unique. This helped me when trying to understand what it is that John wrote. John writes this probably about 30 years after the burial of Jesus. John has had time to contemplate, to think, to research, to know what's going on. He isn't writing wondering what's happening next. First, it's not fiction. He's not just coming up with any of this in his head. Two, he's not videotaping it and wondering what the next section will be like it's a documentary. He knows what's about to happen because he experienced it. So what you have here at the high point of history, which is Christ's death, is you have a changing of the garden in some ways, which is really interesting in how John describes it.  
  
So, Jesus is now dead. The disciples in chapter 20 are being described as hiding out in a room out of fear of the Jews. I love the detail John puts there: the door is locked. As if that's going to keep the Jews out.  
  
Justin Purdue: They are all afraid, they're disheartened, they're discouraged, they're despondent.  
  
Jon Moffitt: They are. John isn't writing as a form of criticism because he is describing his own self, as a doubter, as one who's a disciple of Jesus who is afraid.  
  
Let's just make a real quick observation. You have Peter saying, "Lord, I'll, I'll die for you. And there's nothing that's going to separate you from me." Of course, we know of Peter's failure. And then at the point of the cross, you have these disciples who are now running and hiding, and then you have these two disciples that John mentions. They're quite fascinating.  
  
He describes Joseph of Arimathea and he describes him in a really interesting way. Here in John 19:38, this is what he says, "After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus..." Stop. Full stop. He clearly describes him as a follower of Christ. There's not a question, there's not an apostate, or a false professor. That's not what he says. He says, "Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews..." That's how John describes him. Mark describes him as one who took courage because he had to go stand before Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. The last person that stood before Pilate, in reference to Jesus, died. I understand why this is a courageous act. But listen to who John couples with Joseph; he couples Nicodemus. Verse 39 says, "Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes."  
  
What is interesting about the two men? Jesus dies on the cross, all the disciples abandon him. The two disciples are secret disciples—one comes at night because he's afraid, the other one is being described as a secret disciple.  
  
Justin Purdue: And that coming at night, for those who don't know, is in John 3\. That account of Nicodemus coming to Jesus.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Nick at night in John 3\. If you go back to chapter 12, you can see that John is describing both of these disciples. Again, remember, John's writing 30 years after. This isn't unfolding as time. He says this: "Nevertheless, many even of the authorities," both Joseph and Nicodemus are part of the synagogue, so they both would be well known there, "many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.  
  
You need to take notice of a couple of facts here: one, John doesn't discredit their belief. Two, John does not say that there are false converts or false disciples. He actually gives both Nicodemus and Joseph the title of "disciple"—not one of the 12\. Of course, there were multiple disciples, but the point of it is that John very pointedly and purposely points out the fickleness of discipleship as it relates to fear, anxiety, pain, and following Christ. It's not simple. It's not a straight line like those who have Christ are radically going to be willing to die for him at any cost.  
  
Justin Purdue: You already mentioned Peter, but I'm going to pick up on Peter just for a minute. Many are familiar with the account of Peter denying Jesus in the gospels. What occurred there, for those who are not as familiar, is that Jesus had predicted his death and all these kinds of things many times. Peter, at points, even rebuked Jesus for talking about things like that. That's another conversation. But then certainly, he had pledged his undying allegiance to Christ and his fearless devotion to him, that even if everybody else falls away, he won't do it. "I'm not going to fall away. I will always be with you. I will always follow you." Peter is told by Christ that—this is on the last night of Jesus's life on earth—that he would in fact deny Jesus. Again, he rebuts that, saying, "No, I won't." And of course he does. He denies Christ out of fear when he goes to the courtyard. He follows Jesus as he's arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he's taken before the council, he's in the courtyard at the high priest's house, and all those things. Three different times he's confronted: "You were with him. You were with Christ. You were with him, weren't you?" And he says, "No, I wasn't. I don't even know him." That's his initial denial.  
  
But then, something else that people might not be as familiar with occurs years later in Antioch. Paul writes about this episode in Galatians 2, and Paul confronted Peter in Antioch because Peter was operating out of fear of Jewish believers. So we read in Galatians 2:11 and following how in Antioch, Peter and Paul were there. And when Peter is interacting with Gentile Christians and there are no believers from Jerusalem, there are no Jewish Christians present, Peter just kicks it with Gentiles and is acting as they do, not worried about certain aspects of the law and all these kinds of things and is operating in freedom, and things are going well. But then there are some Jewish believers who show up—certain men who came from James, who we know was in Jerusalem. Peter completely changes his behavior with respect to how he's carrying himself and things that he's doing, not doing, eating, not eating, and things like this. Paul talks about having to confront him because he was operating out of fear of the Jews and fear of the circumcision party, and was leading people astray through his hypocrisy. So here you have an apostle in Peter who had already had this experience earlier, where he had denied the Lord Jesus Christ and then had been restored, and was now preaching, writing, and all these kinds of things in the early church. But then, he is afraid of men. He's afraid of other people and what they would think of him. And so he changes how he operates, how he talks, what he eats, and things of that nature so that he would be thought of well by other people. He was dominated, in that sense, by fear of man. That's another good example of how we can operate in fear—not just fear of authority or fear that we might lose something materially or that we might even lose our lives, but also we operate out of fear based on what other people will think of us. Such is our frailty.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In John 12, the rebuke that he gives to those leaders there where Peter himself falls under.  
  
Justin Purdue: One other example. This one is not so much fear as it is doubt, and I think those things are often related in our experience. Many are familiar with one of the 12 named Thomas. He is even referred to as Doubting Thomas, which is kind of an unfair title that we give to him. I just want to talk a little bit about his life. It's very interesting that this man who is known for doubting—in John chapter 11, in the whole episode of Lazarus and his resurrection, when Jesus makes the decision that they will go to Jerusalem effectively, just outside of it to Bethany, because of Lazarus in his death, Jesus tells the disciples in John 11:14 that Lazarus has died. "And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." And then Thomas says in verse 16 of John 11, he says to the other disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." He understands that their lives are going to be in jeopardy and that harm could come to them—and he's willing to go. I think this is instructive for us that this one man who was so courageous in one moment, even if he's saying it half out of sarcasm, later after Jesus dies is the one who's says "I will never believe that he rose from the dead unless I see him for myself and I can touch him." And of course, we know the episode that Jesus appears to him and we don't see harshness at all. But he knows this man's frame. He more or less looks at him and he says "Here, come and touch and see."  
  
Jon Moffitt: I can hear Thomas in the background saying, "Fool me once—I gave up everything to follow this guy. Fool me twice—that's not going to happen."  
  
Justin Purdue: In John 20:25, Thomas literally says, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." Then in the very next verse, Jesus appears to them and he says, and he says, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it on my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." And then Thomas replies, "My Lord and my God!" His faith is stirred and strengthened because Jesus condescends to his weakness.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He is gentle and lowly in spirit.  
  
Justin Purdue: Such is our frame and such is our condition. Some moments, we're like, "Yes, I believe! I would run through a wall for Christ. I believe and I just know that I know that I know that this was true." And then the very next day or the next week we're questioning everything, our faith feels very weak, and I think saints throughout history have had that very same experience.  
  
Jon Moffitt: How many times do you and I talk about this?  
  
Justin Purdue: On the regular.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is going to be kind of a weird section. I'll say this and I'll throw it back over to you. Sometimes, we listen to the episodes just to make sure everything is good to go and clean.  
  
Justin Purdue: Clean as in edit. It's not like we say bad things.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. Just to make sure all the edits are correct. Anyways, we sound bigger and more professional—this is my opinion of myself. I listened to us and I'm like, "Wow. We sound great. I know who I am. I know how small I am. I know how frail I am." I just don't ever want listeners to hear us, and I'll speak for you too because I know you agree, and just assume that because we do this podcast and we're pastors that we are these strong disciples. In many ways, I wanted to do this podcast because I'm over here going, "Well, I don't feel like a strong disciple. I feel very weak. I struggle with anxiety and fear often because of my frailty, and what's required of me as a human being is overwhelming at times."  
  
Justin Purdue: I can resonate with that. Even today, I've been feeling very intensely the battle against the flesh in various ways, to where Paul's words in Romans 7, "Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Those words resonate. No truer words have ever been written from my perspective. Even as we sit down to record this podcast, I'm mindful of ways that I doubt and wrestle or ways that I'm struggling against sinful thoughts in my own mind. I do not feel as devoted to Jesus as I want to be. I do not feel and understand myself to be trusting him as much as I want to trust him. I need conversations like this with you, my brother in Christ, to stir me and to encourage me.  
  
I've said this before, and my mentor in the faith used to talk this way too: God, I think in one sense, has made me a pastor in his providence because He knew that I probably wasn't strong enough to not be one; meaning that my job requires me to study God's word in order to teach it and preach it. My job requires me to point others to Christ, and as I do that, my own faith is strengthened. I find myself so often preaching and saying things to other people, and I'm having that weird out-of-body experience that you almost have regularly as a preacher, where you're hearing yourself say stuff, and your own mind, you're able to kind of process that. Sometimes you're struck by it and you say, "I think I really do believe that." Sometimes you're struck because you're struggling to believe and you're asking God to give you faith. Such is my experience, and so I would never want the listener to hear me say something, and I know that you feel the same because you just said so, and think that we just never doubt, or we're never afraid—because we are. We, too, are frail; just like people listening to us talk are. We all need the grace of God, and we all need Him to give us faith, and to preserve us, or we have no hope that He's utterly faithful.  
  
If we were going to ask the question of what is required to be a disciple of Christ, the biblical answer to that is faith. Of course, faith is not of ourselves; it's a gift of God. But if you are trusting Christ to be your righteousness and the satisfaction for your sins, then you are His disciple. But here's the thing: even faith can waiver. That's the challenge. My faith in Christ is what's going to end up producing fruit of us being born again by the Spirit of God, we trust Christ, and then fruit is born from that in the form of repentance or in the form of good works, obedience, and the like. But even faith will vacillate and waiver at points. That's how fundamental this battle is. That's why we say that the fundamental battle of the Christian life is not even the fight against sin; the fundamental battle of the Christian life is the fight for faith to actually believe what the Lord has said; in particular, to believe what the Lord has said to us in His Son—that good word of our acceptance, our forgiveness, our absolution, and our righteousness that is through Christ, by faith, apart from works. We have to battle for faith so often because our life and our experiences preach a different message than the one that God speaks to us.  
  
That's the experience of disciples everywhere, and it's been the disciples' experience of all time. I'm thinking about even the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, where he talks about weakness, how he was weak, and how even the Lord told him that through Paul's weakness, the Lord's strength was magnified and made evident. Paul says, "I'm going to boast and rejoice in my weakness because it's there that the Lord shows Himself to be strong, and He shows His grace to be sufficient." I think we all need to be reminded of that in this conversation when we are made to feel sometimes like only the strong survive. Actually, we're all weak. The thing that we need to understand is that we are weak and that we need to cast ourselves completely upon the strength that is Christ alone for us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think a lot of the frailty, even fear and anxiety, which we're going to get into in a minute is caused by a confusion of what discipleship is in Christ. People are so exhausted by trying to climb into the boat of assurance and holding onto the rail that they may not be tossed out. They're so exhausted by that, and they have the fear that they're not able to enjoy the rest that truly is found in Christ. I think that's caused by a lot of confusion in not only modern day teaching, but historical teaching. I can even think of the book, which we'll probably reference more in Semper Reformanda, but the _Cost of Discipleship_ is really what we're talking about here. Prosperity gospel, believe it, or not creates a lot of fear and anxiety in people because of these certain reasons: they don't see success, they don't see God blessing them, they see failure, and they realize they haven't done enough as a disciple for God to approve their lives, and then therefore bless and take care of them. The cost of discipleship they see is no blessings from God equals either they are not a disciple, or they're not good disciples, and that they're not willing to do some of the things that are required. Some of this is having this outgoing personality in worship, being outgoing in public. You see this pressing in. I've been in contexts even in churches where if your hands aren't raised and you're not emotionally charged by what's going on, then how can you truly describe yourself as a dedicated disciple? Because if you truly were, you would be invested in what's going on in the worship service. I look at that and I go, "I'm pretty sure that's not what is required of a disciple to be invested emotionally into this event that you have created." a lot of people I have met who are solemn quiet personalities, they feel less than because they're not flamboyantly involved in a worship experience. I have other people who are very strong about their discipleship as it relates to Christ because they are so involved in this worship experience.  
  
Justin Purdue: I think another way that this kind of thing can manifest itself is maybe more in the lordship salvation camp, and just simply for our purposes today, where you see a confusion as to what faith even is. What ends up happening is not only are the law and the gospel collapsed and blended together, but then you have effectively, obedience, repentance, sincerity of devotion, and all these kinds of things woven into the definition of what faith is. If one is going to have saving faith, then one also has all of these other things that are apart from faith. What that ends up producing for us is a standard that frankly, I fear no one can really meet. It's also a standard that no one can define either. But it's where levels of obedience and levels of dedication are required of us.  
  
I would even say that progression in the battle against sin, in terms of getting increasing amounts of victory—like there needs to be this ongoing transformation and we do agree and uphold that our lives will be transformed—we are just trying to say, as we always do, that that transformation is going to ebb and flow some. It's going to go up and down, and it's not going to be clean and linear all the time. You may look at your life on any given day and have legitimate reasons to say, "I don't know that this battle, this fight against my flesh, is going as well today as it did yesterday or a year ago because I find myself really struggling right now." I think that is the common experience of many people. When they are in a context where they're told that you need to be getting better all the time, then there's a tremendous cause for concern, worry, doubt, and fear as to whether they're really in Christ.  
  
I know in my own life, Jon, if one of the reasons that I can be discouraged in the faith—and I'm saying this as a host of Theocast and as a pastor, and I know this isn't true—but it's like my mind, my conscience, and things that I heard for years still wage war against me. I will think man fighting this sin is really hard right now, or my affections are not where they were six months ago or whatever it may be. And then you start questioning things, you start condemning yourself. Even if you don't question whether or not you're in Christ, joy and peace and rest are taken away because you're constantly unsettled about your spiritual condition.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think the cost of discipleship, and even both of what we described, which is making Jesus Lord of your life, you have unrealistic expectations. One, we can't make Jesus Lord of our life because he is, and if the evidence of my Christian life is one, Jesus blessing me, or two, me sacrificing everything to make Jesus Lord of my life, then no one is truly a disciple because no one's been able to truly do that. We have to make the levels acceptable, and there is no acceptable level that the Bible puts it at other than faith. Even when it says faith without works is dead, we don't even know what level of works James is speaking of other than, "Look, that's what you need to be pursuing."  
  
Justin Purdue: I know that we've said this before, but for the newer listener: faith without works is dead from James 2—all we understand James to be saying is that faith will result in obedience and doing good works. We're not told how much. We're not told to measure it. That's all it is. It's not as though you need to weave works into the groundwork of your justification and your salvation. It is just simply that good works are a necessary consequence of faith—and God will produce them in you. That's all James is writing to.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We're going to move into a second podcast that we do. I'm going to give a couple of lead-ins.  
  
First of all, we're going to speak a little bit more to the two sides that we showed, which is the prosperity gospel/ lordship salvation. I do want to talk about how the church has had an influence here. The church should be a place of rest and comfort. Shepherds should be feeding the sheep, not beating them; I think often, sheep come in and are beaten down so much that they become afraid of the shepherd, they become afraid of the church. We're going to talk about that for a little bit and how we, as Reformers can help transform our churches back to a biblical Reformed perspective of what it is that we are supposed to be doing, and to draw in, not lazy Christians, not people who are nominal, but I think people who are absolutely exhausted and beat down. How do we draw them back into our church that we might build them up into Christ, and into the maturity of Christ, that they may truly know what it means to have strength that comes from something other than their own dedication to God? Because Justin and I will both agree our strength is not found in our discipline and dedication because we're pretty bad at it.  
  
Justin Purdue: God help us if it needs to come from us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We're going to talk about the Reformed view of sanctification. We do a second podcast which is kind of our family behind-the-scenes podcast where it's a little more unfiltered. If you'd like to support what we're doing here at Theocast and join that podcast, be able to join a local community in your area to discuss it, that's what Semper Reformanda is. We are still in the process of developing those teams in groups and we have online and local groups. If you want to be a part of any of that, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/sr, or just go to our website. You'll find it there.  
  
Justin Purdue: If you are one of those people who, not only if you're weary, but if you do know that you're weak, you struggle, you wrestle, you doubt, and you're aggrieved at the fact that you don't obey Christ more than you do, then come join the rest of us who are just like you who are looking to Christ for everything because we understand him to be our only hope. Come and be a part of this and be encouraged by other brothers and sisters who get this too.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We have a Facebook group. Real conversations happen there as well.  
  
All right. We'll see you guys next week.

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### What is Repentance?

*Published: June 2, 2021 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-is-repentance*
*Tags: Biblical Repentance, Repent and Believe, Repentance*

If you look around in the church or on Christian social media, there seems to be a lot of confusion about repentance. What exactly is it, biblically? In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about repentance from various places in Scripture. And they consider repentance at conversion and the ongoing repentance that characterizes the Christian life.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss how none of us can adequately repent, how repentance is not penance, as well the fact that the Christian life is one of ongoing repentance.  
  
**Resources:**  
["The Whole Christ" by Sinclair Ferguson](https://amzn.to/3g2fron)  
["Christ the Lord" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3fEU3Xd)  
1689 LBC, Chapters 14 and 15  
  
FREE Ebook: wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/primer  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
FACEBOOK: Theocast: [https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org ](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
TWITTER: Theocast: [https://twitter.com/theocast\_org ](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)  
  
INSTAGRAM: Theocast: https://www.instagram.com/theocast\_org/  
  
https://youtu.be/YywV2ZQ\_sEs  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are talking about repentance. If you look around in the church and certainly on Christian social media, there seems to be a lot of confusion about repentance and what it is. So we're going to talk about repentance from the Old Testament and repentance from the New Testament. We're going to talk about repentance on the front end in terms of conversion and how one is united to Christ. And we're also going to talk about repentance in an ongoing way in the Christian life and hope to make some sense of this topic. We hope that you're encouraged by the conversation. We hope as always that you find assurance and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ as you listen. Stay tuned.  
  
We're going to have a conversation about an important subject. People have already seen the title of the episode so I don't need to bury the lead. The title of the episode is _What is Repentance?_ That's a topic that gets Christians worked up. If you look on Christian Twitter, or Christian social media in general, and find any kind of dialogue about the topic of repentance, you will notice that people are passionate about this conversation with good reason—because it is an important doctrine, it's an important subject when it comes to our union with the Lord Jesus Christ, our conversion, etc. But then also, it matters in the Christian life as well. So today we want to have a very simple, somewhat introductory conversation on the topic of repentance because our plan over the summer, over the course of several months, is to have other conversations related to this one. We're going to deal with some of the subject matter that is contained in several books.  
  
I'll go ahead and maybe give us a sneak peek on this. In no particular order, we're going to be doing episodes that would be oriented around John MacArthur's book, _The Gospel According to Jesus_, we're going to do an episode that centers around the book edited by Michael Horton called _Christ the Lord_, and then we also will do an episode that is centered around the subject matter of _The Whole Christ_ by Sinclair Ferguson. You can look for those episodes to be coming out over the course of the summer. Those are not going to be formal book reviews; they're just going to be conversations that will deal with some of the subject matter of those books, but they're going to be an accessible, Theocast-ish kind of conversations that we hope you'll find encouraging. We're going to be dealing with matters like Lordship salvation and all those kinds of things—legalism, antinomianism, and the nature of the gospel, the sufficiency of Christ, the Marrow Controversy, and all of that over the summer.  
  
But what we want to do today is have an initial conversation about repentance and what it is. What we're going to aim to do is talk about it some on the front end, in terms of conversion, and then we're going to talk about what repentance is in the Christian life in an ongoing way. Hopefully, we can point out some of the pitfalls and some of the mistakes, frankly, that people make where categories are collapsed, and things get a little bit confusing and unhelpful to the believer.  
  
Jon, if I were to just ask you straight away what repentance is, how would you answer that question?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Historically, how this has been answered is a change of mind. This is how it's been interpreted through commentators and through the Reformers. A good example of what it is from the Old Testament, in the Decalogue, where it says, "You shall have no other gods before me." This is God telling them to change their mind from a polytheistic understanding to a monotheistic. It is no longer okay to serve multiple gods; you can only serve one God. Not only should they change their way of thinking about something being good or bad, but then it's going to affect their actions, which is that they should only serve one God. That would be a simple example of what repentance would look like in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  
  
Justin Perdue: And that change of mind is what produces the change in action.  
  
Just really briefly on this before we get any further down the road: I agree completely with you. The word, for example, in the New Testament for repentance is "metanoia", which is a change of mind, as you said, or a change of understanding. What we're discussing, and you've already hit it, is one of these pillars. We're talking about a change of mind or a change of understanding with respect to a few really important things: one being God, who He is, and the fact that He's the Creator, He's the only God, and thereby we have an obligation to Him. The second thing is it's a change of mind or understanding about ourselves—who we are, and whether we're good or not, all that kind of thing. Lastly, it's a change of mind about how we might be reconciled to God. It's really specifically a change of mind about Christ, who he is, what he did, why we need him, how it is that we're united with him and why we need to be united to him. So it's a change of understanding in all of these ways that then will produce a change in behavior or a change of course of life. We ought not collapse those things, which I think is where we're going to get to in a minute.  
  
Jon, I want to kick it back over to you because I think you were headed somewhere and I jumped in.  
  
Jon Moffitt: There's definitely a collapsing of the two understandings of repentance. What I mean by two understandings is that there's a call to the sinner who is not under the grace of God, and who has not received a generation—there's a call to repentance to that individual. And then there is a call to those who are under grace and who are children of God. Then there's another interesting whole dynamic of being the Old Testament prophets and their preaching of repentance to a nation. So you have three different categories of repentance, and often we collapse the three, and many times we collapse the nation repentance with the believer and confuse those two, or even the unbeliever and the nation, assuming that if one repents then God will give them mercy. It's like mercy only comes to the repentant—and that is true to the nation.  
  
Even in Acts, when Peter is speaking about the prophets of old, he's rebuking them. We somehow use it as a means to illustrate that we need to be preaching this type of repentance, but he was saying the prophets of old were telling them that the Messiah was coming and calling them to repent of their ways and obey the law, which will usher in the Messiah—and of course, they missed it completely, not according to God's sovereignty, but this is exactly how it unfolded, which we can get into another time. But then we hear verses where it says, "Repent and your sins will be blotted out." We assume that is the gospel, one, because often you will hear John the Baptist, or even Jesus, mention these types of phrases. And because "it's in the gospels", we assume that that is tied to the gospel.  
  
Justin, let's talk about this for a moment. Just because it's in the gospel, and John the Baptist, or even Jesus, calls people to repentance, we have to be careful to not assume that one cannot receive grace unless they've repented. Because in the Old Testament, to the nation of Israel, they would receive forgiveness, mercy, and grace if they repented. But is that true of the unbeliever now according to the New Testament?  
  
Justin Perdue: The way I'm going to lead off my comments on this is with something that I think I've said before behind the mic here: we would all be helped if the titles of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not "The Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John", because in the original, the titles are just "according to". I think the insertion of "The Gospel According to" makes us think that everything contained within them is part and parcel of the good news, whereas we have pointed out over time how much of what's contained in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are actually not gospel—it's law. Those statements of law come from any number of people, including John the Baptist and Jesus himself.  
  
With respect to John the Baptist, I think we need to understand who he is. He is effectively the last of the old covenant prophets, and so he should be understood much more akin to Isaiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, etc., than he should be understood as a part of the gospel—like the coming of the Messiah himself. John is the forerunner. He is a transitionary figure from the old covenant into the new. But ultimately the new covenant is ushered in by the Messiah himself, and we understand that even Jesus, as he is doing ministry on earth and as he is teaching, so often speaks words of law to people in order to unsettle them in their self-righteousness, to crush them with the law, and to show them that what they desperately need is the Messiah who comes to fulfill the law for them, to atone for their sins, and to reconcile them to God.  
  
Many times when Jesus speaks, that's his objective. So we need to be careful in how we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And then we also need to be careful on how we read the Book of Acts, which again, I don't want to get us too far down the road here, but the Book of Acts contains a bunch of different things too. Christ has already ascended and the preaching of the gospel is happening, the gospel is going forth and all of those things—that's not debatable at all. But I think what we need to do is be responsible with how we even look at the apostles' language in the Book of Acts and not be biblicists in how we read certain passages.  
  
As a parting shot on this, when you hear language of repentance even from John the Baptist, for example—yes, I know it's in John's gospel; I understand these things—but when he says he's preaching a baptism of repentance, we ought not understand that he is preaching the gospel. He is preaching something else than the good news itself.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Going back to a comment that might be new for a lot of people—when you said Biblicism, this is a very important concept for you to understand as it relates to the confusion on repentance. I think a lot of people are confused on what repentance is because they are biblicists—and it's not a good word, it's a bad word, because what it means is you are not allowing the context of the verse, the surrounding passages, and the Bible at large to influence what you are. What biblicists will do is they will look at a verse or a couple of verses and say, "Well, this is exactly what it says: Matthew 4:17, 'From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."' See? It says in the text that this is what you should be doing." But you're not looking at who Jesus is talking to, what the immediate reason is for Matthew to write that, and at large, what does the entire Bible have to say about repentance and salvation? Is Jesus talking to unbelievers or believers? Those are really important questions. Biblicism doesn't take into account all of Scripture and all of theology.  
  
I would even say that often, Biblicism doesn't allow you to systematize Scripture. You have to systematize Scripture. A good example of this is you will not be Trinitarian if you don't allow scripture to be systematized, because that's how we come up with an understanding that our God is triune.  
  
Justin Perdue: Really quick on Biblicism. I think the real pitfalls of it and where it falls short is that it does not take into consideration the canonical context of Scripture; by that, I mean the whole Canon—all 66 books. You don't take the Bible as a cohesive whole and try to hold that together appropriately if you're a biblicist. You tend to pit texts against each other as though they contradict themselves, or there's just some mystery here that you've introduced into the text that actually isn't there, if you understand the Scriptures with an appropriate framework, as you just said.  
  
The second pitfall of Biblicism is that it is inherently opposed to theological frameworks and theological systems that would even arise out of the text, like covenant theology or the distinction between the law and the gospel. What you end up doing is saying things that sound schizophrenic. "Over here it says this, and over here it says this. How do we reconcile the two? We're not sure, but they're both kind of true." It becomes very confusing for people. What ends up happening whenever you collapse categories is that clarity is lost, the saints are harmed because peace and assurance before the Lord are taken away, and the gospel becomes less clear. None of that's ever good.  
  
Jon Moffitt: You'll see pet passages that become the ones that we run to. It's like when you first meet a Calvinist, all they can emphasize are the passages on sovereignty.  
  
I put a tweet out there recently that I was trying to help people understand that repentance is a fruit of regeneration; it's not the cause of regeneration.  
  
Justin Perdue: What is regeneration?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Regeneration—a good example of this is Ephesians, where it talks about us being taken from death to life. It means to regenerate or bring back. It means to give life. We believe that, according to Ephesians, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and Christ made us alive. So he took us from death to life. That's what regeneration means.  
  
To say that repentance is required of sinners in order to receive regeneration, or another way of saying this is you must first repent before you can receive mercy for sins, or before you can be brought into the family of God—often, you can hear this: repent and believe. But we have to be very careful that we understand the context. It says in John 3:16 that whoever believes in the Lord shall be saved. I believe that for God so loved the world that He gave His Son. I believe all of that, but that's not disconnected from the fact that you are dead. You are in Adam, and because you were in Adam, you were born a sinner.  
  
So we're going to talk about before one is alive in Christ. I absolutely believe in the command that is given to us by Christ that one must repent. I believe that. This is a legitimate command.  
  
Justin Perdue: Even the imperative to believe.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. It is an imperative to believe. You have to believe in order to receive Christ. A dead person, spiritually speaking, cannot repent. Not only that, let's say they can change the direction—they were trapped in sin and now they're no longer trapped in sin. I don't believe Jesus means in general, and I don't believe God means in general. If you're going to turn away from your sin and receive forgiveness of sins, you have to be able to turn away from all of your sin if this is what he's talking about. I don't think it's possible to turn away from not loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, because we don't have the capacity to do that. The thing about this is that if you're saying one must repent in order to be saved, then no one will ever be saved.  
  
Justin Perdue: Let me talk a little bit about the order of salvation as it's been understood, or in theological vernacular, the _ordo salutis_. All we mean here is trying to break apart how it is that someone comes to faith and is saved. We understand, along with the Reformed through history, that regeneration, or God's sovereign work of giving life to a dead sinner, precedes faith and repentance, and that faith and repentance are both fruits of regeneration—and obviously our conversation today is about repentance. And so life must be given by God in order for a sinner to have this change of mind. It is granted by the Lord, and we are united to Christ by faith given to us by God. Our minds are quite literally changed by God as we hear the message of the law and the gospel, and thereby, we are united to Christ and are saved.  
  
We've got to get this really clear. Because if we say what you just said, that you must repent first in order to receive grace, or you must repent first in order to receive mercy from God, then no one will ever receive mercy or grace. You are making repentance the efficient cause of receiving grace, life, mercy, etc. from the Lord. You really have turned it into a work that a human being must do—and I would argue that you do the same thing with faith if you think in these terms. You're turning faith into something that the person must do that is then the efficient, the effective cause of salvation. Whereas we would understand Jesus is the one who saves, and God, in His sovereign grace and mercy, gives life to dead sinners.  
  
This is related to a number of things in my own mind, but I know we're going to get to the whole Christ later this summer. But just a brief little insertion here. What sparked the Marrow Controversy in the church of Scotland was effectively this question: must a person forsake sin in order to come to Christ? Which is essentially what we're talking about today. Must a person forsake sin and turn from sin in order to come to the Lord Jesus Christ? And the answer to that question that split the church of Scotland apart, on the part of some brothers in Christ, was no. If we need to do anything in order to come to Christ, then no one will come to Christ. Because we can't.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Because we believe in a very important doctrine that all in Adam died.  
  
Forget Calvinism. True Calvinists cannot believe this. If you're a Calvinist, you cannot believe you have the capacity to repent on your own without Christ or the Holy Spirit's power. You cannot do it because in Adam all die. So this is why we always will say repentance is a fruit of our salvation, and faith and repentance happen simultaneously.  
  
We're going to get into this in a moment: what does repentance look like after salvation? We're going to talk about that in a moment. But I want to belabor this point that if you go to someone and you require them to repent of sin in order to come to Christ, I'm sorry but you are preaching to dead men's bones and telling dead men's bones to do things that cannot be done. If you call yourself a Calvinist, you're confused. Because depravity demands us to preach the gospel and the gospel would leave one to faith and repentance.  
  
Justin Perdue: Really quickly, John, on this, I just wanna jump in. From the 1689 London Baptist Confession. This is chapter 14 on Saving Faith. But I think this needs to be stated, because what you're saying right now is entirely right that on the front end of this thing, when we're talking about somebody being converted and united to the Lord Jesus Christ initially, it really is not a wise thing, in an ultimate sense, to try to pull faith and repentance apart because it becomes very clear that they do go together in this regard.  
  
For example, chapter 14, paragraph two, at the very end of the 1689 confession, it says this: "the principal acts of saving faith focus directly on Christ—accepting, receiving, and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace. I think when you state things that way, it's very clear that a person only does such a thing like resting, receiving, trusting, and hoping in the Lord Jesus Christ because that individual has been given life from God and has also come to see that God is God, He is holy and we are not, I'm undone and I need a Redeemer and Christ is him. I am casting myself completely upon Jesus and depending on him, not me—on him and nothing else. That is evidence that this change of mind has been wrought in a person, and it's evidence that the Lord has given someone life that they would ever say, "I need Christ and I'm trusting him." When we talk this way, I think it's helpful.  
  
One more comment, if I may, in terms of how a lot of times people say things about repentance and faith that are super confusing. They go to the Book of Acts and they will cite Acts 2 with Peter. What must we do to be saved? Peter says, "Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins." But then later, for example in Acts 13, Paul will say that, for example, "Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you," this man being Jesus, "and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses."  
  
Or the Philippian jailer in chapter 16\. When he's undone, people remember the story of how there are disciples of Christ in jail, and then miraculously, chains fall off, the gate swings open, and the Philippian jailer is going to kill himself because he's going to be ruined because he's allowed all the prisoners to escape. The disciples look at him and say, "Don't kill yourself." And he basically ends up asking, "What do I need to do to be saved?" And they say, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved." I think what we need to see is that in the presentation, even in the Book of Acts, you see that at certain times repentance is stated. Other times, faith is stated. Instead of pitting those against each other and making it sound like schizophrenia, what we're getting today is a better solution to say that all of this is a fruit of regeneration, of the new birth. What's happening here is the change of mind as wrought in a person who believes in Christ. This happens in our experience practically simultaneously on the front end.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Speaking of the front end, when you see Jesus using phrases like, "I've come to seek and to save the lost," "I have come to the sick, the blind, the needy," normally, he is saying this to the Pharisees. He's saying this to the self-righteous because they're standing before him and they don't believe he's the Messiah. They don't believe they need to trust in him. They can't see that they're sick. They can't see that they're sinners. So Jesus is saying that the thing you need to repent of, or the thing you need to see against the law is that you are sinful, you are sick, you were depraved, but they can't do it. This is why even in John 6, it says that the Father has to open their eyes in order for them to see it. And then he says things like, "My sheep will hear my voice and they will come to me. They will know me, they will hear me."  
  
When you hear Jesus speaking of repentance before he goes to the cross, he's talking about the self-righteous. He even uses the illustration of the two men in the temple. Which one walked away justified? The one who was beating his chest.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. Who understands he needs mercy.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Who was saying, "Be merciful to me." And then who's the self-righteous man? "Lord, I am so thankful I'm not like this man. Jesus gives the exact illustration of what these people need to repent of.  
  
My conviction is that Jesus came preaching repentance of self-righteousness. Stop trying to save yourself by yourself. That's what he came preaching. I would say that when we're preaching repentance, we would do well to do the same to tell people. As you preach the law, the law crushes people. You have them look at the law and say, "See? You can't save yourself. So repent of that and turn to Christ." We know that if they do this, you can see them turn away from self-salvation and they turn to Christ, immediately we can say that is a fruit of the Spirit. To be able to do that, you have to have the Spirit of regeneration in you.  
  
Justin Perdue: To turn from self-salvation to God's salvation is, without doubt, a change of mind that is brought by the Holy Spirit. I'm going to read from the 1689 again briefly, just to keep referring back to Reformed confession. Chapter 15 on Repentance to Life and Salvation, paragraph one, reads this way: "Some of the elect are converted after their early years having lived in the natural state," that is, without the Spirit, "for a time and served various evil desires and pleasures." Then this: "God gives these repentance to life as part of their effectual calling." And so it's very clear that—and Acts 11 is like this, the words of Titus 3 are like this—that God grants repentance to people as a part of His effectual calling on their lives. Meaning God has said to a dead person, "Live." Like when Jesus says to Lazarus, "Come out of the tomb," the one who gave the command gives life so that the command can be heeded. It's the same with us. God effectively looks at us and says, "Live." And what happens? Again, simultaneously in our experiences, the law and the gospel is preached and Christ is heralded. Scales are knocked off our eyes and we immediately see that we are ruined before a holy God and that Christ is our Savior, that he has atoned for my sin, he has accomplished my righteousness, he has secured my sanctification, he has secured my resurrection. I need him and I'm trusting him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This does not contradict passages like Acts 17:30 where he says in the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. We would say amen. Repent under Christ. Fall upon Christ. Amen to that.  
  
Justin, for just a couple of minutes here, let's talk about in the Christian life. Then we're gonna have to really take this into the Semper Reformanda. But we'll tee it up for a little bit. Often when people hear me say this, what they're saying then is, "Jon, if you preach that, then people will live however they want." No. You have to understand the difference between preaching the gospel to the unbeliever and preaching the gospel to the believer. It's the same gospel, but the application does have its differences. You're calling someone unto faith and then you're calling someone to live out their faith. As James says, faith without works is a dead faith. Justin and I believe that. Repentance is a fruit; it's a real fruit and it should be happening. I think it is a wonderful fruit that God repents us. We often look at repentance as something that we can do on our own, and it's not. It's a Spirit-wrought work. It's something that happens to us. We will repent. But I will tell you that there's nowhere in Scripture that indicates that you have the capacity to repent of all your sins all of the time. That would mean you don't walk by faith, you walk by repentance. That's not the command that we've been given.  
  
I just want to read you a couple of passages that I think are helpful. We need to be living in a life of repentance. What that means is we're constantly changing our mind from trusting in the lie of Satan to believing in the sufficiency of something outside of Jesus Christ. All sin can be summarized basically of trusting in something else that is "more sufficient" than Jesus. And then we end up with fear, anxiety, lust, anger, all of that comes out of us. Where we must find our rest is we do not have the capacity to repent of all sin. Justin and I would both agree that we need to repent of known sin, and if we're actively in sin, we need to change our mind about that and walk away from it and change the direction.  
  
But where we also rest is in the reality of, for instance, Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace." Why should we have confidence? Well, the whole book of Hebrews is about the sufficiency of Jesus being our mediator. It says, "that we might receive mercy and find grace in a time of need." When do you need grace and mercy for sinners when you're sinning?  
  
I must continue here in Hebrews. It says in chapter 10, "Therefore, brothers, since we have the confidence to enter it in the holy places by the blood of Jesus." We don't have confidence to walk into the presence of God because we've done righteous things; it's because we don't do righteous things. "By the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with a heart sprinkled clean from the evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." He's faithful, not us. That's where our confidence lies.  
  
So yes, we repent. But Justin, you and I both know we are not good with God because of our repentance; we feel we are good with God because of Christ's blood being sprinkled upon us, and God is faithful. That's where we rest.  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen. Hebrews 12:24, the blood of Christ speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. That word effectively is, "It is finished." That's where our confidence is found.  
  
There are so many other passages that are popcorning around in my brain right now that I think are helpful in this conversation. 1 John 1:8 through 2:2 is really good because we're told that if we say that we have no sin, then we make God out to be a liar and the truth isn't in us. But what we're encouraged to do is to confess our sins because God is faithful and just, in the Lord Jesus Christ, to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And John then says, "Little children, beloved, I'm writing this so that you might not sin. But if anybody does, know that we have an advocate with the Father: Jesus Christ, the righteous. He's the propitiation and the satisfaction for our sins." And so we're encouraged to confess sin, to acknowledge sin, and to trust the Lord in Christ that we are absolved and that we're forgiven and that we're righteous. We're not saved by our confession, we're not saved by our repentance, but God will continually grant these things to His saints. And we live a life, as has been said so many times, of continual repentance because we understand that when it comes to us, we are always failing. And then we are casting ourselves anew upon the One who has paid for every failure.  
  
As I say things like this, I'm saying this to myself as much as I am to the listener because I need to be reminded of these things. I tend to be very bothered and grieved by my sin. I'm not saying that I'm grieved as much as I should be because that's a whole hyper-introspective Pandora's box of things. But when we encounter sin in our lives, our tendency is to be bothered by that, to be concerned by it, we question whether we're legitimate, we doubt whether we're God's, and all these things. I think my word there is that instead of having that mindset, we should be reminded that the fact that we're even grieved by our sin in the first place is evidence that we now belong to Christ. What we are encouraged to do is to continue to take our sin to the Lord, to confess it to him, to confess it to our brothers and sisters, and then to be absolved in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are various other texts in the Scriptures for sure where you see the apostles exhorting churches to repentance. Many times that's because they're turning to a different way of salvation. I'm thinking of Galatians, I'm thinking of Hebrews—not neglecting such a great salvation means don't go back to the law.  
  
Then you have passages like the letter to the Corinthians where Paul will, in various places, do a law-gospel thing. He's rebuking them for how they understand Christian freedom effectively. You think that sexual promiscuity and gross sexual immorality are expressions of Christian freedom. Don't you know that people who do these things won't inherit the Kingdom of God. Why would you engage in things that the judgment of God is coming for? You used to be this, now you've been cleansed. This isn't who you are now. Those are the words of Paul in Ephesians, it's the word of Paul in Corinthians. Remember who you are. You're not this anymore.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's 2 Peter 1.  
  
Justin Perdue: Totally. It's a really consistent message: don't go toward another gospel, don't revert back to self-salvation, don't go back to the law, and then remember who you are now in the Lord Jesus Christ and live that way. And we always are having to be reminded of these things because we go astray.  
  
Jon Moffitt: For those of you that are new, we do a podcast, and I'll let Justin explain that. But I think in Semper Reformanda, what I would like to now take us into is the confusion that repentance is a fruit. But just like other fruits like joy, meekness patients, longsuffering, they aren't full and complete. Repentance isn't full and complete. In other words—I'll say this now and explain it later—just because you're now a believer doesn't mean all sin will always be repented of fully and completely forever. Otherwise, that means we could be perfect. I'll leave that here and we'll explain later.  
  
Justin Perdue: Oh, dear listeners. Notice what Jon Moffitt just did and how he set it up and he just took it right away. He kind of dangled in front of you and he's like, "Oh, but not for now. We're going to talk about it later."  
  
If you want to be a part of the conversation that Jon has just teed up for us, we're going to have that in the other podcast that we offer weekly called Semper Reformanda. That podcast is for people who have partnered with our ministry and have locked arms with us to see this message of the sufficiency of Christ, and the rest that is ours in him, spread far and wide as possible. So if you want more information about Semper Reformanda, how you can become a part of this great thing that the Lord is doing, and how you can get more involved with Theocast and meet other people that think like you and are wrestling through the same things you are, then go over to our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. You can learn everything about Semper Reformanda over there.  
  
For many of you, we'll talk with you again next week on the regular edition of the podcast. And for others of you, we're going to talk with you in just a few minutes. I trust that you go over to your Semper Reformanda feed and listen in on the conversation there. Talk soon.

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### Prodigal, God Still Has You

*Published: May 26, 2021 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/prodigal-god-still-has-you*
*Tags: Forgiveness, Prodigal Son*

Can Christians sin to the point that there is no mercy left? Is it normal for Christians to struggle with sin--even heinous or intentional sins? When Christians sin badly and for a long time, do we fall from God's favor? Is there any comfort for the struggler? Jon and Justin consider all of this and more in today's episode.  
  
Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin discuss the views of different traditions when it comes to apostasy and struggles with sin.  
  
Scripture references:  
2 Corinthians 11:3  
Romans 7:15ff  
Galatians 5:17  
Ephesians 4:27, 6:12ff  
James 1:13-15, 4:7  
1 Peter 5:8  
1 John 1:8-2:2, 3:8  
  
Resources:  
[Our primer on assurance](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product/safe-in-christ-a-primer-on-assurance/)  
[Our episode on "How Much Can a Christian Sin?"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/how-much-can-a-christian-sin/)  
  
Giveaway: ["Safe in Christ: A Primer on Assurance" by Theocast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product/safe-in-christ-a-primer-on-assurance/)  
  
https://youtu.be/S1XTb5LR1QI  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, Justin and I talk about prodigals—those who have walked away from God. The question is, can they walk away so far that there is no grace or mercy remaining? And are prodigals normal? We look at passages in the Bible that warn us about the devil, how the devil tries to trip us up, and how we can often struggle against our own flesh and at times, lose that battle. What does it look like for a prodigal to come back into the good graces of God? It's a lively discussion. We hope you enjoy.  
  
Today's conversation is really geared towards the biblical understanding of struggling with sin. We did a podcast a while back that said how much can a Christian sin? And for how long? And I would encourage you, if you have not heard that episode, you can go listen to that. We'll put it in the show notes. This is kind of 2.0\. We wanted to add to those thoughts and really provide some additional biblical arguments for those who, I think, have been influenced by bad theology for many years.  
  
And then in our Semper Reformanda, we're going to get specifically down into some actual documents. Semper Reformanda is the unfiltered/educational section of our ministry.  
  
Justin, let's talk for a moment about the Bible as it relates to this kind of situation: there is no question the person has professed Christ; they're trusting in him, they understand that, received the sign of baptism, they are following in the biblical form of "faith alone"—and then they are ensnared into sin. First, is this a normal thing in Scripture or is this abnormal? Do we not have a lot of passages on this? How does the Bible guide us as it relates to—let's just use a really common illustration: the prodigal. Is the prodigal a common situation amongst Christians throughout history?  
  
Justin Perdue: Short answer: yes. It is a normal situation. With respect to the prodigal, one thought that popped into my mind is I think a lot of times people think that that parable only is illustrative of somebody coming to faith initially.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The prodigal was not a son until he repented.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. He basically was not a child of God, and then he repented and became one. That's actually not the way the parable is told. The parable is told that he is a child of God, he is a son, and he loses his senses and runs off into a foreign land, lives recklessly, and squanders everything. That, I do think, is a tremendous depiction of how we tend to struggle—even mightily—for seasons of our Christian lives. Then "comes to his senses" and says, "I'm going to go back to my father." This is not a podcast on the prodigal son, but it's just so encouraging the way that that parable unfolds, where the son has his pitch all planned that he's going to come back to his father. "Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Just treat me as one of your hired servants. Let me work for you." And of course, fast forwarding to that poignant moment when he's approaching the household and the father sees him and runs out to him, the son begins to give his pitch. "I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son." And before he can even get to the piece about letting him work for his father as a slave, the father says, "Bring the best robe in the house and put it on my son. Give him a ring and put shoes on his feet. Kill the fattened calf and let's have a party because my son is found and he was lost. My son is alive again and he was dead." It's a beautiful picture. I think that this happens for people as they have trusted Christ, they're living life in the church, and they fall into perhaps heinous sin, intentional sin for a season of time—they're mired and they're trapped in it, and are restored. God repents us. Amen. Praise be to His name.  
  
I'm not going to bury the lead here, Jon. It is our conviction based on Scripture and the confessions that in that sort of season where we are mired in sin and trapped in it, and then of course, the restoration is coming in an obvious way as God repents us by His grace, but in that whole time, there is not a moment when we are not in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is not a moment where the Holy Spirit has left us. There is not a moment where we are lost and would go to perdition if we were to die in that moment. We would understand that God's gifts and calling are irrevocable, and that as we have been united to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, as is signified by our baptism and even our ongoing union with him in the table. The Lord keeps us by faith, by His grace unto salvation.  
  
The underlying message that we want to communicate today is that your sin, and you being mired in it as a Christian, is a normal experience. We're not encouraging people to go sin. Of course, when we find ourselves in sin, repentance is what we encourage people toward and plead with people to. But we are wanting to continue to herald the fact that Christ has saved us even as we struggle and is inviting people back to their loving Father and to their Savior.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The prodigal in Jesus' illustration is a horrible repenter. He just is. We love to think about it in such a way that he repented but, no, he didn't. He repented with penance. He realized what he had done was wrong, but he was coming back to the father with penance. I've said this before, but my illustration is the son starts to say to the father, "I know I've sinned against you and against heaven..." And then the father goes, "Okay, great, great, great. Hold on a second. Hey, can someone bring the robe? What were you saying? Hold on. Before you finish that, can someone bring the ring? Oh, and by the way, let's get the calf going." The reason I mention this is that the father knew what that son was about to say. The point of it is, "You are my son. Therefore, there are no requirements to remain my son." There is a difference. Jesus uses this illustration.  
  
To the self-righteous who won't cling to Christ, he just gives him more law. But to the sinner, like the woman at his feet, it says your sins are forgiven. Why? Because she was trusting in Christ with her sins, which were many. And I want to say that to the believer who has found their rest in Christ, they say, "Okay, I know I can't earn my righteousness. I know it's by Christ's death on the cross and his righteous imputed or given to me." To that person, Christ says, "You are in my hand and I am in the Father's hand; no one can take you out." There's nothing that can separate us from God, which is in Christ Jesus. There's no condemnation.  
  
Justin Perdue: Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not even our sin.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Of any kind.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. We will not out-sin the grace of Christ. For those of us who have been united to him by faith, we will not out-sin the grace of Christ, and God will keep us into the end—this is what we believe. The confessions bear that out and the Scriptures do as well.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And as confessional Calvinists, we believe that the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit—once it brings to life, it cannot be snuffed out. That's what we're saying.  
  
Justin Perdue: Jesus doesn't break bruised reeds and he doesn't put out smoldering wicks. That faith—and it might be a faint flicker—Jesus will fan that flame and he will sustain it. He's not going to snuff it out.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Safe in Christ literally means you are protected from condemnation because you are robed in Christ. Nothing can touch you. Now that is the reality of your final status. We always say you are saved, you are being saved, you will be saved. The illustration of our standing before Christ is declared as finished, we are being transformed into his image, we are being saved, and one day we will finally be saved, which is our glorification. Now, in that process of us remaining here on earth, there are warning passages in the New Testament. It is something we need to talk about.  
  
Justin Perdue: It is very clear in the New Testament that Christians can sin, Christians can be mired and trapped in sin, and that to sin and to be trapped in sin is terrible for us on every level. The revealed will of God is that we would not sin, and that we would battle against it and flee from it, etc. Yet the Scriptures bear witness to the fact that we will do it, and there are words to us about such things. This might not be the one that you were planning to lead with, and that's fine. I'm just going to throw some stuff out, and you throw some stuff out, and we'll just see where this takes us.  
  
1 John is great at this. 1 John 1, there's the acknowledgement that, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." We are sinners and we do sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him," God, "a liar, and his word is not in us." But then, 1 John 2:1-2 that comes immediately after that, John says, "I'm writing to you so that you might not sin. And if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." So in this one passage, there's a few verses. There's the acknowledgement of the reality of our sin, there is the acknowledgement that everybody is a sinner, and if we deny that about ourselves, then the truth is not in us. The goal is that we wouldn't sin. But when we do, we have an advocate who is Jesus Christ, the righteous, who pleads for us before the Father—when we sin, not once we're over it. I think that matters.  
  
Even that passage—it's not a warning passage so much, but it's an acknowledgement of this reality that the believer's life will be an ongoing fight against sin, and sometimes you're going to sin. Christ has you then because he pleads for you in that moment.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is not an exhaustive list. We'll provide these for you in our notes if you want to go read them yourself. I think we would do well to understand that once we are in Christ and his Spirit lives within us, the flesh that we now live in is not done away with. Not only that, Satan has not been finally bound where his influence is not to be seen. So to the New Testament writer who has the Spirit within them, we hear passages like 1 Peter 5:8: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." If he couldn't devour someone, meaning to trip them up or entangle them, then Peter wouldn't write such words—and such strong words with such vivid pictures. Ephesians 4:27: "And give no opportunity to the devil." What does he mean by that? Later on, he begins to explain. But the point of it is that you can be ensnared or entangled with the devil of James 4:7\. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 1 John 3:8—I think you already talked about that one. 2 Corinthians 11:3: "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."  
  
Justin Perdue: Ephesians 6:12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." This is quite a battle that we have on our hands. It's not just against our flesh—though that's intense. We also battle against Satan and the cosmic powers over this present darkness.  
  
Jon Moffitt: James 1:14: "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." We know our own desires are sinful. The reason we read all of this is that those warning passages are not given to unbelievers. What you also do not see in those warning passages is, "If you, who is a believer who performed such a thing, are going to now be an unbeliever." As a matter of fact, 1 John 1:8 flat out says that if you say you're without sin, you're a liar. I always love to say that God, from all time, from the fall of Adam until now, has expected Christians to sin because we are dual nature now. Now we have a Spirit within us and we have our flesh. This is Galatians 5:17: the Spirit wars against the flesh, the flesh against the Spirit. This is a battle that's going on. And it's very clear in indication that Christians have and do fall snare to those temptations and do get devoured, meaning that they cannot be snuffed out, but they can absolutely be entrapped by sin.  
  
Justin Perdue: I know that Galatians 6:1 has been referenced already where when any one of you is trapped or caught in sin, those who are among you who are spiritual should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, keeping watch on yourselves, lest you too fall or be tempted. But the implication of that is that this is going to happen in the church, and that then what needs to happen is such a person needs to be sought after and restored gently. And again, I think you're having to read into the text that until that person is restored, they are apostate and are thereby in a state of damnation and condemnation, and God has left them. Where do we find that in the Scriptures that God leaves those who are His for a season of time because of their sin?  
  
So, yes, we absolutely want to uphold the biblical teaching on sin, falling into sin, being trapped in sin, and then needing to be restored. Amen. But that period of time between the falling, being entrapped, and the restoration, that's not a season of time where the believer is lost.  
  
Let me just read this from the 1689 London Baptist Confession. This is chapter five, paragraph five on Divine Providence. This is a wonderful paragraph as to what we believe about God and the ways that He works and keeps us even through sin and really, really difficult times of failure. " The perfectly wise, righteous, and gracious God often allows his own children for a time to experience a variety of temptations in the sinfulness of their own hearts. He does this to chastise them for their former sins or to make them aware of the hidden strength of the corruption and deceitful illness of their hearts so that they may be humbled. He also does this to lead them to a closer and more constant dependence on him to sustain them, to make them more cautious about all future circumstances that may lead to sin, and for other just and holy purposes. So whatever happens to any of his elect happens by his appointment, for his glory, and for their good." It's a wonderful paragraph. God remains God, He remains our Father, He remains sovereign and purposeful and faithful even when we are faithless and floundering.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Not only that, but He uses our floundering as a means to expose us to our weakness.  
  
Justin Perdue: And to cause us to depend all the more on Him and to be humbled, lest we be self-righteous because we all tend to be.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. There are two people that we want to talk to today for the remainder of the podcast.  
  
Justin Perdue: Can we do just two more passages of Scripture, or at least refer to them? We haven't cited these yet because we reference them often, but if somebody is going to press us in terms of where we go as our last bastion of defense in arguing for what we're arguing for, it's clear. There are two places: Galatians 5:17, which is where Paul says that the flesh and the Spirit are opposed to one another, and it keeps us from doing what we want to do, and then obviously Romans 7:15 and following, where Paul writes such famous language about wanting to do good but not being able to do it, not wanting to do evil but finding himself doing it, that whenever he wants to do good, evil lies close at hand. He doesn't understand his own actions because he delights in the law of God and his inner man, yet he finds himself sinning. He then cries out in desperation, "I am such a wretched man. Who's going to deliver me?" Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. It's a very clear witness of Scripture that Christians often find themselves in that reality, in that place, and that we are dependent completely upon the Lord Jesus Christ and his righteousness for us. That's true for us not just on our best day, but also on our worst day. Christ remains our hope and stay, our advocate, our intercessor, our righteousness, our atonement, all of that.  
  
Okay. Now who are we talking to the rest of the time?  
  
Jon Moffitt: There are two groups of people that we want to talk to: one, to give a warning to, and two, to give comfort to. I think the podcast has really drawn in two types of people, and then there's going to be those people who have these in their life. The first one I want to talk to are the people who have a lot of confidence in their own flesh, they have a lot of confidence in their own discipline.  
  
Justin Perdue: You're talking to the self-righteous in that regard.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. The self-righteous in that regard. I've been doing a lot of work and thought on this lately, and we're not going to get into this today, but the danger I find for some people is they put their confidence in things, traditions, or rituals that have been handed down to us that are not based on Scripture. I find them enslaved into sin and often not willing to admit it, and are embarrassed of it, because they have done all the right things according to whatever the tradition says, and yet they find themselves enslaved in sin. And they stay in that sin for a very long time because self-righteousness cannot allow for weakness. It just can't.  
  
A lot of times those confidences are in how long they have been going to church, or how often they read their Bible, or how much Scripture they have memorized, or the disciplines of not doing this or that. Then they have a lot of confidence in saying Satan isn't able to trip them up because their confidence is in such and such things, whether it is their own abilities to do whatever. I've even heard people say, "I am so shocked that I did this," or, "I can never forgive myself for what I have done." Which means they had a higher expectation of themselves than they should have, because to say that you can't forgive yourself means that you knew better and you did it anyway. Paul says, "Well, but for the grace of God."  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen, bro. "There go I."  
  
Jon Moffitt: I will tell you, Justin and I are very weak men, and we walk around like weak men who are very scared of sin. I am terrified of sin. I know that Satan absolutely wants Justin and I to stumble. I feel it daily.  
  
Now, am I having little demons jump around all over the place or am I having these demonic experiences? Me, personally, no. But my flesh and the temptation of the world is real, and I know Satan has put those there to trip me up.  
  
Justin Perdue: Everybody is like this. I think. But for me, the battle against the flesh is always on my mind. In certain seasons, it's obviously more heightened and more pointed than others. There are plenty of things that happened in my life that I regularly think the only thing I can chalk these experiences up to are (a) the curse or the fall in general, or (b) spiritual warfare where clearly Satan and the cosmic powers over this present darkness hate me, hate my family, hate the church. And I think those things are real. We all battle this stuff. Anybody who has read the Scripture and has tried to assess these things in his or her mind is going to conclude that this battle is intense and we are in way over our heads here. We are punching far above our weight and were it not for the grace of God, and frankly, the protection that the Lord promises to us by His Spirit in His Son... You read it earlier: John 10:28-29\. Where do we pillow our heads? It's the fact that Christ has us and is never going to let us go. He says no one can take us out—and that includes Satan, and that includes our own stupidity. We are not going to pluck ourselves from Christ's hands and that's the comfort. We walk around weak and we walk around vulnerable all the time.  
  
Honestly, Christians out there, open your eyes to not only your own struggles, but the struggles of the people around you in your own local church. My goodness. It's so clear that we are fragile and frail on our own, and the only hope that we could ever have is Christ and the fact that he's got us.  
  
This matters, I think, because in having this conversation about warning the self-righteous, the kind that you mentioned is legit where people who are Christians are trusting in their own performance somehow, or their own disciplines, or whatever.  
  
There's another kind of self-righteousness though, because self-righteousness by definition means that I'm trusting in myself, that I'm good. There are people who find themselves caught in sin, perhaps, but then they don't want to call it sin. And so they say, "Well, I don't really care what the Bible says about this. I don't think it's sin." Conclusion.: "I'm fine. I don't need mercy, I don't need grace because I'm good where I stand." That is a kind of self-righteousness that's frightening. That is when we need to come in with the word of God, and even come in specifically with the law of God, to warn such a person that it doesn't matter what they think about what they're doing. Here's what the Lord has said about it, and it's not okay, and it will lead to their ruin lest they trust Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: When 1 John says if one goes on sending, that's what he's referring to. If you're rejecting the mercy of Christ and seeing what you're doing is sin.  
  
Justin Perdue: You're rejecting the mercy of Christ. You don't think you need it because you have convinced yourself that what you're doing is not sin. Or perhaps you say, "Yeah, it is sin and I don't care, which is just another way of saying I'm done with this and I don't need the mercy of Christ." This is the thing: sinners who know and acknowledge that, "I am in desperate need of grace, I'm in desperate need of mercy, and I need Christ because he's the only one who has done for me what I could never do for myself," to those people there is comfort. But to those who think they're good, either in their own strength, in their own discipline, or just don't need Jesus because they think what they're doing is fine, there isn't comfort there.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We won't see these in petty sins. People aren't going to say it's okay to lie or to steal or to murder. Where we do see this the most is in sexual conduct.  
  
Justin Perdue: Totally. It almost always has to do with sex.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's where you're going to see it. Even the Bible will speak of that where the debauched nature will go and change the very nature of God to justify their sins. I think in the United States—and we're not going to get into this today—but I think this will become an interesting place where we, with grace and mercy and kindness, uphold the law of God here; I think there could be some form of persecution as it relates to that.  
  
Justin Perdue: Totally. There are a number of reasons why this is going to come to a head in the church and this is not that podcast. We'll talk about that later. Just to be very clear, what we've tried to do in talking to the self-righteous for a moment is to be clear in what we're saying, and also what we're not saying. We don't want to be misunderstood. All there ever is comfort for people who are sinning and just don't care, or who are sinning and don't think it's sin, or to try to comfort people who are trusting in their own righteousness somehow. That's not the point. That's dangerous. But now I think we're going to pivot to talk to another group of people that I think is much more common, at least like in the Theocast Facebook group or amongst our listeners. It's those who are struggling and those who know that they're sinners who are really questioning, "Could I be struggling like I am and legitimately be in Christ?"  
  
Jon Moffitt: For the person that I think is putting a lot of confidence in themselves... because you have performed in these ways, you're trusting in your own works and in your own discipline, these warning passages that we just read about falling into temptation and being aware of the devil, those are not disconnected from the rest of those sections, which then gives you the conclusion of how you're protected. For instance, in Hebrews, he says, "But exhort one another every day, as long as it's called "today", that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." How is it that the writer of Hebrews says this is how you aren't deceived by sin? It's the exhortation of believers. We could even go to Ephesians 4 where he says when the church functions properly—the administration of God's Word to the public, teaching and preaching is given to the church to do the work of the ministry—so that they will not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. They will not be deceived by Satan. Those are just two examples and for the sake of time, we're not going to keep going. But those are examples of our confidence found within the local body where we are administering God's word appropriately. That's where we find our safety.  
  
Justin Perdue: Our confidence is found in the local body where we're gathering together, and we're. partaking of the means of grace together, and we're encouraging one another and living life together. What you're saying dovetails beautifully with what I wanted to say here, too. What is the antidote for the person who is really struggling and is thinking, "My gosh. I'm sinning, but I don't want to sin, but I am. I don't know if I've got enough faith." And all of these kinds of things. "Am I really in Christ? Would I struggle this way if I'm a Christian legitimately?" The antidote is never to look within whenever that happens.  
  
You mentioned a couple of great passages. I'm going to mention another one also in the book of Ephesians. We already read Ephesians 6:12, talking about the battle that's on our hands against cosmic powers of this present darkness and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, ala Satan, and all of the powers that make up the powers of the air—to use the language earlier in Ephesians. It's a big deal.  
  
So then what does Paul say? "Therefore put on the armor of God." And we're going to do a podcast soon on the armor of God. But in short, when Paul says put on the armor of God, the exhortation is put on Christ. This war that we're fighting against Satan and the cosmic powers over this present darkness is real. Y'all better put on Jesus because he is the only way to stand against this kind of warfare. And the things that he exhorts us to have nothing to do with us. It's called the armor of God—I think that's significant—but even the things he lists like having fastened on the belt of truth. Well, whose truth is that? Not yours; it's God's. Truth about what? Himself and us, and ultimately about redemption—and that truth centers on Christ. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Well, whose righteousness is that? It isn't yours, I promise you. You're going to wage war against the devil with your own righteousness. Good luck with that. But what he's talking about clearly is the righteousness of Christ that's been counted to us by faith. So that's where we'd look. Put on as shoes for your feet the readiness of the gospel of peace. Well, what is that? The good news of peace—peace with God. How? Through the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. It's not you. Take up the shield of faith. Notice that it's not the shield of faithfulness; it's not your fidelity to God, it is who you are trusting? I don't care how imperfect it is either. You might very imperfectly and weakly be trusting in the Lord Jesus, and yet the object of your faith, namely Christ, saves you. The helmet of salvation. Well, whose salvation is that? Salvation is of who? The Lord. We could go on.  
  
That's an antidote though: don't look to yourself; put on Jesus and look to him, trust him, cast yourself upon him. And I think that in time, comfort will come as you continue to remind yourself of this daily, but ultimately, as you gather with saints and you sit under preaching that hopefully is going to point you to him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. This last few minutes that we have, Justin, I think we need to get down into the dirty section of this, to where it really gnaws at the conscience of some people in the self-righteous camp and those who are ensnared in sin. I'm praying that this podcast will be sent to people who find themselves trapped, who want to repent but they have had really bad theology given to them. Penance is what they think is necessary.  
  
A couple of passages that we want to talk about that we alluded to in the beginning... Let's start with 1 John 2\. It says, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation," or the payment, "of our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." What is important is that every time John or the writers speak of sin, you never hear them throw a caveat, or a list of sins, or "this except for this sin". Some people would even say that if someone commits suicide, then that sin cannot be forgiven. Then that means there's something that can separate you from the love of God, including your own actions, which cannot be the case. Otherwise, Paul wouldn't have said that multiple times.  
  
I think it's important that when we're talking about the story of the prodigal son... he pretty much committed some serious heinous crimes against the father. We look at the apostle Peter and David. Let's just pick out the three big ones: two being legitimate real men, one being hypothetical. You look at every single one of those stories and you don't see God rejecting them or pushing them off for calling into question the legitimacy of the relationship of the adopted child. Just thinking about the apostle Peter... it wasn't just cussing.  
  
Justin Perdue: He denied the Lord Jesus Christ but Jesus is clear before it even happens: " Satan wants to do this, he wants to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you." There's Christ's intercessory work. "And when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers." It's not as though between Peter's denial of Jesus and his turning, which I think happens pretty much instantaneously by the way, because when Peter looks at the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus looks at him when Peter was standing in the courtyard upon his denial, he knows what he's done. He said he would never do it, but the thing he swore he would never do, he's done—and he's wrecked. It's not as though Peter's relationship with Jesus was ever in question.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Nathan the prophet doesn't question David's faith in God other than his blindness to his own sins. When you think about ensnared, devouring, deceit, there's a cloak and dagger kind of a deal going on here. There are shadows and hiding. I think, from what we have seen from Scripture, hopefully your confidence can be in two things: one, that if you are in sin, you can have confidence in the Advocate, not yourself. You can have confidence in God's promises. There is nothing in Scripture that would indicate of one who is in faith in Christ, even if they're trapped in sin. If your faith is in Christ, there is no sin you cannot repent of. 1 John does not indicate in chapter one or two that there is a limit to your repentance, or that there is a sin that you cannot repent of. The only thing you can't repent of is unbelief and that is given to you. So if you have the gift of faith that's been granted to you by the Father, the second gift that's been given to you is endless repentance. I know that sounds radical. They hear me say " endless repentance" and what are they thinking I'm saying? What they're thinking is, "Jon, if you say that or emphasize that, then people will just sin however they want."  
  
Justin Perdue: And there will be no skin in the game and people won't feel the need to repent.  
  
Jon Moffitt: You read those warning passages and how horrible sin is... that's not the case. What I'm trying to say is that there are people who are listening to this podcast right now, and they're like, "There's no hope for me. I can't do it. I've gone too long. I've gone too far. There's too much required." No, the kindness of the Father is leading us to repentance. His grace is sufficient. His mercy is there. You can be restored to the intimate, loving relationship, into the body of Christ.  
  
Justin, this is why even in church discipline, at moments when a Christian is being so fooled by sin, that we have to treat them like a non-believer for a while to shock their system. It's as if we are saying, "Do you realize what you are missing out on? The glory and the joy of the body of Christ. We're going to have to let Satan have his way with you so when you are fully sapped and you're dry, we're going to refresh you with mercy again."  
  
Justin Perdue: Even in that sense, church discipline is a means of restoration, and that's how God gave it to us. It's not a weapon to bludgeon people with. It's an instrument of restoring sinners because that's what God's in the business of doing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Justin, going over, we have already discussed that there are traditions that have different opinions on this. Some of these traditions are very old; some of them are new. We're going to look at the varying traditions that have different perspectives on apostasy and assurance. That is going to be a part of our Semper Reformanda podcast, a.k.a. class.  
  
For those of you that would like to join what we are doing, you can do so by joining Semper Reformanda. That is a ministry that has two parts to it. It's a podcast where Justin and I continue the conversation on a deeper unfiltered level, where we let you in on the backside of the conversation. And then number two, we have groups that you can join either online or locally, where you can then discuss this podcast with other listeners in your area. These groups are being formulated and we should be launching them by now. If you would like to start one or be a part of one in your local area, just go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and you can learn more about that.  
  
Justin, it was a good conversation, my friend. We have a lot coming our way. I'll just throw this out there. You and I are getting ready to do a book study or a book review of Lordship salvation with John MacArthur's book. That's coming up.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or at least an episode on Lordship where we'll talk some about it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yup. And then armor of God. We've got some good stuff. I just wish that we could record more than once a week, but this is what we can do.  
  
We'll see you guys next week.  
  
Justin Perdue: See you.

---

### There Is No Christ in Your Genesis, Sir

*Published: May 19, 2021 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/there-is-no-christ-in-your-genesis-sir*
*Tags: Christ in the Old Testament, Creation Science, Creationism, Genesis*

Is there any Christ in your Genesis? The book of Genesis is often mishandled. Peripheral things are over-emphasized and the main point is lost. Jon and Justin talk about Genesis from a redemptive-historical, covenantal, and Christ-centered perspective.  
  
Semper Reformanda Podcast: Jon and Justin take a deeper dive into covenant theology and the book of Genesis. It is our perspective that Genesis cannot be rightly understood apart from a covenantal framework. We aim to explain how and why.  
  
**Resources:**
* [Our Covenant Theology teaching series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1zYCPUTobU)
* [Book study on Sam Renihan's book](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByARBXbQfCo&list=PL5OjtM2rVrI38rdQ8qB2CuI06qvb6sxN3)
* [Our episode: Is Your Theological System Any Good?](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good/)
* [Ask Theocast: GENESIS: About Creation? A Science Book? NEITHER?!?!](https://youtu.be/eeQnq7ym5sE)
Book Giveaway: ["Grace in Despair" by Dianna Carroll](https://amzn.to/3yqkYOa)  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
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https://youtu.be/waEQoY56Tks  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Let me begin by asking you a question: is there any Jesus in your Genesis? Today on Theocast, Jon and I are going to be talking about the book of Genesis, the ways that it is often mishandled, and how we often miss the main point of that wonderful book. We're going to look at Genesis today from a redemptive-historical perspective, from a covenantal perspective with Jesus at the center. We hope it's encouraging for you.  
  
We're going to take a deeper dive into covenant theology over in Semper Reformanda, and how that relates to our understanding of Genesis. We hope all of this is helpful and encouraging to you. Stay tuned.  
  
For those who listen to us all the time, you might be ready for what I'm going to say: we talk about redemptive-historical theology and the redemptive-historical framework of the Bible. We talk about covenant theology and we talk about a very Christ-centered way to understand the entirety of Scripture.  
  
Today, we're going to put some of those tools to work, and we're going to have a conversation about the very first book of the Bible—and that's obviously none other than the book of Genesis. There are many takes on the book of Genesis in our day. There are a lot of things said about it that, we don't want to bury the lead here, that Jon and I find to be a little bit less than helpful and confusing. And the main point of Genesis, we fear, is often lost because of some of these peripheral things that often become the focus. In particular, what we want to do today is be able to talk about Jesus from the book of Genesis.  
  
The episode title, if you've already looked at it, is _There is No Jesus in Your Genesis, Sir_, which is a reference to a Charles Spurgeon quote, a paraphrase of the Charles Spurgeon quote, where he said, "No Christ in your sermon, sir? Go home and never preach again until you have something worth saying."  
  
So we're going to talk about the book of Genesis today on a number of levels. We're going to begin by just talking about some of the things that are often the focus of evangelicalism when it comes to the book of Genesis and hopefully have a little fun; we have a little fun in a gracious way and point out how that's less than helpful.  
  
And then we're going to pivot and talk about the ways that we think we should understand the book. I hope that this is mega encouraging for the listener as we think about how God the Son is all over the place in the book of Genesis.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What is the book of Genesis about? I asked this to my kids the other day just to test them out. Justin has his hands way up in the air. And the common answer is...  
  
Justin Perdue: Creation.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Creation. That's right. What is interesting is Justin, you're preaching through the book. I'll throw you on the spot here. How many chapters are in Genesis?  
  
Justin Perdue: 50.  
  
Jon Moffitt: 50\. And how many of those chapters are in reference to creation?  
  
Justin Perdue: Two.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right.  
  
Justin Perdue: I've got my hand raised. Can I make some comments? Ask me what Genesis is about.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We'll get there. We'll get there.  
  
I grew up influenced by what's called an evidentialist apologetic. For those of you that are new to Theocast, or maybe new to this whole idea, apologetics is to give an answer. You're not apologizing for something because you feel sorry, but it's to provide an answer. And there are two different categories of apologetics: you have evidentialist, meaning that with enough evidence you can provide solid truth so that someone can make a logical decision to follow Christ. So apologetic through evidence. And then Justin, what would be the opposite of an apologetic perspective?  
  
Justin Perdue: Presuppositionalist perspective? That means we understand that there are presuppositions that must be maintained and held if one is going to see these truths as legitimate and valid, and ultimately, given that we understand that God is the one who grants us true wisdom and sight by His grace, we understand that we're not going to reason anybody into the kingdom of God and that God must do a work in someone's life in order to cause them, help them, by His grace to see these things as true.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Those are the two perspectives. The one I came from was an evidentialist perspective. We're going to be as kind as we can be here, but this is the reality. We always try. We're sinners and we often need to repent.  
  
Anyways, what you end up getting into is an evolution/creation debate, and we use the Bible—specifically the book of Genesis—as a science textbook, or as you like to say, a documentary on creation. We then go through and we try to prove the legitimacy of creation, which I understand and I would agree with, that we can look at science to see the glory of God and to strengthen and encourage our faith. There's nothing wrong with that. But as we do with any text of the Bible, we need to always ask two very important questions: who is the audience and what's the author's intention of writing to that audience? And that will tell you the purpose of the book.  
  
Justin Perdue: And alongside that, as the divine Author of the entire Bible, what is God meaning for us to understand here too? And I know you agree.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. The hard part about when we're thinking about Genesis is that we immediately focus on the scientific/historical side of it—and it is important. If you don't have a historical Adam and Eve, you're going to be falling off into heresy after chapter 2\. So we have a problem.  
  
We understand the debate; this is not what this debate is about. We hold to a historic understanding of Adam and Eve, but when it comes down to our understanding of Genesis, because we have created such an evidentialist/this is an evolution-creation debate, we miss the whole point of why Genesis was written and the purpose of Genesis in modern day life. Our life today, as a believer—what is it supposed to be for us? There's the Creation Museum, we've got the big ark over in Kentucky, and people would ask me what my thoughts are on that. I think there are some helpful things there for Christians. They can go there and be encouraged. It's a lot of money. I don't know if I would have spent all that money on that. So if someone wants to give me multi-millions of dollars, I probably will use it for something else. But I'm not here to judge—I don't live far from Kentucky, so probably one day I'll take my kids to go see it.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'll even go so far as to say, in a slightly more joke-ish, punchy way, that if the initial thought bubbles that go up from your head when the book of Genesis is mentioned is creation versus evolution, if you immediately think Creation Museum and you immediately think Ark in Kentucky, then this podcast is for you. With all due respect, not that those things are bad. And like Jon said, there's a time and a place for some of these debates and conversations. There are useful things, I'm sure. Going to the Creation Museum or going to the ark in Kentucky could be a great experience to have with your family. I also don't think that Christians that don't go are going to be missing out on something that is somehow just essential to our faith because the point of the book of Genesis is something entirely different.  
  
I'll go ahead and say this really quickly before we get into more of the meat of the episode. When you read Genesis 1 and 2, your mind should immediately go to Revelation 21 and 22\. Because in reading the account of creation, we are reading that in light of God's promise of the consummation of redemption and restoration at the end of it. There are striking parallels between those respective chapters at the beginning and end of the Bible. I think this episode is going to maybe flesh out for us why and how that's the case.  
  
It's sad that we have sort of gotten lost in the weeds—and the concerns that are peripheral at best have become the main focus of our conversation about this book of the Bible. And we miss the main point and are robbed of really edifying and encouraging stuff.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Justin, if you don't mind, I'd like to give the context to Genesis and why it was written, and then we'll move from that to try and give us a fuller explanation, comparing to what most commentaries and what most people do with Genesis. Then, I think, we're going to argue the way in which the Bible has used the book of Genesis and we'll go from there.  
  
We need to think about the historical context at this point. I know that this is a little bit snarky, but Genesis was not written the day after creation. Adam didn't have a pen out and was tracking along.  
  
Justin Perdue: It was actually written millennia after.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yes. 2,500 plus years is the estimate of how much recorded history had passed in Genesis before it was given us. So you have to understand why then was it written so far down the line? Let's just think about the history. To understand Genesis, I would say Genesis is the prologue to Exodus, and in many ways you would want to go read Exodus first because it explains why Genesis exists. I know that the order of the books come in Genesis, Exodus, but it is for this very reason: Moses is the author of the Pentateuch. Moses' life and story explain the necessity of why these books were written. This is, I would say, the really fast prologue introductions to the whole explanation of Genesis. The people of Israel who had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, they have not only been there that long, but there is no recorded history other than the verbal history that's been handed to them about Abraham and the promises of Abraham, and they have become flat out polytheists, and it becomes the plague of the nation for the rest of their existence. It's just horrible. God talks about whoring after other gods and idols constantly with the prophets and even Moses. When they're brought out, Moses is up on the mountain. He comes back and what are they doing? They're worshiping another golden calf. So you have an issue of polytheism. When Moses leaves and he goes up on the mountain and brings back the 10 commandments, what's the first commandment? "You should have no other gods before me", which is the issue Israel is going to face. When Moses begins to write this, he's not writing this with the absence of reality. In Egyptian history, the tradition was that there wasn't one god who created everything; there were multiple gods.  
  
Justin Perdue: And that was true of all the ancient Near Eastern creation accounts.  
  
Jon Moffitt: So Moses is writing in such a way that it's shocking to say that in the beginning, Yahweh, one God, created all things. You have to understand that there is definitely an apologetic going on. It's polytheism, not evolution, that he's going after. This is a monotheistic religion that Moses is introducing to a polytheistic people.  
  
Justin Perdue: Sure. A few comments here on not only Moses writing it, but what he's doing. As we've already said, Genesis is historical and Moses is writing redemptive history, and it's really important that we understand that. That's why I say it's not a documentary, it's not a history textbook. It's not written like that.  
  
Two things can be true at the same time, and I think this is worth mentioning: we can uphold the fact that even the account of creation is written in a very beautiful and literary way, and at the same time, uphold its historicity. Those things are not mutually exclusive. I know sometimes people lose their minds when we start to talk about the literary elements of the way Moses wrote the book, but he is writing redemptive history for the people of Israel. And like you said, Jon, if anything, the creation account in Genesis is written as a polemic against not only polytheism generally, but also specifically against other creation myths that would have existed. It's very clear as you study it because there are very interesting distinctions between Genesis and these other accounts of creation, and those distinctions make all the difference. They're too coincidental to be a coincidence. So Moses knows what he's doing.  
  
Now, is Genesis—and the Bible in general—useful in speaking to atheism? Yeah, because in the Bible, it's very clear that people have denied the existence of God forever. The fool says in his heart that there is no God and all that. So we're not saying that one can't use the Bible to argue against an atheistic worldview, but understand why Genesis was written to the people of Israel originally. I think it does matter.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I do not feel the necessity, at any moment, when I am dealing with unbelievers or even the atheist to prove to them the evidence of science or use science to prove Scripture. And the reason I have to say that is Paul is very clear that the fool has said in his heart that there is no God. That's Proverbs. But Paul has also said that the unbeliever will look at the Word of God, specifically the gospel, and call it foolish.  
  
Justin Perdue: And the unbeliever will suppress the truth about God and unrighteousness. Romans 1\. So, clearly, God has to do a work in a person's heart and mind in order for the person to ever see God's existence is true and good.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Now, does that mean that any efforts at apologetics, when it relates to creation and all that, is of no value? No.  
  
Justin Perdue: We want to clear up misunderstanding.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. I just think we need to be very careful that we don't use Genesis in a way it was not intended to be used. If you think that God wrote that so that we could prove to the evolutionists they're wrong, evolution didn't come around until many, many, many years later.  
  
Justin Perdue: Let's talk about Genesis and what it's about. What is Genesis about? Short answer: Genesis is about redemption. Because that's what the whole Bible is about. It is also more specifically about redemption accomplished through God the Son who took on flesh, and that is in view all throughout the book of Genesis.  
  
Let's begin with the account of creation in Genesis 1:1 and following. Is Jesus in Genesis? Is God the Son in Genesis, even Genesis 1? Absolutely. He is. We should not read Genesis one without thinking of some other passages of Scripture. So when we read in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God..." our mind should immediately go to John 1\. "In the beginning," the exact same construction, "was the Word," who is the divine Word, God the Son, "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." So in that sense, God the Son is the beginning of all things in terms of this world, and he is the agent of creation through whom the whole thing is made.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I would say that we need to, I would say as the Reformers do, but I would argue as the apostles do, they use the New Testament in order to interpret and explain the Old Testament. This is a great example of that.  
  
Justin Perdue: A couple of other texts just for our encouragement: Colossians 1:16 about Jesus. "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Did the readers of Genesis, when Moses wrote the Pentateuch, fully understand that?  
  
Justin Perdue: Of course not. Did Moses understand it fully?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Probably not.  
  
Justin Perdue: This is an epic thought: the writer of the Hebrews, at the beginning of his letter, he says that God has spoken to us at various times in various ways through the prophets, etc. "But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. . . through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Think about that thought, that the one through whom all things were made is the very one who takes on flesh to go and live in that world, suffer in that world, bleed in that world, and die in that world in order to save sinners. I think it's legit that we see that from the opening tip of Scripture. Genesis 1:1—there it is. "In the beginning, God...." We have God the Son present, and we need to think about God the Son and his redemptive work that he would do, connecting it to these other passages in the Bible.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I would say there are two ways in which Genesis has been read, but they come to the same conclusions. When the children of Israel would hear the law read over them constantly and they would memorize it, they would write it upon the tables of their heart—all of the commands that we have given to us and Deuteronomy—they would hear it as the same way: it is the history of redemption. The reason is that in Exodus, they just entered into a covenant with a God they really don't know much about. And Moses says, "Here's the God you just entered into covenant with. He is the creator. He's also the one who made the promise to restore that which was broken."  
  
So Moses, through the inspiration of the Spirit, is explaining how they got from creation to Egypt, and explaining the faithfulness of God along the way. I will say that the most important part of the story of Genesis is the fall, because the question then becomes, one, we know that there is sin because everyone experiences it. Moses just explains how it got here. And then the greatest part about Genesis is that you have the Creator of the universe, and now you're going to have the restoration by the Creator.  
  
Justin Perdue: He's the Restorer of the universe.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In the mind of the reader, the question has to be, "Who is the seed of Eve?" Because when he shows up, then all will be made right. That's the question the reader has.  
  
Justin Perdue: And we're going to get to that promise in just a minute. But I think you're right. I think it's important for people to see that the work of redemption is effectively the work of re-creation. That's what God is about. We're just going to pepper some stuff in here from the early chapters of Genesis. Even in verses three through five where God creates light, I think this is significant. And I think it preaches a sermon about Christ. Because there is light in the universe now, and light only comes from God—without God, there's darkness—but there's light that exists without the sun being created yet. And people sometimes lose their minds and wig out. How is there light without the sun? Have you read the book of Revelation? Have you read Revelation 21 where we're told that the Heavenly City has no need of sun or moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and its lamp is the Lamb.  
  
Jesus, also according to John's gospel, in him, in the Word was life, and that life was the light of men, the true light that enlightens everyone who is coming into the world. So Christ is described that way. He's going to literally be the light of the new heavens and the new earth. So we ought to see that in the early chapters of Genesis: there's light that exists apart from the sun. It's preaching Christ to us.  
  
Last thing, if you'll allow me from the creation account early there. The seventh day, the Sabbath day; it's a very unique day because all the other six days have this common refrain of "there was evening," "there was morning," "the first, second, third, etc. day." The seventh day doesn't have that refrain. Many Christians through history have understood that to be a pointer to Christ because that seventh day is awaiting its fulfillment, and that seventh day of our Sabbath rest finds its yes and amen in Christ. In particular, it's fulfilled when Jesus would lay in a tomb outside Jerusalem. 1500 years after Moses wrote these words, he's going to lay in a tomb outside Jerusalem on the seventh day of the week because his work is done. Redemption is over. Sin is atoned for. Righteousness fulfilled. And he's going to get up from the dead on the next day to usher us into the new creation. And then the writer to the Hebrews picks up on that and tells us that we have entered into God's Sabbath rest when we cease from our working, like God rested from His. And we know that Christ is the fulfillment of that rest that we are promised forever, but it's already ours in Him.  
  
Genesis 1 and the early verses of Genesis two—we should read these in light of Christ and what God is going to do through him if we're going to read Genesis like Christians.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Genesis is a Christian book, just to be clear. The Old Testament is a Christian book. I mentioned there are two ways to read it: first of all, it's treated as an Israelite who understands that God is the one redeeming them and they're looking forward to the seed of Eve, and then it comes through the seed of Abraham, and so we gain clarity. You have the promise and then you have the narrative of humanity about how they just constantly prove they are in desperate need of restoration, or I would say rescuing. You get to the flood and God says no one is righteous, and so He abolishes the world. And then just like anybody would ever think, if we could start all over and just get rid of all the bad people, God proved that won't work. Because the problem is not with the current people on the earth; the problem is that it's in the heart or in the seed of man—it's passed down.  
  
Justin Perdue: If we're going to talk about Adam and Noah, Noah is a type of Adam. God wipes humanity off the face of the earth because He sees that the inclinations of man's heart is only evil continually in Genesis 6\. After the flood, God has hit the reset button but the problem with Noah is that he's too much like Adam. Basically, sin remains. We even see one of Noah's sons is cursed, like God cursed humanity, the snake, and the whole creation in the garden. Just hitting the reset button and wiping people off the earth is not going to fix this. There's something more fundamentally at issue here.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The second way it's read, as modern day Christians, is that we have the whole Canon now, and we allow the New Testament interpretation of the book of Genesis to be the filter by which we then go back and read and say with full confidence that Genesis is the introduction of Jesus to us, not only of the Father, but Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the world. And not only that, but the Spirit that moved upon the water. So we allow the New Testament to be read now as redemptive as well, but we read it as seeing that it's the fulfillment of Jesus and how we get Jesus to this point. I think, as an Israelite or as a modern day Christian, we both read Genesis from a redemptive historical understanding of Scripture because it's how we get Jesus.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's a great observation. You have the Trinity in the first two verses of Genesis 1, because you have the Father, and then the Son is the agent of creation, and the Spirit hovering over the face of the deep. That's a pretty cool thought, too.  
  
Going back to the garden and thinking about Adam and Eve, covenants and promises, and the like... Jon, let's not bury the lead here. We are convinced, and we're going to talk about this in Semper Reformanda in detail, that it is impossible to rightly understand Genesis apart from a covenantal framework—and that's a big deal. More on that over in Semper Reformanda. We're going to talk a little bit about some of this stuff right now. So God makes Adam and Eve in His own image, and then God makes a covenant with Adam where He gives him things that he is to do, and He gives him prohibitions—one prohibition in particular that there's a particular tree that he's not to eat of, and He gives a sanction: "If you break this covenant that I've made with you, then in the day that you break it, you'll surely die." Adam, in that sense, is serving as the representative of the entire human race. And when he falls into sin, he plunges all of humanity and all of the creation into sin and ruin along with him.  
  
How do we know this is true? We could go a number of places, but we can go to the book of Romans where Paul connects all of these things for us, and we see that through one man's disobedience, all of this wreckage and ruin has come upon us. But then through the obedience of the new Adam, the second Adam—Christ—that many will be made righteous. And so we can connect Adam and Christ that way, and see that God intended that if Adam had obeyed and had been righteous, that all would have been well with humanity. But because he fell and we fell in him, there now has to be another one who can represent us before God and actually accomplish all of the terms of the covenant that God made with Adam. He is perfectly obedient, he is sinless, he is completely righteous, and then his work is counted to us and he represents us for all of those who are united to him in faith. I don't think it's overstating it to say that that promise that God makes to Adam and Eve in the aftermath of the fall, that there will come a seed of the woman who will step on, who will crush the serpent's head—that is the proto-euangelion, the first promise of the gospel, as it's often referred to—that is the promise we would say of the covenant of grace.  
  
The rest of the entire Bible—it's a big book, and Genesis 3:15 is only a few pages in—the rest of the entire Bible is the unfolding and the accomplishment of that promise.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Yes, creation is a big part of it. But I would say I agree with Justin: the covenant of works, and I would call it the first Adam and the last Adam, or he's also described as the second Adam in that Christ is the fulfillment where Adam failed. And you have Paul mentioning this language and using this language that Jesus is the second Adam. In many ways, that's what you're waiting for. You're waiting for the federal head, meaning the representative of humanity. Federal head is a language that I was introduced to by Reformed theology, and a lot of people struggle with the concept of a federal head, but federal means representative. Because Adam sinned, we are all sinners. We inherited his sin. He is the representative of humanity. If you reject that theology, it's kind of dangerous because that's the very thing that Paul says: in Adam all died because he is the original human and his disobedience is now passed on to us. But it also says in Christ, all are made alive.  
  
So, you want federal headship because if you don't have it, then Christ can't be your representative for righteousness. This doctrine is introduced in the very beginning, in the very first book, and it really becomes the theme. Because you see the federal head and the representative of the effects of it in Genesis 3:16 and following, and all of a sudden, you see the curses that come forward, you see the fallout, and then you also see the promise of the federal head of Christ, the second Adam, which is in the seed. And you see the story of the two seeds, which we would argue is the two covenants—covenant of grace versus covenant of works—Christ being the promise of the covenant of grace. If you want to know what we mean by that, we did a whole five-part series on the covenant of grace or covenant theology. It'll be in the show notes. So go down there and find that it's free. Go listen to it. There's a whole handout. We encourage you to do so.  
  
The reason why we mentioned this is that it helps you understand and really flow the narrative, where you're not trying to find one evidence to prove somebody wrong about history. Number two, you're not trying to find moral application. Can you find moral application in these texts? Sure. Don't be like Adam and Eve and disobey God. But you're missing what's really happening and the superstar of the story, which is God using Jesus to redeem sinners. That's the superstory, and there are these stories under that.  
  
I will say this: in the dispensational-evidentialist world, it seems like the superstar of the story, which should be Christ, is put down as a subset and everything else becomes a priority, whether it's the evidence of creation or moralism, the "be like" whoever...  
  
Justin Perdue: I would argue that it's not just in the evidentialist-dispensational world. I agree completely with what you assessed about that world, but I think in other streams within evangelicalism, there are still things that are inappropriate, like there's an off-centered emphasis. For example, even in thinking about Genesis 2 and the covenant God makes with Adam, I think people are happy in a general sense, to say that Adam represents us and that in his fall he represents us. But there's not always that obvious connection made with how everything that was lost in Adam and then some is going to be gained for us in Christ. We miss that connection or we emphasize things that are secondary application as though they're the main takeaway. In Genesis 3 and the account of the fall, how many times have you heard sermons where the emphasis is Adam and Eve doubting God's word? And that's the problem. Or Adam didn't lead Eve like he should have, and that's the emphasis.  
  
I'm not saying that all of that is illegitimate to say at all, but the point of that text is the fall of humanity into sin because our first covenant head and federal head fell and failed in the covenant that God had made with him. And there was a promise immediately upon sin entering the world, and immediately upon us in Adam blowing it—there's the promise of grace, there's the promise of Christ in the gospel. And God went, "I've got this. I'm going to save a people. You guys, because you have such a thing as freedom of choice, right in the garden, you have blown this. But I'm a Redeemer and I always have been, and I'm good. And there's one who's coming." that needs to be what we preach from Genesis 3\. And then as we make our way through the rest of the book, we're tracing those two lines of the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.  
  
And the question that you often will ask, Jon, that I think is a really good one: as we're reading the rest of the Bible, we're thinking who that promised seed is. When is he coming? That's what we're finding out as it unfolds through farther steps in Revelation, unfolds through the rest of the Old Testament, where we are primed and ready by the time the angels announce to Mary and to Joseph that there's one coming who's going to be named Jesus, because he's going to save his people from their sins. Thank God he's coming. He's here.  
  
I think that we do people a tremendous disservice when we do not emphasize the redemptive plan of God accomplished through Christ, that has always been the plan not just from Genesis 1, but from before the world began.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I would even say what is great when you start having a Christocentric understanding or a redemptive-historical understanding of Scripture, you begin to see the connection. There's a flow. There's a cohesiveness to the text. One of the things I love about the grace that's in the New Testament is absolutely seen in the Old Testament. Here's a great example: God comes into the garden and says, "Hey, Adam! Where are you?" As if God does not know. It's like, "Hey, buddy. I know you're hiding. I know what you just did." It's like you caught the kid with the hand in the cookie jar, but it's far worse than that. You caught them with a bloody knife and he just murdered. What does God do when He promises the seed? What requirement did He put on Adam and Eve?  
  
Justin Perdue: Nothing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Nothing. He did one thing: He separated himself from their presence and then said, "Oh, and by the way, not have anything to do with you, but through my providence and my promises, I will then restore your presence back to me." That's grace, right? To receive unmerited favor. And it was seen right in the beginning. God not only promises Jesus, but promises Jesus with no strings attached. That's good news.  
  
Justin Perdue: I could talk about this for a long time, but we got to get over to Semper Reformanda. I'll make a couple of brief comments about something you just raised.  
  
What we've done today, I hope, with Genesis is maybe begin to show people how they can and should read their entire Old Testament. Because I do think a lot of people approach the Old Testament in a number of ways that are bad. We've touched on several. One, for many people, the Old Testament is just like a wasteland: it's hard, it's full of law and threats. There is maybe an occasional oasis because there's a prophecy about the Messiah or some promise of grace or comfort or restoration. But generally speaking, the Old Testament is just hard. We ought not see it that way if we're looking at it through this Christocentric, redemptive-historical lens. You already talked about our tendency to moralize the Old Testament, where we follow around these Old Testament saints and figure out how to be like them. That's not a good way to approach the Old Testament.  
  
Lastly, I think people tend to approach the Old Testament, and this is probably especially true in a dispensationalist framework with an almost completely law-centered mentality. What are you doing with that? You're mining through every text to find the things that we need to be doing or the things that we need to not do, and that becomes the point of the message.  
  
Here's the issue: none of that squares with how Jesus understood the Scriptures and none of that squares with how the apostles understood the Scriptures. And remember that for Jesus and the apostles, the Scriptures were the Old Testament. That was their Bible at that time. They understand that whole thing, the Old Testament, to be a testimony about Christ. And so we should certainly understand the book of Genesis that way. And I think we've tried to do that this morning as we've recorded.  
  
So we're about to make our way over to Semper Reformanda, which is a podcast for those who have partnered with Theocast and have joined the Reformation, as we like to say, to see this message and this theology spread as far and wide as possible. Because Jesus really is enough for us to have peace with God now and forever, and we want as many people to know that rest and that peace is possible. If you don't even know what Semper Reformanda is, you could find out more information about it and the ways that you could partner with our ministry over at our website, the URL for that is wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. We encourage you to go check out everything we got over there on the site, including how to become a member of Semper Reformanda.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And a big part of the membership is online and local groups where you can get together and discuss the podcast each week. So don't miss out on that.  
  
Justin Perdue: Not only are you partnering with us, but we're trying to create a community where you can love on each other and encourage each other and sharpen each other. So if that sounds good to you, go check it out.  
  
We will talk with many of you over there on SR. I think that's the lingo we're using these days.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And what are we talking about?  
  
Justin Perdue: How a covenantal framework is essential to our understanding of Genesis, and in a lot of ways the Bible, but especially Genesis.  
  
All right. We'll see you over there guys.

---

### Self + Righteousness = Rubbish

*Published: May 12, 2021 | Author: Jon Moffitt*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/self-righteousness-rubbish*
*Tags: self righteousness*

Let's be real, self-righteousness is a problem in the church. When we are self-righteous, it is very dangerous for others--and it is detrimental for ourselves. Jon and Justin talk about the blindness of self-righteousness, the harm that comes from it, and, of course, the sufficiency of Christ.  
  
Semper Reformanda Podcast: Jon and Justin speak to people who are in the "cage stage" of coming out of pietism. In short, calm down, trust Christ, love others, and pursue obedience. The guys also consider the posture we want to have in engaging others. In all of this, it's important to remember that it is the law--not the gospel--that is a hammer.  
  
Scripture:  
John 19:31  
Philippians 3:1-11  
Luke 18:9-14  
Matthew 7:1-5  
Romans 2:1-3  
  
Book Recommendation: ["The Whole Christ" by Sinclair Ferguson](https://amzn.to/3o6LmaQ)  
  
https://youtu.be/8pD30Ja3R3w  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, we are going to be discussing self-righteousness. Let's be real: it has really been affecting the church and those around the church. This is a problem that goes all the way back to Philippians 3 when Paul talks about his own self-righteousness. We hope it's a helpful conversation. Justin and I are both encouraged by it, and we hope you are, too. Stay tuned.  
  
There's so many angles to this, but today we're talking about all the different negative dangers, weaponization of self-righteousness. It is a tricky topic because self-righteousness is not this glaring rock that's written in the middle of the road that everybody can see that they need to drive around. Often, self-righteousness is that big pothole we don't see and we fall right into it—and the damage can be quite significant.  
  
Justin Perdue: I might even say it's the black ice of the Christian life: you don't see it, you hit it, and it derails the train.  
  
I might go and lead with this, Jon, and then I want you to continue setting up the topic: I think that self-righteousness is the billboard sin of the church that we need to always have in the crosshairs. We've talked about before how it seems that in many church contexts today, or in evangelicalism today, nominalism is in the crosshairs. In my opinion, biblically, self-righteousness is in the crosshairs within the minds of the apostles because they are trying to blow up any notion of Jesus-plus theology. And we're gonna talk about the posture of Christ here in a minute, in terms of his mission on earth and who he often was seeking to unsettle.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the goals that we have here at Theocast is to always be taking the Bible—Scripture—and the themes of the Bible and make them, I would say, more practical in our everyday conversations.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or at least relatable.  
  
Jon Moffitt: So as I preach and as Justin preaches, we often get together on Wednesday morning and we talk about what we preached about this last week, and the excitement about the text, and what we learned, and some of the nuances of the texts—and that definitely is what happened today—but we have been trying to explain throughout our time on Theocast the nuance of what Christ and, we think, the New Testament, and I'll just say all of Scripture points out glaringly. (1) self-righteousness exists in everyone; (2) is danger; (3) the effects of what it causes upon us.  
  
I'm currently in John 19, and so I'll just use this as an example, kind of a springboard. In John 19,. Jesus has officially declared it is finished. In verse 31, John at multiple times will, I think—through the power of the Spirit and God's wisdom—point out the irony of the self-righteous Pharisees and the Jews of how they are going to crucify an innocent man and yet be sure not to defile themselves. A couple of examples of this is Jesus says it is finished, and as soon as it's done—It says that in verse 31—the Jews go to Pilate and ask him to take the men off of the cross. According to Deuteronomy, anytime a criminal was put or hung on a tree, they were not to be left there after sundown because it would defile the land. So they didn't want to go into the Passover defiling the land. It also says in John 18 that they didn't want to go into Pilate's courthouse because they too would defile themselves by going in there so that they would not be able to partake in Passover.  
  
John mentioned this. They're taking a man whom Pilate says is not guilty and yet they crucify him anyways. They want to make sure that they don't go into his courthouse. They want to make sure that they take them down off the cross so they are righteous enough to receive Passover. And yet they miss the irony that they killed the actual embodiment of righteousness. So the self-righteousness of the Pharisees ends up murdering the actual righteousness of those who were standing before him. And I love how scripture points out, how (1) I think blinding, and (2) dangerous self-righteous can be.  
  
Another example of this is the apostle Paul himself even explains how he, himself, as a Pharisee was blinded by his own self-righteousness and even was persecuting and killing Christians. And he himself could not see it until, of course, the Holy Spirit had to come and confront him on the road to Damascus. These are just two examples. You have the log in your eye, splinter—there are so many examples. James is another example of this. That's what we're going to be talking about today.  
  
Justin Perdue: A little more Bible backfill. I think the illustration of the apostle Paul is really good where he was convinced at one point in his life that his zeal for God was being expressed in an appropriate way by persecuting the church. And so he would have seen that as a good thing—and even a meritorious thing—that he was so zealous for God that he was persecuting these blasphemers known as Christians.  
  
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount—Matthew 7:1 and following—is where he says, "Don't judge others, lest you be judged yourselves." and the point of that passage is that you will be held. He goes on to say in verse two that the standard that you use to judge others is the same standard that will be used against you. He's pointing out the blindness of people: you have this log in your eye and you presume then to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. What's the point of all that? The point of all that is you have this standard that you use to judge other people with and you yourself have not even met that standard, and thereby condemn yourself. This is the language of Paul in Romans 2; he says the exact same thing. You can't even meet your own standard, and then he takes it further, and it was basically let alone God's standard. So when you have your own standard that you can't meet that you judge others with, how much more so have you not met God's standard? And it's the doers of the law who will be righteous and justified, not those who just hear it only.  
  
I think what I'm struck by, in terms of the blindness piece, is like you were illustrating with the Jews around the time of Passover and the crucifixion of Christ. They are so consumed with adhering to the letter of the law as they understood it that they completely miss the point of the law wholesale. And they are so blinded by their zeal to abide by even this hedge that they have placed around the law—to do the right things and to avoid doing the wrong things—that they have missed the entire message of God from the beginning, which was a plan of redemption, the plan to redeem God's people through the Messiah in terms of how He would do that.  
  
It's wild how we are blinded by misplaced zeal to keep commandments or to avoid doing things that are against the commandments and miss the point of the entire thing. Your confidence is completely misplaced because what you're doing is, in some way, shape, or form, in varying degrees, admittedly, but still to some extent you are placing confidence in what you are doing and you think that it's appropriate to do that—and it leads to all kinds of problems. You become incredibly dangerous to other Christians and you will ultimately ruin yourself, which we'll get to later.  
  
Let's talk a little bit about just the danger of self-righteousness maybe and how it ends up being a situation where we cut other people to pieces—and there's blindness in doing that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. We weaponize it is what we do. There's a great book by a professor by the name of Dru Johnson, and it's called _Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments_. It's an interesting book because it does deal with the psychology of humanity, of how we have certain habits and rituals that we create and we don't even realize how we are programmed to do things. For instance, there was a study done that when you step into an elevator and to close the elevator door, most of the time, those buttons are a placebo. They actually aren't even connected. People keep hitting it until it actually closes. We have a lot of habits and rituals we do this with.  
  
From the beginning, I'm going to say, I believe in religion, habits, and rituals—the Scripture, true religion, points us to Christ. Christians are called to create good habits. We have rituals that we participate in every Sunday.  
  
Justin Perdue: Two things on that. One, we believe in corporate worship. We're instructed to do it in Scripture, but in terms of a discipline of our religion, for example, is to show up to church on Sunday and worship with the saints. But what is corporate worship about if it's done rightly? It's about Christ—and we're being pointed to him. The sacraments, like you said, you want to talk about rituals. The Lord has sanctified two of them and has connected them to Himself, but again, those rightly understood and administered are about what? They're about Christ, and they're about our union with Christ. I think that's an important distinction to make. We are not against ritual. We are not against habits. We are not against religion. We're actually in favor of all of them. And true religion is about Jesus Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. You can look at the apostle Paul or the Pharisees throughout all of the accounts of Christ, but specifically in John 19, since this is where I was, they were considering themselves to be right in the eyes of God, even upholding justice for God because how dare this man claim to be God? So they're going to crucify him for that. They missed the sign for the substance so they embraced the sign, which is the ritual of cleanliness for the sake of Passover. They missed that for the actual sign. The Lamb.  
  
Justin Perdue: They're wigging out about the sign itself and the 17 different ways that it needs to be observed that they miss what the sign was about in the first place, who was standing quite literally right in front of them.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And they would make accusations to Christ that he's a drunkard, he's a sinner, he hangs out with sinners, he spends time with them.  
  
Justin Perdue: "If he were a prophet, he wouldn't have anything to do with this woman because he would know that she's a prostitute."  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. So they look at their own obedience to their rituals, which some of them were right, a lot of them were added upon. Christ was being accused of breaking the law for healing on the Sabbath, which is not something that was instituted by God, by his Father.  
  
The point of all of this is that these are examples. As you move into the New Testament, you can see where this attitude is not just of those of the Pharisees before Christ on the cross, but it ends up transitioning even into 1 Corinthians. There's a whole chapter on love where we are projecting how righteous we are and yet we aren't doing things out of love. And Paul says if anything is not done out of love, it's of no use, and these were projecting the righteousness of those who look, look how spiritual and because of whatever gifts that they have. And I would even dare say James is a great example of this, where they were creating a caste system of righteousness: those who had wealth were considered more righteous and are shown favoritism, versus those who were over lower status. When I mean weaponizing is that we end up using our own capacities to do habits and rituals to say, "Because I do these, God is more favorable of me." Or, "I am clearly more righteous, and so I am going to look down upon, or even use my own words to cut those who aren't living up to the same level which I am capable of doing."  
  
Justin Perdue: Totally. And the absurdity of that self-righteous posture, where you bludgeon other people with your own righteousness effectively because you are convinced that you have the high ground. You're looking down on other people who are not as disciplined or not as holy as you perceive yourself to be. And then yeah, your posture toward them is a number of things: maybe condescending, exacting, threatening. It's certainly not gentle. It's certainly not humble. It's certainly not gracious. But the absurdity of all that is that you, in trusting to some degree in your own righteousness, you are exactly the kind of person that Christ would have set himself over and against during his ministry on earth.  
  
Now don't misunderstand me. All of us are self-righteous in ways that we don't see and Christ died for our self-righteousness. He saves us from our own foolishness and trusting ourselves more than we should. None of us ever completely are devoid of any sense of self-righteousness so don't misunderstand what I'm saying.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I give an illustration for that, Justin? The moment you see some kind of heinous crime on the news and you're appalled by it; not by the crime, but almost a comparison of, "I can't believe..." That is self-righteousness at that moment. You have to understand when Paul says, "If it's not by God's grace, I am that person." When you see real grace and mercy, and you understand your standing before God as only merciful and full of grace, that's where you can see the heart of it.  
  
Justin and I are highly appalled by sin. There's a difference being appalled by the sin and casting judgment upon the sinner.  
  
Justin Perdue: Just to finish my thought. This is the stupidity of self-righteousness: we tend to trust in what we're doing or not doing, and we tend to be like the Pharisee in Luke 18, who is trusting even in his own God-wrought righteousness. He acknowledges that God has done it. "Thank you that I'm not like other men." So we can't just say, "Oh, well, you know, it's God's grace in my life." As though that just solves the problem. The issue is you do not trust in yourself in any way. Even if it's the work of the Holy Spirit in you—that sounds scandalous to say—even if God has made you more righteous in terms of your life than you once were, that is not what you trust in as the ground of your standing before the Lord. You trust in Christ only. That's the point of Luke 18; the one who is trusting in his own God-wrought righteousness is not justified, but the one who knows that he's a sinner and is desperate for the mercy of God is justified. And so the stupidity and the craziness of self-righteousness is that whenever we prop ourselves up and trust in things that we're doing, and trust in our own righteousness, we are acting like the people that Jesus set himself against in his earthly ministry. Because what did Jesus do over and over and over again?  
  
You already mentioned that the Jews crucified Jesus because he was a blasphemer. I think one of the other reasons, it becomes very clear in the gospels, that they want to kill him is that they hate him because he constantly explodes their own notions of their righteousness—and he makes it very clear because they're trusting in these things. This is what they understand righteous living to be, and Christ constantly sets the grenade on the table and pulls the pin. And it's like, "We got to get rid of this guy because he can't keep saying these things." You gave the illustration of the Sabbath where they would constantly try to trap him; he heals a man on the Sabbath and it's breaking the law because of the hedge they had put around the Sabbath day. He looks at them and he basically says, "Which one of you, if you even had an animal that was caught in a trap, wouldn't go get it?" Of course this is permissible. How insane is this in many different ways?  
  
Last thing I'll say about this: it's very clear when you read the gospels and you observe the posture of Christ with different groups of people that whenever he is dealing with people who are aware of their sin and know that they're not righteous, he is gentle, tender, and compassionate, and he forgives their sins. Whenever he deals with people who are trusting in themselves that they're righteous, or think they can achieve righteousness, he crushes them with the law. And he sets himself against that kind of thinking. And so the craziness of self-righteousness is that it is the exact opposite of what Christ came to exhort us to. He came to exhort us to come to the end of yourself. You don't have what it takes and you need him. This was the message that he periled it over and over again, and what he demonstrates in his posture over and over again.  
  
Jon Moffitt: A good friend of mine, pastor, and planter Patrick Crandall—he's going to be planting a church here in about a month. We were talking about this at lunch and he said to me, "We would rather have the credit than the gift." That's what self-righteousness produces. We want the credit before the eyes of man than we do the gift before our Father. That's how insane it is. We want to prove we are worthy of it. Think of it this way: when the prodigal came home, what did the Father not let him do? He would not let him have any credit at all.  
  
Justin Perdue: Exactly. Because the prodigal son is convinced that he's going to come back as a slave.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Here's how the conversation goes in my mind: he comes up and he embraces him, and the son starts talking. The father goes, "Hold one minute. Hey, get the fatted calf!" Then he turns back to the son and says, "Okay. What was that, son?" And he just starts talking again, "Father, I didn't know...." And the father interrupts again and says, "Hold on one second. And the robe!" "Okay, well, dad, I wanted to be a..." "And the ring!"  
  
Justin Perdue: Same way, brother. I agree. In the text you can feel it too. The prodigal son already got the pitch prepared, and he's probably rehearsing it over and over again as he's making his way home. And then what does he do? He sees his dad, his dad runs to him, and the first thing the son says is, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son." And before he can even get to the whole business about serving his father as a slave... "I'm going to somehow make it up to you, dad. You don't even have to treat me as a son anymore." The father, like you're saying, interrupts him: "Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put rings on his hands and shoes on his feet. Kill the fattened calf. Let's have a party because my son is found. We think in terms of merit.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Here's what's hard: in his conscience, it'd be easier for the son if the father would have allowed him to work it off. It's harder for the sinner to accept full forgiveness, and that's what's so hard about that story. We want to show God we mean business and God goes, "No, there's nothing left. There is no such thing as penance. You do not pay me back. You do not earn it. You do not establish it. Forgiveness is a gift and it always is a gift." And that's really hard for a self-righteous person to accept.  
  
Justin Perdue: The fact that absolution—being absolved of our guilt and being forgiven of our sins—is something that makes people very uncomfortable. When we start heralding on the basis of Scripture, when we start heralding that you're forgiven and you are absolved, people immediately rise up. And I'm talking about people who love God. People rise up and immediately get very concerned. " Brother, you might need to qualify that because you're being a little reckless with, you know, forgiveness and absolution here." Biblically, no, because in Christ Jesus, we are forgiven and we are absolved and it's done. And like you said, it's a gift. There's nothing that we can contribute to that equation.  
  
Lest you think that we're overstating it, I think my last line of defense in this whole conversation about self-righteousness and putting no confidence in the flesh is Philippians 3, where the apostle Paul is over-the-top clear... Paul really does come in from the top turnbuckle—and I mean elbow drop—on any notion of our own merit and righteousness in Philippians 3:1-11, where he talks about how we are the circumcision who put no confidence in the flesh, Philippians 3:3, and then goes on to unpack what he means. And he talks about how if there was anybody who has reason to put confidence in the flesh, he has more reasons to be confident—and he lists seven things about his former life to illustrate the fact that he was a rockstar. Even amongst people like the Pharisees, who were really good at doing the right stuff, he was elite and was crushing it in terms of a life of holiness. And then what's scandalous about Philippians 3 is how Paul then goes on to say that all of the things that he had, he counts them as loss. And then he's going to go on to say, "But anything that I had that was gained, I counted as loss. And anything that I had, I consider it rubbish." He's not there renouncing the bad things about himself. He's not renouncing his possessions either like some kind of easier, good life. It's very clear that he is renouncing his virtue and he's renouncing his own righteousness—and he says that. "I do not want it to have a righteousness of my own, but what I want and need is the righteousness of Christ that is received by faith." It's an incredible text.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And this really transitions to the second part. I think there are two types of self-righteousness. There are those who weaponize it: they become so confident in their ability to perform certain actions or not to perform certain sins that they can quickly stand up on the stage and point their finger out at everyone and basically judge them. Then there's the quiet self-righteous person who I think is a lot more introspective. They're more concerned about themselves than they are other people. They're too afraid to look out to others. They are those who have a super tender conscience where they're always examining the house that they have built, that they live in, and they're wondering if the waves are going to crash it down—to even use Jesus' illustration where they built it on sand. And Paul looks back at the house he built that was murdered by the sand. He looks at it and he goes, "This entire structure, which is better than anybody's structure that's ever been built in the history of man, is smashed. It is of no value."  
  
You have to understand when Justin and I are talking about this, we are talking about it in relation to your standing before God as His child, either as justified or condemned as unrighteous or righteous. This is what we're talking about. We cannot collapse sanctification, the process by which God is changing us, and our justification, that which we are declared right in the eyes of God. People often hear what we're saying and they're saying we are deemphasizing the necessity for obedience in the Christian's life—and we are saying, yes, if it's in relation to your standing before God, which is what Paul is talking about. I would even say in John 19, Jesus is always dealing with people saying, "Come to me, not to the law. Come to me, not your own works." And we refuse to do that as it relates to our right standing before the Father.  
  
Justin Perdue: Two comments: first is self-righteousness is foolish and it is dangerous because it will destroy you in terms of your standing before the Lord, because you cannot stand on your own merit to any degree. I had a conversation with somebody about this recently: you're never going to have perfect faith, you're never going to have a moment where there's just not even a hint of self-righteousness in your mind, but the question for all of us to answer is, "Am I trusting in Christ or something else?" At the heart of it, at the root of the matter, just answer that question. Am I banking on Jesus or my own record? And for the saints, it's very clear in our lives that we're banking on Christ and he's got us and he's provided righteousness for us. So self-righteousness is dangerous for you because it will destroy you and it's a sinking sand foundation, but then it's also dangerous because you tend to bludgeon other people to death. If you are confident in your own righteousness, you then are very exacting, condescending, and threatening oftentimes toward your brothers and sisters in the faith, and you end up harming them rather than pulling them up and doing them good. So that's one thought.  
  
The other thought is related to what you just said about the whole accusations that are sometimes thrown at us about how we are, in one sense, deemphasizing the importance of pursuing righteousness and even putting in effort in the Christian life—to which I would say is absurd. We are not saying that we don't try in the Christian life; what we are telling people to do is to stop trying to save yourself, stop trying to do stuff so that you'll be justified, stop trying to do stuff so that you are going to prove yourself or keep yourself in good standing before the Lord. Don't try to do stuff like that. Trust Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That is Philippians 3.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. Trust Christ for that and trust Jesus only for that. And then knowing that Christ has you, and that he's your righteousness and your peace before God now and forever, try. By all means, we try to love each other, encourage each other, and even flee from sin and pursue obedience.  
  
Maybe this is setting up a little bit of something, Jon, that I know we want to talk about over in the Semper Reformanda podcast. We can talk there very pointedly to those who are part of Semper Reformanda about this: it's not good when you encounter these categories of pietism—this hyper-introspective focus on your affections and obedience and performance, and you start to learn that there's something else out there that is a confessional perspective that's objective and it's about Christ. One of the things that people can do in the early stages of that transition is you begin to overreact, you swing on the pendulum way too far to the other side, and any talk of obedience is now legalism. Don't do that. That's foolish and unhelpful. We'll talk about that more in a little bit.  
  
Jon Moffitt: For the last few minutes, Justin, one thing I think would be helpful in understanding these two categories: one, if we're not careful, self-righteousness turns into a weapon against others.  
  
Justin Perdue: Hurts other people.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Self-righteousness can create a false sense of security because you feel safe until your life comes crumbling down, which it will. When you finally see the weight of the law and that law just murders your house, boom, it's done. And you realize that your entire system that you created, where you feel safe in, is no longer safe.  
  
According to both the Westminster and the London Baptist Confession on the Providence of God, 5.5...  
  
Justin Perdue: What a great paragraph.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He says that often God allows believers to fall under long periods of not only sin, but sustained sin, to further show them their need of dependence upon Him to humble them. And that's what happens to those who build houses of self-righteousness. You will see God collapse those because it is not helpful or beneficial for you to be trusting in your own righteousness.  
  
For the last few minutes, this is a question that I think you and I have received and have been receiving for years: is God displeased with our disobedience?  
  
Justin Perdue: Can I please jump in very quickly on the thing that you just said? I want to encourage those out there who battle a self-righteous posture and you're even semi-aware of it. Take heart in what Jon was just referencing. For us, for our confession, it's the 1689 London Baptist Confession, chapter five, paragraph five: because you're His, and because He loves you, God's going to crush yourself righteousness one way or the other—and often that's painful. Because that is a piece of our sanctification and growth, to have our self-righteousness taken from us so that we will trust all the more in Christ only, and we will be humbled, and we will see our need of God. God only does that because He loves us and because we're His; it's not because He's angry and it's not because we're not His. Don't wig about that and trust the Lord. He's going to do His good work in your life, including taking your self-righteousness and rending that from your hands, which needs to happen.  
  
Your question: is God displeased with us?  
  
Jon Moffitt: We're probably only going to be able to answer for a couple of minutes, but I want to set it up. Just quickly we can answer it here, and we'll have to answer it in the next podcast fully.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm just going to go ahead and do something that's a little bit more of an indirect answer to your question that I hope will expose what we're trying to get at. To even ask that question, "Is God displeased with me when I don't...?" You're then assuming that there must have been, at least some point in your life, where God would look at your performance and based upon that alone would be pleased. And that's precarious.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What does God require? Biblically speaking, God requires perfection. We grade on a curve. You and I, we do this to each other: you and I have never treated each other perfectly, but we understand that our nature is sinful, and so we give each other grace.  
  
Justin Perdue: We grade on a curve or we introduce things into the text that isn't in the text. For example, we say, "Well, you need to be willing to do this." Excuse me. It's not what it says.  
  
Jon Moffitt: No. So to answer your question of whether God is ever displeased with you, then my answer would be if we're talking about your performance, then yes; every moment of every day, He is utterly displeased with you.  
  
But what does Paul say? We are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. So our sin is covered by his blood and our obedience is clothed with his righteousness. So, no, when the Father looks at me as His child, my performance does not cause our Father to lean one direction or the other. We just did a podcast on this on the impassibility of God.  
  
Justin Perdue: And also, we are united to Christ and we are quite literally hidden in him. When the Father looks upon us, He sees the merit and righteousness and holiness of His Son. And when it comes to our own performance, it never could be meritorious in God's sight. That's a crazy notion.  
  
The last thing I'll say about this is people may raise Ephesians 4 where we're told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. I know we've mentioned this a few times lately and we'll mention it again because we need to understand what that's about, and that is a passage that's about the unity of the church, and tearing other people to pieces with our words and thereby destroying the unity of the church that the Holy Spirit himself has given it. And so that needs to be understood in a corporate way, that the Holy Spirit is grieved when the church is divided rather than being unified around Christ. That's a corporate reality and that is serious. Basically, the takeaway from that is to be unified in the church around the Lord Jesus Christ and love each other.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And I will add to that, Justin. To your argument, if you read Ephesians 4:4 and following, one spirit, one body...  
  
Justin Perdue: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. God always accepts your obedience on the merits of Christ. You've never loved God, and you've never loved your neighbor with all your heart. So let's just get that out of the way. No one is accepted by their own merits; it's always the merits of Christ. Now, we're going to get into this in Semper Reformanda, but I will say it here to get us started. Your good works absolutely matter—not to your standing before God, but they matter to the mission that God has given to the church and you as an individual. This is why 2 Peter 1 says if you aren't showing godliness, kindness, forbearance, and meekness, you're ineffective. It says you're ineffective, meaning that you're not using the gifts that have been given to you. He says, when you're not doing this, you forgot that you've been cleansed. Paul says it this way: "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called."  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. He's already talked about our union with Christ and our identity that we have in him, and he also says put off the old man and put on the new man. That's the same exhortation. Remember who you are, remember what Christ has done, and live in a way commensurate with the gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. So your obedience, as fallible as it may be, is still necessary—and God, in His graciousness and kindness, uses it to advance His kingdom.  
  
Justin Perdue: And He's the one who produces it in the first place.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. He who began a good work in you will complete it.  
  
Justin Perdue: Walk in the good works that God has already prepared beforehand for us to walk in.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is He who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  
  
So these are all things that we're going to talk about in Semper Reformanda. This is brand new. We just launched it. Justin is exploding. We're excited. So just for those of you that are new to the podcast, we started a brand new podcast called Semper Reformanda. For those of you that don't know what that means, it's Latin for "always reforming". We're excited about taking the Reformation forward throughout the world. We have members and listeners that are all over. We have several hundred people who have joined us, and we are now doing a special podcast for them to which they can also then gather in local communities and align to discuss this and further learn and be encouraged by these truths.  
  
If you want to learn more about that, if you want to hear the podcast, and you want to join a local online group, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com to learn more about that. We will see you all next week.

---

### Experiencing God

*Published: May 5, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/experiencing-god*
*Tags: Experiencing God*

A lot of times when we look at our lives, we question the grace of God. Maybe that's because of how we're doing, spiritually. Or it could be because our circumstances are hard. We wrestle with whether God really is graciously inclined toward us. What is the antidote to this? It is to look to Christ. He is the evidence of God's grace toward us.

Semper Reformanda: Jon and Justin talk about the goodness and the sweetness of confessional theology--as well as the confusion and harm that exists outside of it.

Resources:  
1689 LBC (especially 2.1, 5.5)

Scripture:  
Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:4-7  
Romans 5:1-11  
Hebrews 10:1-14, 12:1-2  
Genesis 1-3

Giveaway: ["Christianity and Liberalism"](https://amzn.to/3h0q3q3) by J. Gresham Machen

SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)

FACEBOOK: Theocast: [https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org ](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)

TWITTER: Theocast: [https://twitter.com/theocast\_org ](https://twitter.com/theocast%5Forg)

INSTAGRAM: Theocast: https://www.instagram.com/theocast\_org/

https://youtu.be/3tiAZ1M8w-c

**Podcast Transcript**

Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are going to talk about one of the ways that we tend to struggle as Christians. We look around at our lives, whether that's how we're doing spiritually, where we look around at our lives circumstantially, and we question whether or not God really is graciously inclined toward us because at times, we just do not see a lot of evidence of the grace of God. And the antidote to what ails us is to actually not look at our lives as the evidence of God's grace for us, but to look at Christ's life as the evidence of God's graciousness toward us as His people.

So that's the conversation that we're going to be having today. We're going to look at the confessions and we're going to consider the Scriptures as we think about how God loves us, and how He feels about us as His people. Stay tuned.

In looking around at people in my own church, and thinking about my own life—and Jon, I know you agree because we were talking before we recorded this—I think a lot of people, and by that, I mean a lot of Christians, really wrestle with God's posture toward them. Particularly, I think people really questioned at times whether God is really graciously inclined toward them. What I mean is people look at their own lives and the transformation of their life, or sometimes a lack thereof, and question whether God has been gracious to them and is continuing to give them grace. And people look at their own circumstances, and their lives are hard, and they question again whether God is really gracious toward them. They understand that His mercies are new every morning, they realize that He has given them life, He has provided for their needs, and He doesn't have to do that. But when it comes to how they relate to Him, is He really graciously inclined towards them?

I don't want to bury the lead here. I think one of the reasons that we struggle so much with that question, and we're haunted so much by it, is because we have our gaze fixed in the wrong place when we try to look for God's grace in our lives. We're going to unpack this statement, but I would stake my ministry on this: that the evidence—the definite article—of God's grace toward us is not our lives, but it's Christ's life. And by that, I mean, it's not our lives in terms of the transformation of them.

Now, we agree with the confessions and the presentation of Scripture that we can be encouraged as we look to the transformation of our life and the fruit of our salvation; we can have our assurance bolstered by those things, and thank God for the times when that occurs in our lives. At the same time, that encouragement that we receive from looking at the transformation of our life is going to ebb and flow. Alongside that, if we look to the circumstances of our lives to see the grace of God, sometimes it's going to be obvious to us. "Man, God was so gracious to me in this situation, or in this way, or in giving me this. He's been gracious to me." But there are going to be times—let's just be real—when we're going to look around and we're gonna think, "Man, my life is just hard and it's a disappointment to me. And I don't like this. And I really hate that. I feel like I'm just ground down to powder right now. I really don't know that God is being all that gracious to me. God, where is your grace in my circumstances?" We don't see it so then we question and we struggle and we doubt and we wrestle.

Ultimately, what we want to do is fix our gaze back on the place that we can always see in an unchanging way the grace of God toward us, which is namely the life of Christ, his obedience for us, and then also his death for us as the evidence of God's grace toward us in our worst moment. On our worst day, we can look to Christ and know, yes, God is gracious toward me.

Jon Moffitt: That's right. Because we're emotional beings, our experience of the Christian life—for most Christians that I've met—is not consistent. It's not a flat line and it's also not a vertical line. It's not gradually slanted upward. If I were going to be as open as I can be on this podcast, my experience yesterday was I was underneath so much pressure and even discouragement. I ended up getting a migraine from it because of the pressure and the experience in my body, and stress in my own sin and the sins of those around me. As crazy as this sounds, I started even doubting the effectiveness of my church in the ministry and Theocast.

Because there's so much that's intertwined into a human being, and there's so much that's related to it—your fatigue, your diet, what your knowledge is, what your experiences are. Justin and I both know a lot of theology, and even at times, our emotional drain can overpower our knowledge of what we know to be true of God. We know this to be true of God, but the emotional experiences we're having at the moment can be so much more powerful than the actual knowledge we have in our hearts and minds.

Justin Perdue: Totally.

Jon Moffitt: So when we're thinking about God and the nature of God, and we separate the experience where we're feeling—my circumstances, my emotions, the spiritual nature, spiritual high or spiritual low... I've met people who are walking on water one day and who are drowning in the next. The up and down—both of us have experienced that. I will tell you when we get finished with a podcast on Wednesdays, often I feel like I'm walking on water because I've heard my brother exalt me into Christ. But when I am alone in the darkness of my sin in the closet, I feel like I'm drowning at the moment.

First of all, Justin and I want to acknowledge that it's real. Those of you who feel the emotional highs and lows, it's almost overwhelming at times. It's hard to get out of it because we don't understand two things: the nature of God and, believe it or not, systematic theology. Revivalism really introduced the downplay of the importance of theology and doctrine, and we would even say historical theology. There has been theological debates throughout the years, and even in the Reformed world, as it relates to the nature of God. For instance, does God have emotional experiences or feelings towards us? So your understanding of the nature of God in systematic theology—meaning that when we look at all of the Scripture, how does the Bible describe to us the very nature of God—can and will influence your experience of God.

There was a book you had referenced, Justin, written years ago by Henry Blackaby called _Experiencing God_. I remember reading it years ago when I was a youth pastor. We read it as a church when I was at a Baptist church in Utah. I remember reading some of that and thinking to myself that at times, God feels more fickle than we humans do. How do I know when he's angry with me? How do I know when he loves me? How can I know that for sure based upon the mood swings that I have? Does God have mood swings? One day, is He mad at me and the next day, is He happy with me? How do I know this to be true?

Justin Perdue: Let me read from the 1689 London Baptist Confession. This is chapter two on God and the Holy Trinity, the first part of paragraph one. And just remember, for the listener out there who may not be as familiar with the confessions and even confessional theology, all the confessions are is an exercise in systematic theology where the framers of the confessions are taking everything that the Bible says about a particular topic and trying to write that down in a succinct way, and in a way that's clear.

So this is chapter two, paragraph one of the 1689 London Baptist Confession—and the Westminster confession would read almost identical to this: "The Lord our God is one, the only living and true God. He is self-existent and infinite in being and perfection. His essence cannot be understood by anyone but him. He is a perfectly pure spirit. He is invisible and has no body, parts, or changeable emotions." that piece, in particular, is what we're highlighting today. The fact that God's emotions- He is an emotional being, He has emotions, but His emotions and passions... Let me just make a distinction with those things: God is emotional, and He has emotions and feelings about stuff, but He is not ruled by passions like we are. He is not controlled by His emotions in ways that we are, and His emotions do not just vacillate all over the place like ours do.

I think one of the things that is a real hang-up for us in this whole conversation that we're having, in how we think about God and how He then feels about us, is when we really question God's posture toward us. Is He gracious? Does He love me? Is He merciful? Is He really benevolent and kind toward me? Or does that change? What we do a lot of times—let me use a big word to explain it—is we anthropomorphize God. What that word means is we talk about God and speak about God in human terms, to the extent that we think He is altogether like us, which the Lord says about Himself in the Psalms that He is not. Like you thought He was altogether like you. Numbers 23: God is not like a man that He would change His mind.

We tend to think that God is like us in how He operates emotionally. While God is emotional, His emotions do not function like ours; they don't vacillate and ebb and flow by the moment and by the hour. His emotional nature toward us, in the way that He feels toward us and His posture toward us, is unchanging; in particular, it's unchanging in His eternal purposes that He has for us in His Son.

Jon Moffitt: That's really good. Now I know there are people who are saying, "Well, it says that God changed His mind and He repented." We're not going to get into that other than to say this is why systematic theology and historical theology is so important. Because when we look at all of what Scripture has to say, you can't look at one verse and isolate it; that's called biblicism. You isolate a passage and just translate or interpret it not in light of the context, but also to all of Scripture. We have to look at how God describes His nature, how He does not change and that His nature does not change, and then read those passages in light of that verse. What we walk away with is that God is working in time, and He is working with humans in time, and to explain what He's accomplishing and why it's being accomplished.

These words that Moses wrote down, in particular when it talks about God repenting or changing His mind about Israel, you have to understand the nature of that story in light of all of Scripture.

This is why this is important: you don't want the emotional God that can swing based upon circumstance. Our emotions are all influenced by circumstance.

Justin Perdue: Completely are.

Jon Moffitt: Right. So when things are going well naturally, our emotions are high. When things are going bad, our emotions are low. That is natural due to human nature. That's how we function. Now, there are people who have chemical imbalances and there can be the exception where someone's flat-lined or always happy or always angry. Of course, there's always the exception. The point of it is to understand that the nature of God doesn't function like the nature of man.

Let me read to you Bavinck from his _Reformed Dogmatics_. He says, "Those who predicate any change whatsoever of God, whether with respect to His essence, knowledge, or will, diminish all His attributes. Then later on, we talk about his independence, simplicity, omniscience, omnipotence—any of that, it says, "This robs God of His divine nature and religion of its foundation and assured comfort." So the problem, when it comes to us thinking that God vacillates back and forth between whether He's happy with us or whether He's angry with us... Let me put it in a more practical sense: God's mercy can be more or less given to us based upon how He's feeling at the moment. What the Bible tells us is that God's feelings do not vacillate. They do not go up and down. Therefore, His mercy is constant. The way that the Psalmist describes it is its new every morning, which means it cannot be depleted, it cannot be changed, and it is ever sufficient. So God's affection and feelings, if you want to say He has feelings, but God's relationship to you cannot change because His nature cannot change. So if He has covenanted, if He has promised endless mercy that covers all sin, no matter what you do or you don't do—and I know that sounds scary to say because people will live however they want—listen, true regenerate sinners who have the Spirit living within them hate their sin. They don't want their sin. So I can say with full confidence that all the sin that remains, that you still struggle with—and what I mean by remain is that our nature still fights against the flesh, Galatians 5:17—God's mercy does not change because His nature does not change. Therefore His promises are sure because they are not based upon our actions, but they are based upon Christ's actions, which are complete, stamped in history, and recorded in the Bible for us.

Justin Perdue: And Christ for us never changes because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The witness of the Scriptures from beginning to end is that God is purposeful and that He always accomplishes every single purpose that He has. He's very clear about His purposes for those of us whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world, those of us whom He has predestined for adoption as His children through Christ. He is always for us, and is working for our salvation and has accomplished it.

I'm going to read a little bit from Ephesians 2 that I think highlights what we're talking about really well in terms of the nature of God and what He's like, and what that means for us. So this is Ephesians 2:4 and following. So many will know that Ephesians 2:1-3 is where Paul describes our situation before, like what we were naturally, that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, that we were following the course of the world, that we were enslaved to Satan, and that we were enslaved to our desires and passions, and were by nature children of wrath. But then these words: "But God, being rich in mercy..." That phrase is huge. God is rich in mercy. This is who our Lord is: He is a merciful God, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us," so there we again have His love for us, "even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." So in those verses, we've got mercy, we've got love, we've got grace, we've got kindness of God toward us.

What we have to say is God does not have to work Himself up and convince Himself to be merciful to us, or to love us, or to be kind, or to be gracious. This is who He is. He is the fountain that is just so full that He overflows with these things toward His own. I think what we have to realize is that the Lord saves us completely by His grace through the work of Christ, not our works, and we are unworthy. We are unworthy of salvation and of being with the Lord forever in a redeemed heaven and a redeemed earth. But it is not as though God will hold that over our heads for all of eternity, because that's not how He is. He will delight to show us kindness and He will delight to show us grace forever in Christ.

It's a mind blowing thought, Jon, that we will struggle—as long as we're breathing—to obey and to honor God with our lives, even though we want to, because we're weak. We will often be way more mindful of our failures than we will anything that we've done that is faithful. Our salvation, as we know, is all of Christ and none of us, and then God will look to us at the end of history and He will say, "Well done. Enter into my joy forever." And if that doesn't describe to us His nature... how gracious, how merciful, how kind, how patient, how rich and deep is His love—and this is how He is toward us always.

Jon Moffitt: Romans 5:8, I think, is important for us to understand. It says, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." So the initial action towards us is not a reaction to us. In Ephesians, when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, He made the action towards us. He made us alive.

Let's put this back towards the impassibility of God. God's emotions do not change. God's nature does not change. God did not look at us, as some would say, look down the quarter of time or saw in due time that we would choose Him, but the exact opposite. Paul makes it clear both in Ephesians and in Romans that God's actions towards us are proactive; they're not reactive, meaning they are according to His nature. So according to the nature of God, we as sinners, He chose to give us mercy, He chose to love us. We often fall in love with our spouses or with friends because of the reciprocated acts that we received from each other. I am receiving something from you and therefore I'm giving it back. I'm attracted to this relationship in some way. There are very few relationships that are unconditional; parents contend to have love for their children unconditionally because of the natural bond that's there. But outside of that, there is no such thing as an unconditional relationship. But God is the one who says there was no condition that drew Him to us other than He chose to. That is important to think about because if God set His love upon you, proved His love, as Christ said, by Jesus laying down his life for his sheep, the ones to whom the Father chose to love, the ones whom the Father chose to redeem, if God has chosen to put His affection upon you, your obedience or lack thereof will not vacillate. God's affection, nor his mercy, nor his blessings towards you...

It's really hard for us to hear, but the reason why Justin and I have to do this podcast is that when we do not have this foundation, then when your emotions, your body, and your flesh start yelling at you that God is not happy with you, these truths need to be the foundation. This is why often I encourage people to read the confessions, and read the Scripture that goes along with the confession, because it grounds us in the nature of who God is. This is why the confessions exist: they are there to remind us of what the nature of God is and what the nature of man is. And we're going to get into this a little bit more in our Semper Reformanda podcast.

Justin, when you said earlier, "I stake my ministry on this," we will say that the only reason I can stand on Sunday mornings with utter confidence, without fear, without trembling, knowing that what I am saying should be heard, is because God's Word has said He is a God that does not change, He is a God that sets affection on sinners. How do I know I'm one of those sinners that God has set His affection on? Well, it's very clear according to Scripture, that if you have faith in that God, and in that message of God's gospel, and you believe that, and you love God, then you can say, "God loves me."

We love God. Why?

Justin Perdue: Because He first loved us.

Jon Moffitt: Amen, brother.

Justin Perdue: Turning this back in a pastoral direction; we're a couple of pastors here around the microphone, and we want to speak in pastoral ways, even on this podcast. Even though unless you're a member of one of our respective churches, we're not formally your pastor. We hope to encourage you in Christ, in the love of God for you as you look around at your life and you assess things and how things are going. There are going to be plenty of times, by God's grace, where you look to your life and you see that your life is changing, and that you're not who you used to be, and you're not like you used to be, and there's been real growth and real maturation. In those times, friends, be encouraged. Praise the Lord. Thank Him for what He's done in you by the work of His Spirit.

And then there are going to be times when you're going to look at your life and how it's going, and you are not going to see a bunch of anything that would encourage you, because you're going to be very aware of your battle against sin, and the ways that you've given in, and the things that you're fighting against—and you seem to be losing often. There are going to be times where you're going to look at your circumstances and you're going to be thankful and full of gratitude and joy. You're going to be really aware of God's kindness to you. "Lord, I don't deserve this and yet You've given me this really good thing." Or, "I really didn't think this was going to turn out and it turned out super well. I never would have planned this for myself, and God, You've ordained these circumstances and it's been so clearly good for me. Thank you." In those moments, friends, thank the Lord and praise Him for His obvious grace in your life. But then there are going to be times where you're going to look at your circumstances and you are thinking, "I'm living here between rage and tears. I want to tear my house apart because I'm so frustrated. I just want to bawl my eyes out because everything is falling apart around me and my life is hard. I just don't see any hope anywhere." You're gonna have days like that. So my encouragement to you in those really hard times, when you don't see a lot of fruit in your life, and you're not encouraged by how things are going in your walk with Christ, or when you look around at your circumstances and you really see nothing good, remember this: at the end of the day, your life and your circumstances are not the primary evidence of God's grace to you; it is Christ and Christ's life for you that is the evidence of God's grace to you. Quite literally, Christ is the grace of God for us. God loves us so much in this way: God loved the world that He sent His only Son to live and to die, so that anyone who believes in him would not perish but have eternal life. And we are so secure in what God has done for us, and in the love of God for us, that Christ would literally have to be ripped out of heaven and put back in the grave for us to not be secure, for us to not be loved, for God's grace to not be all over us. Obviously, that's impossible because Christ reigns. He's enough—he's enough for forgiveness, absolution, sanctification, righteousness, and redemption. We look to Christ and we see visibly the grace of God toward us, even when our lives are falling apart.

Jon Moffitt: Just to add some passages that we can think about that grounds us in that: 2 Peter—we've mentioned this over and over again, but if you, looking at the evidence of your life, and you aren't seeing the fruit of the Spirit, and you're beginning to wonder, "What's wrong with me? Maybe I'm not a Christian." Peter says, if these are not true of you and increasing, you have forgotten that you have been cleansed from your former sins. What is he pointing you to? Objective realities. He points you to something that is outside of yourself. You didn't cleanse yourself, you didn't save yourself, you didn't die on the cross, and you didn't even put Jesus blood on you; God put Jesus blood on you. God gifted you with regeneration. God baptized you. You look to your baptism; you look to the reality that as you went under the water and were cleansed. So did Christ blood cover you.

I would also point you to 1 Corinthians when Paul is dealing with people who are trapped in their sins and disobedient, he says, "I don't want to make nothing known among you except for Christ and him crucified. I want to recenter you because you have forgotten where you have come from." Or even Hebrews 12, where it says, "Looking unto Jesus," what are we doing? Setting aside in the weight and the sin that easily besets us. And how are we doing that? Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher, the one who starts it and the one who ends it.

This is why a gospel, Christocentric theology, especially a church that emphasizes it, is so important. Yes, we should be obeying and pursuing holiness, but when that vacillates, God's affection, God's security, God's promises do not waiver because we can look at these types of passages and say that according to His nature, He has made His decision. His decision is final. It's so final that the Son sat down and said it is finished. There's nothing left to do. "I have completed the work, now trust that I will finish what I have begun. And while you wait, there is work for you to do." This is what the Christian life should feel like.

And Justin, this is why you and I say that taking communion, confessing our sins, and hearing the gospel every week is mandatory. Otherwise, Christians will become anemic and they will become emotional wrecks.

Justin Perdue: Totally. We need to be reminded all the time of several things that you just mentioned. The book of Hebrews, chapter 10, you referenced how Christ, after making a once and for all sacrifice, he sat down at the right hand of God. Two verses after that statement, the writer of Hebrews says, "Having perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." We need to be reminded of that reality, and we need to be reminded of that reality every week; there is more grace in Christ than there is sin in us. If we're not reminded of those realities, we're going to be despairing regularly and we're going to be discouraged.

And we need to be reminded that one of the reasons that we still sin, in the providence of God, is that God is continuing to teach us through our struggle. He's not trying to cause us to doubt. He's not trying to cause us to question everything in terms of His grace and love and mercy to us, He's actually working to teach us how dependent we are and how much we need Him and how much we need Christ. The fact that I still sin keeps me from ever thinking that I could do this thing. Should I be encouraged by my sin? Of course not. But my sin ought to drive me all the more to Jesus, who is my righteousness, my forgiveness, and my absolution, and thereby I have love and gratitude cultivated in my heart toward God who has saved a wretch like me. But we've gotta be reminded of that every week because we don't think that way. We, as Christians, when we sin, it bothers us because we've been united to Christ. And so now we're actually grieved at the thought of offending him.

My natural response when I sin is to think I have blown it and Christ is disappointed—does God love me as much? Part of what happens on the Lord's Day is to be reminded that, like you said earlier, God's love and grace and mercy are proactive; it's not reactive. This is who God is for me; this is who Christ is for me, and I need to be reminded of those things that I will struggle and I will be weak and I'm going to blow it sometimes. Even there, Christ for me is God's grace, and the evidence of God's grace for me. But I'm not often going to draw those conclusions on my own. I need help from the saints, from my pastors, and I need to come to the Table and cast myself upon Christ.

Jon Moffitt: I want to make one other point and I'll give you a chance to comment on it. Justin and I are very passionate about theology, and we will say specifically here, when it comes to this conversation, we're passionate about covenant theology, and not just what we call biblical covenant but the actual system of covenant theology. Here is why. When you understand the flow of Scripture, a redemptive-historical understanding of Scripture, this very nature of God is seen. The whole theology of the redemptive nature of a redemptive-historical theology is grounded in the nature of God. We learned in Ephesians that the Trinity comes together and the Father makes a covenant with the Son, the _pactum_, and they make what's known as the _pactum salutis_. They make this promise as a covenant between the two of them, that they are going to save sinners according to their will, not according to our will, but according to His will.

Then you read the Bible in this way and you start in Genesis 3:15, where you have the fall of man and the initial promise of God. And there's two things that happen here—we talk about law-gospel and we mix them all the time—this is what happens in the Old Testament, too; you mix the law and the gospel. God gives a law from then to obey, and if you obey it, he promises blessings. But God's gospel is not connected to God's law. They are separate. God's gospel, the promise of a covenant that He made with the Son—the covenant of grace; this promise that He is going to save sinners—is never dependent upon the law. The promise is always dependent upon God's nature and His nature cannot change. It's not going to change.

Justin Perdue: In eternity past, the Godhead, but more pointedly, the Father and the Son make a covenant called the covenant of redemption where God's people will be saved on the basis of the works of the Son—in particular, his fulfillment of righteousness and then his suffering, and the shedding of his blood for our redemption and for the forgiveness of our sins. Immediately, if we want to see the nature of God, read the first three chapters of the Bible. Genesis is foundational in a number of ways, and one of the ways it's foundational is it shows us so much of how redemption is going to go. Because, yes, God does make a covenant with Adam and Eve, particularly with Adam in Genesis 2 where He tells him what he is to do and what he is not to do, and promises blessings and gives sanctions he breaks it. Well, it's broken—so no longer can man be right with God on the basis of his work. That's done. It's over once original sin happens.

But then immediately upon man's sin, what does God do? He promises a Redeemer. So clearly it's not based upon us. It's not based upon what we deserve or what we can achieve. It's based upon God's promise of grace and His promise in particular of the Redeemer, the Son who takes on flesh, namely Jesus, who will come and accomplish our salvation—and it is given to us through the covenant of grace. It's a remarkable thing.

Even in those first three chapters of the Bible, we see so much about the nature of God and the nature of our salvation thereby. And it's the nature of God that determines the nature of salvation. I trust that's clear, and maybe that's heady, but it makes sense in my mind that because God is this way, He's merciful, He's gracious, and He's a covenant maker and a covenant keeper, and he's uber faithful. This is how we're going to be saved—by His mercy, His grace, and His faithfulness, not our work, our merits, or our faithfulness.

Jon Moffitt: That's right. Let me just say one thing: we did an entire five-part series on this. You can go to YouTube or our website and you can get that for free. We'd encourage you to do that.

The reason I want to add this to what Justin just said is that the story of the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament is—you can get confused—God shows that by the law, you cannot please Him. And you can see His anger, you can see His wrath, and you can see His displeasure; He says this to Israel. But that is not the relationship we have to God as Father and as a covenant keeping God. God's affection towards us when it comes to our adoption is sealed. And that's why it's important to understand law-gospel distinction, understanding the covenant of works, and covenant of grace in this flow of redemption. If you want to know more about that, go to our website. Check it out.

Justin, tell us about what we did or what we're about to do next.

Justin Perdue: We are excited to be able to record another podcast because why record one when you can record two? Amen? We are about to record our Semper Reformanda podcast, which is for people who have partnered with Theocast and partner with our ministry to see this message of the sufficiency of Christ and the rest that is ours in him spread as far and wide as possible. We're about to go have that conversation with our friends, with our team, with our family who have joined the Reformation along with us. If you are wondering what Semper Reformanda is, or if you want more information about how you can partner with Theocast, you can find all of that information at our recently revamped website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. I trust it's going to be user-friendly and intuitive because that's what we spent money to build that thing for, and you can find the information that you want there. Please consider becoming a partner with Theocast and joining Semper Reformanda, joining the Reformation. Not only will you be a part of this other conversation weekly, there are other things that will come to you as a result of being a part of that ministry.

Jon Moffitt: I'll just add real quick that we are starting a network, so you'll be able to meet with local people in your town and discuss this podcast.

Justin Perdue: Or have virtual meetings to do it. You'll be able to talk with other Christians who are wrestling with the same stuff and are seeing the same things and are having similar experiences to you. If that sounds encouraging to you, join Semper Reformanda. Again, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. You'll find that information.

We're about to go over there and have a conversation. We'll talk to many of you over there. And then we'll talk with everyone again, we trust, next week.

---

### The Insufficiency of Christ

*Published: April 28, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-insufficiency-of-christ*
*Tags: Jesus Plus Theology*

"Jesus-plus" theology has always been popular. People add things to the gospel and to Jesus in order to legitimize their Christian lives. Is Jesus really enough for us? Not just for our salvation, but for our Christian lives? Aren't there other things we need to be concerned for? Jon and Justin consider this and more.  
  
Semper Reformanda: They guys begin by giving give more information about our plans for Semper Reformanda. And then, Jon and Justin talk about the woke church. Is the woke church preaching a different gospel? The guys also talk about marriage, complementarianism, and other things Christians tend to get worked up over.  
  
**Resources:**   
  
["Ordinary" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3vqqb65%20Is%20the)  
  
[Is the Woke Church Movement a False Gospel? | ask Theocast ](https://youtu.be/%5Fm7TGpups4c)  
  
FREE Ebook: Theocast.org/primer  
  
SUPPORT Theocast: https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/  
  
FACEBOOK: Theocast: https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org  
  
TWITTER: Theocast: https://twitter.com/theocast\_org  
  
INSTAGRAM: Theocast: https://www.instagram.com/theocast\_org/  
  
https://youtu.be/9hfilZI1Mp0  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. I'm here with Justin in Knoxville, Tennessee. We're actually together. Today is an important subject on the insufficiency of Jesus. We have a pretty lively conversation about, I would say, why people have to grasp onto something other than Christ when it talks about their legitimacy and their relationship to God.  
  
And then we've started a brand new membership. We have a brand new ministry called Semper Reformanda. We'll talk about that a little bit later in the podcast. Stay tuned.  
  
Justin Perdue: So the title of the episode, because you've already seen it, is _The Insufficiency of Christ_. And we were aiming to be provocative with that title and hope that many will give this episode a listen. So we've had a number of conversations in our time together today here in Knoxville, Tennessee, working on a lot of stuff. But in between our work, we're talking theology, and we're talking about the Christian life, and we're talking the church, and all these kinds of things. We say this humbly; we hope that this comes across very clearly: we don't mean to come across as though we have this all figured out or that we don't struggle and sometimes be distracted by other things ourselves. And we certainly don't want to come across condescending, so we pray we don't. But it is very clear to us that for many people in the church, Jesus and the gospel actually are not enough for their Christian life. There always has to be something else for people to feel right about their Christian faith, about their Christian life. And so this could take any number of forms.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We can use different words, too: right, safe, excited.  
  
Justin Perdue: They need to be validated. They need to feel legit about their Christian life and their Christian faith. And it seems that for many people, for that to happen, Jesus and the gospel are not enough. There has to be additional things thrown on top of it in order for me to feel right, to feel validated, and to feel legit about my life as a Christian. And so that's what we're going to talk about today.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want to go back. There are really two goals that I have when we're doing this podcast and we're having this conversation. One, this episode is for the person who's probably brand new. Someone recommended this to you. You're being introduced to Theocast, Reformed theology, or maybe the concept of resting in Christ for the first time from a confessional Reformed perspective. I also want to talk to the person who's been listening to us for a while. Because what happens is that when you get out of the boat and get into the water, and you've been swimming in the water for a while, you forget what it's like to be out of the water. You forget that the weightlessness that we feel in the water is we love to be here, and we don't remember the dredge and the fear that exists within Christianity.  
  
We get to a point where we look at those who are adding things to Jesus. We get angry with them. We get upset with them. We can even start arguing with them, which I see happening in the Facebook group, things are sent to me all the time. So I think when you can see where someone's coming from and why it is that they feel the need to add something to the sufficiency of Jesus, saying that he's insufficient, then it's helpful to obey Paul when he says be gentle, kind, patient, forbearing, long-suffering, because you're understanding the perspective they're coming from. So the point of this is to demonstrate the danger of looking at Jesus as insufficient. And also for those of us who are coaching and bringing people this direction—or I would say coaching is a bad word—but really loving people as they're making this transition to rest in Christ, looking at it from their perspective.  
  
Justin Perdue: Helping people see ways that they are prone to add things on to the gospel too, cause we all are. And to help people maybe even make some sense of what they see going on broadly on Christian Twitter. And we could do a podcast one day called Christian Twitter. I don't know. That would be a discouraging conversation.  
  
Hopefully, this is some diagnostic stuff, some discerning type stuff, and clarifying stuff. And then we're gonna end up talking about Christ and the gospel. In as much as it depends on us, that's what we want to keep doing, is just preaching Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. So what does the insufficiency of Jesus look like? What does it sound like?  
  
Justin Perdue: It depends on the scenario, but basically what we're trying to get at is a situation where in the church, or just amongst Christian friends, or it may be your Christian community, whatever those communities might look like. There's this posture where we all agree on the gospel; amen to Jesus, he is our Savior, we never move on from the gospel, we've got the gospel, we believe the gospel, we need the gospel. All of that is agreed on. But then, functionally, nobody feels validated, nobody feels legitimate, nobody feels appropriately challenged even if there's not all this other stuff then added to Christ and his sufficiency and what he has done for us. And then the exhortations that accompany that live under that, live in that; love each other, right?  
  
Let's maybe start with something that came up here with our group as we were just beginning to move toward recording this. A lot of people, when they think about preaching, when they sit and listen to sermons—you and I've gotten this critique from people who have visited our respective churches, I think, where they'll say, "Oh my gosh, the preaching of Christ and the gospel was incredible. But where's the application?" Or "When, pastor, are you going to tell me stuff that I need to be doing? Because that's what I really need to hear. I got the gospel. I know the gospel. I know that Christ is my righteousness, but tell me what I need to do." That's one way that this creeps in, and this is very common.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I know you and I both love to do this: we're going to bring out the criticism, but we don't just want to criticize bad thinking or bad theology. I want to go behind the thinking behind it, because then that helps someone walk this direction.  
  
I understand when someone says, "Justin, I love everything you're saying, but when I leave here," and it comes from a good heart, "you aren't giving me things that I can do for the Father. You weren't encouraging me to be a better husband," or a better wife, or a better father, "you're not giving me exhortations to actually then obey the very commands and Scripture that we see." That's the heart behind it.  
  
Justin Perdue: Just a brief interjection here. I'm preaching Ephesians right now. I'm preaching the last sermon in that book on Sunday. I think if you ask any person who's attended our church through the course of this sermon series, there has been plenty of exhortation to love each other, to love one another in your marriage, to love your children, to think about how you speak with one another, to flee from sin, etc. All of that's there. It's in the text, right? But your point is still made that week in and week out, what do you and I aim to emphasize unashamedly as the primary takeaway? Jesus. Christ for you. The sufficiency of Christ—how he is enough, and when we say enough, we don't mean something sentimental. We mean that he is enough for your salvation, he's enough for you to have peace and rest and to be safe.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He's enough for everything: your salvation, your sanctification, and your glorification. Because what people misunderstand in what we're saying—and those who don't go to our church, or maybe don't listen to Theocast long enough, and this is the criticism of the Reformed world, those who are Christ-centered. What they think we're doing is we're only preaching sermons that are about the work of Christ or the nature of Christ and that's it. And that is not what we're doing because I believe that Genesis three 15 absolutely is about the sufficiency of Christ, and every book after is about the sufficiency of Christ. Because if God does not fulfill His promises in his covenants, which was first promised to us at the very beginning of the event, post-fall to Eve saying that from her will come the one who is going to make all things right. So the sufficiency of Christ is seen through Genesis 3:15 all the way through the end. So it doesn't matter where you're preaching. If you're new to this, when we talk about our focus being the sufficiency of Christ, we are not saying we only preach Christocentric passages  
  
Justin Perdue: Or that we only preach justification. Because, you're right, 1 Corinthians 1:30-31, Christ has become to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And so we do understand that our union with Christ handles everything; not just our justification, being declared righteous and reconciled to God, but also our sanctification, and it secures our glorification as well.  
  
And so, yes, ultimately for us to preach Christ, we understand we are preaching the Christian life and we are preaching what makes the Christian life possible, we are preaching what makes sanctification a reality. And that's what we want to clarify. And we do as we exhort people from the Scriptures to love each other, to serve one another, and to consider others as more significant themselves, etc. We're doing that always under the banner of Christ in the gospel.  
  
Here's the thing: we do application, but we are always doing application in a way that is clearly connected to Christ and what he's done for us. That's our goal anyway. And we'll fail as preachers, but that's what we mean to do. And so even those things that might feel more practical, like boots-on-the-ground kind of takeaways, are all driven by Christ and what he's done for us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. So going back to this criticism, we understand the heart behind it now. It's a good desire. It's a good posture.  
  
Justin Perdue: I want to glorify and honor God.  
  
Jon Moffitt: But I will tell you that when I start sitting down with these—I have a congregation full of them and so do you, because we are constantly counseling them, shepherding them, and encouraging them—we have to peel back the layers of the why. So I never criticized the heart behind it. There is a genuine desire to do what is right. But I think the theology of why they want to do what's right is what's off.  
  
For instance, I'm going to go off of experience here. This is a comment that was made recently in the last year or so. Someone was thinking about my sermons. They were thinking about it in such a way where they said, "I understand what you're saying, but you don't ever give us application of things to do." He was in a context that was so different for him. I was giving them application every single week, but they didn't want to obey the application I was giving them because their ear was so trained to hear more of the application of confirming your salvation, this is how you sustain your salvation, or this is how you sanctify yourself, this is how you validate yourself. Jesus is great to get you into the team, into the family, but now here's your role, and the role is not in relationship to what we say is biblical Christianity—which we're going to get to into in a minute, but the role is in doing these things to validate you are truly a child of God. The entire list of obedience is about finding assurance of salvation.  
  
Justin Perdue: People are wanting application in a way that I think—again, good motivations, but I think misunderstands the real battle and, and the real challenge of the Christian life, which is to trust Christ. I would say all the time, the most difficult thing to do, and the thing that is most impossible for us to do on our own strength, is to simply trust Christ and only him. And so what we're doing is aiming to preach Christ in such a way where we help people see that to trust Christ, to rest in Christ, to be even fueled and motivated by that peace, rest, and that security, and the fact that your sanctification is certain. Now go love people: love your wife, love your kids, love your neighbor. Consider how you talk to each other because you need to build each other up. Forgive each other because God in Christ has forgiven you.  
  
But all of those things are driven ultimately by that preaching of Christ, rather than us up there simply telling people something that they need to be doing, like you're saying, in order to validate them. In all of these, we're aiming to use the law lawfully. We use it on the front end to crush sinners and bring them to Christ, to show them their sin and then offer them Christ.  
  
But then even in using the law as the guide, we use it in such a way where Christ now is driving that sanctification piece of your life. You're trusting him for that. The law is simply your guide in what that looks like.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's scary.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's frightening for people. It's disorienting.  
  
Jon Moffitt: When you have been trained your entire life, that the preaching of God's word, your time, the word books you listen to, books you read, podcasts you hear, are all designed to equip you for, I would say, a performance-based Christianity or a Jesus-plus Christianity. It's almost like we're hitching our wagon to Jesus by our own efforts.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. Or people will say, "I need to be equipped so that I can do the work of ministry, but I think there's a misunderstanding of what that even means. Because the work of ministry that we are equipped for is the building up of the body of Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's to each other; ministering to each other, not to yourself.  
  
It is very disorienting when you begin to hear sermons and theology and you're in a community, and the community is not focusing on what you're doing to assure yourself, focusing on what you're doing to progress in this concept of affirming that you're truly a child of God. It terrifies people.  
  
I will tell you this right now. The criticism we get is that if you're not careful—and they don't say it this way but this is how it comes across—if you're not careful in giving people rest in Christ, they're going to live however they want. They're going to take this freedom that they have, and this is what they hear.  
  
I have had people tell me over the years that they're afraid of not doing these things; for instance, not reading their Bible or literally, the words out of their mouth were, "I want to go to a church where the pastor is telling me I must read my Bible, I must do these things. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't do them."  
  
They are living under law and Jesus isn't sufficient enough for them to say, "I am good with the Father. I will be sanctified. I will be glorified. He who began a good work in me will complete it. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith." That is not enough for them because they have been so trained. It's almost like the Stockholm syndrome of Christianity. Like they need that slavery in order to feel safe.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's basically that response when Christ is being held out and he is being heralded as the point of everything. People deep down are wrestling with, "Okay, when are you going to give me the rest of it?" He is the whole thing. Now, there are stuff underneath we can talk about, but he is it; he is all we ultimately have to offer.  
  
I'm going to pivot us and maybe transition to another observation here that I think is related to this same concern. We don't need to like date this and timestamp it or anything, but if people have been looking at social media much at all in the last week, there's been a lot going on on Christian Twitter over various issues, particularly right now surrounding complementarianism and what that looks like—how men and women relate to one another in the church and the home and all that. It becomes very clear in times like now—and it's not just over complementarianism; you pick your secondary issue—when stuff like this happens, people come out of the woodwork it seems. Quite literally, Christians crucify each other on social media. And it seems that many people are almost addicted to controversy. And I'm not trying to sound punchy or jerkish in saying this, but it's like they don't know how to live the Christian life if there's not something to argue with, and there's not something to argue against. I need to always be defining myself by what I'm against. I need to always be polemical in the way that I think about Christianity. And I've always got to have an opponent in view, who I am trying to take down in order to feel legitimate and to be invigorated as a Christian. It's like to simply believe in the Lord Jesus, to simply rest in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to love my neighbor, to love the saints is not enough.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To be about the work of the local church.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. It's not enough because what I need to be doing is I need to speak the truth, I need to be a bulldog for truth, I need to stand on the wall and make sure that nobody is in error. And I think that part of what's going on for people like that is this issue that to rest in Christ and be about the business of the local church is not enough for me to feel legitimate and good about myself as a Christian, and so I need to be making sure that all these other people are orthodox and I've got to be fighting with people all the time. There's always an argument to win. There's always a battle to be waged.  
  
What I want to say is that as much as it depends on us, one, we're going to be over here preaching Christ and seeking to love our neighbor. But then, two, I want for people who are doing this and engaging in this... Secondary issues matter a lot; it's not that they don't, but they really matter in your own local church where you have a shared confessional standard and you are all submitting yourselves to the discipline and doctrine of that church and these pastors. We need to agree about these things, but then when it comes to other people out there, it's okay that there may be some disagreement and we want to keep the main thing the main thing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. I have two thoughts on that. Those people that are what I would call "watchdog junkies".  
  
Justin Perdue: They're orthodoxy police.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. All they do are watch YouTube video after YouTube video about how there are all of these theological errors. And don't get us wrong: Theocast has no problem with pointing out theological error.  
  
Justin Perdue: And we care about the doctrine.  
  
Jon Moffitt: But the goal is not to point out the error. We never want that. The tagline of our ministry is "Encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ". We're more designing or peeling back that which is weighing you down. Like Hebrews 12 says, setting aside the weight, and the sin that easily besets you. We're trying to help point out these weights that we put on us, pietism, and we want you to pull those off. But there's a difference when the end result is we want the person we are talking to to rest in Christ. When I hear these watchdog junkies or these orthodox police, they just want to shred these people.  
  
Justin Perdue: They want to mow people down in Jesus' name.  
  
Jon Moffitt: They throw the word "heresy" so fast and so quick that if you ever even wanted that person to listen to you, there's no way they would because you have so quickly mowed them down. These are the two things I was talking to Andrew about on the way up here. He asked me the question, "What does pietism produce?" It produces three things: it produces fear, it produces a lack of assurance, but it also produces self-righteousness. What happens in these watchdog, attack mode type of a thing—and you can see people are invigorated, they're excited, they're standing for the truth, they are protectors of the who are not going to compromise—but what it really does is create this unbearably stingy self-righteousness that I honestly can't stand.  
  
Justin Perdue: In some situations, Jon, it destroys unity around the gospel. It destroys the unity around Christ. And I agree with you—I think a lot of the identity in that kind of a situation, for people that are engaging in this, a lot of their identity is derived from this stand for truth. Like my stand for truth is validating me as a believer. I am dedicated. I am of the number who are sincere and zealous and committed. The line of thinking in that situation often, too, for people, is they say things and people get angry with them. And the takeaway for them always is, "Well, people are only getting mad at me because I'm speaking the truth." Again, it's this validation thing. "People are mad at me because I'm saying the truth and people hate the truth and they hate God." They might be mad at you because you're being a jerk and maybe you haven't considered that. But again, what we're trying to drive at here is where is your identity found? Where is your sufficiency found? It's not found in this stuff and how many people you mow down on Twitter; your identity and your sufficiency is always and only found in Jesus. And then what I pray we would all engage in is to maintain our doctrinal standards and our confessional heritage, but then look for unity in any place we can because we have Christ in common.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. When we talk about doctrinal standards, sometimes I think people hear me or Justin say that it is almost an either-or scenario. You were either gracious in unifying froo-froo. So it's all marshmallows and fluff and puff. There are people over here who are like, "Oh, we're going to drop the rock, bro. We don't care if you shatter. Truth is truth, and we're going to stand for truth." It's not either-or.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's truth and love. They actually go together.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The rock of our salvation, the God in the flesh, the living Word was surrounded by sinners, surrounded by sin. So there's no way God compromised His beliefs, His doctrine, His theology. He did not set them aside. He did not lower them. He did not excuse them. And yet the very nature of who God is drew sinners to Himself. So I have to take note of this and that even when Paul says speaking the truth in love, our significance, this rest that we find in Christ, doesn't cause us to be less excited about the truth. It causes us to be more excited about the truth.  
  
When I listen to these people, the goal is to be right. "We're right, and you're wrong." No, the goal is to love these people, and the way to love them is of course to give them the truth. And they'll even say, "Well, I am loving them by telling the truth." But it's telling the truth in love, though. The goal at the end of it, even though they may disagree with you and say, "Yeah, I hear your truth and I don't agree with it. I reject it," they should still feel loved.  
  
Justin Perdue: Honestly, I think that if we're going to offend people, we want to offend people with the preaching of Christ in the gospel. He is a stumbling block, and he is a cornerstone; those who fall and crash against him will be broken. That's true. But they'll be broken because they're trusting in something else other than him, they are proud and arrogant in their sin and don't see their need for Christ. We want to offend people with the preaching and the proclamation of Jesus and his sufficiency in the place of sinners, not alienate everybody over these secondary issues.  
  
Not that we shouldn't contend for truth. Amen, we should. Like you said, it's not either-or, it's both. We want to love people and be clear about what matters most, and then be charitable about the things certainly that we can disagree about. And then even in the ways that we engage conversations on secondary issues, let's be charitable and gracious and keep the main thing the main thing.  
  
The way that we aim to operate here at Theocast is intentional. There's a reason why we have Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, and all kinds listen to us because we aim to never divide over issues like that. Now it matters for our local churches how we understand baptism or covenant theology.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Don't confuse that we don't have doctrinal standards that we hold to.  
  
Justin Perdue: For our own local churches, those things matter very much. If you're gonna be a member of Covenant Baptist Church, or Grace Reformed Church, they matter tremendously. But when it comes to this and what we're doing here, and when it comes to Christianity broadly, like in America, for example, or Christian social media, our posture is to keep heralding Jesus. And we are going to be very charitable about things that we know we have disagreements with other brothers and sisters about. We're not going to beat those drums. We're going to beat the drum of Christ because he is ultimately the person who we all unify around because we all know we need him; he's our hope, he's our peace, he's our sanctification, he's our salvation. And so let's do that. Jesus is enough even to unite us, and then in our own local churches, let's absolutely hammer these things out.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. And I would even say there's nothing wrong. You and I have had wonderful conversations with our brothers in Christ that are Lutheran, who are Anglican, who are Presbyterian. And some of my dearest friends fit all of those categories—men that I love and I trust. So what ends up happening though, and I would say fundamentalism and pietism are great examples of this, where we blur the lines on primary and secondary issues. What is a secondary issue, and something that you and I should be able to disagree over but not necessarily separate over—we blend those two.  
  
Justin Perdue: Just be clear: the primary issue would be something you need to believe to be a Christian. Secondary issue would be—the way I would define it is you need to agree about this to be in the same church. But it's not a test of whether or not you're a Christian.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Primary is an orthodoxy issue.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's an issue of orthodoxy and heresy.  
  
Jon Moffitt: These are just for the listeners who may not understand that you're talking about the nature of Christ, the Trinity, the nature of justification, sanctification, and all of those things.  
  
Justin Perdue: Secondary issues would be things like complementarianism, baptism, church government, things like that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Justin and I are openly 1689 London Baptist Confession, Covenantal Baptists.  
  
Justin Perdue: And we are unashamed of that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We are very convicted in those beliefs, but we understand that when we look at the theology of our other brothers in Christ, that some of them that are not even confessional, we will look at them and say they do understand this, and they are a properly heralding sufficiency of Christ. Let's encourage that. Let's not tear them down.  
  
Justin Perdue: Sufficiency of Christ, distinction between law and gospel, justification, theology of the cross. There are so many things that we agree on. Why would we, even on a podcast like this, take shots at other Christians over stuff and argue over these things when we can promote unity around the Lord Jesus and how he has saved us?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Because the goal is to help people see that Jesus truly is sufficient. So when you ask Justin, Jimmy, or I what we're trying to do at Theocast or what we're trying to do in our churches, we want people to know, trust, and rest in Jesus as being enough. We're even starting a conference called Enough.  
  
Justin Perdue: Hopefully coming next year.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah, very soon. Because this message, we believe, has been cluttered and it has been, I think, damaged because we now live in a culture of Jesus-plus. And the reason is because we have started fighting about secondary issues. We started losing sight of the sufficiency of Christ and preaching Christ's sufficiency.  
  
Even your quote by Bayes a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about how when we don't distinguish the law and the gospel, it causes all kinds of damage. So we want to pull the clutter off of that and say, no, the sufficiency of Christ is enough. And we understand that it's scary to trust something other than just Christ. We want to somehow say, "I'm good because of this." And if this isn't Jesus, then we're here to say then you're not good—and that's scary to hear.  
  
Part of the podcast today is to say that if you feel that tug and you feel that war within you where it sounds scary to think you can... When we say rest, people hear quit. When people hear rest, people hear stop. That's what they hear. They hear quit trying, stop, or even say they also hear we're not concerned about holiness.  
  
Justin Perdue: So I do think when we say rest in Christ, or when we say that Jesus is sufficient, those are the two phrases that you and I use the most when we're just talking to each other. And when we're thinking about anything that we want to put out broadly related to Theocast or our ministries, rest in Christ, the sufficiency of Christ, by those things, we certainly don't mean quit in terms of quitting seeking to honor God with your life. We do mean quit trying to save yourself with God's help. We do mean quit trying to validate yourself before God, because He's already told you what He thinks of you.  
  
Jon Moffitt: There's nothing that can separate us.  
  
Justin Perdue: He has told us who and what we are. We have a new identity now. We're not chasing after that. We have a new status now; we're justified, we're declared righteous. We're not chasing after righteousness. So in that sense, we are saying quit running like a hamster on a wheel after your identity, because God's given it to you in His Son. Quit running after your status in terms of righteousness, because God's given you that in His son. No righteousness will ever be required of you that Jesus hasn't provided for you. No debt will ever be demanded of you that Jesus has not paid in full. So quit trying to do that. But by all means, try to love your neighbor. Try to give your life away for the good of your brothers and sisters, pursue all of that stuff knowing that you're safe in Christ and that you have rest in him.  
  
And so that's what we mean. It's not give up and quit wholesale; it is give up on trying to justify yourself because we all try to do that. And we're exhorting people to rest in Jesus, see the sufficiency of Christ, and now that you're free and you're safe, you know that your sanctification is certain, and you know that your glorification is certain. We need that reminder all the time. Even as I'm saying this and these words are coming out of my mouth, I'm like, "Lord, give me faith to do just that." But as we preach that message to one another from the Word all the time, we now are free to go and love one another, and to build up the body of Christ, and to love our neighbor, and to consider them as more significant than ourselves, because my eyes are now not just simply fixed on me and my own performance. I can actually fix my eyes on other people.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. So when you start hearing sermons, you'll be able to pick out the difference of when someone believes that Jesus is insufficient to provide for all that you need versus someone who truly believes that Jesus is sufficient. The person who believes that Jesus is sufficient is trying to pull out of your hands all that you are claiming, brings you clarity and hope, and puts Christ in there. And the person who is confused—they are going to be handing you means by which you can prove your sufficiency, and it comes in the form of lists of the five ways of doing this and the seven ways of that.  
  
I think the easiest way of knowing the differences between sufficiency in self versus sufficiency in Christ is where they are pointing you towards, where you can say this is where safety is found.  
  
Justin Perdue: And this is where legitimacy is found.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. "I am legitimately safe and can rest because I am doing this." That right there believes Jesus isn't sufficient. But if you can say, "I am legitimate and safe, and I can rest because of what Christ has done for me," that, at that moment, Jesus is sufficient—and that is a message that you want to embrace.  
  
So we have a new podcast. We announced it earlier in the Facebook group, and by now it's already been out a couple of weeks. We got rid of our old membership. It was great. We loved it. But now we have something new called Semper Reformanda. If you are loving what you're hearing and you want to be a part of this conversation, there are two ways that you can do it. One, Justin and I are about to do a second podcast—it's called Semper Reformanda—where we take these weekly episodes and we take it to the next level. I definitely would say it's a step up and unfiltered, where we are going to pull up a chair around the table and say, "Sit down and let's process this with you." How did we get here? How did we come to these conclusions? What can we give you that you can help other people come to this conclusion as well? So that's Semper Reformanda. And then we are providing ways for you to go and meet in your local community and discuss this with other listeners. We have an app that you can download and you'll be able to use that app to find a local either online community if there's not a community in your area, or you can go and start one and continue this conversation about furthering the Reformation. So we're going to head over to that conversation. If you want to know more about it, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. It'll be right there on the top. It'll say Semper Reformanda. Join the Reformation.  
  
We look forward to having you as a part of our team, a part of those who are helping other people find the sufficiency of Christ.  
  
We'll see you next week.

---

### Leaving Dispensationalism

*Published: April 21, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/leaving-dispensationalism*
*Tags: Church*

Our listeners have been asking for a podcast about leaving dispensationalism. We try to give the people what they want! Jon and Justin talk about why we are not dispensational. We talk personally and theologically, covering topics such as: the redemptive-historical framework of Scripture, covenant theology, law/gospel distinction, sanctification, and the ordinary means of grace.  
  
Semper Reformanda Podcast: In our first ever Semper Reformanda podcast, we talk more in-depth about the differences between a confessional, reformed perspective and a dispensational perspective. We tell a story or two and share some of the things that we most want our listeners to know.  
  
**Resources:**  
  
FREE EBOOK [Theocast.org/primer](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer)
* Our podcast: Law/Gospel [https://youtu.be/EMSfwPUuuVk ](https://youtu.be/EMSfwPUuuVk)
* Our podcast: Demands of the Gospel? [https://youtu.be/VHUmO4eD8Lk ](https://youtu.be/VHUmO4eD8Lk)
* Our podcast: Are You a Legalist or an Antinomian? [https://youtu.be/xvGhu9Pc2LA ](https://youtu.be/xvGhu9Pc2LA)
* Our teaching series: Covenant Theology [https://youtu.be/iCfzmujnlHo ](https://youtu.be/iCfzmujnlHo)
SUPPORT Theocast: [https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/ ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/give/)  
  
FACEBOOK: Theocast: [https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org ](https://www.facebook.com/Theocast.org)  
  
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[**SEMPER REFORMANDA Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/leaving-dispensationalism-sr/)  
  
https://youtu.be/sN55OsdqNoM  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are going to do our best to give the people what they want. By popular demand, we are going to try to answer the question why it is that we have left dispensationalism. Perhaps you're out there and you have spent some time in a dispensationalist context, or maybe you're just seeing aspects of dispensational teaching in your current environment. We're going to have a conversation today about the distinctions between our perspective that is Reformed and confessional over and against the perspective that is dispensational. Jon and I are going to talk a little bit personally, we're going to talk theologically. We hope that this is a clarifying conversation for you, and as always, we hope it encourages you in the Lord Jesus Christ. Stay tuned.  
  
We're going to talk today because of popular demand. We're going to talk today about leaving dispensationalism. We're just trying to give the people what they want, and we had a number of people on the Facebook group post about this. When the first post went up, there were lots of other people that chimed in and said, "Yes, please talk about this." So we're gonna talk about it a little bit today.  
  
The episode is entitled, as already said, _Leaving Dispensationalism_. Just to clarify a little bit of what we're going to try to do today, we're not going to give a bunch of technical, deep, heady definitions of dispensational theology or anything like that. What we're going to do is hopefully aim to have an approachable conversation where we talk about the high level distinctions between our Reformed confessional perspective and a dispensational perspective.  
  
Before we even get into it, I'll just go ahead and give a little bit of my background that is relevant right now, and then Jon, you can talk a little bit about you as well. My exposure to dispensational theology was more general in that I was a part of a church that was self-consciously liberal theologically, but had a very mixed bag in terms of the membership of the church. Many of the members of the church were conservative—at least theologically—and certainly conservative morally. They had been heavily influenced by the default dispensational evangelical-ish theology that was out there in the 20th century in America. I absorbed some of that and was never taught anything contrary to it. And so basically, by default, I would have had notions of, for example, the pre-tribulation rapture understanding of the end of the world. I definitely was aware of Tim LaHaye's _Left Behind_ series. Whenever the judgment house thing would happen, there was definitely the rapture that occurred and the piles of clothes everywhere, and you don't want to be left because then you're gonna have to go through tribulation and all kinds of things. That was my exposure to it all.  
  
Then I began to read and encounter different theology in my early to mid-twenties. And as I began to read, study, and investigate Scripture more on my own from a more Reformed covenantal perspective, I started to see the distinctions between what I had absorbed and what I was now learning.  
  
That's enough about me. Jon, why don't you let the people know a little bit about your background? Because you, even more than I was, were steeped in dispensationalism, and even went to a postgraduate institution that would champion this kind of understanding of Scripture.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I've been in different kinds of dispensationalism. I grew up in the independent, fundamental Baptist world. My dad was a preacher for 20 years before he passed away in that world. And progressively coming out of it, for those of you that know anything about that world, my dad used to work for Jack Hyles, and then he slowly started to read men like John MacArthur and he started leaving it. The two colleges that I went to were both dispensational. Most of the churches I worked in in my early twenties were all dispensational. So I was very familiar with the branding and the style, I would even say, the hermeneutic and the theology. And then I ended up going to probably one of the most prominent dispensational schools that are conservative, and I would say Calvinistic, in today's world. I went to the Master's Seminary. And it was there that I really began to dive deep into the dispensational perspective, and understand the nuances and the different kinds of dispensationalism. So it's not just dispensational theology—there's actually different kinds. And this is not an overview of what this is because there's plenty of information out there of what dispensationalism is. MacArthur and the school are probably more of a progressive dispensationalism.  
  
Justin Perdue: Versus a classic historical dispensational view.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. And there are definitely some differences. I think progressive is by far better hermeneutically than a traditional classical. There's a lot of concerns that come from there.  
  
What we're going to really talk about is why I left it and why we don't hold to that perspective.  
  
Justin Perdue: Or at least why we're not there today; why we believe something else.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We're going to talk about the major differences, and I would say these are differences that the majority—now, you I'm sure you can find a dispensationalist that's going to counteract this; this is the thing about it is that theology just can get so broad. But I would say mainline dispensational, and I would even say mainline progressive dispensationalism, for the sake of this argument—my seminary, my alma mater, and John MacArthur would disagree with us. That's really what this podcast is about; it is what we embrace to be what we think is biblical and historically accurate in our perspective. To be clear, Justin, I think it's safe to say this; we need to say this: we love our dispensational brothers, we do not think they're heretical. Again, I'm sure there's some weirdo out there that holds to some weird doctrine and calls himself dispensationalist; I am not going to be the straw man who torches that. That is just not fair.  
  
Justin Perdue: The only things that we would condemn from a dispensational perspective are things that most dispensationalists have already condemned themselves. Like the idea that there are two different covenants of salvation: one with Israel and one with the church. That has been rejected by the vast majority of people that would call themselves dispensationalists, and we too would look at that and say that is not at all faithful to Scripture, but is a false doctrine.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's correct. Israel was not saved by the law and those underneath it are saved by Christ. That's just not correct. Now that was taught by some, but it is not the prominent view today. And so we aren't going to bring that up as one of the oppositions because that's not what they're saying, and we do not want to misrepresent them.  
  
So I would say the easiest place to begin when we're thinking about the differences and what my journey out of dispensational theology was... When I was actually in seminary, steeped in it, studying all the different books that I was reading. They had a lot. They were talking about continuity and discontinuity between the New Testament and the Old Testament, understanding that the different dispensations, and then of course I had classes on covenant theology and the way in which it was being presented.  
  
As I began to read Scripture in really new eyes, when I stopped trying to read into the text—the moral application of being like David and or like Daniel—one of the things that I am very thankful for that my seminary taught me is to understand the authorial intent. What is the author's intentions in writing the book? One of the things that I took from that, and sometimes our dispensational friends only go to the actual author, like Moses, the Psalms, Paul, etc. But the book is authored by one God, which is our sovereign Being, and we have to ask, what was His authorial intent? What can we look at from Scripture to determine what His intentions for writing these books? Then you can lower down into the individual authors, and then you can lower down even more into the individual applications of that text. For instance, what were they trying to communicate in this particular section or this paragraph?  
  
So what I began to discover is that the Bible had one story. It was really describing one pushing narrative. Now the dispensationalist will say it's the glory of God—it is the overarching purpose of God's word and why He wrote it, which we're not going to disagree with that because everything is for the glory of God. But you can't just say this book is about God's glory when it has in the very opening scene in Genesis 3 the major theme, which is the fall of man and God's promise to restore men. So it's redemption.  
  
So I began to see Scripture unfold from a redemption or redemptive understanding, and, I would say, that it's not only just redemptive but it's redemption through history. So the technical term for it is a redemptive-historical understanding. When this was introduced to me and I was reading through the counter-arguments to covenant theology, I was taken aback by how can this not be right when it seems like all you have is the further progression of God's promises to His people through covenants and prophecies to bring us the Messiah. I quickly began to see a redemptive-historical understanding of Scripture to be an accurate way of understanding how to explain the Bible.  
  
Justin Perdue: We do not disagree with the dispensationalist that says that the Bible is about the glory of God, but we want to be more specific because we think the text is more specific and it's more clear in terms of how it is that God gets glory for Himself. And certainly He is glorified in having His righteousness vindicated through judgment. And at the same time, it is quite clear that God is glorified, I'm going to go in and say is most glorified, in the work of redemption accomplished by His Son, Jesus. That is a big point of difference which dovetails with another piece.  
  
Not only is our understanding of covenant theology at odds with a dispensational hermeneutic—with respect to the Bible and how it hangs together, how redemptive history unfolds, and the like—we also are going to be explicitly Christocentric; we're going to be Jesus-centered in how we understand the Bible and its main point, that it is God's plan of redemption accomplished through Christ that brings God glory. And our dispensational friends will disagree with us on that because for them, at the center of God's plan to glorify Himself—of course, they're not going to deny that Jesus is a part of this—but at the center of God's plan to bring Himself glory is Israel and how God works through Israel. It's a very Israel-centric hermeneutic where ours is unapologetically Jesus-centric in terms of how God goes about saving His people, what the point all along was. We're basically taking our cue from Christ himself and certainly the apostles as they understand the entire Old Testament to be ultimately about Jesus, the Christ, and what he would come to do in order to accomplish redemption—all to the praise of God's glorious grace.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To maybe bring some clarity, what's so hard is the nuance here. We don't want to misrepresent. Hear our hearts and hear how we're trying to express some technical differences.  
  
Every dispensationalist I talked to would say, of course, Jesus is the point of the Bible. They wouldn't reject that because to reject that would be weird.  
  
Justin Perdue: How do you even reject such a statement?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. So we don't want to throw that straw man out there either. Their rejection is this: "Jon, you guys find Jesus under every rock. When you say it's Christocentric, you're saying that you need to find Jesus in every single verse." I would say if you're projecting upon the text, just like I would say people do when we think about projecting moral applications—be like Daniel, be like David—you shouldn't do that either. That's not what we're saying. What we're saying is the narrative and the purpose behind what was written is to further explain, clarify, and reveal the shadow of Christ as we get closer to the substance of Christ. So we think everything in the Old Testament is a greater shadow, a revealing of what's going on when it comes to the actual substance of Christ. All of the Bible is Christocentric.  
  
Justin Perdue: Like you're saying, I think the big difference of where this comes out most pointedly is how we read and understand the Old Testament, because we read and understand the Old Testament with Christ at the center of it as well. We do not read anything going on about the nation of Israel, with the nation of Israel, and read that without Christ in view as the backdrop. I would even say a better way to phrase it is the lens through which we view Israel is Jesus. And so that, I think, is a difference between our perspective and a dispensational view. It is a hermeneutic and a hermeneutic is a means or a method of interpretation. We, again, are not forcing anything down on the text; we are taking our cue from Christ and the apostles and understanding that the point of the Bible is to reveal God's plan of redemption through history as it has unfolded, and all of His plan to save His people has centered upon Christ. We would understand, like you said at the beginning, Jon, that yes, we're concerned with authorial intent at the human level—Moses, Paul, David, whoever it may be—and we are primarily concerned with authorial intent at the divine level, because there is one Author of Scripture, namely the Holy Spirit who inspired men to write exactly what God would have written down. And so we want to get underneath any kind of human authorial intent and see exactly what God intends to reveal- and God has not left us in the dark on that. Because as we look at the entire canon and how it hangs together, we are able to better interpret the Old Testament in light of the New. And as we've said many times on here, the best interpreter of the Old Testament is the Holy Spirit speaking to us in the New Testament.  
  
That's where we're going to come at odds, I think, with some of our dispensational friends. If we were to go to an Old Testament text, it's going to come very obvious that the way that we're coming at it is different.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's really helpful. I think it's encouraging to see where we do agree with our dispensational brothers. This is why we can call them our brothers. There's a lot I've learned from them. They've been super helpful in their interpretation of Scripture. But I will say that it does impact your use of the Old Testament completely. My Alma mater did an entire lecture series on why they would reject a Christocentric understanding of the Old Testament. John MacArthur has openly stated that the primary reason he teaches from the New Testament is that we're in the New Testament era.  
  
Justin Perdue: We're in the era of the gospel of the Messiah, and so the Old Testament is really not all that applicable other than to moralize it and apply it in those kinds of ways. Is that fair?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. And if you go to his book on preaching, it's been around for years, which he still holds to that. Basically you can use the Old Testament for great illustrations, and then there are sections about the prophecy of Christ. But as it relates to preaching Christ from the Old Testament, it's just not something that they promote  
  
Justin Perdue: Whereas for us, again, as Reformed guys who are covenantal in our theology, we hold to the three historic covenants: the first one being the covenant of redemption that was made in eternity past between the members of the Godhead, most pointedly between the Father and the Son, where the Father and Son agreed together about redemption and how it would be accomplished, then the Son is going to be the one to do it. Then we would understand the covenant of works that God made with Adam in the garden, and dispensationalists would disagree with us on that language. They would just say that's just not in the Scripture. And then we also would understand the covenant of grace that is promised in Genesis 3:15, when God promises that there would be one who would be the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent's head. We understand that to be the first promise of the covenant of grace that then is going to be revealed through further steps, and ultimately established through Christ in the new covenant. Dispensationalists would disagree with us completely with respect to that framework. They would say, "Well, that's not in the Bible. You guys are imposing that down upon the text." And we would just say, no, actually we are aiming to responsibly read the entire Bible and see how it hangs together as a whole, and therefore what we're saying about these covenants actually comes up out of the text and then helps us understand the whole thing.  
  
I'll go ahead and throw these two words out there and briefly define them. When a dispensationalist would argue with us about covenant theology and say that those three covenants respectively are not in the Bible, I think two things are going on. One is a little bit of word-concept fallacy, where the words that you're using are not in the Bible, and so we shouldn't talk that way. And of course the greatest thing to bring up there is the word "trinity" is not in the Bible, yet it's the best way we know to express the threeness and the oneness of God, so three-in-one. Trinity. The other thing that I think goes on with dispensationalist is because of their high view of the Bible and their high view of inerrancy, they do tend toward biblicism, where there's just this, "Well, we need to see a chapter and verse in a text, and then we can talk this way. And what you're saying is not there, chapter and verse, in that sense, and so we disagree with your theological framework." To which again, our response is this stuff is very clearly revealed over the course of the whole canon from Genesis to Revelation, and it makes sense of the entire thing, and there's this unified thread that runs through—and covenant theology in a redemptive-historical understanding, with Jesus at the center, all of that hangs together.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We are thankful to our dispensational brothers. They do fight against the logical conclusion of biblicism, which ends up being open theism. Because if you have to have the actual text to say something, or you take every text literal and you won't allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, and you do not allow the explanation of all of Scripture to apply, you could come to the conclusion that God doesn't know the future, that God isn't in the future, and that God isn't eternal- and that's what open theism has done. It's the ultimate conclusion of biblicism.  
  
Justin Perdue: And we will do a podcast on biblicism, I trust, in the next few months, because it's something that Jon and I have talked about. Biblicism, basically, what you get there is people take words in the biblical text and they pit one text against another. They introduce a tension and a mystery that is actually not there, that can be harmonized and explained quite easily with appropriate hermeneutical tools. But biblicism actually unsettles us because it's like this is saying this, and this is saying that, and apparently there's a contradiction here, and there's a mystery and a tension here—and that actually does not exist if we understand the Scripture rightly, we would argue. For example, from a covenantal, redemptive-historical, Christ-centered perspective.  
  
Jon Moffitt: A dispensationalist would openly agree that they are not covenantal. As a matter of fact, it literally is A and B.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's oil and water.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It is. There is a distinct difference that both covenantalists and historic dispensationalist are not going to agree on these frameworks of interpretation. And I will say that dispensationalism is a framework of interpretation. It's how you interpret God's word. They would say the way in which they understand the word of God to unfold and explain itself is through these seven dispensations, which we're not going to get into, but they are going to interpret all of their Bible through those lenses. The application of it is going to come from that lens of a seven dispensation lens. Now, people are going to differ on what those dispensations are, it is broken up and there's no continuity between the two.  
  
Justin Perdue: But those seven dispensations in and of themselves or a theological system and framework. I think what's interesting is that the dispensationalist argument against Reformed covenantal types like us is that we are using and relying too much upon a theological framework or a theological system, and implication is they are not. Those seven dispensations—that's a system and a framework of its own.  
  
The other thing that can sometimes happen is, at least I've heard this before, a dispensationalist will say, "We're just using the Bible, whereas you guys are using confessions and creeds and things like this alongside the Scripture." Humbly, I would say this: what do you think that Scofield Study Bible is? That thing has some stuff that's not in the biblical text too that very much sounds like a confessional or a creed of sorts. It certainly contains some kind of a theological system in it, and you're claiming that you're not doing that.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I very rarely meet somebody who can fully explain dispensationalism and they came up with it on their own. It's been handed down to them. I just have never really met someone who fully explained dispensationalism and then a dispensationalist goes, "You know that's dispensational theology." Again, is it out there? Sure. Broadly speaking, that is not the case.  
  
We have to be careful that just because it's not a specific verse or word in the Bible doesn't mean the concept doesn't stand. The Trinity, or even the eternality of God, or the sovereignty of God—these big concepts, a lot of time, it takes a lot of Scripture to help explain what's going on with this theological understanding, or we could say system, or we could say systematic of understanding it. So when I began to understand covenant theology and the hermeneutic of it, I very much embraced the idea of it because it was consistent with the flow of Scripture, and it was consistent with the explanation of Scripture. Just to be clear, Justin and I are Reformed in our understanding from a covenantal perspective of the London Baptist Confession. If you want to know the technical phrase of that, it would be the 1689 Federalism is our understanding of that. Full explanation of that in the link or in our comments. We did a whole five-part series on our perspective of covenant theology. So we'll move on from that. We don't need to spend more time there.  
  
Justin Perdue: Last thing I may say before we move on to another item. I've referenced this earlier, and I think you have too, Jon. The fact that Israel is such a big deal in terms of a dispensational theological framework, where Israel becomes a big point of emphasis and focus from a dispensational perspective, to the point that I think, at least as I've always heard it taught and explained, and even as you and I have talked—and I think this holds water but you can push back on me if you think this is overstating it—but I think that in a dispensational view, Israel, in terms of God's people and God's saving His people, Israel is the point and the church is kind of the parenthesis. Whereas from our perspective, we would say it's actually maybe the opposite: that Israel is the parenthesis and that the church, God's people, the Jew and the Gentile, the elect from all nations, tribes, and peoples around the throne of God—that's the point, and that Israel was the parenthesis. That's a fundamentally different perspective there, too, in terms of how we understand God's purposes in redemption and what He's always been out to accomplish.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And I will say because of these two theological differences, the dispensationalist has a heavy view on in time theology, the rapture. Now, this may not be true today of all dispensationalists, but of the ones I grew up in, and Tim LaHaye, and you were talking about the _Left Behind_ series. The in time theology was a scare tactic to get you to live straight.  
  
Justin Perdue: It was all fear and judgment.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. There was no assurance on Christ and resting in Christ while looking forward to the return of Christ. I was dreading the return of Christ. I did not want him to come.  
  
Justin Perdue: It was a frightening reality.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We would do the whole "scare people by leaving our clothes all over" for a youth group. I actually watched the original _Left Behind_ series back in the seventies, I think. It was very disturbing.  
  
The number one question we get all the time, because a lot of dispensationalists are listening to us, they ask us what our hermeneutic on in time theology is. Because it's so emphasized and it's so part of the theological system that what you believe about the return of Christ is of paramount, for whatever reason.  
  
We're not gonna do a podcast on this today, but I'm gonna just throw this out there that dispensationalists, amillennialists, postmillennialists, historic premillennialists—any of those positions that you want to take, they all agree that Christ is coming back, he's going to rule, and reign and we will live with him forever in our new bodies, in a new heavens and a new earth—in a physical realm, not a spiritual realm. All positions hold that. Our brothers, we do not need to be calling each other heretics in our disagreements on these positions. Justin and I have our perspective. Whatever reason in the dispensational world, the return of Christ and those details, if you don't get it wrong, you are a heretic in some way.  
  
Justin Perdue: If you don't get it right, and if you don't have a particular view on it, then you are less than, at best, if not anathema in terms of how you would be viewed.  
  
I agree with you, Jon. Whenever I talk about eschatology, even teaching our membership class at our church, our elders are united in our perspective. I don't tell people what that is. And I also will say to them, "Here's what you need to agree on: that Jesus is coming back, that it's going to be personal, it's going to be visible, it's going to be bodily, it's going to be glorious. And that there will be a judgment according to righteousness, and that all those in Christ will be resurrected on to eternal life, and to live with God forever and with each other in a new heavens and a new earth that's just as physical as this. If we believe those things, we're good to go." We're going to be charitable there.  
  
All right. Let's move on.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We got two more we gotta get to. Law-gospel distinction. Justin, real quick, tell us what it is and why it's different.  
  
Justin Perdue: I can talk about what the law-gospel distinction is first.  
  
We've done some podcasts, and I'm sure we'll link to this in the show notes. We've done several podcasts on law-gospel distinction. And even the podcasts that would have released a few weeks ago at this point called _Are You a Legalist or an Antinomian?_ is a very good law-gospel podcast in itself where we understand that there is a distinction between the law and the gospel where they need to be kept distinct. The law reveals, most pointedly and fundamentally, in God's moral law what God requires of humanity if we are going to be righteous in His sight. And then the gospel, distinct from the law, reveals what God has done for us through Christ. So the law tells us what we need to do, the gospel tells us what God has done through Jesus for us in our place.  
  
And so the law, as we understand it, because of the fall and because we are all born corrupt, we're born sinful, we all stand condemned by the law. And so the things that the law demands of us, we can't do. And then the gospel though, on the flip side, is completely about what Jesus has done and actually contains not one single word of anything that we need to do. It is the news of Christ and what he has accomplished for us in our place that we receive simply by faith, by trusting in Christ.  
  
That distinction between law and gospel is huge in a confessional Reformed theological framework, and it has everything to do with assurance and peace before God. Because when we blend law and gospel or confuse those two categories, a lot of bad things happen. But perhaps the first thing that often occurs is you end up turning the gospel into a kind of covenant of works, where there are things that you need to do in order to be saved, even by Christ. There are things that the gospel demands of us that we need to be doing, and we would disagree with that notion. There are no demands made in the gospel, but it is a proclamation and a declaration of something that has already been done for us that we receive.  
  
And so we would live and die on this hill. We would contend for this. We would stake our ministries on this: the distinction between law and gospel. A dispensationalist is not going to agree with us on this law-gospel distinction perspective.  
  
Why don't you unpack that a little bit in terms of where the disagreement would lie?  
  
Jon Moffitt: There are articles by prominent evangelicals that are out there that are dispensationalist, people that I graduated from school with, and even my own school would say, "We don't see this hermeneutic." To be clear, again, not every Bible verse in the Bible can be defined as either law or gospel. There's narrative and all those things. So don't be thinking that we're trying to put this on into every verse. But when we're in a passage, we do have to ask ourselves if we're being told what we must do to save ourselves or are we being told what was done so that we are saved?  
  
Justin Perdue: Are we being told what we need to do in order to be righteous?  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. I would even say the three uses of the law is also a great definition of something that's different probably between dispensationalism and Reformed. What happens when you're not careful to separate the law from the gospel, and I would say not all dispensationalist would hold to lordship salvation, but because of men like John MacArthur who has made dispensationalism, Calvinism, and lordship salvation so popular over the last 30 or 40 years. 50 years, I think, he's now been preaching. Bless his heart for that. Faithful man. Anyways, because of that, law-gospel distinction begins to break down lordship salvation because the passages that are used to promote lordship salvation or actually law, not gospel. They would say for instance, books that have been read, _Hard to Believe_, _The Gospel According to Jesus_, _The Gospel According to the Apostles_—all of those are hard passages. Like when the rich young ruler comes and says, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" That's a law passage we turn into a gospel passage.  
  
Justin Perdue: We collapsed the two categories and we ended up confusing both the law and the gospel.  
  
Really quick, Jon, to pick up on what you said about the uses of the law—I'm only going to talk about one of them. For us as Reformed guys, and we've got Lutheran friends who would agree with us on this as well, the first and greatest use of the law is to show us our sin and to drive us to Christ—and a dispensationalist, to my understanding, would not articulate the point of the law that way. Because again, it has everything to do with our redemptive-historical hermeneutic and a Christ-centered hermeneutic in answering what was the law for. We are ultimately going to understand that, ala Paul in Romans 5 and Galatians 3, that the law came in to increase the trespass, to bankrupt us, and crush us so that we might be driven to Christ who fulfilled the law for us in his active obedience, in his perfect life.  
  
That's the active obedience of Jesus in fulfilling the law is another huge tenant of our theology that is a result of our study of Scripture, but also it dovetails beautifully with how we understand the law in the first place.  
  
We can just move forward.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I do have some thoughts on that, but we're going to save that for Semper Reformanda a little bit later.  
  
The last one, I would say, is predominantly... again, not in all cases, but historically, why I moved to this direction and away from a dispensational understanding of Scripture is the idea of sanctification being either synergistic—the work that we do—or monergistic—the work that God does. Historically speaking, dispensationalism is a very synergistic movement. There are some who would promote a monergistic perspective, but historically speaking, and the way I was taught in seminary and growing up is that your progress in the Christian life, or how you become more like Christ, is dependent upon your own efforts. It's not primarily your efforts. It's like Christ is working in you and you're working. So they aren't saying all the sanctification is all your work. That would be unfair.  
  
Justin Perdue: Sanctifying yourself in your own strength—of course not. They're going to acknowledge the grace of God and the work of God, but it is very much an understanding that we need to do our part, and that we need to cooperate with the grace of God in our sanctification. Whereas for us, from a more Reformed perspective, we are unashamed in saying that we understand rather than synergism—two workers—we understand that there's one worker, monergism, in terms of our understanding of sanctification. And that one worker, of course, is God.  
  
Basically, to put it bluntly, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. We, in no part, in no way do the work of sanctification. Now, we participate in our sanctification because we are alive now. We have been given spiritual life in Christ. We have been raised to walk in newness of life in him and thereby by the virtue of being alive, we participate, but we do not do the work.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think another way of saying that is we observe. Like we can observe the work of sanctification in our lives. Paul gives us ways in which we see that the way in which we are growing in the knowledge and the maturity of Christ, and the trust of Christ, and an increase of grace and mercy towards each other, and love and affection towards each other. Those are all the works of the Holy Spirit in sanctification. A lot of times when I heard... and again, this is not of all dispensations, but the breed I came from, sanctification was you didn't cuss, you stopped drinking, and you stopped going to movies, and you're being sanctified. That's just moral action change and some of it is not even wrong.  
  
Justin Perdue: Yeah. And what I mean in using that word "participate", just like I would say that every human being who is alive participates in life because he or she is alive. And that's all I'm saying; we participate in our sanctification because we are now alive, and yet God works and God is the only one who can change the heart, and God is the only one who can conform us into the likeness and image of His Son. And He is faithful to do it. And He has promised us that it will happen, and that we will be sanctified in this life and we will be fully sanctified at the point of the resurrection, and we can bank on that. It's not in jeopardy.  
  
Not only that synergism-monergism piece, but also something that we're going to emphasize heavily from a Reformed perspective is how it is that we ordinarily grow in the Christian life. And that would be, for us, an understanding of the ordinary means of grace. And so those ordinary means, just to be very clear, most prominently are the Word of God, sacrament, and prayer. And then some would maybe even add in song in the midst of the gathered church as well, as we're built up and edified in that way. But the church gathered, the saints assembled together to sit under Word, to partake of the sacraments of the Lord's Supper, baptism, to pray, and sing. That's how we understand that we are ordinarily and primarily grown in the faith. And that emphasis is somewhat unique.  
  
Now a dispensationalist is not going to disagree with any of those things. But it's going to really be about the emphasis and what is put first.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Historically, the Reformed have seen our sanctification in Christ. The protection of the believer, the growth of the believer, and the confession of the believer are primarily from the New Testament given to the local church. So we are to not forsake the assembling of ourselves, that we are to function properly so we build ourselves up in love to maturity in Christ, to the full knowledge of Christ, so that no one is tossed about by every wind of doctrine. This is given to us in Hebrews 10 and Ephesians 4\. You are given these primary means. "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." So there's a heavy emphasis on God's Word, the gathered people, the sacraments—those are not to be done individually. You aren't to take the Lord's Table by yourself. You aren't to be baptizing by yourself.  
  
Justin Perdue: 1 Corinthians 10, 1 Corinthians 11, etc.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Exactly. Even the concept of prayer. Majority of the Bible speaks of prayer in a corporate reality, there is obviously an individual aspect of it, but if you're going to weigh it, it is a primary means of a corporate gathering so that we are building each other up, we're carrying each other's burdens, James 3, we're confessing our sins to one another. So the ordinary way in which God grows His people is within the local assembly through the ordinary means. Dispensationalism traditionally has emphasized spiritual disciplines, and I would even say the priesthood of all believers, which is something we absolutely say, amen, our faith is not tied to a priest, but we are tied to Christ, the ultimate priest.  
  
Justin Perdue: There is one mediator between God and man.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. But that doesn't mean now that your sanctification is primarily in your hands because it's between you, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible. That's an individualistic understanding. It's something that I wouldn't say all dispensationalists hold to, but predominantly—this is why I walked away from them—because they don't promote, they do not emphasize the ordinary means. It's not their primary means of spiritual growth; primary means of spiritual growth for them is individual efforts in pursuit of the Lord.  
  
Justin Perdue: One last observation and this is not a huge thing. Even the language that we'll use about the ordinary means and the terminology, some of that is a little different. I know, at least in my experience, dispensationalists would be very uncomfortable with the word "sacraments", and to describe the table and baptism. I guess in the minds of many, it's associated with Roman Catholicism, and it may be for them part and parcel of a sacerdotal theology where we would understand that the sacraments just operate on their own. And that is not at all what we mean, though I do think in our framework, we have a very high view of the sacraments as a means of grace, where God is present and is really there to bless, sustain, and nourish us through the table and through baptism as well. And it's His testimony to us of what He's going to do. So that's a big thing, too, even as just a small subset of that ordinary means conversation.  
  
We have bumped up against our time cap here. Hopefully some of the things that we said were of use for you in clarifying things. Hopefully you can see some of the high level differences that would exist between a Reformed confessional understanding and a dispensational view.  
  
Jon Moffitt: So this is brand new; our first initial announcement on the podcast. We record multiple weeks out in advance, so sometimes we're behind on stuff, but we have a new ministry. It's a new part of Theocast called Semper Reformanda—always reforming. Semper Reformanda is our new way for you to join in on two things. First of all, we have a brand new podcast called the Semper Reformanda podcast. We're going in that next. This is high level conversations where we take what we introduced to you in this podcast, and we're going to go a little bit deeper and more technical. Secondly, that podcast is designed to go along with a brand new program called SR groups, Semper Reformanda groups, where you can now sign up. We are developing these groups right now, but you can sign up for a local group in your city that you can go to and now have discussions on this very subject with other people who are having the same question. So we will provide discussion questions and you can download our app, which should be available now. You can go down to the Apple store, look for the Semper Reformanda app, you can download that and then sign up for a local group. In order to do that, you have to be an SR member. If you want to be an SR member, just go to sr.wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com and you can learn more about that. That's it.  
  
Justin Perdue: And even in the SR podcast, which is where we're going, the Semper Reformanda podcasts, even if we don't get more technical in every aspect of it, we certainly will be a little bit more transparent and it's a little more of a safe space and family time. We hope that that podcast has that kind of feel. If that sounds interesting to you, then go to our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and you would learn anything that you need to know about becoming a part of Semper Reformanda and joining the Reformation there.  
  
All right, Jon. Here we go. We're going to see what we can give to people over there in our new SR podcast. We'll talk to many of you over there. We'll talk with the rest of you again next week.

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### Struggling with the Church

*Published: April 14, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/struggling-with-the-church*
*Tags: Church*

Many people struggle with the church. We go and it feels plastic. Inauthentic. Or it seems like the church is full of people who understand themselves to be crushing it. And so, it doesn't seem there is a place for the weak or miserable sinner. As a result, many people are disenchanted with the church. Where did all this come from? Is there something better?  
  
Semper Reformanda Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the corporate nature of everything in the life of the church. We survey Ephesians 4 and consider the language of the Scripture and the ordinary means of grace.  
  
Resources:
* [Our podcast on Triumphalism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/triumphalism/)
* [Our podcast on Theology of the Cross](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/what-is-the-theology-of-glory-vs-the-theology-of-the-cross/)
* ["Ordinary" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/3mMa5Rm)
**[Semper Reformanda Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/struggling-with-the-church-sr/)**  
  
https://youtu.be/Xo-c88UFhxc  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, we are talking about the struggle with the modern church. If you've walked in and you feel like it's plastic, it's cold, you feel disconnected, you look around and you feel like an alien, we want to talk about that and why we have those struggles. Stay tuned.  
  
Today is a conversation that you and I seem to have almost every week. We are trying to shepherd people that are coming into our context in our church and help them, I would say, find out what it looks like to find not only rest in Christ, but truly rest within the community of Christ, which is the design of God. Jesus died for the church and Paul dedicated his life for the church, and I think the entire New Testament is focused and centered on what the local New Testament church looks like in a fallen, sinful world. How does the gospel go forward in our context and in the world?  
  
Justin and I grew up in very different backgrounds; his was more of a liberal Baptist background, mine was more of a fundamentalist background. As we have grown in our theology, and as pastors, we have been able to look at history and we are making assessments about the Christian life and church that are way off. You move 1% off of a line and you start walking that line for many years and before you know it, you're miles off the mark—and we are definitely miles off the mark.  
  
What Justin and I wanted to do today is help you think through your feelings, your observations, your conclusions, and I would even say comparisons to Scripture and the local context of the church. I know there's a broad range of churches that are out there, but I will say, what we're talking about today has impacted almost every single denomination that's out there. That is why we wanted to have a conversation about what happened to the church and why most people struggle with the church and why most books about the Christian life have nothing to say about the church, or what they do have to say about the church is very foreign to something like Ephesians 4\. That's what we're going to talk about today: the struggle with the modern church, what we see, and hopefully put some words to your own thoughts about your feelings about the local church.  
  
To open it up there, let's talk about when we look at the modern church, what is wrong with this context? How is it that we have got to this place? When you walk into a modern, broad evangelical church, almost an Nevin denomination—describe it to me.  
  
Justin Perdue: So many thoughts running around in my head right now. I just want to affirm everything you said and state from the outset that one of the things that I aim to do as a pastor, second only to helping people understand their need for Christ, is to help people understand their need for the church—and in one sense, to help people understand how those two things go together, how we need Christ and we need each other. It's just not a common notion in our current church context.  
  
There are a million reasons why books written today about the church and the Christian life don't have the church in them. One of the reasons for that is this conversation we're having today because so many people have had terrible experiences in the church. They are disenchanted with the church. They feel jaded and burned by the church, and have never seen anything legitimate or anything that seems to have any merit in their entire life in their experience of going to church. We want to unpack some of that today and have an honest conversation about some of our own experiences, and hopefully, as you said, put words to the thoughts that many have had.  
  
I grew up in a more liberal environment theologically, but the culture of the church that I grew up in was still moralistic. It was this combination of an aversion to doctrine—because all that does is divide and it binds us and it's bad—but then the emphasis was always just on you being a good person, doing the right stuff, and not doing the bad stuff. It was a very, very confused and difficult situation. I grew up thinking that Jesus was legit and knowing that he was the real deal. There was something about him that I couldn't walk away from. But everything else about the Christian life that I had been presented with and everything that I had ever seen in the church- it was whack. I was incredibly disenchanted with the church as an institution, and even Christianity as a religion, in light of everything that I had seen.  
  
I think for sure, one of the things that stands out for many people is the fact that the church feels and seems to be very superficial, that there is no real admission of real grievous heinous, damnable sins.  
  
Or real struggles.  
  
Right. And we may get there in a minute. There's no place for the weak.  
  
People seem to be very hesitant to admit the very dark things that go on in everybody's mind and heart. We know they're there, but we don't ever talk about them. You're happy to admit that you struggle with pride, or maybe that you worry a lot, but you're not really happy to talk about things that are much maybe darker and more sinister that are going on inside of you. There seems to be, alongside this, a lack of an awareness of sin at the same time. People seem to think that they're doing a lot better than they are. There's all this talk about all the things that we need to be doing and the things that we shouldn't be doing, and it's just almost full blown works righteousness sometimes in terms of the way that it's presented. You look around and everybody seems happy to listen to that kind of talk, and your conclusion is everybody else is crushing it because nobody seems disturbed by the fact that we're just being told things that we need to do, and things that we need to refrain from doing, as though that's going to earn us righteousness before the Lord. I guess all these people are doing well, but I know I'm not. You're sitting there thinking, "I must be the only unrighteous hypocrite of this whole bunch. Clearly this place isn't for me because apparently, these people have it all together. They look put together, they're saying the right stuff, they seem to understand themselves to just be doing well. Every time they pull the lever, it's trip sevens. I'm over here floundering and struggling with my own conscience and I've blown it countless times this week, and if this is Christianity, then either Christianity is a sham or it didn't work for me. Our conclusion is: I'm going to go elsewhere because the church has nothing for a sinner like me.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It can also become personality-driven. Those who have an outgoing, energetic, bubbly personality seem to be the ones that are always the active, good Christians, and those who are tend to be quiet, introspective, or even melancholy can be the ones who aren't the good Christians. It's a divide. This is true of not just one denomination; we're not even going to pick on a denomination because we're going to explain how this really has influenced a lot. It has just changed the way the structure and the purpose of the church is supposed to be.  
  
You walk into a context of a church and the conversations are not on a familiar level, like the way you would talk to your brother or sister or your wife. They are on a very superficial level: how was your day? How was your week? When there is a small group, the community groups tend to be social groups where you talk about social stuff; you're not talking about the muck of the Christian life. Their prayer requests are about needing to pray more, or struggling with this, or struggling with pride, or needing a new job. What's really crushing you, what's going on, and the depression—that is not allowed. I've had a man in my church recently who talked about expressing some serious issues in his life in a men's group, and they all looked at him like he was crazy. Or they'll just say, "You need to read your Bible more and you need to pray." That's it. That's the solution.  
  
People don't share because if the response to everything is to read your Bible and to pray more, then why should I even tell you I'm struggling? I already know the answer you're going to give me, so I'm just not going to say anything. That way I won't be judged and I won't feel guilty about my own struggles.  
  
Justin Perdue: What you're describing is a lack of legitimate community. There's a lot of language about community, and you might even have groups that bear that name, but to your point, there's no real admission of weakness, there's no real confession of sin where we are legitimately baring our souls and talking about what's really going on. We all speak in this very calculated language, because like you said, we have either experienced this in the past, or we've seen it happen to other people where they do confess legitimate sin and legitimate struggle, and they are shamed, judged, or run out of town on a rail. And we leave that thinking, "I'm never going to do that again." Or, "I saw what happened to that person. I'm never going to do that because it just did not go well."  
  
In addition to that, I think that many of us have been in church contexts where we look around and we listen to what's being said. The way the whole thing is presented to us, it's like this whole project is about constant improvement. This whole project is about onward and upward, and we are always getting better, everything is always exciting, every Sunday is literally better than the one before. We look at that and we think, "Uh, that's not how my life works." This feels like a lot of hot air and a lot of hype. A lot of sunshine is being pumped at me, but this just doesn't feel legitimate. It doesn't feel authentic. The way that we could end up coming away from that, aside from it just feeling fake, is because the presentation is one of we're always getting better, we're always improving, we are conquerors and we are triumphant, we are the people who are having victory over sin and struggle and weakness and the like, we conclude that there is no place for the weak in the church. There's no place for the struggler in the church. There's no place, as I said a minute ago, for like the miserable sinner. For many people, especially the ones who have more tender consciences, for people who have proclivities and bends in their frame, or they struggle with melancholy, depression, anxiety, etc., people like that just ended up feeling like there is no place for them because they cannot keep up. The tender conscience in the room looks around and assesses what's going on, and then looks within and assesses his or her own heart and mind and thinks, "I have never done anything that's legitimate or adequate. I've never loved God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I've never loved my neighbor as myself. I've not done this as I should. I've failed to do that as I should." All of this improvement stuff , this constantly getting better stuff, and this constantly getting victory, the tender conscience is thinking, "Well, I'm a failure. I just don't fit here."  
  
Another thought. You're talking about a lack of authenticity and a lack of an ability to confess sin. I do think there are a lot of environments where people not only have been burned when they've confessed sin, but they receive horrible counsel when they have confessed things in their lives. I'm not even talking about reductionistic, somewhat absurd stuff like, "Read the Bible and I'm sure it'll be better next week." I'm talking about legitimate faults, where they've brought some deep issue, like a struggle with sexuality, or a marriage is falling apart and the husband and wife go and seek counsel and they're just told ridiculous things by pastors. "This is what's going to fix your marriage," and a particular person in the marriage leaves, thinking, "Well, that's the last time I'm ever going to trust a pastor after what I just heard."  
  
Jon Moffitt: The trust for the church definitely is not there. We understand that the Bible emphasizes the church, the church is good, but what we experience in the church is not what we feel is right. "Feeling" is a dangerous word to say, but it's within your soul; you feel this dry, cold distance, and yet you're yearning for this warm, compassionate connection to Christ in his body.  
  
When I was first married, I started to sell this insurance. We would go to these conferences, and so we're at this conference in Texas, and these people are making all this money and they're really talking to us about how we can make money. I'm trying to just get through college and I'm just trying to sell this insurance on the side so I can make money, and then they are hyping it up; it's bumping music, we're jumping, and we're clapping. Everything is high, high, high energy, and a ton of emotion. You walk out of there at the end of that conference, and there's one conclusion that is on your mind: everyone around me is successful, everyone around me is doing it, and if I want to do it, it's up to me. I walk out of there going, "All right. If I try harder, I become better, and I work longer, I can be like that." That is what church feels like: it's high energy, it's pumping, and the pastor basically tells you all of these amazing stories, and at the end you go, "All right. If I try harder this week, I can be like that."  
  
Justin Perdue: Ultimately, at the end of the day, it depends upon me. And. That can be presented in a number of ways: it can be in this quasi prosperity wave, and it also can be in this way where we're told that we need to be more disciplined and our lives will go better and we won't sin as much and all those things. It's like a smack on the backside: "Go out there and don't disappoint God." We leave ultimately discouraged, because again, we think, "Well, this clearly depends upon me, at least in some measure, and my life isn't going that well. I'm still struggling. I must be messing this up and God is displeased with me." We leave exhausted and not encouraged.  
  
A couple of other observations just really quickly for me; these are not related at all so I'm going to do the best that I can here. Another thing that I think is hard for people is that whenever they have raised concerns in the church, those concerns have been met with pride, defensiveness, and condescension, rather than humility, patience, grace, and charity. That's sad. I know you and I, Jon, have had this conversation offline many times about how we will fail in this because we're sinners too, but one of our chief aims as pastors in our respective churches is to meet the concerns of our people and even critiques that are raised. Or when somebody comes to us and they've been hurt by us or whatever it is, to aim to meet that with humility, charity, grace, and patience, rather than being proud and defensive.  
  
I think pride is only fuel. That flame of pride is only fanned and there's gas poured on that fire by a lot of the pietistic culture that exists in the church that tells you that you will be doing better if you are disciplined and if you apply yourself in these particular ways, and people think that their discipline, devotion, and dedication are what have gotten them to work where they are. I don't want to impugn on people's motivations, but I think they end up looking down upon others who are not doing as well as they are, and are just unable to hear from other people that may raise legitimate concerns before them.  
  
The last thing I want to say before we move forward in terms of struggles with the church is this: when we go to services, it seems that the entire thing, or at least most of it is aimed at the non-believer to try to bring the non-believer in. What that means is that the gospel, in particular the way of salvation—Christ for you, that is almost exclusively preached to the non-Christian in order to get them to make that decision to trust in Christ. But then when it comes to the Christian life and the day-to-day and the week-to-week, once I am in, all I'm getting is a bunch of instruction on how to live better, how to improve, five steps to this, here are things that you need to flee from, here are ways to be disciplined. I end up being exhausted by that because I'm not actually given Jesus in the service. I am, maybe at best, in a situation where Jesus is assumed: we all believe the gospel, but we're going to talk about how you should live today. Our experience of church is not one of rest, it's not one of being reminded that Christ is our righteousness, it's not one of being comforted in the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby being motivated to live out of love, joy, and gratitude. It's a culture that's driven by guilt, shame, fear, dread, and judgment for the believer. Christ is really only held out to somebody who is not yet believed.  
  
Nobody would ever say it this way... Steven Furtick did recently, but a lot of people go to churches where it's, "If you're a Christian, this church isn't for you. This church is for the non-believer. If you're in, we got nothing for you here. In some ways, we might almost do people a service if we were just as honest as Steven Furtick is and saying that this church, Elevation, doesn't exist for the Christian, this church just exists to bring people in because in many churches, that's how they function anyway. The Christians are sitting there starving and are sitting there discouraged and dry because they're not being given Jesus, who is their life, and apart from him, they can do nothing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The question then becomes, "How did we get here?" We're going to talk about what we think the biblical church looks like, as part of what this podcast is about—thinking things from a Reformed perspective—and we will get there eventually, but we want to talk about how we got here. Sometimes it's helpful to understand, deconstruct, and pull back the structure of a church—or the structure of anything—and ask, "Why was it built this way?" I would say the modern church has a patchwork of multi-theology that is not centered on a biblical theology. I think we're going to start with revivalism, we're definitely going to talk about the emergent church, and even the massive influence of the purpose-driven church by Rick Warren.  
  
Something we reference a lot, but I think it's important for you to understand... Justin, let's talk about revivalism a little bit. It's a response to court cold orthodoxy; you think that the church has lost its way, they call it the frozen chosen, the church is dying, and so you have men who want to revive the church and get them back excited. It is not based upon theology, it is not based upon a doctrine, definitely not based upon the history of the church. You have men who are coming in and they are going to preach passionate, fiery sermons to get people to repent. From revivalism, you have all kinds of new things introduced into the church, which is event-based theology, meaning that revivalism wasn't happening inside churches but it was happening inside tent meetings.  
  
Justin Perdue: It was happening outside the local gathering on the Lord's Day.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. They would go from town to town. It's where Billy Graham really got his wings—this idea of these massive events coming from town to town. You have to understand during revivalism, there was no entertainment: there was no radio, there was no TV. When you have someone publicly coming and speaking, and it's in the center of town and you can hear it, you're going to be drawn into that. This is where you start hearing about the anxious bench and sort of famous sawdust trail.  
  
Justin Perdue: I think concerns with revivalism are several; you've mentioned some of them. One is the relocation of the ministry of the Word: it's removed from the corporate gathering on the Lord's Day and it's taken outside of the regular assembly in a field or a tent meeting or something like that. There is a huge emphasis on conversion—making a decision for Christ—not that that's a bad thing to desire, but there is perhaps an off-centered emphasis, in any means necessary, to get those professions of faith and to see conversion happen. Then in addition to that, there's a huge emphasis on moral transformation, because there's always a concern with lax and apathetic living and lawlessness. That is a piece of revivalism.  
  
As you look back through the history of the church, the first and second Great Awakening are both revivalistic movements. The first one was better than the second in terms of the theology that was being preached. George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards are preaching better doctrine in terms of the gospel and how people were saved than many in the second great awakening were, like Charles Finney and others. That's where new methods and all kinds of things were introduced into the church. Like you mentioned, the anxious bench, the altar call, and all of these kinds of things came about in the early to middle part of the 1800s as a result of that movement. It was worse than the first Great Awakening, for sure theologically, and this sounds scandalous to say, but the whole project of revivalism in our minds from our perspective—and this is again thinking about Scripture and thinking about the history of the church and the like—the whole project was skewed and off. The Lord brings revival; He's the one who does that and He's going to do it through the means that He has given us. He's going to do it through the ordinary means of grace that are a piece of the corporate reality of the gathered church on the Lord's Day when we gather for the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, for prayer and for song, and we trust Him to do his work there, rather than using these other more extraordinary measures to bring about what we say is a work of God.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It was performance-based theology. They were going after moral transformation, they were preaching against all kinds of things like gambling and drinking, they're trying to shut down bars, they're trying to shut down pool houses. There's a massive movement. You have men like Charles Finney, who basically said he could convince an entire room to come to be converted to Christ given enough time. He was a great salesman and he was a lawyer.  
  
Justin Perdue: He was a fiery preacher but his theology is so terrible. He would say that every time a Christian sins, he or she needs to be reconverted. This is how you preach fire and brimstone messages. It's not hard. If you're dealing with people who are legitimately converted, if you're dealing with regenerate people who are aware of their sin, it is not hard to convince them they're sinners. But when you tell them that every time they sin, they basically are now unsaved again, and what they need to do is come forward to the front, this is where a lot of this mess of not only coming forward for the altar call to profess faith, but this whole rededication of life and all this stuff—this is where it comes from.  
  
Absolutely. You have a deemphasizing of doctrine, creeds, and confession. These men were not trying to promote a theology based on church history that had been faithfully handed down to them. They were emphasizing the heart of it behind it, I'm thankful; they're emphasizing evangelism and preaching the gospel. But just because someone has good intentions doesn't mean that their actions and the way that fulfilled it is correct. I think a lot of the assessment of the men who were doing revivalistic preaching, they were assessing the local churches and what happened to the dead orthodoxy, and I would say they, too, lost their way. This is part of being a sinner. This is why there's so much warning in the New Testament about who should be elders, who should be teachers, and Paul's warning against those who are shepherding. But the response had such a ripple effect. The wave of this has influenced church history hugely. Millions of millions of churches and Christians around the world have been influenced by this revivalistic movement.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We're going to move forward a little bit. Revivalism starts to take a shift and change where you're starting to see a deemphasizing of doctrine. Even theological schools are dying because men are not seeing the necessity of being well-trained in church history, in the languages, and in doctrine. All of a sudden, men who were performing well and know how to articulate themselves well, or are high energy—I would even say good salesmen—you start to see the shift. Where the shift, I think, in the '90s exploded is in the emergent church, which for a while was really hard to even pin down. What does the emergent church even mean?  
  
Justin Perdue: It's like a big tent.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Rob Bell is really big in this. You have Mark Driscoll coming out of it. The emergent church was dealing basically with postmodernism. What they are trying to fight against what they are really pushing back against is resonating with people in the early '90s , in the 2000s where you had cold, hard facts that were cold and distant from our culture. They wanted something that was more warm and inviting, subjectivity versus objectivity, or spirituality over religion. I can remember that. "I don't want a religion, I want a relationship." it's images versus word, or outward versus inward, feeling versus truth. You can go on. This is where the emergent church really drew in this younger crowd, and they created these massive communities, the people are excited, churches exploded. But as Justin had said, the entire experience came more about how do we draw in a bigger crowd and how do we draw it in and be relevant to the culture? It became all about relevancy. It did not become about faithfulness to the Word of God, allowing the Word of God to convict people of sin, leading to the hope of Christ in the gospel. It became more about how to help people have an experience of God, and the experience became the primary driver of what church looked like.  
  
Justin Perdue: One other piece of this in terms of how we got here... I'm going to use a few words and define them. The current church context and the things that we're describing today are in part a result of triumphalism, and that again is a way to describe this onward and upward, always improving dynamic. The current church context is a result of pietism, which is a hyper-focus on how we are doing on our affections for God, on our disciplines, our obedience and our performance. It's this very inward, very introspective posture that has certainly characterized the church. So you combine that with a triumphalistic perspective of always needing to get better, and then you're hyper introspective and always assessing yourself, your affections, your disciplines, and your obedience. That's a big piece of how we've gotten to where we are.  
  
Then in addition to that, all of this—the triumphalistic and the pietistic stuff—is a part of a larger theology of glory, which is again, "We're strong, we're getting better, we're getting victory," and all of that versus what has historically been understood as a theology of the cross that says that we are in fact weak still. Yes, Christ is strong, but we are not; we are weak, we are needy, and that is where the grace and mercy of Christ is made manifest and obvious as he meets us in our need and our weakness. Right now, not only will we be weak, we will suffer, but there is a glory that awaits us. That kind of theology has just gone by the wayside in most churches today, which is what has resulted in something that we were describing earlier where there's just no place for the struggler, there's no place for the weak, there's no place even for the sinner—certainly not the miserable sinner, as Augustine would have called us. Augustine was lambasted for propagating what many called a miserable sinner version of Christianity. If we're going to be lumped in with him, I guess guilty as charged; we are miserable sinners and Christ is our only hope. But that's not what's been heralded to many of us in our church experience and it's left many of us jaded and disenchanted, and feeling like the church just clearly is not for us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To Justin's point, if you're new to Theocast, two really important subjects that we cover a lot; in our description in our podcast, there'll be links to a podcast for both of those—we did one on the theology of the cross versus the theology of glory, and triumphalism.  
  
One of the things I do want to mention and the impact of it: I grew up about an hour away from this church, Saddleback. Rick Warren wrote a book in the mid-nineties called _The Purpose Driven Church_, which is based off of _The Purpose Driven Life_. I don't know if people understand the influence and impact of that book, but that book is listed in the top 100 Christian books that have changed the century. In many ways, people understand the church in general shifted because of what he wrote. If you read the book about what the purpose of the church is, this is the thing that we are battling today in more ways than I've ever seen. Justin and I used to shake our heads constantly when we're thinking about all of the purposes of the church. What is the purpose of the church? You can think about it: it's social justice, or it's race, or it's dealing with gender equality. There's so much that is driven. When you think about what Jesus handed to us as our primary focus—what drives us, our purpose—and you look at the history of what the church has been driving from revivalism, to the emerging church, to the purpose driven church, you're not handed, what we are going to argue, is what the Reformed tradition has been holding to and what we think is the accurate explanation of Scripture—which is we're going to go now—of the explanation of what the purpose of the church is, the design of the church, and what you should experience in a church.  
  
Justin Perdue: In short, the church is about Jesus and the people who need him. The church obviously is centered around and built upon Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. He's the cornerstone; he's the stone off of which every other stone is oriented in terms of the building of the household of God, and he is the one who bears the weight. He is the one who has accomplished everything that we need. We begin with Christ. We emphasize what he has done for us that we received by faith. This work of Christ stands outside of us. It's _extra nos_. We're always looking to him for our righteousness, for our forgiveness, and our absolution. We are absolved of guilt because of what Jesus has done. We herald that message.  
  
Alongside that, not only do we need Christ, but it's very clear in the New Testament that we need each other. The way that Christ has instituted the church and designed the church is one. It's a design where we together, as we have all been united to Christ and then are united to each other, thereby we live life together with our various gifts and we together build one another up in love unto maturity in Christ. That's going to happen in a corporate setting, not when we're by ourselves; that's going to happen when we're with the saints, not when we're alone. We will grow together or not at all—that's very obvious in the letters of the New Testament.  
  
One of the things that we emphasize regularly is the gathered church. We need to understand that the New Testament epistles are all written to congregations, or they are written to pastors with the congregation in view ala 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Thereby, the exhortations in the New Testament are practically all corporate in nature. The use in the New Testament are plural and the exhortations are to people, groups of Christians, who are living life together. We sadly often just rip those from their context and assume that they're all individual exhortations, but they're not.  
  
The church gathered is a reality that the New Testament upholds all the time. The exhortations about the word of God, or about the sacraments, or about prayer, singing, or any of that, are to take place within the context of the gathered body when we're assembled. That's what the Reformed have always historically referred to as the ordinary means of grace. The way that we're grown in the faith primarily is by gathering with each other and then partaking of these means of the Word and the Lord's Table, baptism, prayer, and the like. God uses that over the course of a lifetime to do things that we could never have imagined that He would do in our lives.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want to mention several verses that are not emphasized. You're not going to hear a lot of sermons on these. These are not verses people memorize but these are what I would call verses that the New Testament writers use to structure what life looks like after conversion. When you are adopted into the family, what does family life look like in the house of God? I can tell you what family life looks like in the house of Moffitt, and we have ways in which we function, we gather, and how we care for each other. My family doesn't live independent of each other. It's not like we pass each other in the hall and say, "How's your day going?" That's not how we work in the Moffitt house.  
  
In God's house, He's very clear in what He wants. I'm not angry at the modern church. I'm not mad at the church. My heart is broken because what God has given us, we seem to have abandoned. So many people are drowning in their own despair, and they're so lonely, and they're so exhausted by sin.  
  
Listen to some of these instructions that God gives the writers in the New Testament to help us understand. We'll start with James: when James says confess your sins to one another. I mention this every Sunday from my pulpit. I say, "Listen, we want to take the Word of God seriously, and James says to confess our sins to one another. Why would we do that? Because what's the fastest way to create a quality within a group of humans? Have everybody admit that they have all failed." That's immediate quality. I don't care what gender you are, I don't care what race you are, I don't care what income you have—you're in equal need of God's grace. How do we know that? Because we confess our failures.  
  
But here's another thing: we do not see dependence on the local church. We see dependence on our efforts and ourselves, but listen to how the writer of Hebrews says this. For instance, he says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." We don't hear this explained, preached, and really put out there as a protection and a place of rest saying, "Hey, listen, rightly trained elders and selected elders are there for your benefit."  
  
Justin Perdue: Staying in the book of Hebrews, because I know we're going to save Ephesians 10:19 and following. I'm not going to read all of it, but the writer says that because of Christ and the access we have to God, and the confidence that we have before God, because of what Jesus has done, he says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Those few verses are just dripping with corporate language. Let us consider how we can stir one another up to love and good works. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope because God Is faithful. Let's not neglect to meet together. Let's assemble.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Even to that point earlier in chapter three, verse 13, "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today', that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. There are so many other passages that we could go to. We're running a little bit short on time. One last comment that I do want to make, before we move over to the members' portion of the podcast, is that as we—in the context of the church, in the context of legitimate community, as the gospel is preached and heralded faithfully week after week and we all understand who Christ is for us and what he did for us—what that produces is a culture in the church where honesty is the order of the day. We are confessing our failures and our shortcomings, and it's actually safe to talk about the things that are really going on in our minds and hearts, because nobody's going to be shocked. We have a robust enough understanding of sin that we understand that we all do things, think things, and desire things that are evil. We understand that our own performance is not where our standing before the Lord lies so we can encourage each other in the faithfulness of God to us in Christ. The gospel creates this authentic community where these things are taking place. I think that's what all of us are starving for. I know that by the Lord's grace, Jon, that's what you and I—along with our other elders in our churches, and our people—we together are aiming to see those kinds of things happen at Grace Reformed Church and at Covenant Baptist Church. We pray that they will and will continue to.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I have a lot more to say but we're running out of time. Let's go ahead and move over to our members' podcast, which will be changing very soon. Stay tuned for that. We have a whole new ministry coming out which will allow you to take this conversation that Justin and I just had, gather with other listeners, and discuss all of your questions and encourage one another locally and online. Stay tuned for Semper Reformanda. It's coming your way. We're excited to launch that.  
  
But we do need to have a further conversation on what the local church looks like. We're going to need to do that. If you want to know more about that, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com and you can learn more about one, how to support Theocast, and two, to join in on this conversation that we're having about continuing the Reformation, helping the church go back to its roots, focusing in on Christ and each other.  
  
We'll see you over there. For those of you who are listening, we'll see you next time.

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### Jesus, Gentle and Lowly

*Published: April 7, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/jesus-gentle-and-lowly*
*Tags: Rest*

What is the posture of Jesus toward those who trust him? In Matthew 11, Jesus invites the weary to come to him that they might find rest. He says he is gentle and lowly in heart. Is that how you have heard Jesus presented? Or have you been told that he is harsh, exacting, and probably disappointed in you?  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the patience, mercy, and gentleness of Christ--and how much we all need to be reminded of that. The guys also discuss self-righteousness and confusion of law and gospel in the pulpit.  
  
Scripture References:  
Isaiah 42:3; 61:1  
Matthew 11:25-30  
Luke 7:36-50; 15:1-35; 18:9-14  
2 Corinthians 10:1  
Ephesians 4:1-4; 5:1-2  
Hebrews 7:25  
1 John 2:1-2  
  
Resources:  
["The Bruised Reed" by Richard Sibbes](https://amzn.to/3mpvWxH)  
["Gentle and Lowly" by Dane Ortlund](https://amzn.to/3wzpGrE)  
  
[Members' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-jesus-gentle-and-lowly/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIv6ndu4SF0  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we're going to be talking about Jesus, and in particular, we're going to be talking about the posture of Jesus toward his own. In Matthew 11, Jesus invites the weary to come to him and says that he is gentle and lowly in heart. But is that how you have thought about Jesus? Is that how you've heard him presented? Or have you heard Jesus presented as something that is frightening, scary, and unsafe? That he is just waiting to drop the hammer on you and is exacting toward his own? If you have, this podcast is for you today, we're going to consider the love, the patience, the mercy of Jesus in both the regular and the members' episodes. We hope this is encouraging for you. Stay tuned.  
  
We're going to be talking about Jesus today, and in a particular way, we're going to be talking about the nature of Christ, the posture of Jesus, in particular, toward his own.  
  
We are going to be talking about that subject matter because in evangelicalism broadly, there seems to be, at best, a confusing picture painted of the Lord Jesus in terms of his posture toward us and at times almost a conflicting message that is presented to us where Jesus feels all kinds of ways about us, and a number of those ways are not great and they are frightening.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I even say, without trying to be sacrilegious, it comes across as if Jesus is bipolar. It's like at one moment, he's one way, to the same people, he's a completely different way. How can that be?  
  
Justin Perdue: I understand what you mean in terms of not wanting to come across as sacrilegious. I just want to clarify. I think what you're saying is true in that Jesus is depicted that way—that one moment he is gentle, he's tender, he's compassionate, and the next moment he is threatening, scary, exacting, and is causing us to question whether or not we're in him at all, or if anybody ever could be.  
  
Obviously, the ministry here at Theocast is characterized by us helping one another, frankly, and also helping those who might ever listen to us to rest in Christ because we are all weary pilgrims as we are making our way as sojourners and exiles in this wasteland called fallen earth. We're all pilgrims on the way to the Celestial City, and we are weary because of living life in a fallen world, because we too are still fallen, and battle our sin and struggle in all kinds of ways. It matters very much how we understand our Lord and Savior to relate to us. It matters very much especially in those moments where we're low and down and not doing well. How is it that Jesus feels about me? How does Jesus think about me? What's his posture toward me? Is it disappointment, anger, and wrath? Is his MO one of unsettling me and scaring me into zeal, passion, and discipline or is it something else? That question is huge.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's the thing that drives you either towards Christ and affection or drives you away from him. I think a lot of the coldness that people feel, this distance, is because they have been handed a Jesus that is exacting, that is harsh, that requires you to be on your game, to be the dedicated people who have figured out how to discipline their life in such a way that it reflects the very nature of Jesus. We're going to get into this in a minute, but we use law passages that are meant to crush you, we use them to motivate us to draw near to Christ. We're going to make the argument that what draws us near to Jesus is not the law of Christ, but what draws us near to Christ is his mercy, his grace, his gentleness, his kindness, and his love.  
  
Justin Perdue: His love, his patience—all of those things.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The kindness of God is what's supposed to lead us to repentance. But what happens is, and I know that you and I have both experienced this style of Christianity within the modern, and I would say, conservative evangelical world, the Calvinistic world, and even parts of the Reformed world, Jesus is used as a whipping post. You take him and you just beat people over the head with, "Well, this is what Jesus is requiring of you and you're not doing it. How dare you say you're a Christian? How do you not question your salvation if you aren't living up to Jesus expectations of...?" Then whatever you want to put in there, whether it's forsaking all wealth, your affections, your time, your dedication, evangelism. Then Jesus is presented to you as one that requires, I would say, not the complete law because no one could do that, and they would say no one is saved by the law, but a lesser view of the law. It's not a full debt. I think you said it well in a podcast a few weeks ago: it's not that they're expecting you to be perfect, but you at least need to have the desire to be perfect. When you can't make it, when you're not there, you look at Jesus not as one to adore, but you look at him and you wonder how you could even ever consider yourself to be a part of his family because you can't live up to the expectations he's put upon you.  
  
Justin Perdue: Maybe a quick caveat out of the gate, before I say what I'm about to and launch us into this conversation, is in everything that we're about to say, in no way are we contradicting the idea that we would reverence the Lord Jesus Christ. Not to bury the lead here, but to understand that he is gentle, lowly, patient, and kind, that he loves us and that he delights to show grace and mercy to sinners who know they need him is in no way contradictory with the fact that he is the Lord of all creation and that we reverence him, and that we reverence God, meaning that we understand who the Lord is and what He requires because He has revealed it to us in his holy law and we understand that for every law breaker, the wrath of God rightly comes upon him or her. So, of course, we revere the Lord in that way; we fear Him in that biblical sense of that word, that word "fear" meaning to reverence and to be in awe. Of course we are. Part of what makes God so worthy of that is the fact that He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, and that He delights to show that, and He delights to forgive iniquity, transgressions, and sins—and He has done that in the person and work of God the Son made flesh whose name is Jesus.  
  
Now, we're going to talk about him. I know I need this conversation regularly in my own Christian life. I know you feel the same, brother, and I trust there are thousands and thousands of people out there who will listen to this who need this as well.  
  
Let's start by doing a little bit of, as we like to phrase it, deconstruction—to diagnose what's going on out there that produces this kind of confusion with respect to Jesus and his posture toward us. We're in him. We talk a decent amount on this podcast about the distinction between law and gospel, and how important that is that we rightly divide those two things. That manifests itself in a whole host of ways, but pertinent to our conversation today, there is a ton of confusion in evangelicalism broadly, and maybe even more specifically, as you alluded to a minute ago, the Calvinistic evangelical world. I say this humbly but unashamedly: there is a failure to rightly distinguish between law and gospel when it comes to the speaking, the teaching, and the discourses of Jesus Christ; the words that come out of his mouth as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. A lot of people out there assume that if Jesus said it, that it must be gospel somehow. If it's a red letter, it must be gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I have to be careful, and you need to understand some of the titles that are presented in the Bible are not biblical—the books didn't necessarily have titles to them. " The Gospel of John" is misleading; it should be "The Life and Times of Jesus Written by John". Because not everything in John's letter is gospel.  
  
Justin Perdue: Some of what Jesus says is gospel; most of what Jesus preaches and teaches is law. Everything that Jesus came to do in our place that we never could is gospel. So his perfect life, his righteousness that's counted to us by faith—that's gospel. His passive obedience, his suffering, bearing the penalty of the law in the place of those of us who have broken it, bearing the wrath of God for our transgression and iniquity—that's gospel. His triumphant resurrection that vindicated all of his work, but also secured our bodily resurrection—that's gospel.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Another way to almost reword gospel is that it's the reward of the works of Christ. We are being rewarded what Christ has done. It's tricky when you're using illustrations, but you and I would not describe the playing of a football game, the middle of the game, as the actual reward. No, the reward, the win comes at the end. If you mix those two, which ends up happening, gospel means we are receiving what Christ has done, but somehow gospel means, no, it's what Christ has done and what you do, too.  
  
Justin Perdue: The gospel is the message. It's the news of what Christ has done. That results in the salvation of the elect, the salvation of all the saints, because of Christ and because of him alone. That's the good news. The good news, as we've talked about recently, actually contains nothing within it that we are to do.  
  
The issue at hand here is that when you collapse law and gospel, and when you don't distinguish between law and gospel as Jesus is speaking and teaching it and interacting with people, then what you end up doing is giving and painting this very confusing picture of Christ. When Jesus encounters people who are self-righteous, when he encounters people who are trusting in themselves, either that they are righteous or that they can become or achieve that righteousness, he meets that with an exacting posture, he meets that with even a threatening and unsettling posture, and he speaks law into those situations and to those people. His aim is to unsettle every person who understands that he or she is well, to unsettle every person that understands that he is righteous. He is aiming to crush people with the law that they might see who they are rightly, and then be driven to their only hope, who is Christ himself. That's his mission. And that's what he's trying to achieve.  
  
Again, not to bury the lead: every time Jesus encounters a person in the gospels, every time he encounters a person who is aware of his or her need, who understands that he or she is sick, unrighteous, has no merit, and are desperate, every time he encounters such a person, he greets them and meets that with compassion, gentleness, tenderness, and he forgives their sins.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's what he even says: "Those who have ears to hear, let them hear." When Jesus is talking to those Pharisees, they want Jesus to be the victorious King, and Jesus is like, "No, I'm here to save you. Unless you see me as that, then you cannot be saved."  
  
Real quick, I want to take us to Matthew 11\. This is a great point, Justin, what you just made. Jesus is having a conversation with this crowd of Pharisees. He's dialoguing with them about the nature of himself, what he is here for, and how it is that he is going to save sinners, but they don't see themselves as sinners. In the midst of this conversation, he just starts praying. Matthew says he's praying publicly out loud in front of these Pharisees. "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children."  
  
Justin Perdue: It's dripping with irony.  
  
Jon Moffitt: These people are not looking at Jesus with affection at this moment after he says this. They're clenching their fists even more. They're even more upset.  
  
Justin Perdue: Because he's praying a prayer in their midst that indites them.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In their culture, children are a thing to be shunned, they're to be quiet, they're to be put off in the background.  
  
Justin Perdue: They represent foolishness and neediness.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's exactly right. Jesus is saying that the Father of heaven has revealed it to the needy and foolish, but to you who think you're wise, he's hidden it from you. "Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." You have here Jesus saying that if you're going to know the Father, it can only happen through him, and if you want to know Him, then Jesus is going to be the one that reveals it to you, and you who are self-righteous and you who see no need of Jesus, you're going to be blind to it.  
  
Now it's almost like he speaks past over the shoulders of the people he's talking to and onto those in the background who are too afraid to stand up front because they're not as righteous as the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Jesus looks past them and says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden." Labor under what? He just got done talking about those who are self-righteous under the law, a law that really isn't the Moses Law; it's their law. Then he says "heavy laden"—you could feel the weight of your sin under that. Then, I love this: "And I will give you rest." Then he says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  
  
What's interesting is that Jesus doesn't speak of himself, as far as his nature is concerned; he speaks of the Father's will, the relationship to the Father, the relationship of, "I am the door", "I'm the way", "I'm the light", "I'm the living water". But here he is calling those who are feeling, I would say, trashed by the law; their sins are just weighing them down. What does Jesus use to entice them to come down? Is it fear? Is it dread? Is it the future of God coming and throwing them into some kind of a... No, he says, "Come to me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart," which is contrasting the Pharisees; they are harsh and they are not lowly in heart.  
  
Justin Perdue: Jesus, over and over again, is clear that he has nothing for people who understand that they're doing well with respect to the law. He'll even say, "I didn't come to call the righteous, I came to call sinners. I didn't come for those who are well, I came for those who are sick." Now, he's not saying that there are those who are righteous in and of themselves. He's not saying that there are any fallen human beings who aren't sick. His point is, "I came for those who know they are in need." I agree with your point that the Pharisees had, if anything, just added to that burden by putting the hedge around the law. Not only was there the Mosaic Law and everything that it contained, there was even more piled on top of it. So Christ is speaking to people who have been crushed by that, who are quite literally being buried under that burden that they can't carry—and they know they can't. He says to those people, "Come to me. You're weary, you're exhausted, you're way down. Come to me. That burden that's on you that's impossible for you to bear, I'll carry that for you." The reason that he can say, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart," is because Jesus has taken the yoke of the law upon himself for us and has fulfilled it; he has carried that load and then he invites us to come to him, and he gives us a very different yoke, a very different burden that he says is easy and light. We'll probably talk about what that is here in a minute.  
  
This is a word to the weary struggler, to the person who knows deep in his or her heart that they're not meeting the standard and they're grieved by it, they're exhausted, they can't do it. And it's effectively the tax collector from Luke 18\. It's the beating your chest, not looking up to heaven, saying, "God, have mercy on me because I'm a sinner." That's who this is to. And look at the posture of our Lord towards us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I always find comfort when you look at Peter, Paul, and James, and they reflect on Christ. They, in many ways, interpret the gospels. You have to understand that sometimes we think that the way that the New Testament was written was from Matthew forward. Actually, the gospels come a lot later. For instance, Corinthians was written before the gospel. There are a lot of people who don't know this.  
  
Justin Perdue: Galatians is probably the earliest piece of writing in the New Testament.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Exactly. I think it's James that's close by. Paul describes Jesus and he says, "I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." If someone wants to say, "Jon, you guys are misrepresenting Christ here in Matthew and you are not interpreting that correctly." I'm interpreting it the way Paul does because he says he's entreating them. He's calling them to repentance. He's begging them with what? The meekness and gentleness of Christ. I look at that and I go, "That makes sense."  
  
Justin Perdue: Here's another one: "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." Paul's word there in 1 Timothy 1:15-16 is, "I am the foremost of sinners." In other words, nobody's a worse sinner than me and Jesus Christ has been gracious and patient with me so that you might know that he will be the same way with you.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Recently people are increasingly getting confused by rest and not taking sin seriously. There is no way under heaven and hell that Jesus is saying, "Come on to me and don't worry about your sin." That's not what he's saying. He is saying, "Come to me and I'm going to free you from your sin." When he says, "rest for your soul", what gives your soul anxiety? What causes it to feel guilt and sin?  
  
Justin Perdue: He's talking to people who are grieved by sin.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Resting is not saying," I don't have to worry about my sin because there's grace." no grace leads us to repentance.  
  
Justin Perdue: For any person who is arrogant or comfortable in sin. There is a message that we speak from Scripture and it's called the law. Jesus does that in his ministry, the apostles do it in their writing, we do it, Jon, as preachers and pastors in our local churches. We preach the law toward those who are arrogant and comfortable in sin.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I winna go back to here and what Jesus is saying, and I love it because it brings so much comfort to know that what we have been saying and preaching and what leads us along is grounded in the very words and nature of Jesus Christ. It's not as if I needed this, but when I look at it, as you said, Justin, sometimes we get beat down by, unfortunately, legalism and pietism; people will attack you. There is so much of it that it's prevalent in popular evangelicalism. I just want to say, have we not read Matthew 11? Why is this not a part of our systematic theology when we think about Christology? I want to say here again that he's talking to people who are crushed by their sin. The law that's being put upon them is too much for them to carry—those who are heavy laden and burdened. Then he says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me." Why would we want to do that, Jesus? He goes well, "Because I am gentle and lowly in heart. My intentions are not to crush you. My intentions are not for you to earn your salvation. I am here to give you the rest they and the law cannot give you."  
  
Jesus has made his yoke and his burden very, very obvious of what he means by that. What does he mean? We go find rest in Jesus, he's giving the rest of our souls; now, what are we supposed to be doing?  
  
Justin Perdue: He says, "You're burdened and heavy laden. Come to me. I have taken the burden of the law from you. I have fulfilled it. I have taken the burden of your sins from you and have atoned for them, and you will bear none of that anymore." I'm going to say the shortest and then expand a little bit where he effectively says to us, "Now that I have done all that for you, and you have come to me, love me and love each other." Loving him is more, "Love me and abide in my love. Live and rest and dwell in my love, but love each other." Even if we're going to say it as "love me and love each other", we respond to that as those whom Jesus Christ has rescued. Oh yeah, absolutely. What else would we do, Jesus, but to love you in light of how you have loved us and have given yourself for us? That's Ephesians 5:1-2\. Also Ephesians 5:1-2: therefore we love each other. Of course, this is what we would do. That yoke is easy and that burden is light, according to the Lord Jesus. And it is.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want you to pay attention again to Paul. Paul says in Ephesians 4, he gets done just giving you the glory of Christ. We probably mention this passage every week, but it's so relevant to the everyday life of the Christian; why not mention it? Ephesians 4, Paul says, "I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." If we go back to Matthew 11, he says that if you believe in Jesus, if you've come to him, that's because it's been revealed to you or he has called you unto himself. Paul is saying if you're one of these ones who have been called, this is the burden that you bear. I love this. He doesn't point to actions, as far as these are the watermarks by which you must hit; he says, "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity in the bond of peace. It's like, "Listen, be nice to each other. That's what I need you to do. Be kind."  
  
Justin Perdue: In other words, love each other; be humble, be gentle, be patient, be kind, and pursue unity because we have all been united to the Lord Jesus Christ. We're united to him and we're united to one another in him. That's the message, for sure.  
  
Hebrews is chock full of stuff, but Hebrews 7 is beautiful, where we read in Hebrews 7:25, in particular, that Jesus always lives to make intercession for his own. He is able to save to the uttermost all those who draw near to God through him. That's a wonderful, wonderful thought about Christ and his posture toward us. He intercedes for us. But then also he advocates for us when we sin. 1 John 2:1-2\. "Little children, I'm writing these things to use so that none of you may sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but the sins of the whole world." Christ advocates for his people. Dane Ortlund does a good job of talking about Christ's roles. Dane does a nice job of talking about Christ as intercessor and Christ as advocate. Even the difference between the two, that as an intercessor, that's an ongoing role; as an advocate, that particularly happens when we sin. It's not that Jesus advocates for us once we've gotten beyond our sin and we've gotten better; he advocates for us in the midst of it, and that's a wonderful reminder in terms of Christ's gentleness in his love toward us even in our weakness and failure.  
  
A couple of other passages from the gospels—and these are both from Luke that come to mind—we touched on one of these a few weeks ago, so I'm not going to labor it. In the aftermath of that interchange in Luke 14, where Jesus is exhorting people to take up their cross and more or less to renounce everything they would ever look to in themselves, immediately Luke 15 follows. Jesus is speaking to people, and we're told that sinners and tax collectors are gathering around him; they're drawing near to him and the Pharisees don't like it. Then what does Christ do in that context where he's got sinners and tax collectors drawing near to him, and the Pharisees are upset? Because those kinds of folk shouldn't draw near to a prophet. What does he do? He tells three parables about the joy that there is in heaven when sinners are saved.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Not the righteous.  
  
Justin Perdue: When sinners repent, when sinners are saved, there's rejoicing in heaven, just like when a shepherd loses a sheep and goes and finds it, brings it back, and has a party. Just like the woman who loses a coin, turns her house upside down and inside out and finds it, calls her friends together and has a party. Jesus says it will be in heaven.  
  
Then, of course, the prodigal son, which is all about the posture of God toward us. We've blown it in every way, and then even when we think about how we relate to God, we come back to God with all of these pitches and presentations. "Let me work for you as a slave. Treat me as a hired servant." And the Father effectively says none of that; I've got a robe of righteousness for you, a ring of grace, and shoes of mercy. Let's celebrate cause you were lost and are found; you were dead and you're now alive. It's who God is. That's huge that we would understand that whole passage, that whole chapter, that's very well known. What is it that gives occasion for it? It is self-righteousness, people that think they don't need a Savior, and people who are upset that Jesus would have sinners draw near to him. Christ is like, "You don't get it. This is who I am. This is who my Father is."  
  
Jon Moffitt: I was going to say that what's interesting about the story of the prodigal son is that the prodigal son never disowned his father. He still realized that he was in his family, but what did he try to do? He tried to earn his way back into the good graces of the father.  
  
Justin Perdue: He tried to earn it. He said, "Let me work. Let me be a slave." The father interrupts his pitch. Because he's saying, "Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son." And he's going to say, "Treat me as a hired servant." That's when the father says, "Bring the best robe and put it on him."  
  
We think, "I've got to do this. I've got to somehow plead my case and bring something." And the Father delights to say, "No, that was never what this was about." And of course that robe of righteousness is the very righteousness of Christ that we put on.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. And it's not that the father was justifying the son's sin because the son had repented; he had come home. If you think we're saying God is just going to look past your sin, that's not what we're saying.  
  
I'm going to read to you a couple of passages that are, what I would say, prophecies of Christ, and even the nature of God's relationship to the sinner. First one is Isaiah 42:3, when he says, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice." There are so many people in my church, and we've even gotten three or four or five emails this morning from Theocast listeners from around the world—this describes you. You are bruised for a number of reasons; it could be circumstances, it could be cancer, it could be your own sin. Then you definitely feel this idea of you being barely alive. What we hear in this radicalness, in this description of Jesus, is that if you're not full of flame on fire for God, then you should be questioning your salvation, you should be questioning whether you're truly in God. And you have here the prophets saying, "Don't worry. For those of you who feel like a strong enough wind is going to come and snap you, and you're not as strong as you know you're supposed to be, and for those of you that a little poof is going to blow out your fire, don't worry. That is not going to happen."  
  
I'm going to read you a quote from Richard Sibbes' book, _The Bruised Reed_. He quotes Isaiah 61:1, and he says, "He 'binds up the broken hearted'. As a mother is tenderest toward the most diseased and weakest child, so does Christ most mercifully incline to the weakest. Likewise he puts an instinct into the weakest things to rely upon something stronger than themselves for support. The vine steadies itself upon the elm, and the weakest creatures often have the strongest shelters. The consciousness of the church's weakness makes her willing to lean on her Beloved and to hide herself under his wings." I love this. The church is described as weak and Christ is described as strong. We somehow reverse this as if we are the ones to be strong, and Jesus says, "No, I'll be strong enough for you."  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen, brother. There's a great interchange toward the end of //The Bruised Reed//. It's a hypothetical dialogue between Satan and a believer. Satan, of course, is the great accuser of the brethren, and so Sibbes is talking about how effectively, as we would frame it, the sufficiency of Christ and the love of Christ toward us is what we are able to look to in order to extinguish the darts of the enemy. Satan, of course, is lobbying all these accusations about how this believer has no faith, no love, and all these things, and the believer is acknowledging it: "You're right. I've got barely a hint of faith and love." The devil will say, "Christ is not going to regard that." the believer keeps pointing back to Jesus and the nature of Christ ultimately to say, "No, Jesus will fan that flame. He will sustain and fan that flame until he has brought judgment to victory." That is the hope of the Christian.  
  
One last passage, Jon, from the gospels that I think is really good to illustrate the posture of Jesus towards sinners; it's the woman of the city from Luke 7\. This is a woman who is a prostitute. Jesus has been invited by a Pharisee to come have dinner at his house. Jesus is in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and this woman of the city, as Luke says, because she has heard that Jesus is there, she comes to this Pharisee's house. That's a shocking thing to say in and of itself, that a woman at the city who is a sinner, a prostitute, would come to the house of a Pharisee because she's heard that Christ is there. Of course, there's the famous account where she comes in and she cleans the feet of Christ with her own tears, her own hair, and anoints them with the ointment she's brought and all of these things, and the Pharisee is indignant. He's thinking if this man were a prophet, he would have nothing to do with this woman because of the kind of woman she is. Of course, Christ knows his thoughts and gives him this illustration about a moneylender who had two debtors, one owed him 500 denarii, the other owed him 50\. Neither could pay, and the moneylender forgives the debt. Who's going to love the moneylender more? And the Pharisee rightly answers that it's the one who had the bigger debt forgiven. So Christ then points to the woman and demonstrates that she has done all of these things for him because she has been forgiven much. He says that her sins, though they are many, have been forgiven, and she has loved much. And then he just looks at this woman and says to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Two verses later, he looks at her and he says, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." It's so good. It's gripping, right?  
  
An observation not unique to me: Jesus offers not one single word of rebuke to that woman. Though her sins are many, he says so himself, the only words he speaks to her are words of forgiveness and peace. "You're forgiven, daughter, and you can go in peace because your faith in me has saved you." Jesus is a friend for sinners; there is none like him. This is how he always treats people who come to him in that way, and that's what we are aiming to uphold this morning and what we aim to uphold in our churches all the time. Jon, I need this, you need this. I need Christ to look upon me, a wretch, who knows I'm a wretch, and say, "Son, you're forgiven. You can go in peace because your faith in me has saved you."  
  
Jon Moffitt: To your point, Justin, she doesn't need to be rebuked. She is there because she's a sinner. Someone might say, "Jon, you gotta be careful there. Justin, should be careful because that can make it sound like someone could live in prostitution and just come to Jesus and it's okay." No, she came to Jesus because she wanted forgiveness, not justification for her sins.  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen, brother. It's very clear in the context: she's got no merit, she's got no righteousness, she's got no confidence in herself. Her posture is meek, humble, and contrite, and is casting herself upon Christ. To everyone who comes to him that way, Jesus says, "I will never cast you out. I will keep you and I will raise you up on the last day."  
  
Jon Moffitt: If you are the smoldering wick and the bruised reed, let me encourage you that Paul makes it very clear how it is that you were to be cared for and it's not by yourself. Justin and I will explain that to you. Secondly, I have some thoughts on preachers who come in with the self-righteousness, almost of the Pharisees, and just lay law on those who are the smoldering wick and the bruised reed, and it is disgusting. So I have some thoughts on that as well.  
  
Justin Perdue: I imagine the members' podcast, the one we're about to do, is going to be spirited today. If you want to listen in on that conversation, you can find more information about our membership and ways that you can partner with the podcast at our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. The membership and everything related to it is going to be changing in the near future. I know we've been saying that for a number of weeks. We're working hard to get that pulled off for you, and we are excited about what it's going to be like. The podcast that we're about to do is very much a family time. We're having a conversation with one another. Those who have partnered with us to join this Reformation, we're going to continue to think about this subject matter in terms of the posture of Christ and even some of the things that John raised: how a number of preachers seem to have a posture that is similar to that of the Pharisees and self-righteousness and all that good stuff.  
  
If you're interested in that conversation, we look forward to talking with many of you over there. We thank you for listening today. We hope that you have been encouraged as we have thought about the gentle and lowly posture of Jesus Christ towards sinners like us. We look forward to talking with you again next week.

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### Depart from Me (Dazed and Confused: Matthew 7)

*Published: March 31, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/depart-from-me-dazed-and-confused-matthew-7*
*Tags: Assurance, Dazed &amp; Confused, Depart from Me, Matthew 7, NC*

"I never knew you; depart from me," are words in Matthew 7 many of us fear we will hear from Jesus. Should we live in fear that we will finally be rejected by Christ for not doing enough? Was that his intention? Or did he mean something else?  
  
Members' Podcast Description: Jon and Justin talk about the importance of law/gospel distinction in the Sermon the Mount, as well as how to love and care for those with a tender conscience.  
  
Book give away: ["Safe in Christ: A Primer on Assurance" ](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product-category/books/safe-in-christ/)  
  
[Members' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-depart-from-me-dazed-and-confused-matthew-7/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEx4FWSrrNE  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, we are looking at the phrase, "Depart from me; I never knew you." Many of you have struggled with this and asked us what this means and why did Jesus say this? Justin and I are going to look at Matthew 5-7, and then specifically looking at verses 21 and following, to help you understand what Jesus really meant by saying, "Depart from me; I never knew you." Stay tuned.  
  
Justin, today is one of these podcasts that, I think, for years and years and years, we have been getting the question on Matthew 7\. The famous phrase of Jesus "depart from me; I never knew you" is a legitimate source of fear and anxiety among many, many Christians. What we're going to do today on the podcast is try and walk you through what Jesus wanted us to know and maybe how he misinterpreted that.  
  
Justin, I'm going to start with you. I know that you wanted to give us a little bit of context with Matthew 5, and that'll help us in our explanation while walking through the passage in Matthew 7, so that we can fully understand Jesus's intention. We're not going to be biblicist or eisegete a text, which means to isolate a verse out of its context and make our own application separate from the original intention of the application.  
  
Justin Perdue: We want to try to faithfully understand this text in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, because that's where this occurs. Matthew 5-7 contain the Sermon on the Mount, which is perhaps the most famous sermon in the history of the world. What we would understand is contained in those chapters is a summary of all the things that Jesus would have taught on that occasion. We want to be faithful to that context in an immediate way, but then we also want to be faithful to the context of the New Testament, the new covenant, and the context of the entire Scripture. We hope that that's what occurs today and we hope this is encouraging for people.  
  
The Sermon on the Mount, wholesale—there are a number of things that could be said about it, but it's very clear that perhaps the primary thing that Jesus is aiming to do in that sermon is to unpack and preach for the people God's law and apply it rightly to the hearts of man. He begins with the Beatitudes, which are relatively famous—and I think those we could talk about for just a second. He begins by saying blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, those who are meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc. It's very clear that what Christ is saying in that context is you're blessed if these things characterize you and to be these things very clearly means that you understand that you are weak, that you are needy, that you do not have what it takes, and that you would be hungering and thirsting for righteousness but understanding—and I'm going to go and say in the context of the whole Scripture—that righteousness must be given to you. It's not something that you can achieve and earn. It's very clear in the way that he lays out some of those Beatitudes there.  
  
But then he goes on, in Matthew 5, to say things like, "I didn't come to abolish the law; I came to fulfill the law." Not any small part of the law is going to pass away. Then he says to the people that righteousness is required of you, and in particular, a righteousness that is greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees, which in that context would have been a mind blowing thing to say because the scribes and Pharisees were famous for their conformity to the law. They were so godly and pious that they had even put a hedge around the law so that they didn't come close to breaking it. That would have been the perception, and that would have been held up in the minds of the people as the standard of righteousness and godliness. And Jesus says even that is not enough; you need something that exceeds even that. Then he goes on to illustrate what the law of God requires, in talking about anger, and how you've heard it said you shouldn't murder, and you might think you're good if you hadn't killed somebody, but if you're angry with your brother, you've broken the law. You've heard to not commit adultery: you might think you're doing well, and that you've fulfilled the law if you're not sleeping with somebody who's not your spouse, but I'm telling you if you've lusted after somebody, you've broken the law. He goes on to talk in those ways. Then at the very end of Matthew 5:48, the conclusion there of that section is, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Anybody who has ears to hear, that is listening to Christ speak these kinds of words, must draw the conclusion, "I am done. It's hopeless for me because I cannot do what Christ is telling me I have to do."  
  
This is an exercise in law and gospel distinction. If you don't have a law and gospel distinction in view when you come to the Sermon on the Mount, God help you because Christ is saying things that will absolutely not only unsettle you, but crush you. Because it's very clear that what is required of us before the Lord, we could never pull it off.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I think it's helpful just to read the beginning of Matthew 6, because he is setting the tone of who he's talking to: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." So he is dealing with an issue of self-righteousness. I think this is so important.  
  
Justin Perdue: Self-righteousness and this kind of very external showy religion. Even when he teaches us to pray in the famous model prayer, the Lord's Prayer, what does he say right before it? "Don't heap up empty phrases in prayer, like the Gentiles do, thinking that there'll be heard for their many words." Don't do that; that's what ungodly people do. "God already knows what you need before you ask Him, so therefore, pray this way."  
  
Jon Moffitt: And in that context, when he says not to lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, sometimes we think of that about money, but in context, again, I do think he's thinking of your works here. You think you're somehow gaining value, and he says, "No, this is not where your value is found." It's so helpful if you're going to make applications and understand what Jesus' intentions of us understanding what he's saying, you have to pay close attention to his audience, and his words, and what he's saying. This is why we wanted to start back in chapter five and get the whole sermon in mind to study what he's going after. There's a law-gospel distinction definitely going on. He's giving them law so that they'll take the gospel, they don't want the gospel, so he ups the law higher and higher and higher.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's important to remember that Jesus almost exclusively interacts with other Jewish people; he is not speaking to Gentiles, he's not speaking to pagans. He's talking to people who would have had the Torah, the law of God, who would have at least to some extent known it, and who would have been under this very Pharisaical kind of religion where they were taught, "Do these things, and you will be righteous."  
  
Even the Pharisees would acknowledge that God needs to be gracious in this and that God is the one who makes us this way ala Luke 18: "I thank you, God, that I'm not like other people." But it still is this notion of needing to be righteous and needing to do what's required. To use the language of the gospels that we see repeated over and over again, he's talking to people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and he's talking to people that trust that they can somehow achieve righteousness—and we cannot ever forget that when we're reading the teachings of Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's super helpful.  
  
Now we're moving into chapter seven, and in chapter seven, the theme is being carried along. Jesus' primary mission, he says, "I've come to seek and to save that which is lost." He says the healthy don't need a physician, but the sick. So, he's always telling them, "I am here for those." Just like we said a couple of weeks ago, when we were looking at Luke 14 and he's talking about those who can hear, let them hear. Who is it that walked toward Jesus? It was sinners and tax collectors. He is trying to convert every self-righteous Jew into a sinner because once they're a sinner, they'll want Jesus as a Savior. But until they see Jesus as Savior, then they're never going to see him as who he is. A Jewish teacher; that's all they're going to see.  
  
Justin Perdue: You're exactly right. He's talking to people and he's saying effectively, "You think you're healthy, but I'm telling you you're sick. You think you're righteous, but I'm telling you you're a sinner."  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Then you look at chapter seven. If you pay attention from chapter five going forward, it seems like Jesus just keeps upping the wall so high that eventually no one will think they can climb over into acceptable righteousness in the presence of God—but they don't. So Jesus says, "Judge not, that you be not judged for the. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure that you use it will be measured to you. What are these people saying? "Oh, I'm a righteous person and they're not." Jesus is like, "Don't do that. You're not understanding."  
  
Justin Perdue: It's straight up Romans 2\. When you do that, what you're effectively doing is this: you are judging other people because they have not met the standard that you are holding out for them to meet. Then effectively, he is saying, "You also have not met your own standard. So when you judge other people and condemn them for not meeting the standard and not passing the test, you condemn yourself because you haven't done those things either." Then the point of Paul in Romans 2 that, I think, agrees with the words of Jesus is if you haven't met your own standard, how much less so have you met God's?  
  
Jon Moffitt: He even calls them hypocrites at one point. "You hypocrite! First take out the log that is in your own eye," your own sin, your own self-righteousness; you need to remove that before you can ever be considered to think about trying to help someone else. He starts moving on. Then there's the shift where he's trying to help them understand that he is drawing them to himself. He says something in verse seven: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." He was bouncing back and forth between the concept of those who try and earn self-righteousness, this is what happens to them, but those who receive self-righteousness, it's theirs. "If you want my righteousness, just ask for it. It's yours."  
  
What you have to understand is that these people have so much law in their minds. They must earn it. Jesus says, "No, the Father who is good, and will give good gifts, He will give it to you. Ask for it and it's yours."  
  
Justin Perdue: Yeah. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Ask and it will be given. Jesus is reiterating that God is a good and faithful Father who always gives good gifts to his kids, so you can trust that God will be good and that He will respond kindly to such a request.  
  
What Jesus is doing there is it's an invitation. This is effectively Christ saying, "Come to me and come to my Father in humility and meekness and poorness of Spirit," if that's even a way to phrase it, "and the poverty of your own spiritual condition. Ask, and it will be given." It's Luke 18 again; it's, "Have mercy on me, a sinner."  
  
I'm just mindful of Jesus saying in John 6, "Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out." So this invitation, "Ask and you'll receive," it all hangs together quite beautifully.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yes, it does.  
  
Now we're getting to a place where things are going to get a little complicated. This is where these verses are often used to beat Christians down and to scare them. From some of the camps that I grew up in, which was fundamentalism and even the Lordship salvation camp, these are used as a way to say, "Hey, for those who are going to be a real Christian, a true Christian, those who are going to take Jesus seriously, we're just going to quote Jesus." Jesus literally says that it's hard to be a Christian, it's hard to find your way in. So, you start reading verses like Matthew 7:13, which says, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Right there, Jesus is saying that if you're going to come unto him, it's going to be hard and there's not going to be very many that find it. What does Jesus communicate? Have we misunderstood him or are we understanding him rightly? What is he saying here?  
  
Justin Perdue: What I don't think he's saying is the kind of stuff that would be presented, like you've alluded to, Jon, in the Lordship camp; the kind of hard-to-believe, "Christianity is hard so you need to be dedicated enough, you need to persevere, you need to grit your teeth and white knuckle this thing, stay the course and it's going to be hard. If it was easy, everybody would do it. Only the strong survive." That's the message that we often hear, and I don't think that's at all what Christ is saying—in part, because that would fly in the face of the context of the Sermon on the Mount, and it is contradictory to the gospel, bottom line. We then ask ourselves, in light of the context of the Sermon on the Mount, where it falls in redemptive history in light of a law-gospel distinction and the like, and also a theology of the cross. I'm just throwing a bunch of terms that we've used before, and if you don't know what these are, you can listen to some other episodes.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We'll put them in the notes.  
  
Justin Perdue: What I think Christ is saying, Jon, is that very few people will be Christians because it is hard to enter, because very few people are going to renounce their own virtue, and renounce what they're doing and trust in Christ alone. That is not something that is intuitive or natural for fallen man. We always want to trust in ourselves in some way. It's hard, actually. Frankly, to use the words of Christ elsewhere, it's impossible for man to enter into this because we always want to look to ourselves, and it is only by a miracle of God that we would ever look away from ourselves completely and trust Christ. So, yeah, the gate is narrow and the way is hard in that—Christ says this in other places and we talked to this a couple of weeks ago—if we follow Jesus, we will live a cruciform life in that we follow a crucified suffering Messiah, so our lives will also be characterized by weakness and we will encounter harm and hatred for his name. It will not be an easy way to live. I think that's what he's trying to illustrate there.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is not disconnected from the context of being perfect; this is the outflow of it. As a matter of fact, he gives something above it. "However you wish to be treated, treat other people that way, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Then he says, "Oh, and by the way, entering into the gate is hard. It's narrow. There are few that find it." Why? Because it requires you to abandon yourself; any self-worth, any self-righteousness is what he is talking about.  
  
Then he says to them, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You'll recognize them by their fruits." Again, this is where we get into fruit checking. What I think is interesting in the context, Jesus is saying you're looking for the fruits of the false teachers, and you're trying to use that to be aware of it. Some would ask what Jesus is pointing out about what they are teaching that is false. I have to say, Jesus, I think, has made it very clear that the false teaching is that you are saved by the law.  
  
Justin Perdue: I think the false teaching in particular that he's pointing out in his immediate context is the false teaching of the Pharisees who have told people, maybe by God's grace, to do these things well enough and you will be righteous.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Again, we like to put things on the text. It's sad when this happens: when you have preachers or teachers who will make this context about lazy Christians or sinful Christians or people in general. Now they're trying to say that Jesus is trying to straighten these people up. You can say you follow Jesus and live however you want—and that's what Jesus is pointing out. It's like they're saying, if you're going to follow Jesus, it's going to be hard, and you need to be aware of these people because they're going to have bad fruit. Jesus is not talking about people who are claiming to follow him. He's talking to people who won't follow him. That's the problem. They won't follow him because they don't see a need for him, because they have their own righteousness. Don't put your context on what Jesus is saying. Listen to what Jesus is saying in his own context.  
  
Justin Perdue: Really, at the heart of what Jesus is trying to expose in the entire sermon, but in this context too immediately in chapter seven, is this thing that we talk about all the time: where is your trust and confidence? Are you trusting in yourself and what you're doing or are you trusting in Christ? It's very clear that what Christ is aiming to do is destroy any possibility of us trusting in ourselves, and he is inviting us to trust in him.  
  
Now we come to verses 21 to 23.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Before we do, it's the famous verses that are used, and I do think they are connected. It says, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."  
  
Justin Perdue: He's talking about teachers though. False prophets, etc.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He is. He does say every healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a deceased tree bear good fruit. Let's say, for the sake of argument, he's talking about good fruit and bad fruit. Justin, what fruit is he talking about here? We just have to ask it. We put into the text what we think Jesus is saying, but can we look at Matthew 5-7 and determine what Jesus means by this context of fruit?  
  
Justin Perdue: The illustration of a tree and its fruit is used. I want to say a few things. First of all, if we're talking about fruit that has any kind of value, we're talking about the fruit of God's Spirit. Full stop. It's very clear that only the Holy Spirit of God can produce that fruit. It's important that when we talk about a tree and the fruit, that we understand the relationship of the tree to the fruit. Many people before me have said this, but it just bears repeating right now, that the tree being alive is what causes it to produce fruit. The fact that there is fruit on the tree does not make the tree alive. You can't invert the relationship. So life produces fruit; fruit does not produce life. When we are talking about fruit, biblically, we are always in the realm of evidence and demonstration of life that has been given by God to somebody. This is why willpower religion will never square with the gospel of Christ, because you cannot reverse engineer this, and you cannot white knuckle this thing and produce the kind of fruit that Christ is talking about. You can't do it. Only God can.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. So in context, self-righteousness, obedience to the law and laws that aren't even Christ's law—these are manmade Jewish laws—and Jesus is saying you will know them by their fruit. You're going to see it. You're going to see the self-righteousness and know they're a false teacher, because that is not what Jesus is talking about.  
  
Justin Perdue: Yeah. The bad fruit is that. The good fruit is what I was describing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Exactly. That is where we find ourselves.  
  
Justin Perdue: Matthew 7: 21-23\. I'm just going to read them so that they're in the minds and the ears of our listeners, and then we'll talk about it. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" Let's walk through this, Jon, and just riff a little bit.  
  
Verse 21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Immediately, when I hear those words of doing the will of my Father in heaven, my mind goes to John 6, where Jesus is very clear about what it is to do the works of God. Effectively, he says in John 6:29, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." I don't think we can forget that. You may call Jesus Lord, and you may call upon him, but have you trusted in him whom the Father has sent? And if you are doing that, in one sense, you are doing the works of God. But that's just one observation on verse 21.  
  
Then notice in verse 22, there will be many who say to Jesus at the end of history, "Lord, Lord, did we not do all of these things in your name? Did we not do all of these works in your name?" Christ's response to them is, "Depart from me; I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness." I think it has to be observed in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. You have people who are calling upon Christ and who are saying to him, "Jesus, we're legitimate. Look at all we did in your name. We did it in your name. Look at all this stuff we did." And he says, "Depart from me." It's very clear that they are trusting in something else besides him alone. They are not looking to him; they are, in some measure, looking to the works they have done in his name. Christ says to those people, "Depart from me; I never knew you."  
  
I want to also observe from verse 23 that we can't forget something like John 10, where Jesus is very clear that he knows his own and that his own know him. They hear his voice and they follow after him. "I give them eternal life. They'll never perish. Nobody can pluck them from my hand."  
  
This situation is very clear in the context of everything that we've been saying. The people that are going to come to Christ and call upon him, and Jesus is going to look at them and say, "Depart from me," are people who are still trusting in their own righteousness. They are looking to work that they have performed in Christ's name. Jesus is going to tell them, "Your confidence and your trust is misplaced. You, in fact, are not my sheep because my sheep know me and follow me and trust in me, not in anything else."  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. He gets some parables to explain to them, "If you reject what I'm saying, you're a fool." He says to them, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew..." Anyways, we all have all heard the story. Then at the very end, Matthew writes at verse 28, "And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. He came in and basically said, "Thus says the Lord. And if you don't believe this, you're damned."  
  
Justin Perdue: The Sermon on the Mount—just a brief theological comment here. It is so similar to when the law was given the first time through Moses at Sinai. The law then is given through a mediator on a mountain, written on tablets of stone. But then Jesus now shows up as the new and greater Moses on a mountain side, and is going to really give people the law. People are shocked and astonished at what he says, because it's like you said, it's, "Thus saith the Lord". This has come directly from God himself, and we, for the first time are hearing rightly what God requires of us, and this is astonishing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The tender, poor person who legitimately worries, "Is God going to look at me and say He never knew me?" There are people who listen to this podcast, and I know you struggle with that. You're afraid that when you get to heaven, that you weren't genuine, you truly didn't believe, you truly didn't repent enough, you didn't do good enough works—it almost sounds like Roman Catholicism—and it's pietism. It's this constant introspection of, "Am I doing enough to basically prove to God I deserve to be let in and not be left out in the cold by the Father? I want to make sure this is a done deal." This is not who Jesus is talking to. As a matter of fact, to that dear precious person who is beat down by the law, you know what he says to you? "Just come to me and I'm going to give you rest." These harsh words, you know who they're for? They're for the person who has the confidence in themselves saying, "Well, I've done all the right things. I've said all the right things. I am good. Therefore God should accept me." And Jesus says, "I don't know you that I don't save people like you because you don't need to be saved. I save people who crumble under their sin and say, 'Oh, wretched man that I am. Who will save me from this body of death?'" To quote Paul in Romans 7.  
  
Justin Perdue: God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. That's in Scripture. Now He is opposed to every proud person, He is opposed to people who are trusting in themselves that they are righteous. But to those who have been humbled and crushed by the law, what does Christ say? You already said it. "Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I'll give you rest. Come take my yoke." Again, the yolk was an image he used of the law. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." That's the invitation of Christ to all those who are poor in spirit, to all those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, to all those who are meek, who have been crushed by God's holy requirements and know they don't meet the test. He says, "Come to me and find rest, righteousness, peace, absolution, and forgiveness."  
  
John 6:37, where Jesus says, "All the Father gives to me will come to me and all who come to me, I will never cast out." Christ never turns people away who come to him in faith, and who come to him knowing that they can't achieve righteousness and need him to do it. It's only those who are proud and self-righteous, who are trusting in some measure in themselves, that Christ would be opposed to.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Someone may ask, "How do I know if I've heard the voice of Jesus?" He says, "My sheep hear my voice and they know me and I know them." I will tell you this: if you can look at yourself and say, "There's no way that I measure up to what God requires." "Be as perfect as I am." I can't do that. I've never been able to do it a moment. I've never loved God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and I've definitely not loved my neighbor.  
  
If you feel that, this is what Jesus' voice sounds like: "If you do not want to be condemned and held accountable for this violation against the Father, then you come to me and I'll receive that punishment. In turn, I'm going to give you my obedience. I'm going to give you my righteous garments that you are going to wear. And the Father is going to look at you and say, 'My child.'" That's what Jesus' voice sounds like. That's where rest is found. If you are hearing the gospel message of you want to be set free from your guilt, you want all the required righteousness that God requires of you, to be in His presence, then come to Jesus. It is that simple. By faith, trust in God's imputation of His righteousness and His replacement of you on the cross. It really is that simple.  
  
Jesus keeps saying that over and over and over; it is that simple, but you must first see yourself as sick and sinful, a wretch. This is why it says that Jesus spent time with sinners because that's who he came to save. Why would he go spend time with the righteous? They don't want him. He's going to go spend time with the sinners because those people are going to want him  
  
Justin Perdue: And sinners gravitated toward him in his earthly ministry, and sinners still do the same. Paul, also in Romans 7, says, "Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ." What a tender, gentle, kind, and loving Savior we have, and he bids us come to him for all of the things that we've been talking about.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The most harsh you've ever seen Jesus is when his temper is appropriately brought to a high level. The words that come out of his mouth, like "viper", and things like that, he is not talking to those who have morally and socially destroyed their lives. He's talking to those who are presenting themselves as acceptable in his presence. He's saying, "I'm God, and you're going to come approach me as an equal? How dare you?"  
  
Justin Perdue: Or, like you said, "viper" or "hypocrite", he tells the Pharisees that they're like whitewashed tombs; they have it all together on the outside and inside they're dying. Even when he pronounces woe upon not only the scribes and Pharisees, but also on certain cities. He'll say that, "If the works that had been done in you had been done in Nineveh, Nineveh would have repented," or, "It will be better on the day of judgment for Sodom and Gomorrah than it will be for you."  
  
The posture is we don't need Jesus, we don't want Jesus, we're fine as we are, we've got this thing figured out, and we're doing just fine at pleasing the Lord—Christ's word to that is "woe to you." Judgment, condemnation, wrath. He's opposed to people like that. But for those who are sinners, weak, meek, and all those who come to him knowing they're sick, knowing their need, he is gentle, lowly, gracious, and tender.  
  
Like I said a minute ago, I just want to say it again: it is no shock that the sinners and tax collectors are the ones who gathered around Christ at various points in his ministry, when the Pharisees didn't want anything to do with Jesus. It was those who knew they were a wreck who were drawn to him—and that still is true in the church. It's true for all of us who know that we are a mess, and that we are looking inside and we find no place to stand, and we know that we rightly should bear the wrath and condemnation of God. Even after trusting in Jesus, we could never do enough to have earned God's favor, or to have turned ourselves into the kind of person that God would have been happy to save. So we're always looking to Jesus, and God gives grace.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's interesting for those who hear the voice of Jesus, they say, "Oh, it is good to be in the house of the Lord because we will be reminded once again that we were brought here on the grace of our Father." He brought us here. But to the self-righteous, they will say, "Oh, it's good to be in the house of the Lord because it is here that I have earned my righteousness. It is here that I will prove that this week I have been faithful."  
  
Justin Perdue: Piggybacking on that: one person says, "It's good to be in the house of the Lord because this is where I come and bring an offering to God that pleases Him. This is where I come to do something and give something to God that He desires." The other person says, "It is good to be in the house of the Lord because I come in absolute desperate need, and I know my faithful Father is going to meet me here, and He's going to give me what I need, and He's going to give me His son in the Word and in the sacrament. I come empty and needy that I might be filled, nourished, and sustained." One is a posture, I think, that is commensurate with what Christ is saying in the Sermon on the Mount, and another one, though well-intentioned, I think, is misguided. God is honored very much when we know that we are in need, when we know we're sick, and that we're not righteous, and we need him to give us what we could never do and accomplish on our own.  
  
Jon Moffitt: For that sensitive conscience out there that really truly is feeling this fear. First of all, _Safe in Christ_, the primer on assurance, I would recommend that. I would also recommend our episode that we did on assurance. If you are afraid that God's going to abandon you on the day of judgment, He will abandon you. Absolutely. It's not abandonment—He's going to reject you if you were showing up holding your own self-righteousness as a means by which God should accept you. You should be terrified. But if you're standing there utterly disgusted with yourself, saying there is nothing good in you that God would ever accept, and if you don't have Jesus, you're doomed, He will not turn you away.  
  
Justin Perdue: He will never turn you away. If you come with the attitude of, "I got nothing. I've got only what Christ has given me," there is no reason to fear. You will never be lost and you will never be turned away, not because you are strong, but because Christ is strong. You will never be lost and you will never be turned away, not because you won't fail, but because Christ will never fail you. We look to Jesus always. I'll talk about this more in the members' area, maybe, but that kind of wrestling, even over Matthew 7 in particular, is not lost on me because these verses would come up in my mind and heart for years and years and would just rob me of any peace. I was convinced that I was going to be one of those people, that I will have spent my life sincerely meaning to trust and follow Christ, and at the end of it all, it will have been for nothing, because he's going to look at me and he's going to see right through me. He's going to see that I'm a sinner and that I just am not worthy, and he's going to say, "Depart from me." My word to that weary saint is you most certainly are not worthy, but this has never been about your worthiness; this has always been about Christ's worthiness and Christ's work for you. God loves and delights to save all of those who trust in His Son.  
  
Jon Moffitt: For those of you that are new, we have another podcast that we do where it's kind of the unfiltered version. We're going to go deeper and farther into this conversation. It's for those who want to take this conversation to the next level, where they really want to dive into a Reformed biblical understanding and understand how it is that we can. Help others find rest in Christ. You can find out more about that by going to our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. There are all kinds of new stuff coming.  
  
There's a new membership coming. Stay tuned for that. It's so hard not to talk about it, but it's going to be amazing. I can't even tell you. It's a lot of work so we're also going to need your prayer and support on that. New website, new membership, all kinds of stuff coming, and a new book. Can we tell them what the new book is?  
  
Justin Perdue: We're looking at another primer on Reformed theology.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What is Reformed theology? Stay tuned for that.  
  
Thank you for listening. Let us know if you have any questions or any comments, or if this was helpful. Leave us a review. Leave us a comment. It's always encouraging to see how God is advancing the gospel and encouraging people to rest in Christ.  
  
We'll see you next week.

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### Are You a Legalist or an Antinomian?

*Published: March 24, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/are-you-a-legalist-or-an-antinomian*
*Tags: Antinomianism, Legalism, NC*

Are you a legalist or an antinomian? Most people would claim they are neither. But many Christians don't know what to do with God's law. Jon and Justin talk about the law and the gospel--and how it is Paul could say he delighted in God's law.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about why it is that so many people leave legalism and head into antinomianism. They also give counsel to those leaving legalism and are wanting to help others do the same.  
  
[Members' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-are-you-a-legalist-or-an-antinomian/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvGhu9Pc2LA  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Are you a legalist or an antinomian? Most people would say they're neither one, but there is clearly a problem in the church in terms of knowing what to do with God's law. We're going to talk about the law and the gospel today, and seek to answer how in the world could Paul say that he delights in the law of God in his inner man? We hope this is encouraging. We hope it's helpful. Stay tuned.  
  
We have observed that there is a problem in the evangelical church, broadly speaking, with respect to God's law. At one point, Jon and I absolutely have been here ourselves in the midst of this struggle. It's only by God's grace through other people who have helped us see some good things that we are no longer where we once were on this. It's not that we've got it all figured out, but praise God we're not where we used to be.  
  
There's this problem in evangelicalism with respect to God's law. We just don't know what to do with it. What do we do with God's law? You see some people on the one side of the equation who are bent towards self-righteousness, who have a reasonable amount of confidence in themselves that they can do the right things, or maybe they're the kind of people that just tend to do the right stuff often anyway. Those people look to God's law and don't have a lot of problem with it because they have deluded themselves somehow into thinking that they can keep it, that they can meet God's standard or do well enough, that God would look favorably upon them.  
  
Then on the other side of the aisle, you have people who have a more tender conscience, perhaps are aware, in some ways, of their own weakness and they're in frailty. They look at God's law and see something that is threatening and condemning, and thereby, deep down, there's a resentment and a hatred even of God's law and even of God Himself, because they fear that He's going to drop the hammer on them at some point.  
  
You've got these two camps; one might be referred to as a more legalistic camp that is often characterized by self-righteousness and condescension and the like, and thinking that they can do enough to earn righteousness or be considered righteous in the eyes of God. Then this other side that we might call the antinomian camp, who are comprised of people that have a more tender conscience, that see God's law as threatening, and thereby hate God and His commandments. There don't seem to be too many people in between who have a right and biblical understanding of God, His law and His commandments, what He requires of us.  
  
For example, we read the words of Paul in Romans 7\. Jon, you may not want to talk about this just yet but I'm just going to go and drop this bomb, set the grenade on the table, and pull the pin. We read the words of Paul in Romans 7:22, that he delights in the law of God in his inner man. Some people might read that and be incredibly puzzled by it, in terms of how a person could say such a thing. Other people might read that and just assume that maybe even a non-Christian could say that, because you hear some people say that Romans 7 is about Paul in an unregenerate state, which we don't agree with and we'll explain why.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the things that I feel like we have to clarify as new people keep coming to the podcast, and even people that have been here for a while, is that there are categories that people throw around that don't match up with the theological teachings of the Bible. For years, we have been told that we have an improper view of the law, that we are antinomians...  
  
Justin Perdue: _Anti nomos_ meaning against the law.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the things that we want to do in this podcast is clarify the difference between those who are against the law and those who love the law, and then those who are inappropriately using the law, which would be legalists.  
  
Justin Perdue: Those who hate the law, who are against it are antinomians. Those who are, in a 1 Timothy 1 kind of way, not using the law lawfully, that is the legalists. Then there's something in between, where Paul is, we would argue in Romans 7, where he is a believer who understands that he's a sinner, but he can still say he delights in God's law. How is that possible?  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the things that we probably should start with is a clear definition of what the law is. Then we can identify how people fall off on either side, whether it's an antinomian or legalism. Why don't you start with the definition of the law and then I'll talk about how one can fall off into antinomianism, with misunderstanding the law?  
  
Justin Perdue: What I'm about to articulate is really an answer to what the law is for. If you were really pressed to give one answer—obviously there are multiple things that allow for it, but at its most primary basic level: why did God give the law? We would find the answer to that question most pointedly in Romans 5 and Galatians 3, where the apostle Paul makes it very clear that the law was given to increase the trespass of man. The law was given to, in other words, show us the depth of our corruption, to show us the extent of our sinfulness before the Lord, and to thereby drive us outside of ourselves, to the only hope that we could ever have for salvation, namely, God's Christ Jesus, who did everything that we need in order to be reconciled to God.  
  
As we understand the law rightly—that it was given to increase the trespass, to show us the depth of our sin, and to drive us to Christ—we see in the Lord Jesus Christ, in God's gospel, the fact that Christ did multiple things for us. He died the death that we deserve because lawbreakers deserve to die. Jesus died a law breaker's death, and in him, we died to the law—Galatians 2\. His death is counted to us. The penalty we deserve, he took for us. The wrath and the condemnation and the judgment we deserve, he took upon himself for us. He fulfilled the penalties of the law in the place of those who trust in him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Even in God's sovereignty, in the narrative, Jesus died as a law breaker to Rome as an insurrectionist. He took the place of Barabbas, just to make it as clear as possible.  
  
Justin Perdue: He became a curse for us. He was hung on a tree; cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. All of these things, Christ did for us so that he could pay the penalty the law requires of every lawbreaker. Not only did Christ do that, he also accomplished everything that we need with respect to the law by fulfilling it for us. Jesus has a perfect record of obedience at the level of his thoughts, his desires, his deeds, his motivation; everything was always perfect in his earthly life. In doing that, he fulfilled the law in a flawless manner. Our record is trash, his record is perfect, and we get his obedience and righteousness counted to us.  
  
A right understanding of the law and the gospel is critical for the Christian life, wholesale, if we're going to be able to make up and down, and heads and tails of stuff. If we're ever going to think of God's law rightly, you've got to think of it in these terms.  
  
Talk about how people fall off one side of the other because they don't understand some of what we're talking about.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the things that happens is that when you start emphasizing the gospel, and you start preaching by grace alone, through Christ alone, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, immediately people begin to get a little nervous if you don't emphasize back into that gospel the law. They throw at you, "Hey, be careful, you're becoming an antinomian." What their fear is this: "If you're saying it's all by grace, and there's no work necessary, then you are saying that holiness is not necessary." Then they'll say if you're teaching, that you're an antinomian.  
  
Let's be clear, historically, on what an antinomian is. An antinomian is one who literally says they do not believe that there is any law or use of the law for the Christian after coming to Christ; there is no need for the law whatsoever. They don't think it's necessary to obey any of the commands of Scripture. There's no moral law. Nothing. They walk by faith and there's no need to obey. That is a true antinomian. I will agree with that if we're talking about one's justification. If we're talking about your justification, then the law has no use in your justification other than to show you your need for it.  
  
Justin Perdue: To show you your need for Christ.  
  
Jon Moffitt: An antinomian unfortunately says it's not for your justification, but it's also not for your Christian walk going forward. That's a true antinomian. We would have to come in and say that Paul, James, Timothy, and 2 Peter all make it very clear that post-salvation, when Paul says in Ephesians to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, he then describes meekness, patience, gentleness, and love.  
  
Those are commands. Those are laws given to the believer, what we call the third use of the law.  
  
Justin Perdue: Romans 13: love your neighbor, love one another, and thereby fulfill the law.  
  
Jon Moffitt: But those are not part of our justification. We call that the work of the Spirit. We call that the fruit of the Spirit. So the Spirit works within us and therefore we love. When we emphasize justification by faith alone, we literally mean by faith alone.  
  
The danger is immediately people come in and say faith without works is dead. There's this necessity to always throw that on there. That is where I would say one is falling off on the other side, which is legalism. I know this could sound like a really nuanced conversation, but it's important for us to understand that when someone says antinomian, you need to understand they mean there is absolutely no obedience and no law for the believer post-salvation. That's what it truly, really means to be an antinomian. We have to keep that clear.  
  
I love the Martin Lloyd-Jones quote, when he says if you aren't being accused of being an antinomian after preaching the gospel, you haven't preached the gospel rightly, because there is no law in the gospel there. Let me say it again. There is no law in the gospel. This is why we talk about law-gospel distinction.  
  
Justin Perdue: We need to understand that these two camps, as we're describing them—one being the antinomian camp, one being the legalistic camp—just to describe them a little bit more before we pivot here, the antinomian is a person who understands something of God's holiness, understands something of the requirements of the law, and thereby sees that he or she can't quite do that. There is this threatening judgment, this exacting thing going on with the law., And that person has not rightly understood the work of Christ in his or her place, and thereby has this disdain deep down in his or her heart for the law, and thereby is running away from it as fast as he or she can. That is the project of antinomianism; it's to plug our ears, scream at the top of our lungs, and run away from the law because deep down we hate it. That's that side. But then on the legalistic side, you have people who actually, though they love to talk about holiness and obedience and all these things, they have not understood the holiness of God because they don't understand what he actually requires and how everything that they have ever done is tainted with sin. They have dumbed down the law to a level of thinking that they can fulfill it and keep it, and so they have lacked understanding as well, and have also not seen the gospel in terms of the work of Christ in their place.  
  
Neither of those places is where we want to be. What we see presented in Scripture is something different, where it is very clear that Christ has accomplished everything that is necessary for us to be saved, he has paid our debt, paid our penalty, accomplished our righteousness, given us his own holiness. We are safe and we are secure.  
  
We can then say we love God's law. What in the world does that mean? What in the world does that look like? For example, in Romans 7:22, Paul says that he delights in the law of God in his inner man. A couple of thoughts on this from me: there are people out there who will say that Roman 7 is Paul writing about his unregenerate state or about a non-believer with this whole situation wanting to do good but can't; not wanting to do evil, but you do evil; whenever you want to do good, evil lies close at hand; having a desire to do what's right but can't pull it off; you delight in the law of God in your inner man, but you see in your members another law waging war against your mind.  
  
When Paul writes in those ways, people will say he's talking about somebody who isn't a Christian, to which I would say that's clearly not true on multiple levels. Look at the flow of the letter, first of all. Another observation is, how does a person who naturally is opposed to God and doesn't delight in the things of God, doesn't even understand the things of God naturally, 1 Corinthians 2, how could such a person delight in God's law? I don't think it's possible.  
  
Second observation, which is more relevant to our conversation today, only a person who has been justified, forgiven, and absolved could ever make such a statement that they delight in God's law. Why? Because unless you know that you've been declared righteous, unless you know that you've been forgiven of sin, and unless you know that you have been absolved of all guilt because of Christ alone, by the means of faith alone, you could never say that you delight in God's law because God's law condemns you, and God's law threatens you, and God is still your judge. Thereby, unless you know that you've been justified, forgiven, and absolved, you're going to hate God's law and you're going to hate him, frankly. Paul clearly, in Roman 7, is writing as a believer who understands his position, his identity, he knows he's justified—that's his status; Romans 5—he knows his identity, he's united to Christ; Romans 6\. Yet here's his experience, but he can say he delights in God's law because he knows that he's justified, forgiven and absolved of guilt.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We have to say the law is rejected. Rightly understood. There are many people today who will change the law of God. They will change the law of God and they will say things like, "I think God just requires people to be a good person, then God will let them come into heaven." They just change the requirements of the law, and they like that law. "A good person? I'm better than most." We change the law.  
  
The weight of the law should crush everyone, absolutely crush them. When someone says they know what God requires, and it doesn't crush them as an unbeliever, then that's not God's law; that's your law. That's your misinterpretation of God's law. Someone should hear it as an unbeliever and go, "That's ridiculous. No one can do that." Now you understand God's law. "Well, then I don't like God." Exactly. Then you are redeemed, pulled out from underneath the weight of the law, and all of a sudden you look down at the law from God's view—not underneath the weight of it, but looking down upon it—and you're say, "Wow, this is beautiful. This is glorious. This is the nature of God. This is what God looks like within a broken humanity." This is the perspective we should have.  
  
Justin Perdue: The law in its threatening first use sense is characterized by statements such as this: you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect; if you break the law in any way, you're guilty of breaking all of it—James 2; if your works are going to contribute to your salvation, then you need to keep the whole law—Galatians 5; those who do these things shall live by them—Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 27:26—anybody who does not keep everything that's written in this law is cursed. This is how the law speaks.  
  
To your point, Jon, if we understand that rightly in terms of what the Lord requires—and Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount makes it very clear that it's not just some external conformity, it's actually at the level of the heart and the mind—then yes, we read that and we hear that and we say we hate that because that because that is our death sentence. I'm ruined. What can I do? At that point, you are ready to hear the gospel, because then the message of the gospel is this: everything that the law is pointing out, that weight that's impossible for you to bear, Christ took that; he bore that. He said, "You know what? That burden that you can't bear? I'm happy to take that. I'll carry it for you. I will pay your penalty because you deserve it. And I will accomplish your righteousness because you need it. Trust me. It's done. You're safe. You're secure. You'll live with God forever. You will be bodily resurrected. Imperishable. Incorruptible. You will forever obey God perfectly and rejoice in him perfectly, and I have secured that for you." To which we say, hallelujah! Praise the Lord. Right. That's the law and the gospel distinction that we're talking about.  
  
It's so clear, biblically, that that conversion—coming from death to life, etc.—has to happen for a person to ever be able to say that they delight in God's law. For example, consider the patterns of some of the words in the Psalms: Psalm 130:4 reads this way: "But with you," speaking of God, "there is forgiveness, that you may be feared." Listen to that sequence. With the Lord, there is forgiveness of sins, and the fact that the Lord forgives sins—think Exodus 34, He's a God merciful, gracious, and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Because that's who God is, that actually leads his people to reverence Him, to fear Him, and to love Him.  
  
Psalm 119:32 says that we will run after God's commandments when God has enlarged our heart. When He has done something internally for me, I will run after His commandments. It's exactly what Paul was saying in Romans 7 that because he knows he's safe, and because he has been justified, forgiven, and absolved, he can now look to God's law and say he delights in it. It's good. It's wonderful. Why? Because it no longer condemns him. It no longer threatens him because Christ has removed its sting, and now he can look to it as the perfect, holy, righteous, all good guide for his life. In other words, this allows us to then look at the law and use it in the third use kind of way: as the perfect guide for the life of the Christian.  
  
Jon Moffitt: The other side of this, and this is where there's a confusion between law and gospel, the antinomian pretty much rejects the law after justification, the legalist confuses the law and the gospel and collapses them together. You have one abandoning law and you have one mixing the law. It's really important to understand this because, again, antinomian is one to reject the law after justice. There's no use for it and they hate it. The legalist then mixes law and the gospel.  
  
Here's a great example of this: yes, we are saved by faith alone, and they will preach that from the mountain tops, but they will call your salvation or your assurance into question based upon your level of obedience to the law. It's highly confusing because they will say, "Sola fide. Faith alone." But then they say you have to do this, this, and this, which is law. Anytime you say you must do something, this is law, in order to do an order for this result, which is your assurance, that's a mixture of the law and gospel.  
  
Please be very clear on what we're saying: Christians are called to obey. It is actually not a call, it's a promise: those to whom the spirit indwells, there will be obedience. To what level is varying; it's a varying level. There'll also be struggle against sin. I love saying this because it throws people off: God expects you to sin. Otherwise, 1 John 1:9 would not be in the Bible.  
  
Justin Perdue: James 5:16: confess your sins to one another.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is how to identify if you're a legalist: if you are seeing that there are absolute requirements for you to perform in a certain way, basically you were to lose your justification or you do not have justification... There are two kinds of legalists: there are those who use the law to gain salvation, and there's those who use the law to maintain salvation. There's probably no one listening to this podcast, unless you maybe come from a Roman Catholic background, who is using the law to try and gain justification, your salvation. But there are plenty of people who use the law to try and affirm it or maintain it.  
  
Justin, what are your thoughts on that explanation of legalism?  
  
Justin Perdue: I agree with you. I have something else in my mind that's related to something you were saying even about antinomianism.  
  
At the heart of antinomianism too—and this is just my thought and observation here—is a lack of understanding and is a misunderstanding even of the gospel and what Christ has accomplished for us. I get this mainly from Romans 5 and 6\. A lot of times people think that the antidote to antinomianism, being against the law, is to preach the law—and I don't think that's right. I think that the antidote to antinomianism is actually to preach the gospel and to clarify who we are now in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about identity. That's how Paul responds. He realizes that the gospel that he has laid out in the first several chapters of Romans would lead a person to ask the question, "So, we can just sin now, right? Because not only has Jesus accomplished all these things for us, that the righteousness of God has revealed apart from the law, for all those who have faith in Christ and in God justifies the ungodly by faith. Not only is all that true, you just said that the law came in to increase the trespass, but we're sin-abounded, grace-abounded all the more. So, should we just sin?" Paul answers by no means. He doesn't say, "By no means because here's what the law says." He says, "By no means because here's who you are now: you have been united to the Lord Jesus Christ; you've been baptized into him. This is what your baptism was about. You've been united to him in his death. You in him, you died to the law. His death is your death. You've been united to him and his perfect life, and in his resurrection. This not only secures your resurrection, but means that even now, you are raised to walk in newness of life, and you are no longer under the dominion of sin, and you've become obedient from the heart. In other words, obey because you can. Obey because you want to, for the first time in your life. Remember who you are now; you're not who you used to be." That's his response. So I think that antinomian out there who is running as fast as he can away from the law, because he hates it, has not fully understood the work of Christ in his place, and has not fully understood his new identity, and who he is, and that he's not who he used to be.  
  
1 Corinthians 1:30, that Jesus has become to us wisdom from God, he is our righteousness, he is sanctification and redemption for us, he's secured everything, he's everything. It's in understanding that where we can actually look at the commandments of God and say those are good; they're not a burden.  
  
Jon Moffitt: He who began a good work in you will complete it. You're realizing that's a wonderful promise.  
  
Justin Perdue: It is a wonderful promise. The commandments are good because we can look to them and they no longer come across like a trip to the DMV, or they no longer come across like I've just been sentenced to the electric chair. They come across now as being good for me. This is actually the way that I want to live now, and this is how I'm called to live because of Christ and what he did for me. Now I am going to love my brothers and sisters, and aim to orient my life in such a way that I'm good for them. Then God, of course, gets the glory for that. I look at the commands and they're good. This is how we can understand the third use of the law, and it's not threatening in any way. As Calvin has said a long time before us, he calls the law our kind adviser in Christ.  
  
I think when the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 1, that we uphold the law as long as it's used lawfully, I think he's got all of this in mind; that we use the law lawfully in its first use, we preach it and all of its holiness to drive sinners to Christ, and then we uphold it in the Lord Jesus because it's no longer a threat to us, and we see it as good and not a burden.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I'm going to walk through the three intentions of how one understands the law, to summarize what Justin just said. The antinomian says no obedience is necessary and that's out of flat out ignorance. They're like, "No obedience. Do whatever you want. God's grace has got you covered."  
  
Justin Perdue: "Just love Jesus and you're good."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Paul says may it never be. Very clearly, he says, may that not be your attitude. Second attitude, legalism requires obedience out of fear of loss. You best obey or you will lose something; whether it be God's affection, your assurance—it could be a number of things. The legalist sees the requirements to obedience out of fear. The way the New Testament describes obedience to the believer is out of response to their justification and love.  
  
Here's a great example of this: we read this passage all the time, but I think it's helpful. 2 Peter gets done talking about love, mercy, kindness, dignity, holiness, and affection toward your brother. If you're not doing this, he says in 2 Peter 1:9, "For whoever lacks these qualities is so near-sighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." Peter says your lack of obedience is your forgetfulness of your justification. You've been set free. You are cleansed. This is no longer who you are. He's pointing to your affections for Christ. 2 Corinthians 3: when we look at the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, you're transformed into His image. We look at the beauty of Jesus; that's our motivation to love our brother, to obey God's law.  
  
When I was in the independent fundamental Baptist world, I didn't fully understand what the law was. Sometimes when people hear us say law, they're thinking ceremonial law, they're thinking Old Testament law. What we mean are the moral commands given to the New Testament church like patience, meekness, mercy, loving, longsuffering, etc. These are the commands that we are referencing to, which are the things that horizontally, you do to your brother. Love God, love your neighbor.  
  
Justin Perdue: When we talk about the law, we're not talking about the ceremonial law, or the civil law that governed the nation of Israel—Jesus has fulfilled all that, and they've been abrogated in him. What we are referring to is God's moral law, that it could also be called the law of creation that God wrote into creation when he made the world. This is why Paul will use language like in Romans 5 of how death reigned from Adam to Moses even though the law had not been given, because all the giving of the law to Moses is the writing down of the moral law on tablets of stone. It already existed. The moral law transcends any kind of redemptive-historical epoch in that way. So we uphold the moral law, even the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments, as a guide for life. That's what we mean: the imperatives in the New Testament and also God's moral law that transcends, and those imperatives in the New Testament are really just an unpacking and a reflection of that moral law. I think there's a lot of confusion out there as to what we even mean when we say law,  
  
Jon Moffitt: For those of you that might be new to this, in our tagline, we say, "From a Reformed perspective". Some of you might be saying, "I've never heard it explained this way before. This is so new. Where are you guys getting this?" We believe it's very biblical, but the way in which it was brought to us to help us see this clearly is from men that have been defending God's word for hundreds of years, and then they end up writing clarification documents for us called confessions. Everything that we're describing for you, and being able to understand the difference between an antinomian and a legalist, and rightly dividing the law from the gospel, is understanding the categories of things like justification, sanctification, glorification that come to us from our confession. Justin and I both hold to the 1689 London Baptist Confession, which is an adjustment from the Westminster. We would highly recommend either of those and find a true that uses these because it helps keep the Christian firmly resting on the sufficiency of Christ. When we're there, we find that rest, then obedience is not a burden.  
  
I tell people that if their church or their Christian faith has them exhausted, then you are not in alignment with Jesus when he says, "Come to me and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." When I hear anyone who is preaching a burden upon someone, and they aren't giving them the relief of Christ, often that comes from someone who isn't understanding the historic faith which has been handed down to us, that which has been affirmed and fought for, and I would say recovered during the Reformation. This is why we like the word "reformed" and we're even starting a ministry called Semper Reformanda, "always reforming". We want to help people continue moving this Reformation forward.  
  
Justin Perdue: All of this language comes from the era of the Reformation. Some of this language would come from Martin Luther and our Lutheran friends as well. There is agreement between confessionally Reformed folks and our Lutheran friends about this distinction between law and gospel. I trust that pretty much everything that we have said today, our Lutheran friends would agree with, as we have tried to maintain the distinction between the law and the gospel, and even this idea that until one knows that he has been forgiven and counted righteous and absolved of guilt, there's no way in the world we could ever delight in the law of God.  
  
I agree with Jon. If you're in a church context where commandments and imperatives are made to sound threatening, scary, and burdensome, then there is a theological problem there. You know that you're on the right track when, as far as Christians are concerned when we're talking to one another in Christ, when imperatives, commands, and even God's law becomes a joy and not a burden because we know that the threat has been removed and the heaviness has been taken from us. Now we have been set free in the Lord Jesus Christ unto righteousness, and we get to do all of these good things that we actually want to do in our hearts. We have become obedient from the heart. In our inner man, we delight in God's law and we want to live in accord with it. That's how we talk as believers. It's a much, much different tone, and a much, much different posture. Sin is still taken seriously, and yet it's not just fear and dread and judgment all the time.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I would dare to say that most people listening to this podcast have been in a legalistic context and struggle with legalism. One of the things that we do is a second podcast. Right now it's called the members' podcast, but we're going to be changing all of this very soon. Stay tuned for those. But in this next section, what I want to do is maybe help someone to process through this resting in Christ out of legalism, or maybe you've been listening to the podcast for a while and you're wondering how is it that you can help people.  
  
We did a podcast I'd recommend called The Slow Death of Pietism. We'll put it in the notes. You should listen to that. Processing this information is really tough—and it's everywhere. The mixture of the law and the gospel legalism is everywhere. The unfortunate thing happening right now is that people just throw out the word "antinomian". When we're trying to be biblical using a Reformed perspective, people say antinomian. No, that's not antinomianism, and actually you're promoting legalism. I don't like just throwing words back and forth. How about we just sit down and take the time to walk through these terms, and walk through the Bible, and make sure that we are not allowing our emotions to drive this conversation? We can look at things from the text and ask ourselves, are we hearing in our words, the words of Christ when he says, come to me and you will find rest? I will tell you the legalist and the antinomian—neither of them are finding rest there.  
  
Justin Perdue: One other thought, too, is that there is a tendency for people to swing on a pendulum from legalism to antinomianism, and there is a reason for that. We're going to talk about that, perhaps some in this area. There is a reason for that, and it's very clear.  
  
If you would like to listen to us talk about that and some other stuff in the members' podcast, and you're not even sure what the members' podcast is, you can find information about that on our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. We hope that a number of you make your way over to the members' area to continue this conversation with us. For those of you who may not, for whatever reason, be able to make it over there, we hope that this conversation even up to now has been clarifying for you and encouraging, and that it has pointed you to Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished in your place and has helped you see that the law of God is good because it no longer threatens or condemns you.  
  
It's always a pleasure for us to be able to speak with you in this way. We look forward to having another conversation.

---

### Take Up Your Cross?

*Published: March 17, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/take-up-your-cross*
*Tags: 2021, Cross, NC, Take up your cross, Theology of the Cross*

"Take up your cross and follow me." What did Jesus mean when he said that? Is he calling us to hate our wives, kids, and parents? Is he calling us to be willing to suffer anything if we are going to be his followers? Is he laying down a test of radical discipleship? Or is he calling us to something else?  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the heart behind Theocast, as well as some theological categories that will help us understand the Bible.  
  
Links:  
Episode on Law/Gospel: https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/  
Episode on Triumphalism:https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/triumphalism/  
Episode Saint/Sinner: https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/are-we-both-saint-and-sinner/  
Faith vs Faithfulness: Theocast.org/primer  
  
[Members' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-take-up-your-cross/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lUSPTkWMUI  
  
**Podcast Transcript**  
  
Coming soon...

---

### The Demands of the Gospel?

*Published: March 10, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-demands-of-the-gospel*
*Tags: 2021, Demands of the gospel, Gospel, Lordship Salvation, NC, Repent and Believe*

People like to talk about the "demands of the gospel." But does the gospel make demands of us? Must we forsake sin in order to come to Christ? Do we need to make Jesus Lord of our lives?  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about obedience and the uses of the law. What is the first use of the law? What is the third use? Are there ways these are often confused?  
  
[Members' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-the-demands-of-the-gospel/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHUmO4eD8Lk

### **Podcast Transcript**

Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Today on Theocast, we are going to answer a few questions. Does the gospel make demands on us? Are there things that we need to do in order to be safe? Must we forsake sin in order to come to Christ? Do we need to make Jesus Lord of our lives?  
  
And then in the members' area, we talk about our obedience, and the first and third use of the law and how that factors into that conversation. If you don't even know what those things are, perhaps you should give it a listen. Stay tuned. We hope it's encouraging.  
  
It's pretty normal to hear people use language in the church—and by the church, I mean the evangelical church in the West, America, where we find ourselves. Normally, here people talk about the "demands of the gospel", to talk about the things that the gospel requires of us.  
  
When we can help it, we try not to bury the lead here at Theocast. We'll just go and say, right out of the gate, that we have very strong disagreements with that kind of language in terms of the demands of the gospel. It is our understanding from Scripture that the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, who he is and what he did for us, it is just that: it is news to be received, a message to be trusted, and it is a gift freely given. It is not something that we do things in order to earn on the front end, but it's not even something where on the back end, we do stuff that would have made us worthy to receive it in the first place.  
  
We'll go so far as to say, to just set this conversation up, that the law of God demands everything from us but it gives nothing. Whereas the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ demands nothing but gives everything. That sounds, off the charts, controversial to many people. I trust there may be people listening to this podcast right now because somebody encouraged them to give it a spin, and they're thinking, "What in the world did he just say? That the gospel demands nothing but gives everything? Is that true?"  
  
Jon Moffitt: My recommendation for the listener is, if you can, stay with us for a few minutes. We want you to hear us through because this is a subtle shift, and it can make it sound like we're heretics, but this is such an important conversation. I can't even explain to you how it can confuse so much.  
  
What we're having a conversation about really is the law and the gospel, and what happens when you mix the two. You get glawspel.  
  
I put a tweet out the other day that if you put "do" back into what God has done, you're taking the good part out of the gospel and it's bad-spel. It's just bad news. It's not good news. It's bad news. To take a little bit farther what Justin just said about the law and the gospel, the gospel, when we think about when it's being used, for instance in Rome, they would go and they would conquer a city and that city was now underneath the rule of Rome, and it's going to be receiving its taxes and warriors. They would send messengers back to Rome to declare the good news. "Hey, listen, we have just conquered a new city. It's now part of who we are." It's a military term, really, of the declaration of victory.  
  
When they're going back and declaring victory, they would've put demands on top of that. Whoever is declaring that would probably get in trouble saying, "Hey, by the way, we have victory, but the city we conquered—they have some stipulation." What? Then we didn't conquer them. Because if there are stipulations by the city, then we didn't win. It's not ours, we don't own it. When you hear the New Testament writers using it, we often forget context and we forget culture.  
  
Justin and I, just as a little teaser, we're about to do a podcast coming up soon on what it means to bear your cross, which is misunderstood, but there's a context. There's a local context of Roman and Jewish conflict between the two cultures' contexts. The gospel is the declaration of good news. I want to say, just as they would go and declare the good news of what victory they have won, it's speaking of history. This is done. It's over. We're declaring the news of the event.  
  
The gospel is the declaration of the news of the event of what has been done. When someone comes in and then uses this phrase, the "demands of the gospel", not only linguistically, but historically, that doesn't make any sense. It's almost like saying there are demands upon dead people. The dead must do this. No one would ever walk into a cemetery and say all these dead people have stuff they have to do. We don't use that language because it logically and scientifically doesn't make sense, but yet we do this to the gospel because we have confused the difference between the demands of God and the declaration of the good news of God.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm going to pick up on a couple of things, Jon. First, there are all kinds of things that God requires of us; His Word is full of them. Just to give a brief 30,000-foot flyover synopsis of what God requires, we could maybe sum it up this way: God demands sinlessness. He demands that we be without sin if we're going to live in His presence, and be with Him, and know eternal rest and blessedness. He also requires that we have a righteousness that is perfect, where not only have we not sinned in terms of sinlessness, but we have positively obeyed Him in every way at the level of thought, at the level of deed, desire, and what have you.  
  
We learn of these demands of God, that we keep His law perfectly, in a number of different places, including Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, where he talks about the righteousness that's necessary. Not only must it exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, but he'll even say in Matthew 5:48 that we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. We see the language of Paul in the letter to the Galatians, for example, where he cites the book of Moses, he cites Deuteronomy, he cites Leviticus, to make it plain that everyone who does not abide by everything that is written in the book of the law is cursed, and everybody who doesn't do everything in the book of the law is cursed.  
  
As the law says in Leviticus 18:5, those who do these things will live by them, meaning eternally. Those who keep the law will live. Think about Paul's language in Romans 2, where he says it's not the hearers of the law, but the doers of the law who will be justified in God's sight.  
  
Think about James 2, where we're told that anybody who breaks the law in any way is guilty of breaking all of it. Because the one who said don't murder also said don't commit adultery. We could go on about this, but it is very clear that God makes all kinds of demands on us if we are going to live with Him. There are no exceptions allowed. There is no curve that God uses to grade us with it. Is perfection or failure in terms of the requirements of God.  
  
Now, everything that I have just described would fall under the category of law, in terms of what God requires of us. "Do these things and you will live." That is law. The question is, what is the gospel? What is gospel? Is it something where stuff is required of us or is the gospel the free gift of God, to use the language of Romans 6:23? Then what does he give us? My answer is that He gives us everything that He requires. He gives it freely. He gives it to us through the work of His son in our place that we receive by faith. Christ's sinless sacrifice takes away our sin, and Christ's perfect life of obeying the law in every way is counted to us as our record.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What Justin used is a great example; there is no gospel if there is no law.  
  
Justin Perdue: So true, brother. You've got to understand the law to understand the gospel,  
  
Jon Moffitt: Paul even says this: the law is given to show us our sin. Justin and I absolutely believe that the demands of God remain. They are there. You have to understand there's a difference between the demands of the law and then to say there are demands of the gospel.  
  
Justin Perdue: More specifically, we understand that the demands of God's moral law remain, and we could unpack that more at some point.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In a minute, we're going to get into the difference between the law as entrance into the family of God, and then the different uses of the law.  
  
Sometimes there are preachers, and it's very confusing to me and to those who are listening when they say the gospel demands this. I would say it's a poor use of words. Maybe they believe that if they do, it's heresy. I don't think that's what they believe. I think it's a confusion of what they're saying. Because to say that the gospel demands something is a heretical teaching that will lead you to damnation in hell. I'm just going to be frank on that. I'm not accusing people of heresy; I think they're confused in their language.  
  
The law demands obedience or you are condemned. The gospel does not condemn people. That's the thing about it. You have to understand the gospel does not lead people to the judgment seat of God; it relieves them from it. It rescues them from the judgment. Justin and I absolutely believe that if you don't preach the law, you cannot have gospel because the gospel is the relief of the law.  
  
Justin Perdue: Picking up on what you're articulating there. You even said the gospel sets us free from the law. In the gospel, we are given the fulfillment of the law by Christ in order that we might be delivered from the condemnation of the law.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We were having a very long conversation about Luke 14 and Mark 8 where Jesus comes in and just pounds the law. Just boom, boom, boom, boom. People are confused. They think it's gospel because Jesus is talking about following him, Jesus talking about being his disciple. They assume anytime Jesus mentions discipleship or following him, that's gospel. Paul makes it very clear as what the gospel is. If we aren't clear on what the gospel is, then you are going to live in the constant state of wondering, "How do I know that I'm justified before God?" This is the thing about it. If you go and read the book of Galatians, Paul wrote that entire book to just pry the law out of the gospel. He's just ripping it out as hard as he can saying, "How are you so confused? How have you been bewitched to think the good news requires something of you?" It can't; it is a declaration of what has been done.  
  
Justin Perdue: I was just going to comment briefly on the fact that there is so much confusion out there in terms of reading and understanding the words of Jesus, because people do assume that if Jesus spoke it, it must be gospel. Even the name of the four books—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the gospel of, it's not that those are bad titles at all, but I think that can add to this confusion for some people where they assume that everything contained in it, thereby, is part of the gospel.  
  
What we need to understand is that the four accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ are narrative. They're describing what he accomplished for us there, obviously recording some of the things that he taught and said, for sure, but they are recording the works of Christ that have accomplished redemption. It is, in particular, the redemptive work of Christ that is offered freely to sinners that is the good news contained within those accounts. Then that gospel is further unpacked by the apostles as they write the rest of Scripture in the New Testament.  
  
We need to understand that the majority of the words that came out of Jesus's mouth were actually law and not gospel. He was the greatest preacher and teacher of the law who has ever lived. He helped people see what the requirements of God really are and thereby he crushed people with the law that they might be driven to him who is their only hope of salvation and righteousness.  
  
For example, brother, when there's a lawyer who comes up to him—this is in pretty much all the synoptic gospels—comes up to him and says, "Good teacher, what is required to enter the Kingdom of God?" Or, "What are the greatest commandments?" Or, "What is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus says, "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." People will say, "See? That's true religion there. Christ is telling us what we need to do." Yeah, he is telling us what we need to do, and that he is summing up the Law and the Prophets; he says so himself. He's summing up the first and second table of the 10 commandments; the first four commandments that tell us about how we're to love God and the latter six commandments to tell us how we are to love our neighbor. He sums that up with loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. But that's not the good news because nobody has ever done any of that for one second of their lives. And so we need him to do that in our place, to give us that righteousness, and then we need him the sinless one to die for our sins and to bear the wrath of God, which we deserve. That's what he came to do. The distinctions that we're making right now might seem, at points, like it's minor, or a splitting of hairs, but these distinctions make all the difference in the world.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I put out on Twitter—and I think it tripped a lot of people up, which was an interesting conversation I had with some people—that repentance of sin cannot save you. People said, "You need to be more clear about what you're saying", and to be fair, how nuanced we are, can Justin and I say things in more clear, succinct ways? To both of those criticisms, we will say always. We're always trying to be clear on what we're saying, and very simple and simplistic, so that we're not misunderstood. Because you can hear things like, "repent to believe", or, "you need to repent for the kingdom is at hand". When you don't have a law-gospel understanding of the distinction between the demands of the law, the demands of the law are for you to repent. That is the demand of the law. Because if you don't repent of your sins, you are going to be held accountable for your sins. The problem is no one can repent of all their sins.  
  
Let me just put it this way. Justin, has anybody ever repented of not loving God with all their heart? Has anybody ever repented of that?  
  
Justin Perdue: Not adequately because that's true of us every moment we're breathing, and we're not continually repenting of it, so no, we've never done so adequately.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. What Jesus does is that he comes in and he takes repentance to a level that no one can do. When he says you think that you're not sleeping with a woman, that means you have kept the law, but if you had thoughts about it, you are guilty of it.  
  
What Jesus is always going after is the impossibility of righteousness. If you want to stand righteous before God and what Jesus is really calling us to, and I believe this with all of my heart, is a change of mind of where you rest your righteousness. Change where righteousness comes from and you will be saved.  
  
Justin Perdue: This is not to contradict anything that you just said, because you just said what I'm going to say and I hope I can be clear about this. If there is a demand of the gospel, it is to believe. Believe in Jesus Christ. Alongside that belief, as a part of that belief, I would include that change of mind that you just mentioned. That is repentance; God gives those things to us. The thing that God demands—belief in Christ—which means necessarily that I have changed my mind about God and His ways with us, and what He requires of me, and the way I might be reconciled to Him—God grants faith and repentance. He does in those senses. Even the one thing that we're told that we need to "do" with the gospel—trust Christ—is something that we can't do on our own. It's a gift of God that He gives us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: When someone says the demand of the gospel is to believe, my response to that is I'm agreeing with you. It is news, and what you do with that news is up to you. In Luke 14, when Jesus says, "Those who have ears to hear, let them hear," and it says the sinners drew near, it's like when they heard that Jesus is they're way out of their own righteous failings, they come. Those who hear the gospel, and the Spirit has opened their minds and they see their need for repentance, they believe. There's not even the demand of belief.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm agreeing wholeheartedly. I put this up online recently, but I was having a conversation with the other guy on staff at our church. I said to him that the language that people will use like this about what we need to do in order to come to Christ is just so unhelpful and absurd. If you offer a cup of water to a man dying of thirst, what's he going to do with that? If you offer food to a starving person, what is he going to do with that? Do you need to lambast him and persuade him and convince him to drink that water or eat that food? No, because he has an awareness of what he needs. It's intuitive. He doesn't need it explained to him. He has in front of him the thing that he absolutely has to have and doesn't, and he takes it. That's what happens, to what you just said, Jon, when the Holy Spirit of God does His regenerating work in the life of a fallen sinner and we thereby, having heard God's Word, having been crushed by God's law, and we have Jesus held out to us, it is like that starving man being offered food. Give me Christ. That is the best picture that I know of to present the listener with in terms of what this actually looks like. It's not this whole yelling at people about what they need to do to repent and believe and the demands of the gospel. No, we're offering water to people who are dying of thirst. We're offering food to starving people. Sinners who are crushed by the law need Christ, and when the Spirit shows up, they receive and trust Him and cast themselves upon Him.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To go back to the law-gospel distinction and what you were just saying, Justin, we were so confused with, Jesus says to the rich young ruler that all the man had to do was sell everything and come follow Jesus. You really believe that he would save himself? That is insane to think about because what you were saying is the law is now achievable. If you think the rich young ruler's problem was he wasn't willing to leave his money that's why he wasn't saved, you just thought the law is achievable. The law, taught properly, should crush a hundred percent of everyone. Everybody, said Jesus.  
  
Here's my problem: people who say, "Wow, you guys aren't preaching the gospel." No, you're not preaching the law because the law says it is 100% without failure. When someone says, "Unless you make Jesus your Lord, you cannot be saved," I agree. Yet, it needs to be a hundred percent Lord all the time without fail.  
  
Justin Perdue: If you're going to make Jesus Lord in that sense, it would mean that you love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength all the time. Without fail. Every moment without exception.  
  
Let me just riff for a second on the whole rich young ruler passage. We've talked about this before in terms of the passage itself. I agree with you completely that what Jesus is doing in that moment is crushing that man with the weight of the law. This man thinks that he has loved God and neighbor, that he has done enough to merit eternal life. He says, "I've kept the commandments." But what does Jesus do? Jesus asks him to prove his love for God and neighbor and the man can't do it. Right. I'm in complete agreement with you there. But what kills me is that when guys who, I say this humbly, but when guys who will scream from the rooftops about faithful, biblical exposition and exegesis, then will come to a passage like that and will introduce something into the text that is flat out not there. They say, "What we need to be at least willing to do is give away everything for Christ."  
  
Jon Moffitt: You just lowered the law.  
  
Justin Perdue: First of all, where in the world did you get "willing" from the text? Because it's not in there. You pound the drum all the time that we need to be faithful to the text, but the word "willing" is nowhere to be seen on that page. Christ said do this if you would be perfect, and the man can't do it. That is the point. We can't do what God requires.  
  
The gospel is the free gift of God through faith, where we are counted righteous with the very righteousness of Jesus, and all of our sins are forgiven, and they are atoned for, and we are absolved of all guilt—and it is a free gift. Come and drink of the water without payment and without price. It's Isaiah 55\. It's Revelation 21\. I can't get away from the argument of Paul in Romans 2 and 3, where he makes it very clear that none of us live up to our own standards, let alone God's, because we judge each other for not meeting the standards that we hold out, and we can't keep our own standards either so we condemn ourselves. Then he talks about how God is a righteous judge who is impartial, who rewards those who do good with eternal life, and He punishes those who do evil with wrath and condemnation. Then he says the whole thing about how it is not the hearers of the law, but the doers of the law who will be justified.  
  
But then, what does he go on to say? There's a huge problem because nobody's good. Nobody has kept the law. Which is why, beginning in Romans 3:21\. He tells us what the good news is. He says, "But now the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law, although the law and the Prophets bear witness to it—it is the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." That is what we're discussing here; that God has all kinds of requirements, but none of us have ever kept His law. None of us have ever met the standard. So we are desperate for the work of Christ in our place.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Have you ever been out in public, and you get home and you realize that your zipper was down, or you had like a booger hanging and you realize no one there told you this embarrassing thing about you? Are you kidding me? All of these people saw this and no one ever said anything. When David says, "I love Thy law", I understand why he says that because when David looks into the law, he sees himself as God sees him, and it helps them keep a right perspective of who God is and who he is and how he needs to depend upon God. I never understood the phrase, " I love Thy law". I love the law of God. I love it because it keeps the gospel so fresh and clean and necessary for me. I can't move on from the gospel because the more I look at the law, I can see all of what's wrong with me. It keeps me on this dependent track of Christ where I am not going to depend upon my ability to do the law. The law exposes my frailty and says I have nothing. I have no righteousness. I love God's law for that.  
  
Justin Perdue: I love God's law because of God's gospel. We just said it earlier. You need to understand the law in order to understand the gospel. I would say that in order to really understand the law, you also need to be able to see and understand the gospel. You have to keep them distinct, but the understanding of the one aids your understanding of the other, and that's huge. So David can say, "I love God's law". We do too. We love God's law. His law is good and holy and perfect and wise, and we uphold it in every way. We preach it in all of its holiness to drive sinners to Christ. Then in the third use of the law since, we uphold God's moral law as the perfect guide for our living. But part of the reason that David could say in the Psalms, "I love Your law", part of the reason he can say that is because he also wrote Psalm 32: "Blessed it is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity." Not that there isn't any, but God doesn't count it to him. "And in whose spirit, there is no deceit."  
  
That whole thing is really abused. "You need to have an upright spirit in which there is no deceit." No, what does he mean? He goes on to say that, "When I kept silent, I didn't confess my sins, I wasted away, but then I acknowledged my sin to you and I didn't cover my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and You forgave the iniquity of my sin." That's gospel. It aided David in loving God's law. It does the same thing for us because we are not blending law and gospel, like you said earlier, that turns into this hodgepodge of terrible news where there can be no assurance and no comfort. But no, we say, "God, how holy and marvelous is your law, and God, if possible, how much greater even is your gospel in terms of what Jesus has accomplished for us in fulfilling that law and atoning for sin."  
  
Jon Moffitt: The reason, I think, a lot of the craziness of the law-gospel mixture and the demands of the gospel is you have people who are going after the lazy Christian, the Christian who isn't taking their fates there, or I would say the false converts who are sitting in churches and they don't even know that they're lost. They're coming in hard with the Bible and saying, "I'm going to be hard with the Bible and really hard with God's Word so people realize they got to take this seriously." I don't disagree with you. I have people in my church that I think that probably don't understand the gospel appropriately, that probably are not converts, but what's not going to save them is the harshness of the gospel. I don't understand why you would ever want the good news to be bad. That doesn't make sense. I'm not softening and saying someone can live however they want. No, I want the law to press in and suffocate them so much that they go, "Who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to Christ."  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen, brother. It's insane that we would think what we need to do for the person who's Christian in name only, who may very well be unconverted, who's sitting in the assembly, "I need to make the gospel sound hard." What a terrible idea that is. "Let me make the gospel sound hard so that I can get people to take Jesus seriously." What that "nominal" person—nominal meaning unbelieving person who's in your assembly—he or she needs to be crushed by the holiness of God's law. He or she needs to be crushed with right law preaching, and then, having been crushed, he or she needs to be given the Lord Jesus Christ. "That incredibly heavy, unbearable burden of the law that you're feeling, let me tell you about the one who says he'll take that from you." Let me tell you about the One who says, "I have done everything necessary for you." His name is Jesus Christ. Cast yourself upon him and trust him. That's what we should say.  
  
Jon Moffitt: His name is wonderful.  
  
Justin Perdue: His name is wonderful. He is gentle and lowly of heart. He says he'll give us rest for our souls because he has borne the burden that we could never bear. To make the gospel sound hard in order to reach the nominal or the unconverted is bad theologically—and it is insane and it doesn't work. What we do is crush people with the law and then offer them Christ. The law drives them to him.  
  
I think a lot of people get concerned when they hear us talk like this, because they assume that we think that the law is only for showing us our sin and driving us to Christ, and that we don't care about how people live once they've trusted Jesus. That is not true. We care about how people live once they've trusted Christ because the Scripture is full of things about that. The law is helpful here in that the moral law of God that was written into humanity and creation—it's the law of creation, basically the law of nature that was then given to Moses on two tablets of stone—that law still serves as a perfect guide for our living, and we trust that the Holy Spirit conforms us to that as we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and live life in the community of the church.  
  
This needs to be stated: once a person is in Christ Jesus, the law is no longer threatening. The teeth have been taken out of the law. It no longer is a weight and it's no longer condemning. It is a joy, actually, and we can delight in it and we can say, "Yes, it's good. I want to live that way, and God gives me grace that I may."  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's what Paul means. There is no condemnation. You cannot be condemned.  
  
Justin Perdue: What ends up happening in this whole confusion of law and gospel, people mean well, because they want folks to take Jesus seriously, and they want people to take seriously the exhortations and imperatives that are in the Scriptures. Okay, fine. There are things that flow out of the gospel, namely a transformed life, but those things that flow out of the gospel are never the gospel itself. We say that all the time, but it can't be said enough. That makes all the difference in the world.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Justin, I think that one of the things that we can talk about in our community members' podcast is the difference between the demands of the law and how it crushes us so we enter into God's rest, not using the law, and then how God reorients the law, or I would say the uses of the law, and use it for the sake of our loving our brother. There are uses of the law. People often confuse the demands of the law versus the use of the law. We'll explain what we mean by that.  
  
Justin Perdue: John Calvin uses language that's very helpful about the law, for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. For the Christian, Calvin says that God's law is our kind adviser. If that sounds foreign or crazy to you, like you've never thought about the law being your kind adviser, then this podcast that we're about to do in our members' area is something that you should give a listen to. You should check it out.  
  
If you wanted to listen in on this conversation and you're not yet a member here at Theocast, we would encourage you to go over to our website and learn more about our membership. Theocast.org is the URL where you can find that good information. This podcast that we're about to do is an opportunity for us to have a kind of family conversation. We're talking to one another in a way that's safe and comfortable, and we're trying to encourage one another as we continue in this pilgrimage of the Christian life where we're seeking to rest more in Jesus. If that sounds like something you're interested in, head over to the website, check it out and you can figure out how to be a part of this conversation and join the Reformation along with us.  
  
Thank you for listening to this episode. We hope it was encouraging for you and that, in understanding this distinction between the law and the gospel, it leads to greater levels of freedom, rest, and peace for you in light of what Christ has done for you. Grace and peace.

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### Chasing Goosebumps

*Published: March 3, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/chasing-goosebumps*
*Tags: 2021, Emotional Preaching, Emotionalism, Feeling close to God, NC, Spiritual High*

Many of us have spent our Christian lives chasing after experiences. We live in pursuit of spiritual highs and that "first-time feeling." There is something different and better. Jon and Justin talk about what that is.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys talk about pietistic, emotionally-based preaching, as well as the armor of God and the Lord's Table.  
  
[Members' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-chasing-goosebumps/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i24rnCEQXgY

### **Podcast Transcript**

Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, Justin and I are going to discuss chasing goosebumps—those spiritual highs that you have after personal devotion time, or a worship service, or evangelizing. We're looking for that next spiritual significance where we feel close to God, and we know that His presence is near.  
  
Why is that dangerous? And how can that actually hurt our assurance and distract us from the gospel? We hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned.  
  
Justin, talk to us a little bit about this subject; why it's important, and why we chose it.  
  
Justin Perdue: This podcast exists to try to set people free from all kinds of bondage and to pull people away from things that are less than good onto the only sure foundation, which is Jesus Christ and his righteousness and work for us. One of the things that we can often chase after, and frankly be enslaved by, is the pursuit of what I might call spiritual highs, where we chase after experiences.  
  
People need to have that category in their minds that sometimes we need to be delivered from things that, in our experience, actually feels good, but then can become really bad for us because we're always measuring how we're doing up against how we felt that one time: the experience that we had, that one church service, or whatever it may be. Then it introduces all of these thoughts and concerns into our brains, and we become hyper-introspective about it, and we become anxious, or worried, or concerned about various things because we're not feeling how we once felt about Christ. "I'm not doing as well today as I was yesterday," or, "This week at church just is not thrilling my heart like I was thrilled last week or that service that happened two months ago." Or whatever it is. That can become a very heavy burden and it can become something that is a form of bondage, as I referenced just a moment ago. We're hoping to have a reasonable conversation about this and not only point out where this comes from, but also pull people onto something better as we try to think reasonably about the Christian life, and the fact that we're fallen, and that we don't always feel the way we should. That's going to come to bear in us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: When many of those who are listening came to Christ, maybe you came from a background where you were in sin, or you didn't grow up in a church background and you, in that conversion moment, that moment when you saw the Holy Spirit open your eyes and your sin before you, and you saw that Jesus saved you, that it's unreal and it's an otherworldly experience to know that the Holy Spirit has transformed you. I know that many have this emotional moment where they truly experienced the gospel in a way that transformed their life. They were a different person going forward. Then you see this person and they're involved in everything, they can't get enough of the Word of God. Uh they're at soul-winning there, it's like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. My dad used to describe these people as getting a good dose of the Holy Ghost. I guess I never got one of those. That was never me.  
  
What ends up happening down the road, a year down the road, is things start to slow down and that spiritual high is no longer there. What they're looking for is that next high. It's that next "How do I get back to when I was really close to Jesus, when I was first saved? How do I maintain that experience?"  
  
When I grew up in the Baptist world, you always want to have fresh blood in your church because it keeps the excitement level up. Basically, new converts keep everybody excited. When you are always looking for that next spiritual moment that's going to throw you back up to where you feel like God is the most important thing in your life, nothing else matters, you're floating on air. When you can't find it and years start passing by, it creates all kinds of theological problems. It creates all kinds of assurance issues. Then you start seeking it in books and in movements: you have the radical movement and then you have the Charismatic movement. Every denomination and every theological bend has these goosebumps moments they want for you to experience so that you can have that next euphoric high.  
  
Justin Perdue: There's a reason why it's unusual anymore for somebody to just hold the same theological positions for a long period of time. It's unusual for people to just be members faithfully in the same church for a long period of time. Not only is it something where we grow bored, but I think in some ways, people get worried about their spiritual condition because they're not feeling it the way that they once were, or they need something different so that they can get excited and geeked up about it.  
  
Sometimes this chasing experience can actually lead us into theology and practices and stuff that are less than helpful. That may be true, but I want to back up a little bit and talk about emotions for a second, and the fact that emotions in and of itself is not a bad thing. Jon and I would both uphold the fact that part of being made in God's image, a small part of that anyway, means that we are emotional creatures and emotion, in and of itself, is a good thing. The issue for us is that we are fallen creatures, and that means that every aspect of our personality has been affected by sin—that includes our emotions. Because our emotions are fallen, and because we are inherently self- interested and the like, and lack perspective, our emotions are not always trustworthy. We have to acknowledge that if we're going to make any sense of this conversation.  
  
To feel really good about God, or to feel really good about Jesus and what he has done for you, is a wonderful thing. Praise the Lord for those moments when we realize that there are going to be plenty of times, as a fallen human being, as a Christian who is in Christ living in a fallen world, that you and I are not going to feel the way that we should. We've got to have something, by way of a sure foundation, that is bigger and much more robust than how I'm feeling on any given day.  
  
As a matter of fact, I know in our church, we often welcome people to service acknowledging that they've come in feeling any kind of way, and that the only thing that's consistent about us is that we're inconsistent in terms of how we feel. What we're trying to do is look to something that's outside of us that can give us hope and peace before the Lord—and his name is Jesus. Thank God.  
  
As good as the goosebump moments are—and they're great. Who wouldn't want them? You would be wrong to say that you shouldn't want to feel great about Christ. Of course, you should want to feel great about Christ; moved and just gripped. Those moments are wonderful and praise God for them. But also, praise God that Christianity and the gospel is about more than goosebumps, because if it's about goosebumps, it's sinking sand. It's that quagmire where the more we flail about chasing after it, the further we sink down in it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It matters where the goosebumps are coming. You and I have watched a really great movie and at the end of it, we think that was fantastic. I can remember the first time I went to the theater and I watched _The Village_. I'm not going to ruin it for anybody, but there's that aha moment at the end of the movie. If I were to go back and watch it again, it won't have the same effect on me. We experience this closeness and this emotional high where you can feel the tingle, your heart is exploding, your eyes are watering—and that could be caused by a thousand different things. It could be caused by an abortion video, when we start thinking about how kids are being murdered and it breaks your heart. Or it could be about God healing somebody from cancer. You're watching this video and it's just bringing this on. There are a million and one things that cause us, as humans, to feel this emotional drive that comes out of us. The danger is that if you go to some worship services, they're going for that—the mood, the lighting, the music, the transitions, and the words are all designed to get you into this emotional state where you can experience the presence of God. And it is an experience because of the music, the words, the emotions, the smoke, and all that kind of stuff.  
  
On the flip side, I also know people who have had this experience when they repent of sin. There's this weight that's off of them and they have this warmth theologically, where they can feel the presence of God—not real—but they understand His joy and they understand the love that He has for them.  
  
Justin, you and I have given experiences on theological shifts where I can remember the moment I started to understand the covenantal God, who has this unmovable, unshakable love for me. That was an emotional experience for me to realize that I had never seen the faithfulness of a covenantal God. It was one of those moments where I was brought to tears thinking of how much my God has proven His love for me.  
  
Justin Perdue: I've been a Christian for a while, by God's grace, but I've had several points in time, even over the last 15 years as my theology has continued to be refined, like you were saying, where you come to a greater and deeper understanding of Christ, the gospel, God and His faithfulness, our security, and all these kinds of things. It is like being born again. We're not saying either that you won't have things land on you anew.  
  
This is not trying to take us off down a trail either, but there are plenty of times for myself where, in the ebbs and flows of my life, I'll be reading something or I'm in a service in my own local congregation, or I'm preaching even, and I am very gripped and affected by what's being said or what we're doing. It's not because I haven't heard it before, but because it's landing on me. We're not trying to discourage people from treasuring those moments and from thanking God for those moments, but what we're trying to do is help people think through the fact that their love, their joy, it's going to ebb and flow all the time, and that there has to be something immovable and unshakable that does not change that would be the anchor of their soul.  
  
Jon Moffitt: People have different emotional tendencies. A good friend of mine who's a pastor here in Nashville... I think I've seen him cry once in the nine or 10 years that I've known him. I'm not a crier, but recently, just with the amount of pain and suffering that's going on in our church, I get up there and I see these people's faces when I start preaching, and my eyes start watering up. I can just imagine how painful it is for them. I don't want it to do that. It's not like I'm looking for it to do that, but you can't take personality.  
  
I've seen this where you have this gregarious, outgoing, very emotional personality, and that person is considered to be righteous, holy, and close to God because they're always emotionally involved in what they're doing. Then I have other people in our church who... the blip doesn't move from a straight line. Their face never changes, the expressions... they're not loud, they're not quiet—some could say they are flatlined, and that they need to get in line with who God is and get excited about it. I talked to this person and I thought, "This guy loves Christ." He is doing more for the body of Christ than most people are. He just doesn't want anybody to know about it. He doesn't need the emotional highs and lows to make himself feel significant within the body of Christ because he understands Christ is significant. He is the one we focus on, not my emotional highs and lows. He doesn't pursue it that way.  
  
Justin Perdue: Not only can we not trust our own emotions—I think that's very clear in terms of being our guide—we also cannot trust our evaluations of other people's emotions. We just got to get to that right now. For us to look around and assess how we think our brothers and sisters are doing in the faith, based on the countenance, on their faces, or based upon how joyful we assess them to be during singing—that is just absurd. First of all, you have no idea what's going on in that person's life, and what they may have endured and encountered yesterday or this morning before they showed up to this service. Everybody's wired differently in terms of how they express themselves, how they communicate, and how they look.  
  
That's just a public service announcement to help you be a better church member, and to love the saints in your congregation better. Quit doing this evaluation of each other's emotional state and what that means about their affections for Jesus. Because, like you said, there are all kinds of times you talk to people that seem to be quite still on the service, but it actually is very deep underneath—and the current is there. It just is not as much whitewater on the surface as we might surmise there to be.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I'm going to throw them a throw one at you. What is the difference between an emotional Christian goosebump moment and biblical joy? What's the difference?  
  
Justin Perdue: I've heard people contrast, for example, happiness and joy. I don't really want to do that right now; happiness is circumstantial, joy is transcendent. That's not what we're necessarily talking about here. I think that what we're talking about there, biblical joy, or even though a word that we use often which is biblical rest in Christ is more of something that I would call like a resting heart rate posture that is ongoing, that's always there. Our experience of how joyful we feel is going to be all over the place. Certainly when we say biblical joy, it's not like a temperature check like how am I doing now? How am I doing in an hour? How am I doing tomorrow? That would be an unhelpful way of thinking about biblical joy. Biblical joy is very much tethered to rest and peace, that all is tethered to Jesus and what he has done for me. Because Christ never changes right, and his work for me never changes, I can have that resting joy and peace in Christ all the time though I might feel quite differently about Christ, or about my Christian life, or about my life wholesale—depending on what moment of the day you talk to me. But underneath all that, there is something that doesn't change and that has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with Christ. That's how I would begin to answer that question.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Paul demands joy. He says be joyful in everything. Then Jesus promises joy. I look at that and I say that joy is not circumstantial, but we can't connect it to emotions. The joy of the Lord is my strength means... I love how you rephrased it. Sometimes, it's easier to say the rest of the Lord is my strength. I can find rest and comfort. I could even say the comfort of the Lord is my strength.  
  
Joy has the sense of rest and comfort because it's not based upon a circumstance, it's based upon a person, which is Jesus. So, when we think about emotional highs and lows, I think, biblically speaking, Paul and David can make these references because they are connecting them to something that's outside of our current circumstances, no matter how I'm feeling emotionally and no matter what's going on with me physically or emotionally. When Jesus says, "My joy can be in you and it can be complete," it's not just abstract joy, and it's not portions of joy, Jesus says, "The complete full joy of myself can be inside of you." And he says that when you have love for one another, that's how you tap into it.  
  
What's interesting to me is that if you're going to pursue these moments of, I would say, safety and comfort and rest, it is not connected to actions like music, or I would even say things like reading your Bible, or these emotional prayers that we have. I read a book, unfortunately, when I was in seminary, that convinced me that if I got on my knees at four in the morning and just would not get up, and begged for the presence of God to be around me, and that I could be aware of it and worship Him, then that's what was going to give me the energy for the day to obey and continue in my day. I would wake up at four in the morning, and I can remember the very first week I did that, it was like an experience I had never had. The emotional high, the crying, the joy that I felt. Then after that one week, I couldn't get it to come back no matter how hard I tried, no matter what I read. It wasn't enough because that initial experience I had, it was like the shekinah glory was in my living room, and it went away and I couldn't figure out why.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm resonating with you, not in terms of the particular piece of that book and praying at four in the morning, but I've said this many times: the most common prayer I pray is "God help me." I may be asking Him to help me about any number of things: to not sin, to continue to give me faith, to protect me from doubt and unbelief.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Just to put some words to that, Justin, the three things that I almost pray for daily are mercy, grace, and wisdom, because those were the three things Jesus had asked for liberally. Mercy, grace, wisdom.  
  
Justin Perdue: Even with respect to feelings and how I feel about God, Christ, or the things of God. I could be wrong in saying this, but I'm going to go ahead and throw it out because I think it's legit: we, in this life, are meant to know, confess, see, and feel our need for Christ. We are meant to know that we are debtors to grace and in need of grace all the time. I think one of the ways that the Lord reminds us of that consistently is in this area, because we don't often feel like we should. That forces us to remember that we are dependent and we are in need. I need God's grace. I need His mercy. I need His power. I need His help if I'm even going to feel like I should. To find ourselves praying for this, not chasing highs, but for us to pray that God would give us grace and that He would help us and that He would stir our hearts, I think it's a reasonable thing to ask the Lord for and to see our need of it in this life is not bad, as we are not fully sanctified yet, and we haven't been resurrected yet.  
  
I want to pivot slightly with an anecdotal illustration of what we're getting at. In many churches—it doesn't have to be the mega church context but the illustration I'm going to give is kind of that—this is not unique to me to make this observation either. I'm not uniquely brilliant in saying this, but how many times have you been to a church service where we walk in the space, and maybe it's an inviting space, and there's the screen up front and it's got the countdown for the service to start. There's the clock and it's ticking down, and the music is playing with maybe three minutes to go. The music ramps up and the lighting changes, and then with a minute it ramps up even more, and then for the last 10, 20, 30 seconds, there's like this driving kick drum, and we're about to start this thing. Right on cue, the worship leader, with this grand gesture, grabs the microphone and he's like, "How y'all feeling out there?" I've seen this. I trust many have experienced this.  
  
My thoughts on that are several: one, what kind of New Testament question is that? How am I feeling? Depending on the day, you're going to get any different kind of answer. Maybe today, my wife and I had a fight in the car on the way to church, maybe I spilled my coffee all over this or that or the other, maybe I've just got a job promotion. But in part, a lot of times, for me, I come into a service and I'm burdened and distracted. I've got a lot going on. My initial thought to "How y'all feeling?" is I feel like a miserable wretch, so what do you have for me? Because if you're asking me how I'm feeling, that's a pretty hopeless thought. What we're trying to do is demonstrate the foolishness of that kind of question and that kind of approach to a church service or certainly the Christian life.  
  
I think we can certainly agree that rather than asking me how I feel, ask me something that's somewhat more significant than that: ask me what I know to be true. Ask me what I know to be true most pointedly about Jesus Christ and his work in my place, his atoning death, the satisfaction that he has made for my sins, the fact that in his death, I too have died to the Law, that he has provided me with righteousness. That's all I could ever need. He is the ground of my peace and assurance, not just today, but forever and ever. Ask me what I know about that, and then we're getting somewhere, and then we might actually have something to sing about, rather than this really this amorphous, free form, fleeting, ever-changing thing called “how I'm feeling”.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's hard because you see people moving the needle, and moving the experience, more and more and more to make sure that we're not distracting from that experience. I tell our congregants, our elders, and our deacons all the time that we don't want to distract from the reason we're there, which is fellowship in the Word. If there's anything that's going to cause a distraction from that, then let's do our best to make sure that the temperature is set right...  
  
Justin Perdue: The space is reasonably inviting and not miserable.  
  
Jon Moffitt: If I'm preaching and people can't hear me, then how are they to hear the Word? So, don't hear us say that those things don't matter.  
  
Justin Perdue: That sounds like something in Romans 10: how are they going to hear?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Exactly. What we're getting at is that I understand why people are turned off by church often, because they get exhausted by the fact that they're going there and everyone else around them is jumping up and down, everybody else is excited. Or even if you're in a conservative church, everybody has a smile on their face, everybody seems to be clean cut and good, and they are demonstrating that they have this joy that you don't have.  
  
Justin Perdue: I just kind of lambasted the mega church attractional model. Let me go after the traditional model real quick. Even the whole classic... if somebody gets up in the pulpit and greets everybody and says, "Isn't it wonderful to be in the house of the Lord?" Two thoughts on that. One, if you're asking me how I feel about being in the house of the Lord at this very moment, I don't know what I'm going to say to you because it depends on the week. But if you're asking me, do I know that it's good to be in the house of the Lord? Yes, I do. But those two things are very different. I assume that you're talking to me about what I know and not what I feel, but a lot of times, the way that it comes across is I should feel so warm and fuzzy about just being here. I should feel so good about just being here in God's house. I'm feeling nothing. I'm afraid that if you told me that one of my children had died, suddenly I wouldn't feel anything, because that's how jacked up I am emotionally. I certainly don't feel all kinds of warm and wonderful things about being in the house of the Lord today. Again, there better be something bigger than that for me.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Something outside of circumstance. It's interesting you should say that, Justin. Not to talk about what we do at our services, but you and I are very sensitive to the fact that we know who is walking into our context. Every Sunday, I say to people, "Most of you, if not all of you, have walked in with shame and guilt for the failures of your week this week. We want you to know one simple truth: everyone stands for an equal need of God's grace. I don't care how you feel or what you've done, you need God's grace." Then we go into a prayer of confession, and after we confess our sins and receive forgiveness, I tell them, "Now we have reasons to worship our God, because He just forgave you of your sins." That has nothing connected to your emotions. No matter how you feel about that or not, you have one truth that remains: your God, who loves you, is good with you not based upon you. That is more important than how you feel about Him or how you have treated Him this week, because the circumstances shall remain the same: God saves sinners.  
  
I'm going to change this to something that is a really hot topic. I was shepherding somebody recently for this very purpose. They were emotionally out in every way, shape, or form; they weren't excited about church, they weren't excited about their faith, they weren't excited about their Bible reading, and they said they've been just dry. That's the way they described it. "I've been dry for two to three years and I just feel burned." When I started peeling back the layers, eventually what I got them to admit was they actually not only worked dry, but they were resentful towards God. They were angry at Him. I even got them to say, "Yeah, I kind of hate Him." Because they feel like they had put all of this energy and effort into God, and at moments, there were these high points where they were discipling people, they were being discipled, they were reading their Bible, and it was like jumping out of the page at them, they were enjoying church, and then circumstances changed, life changed, moved. All of a sudden, the things that used to bring this moment of significance weren't doing it anymore. The comment was, "I felt like God moved away. He moved. He went away. He distanced himself from me and I don't know why." They were equating God's affection, God's concern, and God's love to their emotional experience of God. The moment they weren't experiencing it through the different methods that they had set up, they assumed God was the one who moved away and they didn't understand why. It just drained them to the point where they didn't want to try anymore.  
  
This is what I said to them, and this is going to sound funny and I'm going to have to explain myself. I said, "You're not allowed to read your Bible for a year."  
  
Justin Perdue: Oh my gosh. Here we go.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Of course, they looked at me and said, "Why? If I just told you I'm dry, and I just told you I'm emotionally out of it, why would you say the one thing that could bring me back in is the one thing I can't do?" And I said, "Because that's the one thing that caused all of this problem. You just admitted that you go to the word of God and you're more depressed when you come away from it than when you entered into it. If the cause of your depression is an action, then maybe we should think about that for a moment."  
  
It was at that moment I was beginning to walk them towards the firm foundation of where they found their significance and where they found their hope was not in Christ; it was in what they were doing for Christ. Not only that, as they went into the Word, they were looking for that moment where there was this connection between them and God, and they were going to find that verse that was going to bring this connection back to this emotional experience that they're going to have. God's Word is not designed to do that; it's not designed to do that at all, yet we treat it in that way that we're looking for that golden nugget of the day. They're chasing the Bible down to find that goosebump for the day to give them the energy to say, "God's good with me because I experienced something."  
  
Justin Perdue: We talked about this in an episode we did months ago called _How Not to Read the Bible_, and one of the ways we said not to read it is this way, chasing after some experience, some high, chasing after a feeling that you would take away from the Word. There are any number of ways that we turn good things like Bible reading into bondage and slavery, for sure. What we all need to be able to do, or what we need done for us, is to have people who love us enough to recalibrate our thinking on these things. Part of it is we need to learn how to read the Bible in the first place and understand it legitimately, in terms of its entire redemptive historical framework and everything.  
  
The way you framed it was, you're exactly right, that you are not so much concerned about Christ or what he's done for you. You're concerned about what you're doing for him. Whenever that becomes your focus, there's no way that you're going to ever have peace and rest. Far from it. In fact, you're going to be exhausted. You're going to be beat to death, and you're going to have the experience of this person. Eventually, you're just going to wear out because you're going to think you are not doing enough. You never could do enough.  
  
Then you get frustrated with Jesus or with God. He is not the one requiring these things of you; you are requiring these things of you. I feel like we may be headed in a completely different direction here. I'm not trying to do that, but it is related very much to the things that we're discussing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: To go back to it real quick. The reason I mentioned something so pointed is that...this has happened at my members class this last Saturday. I was talking about Bible reading and I said, "How many of you moms are so exhausted by the fact that when you wake up and you turn your head to the left, and there's already three-year-old there staring at you before you even get out of bed, and you're thinking there's no way you're going to crack the Word this week? Now you're feeling guilty because you haven't spent time in the Word, you're exhausted, you're tired, you're angry, and you are feeling theologically and spiritually insignificant." That is not the design of God's Word, and if that's what it's causing, we are way off here.  
  
Justin Perdue: I agree. If it's this work to perform, if it's this thing that I must be doing in order to grow and be sustained in the faith, and if I'm neglecting this... the perfect example, like you said, is the mom with young kids; I'm married to one. I can't tell you how many conversations we've had over the course of years where she has been discouraged by not knowing how in the world to read the Bible or read theology or whatever it is. There are just too many immediate demands upon her, and these things are primary. You ought not neglect your children or your family, and things of that nature. Any kind of church context or Christian context that would say to somebody, in that circumstance, that you are failing, there's something clearly wrong.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I'm exhausted, I'm beat down, I'm emotionally drained, and what's the question they ask them? "Well, have you been spending time in the Word?" No, where's your foundation. Where's your hope?  
  
Justin Perdue: You're exactly right. People tell you they're exhausted, and then you basically pivot and say, "Well, what are you doing? What have you been doing for the Lord?" " You're already tired. Let me give you some things to do," said Jesus never. Not really related exactly to what we're talking about at this very moment, but it is related to our topic today.  
  
This is somewhat anecdotal as well: I remember a service recently, in the last few months at CBC, and in the message, I referenced a quote from John Newton that I will reference on a semi-regular basis, where he says something like this. This is going to be close to exact. "In private, I am cold and lifeless as usual, but He permits me to speak for Him in public." That's good because here's a man who's well-known relatively, well-known in the last few hundred years of Christian history—maybe more as a hymn writer than as an Anglican minister—but nonetheless, this man was a minister and he speaks about the reality of his private life, how he is cold and lifeless as usual, but that God permits him to speak for Him in public. That's a moving thought to me as a preacher, I trust it is to you as well, Jon, but in the comments that I made around that and speaking about how we often don't feel it and whatnot. There was a brother in our church, a very good friend of mine on our staff, who came up to me after the service and said, "Brother, thank you for that. Because I was sitting here all morning," and he knows this stuff and he would agree completely with what we're saying, but he said, “I’ve been sitting here all morning just flat out not feeling it. I'm cold. I'm apathetic. I'm not stirred. I'm not warm. I've just got nothing." He was mindful of how he was doing, and he's grieved by how he's doing, but then he says he can't do anything to change it. Then for whatever reason, the Lord used these comments to, just in one sense, comfort him, but then also stir him that this is the normal Christian experience, that we so often don't feel it. We lament the fact that we don't feel it. We feel powerless to change it. But what we need in that moment is not, "You need to feel this way about Jesus." No, we need to be told that all is well because of Jesus, and that we will struggle, and we often won't feel as we should. But one day we will, one day we'll feel as we should all the time, and the struggle will be no more, and because of Christ, we know that that's where we're headed. In the meantime, he's got us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I want to say that your significance should never be found in how you feel about God. This is what chasing goosebumps is. We want to feel significant, and I will tell you, the Bible tells you how you can feel significant. It absolutely tells you. It says to love God and love each other. Peter legitimately says you're ineffective when you are not showing gentleness and patience and meekness and kindness and forgiveness. So, your effectiveness in your relationship to God has nothing to do with your emotional highs and emotional levels.  
  
Justin Perdue: Peter says that ineffectiveness comes from forgetting the gospel and what Christ has done for you.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. And if you aren't doing these things, he doesn't say drum up some emotional high. He says to remember that you have been cleansed.  
  
Justin Perdue: Remember your status. Remember who you are.  
  
Jon Moffitt: You have been set free from the bondage. So, the significance of your emotions is if you have an emotional high, that doesn't become the new watermark.  
  
The other day when we had welcomed a new child into our congregation, Hazel, and she's just adorable, and I love her, and I love her family. As a pastor, that was an emotional moment because I was like, "Wow. The Lord gave us a new child to love, to care for, and to administer the gospel to." Then I'm going to go sit next to a man who just lost a child. The emotions there are pain and suffering and sorrow. I cannot allow either one of those to dictate my significance before the Lord, because my significance before the Lord is wrapped up in His arms, not mine. It's wrapped up in His affections, not mine. God has deep affection, so deep for me, and so deep for Justin, and for every listener who loves and trusts in the Lord's promises. His affections are so deep for He says, "I sacrificed my Son. That is how much affection I have for you." You cannot get any more significant affection than a man laying down his life for you. He doesn't say in return, in order for you to receive this, you must have the same level of affection. He says, believe it and it's yours. That's what stabilizes it.  
  
Justin Perdue: For sure. I want to make a brief comment about effectiveness because you brought up 2 Peter 1\. A lot of times people will act, think, and even accuse us: "How are people ever going to be effective unless we directly exhort them toward effectiveness, or unless we say things that are emotive on the face of them?" Or whatever it may be. My answer to that question is that's the wrong question, but let me speak to what your concern is. In heralding Jesus Christ and what he has done for us, and in pointing people to him only, we are actually giving people the one thing that will make them effective, and not just make them effective tomorrow, but will sustain them in their effectiveness.  
  
The proof is in the pudding in this, too. You can motivate people with emotion, fear, guilt, and all these other things for a period of time, but people will eventually absolutely crash against the rocks and will be done. It just can't be sustained, but Christ is able to sustain, and we can remain effective and fruitful in his church because he is the one who ultimately carries us along in that work.  
  
I know that we're running low on time in the regular episode here. A couple of things that, maybe for the members' episode or the episode that we're about to do for our membership, would be to talk about feelings and the Lord's Table. Maybe. Because that's a very feeling-driven moment. I know it was in my experience. Then I also may drop a little bit of a Horatius Bonar gold from his book, _God's Way of Peace: A Book for the Anxious_.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I also want to speak on preaching that is emotional, and I'm not talking about Charismatic. I'm actually talking about Calvingelicals, those who consider themselves to be Calvinistic, and how they preach in such a way that if you don't have these emotional experiences, as they are pressing you towards, then you should question your salvation. I've got some words of wisdom for those of you who may have sat under that type of preaching. We're going to liberate you from that.  
  
For those of you that don't know, this is kind of our family meeting. For those who have joined in and want to support Theocast and what we're doing, our membership is a way for you to join in on the team and get this message out. It's encouraging. We are seeing more pastors join in on what we're doing. We are seeing more churches planted. We have several more in the works and all of that is because of our members who come along onboard and support us monthly. If you wanna learn more about that, you can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com.  
  
Stay tuned, members. If you're not using the private podcast feed, go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/members. You can get it there and put it in your favorite podcast app, and listen to all of our podcasts, members' and regulars right there from your phone. I don't know if you want that much Theocast, but it's available.  
  
We'll see you next week.

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### Christian Liberty? The Weaker Brother?

*Published: February 24, 2021 | Author: Jeremy Brasher*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christian-liberty-the-weaker-brother*
*Tags: 2021, Alcohol, Christian Liberty, NC, Weaker Brother*

What is the purpose of your sanctification? Who is it for? (Hint: It's not for you.) We survey a number of passages from the New Testament to demonstrate the point of our growth in Christ.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about how freeing it is to realize your sanctification isn't for you.  
[Members' Podast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-christian-liberty-the-weaker-brother/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xscf0J4Hmhk

### **Podcast Transcript**

Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Question for you: what is the weaker brother? If you have spent any time in evangelicalism, you have no doubt heard the weaker brother discussed. What is Paul talking about when he uses that language? We're going to go there today in the regular episode. We're going to talk also about Christian liberty; is Christian liberty really about don't drink, don't smoke, don't cheat, or is it actually about something far greater and something much more wonderful? We're going to talk about that, too. Then in the members' episode, we're going to talk about how we would go about setting someone free when their conscience is improperly bound. We hope that this conversation is helpful to you as it is encouraging. Stay tuned.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Today's a pretty important conversation. I think that we are going to make a lot of people uncomfortable, potentially make some people angry—not purposely, not our goal. The real point of the podcast is to liberate some people from some bondage and burdens they've been carrying so that they can be more meek and patient and kind.  
  
Justin Perdue: This conversation is important, even though it took us a while to figure out what we were going to talk about today. We landed on talking about something that I do think, and you agree, is very important for us to discuss—and that is the topic of Christian liberty at a high level. But then also trying to say some hopefully helpful and biblical things about the weaker brother, and what the weaker brother is and what the weaker brother is not. The goal of this conversation is, as always, to encourage people in Christ and to remove clutter that's often thrown on top of the gospel. In particular, right now, we would be talking about clutter that's thrown on top of the gospel in the form of hyper, heavy-handed "what can I do?" kind of conversations.  
  
The way that I would want to kick this conversation off is by thinking about what Christian liberty has meant to the saints who lived before, let's say, the middle of the 19th century. The last 150 years or so, the conversation about Christian liberty is often reduced to matters of conscience. What is it okay for me to do? What should I avoid doing? The whole don't drink, don't smoke, don't chew, and don't go with girls that do things kinds of conversations. That's a tendency, I think, that exists in evangelicalism, or there is a tendency, I should say, to obsess over behavior. It's just something that we do.  
  
I think we need to say, before we go any further, that Christian liberty starts with something that is so much deeper, so much greater, so much more wonderful than how we behave. It starts with the fact that we have been set free by Christ and in Christ. We are no longer chained to this life of sin because of what Jesus has done. We are no longer paralyzed by fear of death and fear of the grave—he's delivered us from that. We are no longer in bondage to Satan and the forces of evil. We're no longer under the bondage and condemnation of the Law. Christ has set us free from all of that stuff. That's what saints have always meant when they start to talk about Christian liberty: we are free from all of that stuff and free unto righteousness. We are free to live before God with a clear conscience, knowing that we've been reconciled to him through what Christ has done. So now I don't need to worry and wig out all the time about how I'm doing, because I'm actually free, and Christ has settled that and handled that for me. We would be remiss if we don't start there.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's good. Christian liberty is one of those subjects that is like grace. When you start emphasizing the joy of God and grace, people immediately want to warn you that yes, there is grace, but faith without works is dead. There's grace, but there's works. When you talk about Christian liberty, what's the first thing that you immediately feel? In a word being used as liberation, you feel bondage.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's like we're talking about something that supposedly is about freedom, but instead it sounds like slavery.  
  
Jon Moffitt: You just got done describing Christian liberty and I'm more in bondage now than I was before you described it, and yet you're telling me I'm free. What they say is you are free from sin not to sin. They want to always emphasize that you are free from sin not to sin, which is true and I completely agree. But if we're talking about Christian liberty, the conversation should lead someone to feel cared for, affectionate, and ultimately should find rest. Because if you've been liberated by something—and we're now titling it Christian liberty—it should have that exhale of relief.  
  
Justin Perdue: And the feeling actually of a burden lifted, not a burden added to my shoulders.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. But when I hear Christian liberty talked about, it is a burden. I don't know where I have been liberated from, because I might step on somebody's, I would say, theological preference where I am now not at liberty to say, think, or do something because this person's conscience is bound by it, and if their conscience is bound by it, then I must, too, be bound by it. So liberty is only as strong as the loudest voice in the room.  
  
Justin Perdue: I’ll talk a little bit of Bible here really quick. I'm not going to quote chapter and verse so much, but for the listener, the main passages that we would refer you to, if you want to read about some of these things that we're discussing today, are Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 10:23 and following.  
  
If I could, I'm going to offer just a few high-level summary thoughts about those chapters and verses, and those sections of Scripture and what they contain. One, high-level thought about the Bible's clear teaching on this topic: only God and God's Word can bind the conscience. By that, I mean only God and what He has revealed specifically in his Word can tell any human being what he or she cannot do or what he or she must do.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Let me put it this way: only God can determine what should make you feel guilty for and what you should not feel guilty for. Binding the conscience, meaning that's the only thing that can say that if you step outside that, you should feel guilty for it.  
  
Justin Perdue: If God says we are to do something, or if God says we are not to do something, we are obligated to do as He says. What any human being thinks on his or her own doesn't matter. Only God can bind the conscience.  
  
Second big, high-level truth is that we are to love one another and seek one another's good. This is going to be huge because I'm not trying to steal even my own thunder, or yours either, Jon, but there is something that governs our exercise of our freedom, and it's called our love for each other. Third big truth: there are weaker brothers and weaker sisters who must be considered, and we're going to define what that means. Lastly, we are not to pass judgment on each other over these issues of liberty. I think it's a fair summary.  
  
Paul, for example, in all of those passages, he could have said, "Hey guys, under no circumstance whatsoever, in any conceivable scenario, should you ever eat meat sacrificed to idols." He doesn't say that. He tells them to do something actually harder. He says, "Love and consider each other." And we'll unpack that more.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Going back to the bondage, Paul writes to the church of Colossi. As he's talking with them for the first two chapters, really chapter one, you have this explanation of the glory of Christ, who Christ is, and who we are in Christ. He uses this transition phrase. He says, "Therefore," if this be true, this identity, this freedom, this joy that we have in Christ, "let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or whether regards to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath." So, we need to back up and ask, before we even dare to consider all these lists he's giving, which I think is a general list. These are things that someone may pass judgment, and judgment meaning guilty verdict. You are guilty before God for doing such things. He says not to let anyone do this, which is a very powerful statement. I think it sounds very much like Christian liberty; you have been set free from the burden of being found guilty, where there is no judgment coming to you from God.  
  
He says, "These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on," and then he gives a list, "asceticism and worship of angels, going in on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God." I love how he actually ends the conversation with the body being unified together.  
  
Justin Perdue: Even where he goes after that: the body grows together. Then he goes on to say, "If you, in Christ, you died to elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." Now, Paul is not saying just do whatever you want. He is saying, very much so here, that we ought not pass judgment on one another for what we're handling, what we're touching, what we're eating, what we're drinking. We ought not assume that there is inherent merit in this. If you live in an ascetic lifestyle where you just deny yourself constantly, it does have an appearance of godliness, but actually in and of itself has no value.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I love how in the middle of it, he says, not only does it have value, but it is disruptive to our growth as a body. Because he says we are holding onto Christ because Christ is the one who's liberated us, and Christ is the one who has set us free, and then he says the whole body is being knit together under Christ, not regulations.  
  
Justin Perdue: Right. And he is saying that if, in fact, Christ has done this for you, if Christ has done what he's done for you, why are you acting this way? If Christ has done everything that we have said that Christ has done, why are we quibbling and arguing and being silly about this stuff, and thinking that what I eat or drink contributes somehow to my righteousness? I think, at least, that's in part what's in Paul's mind there.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What's so hard for them is that in Jewish culture, there were certain things that were absolutely simple for them to eat and wear and do and mark on their bodies underneath the regulations, underneath the ceremonial Law. Paul comes now and says you cannot be held underneath that because Christ is. Those are but shadows.  
  
Justin Perdue: Christ has abrogated and has abolished the ceremonial Law. We don't need to get into a conversation about the Law here, but when it comes to that aspect of God's Law delivered in the old covenant, this is no more. All of those ceremonial laws were pointing us to how God would make sinners righteous, how atonement was made, etc., and Christ has fulfilled all of that. So, it is no longer binding on the Christian.  
  
Jon Moffitt: There's a part of it here that goes into the Christian liberty, meaning that we have been set free from two things: the condemnation of the Law and the requirements of the Law. We are not going to be condemned for our sins. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That is the liberty of the Christian. But there are also no requirements to maintain. A joke we were having earlier was there's no return policy on God's adoption. If He purchased you, you can't be returned. That means that you are now set free to obey without fear. Christian liberty means you cannot be bound by anything outside of what Christ has handed to us.  
  
Justin Perdue: You are no longer bound by the requirements of the Law for righteousness, because Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness, and that matters. The Law, as we have said many times on this podcast, and I think it's fine to say it again, we do uphold the third use of the Law, meaning the Law guides our living in Christ. But we are in no way under the Law as a covenant of works that we must keep in order to be in right standing with God. And that matters in terms of our day to day, and my own conscience, and what I perceive about my freedom and my peace before the Lord.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I come from the independent, fundamental Baptist background, and there was much that was handed to me that was theologically correct and helpful. I learned a lot from many of the pastors. My dad was a pastor. I learned a tremendous amount from him and my father-in-law, who is also a retired pastor whom I love and respect. There was a confusion between Christian liberty and the weaker brother, which is kind of where we're going to go here, and that confusion was really hard for me to navigate. How is it that if this is wrong to an individual, at what point am I set free from them, and their confusion of what God's Law says or what the Bible says, and my ability to participate in such actions?  
  
For the sake of argument, Justin, we don't have to beat around the bush. You and I are drinking beers at the moment, right? For many, that is a very complicated conversation. It's highly emotional, and I understand why it can be so hard for people to really stomach the fact that two pastors are drinking something that seems to be very offensive.  
  
Justin Perdue: Maybe, if in the regular episode there's time, but certainly in the members' area we could talk about alcohol, in particular, and why there is such a stigma around it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It is the number one topic, I think, when you're talking about Christian liberty. This probably is one of the ones that come up on top.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's certainly in the top.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I'm going to use the audience involvement here. Can you guys think of anything other than alcohol that becomes at the top level of Christian liberty?  
  
Justin Perdue: I think the next closest one would be media, like what kind of movies you watch, what kind of entertainment you engage in.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. It's like, “Did you cancel Netflix? Because if you didn't, then you don't really love Christ.”  
  
Justin Perdue: While we're here, what kind of establishments we go to, what kind of food we like, how we think about our diet, fashion, clothing, modesty, schooling for our kids. Is it sin to send my kids to public school? Are we required to homeschool? Is private school an option? Can we go trick or treating? We can do this all day. There are all kinds of things. In saying this right now, it's incredible how worked up we get about this stuff that is peripheral. It is in no way central to the Christian life. Before anybody objects and says, "But God is God over all things and Jesus is Lord," amen. We need to keep the main things the main things.  
  
Let's talk about the weaker brother. This really is important in terms of what the weaker brother is and then what the weaker brother is not.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And then in relation to Christian liberty.  
  
Justin Perdue: Oftentimes, the way that the weaker brother is defined is incredibly unhelpful. I'm going to offer a definition and then I'm going to maybe offer something that's not helpful. I think the weaker brother, biblically, is a person—a real person, not a hypothetical person, but a real person—in my midst with whom I have a relationship, who would or will be pulled back into a lifestyle of sin as a result of being exposed to something that I'm doing. It is a very concrete, specific situation. The weaker brother is not a hypothetical person out there who might be pulled back into sin by what you're doing. That doesn't help. I'm living a life in the context of a particular local church, with particular groups of friends, in particular relationships. Is there a weaker brother or sister in my midst with whom I have a relationship that is going to be brought into sin by what I'm doing? If the answer to that question is no, then I don't think we're talking about a biblical weaker brother situation.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I clarify one thing, too? They may be brought into sin, but it has nothing to do with you. In other words, if they're falling into judgmental pride, bitterness...  
  
Justin Perdue: Sure. But then let me say this, and this might sound controversial. It isn't around this table in this room, but someone, the weaker brother is not the most sensitive conscience in the room, because that is generally how Christians talk about it. That it's the weaker brother is the person who is going to be offended morally by the fact that you're drinking a beer. That is not at all what Paul is talking about in the New Testament, because that person being offended in his or her conscience, but not being tempted in any way or led in any direct sense into sin, Paul's word to that person who is passing judgment on you is actually to stop doing that. Don't cast shade either direction would be the exhortation of the apostle. Those who exercise our liberty, we ought not cast shade on people who don't. But then, those who don't ought not cast shade in the other direction: like "If you were really godly, you wouldn't drink that."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Yeah. According to Paul, your conscience can be misled.  
  
I grew up in a context where there were people who were convinced if you used any other version of the Bible than the King James version of the Bible...  
  
Justin Perdue: If he isn’t on it, he isn’t in it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I know people who, legitimately, in their conscience, they feel that when they read the ESV or the NASB, it bothers them. Those are the kinds of people that I can look at and say, "Dear brother, dear sister, I don't want to make fun of you. I don't want to bash you. But you have been bound in ways the Bible never intended you to be bonded. You're not supposed to feel that burden."  
  
Justin Perdue: And God didn't speak Old English. God doesn't speak Hebrew either. He gave us His word in such a way where it could be translated. The New Testament is recorded in Greek; Jesus didn't speak Greek. You could go all day. Or, when people talk like that, Jon, talking about bondage, Muslims understand that Allah speaks Arabic and that Revelation can only be in that language since the Quran can't be translated. We don't believe such things. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  
  
Jon Moffitt: In all honesty, what I mean by this is that if you have a context where they convince you it's not a preference, but it is a conscience issue, that if you do something, you are violating God. I would say that there are many people who grow up in Christianity and music, drugs, and alcohol are one of those situations where you do not have to participate. Let me put it this way: you weren't the weaker brother at that moment just because you choose not to drink alcohol or maybe think alcohol is... there are so many different levels, right? Like it's sinful, or it's okay but not helpful. Then it goes down. I will say that if you think that drinking alcohol is sinful, and that basically you have violated God, and you are guilty before Him, you are, I think, confused scripturally.  
  
Justin Perdue: I want to be a little bit punchy about alcohol. I really like to read the Bible and try to edify people. Just a brief word on abstention from alcohol because it is a thing in the minds of many people. To abstain from alcohol as a high watermark of righteousness is not a Christian idea. Now, there are Muslims around the world who would say that. Mormons will come in and shame us all because they'll tell us we're in sin for drinking coffee. If we're going to use, as the high watermark of sanctification, abstaining from alcohol or something, I think our definition of holiness is whack. I'm saying something that a Muslim or a Mormon could hardly agree with, and it is not inherently Christian, but yet I am elevating this to some level of being, like the arrival of an individual to a godly place.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I jump in? This is like getting in the weeds a little bit, but I think it's okay to do. People will say the alcohol in the New Testament, or even in the Old Testament, isn't as high, which is fine. It doesn't matter what level the alcohol was at because the command to not get drunk was still legitimately an option. They had the option to do it.  
  
Justin Perdue: Even Jesus is accused of being a drunkard, and so obviously what he was drinking had alcohol in it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Not only that, Paul says that the elders, those who are looking at the qualifications, should not be drunk with much wine, which is a very easy for Paul to say flat out, "Just don't drink it." I understand it's pretty visible, but here's the second argument in that it was saying that they needed it back then because drinking sources were: water is polluted and all this kind of stuff. You are making argumentations that Scripture is just not going after. This is why he says do not let them pass judgment on you regarding what you eat or drink. Why do you think he mentions drink here? Because you could see very well how someone could be passing judgment on how it is you're drinking something that could cause intoxication.  
  
Justin Perdue: It's a slippery slope. Like if you drink too much, you're in sin, so why would you ever touch it?  
  
Jon Moffitt: I encourage the listener to go read a section of the Bible which you will not believe is in the Bible, but it is in the Bible: Proverbs 31:6\. I've seen many times in the Bible where people use Proverbs to explain why you shouldn't drink, which I understand. It just reads this: "Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more." That is in the Bible. The Proverbs 31 woman, by the way, that's the prequel. That's what's going on before.  
  
Justin Perdue: 1 Corinthians 10: 24\. This is in the context of Paul's writing about these issues. "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." That verse alone is incredibly helpful in thinking about Christian liberty and Christian freedom, because somebody could listen to us right now and say, "You guys are contending for freedom in Christ, and you're making it clear that we're not bound by these kinds of silly things that people often want to shackle us with. Okay, great. So does this mean that we would then just act however we want to act, and do whatever we want to do, like how the world says I'm just going to do me and then everybody needs to be okay with it and celebrate it?" No. We are saying something, like the apostles said, like Paul wrote that, as I alluded to earlier, is actually much more difficult than a broad sweeping prohibition could ever be.  
  
We do well, as human beings with extreme positions, to go all in this way or abstain completely this way. We're good with that. But when we're told, no, actually you are free to eat and drink as you see fit in the Lord Jesus Christ, but you need to love your brothers and sisters, and you need to consider one another, that's something that we just lose our minds over. I think it's astonishing that the thing that regulates the exercise of our freedom is not some kind of heavy handed law; it is, in fact, the exhortation to love your brothers. God said that because He says it all the time, all over the New Testament: love each other. It's what we're called to do.  
  
We were joking a little bit before we hit record on this, about how when we began to discuss the fact that our good works are not ultimately for God; they are for our neighbor and God is glorified. Our neighbor benefits from our good works and we are called and appointed to love each other. People get all kinds of nervous. They think that we're somehow trying to cheapen the glory of God, or they think that somehow we're making a slide into the old liberalism—the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, we just need to love each other and it's all going to be great. It's not at all what we're saying. But if you were thinking about what the Christian life is characterized by, and what marks a Christian, if you're going to answer that question biblically and love for the saints is not at the top of your list, you're not reading the same Bible I am. That conversation about love for one another needs to govern how we think about the exercise of our freedom. I'm going to consider who I live with—the brothers and sisters that I am in community with, in particular, at Covenant Baptist Church for me—and I'm going to make sure that I love and consider those people in everything that I do, including what I drink, or what I eat, or what kind of music I listen to, or how I might speak or frame something. I'm not bound by some law that's going to condemn me before God, but I'm encouraged because Christ has done everything for me. Now give your life away in love for your brothers. This isn't complicated. That's what drives and motivates us.  
  
Anyway, that's just not the tone and tenor that I hear in any of the conversations about this topic. And that saddens me.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It does. I will say people are definitely concerned about obeying God, they are concerned about what it means to be holy and righteous.  
  
Justin Perdue: Which are good concerns.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. I don't want this to come across as I'm patting on the head, but there has culturally been a handing down to Christians of a certain standard of living that isn't necessarily biblical. My desire for this podcast is actually to help people be liberated in your thinking. We often feel this binding in our own conscience, where, because you don't think this is biblical, and yet I can't find it in Scripture, I'm now bound to it.  
  
Actually, there are two things: I've been set free to love you and not feel that. But also, I know a lot of people who don't think drinking is a sin, or watching certain movies isn't a sin. There's a great friend of ours and deacon in our church who cannot watch violent movies. It legitimately messes with his head. He doesn't think it's sinful though.  
  
Justin Perdue: Sure. He just doesn't like it.  
  
Jon Moffitt: His wife does.  
  
But the reason I mentioned that is there's a "I'm refraining from participating because it's not beneficial for me" dialogue versus "No one else should participate in this because it's not beneficial for me. So if it's not beneficial for me, how can it be beneficial for you?" And that is what we're trying to say. We need to be careful we're not making those two connections.  
  
Justin Perdue: Agree. It's a very myopic perspective.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I'm going to just round something back around. I hear this a lot: the potential of hurting, and what I want to go back to the hypothetical weak brother, there could be someone out there that we could offend. I will tell you that I offend people all the time because of things that I choose or choose not to do, but those people aren't in my church. I have not seen where Paul binds me to the culture that surrounds me, whether it's a Christian culture or not. We could even talk about masks and all kinds of things like that, to go along with that.  
  
Justin Perdue: But do we really want to do that?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Nope. We're not going to do that.  
  
But the point of it is that I have been called to the local body and I need to be considerate and concerned about them. If I am going to lead someone in, what I would say, legitimately trapped in sin—not critical, not judgmental sin—but they need to be rebuked of that. We're talking legitimate enslavement to, at the time Paul does have mentions of falling back into idol worship when he's talking about the weaker brother, and he's talking about meat offered to idols, there's a long, strong pull that's going on there. Paul is trying to be conscious of what's going on in the context, but it doesn't bother him, but there could be a pull that ends up going back into that direction.  
  
Justin Perdue: I might put the pastor hat on for a minute. I'm going to talk as a pastor right now. Jon, we say this all the time. We love Theocast and pray the Lord continues to grow this platform, and we are unashamed about being pastors first. We pastor local churches. I know for our own elders at our church, and I'm sure that you guys at Grace Reformed would say the same thing, I'm sure for Jimmy, even, at Christ Community, his guys would say the same thing. A few things that guide us in our thinking about these matters in our church: one, if the Bible calls something sin, we call it sin. It's not an option. Two, if the Bible doesn't call something sin, we will not call it sin. Not negotiable. Don't really care how you feel about it. If the Bible doesn't say it's sin then we're not going to call it sin.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We were having a quick dialogue beforehand, and we have to clarify. Someone may say name something illegal drugs or something like that it actually fits within—  
  
Justin Perdue: It fits within a biblical parent.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Because if it's illegal, it's immoral. Because we're called to obey the authority that we're in unless it contradicts Scripture. Almost anything can fit underneath the category of Scripture. It does a broad brush. It doesn't have to literally say heroin is wrong.  
  
Justin Perdue: A few other things that matter here, we will not, like we said earlier about binding the conscience—we've already defined that—we will not bind consciences where the Scripture doesn't. That's a big deal in a local church.  
  
Next, this is controversial perhaps, we will not allow the conscience of a single person or a group of people—that includes the pastors—to dictate terms for the whole church. There won't just be this one person or this group of people who have really strong convictions about said issue that is then going to determine for the entire church how we're going to set our trajectory on this matter. Including the elders. We're not going to do that.  
  
Another thing: we will seek to destroy self-righteousness that flows both directions. The one direction is obvious, where people who don't participate in liberties and exercise freedoms can be self-righteous toward those who do. But it's also true that those who exercise freedom, and understand that they're free to do something like drink a beer, can be very self-righteous about their understanding for those who think they can't. So, it flows both directions. We want to destroy self-righteous freedom.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We could be accused of doing a podcast with a beer in hand as flaunting our liberties.  
  
Justin Perdue: But we're not casting shade on people who don't drink.  
  
Jon Moffitt: No. I don't think only strong Christians do particular things, like drink wine or watch certain movies.  
  
Justin Perdue: We're not saying, "Oh, well, if you watch R-rated movies, you must really understand that your righteousness only comes from Christ." That's not what we're saying.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Or if you can have foul language and drink a beer, then you are the truest of the free Christian.  
  
Justin Perdue: That's ridiculous.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That is actually sinful.  
  
Justin Perdue: It is. Brief plug here: that kind of lawless living, where you think that the more you can just go crazy or out of control, that is driven by the same legalistic spirit that you lambast other people for.  
  
Jon Moffitt: You're creating a new law.  
  
Justin Perdue: You have. It used to be legalism in the formal sense of the word, and now, we are being legalistic in terms of who can exercise their liberty the most. It is so ridiculous when it goes that direction. As a pastor, the biggest things that I would want to do from a cultural perspective is we want to love and consider each other, and we want to be charitable. We want that flowing both directions from the stronger to the weaker, as Paul would phrase it. And also from the weaker to the stronger.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I would say, just on this, before we lose a thought, Paul says we are to consider how to build one another up. If someone chooses to refrain for whatever reasons in particular, it could be for dietary purposes, there's a thousand reasons why people may say they're not going to participate in that, and it's not because their conscience is bound. They're just saying they prefer not to. I know people who have family members who have horrible backgrounds in alcoholism and all kinds of other reasons. I never want that person to feel less than. If Paul calls me to say that I am to give up my preferences, I'm to set aside, I am to make them feel loved, and so I want that person to always feel loved and cared for. I never want them to think they're just not at the top level echelon of Christianity, because once they are, that won't bother them. That is just not helpful at all.  
  
Justin Perdue: Last couple of things I'll say, as a pastor, in thinking about a culture in a local church. We would want to seek to establish a situation where we are going to all aim to love one another and legitimately consider other people as more important than ourselves. If we have that as our goal, then we are already disarming this whole conversation before it even gets started. Because my aim is to love and edify those around me, and their aim is to love and edify those around them, we're going to be just fine if that's what's governing us.  
  
Last thought: we all should seek to train our consciences according to God's Word.  
  
Jon Moffitt: And that takes work.  
  
Justin Perdue: It takes a long time.  
  
Jon Moffitt: If you've grown up in a pietistic background.  
  
Justin Perdue: Yes. It takes a long time, which means what? Patience is required. What does this mean? We say this all the time, we always come back to the same stuff: we live with one another in love, patience, charity, humility, bearing with one another in meekness. Sounds like Ephesians 4 to me. It's how we live together in the church. That's the way forward in this conversation for the benefit of all.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What if you, one, you know your conscience is bound, but you know how to get free from it. Let's just remove let's remove alcohol for the moment. We're talking about particular Christian actions: things they should do or shouldn't do, places they should or shouldn't go. I think some people's consciences are bound by particular religious actions—I'm just going to say this: how often you particularly read a book or not, a.k.a. your Bible. Your conscience can be bound by many things that basically says, "Unless you do this, you're in sin," when the Bible never says that is sinful. You were binding the conscience in such a way. So, how do we set people free from that? That is a conversation I really want to have in the members' podcast.  
  
Justin Perdue: I don't know that I have anything else to add to set that up.  
  
If we are going to have a conversation worth listening to, that's yet to be determined. But if you would like to see how this conversation goes about Christian liberty and things that Jon has talked about on how to set people free from this kind of bondage in their thinking. We may talk a little bit more specifically about alcohol.  
  
Maybe you're thinking, "I would love to hear Jon and Justin riff on that a little bit." You can do that by going to our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and you can find more information there about our membership. The name of that is soon to change. We're just going to keep saying that every week.  
  
Jon Moffitt: It's more about what you're giving than what you're getting.  
  
Justin Perdue: So true. You're not purchasing a good, this is not a commodity that you're buying, you are partnering with a ministry, you're partnering with a movement to spread this message of rest in Christ and the sufficiency of Christ for sinners like us. He is our only hope and righteousness.  
  
We'll talk with a number of you over in the members' area, and we will talk with all of you, we hope, next week.

---

### Your Sanctification Is Not for You

*Published: February 17, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/your-sanctification-is-not-for-you*
*Tags: 2021, NC, Sanctification*

What is the purpose of your sanctification? Who is it for? (Hint: It's not for you.) We survey a number of passages from the New Testament to demonstrate the point of our growth in Christ.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about how freeing it is to realize your sanctification isn't for you.  
[MEMBERS Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-your-sanctification-is-not-for-you/)  
  
**Recommended Resources:**  
[Dazed and Confused: Hebrews 12:1-14 and Holiness](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/dazed-and-confused-hebrews-121-14-and-holiness/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfDuTYz3pnA&feature=emb\_title

### **Podcast Transcript**

Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. Today on Theocast, Justin and I have this conversation: your sanctification is not for you. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Stay tuned.  
  
Justin Perdue: Your sanctification is not about you. Your sanctification, I'll even say, is not for your good; it is for the good of your neighbor. As Martin Luther is credited with saying, and we say all the time, God doesn't need your good works—but your neighbor does. That is today's conversation in a nutshell. Our sanctification by the work of God's Spirit in us is not ultimately for us; it's for the good of our brothers and sisters and all of those who are close to us.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Now, we've got to prove it. Let me put it this way. One of the things that I would say most Christians, when it comes to sanctification, the way I would describe their life is proof of purchase: you need to prove that you've been purchased by Christ, so everything they do, all of sanctification is a proof of purchase.  
  
When I talk to people coming out of a Calvinistic background, or Calvingelicals, as we like to say, or just an evangelical background, you hear them saying that you better be demonstrating, you better be showing, you better be proving, and you better be examining. We just did a podcast on that. You can go back and listen to the examination episodes.  
  
One of the things that I struggle with is when you look at the New Testament, you don't have the New Testament pushing the believer towards this constant proof of purchase, that you need to be proving to yourself and to others around you and to God that you are saved.  
  
I know that they would say that's not what they're saying. But in many ways, if you think about what they're calling the believer to, it is a proof of purchase. One of the things I say is if God is sovereign, and God knows all things, and He knows my heart, and He knows to whom belongs to Him, I would be surprised if in the mind of God, He goes, "Oh, I adopted you? I don't remember that. Why don't you prove to me that I did that?" God knows His own. That is the glorious promise of the nature of God: He cannot be surprised, He does not learn, He does not change. If you are trying to prove that you belong to God, and unfortunately, final salvation, and misinterpreting Hebrews where people say that God is going to look at your good works to determine whether you belong to Him, is a complete misinterpretation of Scripture. We did a whole podcast on that. I will put it in the notes. It's called Dazed and Confused. Hebrews 12\. When it comes down to now proof of each other, there's this list that's been given to you—these are the things that they say you need to be working on as an individual so you can call it sanctification. If you aren't doing this, if you weren't sanctifying yourself, in these ways, then most likely you're not a believer again. Now we've gone from proof of purchase to God, to proof that I am living up to the claim of Christianity, which, there are a lot of movements out there that are calling people into question—if you say you're a Christian and you don't act like it, then you better start acting like it.  
  
So what I'm going to push back with in this beginning section is the point of good works, or the point of sanctification, is proof—almost 100% of the time. That is the design of it. What we're going to argue with this morning is that when you listen to how the New Testament writers describe fruit—and the purpose of your fruit, and the growth in godliness, and the growth in Christ-likeness, they tell you why you need to be doing it.  
  
What's interesting to me is that there are a few times, which we will reference in this podcast, where they will say, show me your faith by your works—but there's a context to it, and it has nothing to do with proof of purchase, which is interesting. It has everything to do with what we're going to be arguing about right now, which is that your neighbor needs your love and you're unwilling to give it. You can't say you love Christ and not love your neighbor. That's what James and 1 John are saying.  
  
Justin Perdue: We could start any number of places, and like you said a minute ago, now we need to prove and demonstrate not our legitimacy before the Lord, but we need to prove and demonstrate what we are arguing for today, which is that your sanctification is for the benefit of your brothers and sisters.  
  
Again, like I said, we could go to a number of passages in the New Testament. I'm going to start if I can, with Ephesians 4:1 and following. Many people are familiar with that wonderful letter and how the letter, at least in our modern chapter breakdown, it does break down nicely into two large sections: the first three chapters, and then the latter three chapters; the first three chapters being soaring doctrine of the eternal plan of God, His grace, His mercy, His purpose is realized through Christ, the finished work of Jesus for us—all of that stuff. Then he pivots at the beginning of chapter four to then talk to the Ephesian Christians about how they're now to live together in the church.  
  
I am actually preaching through Ephesians right now. When I got to this section of the letter, the way that I framed this piece of that letter is this: if you were asked to write a letter to a church about how they are to live together, how would you start it? Based on everything that you have ever heard, everything you've ever read, or everything you've ever been taught, how would you begin such a letter to a church about how they're to live together? Let that question sit in your mind and then consider how Paul begins. How does he begin his exhortation? He begins with words like this: he says to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. By that, he means walk in a way commensurate with the gospel, not walk in a way that would make you worthy to be saved. That's impossible. Walk in a way that's commensurate with the gospel, but what does that look like, Paul?  
  
Jon Moffitt: When people hear that, automatically they think morality. That's what they think. Like these are the moral things that you need to be doing, and these are the actions: reading your Bible, praying, tithing, etc.  
  
Justin Perdue: Disciplines. Absolutely. Listen to what Paul says. Here is what it would look like in the mind of the apostle to walk in a way that's commensurate with the gospel. He says, "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Then he goes on for a few verses to talk about the basis of that unity. There's one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.  
  
But where does the apostle begin? This is very instructive for us. He begins with humility and gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain unity in the body of Christ. It's quite clear in all of these things that he is exhorting the Ephesian Christians to. The point of this is that all of these things are things that your neighbor, your brother and sister, is desperately going to need from you. This is not ultimately about you. This is about what your brothers and sisters need from you, so that we all together—because this is where he's going so—might be built up in love unto maturity in Christ Jesus. I just think it's such a paradigm shift, Jon, for people who have been catechized, again, explicitly or implicitly, to think that their sanctification exists primarily for their own improvement and for their own moral uprightness, confidence before the Lord, and all that. Then indirectly, as they're grown in these ways, they may be useful to other people. No, flip that on its head. Because the main point of your sanctification is that you would be good for your brothers and sisters, that you might walk in love, and humility, and patience, and gentleness with them, and that there might be unity in the church around the Lord Jesus Christ. Plus the fact that we have a common confession in him that we are saved, not by what we do, but by what Christ has done for us, and we cast ourselves upon him. We together are clinging to each other, as we all cling to Jesus, as we often say. That's where the apostle begins. It's super instructive and helpful.  
  
Jon Moffitt: What is interesting is that he says, "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace". Everybody that I meet is that hyper sensitive to their own sanctification. It is a good thing. I appreciate their love and affection for God. They truly are trying to find ways to suppress sin and reflect godliness. The problem that I have here is that they have been misled to think that the purpose of the Christian life is to decrease sin and increase godliness. The increasing of godliness, though, is absent from this very thing that Paul says, which is to maintain the unity and the bond of peace. Their increase of godliness is actually isolated from maintaining unity and peace, because they are increasing in godliness in ways which they think less sin means more godliness, and more discipline means more godliness. If I am more stoic, disciplined, and well knowledged -I've got a lot of knowledge about the Bible, I pray a lot, and I read a lot—I'm a godly person. Paul does not describe worthy or godly in that fashion. He actually describes it with patience, meekness, and long suffering.  
  
Let me read you another section. We have to get to the latter part of Ephesians 4, which I know we will, but just something else that is very similar to this: I'm going to read you 1 Corinthians 13.  
  
Justin Perdue: We need to apologize to everyone who has ever had 1 Corinthians 13 read in a wedding because everybody thinks it's a wedding text, when in reality, it's about love in the church.  
  
Jon Moffitt: If you want to say, "love your wife", it's really for the context of the church.  
  
Again, Paul writing to the Corinthian church, Paul writing to the Ephesian church; you have to understand these are not individual letters to be read individually, but these are to the congregation to be applied. So he says this: "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own; it is not irritable or resentful. . ." Do I need to keep going? The point of it is, to say that you love someone is the fruits of the Spirit that are coming out of you. Sanctification is the process of loving your brothers and sisters without envy and strife, thinking about unity, thinking about patience and kindness. He even says this: "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." The idea of that being that we are carrying the weight of our brothers and sisters by the motivation of love.  
  
Justin Perdue: Two big interjections right here on 1 Corinthians 13: one, love and patience go together. They're inextricably linked. It's very clear in the way that Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13 that love, by definition, is long-suffering. So, that whole idea of bearing with one another is wrapped up in love. Like he says, love is patient, and it's calm. Love endures all things. It bears all things. It's what love is. I think that's an important observation. If we're always getting uber frustrated with our brothers and sisters, because they're not doing as well as we think they should be. "Why are you still struggling with this? This is just hard for me. Your weaknesses and the bends in your frame is just making my life difficult. It's hard to bear with you and live with you." Love will carry the day in that environment where we say, "No, this is what we do in the church: we love one another, and we bear with one another, as we are all struggling against the corruption of our flesh."  
  
Second thought from 1 Corinthians 13: it's really cool how he begins that chapter. It's like saying you can have all the gifts in the world, like prophecy and tongues, you can have the strongest faith in the world, you can have unmatched zeal—like I'm willing to die for the gospel, and I'm willing to give away everything I have for the gospel—but if you don't have love, he says it's all meaningless. It's very clear that love and bearing with one another in this kind of gentleness and patience piece is absolutely primary in the Christian life. So if we're going to talk about sanctification, we ought to be talking in those terms.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I was just thinking about giving your life. You think about even the street preachers who go out and you look at what they do. I'm like, "Look, you're definitely telling the truth, but you're missing out on 1 Corinthians." Also when it says speak the truth in love, you are receiving so much criticism and yet you are forgetting. I'm not saying don't go to the streets preaching, but you need to understand the point of what we're communicating is the love of Christ to redeem people from their sins.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm going to take us to a different passage, which is also incredibly important. Galatians 5:25 and following. The end of Galatians 5 and the early part of Galatians 6\. Galatians 5:16-24—it's the famous section on the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Paul says in verse 25, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. The very next verse, verse 26, "Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Because there's that chapter division in between them where chapter six starts, a lot of times, these words are somewhat pulled apart. How many times have you heard people talk about what it might look like to walk in the Spirit? They say all kinds of stuff, and most of the time, what's said is not bad at all, but in the immediate context of Galatians 5, where Paul says, "Let us walk by the Spirit," what does he write? He says to not become conceited. Let's not be arrogant and proud in the way that we deal with one another, looking down on other people, and being condescending, and all that stuff. Let's not provoke one another. Again, that's gentleness; not trying to provoke people and stir people up in a bad way. Let's not envy one another.  
  
Then he says, "If there are people among you who are caught in sin, those of you who are spiritual," those of you who are mature, "should restore that person in a spirit of gentleness." There's that word again. Gentleness and restoration. We want to see sinners restored to the fold, not beaten to death, but brought back in lovingly and gently. He says to keep, watch on yourself, lest you to be tempted. There's humility realizing that if it's not for the grace of God, there go I. Then bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. You walk with your brothers and sisters in such a way where, as they are struggling, you bear up underneath those burdens with them. You come alongside and you aim to be helpful. You don't pile it on if their lives are going badly. You say, "Brother, how can I be of help to you? Sister, how can I encourage you in Christ and help you think through this matter? How can I be of assistance here?" Those are the words that immediately surround Paul's exhortation for us to walk in the Spirit—and that's just not the way that it's often discussed. At least it wasn't discussed that way in my contexts for a long time.  
  
Again, walking by the Spirit—people would immediately assume that if they are going to walk by the Spirit, it has everything to do with their personal disciplines and what they are doing in their time that's quiet and alone, and not how they are living in the context of the community of the church. But clearly in the minds of the apostles, walking by the Spirit is a corporate thing that we do together. It's just a paradigm shift all over the place. I trust after we do a few passages of scripture, we can probably talk about how liberating this is and how it reorients the focus.  
  
I'm going to pause and let you go to Ephesians 4.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I got to go to 2 Peter first and then I'll go to Ephesians 4 because the two go together.  
  
2 Peter 1\. I just want to read a couple of verses so you understand. It says, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ." He goes on to talk about the great, very great promises, that we are saved by God's divine power. Then he says, "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge. . ." He's describing sanctification. He's describing that this is the outflow; you are now going to be sharing or expressing what's new about you. Then he says, ". . . and godliness with brotherly love, and brotherly love with affection. For if these qualities are yours and increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." God does not need this from you because He doesn't need anything from us. Who needs it? This is why he says ineffective. Who needs our love? Who needs our patience? Who needs our godliness? Not God; our neighbor does.  
  
If we go back to Ephesians 4, you have Peter talking about this ineffectiveness, how we already then take this knowledge of God's divine nature of saving us, and then we use that as our means of loving our brother. Let's go to Ephesians 4:15: "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." Every Christian understands they want to grow. Verse 16: ". . .from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." So, you hear Paul talking about maintaining the bond of peace, walking in a manner worthy of calling which you have been called.  
  
Then he says, "growing in the knowledge of Christ". How is that accomplished? It's accomplished in the local body. Do you know where Paul gets the most angry? (I would say all the New Testament writers get the most angry.) It's when someone's coming up and dividing the body and causing division, because what's ended up happening is if a body is divided, it's not working properly, and therefore it's not growing. So when we make the statement, "your sanctification is not about you", it's not. It's about us. It's about the body. It's about the local congregation. When you are so individualizing, proving your purchase, you are detaching yourself from the very thing that Paul, Peter, and the New Testament writers are driving you into.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm going to reference James 2 in a drive-by fashion. I know that that is a text that's raised often about needing to prove our faith by our works, and we have no issue because the confessions have no issue with using the language of our fruit being evidence of the fact that we've been justified. That's entirely fine. What we think we would understand James to be saying is not that we're saved by works, but that in the good works that we do that, by the way, God has already prepared beforehand for us to walk in—Ephesians 2:10\. That is a validation of the fact that we have already been justified and united to the Lord Jesus.  
  
But what is the context of James 2 that has to be asked if we're going to rightly understand it? I think we joked about this a few weeks ago, or maybe it was a recording we did a few weeks ago. We were talking about how so often guys that do biblical interpretation and exegesis will say that the three rules of biblical interpretation are context, context, and context. We're just saying, guys, let's apply rule one, two, and three as we aim to understand particular passages. The context of James 2 is the sin of partiality. In the church, there is impartiality and there is favoritism being shown toward people who are wealthy, and the people who are haggard, poor, and don't have a lot are being marginalized. He is rebuking the congregation for that reality.  
  
Then he goes into his piece about demonstrating your faith by what you do. I would argue that the works that he has in view in writing that he's just written about is, if you are going to say, if you're going to claim Christ, then you need to love the weak. You need to love those who are marginalized. You need to love one another and not show favoritism in these worldly ways.  
  
This is completely off script—like everything else that we're doing today—but you hear people talk a lot about how the church shouldn't look like the world, to which I agree, but it's not often in the ways that we frame that conversation about what movies you watch or what music you listen to, or whether or not you go dancing or something. No, the church shouldn't look like the world in that we ought to love one another in such a way that it's obvious that we belong to Jesus like in John 13\. We should love one another in such a way that people look at the church and the weak are being cared for, the marginalized are being brought in, and they love each other, and they don't seem to have this class system that the world inherently does. That's how, in a most pointed way, at the top of that list of how the church shouldn't look like the world. I think that's it. That's what James, I think, is speaking to.  
  
Jon Moffitt: There are probably people feeling like we just pulled the rug out from underneath their feet, and they're not sure where they're going here. It is so disorienting when you hear that your sanctification is not about your personal progress so that God's pleased with you.  
  
Justin Perdue: One line that I'm just going to mention to the reader is Romans 12\. That's a famous text where Paul pivots in Romans from doctrine to life. He's going to exhort the Roman Christian to a number of things. Look through the list of stuff that's in Romans 12 and tell me how many of those things are individual. The vast majority of them have an inherently corporate nature to them, whether it's love, or hospitality, or not avenging yourselves—trust God that vengeance belongs to the Lord, love your enemies, and all these things. They're corporate in nature. I think this is just undeniable. When you go to the New Testament, pick at any epistle and it's the same tune over and over again.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I might as well throw one more in there. You got Philippians. Almost in every epistle, you have these instructions of the application of loving your brother. Chapter 2 says, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." I can keep going. "Having this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. He's describing living a life in tune with the nature of Christ, which is what sanctification is. It's us orienting our life towards Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: We could do this all day, and I'm really going to try to restrain myself, but even the weaker brother passages, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 10, and Romans 14 that are in these epistles, too, about how we're to live. What's the weaker brother stuff about? It's about love. We have all of these freedoms in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it doesn't matter what you eat or drink. Obviously, there is such a thing as abuse of food and drink, but it doesn't matter what you eat and drink. What is it that governs the exercise of our liberty and the church? Love. Paul doesn't say that under no circumstances should you ever eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. That would be simple. He tells the church to do something that's much more complex and difficult. He says to love each other, and let your love for one another govern the exercises of your freedoms and liberties. We literally could do this all day because the entire New Testament speaks this way.  
  
Jon Moffitt: There are two things I want to bring up as we bring this to a close. We've said this before, but I want to change it up a little bit. Justin, can you think of a sin? I know this is a trick question. I'm throwing you a grounder and I apologize, but can you think of a sin that you can commit that would bring you under condemnation with God as a believer?  
  
Justin Perdue: As a believer, none.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. So there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Can you think of a sin that you could commit that won't affect someone else? Not God, but someone else.  
  
Justin Perdue: No.  
  
Jon Moffitt: So, we always think about sin in our relationship to the Father. Trust me, we should not want to sin against the Father.  
  
Justin Perdue: We need to need to be reminded of that truth, don't we?  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. But what you also need to realize is that sometimes we excuse our sin. I don't know what their thought process is, but I know in my own heart, there's this excuse of sin because no one's going to know about it.  
  
We don't understand the weight that our sin is not only offensive to God, but it affects the very people to whom God has called us to love. So, in all of these passages, he is calling you to suppress your sin and then do positive actions, which is demonstrate mercy, kindness, love, and patience. When you are increasing your love for Christ, and receiving this mercy and grace, that's what motivates you to then in turn... when it says sanctify yourselves—because people always say we don't emphasize sanctification—I do. You just don't like the sanctification that I emphasize. You want to hear read more, pray more, be theologically stronger—and Paul says love more, sacrifice more, give more. The motivation for that is always love.  
  
This is the second thing I wanted to mention: if the motivation for sanctification, or I would say, acting godly towards our brothers and sisters is love, then how do we increase our love for Christ so that we might love others more?  
  
Those are the two big ones to ring up.  
  
Justin Perdue: Like we like to say often, this is not an either-or situation. This is both. Of course, we want to encourage people towards thoughtful living and reflecting on the Word of God and all these kinds of things, but to speak to both of your points, how does that even happen most effectively for you to meditate and reflect on God's Word, for you to grow in your knowledge and understanding of God's Word, for you to grow in prayer and all these other things? How does that happen? How does that growth and development happen? How do you grow in godliness?  
  
It's going to happen in a corporate context, in a gospel-preaching church, where the saints are submitting themselves to the teaching and discipline of that church, and where the saints together are growing and being built up by God's Spirit. How am I going to be sanctified? How am I going to grow? The answer to that is according to God's Word, God's plan is that you would have that occur in you in a local church context. You will do that as a part of a community of saints. You're not going to do that in isolation.  
  
Now, of course, God gives extraordinary grace in extraordinary circumstances. If a Christian is imprisoned wrongly for their faith, I trust the Lord gives grace. But let's not be crazy. And use the exception to prove the rule. The general pattern for God's work in us is to be done in the context of the church community, as we gather together and sit under the Word, as we come to the Lord's Table, and as we sing and pray together. We do that weekly over the course of years and decades. It's remarkable what the Lord can do with that. We will be transformed as we, together, behold Christ and are given Christ from the Word when we assemble. We will be changed, grown, nourished, and strengthened—to use the language of the confessions—as we, together, have a common union in Christ and come to his table to feed on him by faith. This is how this occurs. This is not mysticism. This is just God promising to bless these means that He has given us—and that occurs in the context of the gathered church. I could go on about that, Jon, but that's my initial thought there. Even that seems counterintuitive because people think the real stuff for the Christian life happens when they're by themselves, but the Scriptures say otherwise. The real stuff happens when you're with the saints.  
  
I'm having more and more people in my church admitting that they would spend time in the Word, and they're always looking for that nugget in the day, but they'd walk away going, "I didn't get anything. What does the Psalm mean when I read that? Then they come to men's and women's Bible studies, or fellowship group, or the sermon, and they walk away filled, charged, and loved, and their knowledge has completely shifted. That sounds like Ephesians 4\. That's what that sounds like. Consider how to build one another up in love and good works. That sounds like the gifting of the Spirit given to the elders, the teachers, and the preachers for the equipping of the saints. That sounds biblical versus what you're trying to do, which is isolation.  
  
I'm going to use biblical language, and it's going to make people feel uncomfortable, but your growth in God's knowledge and your growth of the Word of God, happens primarily not in seclusion, but primarily happens in the local church.  
  
It's remarkable, like you just said, if we all reflect on our own lives and the times when we've been most affected and stirred. I would imagine that 99 times out of a hundred, it's been in some kind of a corporate setting where we're either in corporate worship, or we're at a Bible study, or a home group, or we're having a conversation with a couple of friends from church about this or that thing, and we leave those circumstances edified in a very obvious way; we can see it and sense it. Sometimes we can't. A lot of times that happens in the Christian life: God's working and we're not immediately aware of that. But the times when we're most edified occur when we're together. During the week, you're often chasing after that "spiritual high" that you had at 11:00 AM on Sunday and you can't get there. Have you ever considered that maybe that experience that you had at 11:00 AM on Sunday only happened because you were with the saints, and you were in the assembly, and the Lord met you? And by that, I mean met you guys corporately to minister to you in that setting because He's promised to do it.  
  
I think that this shift in perspective on sanctification is very liberating. It is, I think, exciting to think about how my main objective in growing in the faith ought to be to pour myself into a local church context and to give myself away for the good of my brothers and sisters. If I'm making that my aim, as I'm trusting Christ, and I'm submitting to my pastors and the doctrine of my local church, I am safe. I am going to grow, and I'm going to be used by God for all kinds of good in the lives of my brothers and sisters—and they're going to be used in my life. You can take your eyes off of yourself for a minute; get over yourself and love your neighbor. Love your brothers and sisters. You're more useful, and you're more at peace, rather than obsessing about your own performance all the time in a way that's crippling and often counterproductive.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We're going to definitely build on what Justin just said. We're going to talk about how this position actually leads you to rest. It gives you purpose. I would say the most restful people who are firmly rooted in their assurance in Christ are the most effective, as Peter says, in bearing burdens and loving and caring for the body of Christ. We'll see people truly change because they are no longer putting their hope in themselves, but in Christ.  
  
We're going to talk about that in what's called our members' podcast. This is a ministry that we put together for those that want to partner with us and see the message of resting in Christ go throughout media throughout the world in book form, article, podcasts, and video. We are in our sixth year and we are so excited that there are many of you that want to partner with us. We do an extra podcast just for you. You can go to our website to learn more about that. That is our membership.  
  
We will see you guys in the membership. And for those of you that are listening, we'll see you next week.

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### The Birthplace of Bad Theology

*Published: February 10, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-birthplace-of-bad-theology*
*Tags: 2021, Assurance, Bad Theology, NC*

Where does all bad theology come from? From our perspective, it comes from a loss of the church's one foundation--that is, Jesus Christ and his work counted to us by faith alone.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin deal with common objections to "faith alone" and "Christ alone."  
  
[MEMBERS' Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-the-birthplace-of-bad-theology/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBAaZ2MMZck&feature=emb\_title

### **Podcast Transcript**

Justin Perdue: Hi, this is Justin. Question for you: where does all bad theology come from? Here at Theocast, it is our conviction that all bad theology comes from a loss of the one truth foundation on which the church can stand—and that foundation is Jesus Christ, his work in our place, counted to us by faith alone. We're going to talk about that today on the podcast.  
  
In the members' episode, we deal with some common objections to the emphasis that the Reformation puts on Christ alone and faith alone. We hope this is a helpful conversation for you. Stay tuned.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Lately, with Theocast, those who have been joining are really vocal and involved. It's unreal how encouraging everybody is. So many people are hungry. They're coming from all kinds of backgrounds—we're not just talking about a Baptist background, we're not just talking about Calvinists; there are people coming from Charismatic, Legalism, and Fundamentalism backgrounds. It's a broad perspective. I know this to be true in my own church where my church has seen a pretty big influx of the Charismatics who are leaving that theology and coming into our church, and people from Fundamentalism coming in this direction.  
  
One of the things that I hear all the time is that these people are finding rest and they love it; they love how much joy there is in Christ. What's their number one passion? They want to rescue anybody and everybody from their past. They want everybody to know what kind of joy they can have. They call me and they text me so frustrated with the text conversations they're having, and the dinner conversations they're having. They're like, "Jon, how do I show them that this is so wrong?" They get so upset not because these people are wrong, but they're missing out on the absolute joy that you can have in the midst of pain and suffering in a world that is crumbling.  
  
One of the conversations I've been having with Justin about this is how do we help people articulate the patience that is required? And what are we trying to accomplish when we're being patient with people who we theologically disagree with? What are we trying to do?  
  
Here at Theocast, one of the things that you'll notice is that we have no problem talking about bad theology and pointing out where things are often wrong. I'll just put it this way: what really annoys me about discernment ministries is that they are just hatchet jobs. All they do is they go in and they just hack away at people's bad theology for the sake of telling them they have bad theology. I know I'm imputing people and I'm assuming their motives, but I can only go off of what I see sometimes. It just seems like all the conversations are about proving where you're wrong. "This is unbiblical."  
  
Justin Perdue: To briefly jump in and maybe rescue some of those motivations a little bit, I assume that people that are doing that would say—and to an extent, we would agree—that in tearing down bad arguments, and tearing down bad theology, you are aiming to do good to people. I assume that their motivations are good in that regard.  
  
You and I are going in the same direction, but I was just trying to nuance and clarify.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Right. Perception is reality. A lot of times, all people perceive you doing is coming in and telling them where they're wrong, and it seems like it's all it is an attack all the time. My poor wife had to deal with me doing this when I first discovered the relief of our theology. It was like everything she did was wrong, and it just overwhelmed her because she never felt like she could trust anything because everything was wrong. Instead of building up a better foundation and then moving someone to that foundation, we just toppled that down; we're battering rams just wrecking the older one. We're a theological wrecking ball.  
  
What I've learned is that, sure, you can liberate people from bad theology, but what did you liberate them to? It's more of you crumbled them; you didn't assure them.  
  
What we want to talk about today is the birthplace of bad theology. If you understand where it comes from, then it's a lot easier to deal with it than it is just to destroy it. Because if you understand something, and the root cause of it, it's like versus leaving the splinter in your arm and taking an ibuprofen versus going to the splinter and figuring out how to get it out.  
  
We're going to talk broadly about the birthplace of bad theology, and then, depending on how this goes, we would love to do a subsequent podcast talking about how it plays out in the different areas in theology throughout history.  
  
Justin Perdue: We can talk about where the bad theology comes from, high level, and make some comments there. Then maybe we'll transition to how that relates to our posture and our method here at Theocast, and even for ourselves, maybe in our own churches, too. Then maybe conclude—at least this portion—with some allusions to some of the various manifestations of this systemic problem.  
  
Let's talk about the real issue, the heart of the matter, here. From our perspective, the birthplace of bad theology is losing the foundation of all true religion. The foundation of the one true religion in the world is justification by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone. If we lose that foundation of Christ and Christ alone being the ground of our peace before God—Jesus being our righteousness, him making satisfaction for our sins, his work, his merit being applied to us by faith alone, and all of those things—if we lose that foundation, then bad theology will necessarily follow. We're just going to talk for a little bit about that foundation, the loss of it, and the fallout of that.  
  
There's a reason why we talk constantly about Jesus on this podcast. There's a reason why Jon and I, as pastors of churches, every single week in our pulpits, unashamedly herald Jesus Christ and the justification that is ours in him: because it is our understanding that this is the only firm, true, and solid foundation upon which imperfect, sinful people can stand.  
  
This is a Reformed podcast and oftentimes, we point people to the Confessions. One of the best paragraphs in the 1689 London Baptist Confession is chapter 11, paragraph one, on justification. That paragraph reads this way: "Those God effectually calls he also freely justifies." To be justified, just for the sake of clarity, is to be declared righteous. It is to be reckoned righteous. It's a legal term. It is not that we, in and of ourselves, are righteous; it's that we are deemed to be so, and we are considered that and declared to be that. So, "Those whom God effectually calls he also freely justifies. He does this, not by infusing righteousness into them," He doesn't just give us a dose of righteousness so that we then become righteous, "but by pardoning their sins and accounting and accepting them as righteous. He does this for Christ's sake alone and not for anything produced in them or done by them." That's massive. It's for Jesus's sake alone, and it's not for anything that is produced in us or anything that we do. "He does not," God, "impute faith itself, the act of believing or any other gospel obedience to them as their righteousness." This is important. It's not our faith that is our righteousness, it's not the act of believing that is our righteousness, it is not any other obedience that is our righteousness. Christ is our righteousness. "Instead, God imputes Christ's active obedience to the whole law," that's his perfect life, "and passive obedience in his death as their whole and only righteousness by faith. This faith is not self-generated; it is the gift of God."  
  
The firm foundation, in other words, is the fact that Jesus Christ is our whole and only righteousness, and we receive that righteousness by faith alone—apart from anything in us, apart from anything that we do. We don't achieve it, we receive it, and it is Christ's righteousness that's counted to wretches like us by faith. That is the firm foundation upon which true religion is built, and upon which the church stands.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's our starting point. This is where we, at Theocast, want to drive everyone towards: to understand that if your foundation is not there, you have no hope. You should not have hope. Your hope should be questionable because everything else is sinking sand, as the song says. It can absolutely not withstand the judgment requirement that God will put upon it. The weight of your sin will sink you if you are not standing on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.  
  
Something that helped me really strongly is this: when I am dealing with somebody who is believing something that, I think, is not only unbiblical but damaging—it's hurtful to their spiritual health, they probably are going to be frustrated, and even question their assurance—when I know I'm talking to somebody like that, I can't just go over and push them off of the foundation that they're on. That not only removes their security, but anybody who feels unsafe doesn't respond well to that. It's like a scared animal: you corner a scared animal, and that's going to go sideways on you really fast.  
  
One of the things that you need to think about is that before someone can identify that they're standing on a bad foundation, you have to begin to point out the weakness of their foundation while you're pointing to a strong foundation. This is where we're getting at: the birthplace of all bad theology is when I'm talking with somebody who has what could be fundamentalism, it could be the Calvinistic pietism, or even the Charismatic theology—if you look at those systems, they're built on what I call a prop-up position, where they're trying to prop themselves up by different methods, so that they can look at those methods and then find assurance that they are good with God. I will say almost all bad theology is the attempt of finding your assurance, your right position before God, in anything else other than Jesus Christ and the finished work of Jesus Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'm going to try to qualify what I'm about to say. When Jon and I are using the language of finding assurance, we're talking in absolute terms here. The Confessions are clear that our assurance can be bolstered, for example, by our good works, but our good works are never the foundation or the ground of our assurance. What we're talking about is ground zero. What is the foundation of our assurance and peace before the Lord? What is the foundation of our salvation, of our hope, of our confidence, of all of that? And we're speaking in absolute terms. Because this is bottom of the barrel, rubber meets the road: what is it that we're standing on? What is it that is our hope and our confidence? The answer to that question, biblically speaking, is only Jesus Christ.  
  
We're transitioning to our methodology here in the way that we're talking about this, and I trust that we'll be clear, but what we're doing constantly, as preachers or as hosts of this show, is we continue to beat the drum of Jesus Christ, his righteousness, his satisfaction, his work, and that being the only thing that you can ever trust in, hope in, rest in, or find peace in. What we're doing there is kind of a twofold thing. We're trying to extol, as much as possible, all of these things about Jesus—who he is and what he has done—so that we might look to him and be satisfied in that, and rest in that, and look to nothing else. We're doing that.  
  
But then we're also trying, like you said, to point out how these other foundations, these other things that we all tend to look to, are really lousy foundations. They're just not solid. They're weak, they're rotten, and they can't bear weight; they certainly can't bear the weight of our sin and our transgressions, the weight of our corruption. I find that that is so much of the work that I feel like I'm doing in an ongoing manner. In this podcast, it's what we're doing in an ongoing way, because we all tend to want to look to other stuff. We all tend to not just look to other stuff, but begin to put our hope in some other things. Or we fall into the trap of reasoning where there need to be these other things, there needs to be evidence, and then we start putting our hope in the evidence, and not in the groundwork of our justification, which is Christ.  
  
At points, it sounds like we're trying to have a very nuanced, splitting hairs kind of conversation, but it makes all the difference in the world to be clear, like we've said so many times. For example, things that flow out of the gospel aren't the gospel. There are all kinds of implications for our lives that do matter. There are things that are going to flow out of our justification, namely our good works, but to begin to put our hope in any way in those things is wrong. To begin to look to those things, in any way, is effectively you trying to build your Christian life, and to build your assurance, on a shaky foundation. There are many manifestations of this, which we may allude to more in just a moment, but they all come from the same place.  
  
Jon Moffitt: A house that is not built on a very solid foundation, and it starts to topple over, or you have cracks and things start falling apart. What you then have to do is prop and put things in place that should never even be there; they're not even supposed to be a part of the original design of the house. So you have this patched together house that the more you patch it, the worse that it gets. Before you know it, you're looking at it, and you're thinking there's a resemblance of a house there, but it is a convoluted mess. It is not really functioning. It seems like there's always something breaking. What you end up becoming as exhausted nearby this constant patchwork you find yourself in. Because if you put this over here, then you're imbalanced over here, and you've got to add this. I've met Christians who are so overwhelmed because they can't seem to keep everything propped up, or all the balls in the air, or all the plates spinning. There's this constant frantic feeling that if I don't hold this correctly, then this is going to fall down—and it can be manifested in multiple different ways.  
  
What makes Reformed theology so refreshing, and what was recovered during the Reformation, was the solid foundation. This is what Luther found himself. Luther was exhausted. He could not keep up. He realized the entire foundation that his entire religious experience was built on was just crushing him underneath the weight of his sin. When someone introduced to him Christ, it was like the weight was gone. He now understood that all of this bad theology that had been placed on top of him was where it came from. Once he did, he slowly started to drift away from the Roman Catholic church—not at first, he was trying to change it within and realized he couldn't do it. So, he slowly started to drift away from it. During the Reformation, that constantly happened.  
  
I will tell you that, Justin and I, that is our experience. Once we understood that our foundation was a little off, that we weren't fully standing on the sufficiency of Christ...  
  
Justin Perdue: Though we would claim to be.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Absolutely. This is the hard part about it. It's like, "No, Jon, I believe that we are saved by grace alone." What I want you to hear is that I can barely think of a theology, a bad doctrinal position, that isn't—down the road—directly propping up a bad theological position that isn't related to one's assurance in Christ. It may not be directly connected, but it is connected in some way back to the history of how they got assurance wrong, and now, because of that, you have all of these tentacles that go out that are all propping up something that was, first of all, built in the wrong place.  
  
Justin Perdue: They're all a manifestation or a form of what I would call the Jesus-Plus theology. This is part of the frustration that, I think, some of our listeners experience; I've even seen people in my own church is they're trying to talk with friends or loved ones or other people—they feel this frustration, too. Because when you talk to other people who are Christians, they, of course, are going to agree with you: we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ alone. If they're Protestant, they're going to absolutely affirm that. But then, a lot of times, people like our listeners or people in our churches, as they're trying to talk with others, they get frustrated because they're like, "No, you don't get it. You're saying you agree with me, but you don't really agree with me." Like you said earlier, Jon, they're emailing and calling us and asking, "What do I do? How do I help people see?" A lot of times our response is unsatisfactory for people because we'll tell them that they need to be patient and gracious. They need to be winsome, kind, and humble. They need to play the long game; they need to just love these people and slow drip this stuff over the course of time, and trust the Lord with it. People are saying, "Okay, but that just doesn't seem like a sufficient plan of attack here. I got to have something else."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I jump in real quick? What I hear is this: "But, Jon, they don't see how bad this is." I'm like, "You should hear yourself. You're right. They don't see it. Which means you should be patient."  
  
Justin Perdue: You even said something like this before we recorded today: you're not going to convince people of their own off-centered, not great theology by always punching them in the face. There are other ways to go about doing it that are actually more effective. For us, the posture that we take, as a general rule here at Theocast, is to continue to unashamedly, over and over and over again, every time we record and every time we preach, point people to Christ and him alone. We're preaching that and nuancing that in different ways every time we talk about it. It's like that proverbial diamond—we just kind of keep slightly turning it and letting people just gaze at it.  
  
What we're trying to do there is at least a couple of things: one, we're trying to so catechize people as to what the real thing is that they then, over the course of time, are better able to recognize the counterfeit. They realize, "This thing over here that I'm thinking about, or I'm trusting in a little bit, I realize that I'm off, and that that's not Jesus and thereby it will fail me." They'll realize that every time. The other thing that we're trying to do is show them by constantly heralding Christ and extolling him. We're trying to help them see the beauty and the goodness of Christ, and the fact that he really is sufficient. It's a twofold thing. You're helping them see the error, but then you're also helping them to just steep and soak in Jesus, so that they are satisfied in Christ, and that they are resting in him, and really do believe that Christ will do, and that there isn't anything else that they need to add into it.  
  
It can't be done overnight. It takes time. That's why we exhort people to patience and graciousness as they deal with people who don't yet see this stuff. Because it will happen. Sometimes it takes a while, but when it happens, it's very clear—the light bulb goes off, the toothpaste is out of the tube and they can't get it back in, but they don't want to anyway because it is so good. It's worth the wait.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One of the things that I even used to do when I was first in ministry dealing with college students, I was always trying to correct every little thing that was off and wrong that they had. I never really understood how they were all connected—their perspective on this and their perspective on that. It was always, "Let's look at this Bible verse." The longer I was a pastor, I started to realize that almost every little thing I was dealing with was a symptom of a greater problem. If you can identify that almost all theological issues are directly connected to an assurance issue—and to be clear, when I say there's a result of a result, someone can ask how this is directly connected to the doctrine of assurance, and that might just be a theological difference within Christianity. Let's be clear: denominations; if you're not a Baptist, then there's an assurance issue, not necessarily. Let's be clear on that. What I'm talking about is real theological issues. If you can understand that the root cause of this is directly connected.  
  
What I try and do is I walk people backwards. Why do you think it's necessary that you perform or do this, or believe this? Or hold to that or not hold to that? Or not partake in that? Then you start walking them back. Eventually, what I'm trying to do is I'm having them look at where they're looking to. If I do this, or if I don't do this, what am I looking to that it will perform or not perform? Or what will it do in my heart and my mind? We were even saying, before the podcast got started, that we were thinking about the Charismatic movement, and that a lot of people in that movement truly just want to see the power of God in a world where we've lost sight of how glorious and powerful God is. How do you fault that desire?  
  
Justin Perdue: They want to see the power of God because they don't think that the power of God is not demonstrably at work in many churches. I'm with you there.  
  
I want to comment on something that you said, and we've said this a few times already, but sometimes nuance is helpful for people as they listen. Sometimes, you need to hear it said a couple of different ways and then it clicks. Like you said, Jon, the birthplace of all bad theology can be traced back to compromising what the Scripture teaches with respect to justification. What I mean specifically is it can all be traced back to trying to add something, in some form or fashion, to Christ in his work. And really, when we say justification, we mean we're declared righteous now and forever—not just peace with God now, peace with God forever. Whenever you start bringing anything else into that equation—anything other than Jesus, who he is, and what he's done—inevitably, bad theology follows from that. It doesn't matter if you're talking about Jesus plus circumcision, or Jesus plus a work of the Law, or Jesus plus speaking in tongues, or whatever it was if you fill in the blank, or Jesus plus abstinence from certain kinds of behaviors. We could go on and on and on. Any time it's Jesus and something, we've lost the only foundation on which the church can stand. We could rant on that for a while.  
  
What we're trying to draw out here is that there are so many ways, and what's hard here is that many of them are so subtle. Because, again, you're going to ask people how are they justified, and they're going to say Christ. But then functionally and practically, it becomes quite clear that it is Jesus and this other stuff that is the ground of our hope. In some contexts, it's like, "I'm hoping in Christ but you need to be concerned about good works." In other contexts, "I'm hoping in Christ but you need to be concerned with speaking in tongues and the baptism of the Holy Spirit." In other contexts, "I'm hoping in Christ but you need to be concerned about your affections and your disciplines." And in other contexts, "I'm hoping in Christ but you need to be concerned about the kind of media that you're consuming, what kind of movies you're watching, what kind of music you're listening to, and how you dress for church on Sunday."  
  
It's very clear that to hope in Christ alone always has been, and still is, and always will be, scandalous. Because in our like legal spirits, we are always wanting to be able to contribute something or point to some other stuff. We have such a hard time with the biblical distinction of Christ as the only hope we have. He is our whole and only righteousness. He is the ground of our salvation now and in the future. And then, yes, having been united to Jesus, and having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, there will be outflow from that. We have such a hard time keeping those things distinct. We want to meld them together to where the outflow and the groundwork become merged. Then you give the whole thing away.  
  
That's why we keep doing what we're doing. That's why we keep talking about the same stuff week after week, We keep preaching the same stuff week after week, because it's absolutely imperative that we get this right.  
  
Jon Moffitt: For the last few minutes, we will look at a couple of passages where Justin and I find a lot of hope and security in what we teach, and where we would say we base our entire ministries, no matter if it's on a podcast or sitting across in a counseling session.  
  
The apostle Paul overwhelmingly places this foundation of Christ upon almost any letter that he writes. In the second chapter of Colossians, towards the end, Paul is bringing us into the beauty and glory of Christ: "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." Where does he say to put the foundation of the Christian life? He says, "If you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things of the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Hidden with Christ in God. He's saying, "This is what the world is telling you to do to govern you, and I'm telling you that you need to rest in your identity in Christ, where your Advocate, your Savior, is seated at the right hand of God, and you are hidden away," meaning that it's this concept that nothing can find you to steal you back. The foundation is always being pressed back in on my assurances in Christ, and that is the foundation.  
  
To even go back to Corinthians when Paul says, "I want to make nothing known among you, except for Christ, and him crucified." There is more that comes out of Paul's mouth than just the message of the gospel, but he's talking about a foundation for their faith. To him, on a foundation level, this is the most important thing before he says anything else.  
  
Justin Perdue: 1 Corinthians 1-2, since you're there right now, he does say, "I endeavor to know nothing among you other than Christ and him crucified," but a few verses earlier than that, he's been talking about the gospel, in particular, the message of Christ crucified, and Christ for sinners is the power of God unto salvation. Then he goes on to say that because of God, we are in Christ, who has become to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that it is written, "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." Paul is very clear there. We could talk about Ephesians and how Paul starts that letter. We could talk about Romans in the first seven chapters. 2 Peter one. 1 John is replete with stuff, in the first couple of chapters, and throughout in terms of the confession of Christ becoming flesh, and how, when we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father and all these things.  
  
Then, of course, Romans. Paul lays out a number of things there, including how he sets up a beautiful argument that he lands there at the end of Romans 3, that God is a righteous judge, everybody is wicked, nobody does good, so we're in trouble, and now the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the Law. Though the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it, it is the righteousness of God by faith for all those who believe in Christ.  
  
The one that immediately comes to mind for me, when we have this conversation, is Galatians. It is the book as has been said by a number of people. My former mentor in the faith used to say that Galatians is the book in the New Testament with the sharpest elbows, because Paul really is in the lane throwing bows. I think the scandal of that book is not that Paul is blowing up works righteousness—that's not what he's doing. He is blowing up Jesus-Plus theology. It's important for you to understand that. Because it's not that the people in the Galatian context were being told to keep the Law and be saved, they were being told, "Believe in Jesus and be circumcised. Believe in Jesus and obey the Law in this way." That is what it really is to be a Christian, and to be saved, and have peace with the Lord. Paul is so sharp in his language about it. If you are going to uphold any work of the Law, you better keep all of them. If you're going to uphold a work of the Law, then you are cut off from Christ and you've fallen away from grace. That's what we're trying to say here. We're trying to speak in maybe a pointed way, like Paul does in the letter to the Galatians, to defend the exclusivity of Christ as being the way that sinners are saved, and counted righteous, and their sins are paid for and satisfied for, and you can't add anything to Jesus or you compromise the whole thing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Our hearts are so quick. You've been saying it over and over again: Jesus plus. Our hearts are so quick. We've been having a lot more quotes being posted out there lately, and the comments on there, people are really quick to say, "Yeah, but James says faith without works is dead." People are so quick to want to point you to the performance of the individual. What's interesting to me is that there are a couple of passages in the Bible that do say faith without works is dead. In context, it's very important to understand why James feels the need to say that, just like 1 John feels the need to say certain things, which is a whole other podcast for another reason. Or maybe we'll just say it for the members' podcast.  
  
My point is that when you think about that tendency that we have, and with Theocast, it's just heightened for us—I just feel it all the time. Anytime we put something out there that is Jesus only, it scares people.  
  
Justin Perdue: It frightens the daylights out of people.  
  
Jon Moffitt: I am sympathetic, but at the same time, you have to understand what we are trying to do is pull everything out of people's hands and say, do not ever trust in anything else. This is what Paul says to the Galatians. "Know that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham." It is faith alone in Christ. It's not faith in our faith. It's not faith in our faithfulness. It's faith in Christ.  
  
Justin Perdue: I feel like I have a lot more to say, Jon, and we're going to go over now and say some of it in the members' podcast. If you're listening to us, and you are interested to be able to continue this conversation with us, and you don't know what the members' podcast is, you can find more information about that at our website wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is like the team meeting for me. This is where I get to talk to my fellow teammates and say, "Hey, look, here's some encouragement and motivation for you." Those of you that are trying to love people graciously towards Christ, stay tuned. We got something for you.  
  
Justin Perdue: That's what the members' podcast is: to be able to talk with those that are tracking with us and seeing the wonderful peace, rest, joy, and freedom that is found in Christ, and want others to be able to see and experience this too. We're having a conversation amongst ourselves to better understand these things, and then to hopefully better be able to help other people.  
  
Hopefully that makes sense. Make your way on over to the members' podcast and join us for that conversation. We'd love to have you there. For those of you that may not be able to do that this week, we look forward to speaking with you again next week.

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### Self-Examination?

*Published: February 3, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/self-examination*
*Tags: 2021, Assurance, NC, Self-Examination*

Should you regularly be questioning your salvation? What about self-examination? When and how should you do that? The guys answer these questions and consider several passages of Scripture that speak to these issues.  
  
Members' Podcast: The guys pointedly answer the question posed by John Piper's article, "How often should you question your salvation?"  
  
[**Link to Article**](https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-often-should-i-question-my-salvation)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUwyFihK7X0&feature=emb\_title

### **Podcast Transcript**

Jon Moffitt: Hi, this is Jon. We have a question for you: should you be examining yourself? Should you be self-examining every day? Should you even be listening to this podcast? That's a great question. In today's podcast, we're going to talk about self-examination and we're going to look at several passages in the Bible that tell us that we should examine ourselves—does it really? We're going to look at them in context.  
  
Then in the members' podcast, we are going to review an article that came out by a prominent evangelical that asks the question, "How often should we be examining ourselves as Christians?" We hope you enjoy.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: If you have been listening to Theocast for a long time, you're going to know that one of the things that we often reference is this idea of self-examination or turning the believer inward. Whenever we talk about that, we talk about that in a negative way, that one of the things of the evangelical church is to constantly point the believer inward to examine themselves, to see whether or not they are in the faith. This doesn't come from nowhere. There are some Scriptures that we will reference later in this podcast that do talk about examining yourself, and we hope to frame those in context.  
  
The reason why we began talking about this—and when I say we, I mean Jon, Justin, and myself—is that recently there was an interview posted of a prominent evangelical leader that in essence is trying to answer the question, "How often should I question my salvation?" or, "How often should I examine myself?" We thought it would be helpful to add our own thoughts into this conversation of how to answer that. How often should we question our salvation and how often should we examine ourselves? That's where we are going today. I want to throw it to the guys here and see how they would answer that, or why it is that we want to answer that question.  
  
Jon Moffitt: This is such an important conversation because so many people are crippled by this. I would say all three of us, as pastors, have had to deal with this, and even with listeners who write in. People really do struggle with the constant examination. I will say the words that come to all three of our minds are these: it's exhausting. This is an exhausting conversation because there is no end to the conversation. There's no end to the examination. Can you just imagine living in a glass house where you're constantly at the threat of being thrown out because of a mishap? That's what it feels like. This comes from pietism. (We did a podcast on this a couple of weeks ago and I encourage you to go listen to it.) But at its core, this is pietism. It's the constant self-examination.  
  
This is why I take the biggest issue with this type of self-examination: some people will do it to say, "I don't know if I truly am a believer so I need to confirm to myself that I'm a believer." You have to ask yourself, what saves you? Is it your good works or the good works of Jesus? You are saved by works. The question is: is it your good works? If you're looking to your good works as the confirmation of your faith, you now have reasons to boast. That's Ephesians 2:8-9\. But if you are saved by the works of Christ, Paul says you don't have reasons to be boasting, so we're going to boast all the more in Christ. This constant introspective self-examination—what you're trying to do is you're trying to prove to you, and everybody around you, and to God, that you're legitimate.  
  
Let me just encourage you that God never worries or wonders who His children are. If you know that God is sovereign, God does not need you to prove to Him anything. You need to look to God to confirm that God will do what He said He's going to do. My biggest and overarching first examination of this, which we are going to look at probably the two biggest passages: 2 Corinthians and 2 Peter that mentioned these, but just from the beginning, theologically speaking, you have to understand that our sovereign God never wonders who belongs to Him.  
  
Justin Perdue: Amen. At the risk of sounding like a smart aleck, I might answer the question of how often we should question our salvation, or how often we should be examining ourselves, by saying you should pursue good works and flee from sin, as you trust Christ as the ground of your peace, before God. Always. That's probably how I would respond. Then begin to unpack that statement for people, that your status in Christ Jesus, by faith, is one of justified. Your identity is that you are now in Christ: you've been united to him, and everything that is his is yours, including his righteousness, his holiness, and the satisfaction that he has made for sins.  
  
In speaking that way, we are speaking like the apostles write. When they write to their audiences, they always begin with Christ and his finished work. They always begin with the identity question. Who are we? They begin with the question of status, and justification, and the rest. Then they encourage their readers to live accordingly. We see this pattern maybe most clearly demonstrated in Ephesians. I know we reference that book all the time. We see things like this elsewhere from other apostles. We're going to talk about 2 Peter 1 here in just a minute, but you see this in John's first letter. 1 John is oftentimes, I think, abused and would be understood by many to be this letter that's essentially a litmus test of salvation. I don't think that's what the apostle is doing at all. He's encouraging saints who have been abandoned and who have been bombarded by false teaching. He is encouraging them that they are legit, that they're in Christ, and that is evidenced by how they're living. He is not telling them to pursue righteousness and to love one another in order that they would prove that they're legit. He's saying, "No, you are legit, and it's evidenced by what you're doing and how you're living together." It's just a very different posture that the apostles seem to take.  
  
I think this hyper-introspective, turning-people-back-in-on-themselves, this prove-that-you're-legit kind of theology is pietistic. All it serves to do is feed this monster of us always questioning how God feels about us, because we do that naturally. We always assume that God is happier with us when we're doing well from our perspective and that He is not as happy with us, and somehow we can't be as bold or as assured before Him, if we're struggling. That's not what the apostles say. Thinking about Ephesians 3, Paul says that we have boldness and access, with confidence, before God, through our faith in Jesus Christ. It's Ephesians 3:11-12\. Not through how we're performing.  
  
So, we've got to begin this conversation by saying those things or people are going to be led into despair and despondency.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: A little bit of history as to where this kind of approach to the Christian life came from: around the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, moving into the 17th century, as Protestant teaching moved across Europe—you had Scottish Presbyterianism, you had the Church of England, you had German Lutheranism. Often, one of the downfalls that you see, as different strains of Protestantism began to differentiate themselves from other strains of Protestantism, is you would have these long diatribes, these long conversations, about theological matters that would often happen in the ivory towers of universities, and writings, and so on and so forth. And that's good. That's fun. It's good to read and deep dive into stuff like that. But this reaction to that, this swing-the-pendulum-the-other-way is you have other movements that began to rise; particularly Lutheran pietism within the German Lutheranism, but also Methodism within more of the English speaking world of Protestantism.  
  
The question began to change. What I mean by that is the question of what it meant to be a Christian changed from "Are you sound theologically?" to "Do you believe in the right things about the nature and character of God, and the gospel, and Jesus," and so on and so forth. It changed from "Are you sound?" to "Are you even saved?" That's where pietism began to be born and birthed and grew. As Christianity moved to the United States, this is the version of Christianity that actually moved to the United States. We've said this before: evangelical Christianity in the United States is a pietistic movement. You mix that version of Christianity, this hyper-individualized, hyper-focused inward version of Christianity, with the rugged individualism of the American spirit, and this is what you get: you get a Christianity that is focused on asking, "Am I even saved?"  
  
I think a lot of people enjoy this kind of Christianity, because what it does is it helps create categories, not of theology, but it creates categories of people. That on this side, over here, we have the true Christians. They not only go to church, but they take church seriously, and they take obedience seriously, and they take the Christian life seriously. Then you have Christians over here. These people go to church, but they're nominal, they're carnal. They don't take the faith seriously. For whatever reason, we love to do this. One, I think it's comparative righteousness. We like to compare. I want to compare my rags to your rags, and it doesn't matter because they're all rags anyway.  
  
That's just a little history of what we are talking about here. Whenever we read passages like 2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith," we have to understand that we have a slew of below the surface of the water iceberg preconceived notions of what that means because of how we've been raised to think about Christianity.  
  
Justin Perdue: At the heart of every holiness movement throughout the history of the church is a suspicion that if you emphasize doctrine, if you emphasize and tell people that Jesus has done everything, that Christ is sufficient, and that there's nothing left to do in order to be reconciled to God, then you're going to produce apathetic and lawless people. As we've said so many times, that would be true if salvation was a natural process that man achieved—but it isn't. It's a supernatural work of God from beginning to end, and the Holy Spirit, taking up residence within us and doing the sanctifying work that He does, makes it certain that those who have trusted Christ will be conformed into his image.  
  
If union with Christ weren't a thing then okay, maybe if you were just to emphasize what Jesus has done, you might produce lawlessness and apathy. But as it stands, that just doesn't hold. That's an age old objection that falls flat on its face, I think, empirically.  
  
A thought here just really quickly—Jimmy, to pick up on something that you were saying about how the question, at some point in history, changed from theological soundness to whether one is saved—I think it's interesting that when you listen to most people talk about self-examination in the church today, the question that they always are asking is something like, "How am I doing? How am I behaving?" They are never asking the question, "Who am I trusting?" That, I think, is indicative of what's going on, because one of those two questions is of first importance—and it's not the one about your behavior. The primary question is, "What do you believe?" Even referencing 1 John, again, notice how he makes a massive deal about their confession, about whether they believe that Christ came in the flesh, and about whether they believe that Christ had accomplished specific things for them, and whether or not they believe that they are actually sinners. He begins with that stuff. Then alongside that encourages them that they are living legitimate lives.  
  
It's very interesting that we, in our modern context, will just poo-poo the confession piece. It's like, "You can say you believe anything, but you got to really prove your mettle by how you're living and prove that you're legit." What you believe is over here, and the real rubber-meets-the-road of the Christian life is how you are doing.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's the core of the matter: what the examination process is the list that's often given to people that they need to be examining. I look at that and think that it is so far from biblical, it's not even funny. The Bible doesn't tell me to examine myself against that watermark—you set that watermark on it.  
  
We did a whole podcast on this, so I'm going to say it, and I know it sounds punchy, but I need you to hear this: your political voting and your Bible reading are not the watermark of examination of whether you're in the faith. I'm sorry. I've heard people basically say, "Are you reading your Bible? How can you not read your Bible at all and consider yourself to be a Christian?"  
  
Jimmy Buehler: It's the wrong question.  
  
Jon Moffitt: When I moved to Tennessee from California, during the first winter we had, I was looking for a beanie. I wanted to cover my ears. When I asked for a beanie, they looked at me and they said, "A toboggan?" I was like, "A toboggan? No, you slide in that. That's an Olympic sport. It's a beanie." And they're like, "No, it's a toboggan." What's interesting to me is that I had a context to a word that if someone were to walk up to me and say, "Do you want a toboggan?" I would say, "I don't have a truck. No, I don't want a toboggan." In their mind, they're thinking beanie. Well, this is what's going on when we read "examine yourself" when Paul says it in 2 Peter. We put a context on it because we have been so programmed in pietism. We immediately assume examination is prayer, Bible reading, making sure we're not cussing, making sure we're good coworkers. We immediately put a context on it, where Paul has a context of what he means—which I'm going to let Justin take us there in a second. 2 Peter—we'll talk about that. There's a context and a purpose of what's being said there. So, I think we need to clarify those.  
  
This article that we referenced—he mentions both of them. I think what's frustrating for me is that his context—toboggan versus beanie—I think he's missing it. He has an understanding of the passage that is not appropriate because he's placing the history of pietism on the text and missing actually what Paul is trying to call the Corinthian church to, which is not examination of performance of things that the Bible says we need to never perform.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Here's the thing: I want to play devil's advocate a little bit, because one of the accusations that we've received is, "You guys are taking passages that have been understood like this, and you're just saying it doesn't say that. You're not doing a plain reading of the text." And so on and so forth.  
  
I'm reading it right now—2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith." It seems pretty clear. If you just want to approach the Bible as is, Paul is saying it right there. Not only there, but in 2 Peter: make your calling and your election. You have 1 Corinthians 10:11, where Paul is saying that before they go to the Lord's Table, they are to examine themselves. If we're doing a plain reading of the text, and if we are going to take the Bible as is, somebody's off here. So, help me understand.  
  
Justin Perdue: I'll take the Corinthians pieces really quickly, and you guys jump in.  
  
This is Bible exegesis, hermeneutics 101—and I'm not trying to sound snarky in saying that. But, for example, if I wrote you a letter, and let's say it's 10 pages long, and you jumped onto page nine and landed in one particular paragraph, in one particular sentence and read it, you could conclude any number of things from that one sentence that may or may not fit well in the context of that entire letter that I've written to you. I would contend, in both of these instances—the 1 Corinthians 11 piece about the Lord's supper, and the 2 Corinthians 13 piece about self-examination—the context of the entire letters are critical for our understanding.  
  
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is talking about the Lord's Supper there. He is making it quite plain that there is division. Division in the church at Corinth is an issue that shows up early in the letter. He comes back to it again in chapter 11, about how there is division amongst them; in particular, there is division that is manifesting itself at the time when the church ought to be most unified—that is communion around the Lord's Table. It is that division within the body that Paul is addressing when he's talking about examining themselves (in the plural) to come to the Table. Then, in the 2 Corinthians 13 piece, a major issue in that entire letter is the legitimacy of Paul's apostolic ministry—whether or not Paul is legit in comparison to these so-called super apostles that it seems that many in Corinth are chasing after. So, Paul, in saying what he does about self-examination, says, "Examine yourselves to see whether or not you are in the faith." Then he goes on to talk about himself, and whether or not he's met the test, and his legitimacy, and everything else. He is essentially saying to them, "You have believed the message that I've preached. People are saved through believing the message that we preach. So, if you think that my ministry is entirely illegitimate, then you need to question a number of things, including whether or not you are legitimately in Christ."  
  
Again, I think context is critical. People say this: the three keys to biblical interpretation are context, context, and context. Just put those in practice, please, when we begin to interpret letters.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: It's as if Paul is saying, "Look, if you want to examine me, you need to examine yourselves. If you want to bring me on trial, you need to put yourself on trial."  
  
Jon Moffitt: He's not talking about moral behavior. What Jimmy was talking about is that Paul was questioning their theological stance.  
  
Justin Perdue: He's getting at the issue of weakness and power. Allah, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation—that kind of weakness and power paradigm is what he's dealing with, clearly, even in chapter 13 of 2 Corinthians.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: If you do a deep dive into 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, you will realize that Paul dearly loves this church, but is also deeply frustrated by them. They're screwy and they have all sorts of nonsense happening in their church. When you read, particularly, the end of 2 Corinthians 13:1, it's like he's saying, "This is the third time I'm coming to you. Have we not been over this? I guess I'm coming back. We're going to have Christianity 101 all over again." It's not that he's coming to them because of their morality, he's coming to them saying, "I have preached the true gospel to you."  
  
Jon, take us to take us to Peter.  
  
Jon Moffitt: One could argue that Peter is talking about morality because he makes this long mention of things that we should be adding to our faith. Let's look at this again in context, instead of just looking at the section that says, "Examine yourself." Look at verse three; it says, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." What Peter means in the first three verses is very plain: God's power and divine grace have saved you. How do you know that? His promises. That's how you know it's true. God's giving you everything that you need to live this life. How do you know that to be true? Look at his promises; He's been faithful to fulfill them. That's how you confirm it.  
  
Then he keeps going: "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge..." There's a long list here: self-control, brotherly affection—for the sake of time, we're not going to read the whole list. Then he says in verse eight, "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." To which we say amen. If you're not showing brotherly affection, kindness, and mercy, you are going to be hurting the mission of the church.  
  
Justin Perdue: And you're going to be ineffective.  
  
Jon Moffitt: That's right. Then he says, "For whoever lacks these qualities is so near-sighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you are practicing these qualities, you will never fall." Here's the question: what qualities is he talking about in the context? If he is talking about falling away from your salvation, and he points to these actions, then what you're arguing is that Peter says you maintain and keep your salvation by actions. But how can you say that if he says in the first three verses that everything we need is by His divine power, not only for life, but for godliness. I think the qualities he's talking about are the qualities of the faith by which the first three verses set us up with. Because he says, "Add to this." He doesn't say to base it upon.  
  
Your foundation is the gospel—always the gospel—and then the outflow of the gospel are these good works. If these good works aren't happening, he's saying you forgot the foundation. The examination goes back to Christ.  
  
Here's what I think is so frustrating to me: Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." How are you going to restore them? According to Peter, you're going to restore them, reminding them that they've been cleansed, and they're not walking in a manner that is in reflection to how they have been cleansed. You don't call them to question their salvation—you call them back to their salvation. You're pointing back to their baptism in Christ saying, "You need to act like what you are, not call it into question; unless they're denying the faith—that's different. That's another conversation.  
  
Justin Perdue: 2 Peter 1, especially 2 Peter 1:9, sounds almost identical to the argument of Paul in Romans 6:1 and following. Peter is effectively saying in 2 Peter 1 that whoever lacks these qualities—and he is there, I think, talking about some of those virtues that he has listed—whoever lacks these things has forgotten the work of Christ on his behalf; whoever lacks these things is forgotten who he is.  
  
Like you said, Jon, the foundation, the primary consideration is what has Jesus done for you and who you are in him. Recall these things, believe these things, and then flowing out of that will be these other things that Peter is speaking to.  
  
Paul in Romans 6\. Many will be familiar with the end of Romans 5 and how Paul makes the argument so that as sin reigned in death, grace would also reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord, and how that as sin increases, grace abounds all the more. So then the question is: are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? And Paul says by no means. Then he effectively says to remember who you are. He responds with identity in Jesus and union with Christ. "You've been baptized into the Lord Jesus and raised to walk in newness of life in him. You've been delivered from the dominion of sin. You now are obedient from the heart. Remember your identity." This is how the apostles always talk. They don't say, "Oh, well, you've asked that question. Are you even a Christian?" No, it's always, "you've asked this question and let me answer you with your identity, your status, and your union with Christ."  
  
Jimmy Buehler: Even Disney gets this. This is in _The Lion King_. Remember when prodigal Simba is going back and forth and Mufasa comes out of the clouds. What does he say? "Remember who you are." and then Simba goes, "That's right. I'm the son of the King." Disney gets this better than most.  
  
Justin Perdue: Better than evangelicalism.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: That's right. Justin, to reiterate what you said earlier where the approach that we're attacking wants to wake up in the morning or go to bed at night and ask the question, "Did I do enough things today to make my life ensured?" The question needs to be, "Did I trust Christ today?"  
  
Honestly, can I just be real here and say where we want to spiritualize so many things, I think the apostles would say, "Guys, just use common sense." Just a heavy dose of common sense. When you participate within the life of the church, don't be a jerk, don't be mean, don't be cunning, don't be judging people. Be patient bearing with one another in love as you wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's common sense. This is how I discipline my own children.  
  
Justin Perdue: It is common sense. I think the apostles think so, too. Peter even goes on to use this language: that part of what he intends to do is to stir up his readers by way of reminder. He's not yelling at them. He's just trying to stir them up and remind them of these things, that they might live a life that is fruitful, and that they might be of good in the church for the sake of their brothers and sisters and all the rest. That's, I think, how we ought to approach this as pastors as well.  
  
We say this all the time. One of the things that makes pietism what it is that it has this edginess to it all the time; this exacting and this threatening tone. Jon, you use the language of "prove yourself" all the time. I think that's right. We've already alluded to that today. But there's always this, "You may, through your negligence, irresponsibility, apathy, or whatever, you may end up proving yourself to be a non-believer." There's always that kind of edge to this thing. It's always this sort of suspicion that everybody's nominal and we need to smoke out the fakers. It affects how we communicate in the church. Even this question of self-examination becomes a frightening prospect, when in reality, I think the New Testament tone and tenor is one of, "No, I want to remind you of these things. I want to encourage you. I want to stir you up. Here is who you are. Let me be used by God to help you in this Christian life, that you might be fruitful, and that you might be good for your neighbor."  
  
Jon Moffitt: Have you guys ever been in a group of people where whatever it is they're talking about, like for me the other day, it was college football—and I don't know because I don't really watch, but I know football and I love football—and these guys are naming names and I don't even know who these people are. These guys could say, "Jon, you're a faker. You don't like football. If you really like football, you would know this stuff." They would call me a faker. So, what do you want me to do? You basically say you want me to not offend you by saying I like football, because if I really liked football, then I would know this stuff. This is what Christianity does. We get offended because, "How dare you call yourself a Christian and you don't live to the level that I live? That is ridiculous. How dare you take this name on?"  
  
Here's what's so funny to me. Christians are called to be on a rescue mission. Our job is to take the light of Christ into a dark world so that those who are lost may find Christ. If I'm sitting next to a guy who is a poser, it's like, "Nope, he's not really a believer. He says he is, but he's not." That means he's an unbeliever. That means he's most likely confused and has been led astray. I'm probably sure he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. I have two options: I can beat them over the head and call them an idiot, or I can give them the thing that will save him, which is the gospel, and clarify the gospel. Because if he's not a believer, it means he doesn't understand the gospel nor believe it.  
  
What we hear in things like "examine yourself" is that they're beating people. You're giving them a litmus test instead of the thing that can actually transform someone's life to want to love, to want to obey, to want to pursue Christ. The only thing that transforms people is the gospel. It's not fear. It's not self-examination.  
  
Let me go back. Look at 2 Peter 1:10: "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." If you think your obedience is your entrance into the Kingdom, that's the problem. Back up to verse three; he's saying it's God's divine power through his promises that give you the rich entrance. What our dear friends, who obviously are not acting as if they should, if they say, "I'm a Christian," and then they're denying truths, what they need is Christ and the gospel. They need a gentle hand to love them. As Galatians 6:1 says, go to such a one with meekness and restore them. What I'm hearing is, "Y'all better get your act together, or you may not be saved and that's a bad thing." I just don't see that tone coming from Scripture to the broader evangelical world.  
  
Justin Perdue: I couldn't agree more strongly, Jon, with your take. We've said this before, that if you really think there are nominal people sitting in your church, if there are people that are Christian in name only, and they're not really Christians, then why in the world are we not heralding the gospel to these people? Why is it that we're only just bombarding them and beating them over the head with Law, as though that's going to save them? It's very contradictory and inconsistent. If that's really what we think is going on, we ought to exhort them to trust Christ, because that is the foundation of what it is to be a Christian.  
  
I want to pivot slightly to pick up on some stuff that you both have said over the course of the podcast and that we've been considering. I think that one of the things in the article that we are referencing that is good is the acknowledgment that we need community, that we need the church, and that we need to live in the context of other brothers and sisters who can help us live the Christian life, and exhort us, and everything else.  
  
I think that what we need to acknowledge is that in a church where the gospel is preached and Christ is heralded, and people are living life together in an intentional way, there will be all kinds of watching over each other going on, where people are going to be admonishing each other. They're going to be encouraging each other. They're going to be exhorting each other. They're going to be correcting each other at points, looking at each other saying, "Hey, brother, you realize that's a bad idea for you to do that?" That's just going to be going on in terms of the resting heart rate of the church. It's just part of the culture.  
  
But then, the Scripture gives us a mechanism to deal with people that are absolutely not living their life in alignment with their profession—it's called church discipline. It's going to be very clear. It's going to be clear and demonstrable. It's going to take place over a season of time. It's going to be hard-hearted, high-handed, unrepentant sin—and it's going to become very clear. Then we remove those people from the church, we keep them from the Table, that they might be restored. But I feel like what people think we need to be doing is going about all the time with this posture of doubting and being suspicious of everybody's profession, waiting to drop the hammer. That is just so far from what the New Testament exhorts us to.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Can I just interject really quickly, Justin, and I'll hand it back over to you? This is what happened with Kanye West. Everybody went, "Well, we'll see." I'm so glad that Jesus didn't say that to me.  
  
Justin Perdue: Sure, time will tell, but what we want to do in the church is invite people in. "You've professed faith in Christ. Let's baptize you. Let's bring you into the fellowship of the saints. Let's admit you to the Table. Let's preach Christ. Let's love each other. We trust God will keep His promises, He is utterly faithful to us, and is going to preserve us to the end." It's not this suspicious posture all the time. As I said earlier, if it becomes very clear, over a season of time, that you were just hard-hearted and unrepentant, we have a mechanism for that, and we will do that, and we will wield that instrument carefully.  
  
Jon Moffitt: Most Christians are exhausted because they tread theological water all the time, instead of resting in Christ. No wonder people have constant doubt. They're saying, "I don't know if I believe enough." It doesn't matter how much you believe it. Can Jesus save you? That's the point.  
  
Jimmy Buehler: It's not the quality of faith; it's your object of faith. Just to go with what you said, and this is the last thing I'll say before I drop a bomb on you guys, is we often want to treat Jesus like he's the varsity football coach on day one of tryouts. Like he's standing before everybody, saying, "We'll see who will last by the end of the week." And that's just not it when Jesus says in Matthew 11, "I'm gentle and lowly in heart." After the day of full contact, I'm exactly the guy you want to talk to.  
  
The title of the article, _How Often Should I Question My Salvation?_ —I do think we should answer that pointedly in the members' podcast. Not that we skirted around it, but let's give a clear answer.  
  
Jon Moffitt: We'll put that article in the notes if you want to read it. Join us on the members'.  
  
Speaking of, we are going to move over to our members' podcast. This is, what I want to call, an intimate conversation with those who join in and really want to help herald this message across the world. We have a little bit more pointed conversations with those who are our partners.  
  
If you want to learn more about that and how to help Theocast encourage and get more from us, we have so much on our website. You can go to wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com and look at our membership there. It's a way of partnering with us. Just so you know, it’s how we keep producing all that we're doing.  
  
Thank you for listening. We pray this was encouraging to you. Our main goal, our main desire at Theocast, the three of us, is that we may remove the clutter that's put on the gospel and help you find rest in Christ. We pray that you've already started that journey and that you trust that Jesus is sufficient to save you, sanctify you, and glorify you. We'll see you next week.

---

### What Is-and Is Not-the Gospel?

*Published: January 27, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-is-and-is-not-the-gospel*
*Tags: Gospel*

There are a number of things discussed in the church as though they are part of the gospel--things like faith, repentance, obedience, and surrendering all to Jesus. But are these things the gospel? The guys have that conversation.  
  
Members' Podcast: The guys have a pastoral conversation about how the gospel isn't about us at all.  
  
**Recommended Resources:**  
["Faith vs Faithfulness: A Primer on Rest"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer)  
["Safe in Christ: A Primer on Assurance"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product-category/books/safe-in-christ/)  
[Episode: Law/Gospel](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)  
[Episode: Assurance](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/assurance-podcast/)  
["The Whole Christ" by Sinclair Ferguson](http://amzn.to/2wCGRwM)  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/what-is-and-is-not-the-gospel-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-what-is-and-is-not-the-gospel/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmrZA951WYU

---

### Is Christ-Centered Preaching Dangerous?

*Published: January 20, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-christ-centered-preaching-dangerous*
*Tags: Christ Centered Preaching, preaching, Redemptive Historical*

Jon and Justin discuss an article entitled, “4 Ways Bad Biblical Theology Warps Sermons.” Is Christ-centered, redemptive-historical preaching dangerous? Is it unhelpful? Does it produce bad things in the church? The guys talk about this—and more.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the concerns that might be underneath an article like the one discussed in today's episode.  
  
[Article: 4 Ways Bad Biblical Theology Warps Sermons](https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/4-ways-bad-biblical-theology-warps-sermons/)  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-christ-centered-preaching-dangerous-transcript/) [**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-is-christ-centered-preaching-dangerous/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62fNzw\_xasM

---

### Leaving Pietism

*Published: January 13, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/leaving-pietism*
*Tags: Pietism*

At Theocast, we talk a lot about pietism. What is it? What is the difference in piety and pietism? How does pietism affect us? Is there something better? If you find yourself struggling in the Christian life, is there something wrong with you? The guys answer these questions and more.  
  
Members Podcast Description: The guys give advice to those who are stuck in a pietistic context.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/leaving-pietism-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-leaving-pietism/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_UbF22sguOg

---

### Did We Fail 2020?

*Published: January 6, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/did-we-fail-2020*

2020 has been a difficult year. (Understatement.) Jon and Justin reflect on what they have learned, as well as the faithfulness of God.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue reflecting on 2020 and the faithfulness of God.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/did-we-fail-2020-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-did-we-fail-2020/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AoPZY0lp0M

---

### The Implications of the Incarnation

*Published: December 21, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-implications-of-the-incarnation*
*Tags: Christmas, Incarnation*

We had the joy of recording with Chad Bird, Daniel Emery Price, and Erick Sorensen of the 1517.org ministry for a special Christmas podcast. Why is the incarnation of Jesus important? How does it bring us hope, joy, and peace? We hope this conversation is uplifting and encouraging.  
  
**Our Guests Podcast:** 
**[40 Minutes in the OT](https://www.1517.org/podcasts/40-minutes-in-the-old-testament)** 
**[30 Minutes in the NT](https://www.1517.org/podcasts/30-minutes-in-the-new-testament)**  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-implications-of-the-incarnation-transcript/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfXHaRqk7Yg

---

### Christ Is Enough...Now What?

*Published: December 16, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christ-is-enough-now-what*
*Tags: Obedience, Sanctification, Spiritual Growth, The Church*

Many listeners are tracking with us that Christ is enough--that he has completely saved us. Many have come to see that pietism is unhelpful. But, now, you're wondering: What do I do now? If that's you, this podcast is for you.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin have a spirited conversation about how the church has lost its focus and mission--and how that makes it difficult for people to find legitimate communion in Christ around the means of grace.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/christ-is-enough-now-what-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-christ-is-enough-now-what/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8N3XestE94

---

### Are Spiritual Disciplines Biblical?

*Published: December 9, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/are-spiritual-disciplines-biblical*
*Tags: Spiritual Disciplines*

Spiritual disciplines are a big deal in our modern church context. Where did they come from? Are they biblical? How is it that we are sustained and grown in the Christian life? Jon and Justin consider all these things.  
  
Members' Podcast: The guys have a lively conversation about how spiritual disciplines are highly individualized--and how the corporate realities of life in the church are what matter.  
  
**Recommended Resources:**  
["Reformed Spirituality" by Jon Moffitt](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/reformedspirituality/)  
Articles: "[The Biblical and Historical Problems with Spiritual Disciplines" By Jon Moffitt](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-biblical-and-historical-problems-with-spiritual-disciplines-part-1-notes/)  
[Dazed and Confused: Hebrews 12:1-14 and Holiness](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/dazed-and-confused-hebrews-121-14-and-holiness/)  
["Faith vs Faithfulness: A Primer on Rest"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer/)  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/are-spiritual-disciplines-biblical-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-are-spiritual-disciplines-biblical/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9np3mUJOxQ

---

### The Cravings of the Flesh

*Published: December 2, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-cravings-of-the-flesh*
*Tags: homosexuality, saint and sinner, Sin, struggle with the flesh*

Sin is far worse than we often think. The Bible teaches that we are all born with lusts, cravings, passions, and desires that are wrong. Jon and Justin talk about this robust understanding of sin and its implications.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin discuss accountability and how it is often approached in the church.  
  
**RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:**
* [Episode: Law/Gospel Distinction](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction/)
* [Law Gospel Distinction with Rod Rosenbladt](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction-with-rod-rosenbladt/)
* [Triumphalism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/137-triumphalism/)
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-cravings-of-the-flesh-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-cravings-of-the-flesh-members/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVDUNhmd\_M8

---

### The Difference Between Sin and Struggle

*Published: November 25, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-difference-between-sin-and-struggle*
*Tags: saint and sinner, simul justus et peccator, Sin, Struggle with sin, two kingdom theology*

There is a difference between unrepentant sin and struggling as a fallen person in a fallen world. How should we understand our own struggle and the struggle of other believers? And what does this mean for life together in the church?  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about preaching that leads to more despair and discouragement, rather than helping us in it.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-difference-between-sin-and-struggle-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-the-difference-between-sin-and-struggle/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECcMFUFN4-8

---

### Agree to Disagree

*Published: November 18, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/agree-to-disagree*
*Tags: denominations, Doctrine, how to disagree, Level of Doctrines, Primary Doctrines*

Jon and Jimmy discuss where should we draw lines of theological disagreements. How should Christians disagree over important doctrines? How has the church lost its mission in these theological debates?  
  
Members' Podcast: What about politics? Should Christians be debating what candidate or political party one should vote for?  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/agree-to-disagree-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-agree-to-disagree/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsUQaBm2D4M

---

### The Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament

*Published: November 11, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-covenant-of-grace-in-the-old-testament*
*Tags: 1689, 1689 federalism, Covenant of Grace, Covenant Theology*

This is part 4 from our Introduction to Covenant Theology. In this class, this is our first of two sessions discussing the Covenant of Grace. In this session, we talk about the nature of the Covenant of Grace. Then we turn our focus on the promises and progressive revelation of the Covenant of Grace and trace them through the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi.  
  
Course Overview:  
  
_Part 1: Introduction & Overview_ 
_Part 2: The Covenant of Redemption_ 
_Part 3: The Covenant of Works_ 
_Part 4: The Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament_ 
_Part 5: The Covenant of Grace in the New Testament_  
  
[**FOR A DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product/academy-introduction-to-covenant-theology/)  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-covenant-of-grace-in-the-old-testament-transcript/)**  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5\_4VjAJylY

---

### Fantasy Christianity

*Published: November 4, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/fantasy-christianity*
*Tags: pain, Pietism, Reformed Theology, Rest in Christ, suffering, Triumphalism*

If you listen to many in the church, our Christian lives should be characterized by happiness, excitement, and by overcoming difficulty. But, this life is often characterized by pain, toil, and suffering. What do we do with that? And what is it that we're called to in the church?  
  
Members' Podcast Description: Jon and Justin talk about the mission of the church and what it looks like to keep the main things the main things.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/fantasy-christianity-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-fantasy-christianity/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZKWgHb5pB8

---

### HOT TOPIC: Is There Only One Way a Christians Can Vote?

*Published: October 30, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/hot-topic-is-there-only-one-way-a-christians-can-vote*
*Tags: Politics, Politics and the church, Voting*

These are tumultuous times in the United States. Politics are dominating much of the public conversation. And evangelical leaders have made strong statements as to how Christians should--or must--vote. Jon and Justin discuss these things and provide a historical biblical perspective.  
  
[**Read Related Article by Justin Perdue**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-there-only-one-way-a-christian-can-vote/)  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/hot-topic-is-there-only-one-way-a-christians-can-vote-transcript/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV3dzoK7hC8

---

### Left Behind: Have We Moved On from the Gospel?

*Published: October 28, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/left-behind-have-we-moved-on-from-the-gospel*
*Tags: Gospel, moving past the gospel, Pietism*

Though we would never say it this way, it often seems that the gospel is just the starting point of the Christian life--and that once we believe, we need to move on to other things. Jon and Justin consider how this happens and what it means for people in the church.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the "taste and see" reality of a church where the gospel permeates everything in the life of the congregation.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/left-behind-have-we-moved-on-from-the-gospel-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-left-behind-have-we-moved-on-from-the-gospel/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deHSvd-nJhE

---

### Introduction To Covenant Theology Part One

*Published: October 21, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/introduction-to-covenant-theology-part-one*
*Tags: 1689 federalism, baptist covenant theology, Covenant Theology, reformed covenant theology, Reformed Theology*

In this course, we are going to explore Covenant Theology. We will show you how Covenant Theology provides a framework for rightly reading and understanding your Bible that arises from scripture itself. We’ll dive deeply into the three covenants that comprise this framework: the Covenant of Redemption, the Covenant of Works, and the Covenant of Grace. In the end, we will rejoice over the firm ground Covenant Theology provides for our assurance and rest in Christ.  
  
_Part 1: Introduction & Overview_ 
_Part 2: The Covenant of Redemption_ 
_Part 3: The Covenant of Works_ 
_Part 4: The Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament_ 
_Part 5: The Covenant of Grace in the New Testament_  
  
**_Instructor: Jon Moffitt, Justin Perdue, and Jimmy Buehler_**  
  
[**FOR A DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product/academy-introduction-to-covenant-theology/)  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/introduction-to-covenant-theology-part-one-transcript/)**  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1zYCPUTobU

---

### Did It Matter How Jesus Died?

*Published: October 14, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/did-it-matter-how-jesus-died*
*Tags: Atonement, Biblical Theology, Covenant Theology, purpose of the bible, Redemptive Historical*

Why is it that Jesus died on a cross--and not some other way? Does it matter? (Hint: It does.) Jon and Justin answer this question using all of Scripture from a redemptive-historical, covenantal perspective.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin consider why we would interpret the Bible in any other way than a redemptive-historical fashion with Jesus at the center.  
  
**Recommended Resources:**
* [Biblical Theology (Geerhardus Vos)](http://amzn.to/2viExKq)
* [Far As The Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (Michael Williams)](http://amzn.to/2uWmXec)
* [The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom (Samuel Renihan)](https://press.founders.org/shop/the-mystery-of-christ-his-covenant-and-his-kingdom/)
* [Introduction To Covenant Theology (Theocast)](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/intro-to-covenant-theology/)
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/did-it-matter-how-jesus-died-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-is-your-theological-system-any-good/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TChRmEYDr0

---

### Is Your Theological System Any Good?

*Published: October 7, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-your-theological-system-any-good*
*Tags: bible study, Biblical Theology, Covenant Theology, Redemptive Historical, reformed confessions, theological system*

Some people say we should read the Bible with no presuppositions-and that it isn't good to have a theological system. Is that possible? Is that right? Jon and Justin consider these things and how we should do biblical theology.  
  
Members' Podcast: The guys discuss whether all of Scripture is Christian Scripture, dispensationalism, and how interpretative models affect assurance.  
  
**Recommended Resources:**
* [Biblical Theology (Geerhardus Vos)](http://amzn.to/2viExKq)
* [Far As The Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (Michael Williams)](http://amzn.to/2uWmXec)
* [The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom (Samuel Renihan)](https://press.founders.org/shop/the-mystery-of-christ-his-covenant-and-his-kingdom/)
* [Introduction To Covenant Theology (Theocast)](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/intro-to-covenant-theology/)
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/is-your-theological-system-any-good-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-is-your-theological-system-any-good/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-VfGoKS0nw

---

### The "Five Points" of Reformed Theology

*Published: September 30, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-five-points-of-reformed-theology*
*Tags: Calvinism, Confessionalism, Covenant Theology, reformed, Reformed Theology, what is reformed theology*

Jon and Justin answer a question that we get all the time: "When you say 'reformed' theology, what do you mean?" We offer our own "five points" on the subject.  
  
Members' Podcast: The guys continue the conversation around the major tenets of reformed theology.  
  
**Recommended Resources:**  
[Introduction to Covenant Theology](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/intro-to-covenant-theology/)  
[Introduction to Calvinism](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/product/introduction-to-calvinism/)  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/the-five-points-of-reformed-theology-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-the-five-points-of-reformed-theology/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8t2ijO06kY

---

### Our Weakness, Sex, and the Gospel

*Published: September 23, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/our-weakness-sex-and-the-gospel*
*Tags: biblicalsexuality, Gospel, human weakness, marriage, purity culture, saint and sinner, Sex*

Jon and Justin have a conversation about our weakness, sex, and the gospel. (Parents: There is nothing graphic, but please be aware.) Our culture tells us all kinds of things about sex. The church hasn't always helped. What has God said in his Word?  
  
Members' Podcast: Justin and Jon consider Proverbs 6:33 and whether our disgrace from sexual sin can ever be taken away? Also, the guys talk about how the church has often confused its mission when it comes to sex and the culture.  
  
Recommended Resources:  
\- Justin Perdue's Sermon: [Our Weakness, Sex, and the Gospel](https://covbap.org/sermons/our-weakness-sex-and-the-gospel-part-2/)  
\- [Tim Killer's Book: The Meaning of Marriage](https://amzn.to/362iJVu)  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/our-weakness-sex-and-the-gospel-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-our-weakness-sex-and-the-gospel/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTmMYp-dsdw

---

### How Not to Read Your Bible

*Published: September 16, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-not-to-read-your-bible*
*Tags: bible, Bible Reading, Church, devotions, Means of Grace, Pietism, quiet times*

Are you discouraged about reading your Bible? Maybe you feel like you don't understand it? Maybe you read it and feel like you've gotten nothing from it? In this episode, the guys talk about how not to read your Bible--and then consider what Scripture says about how to interact with it.  
  
Members' Podcast: The guys consider whether personal Bible reading is a litmus test of being a good and faithful Christian.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/how-not-to-read-your-bible-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-how-not-to-read-your-bible/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOkIvpFS0e0

---

### The Slow Death of Pietism

*Published: September 9, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-slow-death-of-pietism*
*Tags: Assurance, Bible Reading, Legalism, Pietism, piety, reformed piety, Reformed Theology, Rest, Sanctification, Spiritual Disciplines*

On today's episode, we are able and blessed to sit around the same table to discuss and meet with our old friend pietism. The other night, we were discussing how pietism dies a very slow and painful death. We also talked about the damage it can cause to our assurance and what we see when we look at ourselves in Christ. In this podcast, we discuss the slow and painful death of pietism and how it can harm us.  
  
Members Podcast: We get a little bit more punchy as we talk about the dangers of pietism as it relates to the gathered saints in the local church and the damage that it can cause. We hope this conversation is beneficial to you as it was to us. We look forward to you listening.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/what-the-slow-death-of-pietism-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-the-slow-death-of-pietism/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaJYbVRnfTg

---

### What the World Needs Now

*Published: September 2, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-the-world-needs-now*
*Tags: biblical forgiveness, Forgiveness, Gospel, grace, Rest, salvation, the cross*

Life is hard. Relationships are hard. In light of that, what is it that we need most? There are countless solutions offered. Jon and Justin consider what Scripture has to say.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the most difficult kind of people to live with, as well the struggle we have to accept people's repentance.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/what-the-world-needs-now-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-what-the-world-needs-now/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeD69Rwhuvc

---

### Does Your Job Matter to God???

*Published: August 26, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/does-your-job-matter-to-god*
*Tags: job, Vocation, work. christianjobs*

In this episode, Jon and Jimmy discuss the topic of Vocation. Does the Bible lead us to believe that some jobs are more spiritual than others? Is the pastor's job more important than the stay-home-mom? We also explain how God is accomplishing His mission through the ordinary every day lives of those in the church.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon drops a bomb and opens the topic of transforming culture and American Christianity. Is it the mission of the church to fight back against bad governments? What role should Christian play in politics, or even pursuing being a politician?  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/does-your-job-matter-to-god-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-does-your-job-matter-to-god/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOj\_BY2vO1w

---

### Fearing the Judgment Seat

*Published: August 12, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/fearing-the-judgment-seat*
*Tags: Heaven, rewards, rewards in heaven, the judgment seat of Christ*

In this episode, Jon and Justin answer a listener question. Should we be afraid of the judgment seat of Christ? Should we fear that all of our good works will be burned up? We survey the passages in the New Testament that speak to these things.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about the responsibility of leaders in light of Hebrews 13 and James 3\. And, we discuss turning our fear into good motivation for the advancement of the gospel.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/fearing-the-judgment-seat-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-fearing-the-judgment-seat-2/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMYBhjkbFyQ

---

### You're a Bad Christian If...

*Published: August 5, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/youre-a-bad-christian-if*
*Tags: blacklivesmatter, covid19, Gospel, Legalism, metoo, Pietism, Racism, Reformed Theology, self righteousness*

In this episode, the guys talk about all of the requirements being placed upon Christians as a result of the current cultural issues. It seems we are failing all over the place, and forgiveness and absolution are nowhere to be found. What do we make of these things?  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation on the burdens of our current cultural moment. We take a look back at the #metoo movement and consider the primacy of the gospel in the life of the church  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/youre-a-bad-christian-if-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-youre-a-bad-christian-if/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7S2mBf\_O0

---

### Why All Calvinists Are Not Reformed

*Published: July 22, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/why-all-calvinists-are-not-reformed*
*Tags: Calvinism, Calvinism vs Reformed, Calvinist, reformed, Reformed Theology, Why Not Call Calvinist are Reformed*

In this episode, the guys talk about the difference between Calvinism and reformed theology. The two are not one and the same. We explain the major tenets of reformed theology and why they are important.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys talk personally about our transition into confessional, reformed theology--and the difference it has made in our lives and churches.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/why-all-calvinists-are-not-reformed-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-why-all-calvinists-are-not-reformed/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzjs6FuIBnM

---

### Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

*Published: July 8, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go*
*Tags: Church, leaving a church, Legalism, Pietism, Reformed Theology*

When should you leave a church? Jon and Jimmy discuss this question from a pastoral and congregant perspective. We discuss unhelpful ways we have seen this done, what you should not say, and the timing one should consider.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys layout the primary and secondary issues one should consider first before they leave or stay in their current context. Is something like sanctification a reason to leave?  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-should-i-stay-or-should-i-go/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP5yfxIgmEs

---

### Drowning in Evangelicalism?

*Published: July 1, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/drowning-in-evangelicalism*
*Tags: Church Growth Movement, Confessional theology, Evangelicalism, Legalism, Pietism, Reformed Theology*

In this episode, the guys talk about evangelicalism. Where did it come from? What produced it? What kind of effect has evangelical culture had on Christians? If you feel as though you're drowning--if you are struggling and disenchanted--you are not crazy. And you are not alone.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation on evangelicalism by considering how confessional theology is the antidote to so much of what ails the contemporary church.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/drowning-in-evangelicalism-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-drowning-in-evangelicalism/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVxDqrISdD0

---

### Dazed and Confused: Does 2 Peter 1:1-12 Teach Pietism?

*Published: June 24, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/dazed-and-confused-does-2-peter-1-1-12-teach-pietism*
*Tags: 2 Peter 1:1-12, Legalism, Pietism, Sanctification*

In this episode, the guys talk about a passage of Scripture that is often misunderstood: 2 Peter 1:1-12\. Is Peter teaching pietism in this text? We consider the gospel, as well as the saint/sinner reality, and how those things relate to our pursuit of piety.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation on 2 Peter 1 by going through the rest of the chapter. We give thoughts on preaching the passage and on pastoral posture, in general.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/dazed-and-confused-does-2-peter-11-12-teach-pietism-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-dazed-and-confused-does-2-peter-11-12-teach-pietism/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQR1eWF900w

---

### Back to Rome?

*Published: June 17, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/back-to-rome*
*Tags: Catholicism, Catholics, Reformation theology, Reformed Theology, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics*

In this episode, Jon and Justin begin by answering a listener's question as to whether Roman Catholics can be saved. We then contrast Roman Catholic and Reformed theology and go on to consider the ways many evangelicals sound Roman in their teaching and practice.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin talk pastorally and personally about the fallout of evangelical confusion over justification and sanctification.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/back-to-rome-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-back-to-rome/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxcOG9GrvGA

---

### Racism, Injustice, and the Church

*Published: June 10, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/racism-injustice-and-the-church*
*Tags: Church, Racism, Social Justice*

In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the protests of recent days, the guys talk about racism, injustice, and the church. There are many people in a lot of pain. What can we say to these things from God's Word? How can the church navigate these difficult issues?  
  
Members Podcast: The guys talk personally with our listeners, some of whom have sent in emails. And, we seek to encourage one another with the hope of the new heaven and the new earth, which Christ has secured for us.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/racism-injustice-and-the-church-transcript/)**  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-racism-injustice-and-the-church/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNmUnCehVIQ

---

### Biblical Counseling: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

*Published: June 3, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/biblical-counseling-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly*
*Tags: Biblical Counseling Nouthetic Counseling, Christian Counseling, Counseling, Counseling and the Church*

In this episode, the guys talk about biblical counseling and the problem of pietism and hyper-introspection. We consider a confessional, Christ-centered approach to counseling that is grounded in the local church.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys discuss the value of counseling centers and how they can partner well with local churches to care for struggling saints. We also talk about the fallout of an obsession with sanctification.  
  
Restoration Counseling Center of Asheville (that Justin mentioned): https://restorationashevillenc.com  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/biblical-counseling-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-transcript/)**   
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-biblical-counseling-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hCbyLk3IGw

---

### Triumphalism

*Published: May 27, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/triumphalism*
*Tags: overcoming sin, Sanctification, Triumphalism, victorious Christian life*

In this episode, the guys talk about triumphalism. The impression we're often given in the church is that we should be always and consistently improving. We should be living "the victorious Christian life." And, if we're not, we should be concerned. What do we make of all this?  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation on triumphalism and by considering the exhortation of Paul to walk by the Spirit so that we don't gratify the desires of the flesh.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/triumphalism-transcript/)**   
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-triumphalism/)  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV31d0DGL\_k

---

### Depression

*Published: May 20, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/depression*
*Tags: Anxiety, Depression, Gospel*

In this episode, the guys talk about depression. It is a common battle. And it is understandable in a fallen world. We consider what depression is, where it comes from, and how we should recalibrate our thinking and conversation in the church.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys talk about how to counsel people who are battling depression. We discuss mercy, compassion, the roles of Scripture, and the church, as well as practical helps.  
  
**Scripture:**  
Job 7:13-16; Psalm 34:18; Psalm 56:8; Psalm 77:1-3; Psalm 88; Ecclesiastes 2:17-23; Isaiah 57:15; Mark 14:34; 2 Corinthians 1:8-9; Hebrews 4:15-16  
  
**Resources:**
* 1689 London Baptist Confession, Chapter 6, Paragraphs 2-3
* ["Spurgeon's Sorrows" by Zack Eswine](https://amzn.to/2TkT2Z5)
* ["Finding Hope in Depression" (article by Jimmy Buehler)](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/finding-hope-in-depression/)
* ["Dealing with Darkness" (sermon series by Justin Perdue)](https://covbap.org/hello-world/)
**[Read Episode Transcripts](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/depression-transcript/)**   
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-depression/)  
  
https://youtu.be/BG3toL\_tGf8

---

### Law/Gospel Distinction

*Published: May 13, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-distinction*
*Tags: Law &amp; Gospel, Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction, reformed law gospel, Reformed Theology*

In this episode, the guys consider the distinction between the law and the gospel. God has revealed the law and the gospel in Scripture. They aren't the same thing, but yet, they are often confused. This confusion results in all kinds of fallout, including robbing the believer of assurance and peace.  
  
MEMBERS Podcast: The guys talk about how maintaining an appropriate distinction between law and gospel leads to assurance and rest in Christ.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/law-gospel-distinction-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-law-gospel-distinction/)  
  
https://youtu.be/EMSfwPUuuVk

---

### Christ-Centered Preaching

*Published: May 6, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/christ-centered-preaching*
*Tags: Christ Centered Preaching, Christ-Centered, Expository Preaching, preaching, reformed preaching, Reformed Theology*

"Christ-centered preaching" has been a popular topic for a number of years. But what is it? What does it mean to preach Christ from all of Scripture? If we preach this way, are we just saying the same thing every Sunday? The guys consider all of this--and more--in today's episode.  
  
Members Podcast: In this episode, we talk about angry preaching. We consider where it comes from, why it's common, and why it's bad.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/christ-centered-preaching-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-christ-centered-preaching/)  
  
https://youtu.be/JJY9u59fnDY

---

### Assurance

*Published: April 29, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/assurance*
*Tags: Assurance, assurance of salvation, Gospel, how do I know I'm saved, Pietism, Reformed Theology, salvation*

So many of the questions we get at Theocast come down to the issue of assurance. How do we know we will be finally saved? How is it that we have peace before God- now and in the future? We talk personally of our own experiences, make some observations about evangelicalism, and then point people to Christ and his sufficiency.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation on assurance by considering good works, the ongoing struggle with sin, and the work of Christ.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/assurance-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-assurance/)  
  
https://youtu.be/nag9HtkCjHI

---

### Q&A: Confessional Theology, Justification & Sanctification, and Church Discipline

*Published: April 22, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/q-a-confessional-theology-justification-sanctification-and-church-discipline*
*Tags: Church Discipline, confessional, Confessional theology, Confessions, covid19, Justification, Justification and sanctification, Sanctification*

In light of COVID-19, the hosts thought it would be a good thing to do a live online Q&A. Amongst other things, we talk about confessional theology, justification and sanctification, and church discipline.  
  
Members Podcast: We continue answering questions from the online live Q&A. Topics include how to preach obedience and the damage caused by fear-based preaching.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/qa-church-discipline-fruit-andmore-transcripts/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-qa-church-discipline-fruit-andmore/)  
  
https://youtu.be/gF9OpMZf0H0

---

### Legal Preaching

*Published: April 15, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/legal-preaching*
*Tags: legal preaching, Legalism, legalistic preaching, Pietism, pietistic preaching, preaching, reformed, reformed preaching*

In this episode, Jon and Justin discuss legal preaching. This kind of preaching tends to remove hope and establish fear. It tends to turn every passage of Scripture into law. It tends to focus on how people are not measuring up. We point out the prevalence of legal preaching and offer some correctives.  
  
Members' Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about their own journeys away from legal preaching and also consider the purpose of the pulpit.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/legal-preaching-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-legal-preaching/)  
  
https://youtu.be/cBWx-e1NY5g

---

### Preaching [About] the Gospel

*Published: April 8, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/preaching-about-the-gospel*
*Tags: Gospel, law preaching, legal preaching, Legalism, Pietism, preaching*

In this episode, Jon and Justin discuss preaching the gospel. It's been our observation that guys will get fired up about preaching the gospel, they will give the facts of the gospel, and talk a lot about the gospel--without ever offering Jesus to sinners and heralding the grace of God in Christ.  
  
In the Members podcast, we cover preaching about sin and obedience in light of the gospel. We also discuss Christ-centered preaching--what it is and what it isn't.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/preaching-about-the-gospel-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/members-preaching-about-the-gospel/)  
  
https://youtu.be/vwz66dHrlqo

---

### Joy in Suffering: A Conversation in Light of COVID-19

*Published: April 1, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/joy-in-suffering-a-conversation-in-light-of-covid-19*
*Tags: coronavirus, covid19, James 1, joy, joy in suffering, Romans 5, trials*

We are all being tremendously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of this, the guys have a conversation about trials, suffering, and the steadfast love of God.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation about suffering and the Christian life. We blow up some unhelpful things we've seen being posted on social media and elsewhere.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/joy-in-suffering-covid19-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/joy-in-suffering-covid19-members/)  
  
https://youtu.be/XHFI8vMvf0M

---

### Proverbs: Where Is Jesus?

*Published: March 25, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/proverbs-where-is-jesus*
*Tags: Legalism, Old Testament, Pietism, Proverbs, Proverbs 31 Woman, Redemptive Historical*

In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about Proverbs. It's one of the most-read books in the Bible, but honestly, many of us don't know what to do with it. Is Jesus in Proverbs? How do we understand and apply the book?  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin discuss how Proverbs is selectively applied and misapplied. We also get into The Song of Solomon.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/proverbs-where-is-jesus-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/proverbs-where-is-jesus-members/)  
  
https://youtu.be/up6U8uKzVg8

---

### How Much Can a Christian Sin?

*Published: March 18, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/how-much-can-a-christian-sin*
*Tags: Church Discipline, preaching, Sin*

In this episode, Jon and Justin tackle the question, "How much--and for how long--can a Christian sin?" Scripture and the Confessions indicate that Christians can sin really badly for a really long time.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin talk about implications for preaching in light of our struggle against sin. We also consider church discipline as a tool given to us by God for the restoration of sinners.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/how-much-can-a-christian-sin-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/how-much-can-a-c%E2%80%A6tian-sin-members/)  
  
https://youtu.be/eqRBasKNGb8

---

### More Than a Feeling?

*Published: March 11, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/more-than-a-feeling*
*Tags: Assurance, Feelings, John Piper, Pietism, salvation, T4G*

In this episode, the guys talk about feelings. Yes, that's right. At a prominent evangelical conference, John Piper said that it is futile to try to define saving faith apart from feelings ([link](https://www.facebook.com/TogetherfortheGospel/videos/755188604972277/?v=755188604972277)). We consider whether that is correct and the fallout of that perspective as it relates to assurance.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation on feelings, faith, and assurance. We also discuss Christian Hedonism and where it tends to lead.  
  
[**Read Episode Transcripts**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/more-than-a-feeling-transcript/)  
[**Members Podcast**](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/more-than-a-feeling-members/)  
  
https://youtu.be/GhoRmIPjRxA

---

### Comforts from the Cross

*Published: March 4, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/comforts-from-the-cross*
*Tags: Assurance, Cross, Gospel, Theology of the Cross*

Sometimes we think we have understood the gospel and maybe have even gotten to the bottom of it--only to have God blow up our hearts and minds with the wonder of the gospel anew. In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about the comfort of the work of Christ.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin continue the conversation about the work of Christ. We turn to consider its implications for love and unity in the church. We also talk about the craziness of self-righteousness.  
  
**[Read Episode Transcript](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/comforts-from-the-cross-transcript/)**  
**[Members Podcast](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/comforts-from-the-cross-members/)**  
  
https://youtu.be/6XJz6Hr9MMw

---

### Is Ambition Sin?

*Published: February 26, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/is-ambition-sin*
*Tags: Ambition, Is Ambition Sin, Love of Self, self love, Sin*

In this episode, the guys talk about ambition. Biblically, ambition is sin and is opposed to the gospel. We consider how we are to live before God and with one another.  
  
Members Podcast: The guys continue the conversation about ambition. We discuss how ambition is harmful to churches, pastors, and church planters.  
  
**Recommended Resources:**
* [Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do about It - by David Zahl](https://amzn.to/39clPVi)
* [Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World - by Michael Horton ](https://amzn.to/2wGdBXc)
* [Upside-Down Spirituality - by Bird (Author)](https://amzn.to/383655M)
https://youtu.be/WZqNTB37b4c

---

### "Faith Alone" Is Radical

*Published: February 19, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/faith-alone-is-radical*
*Tags: Faith, Faith Alone, Gospel, Justification, Pietism, Radical, Sanctification, Sola Fide*

In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about sola fide (faith alone). It is a radical message. We seek to briefly clarify the doctrine before moving on to discuss the implications of it and the importance of guarding it.  
  
Members Episode: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on faith alone. In particular, we talk about how the truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone frees us up to love one another.  
  
https://youtu.be/nWSAtH1egz8

---

### What's Love Got to Do with It?

*Published: February 12, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it*
*Tags: Greatest Commandments, John 15, John 17, Love, Pietism*

In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about loving one another. It was a big deal to Jesus and the apostles. But if you were to ask Christians to make a list of priorities in the Christian life, where would love show up on that list?  
  
Members Podcast Description: Jon and Justin continue the conversation on love. We discuss how this relates to the meanness and gracelessness we often see on Christian Twitter and in the church.  
  
https://youtu.be/KSerkiPRR8M

---

### Discipleship Is Not About You

*Published: February 5, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/discipleship-is-not-about-you*
*Tags: Biblical Discipleship, Discipleship, Legalism, Pietism*

In this episode, the guys talk about discipleship. We often hear the word "disciple" used as a verb. Is that how it's used in the New Testament? Is there a distinction between being a Christian and a disciple? We consider these things along with the corporate nature of being a disciple of Jesus.  
  
Members Podcast: In this episode, we talk about the radical sayings of Jesus. And we consider how love, mercy, and compassion are the order of the day in the church.  
  
**Resources:**  
["The Whole Christ" by Sinclair Ferguson](https://amzn.to/36URuJf)  
["For Calvinism" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/2RWdejv)  
["By Grace Alone" by Sinclair Ferguson](https://amzn.to/31BJv2N)  
["Ordinary" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/2ShMlWm)  
  
https://youtu.be/XYomTmGOr\_s

---

### Mission Critical

*Published: January 29, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/mission-critical*
*Tags: Evangelism, John 17, Mission of the Christian, Mission of the church*

Jesus prays for our protection and our mission in John 17\. What kind of protection does he pray for? And what kind of mission has he left for us? In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about our mission and Christ's desires for us as his church.  
  
Members Podcast: Jon and Justin continue the discussion on the mission of the church. Can you struggle with sin and be useful in the mission? How can individual members of the church participate in the mission?  
  
https://youtu.be/hj4mZtjsIdw

---

### The "Little laws" of New Year's

*Published: January 22, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-little-laws-of-new-years*
*Tags: Jonathan Edwards, Legalism, New Year's Resolutions, Pietism, Resolutions*

In this episode, we talk about all the little "l" laws we place ourselves under in the New Year's season. There are a 1,000 things we need to be doing--or not doing. We often fail to meet our own expectations. What do we do with all this?  
  
Members Podcast Description: We talk about how a reformed two kingdoms perspective comes to bear on New Year's resolutions. We also consider how making proper distinctions between Bible and common sense is important and helpful.  
  
https://youtu.be/s4V3lfZtI9A

---

### Simple Christianity

*Published: January 18, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/simple-christianity*
*Tags: Christianity, Gospel, Legalism, Pietism, Simple Christianity*

In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about some of the ways contemporary Christianity has made everything complicated. We also talk about the freeing simplicity of the biblical faith that is founded on Christ crucified for sinners.  
  
Members Podcast Description: Jon and Justin continue to conversation on a simpler kind of Christianity. We touch on several things, including overly full church schedules and canceling services.  
  
https://youtu.be/S-zF2FZeBM4

---

### Interview with Daniel Emery Price: Creeds? What's That?

*Published: January 8, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/interview-with-daniel-emery-price-creeds-whats-that*
*Tags: Creeds, Creeds and confessions, Daniel Emery Price, Reformed Theology*

In this episode, we interview our friend, Daniel Emery Price about creedal Christianity. If you were to ask many in the church what Christians believe, you would get a number of different answers. Many of those wouldn't be good. We discuss what creedal Christianity is and the fallout of abandoning the creedal faith.  
  
Members Podcast Description: We continue our conversation with Daniel Emery Price about creedal Christianity. We dive deeper into how the creedal faith makes people nervous, as well as ways many in the church today actually contradict the creeds.  
  
**Resources:** 

[Scandalous Stories: A Sort of Commentary on Parables by Daniel Emery Price (Author), Erick Sorensen (Author), Chad Bird (Foreword)](https://amzn.to/2tFQHxC)

https://youtu.be/XB3JAte0Xv8

---

### Q&A: Saint & Sinner, Antinomianism, Bearing Fruit and More...

*Published: December 18, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/q-a-saint-sinner-antinomianism-bearing-fruit-and-more*
*Tags: Antinomian, Antinomianism, Bearing Fruit, Live Q&amp;A, saint and sinner, Sanctification, simul justus et peccator*

Our third live event, from Berean Fellowship in Palmdale, CA. Jon and Justin talk about the Christian's simultaneous saint and sinner reality, antinomianism, and about how much fruit we need to be bearing in the Christian life.

Members Podcast: More from our live event in Palmdale, CA. We consider bearing fruit in the Christian life and the question of how long a Christian can struggle with sin before they should start questioning their salvation.  
  
https://youtu.be/5W6cZjnvdvE

---

### Live Q&A on Final Justification & Mark Jones

*Published: December 11, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/live-q-a-on-final-justification-mark-jones*
*Tags: Assurance, Faith Alone, Final Justification, Good Works, John Piper, Mark Jones, Obedience, Pietism, salvation, Sanctification, Sola Fide*

In our second ever live event, Jon and Justin talk primarily about sola fide--some of the old and new confusion around it. How do good works factor into our final salvation? We begin to discuss an article written recently by Mark Jones in which he argues that we have the right to eternal life by faith alone but we will finally possess eternal life through good works.  
  
**Members Podcast**: Jon and Justin continue the discussion around Mark Jones' article. We also take listener questions about the Marrow Controversy, Roman Catholicism, and when/how you would know someone is a false convert.  
  
**Resources:**  
["Do We Have a Translator Available? Good Works and 'The Way to Salvation'" by Mark Jones](https://calvinistinternational.com/2019/10/15/do-we-have-a-translator-available-good-works-and-the-way-to-salvation/)  
  
https://youtu.be/mE\_WbhH3UKw

---

### Interview with Chad Bird

*Published: December 4, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/interview-with-chad-bird*
*Tags: Chad Bird, Forgiveness, law gospel distinction, Prodigal Son, Repentance*

In this episode we interview our friend, Chad Bird. We discuss his book, "Night Driving." We cover a number of topics, including the pain we experience in this life, repentance, forgiveness, the struggle against sin, and the love of God for sinners.  
  
**Member Podcast Description**: We talk with Chad about the fact that many of us are almost afraid of forgiveness--and our tendency to put all kinds of qualifiers and conditions on it. We also get into Romans 7 and even Kanye West.  
  
**Resources:**

* [Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul](https://amzn.to/34J5WDN)
* [Upside-Down Spirituality](https://amzn.to/360SkEd)
* [Your God Is Too Glorious: Finding God in the Most Unexpected Places](https://amzn.to/35Y6RjX)

https://youtu.be/fR3J9A4-KuA

---

### Live Q&A: Motivation for Obedience, Assurance, & the Holy Spirit

*Published: November 27, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/live-q-a-motivation-for-obedience-assurance-the-holy-spirit*
*Tags: Assurance, Holy Spirit, Live Q&amp;A, Obedience, Q&amp;A*

In our first-ever live Theocast event in San Diego, CA, we answer listener questions as well as those submitted by the audience. Topics include assurance of salvation, motivations for obedience, our need for the church, and more.  
  
Members Podcast Description: We cover questions concerning rewards in heaven, are all Jews saved, and how do we rest daily in Christ.  
  
https://youtu.be/mZopss7tIOo

---

### Law Gospel Distinction with Rod Rosenbladt

*Published: November 6, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/law-gospel-distinction-with-rod-rosenbladt*
*Tags: 1517.org, Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction, Rod Rosenblandt, Theology of Glory, Theology of the Cross*

We sat down with Rod Rosenbladt to discuss a few things--including law/gospel distinction, the sufficiency of Christ's work, and theology of the cross. We also get his thoughts on future justification.  
  
Special Members Podcast: In the first Hot Topics episode--for our members--we discuss the recent apostasy of Joshua Harris, along with the failures of Tullian Tchividjian, Mark Driscoll, and James MacDonald. How should we think about these things? And, can a man return to ministry after a failure?  
  
**Resources:**

[The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel - C.F.W. Walther](https://amzn.to/2NlMIhe)

https://youtu.be/BEJUlz0T2HQ

---

### Dazed and Confused: Hebrews 12:1-14 and Holiness

*Published: October 30, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/dazed-and-confused-hebrews-12-1-14-and-holiness*
*Tags: Antinomianism, Final Justification, Hebrews, Hebrews 12:14, Holiness, John Piper, Justification, Kevin DeYoung, Mark Jones, Two Step Justification*

In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about a verse of Scripture that has produced much angst and confusion: Hebrews 12:14\. In that verse, we read that there is a holiness without which no one will see the Lord. How should we understand this passage?  
  
Members Podcast Description: Jon and Justin talk about the certainty of sanctification and whether it is monergistic or synergistic. They also consider the relationship of justification, sanctification, and final salvation.  
  
**Sources:**  
"The Hole in Our Holiness" by Kevin DeYoung (p. 29 cited)  
"Antinomianism: Reformed Theology's Unwelcome Guest?" by Mark Jones (p. 64 cited)  
John Piper’s Foreword to "Faith Alone" by Tom Schreiner  
WCF Chapter 16 - Of Good Works  
Council of Trent (Session VI, Canon XXIV on Justification)  
  
**Scripture:**  
Hebrews 1-12  
Romans 5:1-5; 8:28-30  
Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13  
  
https://youtu.be/QvdOXbBlnv4

---

### What If I Don't Feel Saved?

*Published: October 23, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-if-i-dont-feel-saved*
*Tags: Assurance, Gospel, salvation, soteriology*

In this episode, Jon and Justin answer the question, "What do I do if I don't feel saved?" This is a struggle for so many of us. God tells us in his Word that we're his children, but we often feel like his enemy. What do we do with that?  
  
Member Podcast Description: Jon and Justin consider how Calvinistic evangelicalism hasn't helped with assurance but, rather, has doubled down on pietism.  
  
**Resources:**  
1689 London Baptist Confession, 18.2  
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 60  
["Faith vs Faithfulness: A Primer on Rest"](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/primer)  
["The Whole Christ" by Sinclair Ferguson](https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Christ-Antinomianism-Assurance-Why-Controversy-ebook/dp/B01AIM65CQ/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1503625151&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Whole+Christ+%28Sinclair+Ferguson%29&linkCode=sl1&tag=theocast-20&linkId=4ac2c33b1a0f3996d7e79e8b738f7fa3)  
  
**Scripture:**  
Hebrews 7:25, 12:1-2  
Romans 5:6-10; 7:15-25; 8:1, 31-39  
John 10, 14, 15  
  
https://youtu.be/83g5-DhK5ks

---

### Limited Atonement (Calvinism Series)

*Published: October 16, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/limited-atonement-calvinism-series*
*Tags: Calvinism, John 6, John Calvin, Limited Atonement, Romans 8, Theology of the Cross, Tulip*

### In this third episode on the doctrines of grace, we discuss limited atonement. What did Jesus accomplish at the cross? What did he intend to accomplish? Can Jesus fail in anything he intends to do? We speak to some common objections and then consider how a particular view of the atonement leads to assurance.

### Member Podcast Description: In this episode, we talk more about limited/particular atonement and assurance. We also launch into some spirited discussion about biblicism and expositional preaching.

### **Resources:**  
["Reformed Dogmatics" by Herman Bavinck](http://amzn.to/2f8UHQb)  
["The Death of Death in the Death of Christ" by John Owen](https://amzn.to/2BbvnRn)  
["For Calvinism" by Michael Horton](https://amzn.to/2mZmln2)  
["The Five Points of Calvinism: A Study Guide" by Edwin Palmer](https://amzn.to/2pjB0dw)  
["Chosen by God" by R. C. Sproul](https://amzn.to/2nD6haY)  
["The Plan of Salvation" by B. B. Warfield](http://amzn.to/2uZDf4i) 

### **Scripture:**  
Matthew 1:21  
John 6:37-40; 10:11-16; 17:1-9  
Acts 20:28  
Romans 8:30-35  
Ephesians 1:3-14  
Hebrews 10:11-14  
Revelation 5:9

---

### Dazed and Confused: John 15 and Bearing Fruit

*Published: September 25, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/dazed-and-confused-john-15-and-bearing-fruit*
*Tags: Fruit of the Spirit, John 15, Legalism, Pietism, progressive sanctification, Sanctification*

In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about a passage of Scripture that is often misunderstood and misapplied: John 15\. Jesus tells us if we abide in him, we will produce much fruit. What does it mean to abide in Jesus? What does Jesus mean by fruit?  
  
Member Podcast Description: In this episode, Jon and Justin talk about issues related to John 15 and how it so often misapplied in pietistic contexts. We touch on Lordship Salvation, total depravity, and sanctification.  
  
https://youtu.be/RBwgYzUCDF0

---

### Obedience Is Not a Dirty Word

*Published: September 18, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/obedience-is-not-a-dirty-word*
*Tags: Obedience, Pietism, Sanctification*

In this episode, we talk about how obedience is a good thing--but that sadly, many have had the experience of being scolded toward it. We discuss how assurance and peace with God in Christ actually motivates us to pursue obedience.  
  
**Member Podcast**: In this episode, we answer the question, "Can we disappoint God in our disobedience?" We also have a spirited discussion about quiet times and the necessity of the church.  
  
https://youtu.be/vEuUHs16ql4

---

### What is Theocast?

*Published: September 17, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/what-is-theocast*

Want to know what Theocast is all about? Here’s a description of Theocast in the words of its hosts. We walk potential listeners through our purpose, our distinctions, our theological focus, and why you might consider tuning in. We hope you find this episode helpful.  
  
https://youtu.be/ct6sWYGoCqM

---

### Footnoting Grace

*Published: September 11, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/footnoting-grace*
*Tags: grace, Pietism*

Maybe you've noticed that the grace of God in Christ is so often qualified? As soon as the gospel is heralded, immediately comes the "Yeah, but..." In this episode, we talk about the tendency to footnote grace and hedge on sola fide. Where does this come from, and why does it happen?  
  
**Member Podcast Description**: In this episode, we talk about how Lordship Salvation footnotes grace--and the confusion that exists with that kind of thinking. We also touch on the work of the Holy Spirit through the ordinary means in the life of the believer.  
  
**Resources:**  
[The Whole Christ - Sinclair Ferguson](https://amzn.to/2N7gwiT)  
[Marrow of Modern Divinity - Edward Fisher](https://amzn.to/2A3LL5Q)  
  
https://youtu.be/5iTbvHXUnAw

---

### The Dark Side of Christianity

*Published: August 28, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-dark-side-of-christianity*
*Tags: Depravity, Obedience, Pietism, Piety &amp; Pietism, Sin*

In this episode, we discuss the darkness that resides in all of us. Should we be surprised when Christians sin--and sin heinously? What do we mean by total depravity? What do we do when we come face to face with the wickedness of our hearts?

FREE MEMBERS PODCAST: We wanted to give this episode away free for everyone to see what our Members Podcast is like. You can find it at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/memberspodcast or on our podcast feed.

Members Podcast topic: We talk about how it is possible to create a culture in the church where people are not shocked when others sin. We talk personally about the darkness of sin and give examples of what wouldn't surprise us. 

https://youtu.be/28QkPzUxF0E

---

### The Dark Side of Christianity (Part 2)

*Published: August 28, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/the-dark-side-of-christianity-part-2*
*Tags: Depravity, Obedience, Pietism, Piety &amp; Pietism, Sin*

FREE MEMBERS PODCAST: We wanted to give this episode away free for everyone to see what our Members Podcast is like. You can find it at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/memberspodcast or on our podcast feed.  
  
Members Podcast topic: We talk about how it is possible to create a culture in the church where people are not shocked when others sin. We talk personally about the darkness of sin and give examples of what wouldn't surprise us.  
  
https://youtu.be/8gKDcLFCQ9A

---

### Special Interview with NEW Host: Jimmy Buehler

*Published: July 31, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/special-interview-with-new-host-jimmy-buehler*

On this episode, Jon interviews a new team member that will be joining Theocast, Jimmy Buehler. Jimmy is currently the pastor of Christ Community Church, a church plant in Willmar, MN. To learn more about Jimmy please visit: wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/jmmybuehler  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqTqHvPO6PA&t=4s

---

### Special Interview with NEW Theocast Host: Justin Perdue

*Published: July 17, 2019 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/special-interview-with-new-theocast-host-justin-perdue*

On this episode, Jon Moffitt interviews a new host that will be joining the Theocast team, Justin Perdue. Justin is the Senior Pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in Asheville, NC ([covbap.org](http://covbap.org)). To learn more about Justin Perdue, visit: [wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com/justinperdue](https://theocastorg.wpengine.com/justinperdue)

---

### Spiritual Weariness

*Published: September 5, 2018 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/theocast/spiritual-weariness*
*Tags: Legalism, Pietism, spiritual weariness*

In this episode, we discuss the reality of weariness. It's common. We consider how the church is supposed to be a haven for sinners, but sadly, the church has often only piled it on the weary Christian.

**Member Podcast**: In this episode, we talk to pastors who are seeking to lead their churches in a confessional direction. We also talk to congregants who find themselves in a pietistic context.

**Resources:**  
Ordinary - Michael Horton  
Spurgeon's Sorrows: Realistic Hope for those who suffer from depression - [Zack Eswine](https://www.amazon.com/Zack-Eswine/e/B001JS8HVG/ref=dp%5Fbyline%5Fcont%5Febooks%5F1)  
Pilgrim's Guide to Rest - Theocast  
Faith vs Faithfulness: Primer on Rest - Theocast

https://youtu.be/nnwvkb4BYm4

---

### Feeling guilty for not reading your Bible?

*Published: March 8, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/feeling-guilty-for-not-reading-your-bible*
*Tags: Spiritual Gifts*

Struggle to read your bible? Ever wonder, "Should I feel guilty if I do not want to read my bible?" This question is rooted in the belief that a test of true faith is one's desire to read one's bible daily. Jon helps explain how this is not biblical and why many people struggle with their assurance of salvation. Ask Theocast is hosted by Jon Moffitt, pastor of Grace Reformed church (gracereformed.org)

https://youtu.be/menV6Z-cH1Y

**Transcription:**

---

### Can I be condemned for not using my gifts?

*Published: February 8, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/can-i-be-condemned-for-not-using-my-gifts*
*Tags: Spiritual Gifts*

Can I be condemned for not using my gifts? Answered by Patrick Crandall  
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBOvSRPBojc  
  
**Transcription:**  
  
Hey guys, Patrick here, and today on ask Theocast, I'm going to be answering the question from Dave that came to us about whether or not how we use our gifts affects our condemnation or approval before God. This question came up out of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, where we read that the master's going on a journey, and before he goes, he entrusts three of his servants with some money to steward while he's gone. When he comes back, the first two servants come to him, and they've done business with that money while he's gone, and they've turned a profit. They've doubled that money and they're commended for it, but when the third servant comes, we find out that he had simply buried his talent and brought it back. He's condemned by the master who calls him wicked and lazy, and then has him cast out into the outer darkness. So, the question is, does this mean that our standing before God is maintained by how well and faithfully we use our gifts?  
  
I think a passage that answers this for us is First Corinthians three. There, Paul, in verse 11, says that there's one foundation that's been laid and that foundation is Jesus Christ, and on that foundation, we can build lots of things. There are some things that we can build on it that are valuable and permanent. Then there's these other things that are temporary and pretty much worthless. Whatever we build on their ultimately gets exposed at the last day, and it is tested by fire. Some of it lasts and passes through that fire and the rest of its burned up. The key thing is the last verse there, verse 15, where Paul says that even if it's all burned up, as long as the foundation is Jesus Christ, that man is still saved.  
  
So, if our standing before God is in any way contingent on our faithfulness with our gifts or anything, our faithful obedience in any way, we're doomed. We will never be faithful enough. The only standard that scripture gives us for faithfulness is perfect faithfulness. We will never use our gifts that well and that perfectly. So if we need to do that to be all right with God, we're damned; but, that is not the case. Our approval before God is one fully, only, and completely by the finished work of Jesus. We cannot add to it, and we cannot diminish its sufficiency by anything that we do, any faithfulness or lack thereof.  
  
That being said, what does the parable actually mean? The key to understanding the parable of the talents is to not get obsessed with the talents and not to get obsessed with the work that the servants did, but to look underneath that, to the motives. We're not given a clear picture of the first two servants' motives, so I think we can apply those from the third servant's motive because he talks about why he buried and hid his talent. He goes to the character of the master and he says, I know you are a hard man, that you reap where you do not sow. His description of the master is of somebody who is harsh and who takes what isn’t his. His perception of the master is one that provokes fear.  
  
Does this sound like our God, who gave up his own Son to redeem us from sin and death? It doesn't. That's the key thing here. The problem for the last servant wasn't specifically what he did with his talents, it's the fact that he didn't know God. He did not know a redeeming God who graciously saves a people for himself. His perception of God was all law, and because of that, he was terrified. He was paralyzed. He couldn't move forward in any productive way, because he was so terrified of doing it the wrong way that he couldn't take any steps forward.  
  
By contrast, you see the other two servants who don't seem to share the same opinion of the master. We aren’t told explicitly how they see it, but they are not afraid to go out and to do business with their talents because I think they understand who the master actually is, that he is gracious. He's a good, gracious God whose riches are not limited, who doesn't have to take what isn’t his, because he owns everything. Because of that, they are free to go and to use the talents, to steward what has been given to them without fear. They live the way that they live because of the way they see the master. They actually know him. The servant who's cast into outer darkness, he's cast into outer darkness, not because of what he did with the talents, but because he didn't actually belong to the master. His view of the master is what kind of gives us the lens into that.  
  
I hope that's helpful. Take care, guys!

---

### Can someone have assurance when they struggle with sexual sin?

*Published: February 1, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/can-someone-have-assurance-when-they-struggle-with-sexual-sin*
*Tags: Assurance, Sexual Sins*

### Can someone have assurance when they struggle with sexual sin? Answered by Jimmy Buehler

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Jimmy. On today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to seek to answer the question, "Can someone have assurance when they struggle with sexual sin?" It's a really good question, and I want to try to handle it with sensitivity and with grace; but, I do want to rephrase the question and then we'll work our way back to the original. I'd like to rephrase the question to ask, "Can a genuine Christian struggle with sexual sin?” I would say to that, well, yes.  
  
Paul says to us in the book of Romans, chapter seven, beginning in verse 15, "For I do not understand my own actions. I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate." If you're familiar with Romans chapter seven, it's Paul's inner dialogue, you could say, of his own battle with the flesh and his own battle with sin. Let's just be honest. Particularly for guys, although I don't think that this sin is outside of the world of women, but speaking particularly to guys, this is a real struggle. Pornography and images and things that we should not be looking at on the internet are so readily available to us, and it's a thing that a lot of guys just frankly get really entangled in. I know even from personal experience that it can be a really difficult struggle. I also want to be sensitive to say that we need to be careful in how we talk about sin.  
  
A lot of times, we just want to think of sin as something that we do, our outward actions, but time and again, particularly in Romans two as well as in the sermon on the mount in Matthew five through seven, Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles talk about sin being kind of a power within us, that God's law is weighty and God's law is not cheap. It presses in, not only into our actions, but God's law actually presses into the level of our hearts. This is why Jesus says, "You have heard it said that you shall not commit adultery," but Jesus says, "but I say to you, whoever looks upon a woman with lustful intent has committed adultery in their heart."  
  
This is where I want to begin to go back to the original question of, "Can someone have assurance when they struggle with sexual sin?" Well, think of it like this, can someone have assurance when they struggle with any sin? You know, we like to pick on sexual sin and we like to pick on alcoholism or whatever, some sort of addiction, whatever it may be, but we often neglect some of the more grievous sins that God talks about, one of which is pride. So, can a genuine Christian who struggles with pride have assurance? I would say yes. Therefore, can a genuine Christian who struggles with sexual sin have assurance? I would say yes. Why do I say this? Well, in Roman seven, if you read through and you see Paul's struggle with his own flesh, you get to the end of Romans seven in verse 24 and he says this, "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?" In verse 25 he says, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh, I serve the law of sin." Now, this is the verse I want to look at, Romans eight one, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  
  
I think that's really good gospel news, that even in this life, as we struggle with sin, and that can include sexual sin, we struggle knowing that the victory lies outside of ourselves. The victory lies in Jesus Christ. Now with that said, I want to be careful, because that doesn't mean that we can go on sexually sinning in a high handed way. Certainly there are a lot of resources and there are a lot of ways and means by which we can receive help. Particularly, with a sensitive issue like that, I would encourage somebody who's struggling with sexual sin to go to somebody who is licensed and credentialed to perhaps get some help and think through that addiction in some really helpful and biblical ways, but I would say our assurance never lies in our ability to defeat sin. Our assurance always lies in Christ's ability to defeat sin, which happened in his life, death, burial, and resurrection.  
  
I know that this is a really hot button issue and that a lot of people struggle with this and it can bring a lot of shame, but ultimately, when we fight sexual sin or when we fight any other sin, we fight it with this status forward mindset that by grace, through faith in Christ, we receive forgiveness and we receive the Spirit, who helps us and enables us to fight sin. The enemy is going to work really, really hard to get you to struggle on the day in, day out, but we fight with our eyes looking to Christ. So, hopefully this answer is helpful to you. I know it's not going to be a night and day difference, but we pray that, through the hope of the gospel, sin could be rooted out, especially a sin that brings as much shame and guilt as sexual sin. You can find more resources like these at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. Thanks for listening.

---

### Why Does God Not Care About Me?

*Published: January 25, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/why-does-god-not-care-about-me*
*Tags: pain, suffering*

### Why Does God Not Care About Me? Answered by Jon Moffitt

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, I'm Jon and I'm going to be answering the question, "why does God not care about me?" I know many would think that's a weird question, but it's a legitimate question these days.  
  
People wonder, if God has the power to remove cancer, to save somebody, to prevent them from harm, to feed them, to provide a home for them, to provide a job, and yet he doesn't, God has all power and yet he doesn't do it, why is that a God that I would think is concerned about me or cares about me? There are all of these promises in scripture that God can and will provide and yet he doesn't. I know there are people who struggle, who won't publicly say it out loud, but would say that they don't like God. They hate God. A God who can provide and protect and heal and doesn't seems like a tyrant. Why would he do that, and why would he put requirements on people where if they perform well, then God will give them something? They have to earn it first. They have to earn that which he could freely give. There's nothing preventing God from healing this world. There's nothing preventing God from removing all pain and sorrow, and yet he doesn't. That's a struggle. We all feel that tension.  
  
I know there are many who don't like God. They play the game. They go to church. They sing the songs, but deep down inside, they're angry. They're upset. They don't feel loving compassion coming from their Father. This is because you have been lied to. This is because you've been told something about the Bible that is just not true. God never promised that he would remove death, and sin, and sickness, and suffering, and crime now. This Earth is cursed. It's been cursed since Genesis three. It's been underneath this groaning and painful sorrow, and people have been suffering because of sin, not God’s absence, and just as much as you hate crime, and cancer, and death, so does God. The result of everything that we suffer in this world is the result of sin.  
  
What God has promised and has been faithful to is his promise to rescue us from the very cause of all of this pain and suffering, which is our sin, and to rescue us from this world to go live in the new world, the redeemed world, the restored world, where there is no pain, there is no suffering, there is no crying, and there is no fear and anxiety. There's only joy. There's only love. There's only beauty, and glory, and worship.  
  
The confusion and the reason why most people hate God, if they're willing to admit it, is that they assumed that God promised that if they did the right things and said the right things, then God would help them. We live in a cursed world, full of sin. Nothing in this world will be restored until Christ comes back. The hope that God has given to us as his adopted children is the gospel and his community, his church. The church is supposed to carry each other, to bear each other's burdens, until we finally go home and God restores all things.  
  
The greatest joy and hope we can have now is to look to the love of Christ and his promises, that he will save us, that he will redeem us, and then we take that love and we love each other, and we encourage each other, and we strengthen each other while we await our homecoming.  
  
Most people are frustrated with life because somehow they're missing out and it's God's fault. Somehow they could have more, but God's preventing it. Sin is what's robbing us. Sin, the sin stricken world, our bodies, and the infection of sin is going to destroy us to the point that we will die, and when we rise again in our resurrection, we'll have new bodies in a new home with our King. That's where our hope is. So while we wait, we offer people love and we offer to carry their burdens until Christ returns. That is the promise of scripture, and if anyone ever tells you that it's God's design or desire to abolish anything in this world, until he comes back, that’s just not what God has ever promised.  
  
Look to Christ, wait for his return. That is his promise. I hope that encourages you.

---

### How Often Should I Question My Salvation?

*Published: January 18, 2021 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/how-often-should-i-question-my-salvation*
*Tags: Assurance, salvation*

### How Often Should I Question My Salvation? Answered by Justin Perdue

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Justin. Today on ask Theocast, I am answering the question, "How often should I question my salvation?"  
  
Before I get into pointedly answering that question, I want to qualify what I'm about to say. When I talk about a local church context here in just a second, I am assuming a local church in which the word of God is rightly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered. I am assuming that this church is led by faithful pastors and that there is a loving environment that characterizes the community of that local church.  
  
So the question itself is, "How often should I question my salvation?" Biblically, the answer is that you should question your salvation whenever you are facing church discipline. That's it. I think that's a surprising answer for many people. Many people were expecting an answer that's much more individualized, perhaps, or much more subjective. But the New Testament is clear that there is an instrument that has been given to the church to deal with questions of whether or not people are in the faith. It is the mechanism, the tool, of church discipline.  
  
If you were to find yourself in a church context where the word is preached, Christ is heralded, and the sacraments are rightly administered, and it's a loving community led by faithful pastors, and your church, your pastors, and your congregation are coming to you patiently, graciously over an extended period of time, calling you to repent of ongoing, hard-hearted, high-handed, unrepentant sin- then that is the appropriate time for you to question your salvation and to question everything about your Christian life.  
  
The purpose of church discipline, we see, even in First Corinthians 5, is that people would be put out of the fellowship and kept from the Lord's table so that they might be shaken awake, so that they might be brought back into the fold and restored. It is a tool that the Lord has given the church for that purpose. So if you do find yourself in that situation where you are potentially going to be kept from the table and put out of the fellowship, that, in the providence of God, is the time for you to question whether or not you are saved, whether or not you have been united to Christ.  
  
Outside of that, brothers and sisters, we look to Christ always as the ground of our peace and assurance before the Lord. We fight against our sin in the context of a community of believers and we live the Christian life like we always talk about, status forward. We are justified and now we live in Christ. We are united to Jesus and now we live in him, and pursue good works, and we seek to love our brothers and sisters.  
  
So, please do not be burdening yourself with the slavery of hyper introspection. You're not a good evaluator of yourself at all, in terms of how you're doing. You need your brothers and sisters. You need your pastors in your congregation to help you do that, and the scriptures have outlined for us how we are to go about doing that by using church discipline faithfully in a gospel preaching church.  
  
I hope this answer is helpful. I trust it may be paradigm shifting for many, and I hope that's a good thing. The only time you ought to sincerely question your salvation is when you're facing the discipline of the church in which you are a member.  
  
God bless you. Keep trusting Christ.

---

### Does Hebrew 10:26 teach that we can and should reach a certain level of perfection?

*Published: December 14, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/does-hebrew-10-26-teach-that-we-can-and-should-reach-a-certain-level-of-perfection*
*Tags: Hebrews 10:26, Holiness, Perfectionism*

### Does Hebrew 10:26 teach that we can and should reach a certain level of perfection? Answered by Jimmy Buehler

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Jimmy. On today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to be seeking to answer a question from one of our listeners, Zach, who asks about Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26, which says this: "If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." In light of that verse, Zach asked the question, "Does this verse teach that we need to reach some sort of perfection in this life in regards to our sanctification?"  
  
Well, I want to give you a short answer and then a long explanation. The short answer is no, that is not what this verse is teaching. It is not teaching that we reach some sort of sinlessness or sinless perfection in this life.  
  
The word I want to focus on in that passage, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26, is that word "deliberately". Something that you see both in the old and new testaments, particularly in how God talks to those who are in sin, is that God kind of has a category for those who are caught in sin and yet come to him in repentance and faith, but also has a category for those who are caught in sin, know they are sinning, and yet have this deliberate, or as I like to say and as we see it elsewhere in scripture, a high-handed approach to sin. We see this in the book of First Corinthians with the gentlemen, I believe it's in chapter five, who is knowingly committing sexual sin and is celebrating it and inviting others to celebrate it, and Paul invites that church to put him on some sort of church discipline. This is what we would call a deliberate sin, a high-handed sin: somebody who looks at the law of God, the commands of God, and says, "I don't need them. Even though they may be true, they're not for me, and I'm going to choose a sinful lifestyle."  
  
Verses like this can be really terrifying, particularly to those who have a sensitive conscience or perhaps have been burned in the past through legalism or even pietism. They can read a passage like this and they can think of all of the ways, just in one day, that they have failed to love God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength and failed to love their neighbor as themselves because they feel like, well, I'm sinning deliberately at times, and certainly even I, myself, there are times that I'm sinning deliberately, but really what it comes down to is what Paul talks about in Romans chapter seven, that in our flesh, in our human nature, we are going to struggle with sin for the remainder of our lives. We are going to feel its presence in our everyday lives until Christ returns or until we die.  
  
So, Romans seven kind of talks about this idea. Paul says he does the things that he doesn't want to do, and the things that he doesn't want to do, he keeps on doing, and so on and so forth, and that's just kind of the everyday reality within the life of the Christian, but this, what we see in Hebrews chapter 10, is a completely different mindset. This isn't the Christian who is struggling with sin, and yet, goes to the Lord in confession, running to Christ, who in Matthew chapter 11 invites us to come to him, for he is gentle and lowly in heart, but rather, what we see, this mindset in Hebrews chapter 10, is the person who says, "I just don't care. Even though Christ may be real, even though the law might be right and just, I want to choose this sinful lifestyle. I want to choose this sinful pattern of thinking or behavior or whatever it may be."  
  
It's in this case that the Bible, the New Testament, really does give us some stern warnings, which the writer of Hebrews does throughout this book. He warns his Jewish listeners not to be hard-hearted. He warns them not to go on sinning deliberately, but rather, to run to Christ in faith, and so, if you're listening to this and you would consider yourself to be of that sensitive conscience disposition, let me just say this, that when you sin and you struggle with that and you feel those senses of shame and guilt, it's in those moments that Christ's heart actually is drawn out to you, because in that moment, what you're experiencing is being crushed by the law of God, crushed by his holiness and his perfection, and it's in that moment that the pump is primed for the gospel to come in and tell you that you're not enough, that you are sinful, that you do struggle, and insert your own adjective there, but Christ is enough and it is by sheer grace through faith on account of Christ that he credits his perfect righteousness to us.  
  
Hopefully you found this answer helpful. You can find more resources like this at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. Thanks for listening.

---

### How do you interpret the narrow gate, narrow way?

*Published: December 7, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/how-do-you-interpret-the-narrow-gate-narrow-way*
*Tags: Narrow Gate, Narrow Way, Pietism, Sayings of Jesus*

### How do you interpret the narrow gate, narrow way? Answered by Patrick Crandall

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hey guys, Patrick here, and today on ask Theocast, I'm going to be answering Jamie's question about the narrow way and the narrow gate. Jesus uses this imagery towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew seven to describe what is necessary to enter into life.  
  
If you're like me, the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear "the narrow way" is staying on the straight and narrow. I think of my own ability to keep the rules and my own ability to perform. That's where I instantly gravitate towards. This actually gets us moving in the right direction toward understanding this passage rightly because if we look at scripture and what's necessary to enter into life, it always has been and always will be righteousness.  
  
We can see this beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve moving on through the mosaic covenant. What's always been required for life is in fact righteousness. Now, the question then becomes how much righteousness? How narrow is this narrow way? How small is this gate that we have to enter into? This is where things start to shift, because Jesus, earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us a pretty clear standard. In Matthew five, he says that you must be perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect. That's a really narrow way, right? This isn't just "be pretty good." This isn't just "be better than your neighbor." This isn't just "be better than you were yesterday." We have to be perfect, and we know clearly from scripture and we should know from our own personal experience that perfection is something we will always fall short of. So what does that mean for us?  
  
Well, we've got to remember that Jesus, the one who used this imagery, also called himself "the way." That’s because this way was so narrow that there's only one who's ever walked it, and that's Jesus himself. He's the only one who had a perfect righteousness. He was the only one who was perfect as his Father is perfect. So there's one source of this righteousness.  
  
This call for us to walk the narrow way and to know that the narrow way is the only way into life is not a call for us to look to ourselves and to our own righteousness, and to try harder, and to be better, and to look to what we're doing for assurance that we are on the narrow way, rather, it's the opposite. It's a call to look outside of ourselves, to realize that we can never look to our own performance and our own righteousness as sufficient evidence that we are on the straight and narrow. The only way we can know that we are on that narrow way and that we will make it through that narrow gate is when we are in union with Christ, when we have Christ's righteousness as our own by grace through faith, clothed in that in union with him, that is how we walk the narrow way and enter into the narrow gate.  
  
It is nothing that we do. It is by faith and trust in Christ alone and looking to him outside of ourselves for righteousness that we do nothing to produce. It's all in Christ. So that is a reformed, covenantal way of understanding this narrow way, this narrow gate. It is meant to drive us outside of ourselves, to look away from our own performance and our own obedience, and to look to the perfect righteousness of Christ that is made ours by grace, through faith. I hope that's helpful to you guys and I hope you have a great week.

---

### Does God Leave His People?

*Published: November 30, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/does-god-leave-his-people*
*Tags: Assurance, God's Wrath, Mosaic Covenant, OT, Repentance*

### Does God Leave His People? Answered by Jon Moffitt

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Jon. Today on ask Theocast, I'm answering Connor's question. He asks, "How do we reconcile passages that speak of God leaving his people with the assurance of the gospel?" In his question, he references multiple passages in the Old Testament where the children of Israel disobeyed God and then God punishes them, abandons them, or even at times, kills them, and he mentioned how sometimes when we sin, we may wonder, is God going to abandon and leave us, and how does this relate to the gospel?  
  
I think it's really important to understand what's called covenant theology here. Understanding how God interacts with people in the Old Testament is very important. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were in a covenant with God where if they obeyed the covenant, the mosaic covenant, they would receive blessings and protections, but if they disobeyed the covenant, then God would discipline them in various forms, turning them over to their own enemies, even at times he left them out in the wilderness to die, a whole entire generation, but that was not related to their salvation. Salvation is always in Christ and it is always by faith. We are told that the gospel was preached to Abraham and he believed. They were justified by faith, but in relationship to the land promises, in relationship to God's presence and protection and blessing as related to the old covenant, then yes, they could violate that covenant and they would incur upon themselves that discipline that comes from God.  
  
The promise of the new covenant is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, meaning that those who have faith in Christ to be his, to be our representative, to be our replacement, we will never receive punishment for our sins. This is why we can confess our sins and he is always going to forgive us of our sins and we will never be condemned for our sins. This is First John one, nine, and also, Paul says this in Romans five, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  
  
In the mosaic covenant, the punishment for their sin is not in relationship to their standing before God, as far as their salvation, but in the blessings of the old covenant and the protections of the old covenant. It's very helpful to understand this relationship. I encourage you to listen to our series that we did on covenant theology. You can find it on our website where we go through and explain how it is that God interacts with humanity and how the plan of redemption unfolds through covenants. On the side of the gospel, I think it is very important to understand that when you sin, all sin, whether past, present, or future, all sin is covered by the blood of Christ. There isn't some sin that is covered. It’s not that only past sins are covered. Christ's blood covers all of the Old Testament saints' sins and it covers all of those going forward. Those of us who weren't even born at the point, all of that sin is covered by the blood of Christ. It is sufficient, and on the cross, he says that it's finished.  
  
We have to rest in the fact that even though we have ongoing sin - as Paul said in Romans seven, the things I don't want to do, I keep doing them - we rely on the gospel, the good news, that Christ's blood covers all of our sins and that we have been cleansed by faith alone. There's no works that are required, and as we continue to struggle against the flesh and at times may give in to the flesh, we confess those sins and receive ongoing forgiveness (First John 1:9).  
  
The sacrificial system, by the way, was pointing to this final sacrifice. In the old covenant, they needed to daily, weekly, even yearly go to receive atonement for their sins. That pointed to the final sacrifice - the old covenant pointing us to the new covenant - which is Christ as the final sacrifice. As John says, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"  
  
So find your rest and hope there. God is not going to abandon you. God is not going to kill you. God is not going to forsake you. He has made a provision for this ongoing struggle with sin. It is prayer and confession. Christ's blood covers it all. I hope you find rest.

---

### What Is Biblical Repentance (Part 2)?

*Published: November 23, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-biblical-repentance-part-2*
*Tags: Biblical Repentance, Reformed Theology, Repentance*

### What Is Biblical Repentance (Part 2)? Answered by Justin Perdue

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Justin. Today on ask Theocast, I am doing a follow-up to another ask Theocast that I recently recorded. That question in the previous episode was "what is biblical repentance?" and in the aftermath of that we had some really good follow-up questions submitted by several different people that I want to try to address today.  
  
First, let me briefly recap what I said last time in the previous question on "what is biblical repentance?" We considered how the word used for repentance in the New Testament, metanoia, literally means a change of mind. We thought about how repentance is a change of mind about several things, including a change of mind about God, who he is, and what he requires of us. It’s a change of mind about ourselves as we have come to agree with God in what he has said about us and what he has said about our sin and about how wrong our sin is. We have also experienced a change of mind about Christ and about the way of salvation, realizing that we are not okay and we could never save ourselves but we must look to Jesus and Jesus alone for our salvation. We also considered how repentance is something that God produces in and through us. God in his love and grace repents us. It's not something that we decisively do or produce.  
  
So some of the follow-up questions that we have received in the aftermath of that previous ask Theocast - there were a number of people who were encouraged by it and we praise God for that - but some of the follow-up questions include this: "Why then, if repentance is something that God does to us, if he does it through us, why are we then commanded to repent in scripture?" In addition, "How do we reconcile the definition of repentance that you gave with the way that repentance is often talked about, being a turning from sin to God?" Then finally, "What do we make of your definition of repentance, Justin, and the charges of antinomianism that are often levied against people who talk the way that you do?" I'm going to try to take those one at a time and speak briefly to each one, and hopefully this won't be a 10 minute ask Theocast. We'll see.  
  
So first, what do we make of the fact that we are commanded to repent in scripture? Well, we shouldn't be thrown off by this. There are a number of things that we are commanded or exhorted to do in the Bible that we in and of ourselves cannot do. For example, the entirety of salvation is a gift from God. The scripture is clear about that. Think about Ephesians 2:8-10\. In addition, we are exhorted in a number of places in scripture to believe in Jesus or to believe the gospel. Well, we would believe, according to our reformed, biblical definition of sin, that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, that we naturally are incapable, unable, and unwilling to believe or to have faith in Christ. It's something that God must do, that God must grant to us and be the one to produce in us. So, just like we're commanded to believe and can't do that, and God must do that in and through us, the same is true of repentance. We're commanded to repent, and God must be the one, by his Spirit, by his grace, he must produce that in us and must grant us repentance, to use the language of Acts chapter 11\. So don't let that throw you off. We are commanded to do a bunch of things that we can't do by ourselves, but God in his grace does those things in and through us. He grants those things to us.  
  
Secondly, how do we reconcile the definition of repentance that I offered last time with the way that repentance is often talked about in terms of being a turning from sin or a turning even from sin to God? Again, I don't think this is problematic in any way. As we experience that change of mind that we considered, the change of mind about God and about us and our sin and how wrong our sin is, as we experienced the change of mind about Christ in the way of salvation, that change of mind is certainly going to represent a change in thinking, obviously, and also a change in course and posture, and so we will be living a life of continual, ongoing repentance, where we are regularly turning from our sin, turning from our own natural ways of thinking and acting and living, and turning to God in faith. We're turning to Christ in faith, more particularly, and we are turning from our old ways and the ways of our flesh. We are turning to the ways of God as he outlines them in scripture, which brings us to the final piece, where a lot of times people that speak the way that I did in the previous episode of ask Theocast and define repentance the way that I did, we are charged with being antinomian.  
  
The thinking here is, well, brother, if you tell people that repentance is something that God does to them, that God does through them, then people are not going to have enough skin in the game. There's not going to be enough pressure on them to think seriously about their lives and about repentance and the like, and they will just kind of do whatever they want, and that's an old objection. Frankly, it's a worn-out objection, but in thinking about this, there's a couple of things that we can say. Having been born again by the Spirit of God, we now delight in the law of God in our inner man, and so Christians, because of God's Spirit dwelling in us, we want now to obey God. We have become obedient from the heart, to use the language of Romans 6:17\. So when we sin, we're going to be grieved by that. When our flesh is raging and waging war against our spirit and we end up doing things that we don't want to do, Galatians 5:17, we're bothered by that, and we are continually turning to God. We are praying to God, "God, I am sorry for my sin. I don't want to sin. Please give me grace that I might not sin. Give me grace that I might live unto you." This is what Christians do in an ongoing way, and we turn to God in faith, casting ourselves upon the mercy of God in Christ. So Christians, because of the presence of God's Spirit and because of the grace of God at work in us, will be living a life of continual, ongoing repentance, as I've already said, and so the charge of lawlessness demonstrates a misunderstanding of the gospel, a short-selling of the work of God in the life of the Christian, and it assumes wrong motivations in the Christian life. It assumes that we must be motivated, in some sense, by fear or dread or merit or something, rather than understanding that we are motivated by ultimately something supernatural, the presence of God in us, but we're also motivated at a human level by love, and gratitude, and joy, and peace because of what God has done for us.  
  
I think that this definition of repentance that we have offered here at Theocast a number of times is entirely in step with scripture. We should not be thrown off by the fact that we're commanded to repent. We're commanded to do a lot of things that God must do in and through us. Repentance is no different, and Christians, far from living a life of lawlessness, we will be living a life of continual ongoing repentance, where we're regularly turning from our sin to God, from our own ways to Christ, and we are crying out to the Lord for his mercy and grace and for his Spirit to work in us, that we might live lives that please and honor him. This is what the redeemed do. It is far from a lawless or apathetic life, but again, this is not something that you are going to produce in and of yourself. You're not going to white knuckle this thing. God is going to work in and through you.  
  
Continue to trust Christ. Continue to cast yourself upon the mercy of God in Christ. Continue to pray for God's grace, that you might love him, that you might love your neighbor, and that you might not sin. This is the ongoing, repentant life of the Christian. I hope some of this is helpful to you. I apologize for the length of this. I look forward to speaking with you again soon.

---

### What's the Bible's take immediate deliverance from a particular struggle with sin?

*Published: November 16, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/whats-the-bibles-take-immediate-deliverance-from-a-particular-struggle-with-sin*
*Tags: ongoing sin struggle, Sin, Struggle with sin*

### What's the Bible's take immediate deliverance from a particular struggle with sin? Answered by Patrick Crandall

### 

What's the Bible's take immediate deliverance from a particular struggle with sin?**Transcription:**  
  
Hi everyone, this is Patrick, and today on ask Theocast, we're going to be talking about silver bullet victory over sin. You guys have probably heard the stories of somebody who prays a certain way, reads something, fasts, and suddenly, almost magically, experiences victory over sin or a struggle that they've been entrenched in for a long time. Bryan wants to know, how should we think biblically about such things?  
  
The first thing we want to say is that we need to acknowledge that God is completely sovereign over sin, over our hearts, and ultimately over our sanctification, and he is not limited in any way as to how he works in that. So these things working in that way are not beyond him at all. In fact, one day, when we are glorified, when we are present with the Lord, he is going to perfect us and do away with everything in us that's corrupted by sin in any way. So that is all going to be an ultimate reality in every aspect of our lives one day, but that said, we need to acknowledge the fact that this is not the norm of the Christian's life here.  
  
In fact, the norm of the Christian's life here is struggle. I think there's a few passages of scripture we can go to. We can't go to all of them today, but just a few to give us kind of a sampling. One would be Jesus talking to his disciples before he goes to the cross and he tells them, "In this world, you're going to have trouble." They don't need to fear because he has overcome the world, but they're going to have trouble here. I also think of First John one, eight, where John says that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So, John doesn't even see any kind of sinlessness as comporting with the truth at all, and I think perhaps most helpfully would be Paul's experience that we read about in Romans seven, where we read about this incredible struggle that Paul goes through, where he looks at his life and he sees himself doing things that he doesn't want to do and not doing things that he wants to do. Ultimately, when he sees that struggle and he feels that tension, he declares, "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of sin and death?" So when we look at these passages and we can look at many others, it seems that the norm of the Christian life is not this kind of floating above the struggle of life and seeing instantaneous victory and everything, but rather, the Christian life here is in fact a struggle. It's this battle that is raging within us as the spirit and the flesh are both present, and so it's really important that we understand what to expect of life here as Christians, because if that kind of silver bullet victorious life becomes what we think is the norm, there's really significant consequences as we go through life. Perhaps the biggest and most devastating is what it does to our assurance.  
  
If the Christian's experience is this kind of magic, instantaneous victory on the norm, on the regular - that's what we should expect to see and to have - what does it mean for you when you don't have that victory in a particular area or when you don't have enough of it? Well, then, the logic is, if Christians experience this and I'm not experiencing that, what does that say about my faith at all? Am I even a Christian?  
  
This kind of expectation of life points us to look at our victory over sin for our assurance and it poses a question that we can never answer: how much victory is enough victory so that you can have peace, so you can have rest, and so that you can have assurance? There's no positive way to answer that question. There's no way to come up with an answer that you can hold onto and have any peace. The only line we have for obedience in scripture is perfection and we're never going to see that when we look to our own lives. So what we need to do is we need to see the Christian life the way scripture paints it out, as the struggle, as this battle, and we need to look for our assurance and our peace, not in our own performance, not in our own victory over sin, but in Christ.  
  
As Paul in Romans eight, one comes to as he makes that declaration of the wretchedness that he feels in this struggle and seeing his own sin, where does he look? He doesn't look to his own victory. He doesn't look to his own progress. He looks to Christ. In Romans eight, one, we read, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  
  
I hope this has been helpful for you guys. Have a great week.

---

### Should We Live The Gospel?

*Published: November 9, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/should-we-live-the-gospel*
*Tags: Do the Gospel, Gospel, Live the Gospel*

### Should We Live The Gospel? Answered by Jon Moffitt

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and I'm answering Rick's question today. He's asking, "Do we live the gospel or do we do the gospel?"  
  
We hear preachers who will tell us to go out this week and “live the gospel” or “do the gospel,” and it seems like maybe we're splitting hairs. Is this really an important question? It's actually a really important question because what we end up doing is we end up confusing the commands of the Bible or the law with the message of the gospel or the good news.  
  
So let's be clear, the gospel is something you believe and something you share because it's news. It's information. It's reporting what's already been done. It's not telling you what you must do. The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ obeyed the law on your behalf, and then paid for your disobedience to the law, and now is offering this restitution between you and the Father by faith. So if you believe this news that's coming to you, that Christ actually accomplished this, he earned for you righteousness, he paid for your sin, now this can be yours, you can be adopted by God through faith alone. That's the message.  
  
You don't do that message. There's nothing to do. It's already been done. There's no command in the gospel for you to obey other than, do you believe this to be true? Because then you can have this as a gift. You can receive the gift of salvation because this message, the gospel, is true.  
  
In the Bible, we do have laws, and those laws are, "do this or don't do this," and if you do not obey them, you are then guilty and will be held accountable for that. That's a law. The laws are always, "this is what must be done or not be done," and if you don't do them, you shall be held accountable for them. The gospel is always, "this is what's been done, this is what's been accomplished, there's nothing left to do." This is what makes it good news. There's nothing left for you to do, all you need to do is believe it.  
  
So when someone says "do the gospel," they’re actually mixing the law and the gospel because there's nothing left to be done. This is why this is important. We must preach the clarity and the purity of the gospel: Christ's finished work on our behalf. He earned obedience for us. He paid for our disobedience. It's ours by grace because of God's mercy. He's not giving us what we deserve. We are receiving that which we don't deserve. That's the message. We preach it. We herald it. We study it. We give it. We share it. Then, in turn, because we are God's children and we are now in this new adopted relationship, he then tells his children, through Christ, the two commands that he has for them: love God and love your neighbor.  
  
We then, because we believe the gospel and because it's over us, as far as Christ's blood, obey those commands, but we do not obey the gospel itself. We do not live the gospel. We do not do the gospel. It's a message that is received. We hear it. We see it in the Lord's table. We see it in baptism. We hear it out of the word when it's preached on Sundays. It's what empowers us. It's what strengthens us. It's what gives us hope. It is not something that we do.  
  
Hopefully, that was helpful and encouraging. Please keep sending in your questions and we'll see you next week.

---

### What Is Biblical Repentance?

*Published: November 2, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-biblical-repentance*
*Tags: Biblical Repentance, Repentance*

### What Is Biblical Repentance? Answered by Justin Perdue

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Justin. Today I am answering a question from Brandon. He asks, "What is biblical repentance?" The word for repentance in the New Testament, metanoia, literally means a change of mind, and so we might ask, well, a change of mind about what?  
  
Firstly, it would be a change of mind about God, about who he is, what his character is like, and what he requires of us as his creatures. We come to understand that God is good, that he is righteous and holy and just, and therefore requires perfect obedience from us, his creatures. Repentance is a change of mind about ourselves, about who we are and what we are, as we stand before God. We come to agree with God that what he says about us is true, that we stand guilty and condemned, that we are corrupt, and that we don't have a righteousness of our own upon which we could stand, and that therefore we are in tremendous need before God.  
  
Repentance is a change of mind also about Jesus and the way of salvation. We realize that the righteousness that we need and don't have can only be found in Christ. The forgiveness, the atonement, and the absolution that we need for our sins can also only be found in the Lord Jesus, by faith in him.  
  
Biblically speaking, this may be clear already in what I've said up to now, but I want to be explicit and redundantly clear. Repentance and faith, biblically, go together. Repentance and faith are not things that we should attempt to pull apart. It's very clear, as we've thought about this change of mind that happens in us, that repentance assumes faith and faith incorporates repentance. In thinking about those things, repentance and faith and how they go together, what I'm about to say I trust is also clear, but this is something that we tend to get wrong in the church in our context. If you hear anything that I say, hear this, repentance is not something we do. It's not a work that we do, but rather, it is a gift that we receive from God. It is something that God does for us, and that God works in us. So in one sense, it's right for us to say that God repents us. Just like God gives us the gift of faith, he gives us the gift of repentance as well. It's a turning that God produces in us, and that turning is always away from ourselves and toward Christ in faith.  
  
So, this has a lot of implications for us as we think about repentance. It's a situation where we need not focus so much on how we're doing it, the quality of our repentance, or the sincerity of our repentance. That kind of assessment and that kind of thinking rarely if ever lead anywhere good. When we remember, biblically, that repentance and faith go together, and that they are both gifts from God, and that they are something that God does in us and for us and through us and to us, we're starting to think biblically and we're on the right track in thinking about this change of mind. Praise God for his grace in the ways that he works in us and the ways that he shows us our sin and drives us to Christ who is our only hope for redemption and salvation.  
  
I hope this is helpful to you in thinking about repentance and faith and how all these things go together, and in thinking as well about our gracious and merciful God who gives us these wonderful gifts.

---

### What if I'm struggling to forgive, can I still have assurance?

*Published: October 26, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-if-im-struggling-to-forgive-can-i-still-have-assurance*
*Tags: Assurance, Forgiveness*

### What if I'm struggling to forgive, can I still have assurance? Answered by Jon Moffitt

### 

**Transcription:**  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and today on ask Theocast, I'm answering Sam's question, and the question has to deal with forgiveness and our assurance. He asks, "If I'm struggling to forgive somebody who has hurt me or offended me, how should that be seen in regards to my standing before God or my assurance?"  
  
Well, this is a complicated question, and it's not as simple as some may think. Sometimes we hear it said that if you're unwilling to forgive or if you're struggling to forgive somebody, then you yourself have not been forgiven by God. In the context when Jesus says this, there's a reason for what he is saying, and I don't think we should confuse it with the struggle.  
  
Let's think about this scenario for a moment. You've been hurt. You've been offended deeply, and you maybe don't have the opportunity to find restitution where this person is asking for forgiveness, or they're not wanting to repent and ask for forgiveness, and now you are left with the responsibility to then offer them forgiveness and not allow bitterness to swell up within you. It's hard because the offense is so hard, deep, and caused so much pain and scarring that you struggle to move past it.  
  
I think there's a difference between saying, "I absolutely will never forgive this person. I will always hold it over them," versus, "I struggle to forgive them. I have to forgive them over and over and over again because I do find myself falling back underneath that pain and scarring that was left behind, and I become bitter and angry again, and then I have to forgive them again." That's different, that struggle with sin. First John one, nine tells us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, so that struggle with the ongoing forgiveness of this person is different from saying, "I absolutely will never forgive them for what they have done."  
  
Now, I think we also need to understand the difference between forgiveness and restitution. Just because you forgive somebody, it doesn't mean that the relationship with them has to be perfectly restored back to where it was. For instance, in a marriage where there has been tremendous unfaithfulness and pain, the spouse can offer forgiveness, meaning that they will not hold the sin of the other person over them, but that doesn't mean that the marriage can then be restored. It may be better for the marriage to not be restored in certain circumstances because it might be unsafe for the individual or it just may not be wise. Seeking pastoral council in that situation is important.  
  
To use a job illustration, if someone was dishonest at their job or did something illegal, and the boss then offers them forgiveness, like, "Look, I forgive you, I will not hold this over you, but that doesn't mean you can have your job back." That would make sense, right? So we always have to understand the difference between forgiveness and restoration.  
  
When it comes down to your relationship with the Father, I think that when you identify your struggle, understand that the lack of forgiveness is sinful, and acknowledge that you will maybe over time have flare-ups of anger and bitterness, you need to repent of those things and you need to seek the gospel. This is where the gospel frees us because no one has offended God greater than you have, and the sin that you have been forgiven of is far greater than any sin that could be committed against you. Remind yourself that what God has offered you in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that was required, you have never made that sacrifice, nor will you ever. To offer forgiveness to someone will never require of you what God required of Jesus to offer you that sacrifice. I think that looking at the gospel and understanding the grace and mercy that's been handed to you can free you from this struggle, and knowing that it's okay to struggle as long as you're recognizing that it's sin and that you are working to look to the glory of Christ and the gospel can free you from this lack of forgiveness.  
  
To anyone who would say, "I am absolutely unwilling to forgive," you need to be careful there because that is not what we have been called to. Because we have received mercy, we give mercy, but that doesn't mean it should be one-time forgiveness and it's over and you never struggle with it again, that's just not how Christianity works.  
  
So my encouragement to you is to confess that sin. Seek Christ's forgiveness. Understand that it's offered to you. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and don't carry that burden alone. Find other brothers and sisters who can encourage you, point you to Jesus, and help you find relief and restoration with the struggle to forgive and this pain and sorrow that you're suffering through.  
  
I hope that was encouraging. Please continue to send us your questions.

---

### What is the meaning of 1 John 5:16-17 and the sin that leads to death?

*Published: October 19, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-the-meaning-of-1-john-5-16-17-and-the-sin-that-leads-to-death*
*Tags: 1 John 5:16-17, Sin, Sin Unto Death*

### What is the meaning of 1 John 5:16-17 and the sin that leads to death? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
**Transcription:**  
  
Hey everybody, this is Jimmy. On today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to seek to answer a question from James, who asks this: "What is the meaning of 1 John 5:16-17 and the sin that leads to death?" It's a good question.  
  
Allow me just to read that passage for some context. John writes this: "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life - to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death."  
  
This can be a particularly troubling passage, especially for those who I would say have something similar to what I have, which is a sensitive conscience, those who have this keen awareness of their own sinfulness, their own wrongdoings, and the things that they have done to displease God. When we come across passages like this, we need to be careful and sensitive to what John actually meant to whom he was writing, and why he was writing that particular thing. I want us to be ever mindful of how John begins his letter in First John chapter one, where he says that if we confess our sins, that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  
  
You know, a lot of times I think we can approach these scary texts and we think that the apostles set out to confuse us, to bring us confusion, to cause us to struggle with our own assurance, and to wonder whether or not we are in the good graces of God, but if we look back just a couple of verses in chapter five, verse 13, he says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know him and have eternal life." Clearly what John is not trying to do is confuse us, to confuse the sheep, and to cause them to look inward to the point of confusion.  
  
I want us to keep in mind the context of the entire letter. What John is really going after is this kind of person who has what I call and what I think scripture calls this high handed approach to the Christian life or the high handed approach to God, where they look at their sin, they look at the wrongdoings that they're committing, and they look at the holiness of God, and within them, they say, "I just don't care. I just don't care what God's law says. I just don't care that I am living in sin. I'm going to continually choose my sin." Ultimately what I think John is talking about here when he talks about a sin that leads to death is he's talking about this sin, this ultimate rejection of grace, and this ultimate rejection of Christ, that as they look at the things of God, as they look at Jesus and who he is and what he has done for us, they would rather, as the scripture says, be like a dog returning to their own vomit, that they would rather choose their own sin and reject Christ.  
  
So I think when John is talking about this, what he's not talking about is the person who mourns over their sin, the person that is fearful over their sin, or the person that sees the ways that they displease God and it causes terror and fear within them, because John gives us the solution to that, which is actually not to run from God, but rather to go to Jesus who is gentle and lowly in heart, and confess our sins to him.  
  
As we think about this passage, again, I want us to be mindful of its context, that John's not trying to confuse us, that John's certainly not trying to scare us, and that John is not trying to cause us to look inward, but rather, as is the solution to so many of these issues, we have to have this proper understanding of law and gospel, that the person who is struggling with obstinate sin, what they don't need is this false assurance, but rather, they do need a healthy dose of God's law. They need to see the ways that they have failed to love God and to love neighbor, and not only do they need to be confronted with God’s law, but then, we also need to rightly understand how the gospel plays into all of this, that after the law of God wrecks us, which it does, we see that God always provides grace for us in the gospel, that what God has demanded of us in his law, he has given freely to us in his gospel.  
  
So, just to be clear, the sin that leads to death, what is it? Well, ultimately it's a rejection of Christ. It's not failing to live a holy life because we all fail to live holy lives in so many different ways, but ultimately the sin that leads to death is failing to live a holy life and having this mindset of "I just don't care and I just don't need Christ. I just don't need his grace. I'm just going to go do my own thing." So yes, these passages can be terrifying, but ultimately I think what John says is he wants us to run to Christ. He wants us to confess our sins. Why? Because God is faithful, and God is just, and God is gracious, and God is kind to forgive us of all of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and so I hope and I pray that this answer is helpful to you.  
  
You can find other resources like this at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and I hope that this helps bring rest to your weary hearts. Thanks for listening.

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### What Does It Mean to Take Up Our Cross and Follow Jesus?

*Published: October 12, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-does-it-mean-to-take-up-our-cross-and-follow-jesus*
*Tags: followjesus, lawgospel, lawgospeldistinction, takeupyourcross*

### What Does It Mean to Take Up Our Cross and Follow Jesus? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
**Transcription:**  
  
Hey guys, this is Justin. Today I am answering a question from Eric. Eric asks, "How does the cost of discipleship fit with our rest in Christ?" In particular, Eric is thinking about passages like Luke chapter nine and Luke chapter 14, where Jesus will tell us that we are to deny ourselves, to take up our crosses, and follow him.  
  
Well, a parallel passage to Luke nine is Mark chapter eight, and I think Mark chapter eight is very helpful in helping us understand what Jesus is getting at in using this language of denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following him. In Mark chapter eight, many will know that Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah and immediately Jesus begins to talk about his coming suffering, the fact that he's going to be rejected by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of Israel, and that he will suffer many things, and that ultimately he is going to die, and then he will rise again. Peter then immediately rebukes Jesus for talking this way. Then Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter and tells him, Peter, "you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."  
  
So it's really important that we take all of this into consideration. It is right after Jesus makes that statement to Peter that he then addresses all of his followers and tells them that they need to be prepared to deny themselves and take up their crosses and follow him. So Peter has just been saying to Jesus, Jesus, you shouldn't talk this way. You're the Christ. You're the Messiah. You should be talking about glory and triumph. You shouldn't be talking about suffering and rejection and dying. Then Jesus turns around and says, not only is it necessary, Peter, that I should suffer and be rejected and die, he then says to all of his followers, none of you should expect a life of triumph and glory in this life either.  
  
This is something we talk about a decent amount on Theocast. It's the difference between a theology of the cross and a theology of glory. We follow a crucified Savior. He suffered and so will we. We are called to deny ourselves and that call to denial is a call to deny our flesh. It's the internal war that we talk about so often, where our flesh and our spirit wage war against one another. We're called to deny our ambition to seek glory and power in this life as though it is the greatest good. We realize, as theologians of the cross, that God works through weakness and suffering and pain.  
  
Many will have experienced situations where they've been given a theology that tells them, do these things and you'll get better. Do these things and your life will go well. Do these things and you won't suffer any more or do these things and you will no longer struggle. Do these things and you'll no longer be weak. Well, that kind of theology has misunderstood scripture and is at odds with Jesus. A theology of glory tells us to make ourselves better, but a theology of the cross tells us to die to ourselves and to serve others.  
  
The way of the cross, in other words, is not a pathway to progress. The way of the cross is a way of life itself, and so this call of Jesus to deny ourselves, to take up our crosses, and follow him is his statement to us that in this life there will be suffering. In following him, there will be difficulty and there will be pain, but there is a glory that awaits.  
  
Glory and triumph will be the order of the day in the new heavens and the new earth, and there will be glimpses of that now; but it is a pattern of suffering and then glory, and in the midst of all of this, we can rest. We can rest because Jesus, in going to the cross himself, has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. We don't need to do anything else in order to be reconciled to God, so when we encounter suffering and difficulty and struggle and pain, there is no reason to fear because we are safe and secure in Christ. Christ is helping his followers understand that their way of life in following him is not going to be obviously triumphant and obviously glorious all the time, but is going to be characterized by difficulty often in this fallen world.  
  
The cost, we all know, is more than worth it. The new heavens and the new earth will be epic, and we will be with God forever, and we will see Christ as he is. In the meantime, we rest in our Savior who has accomplished our salvation. I hope this is helpful to you.

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### Is God pleased or displeased by our actions once we are in Christ?

*Published: October 5, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/is-god-pleased-or-displeased-by-our-actions-once-we-are-in-christ*
*Tags: Acceptance, Obedience, pleasing God*

### Is God pleased or displeased by our actions once we are in Christ? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and I'm going to be answering Andrew's question. He asked, "Is God pleased or displeased by our actions once we are in Christ?"  
  
That's a good question and I know there are many people who wonder, "When I sin, is God disappointed in me? When I do acts of kindness and love, is God pleased with me?" You can fall into a really deep pit of despair when you start looking at how often you do sin compared to how much you do works of righteousness or love and kindness. If you live in that constant comparative state, you'll forever wonder if God is ever pleased with you at any moment in your life because you won’t ever feel like you do enough to outweigh your sinful nature. A lot of people struggle with this.  
  
This is where our identity in Christ becomes very important to us. God does not look favorably upon you because of what you have done. That would mean somehow that your actions manipulate God in some way, whether negatively or positively. We are told that when we are in Christ, we are clothed with Christ's righteousness, and that when God looks at us, he sees the obedience of Christ. We wear the sonship of Christ upon us, and when the Father looks at us, he sees his Son, he doesn't see us.  
  
That's really hard for us to identify with because we don't feel the way in which God sees us. We don't see ourselves through the eyes of God. We can only see what we feel and see. I would even go farther to say, if someone has entered into this relationship where they assume that God is pleased or displeased with them based upon their doing, I would challenge them that they don't even understand how sinful they truly are, that they offend God in ways that they aren't even aware of.  
  
If you don't love God with everything that you are, your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and if you don't love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, you're not living up to the two greatest commands that have been given to you. Most likely, if you're going to live a balance scale life where you think your good is outweighing your bad, not in regards to salvation, but in regards to pleasing God, I don't know if you'll ever please him enough to outweigh the way in which you displease him.  
  
So I think we need to understand our identity and the way in which God interacts with us. He interacts with us based upon our status, not based upon our obedience. That being said, it doesn't mean your obedience is useless or it's of no value or you shouldn't focus on it. As a matter of fact, Paul and Peter both used this language of being ineffective or useless for the sake of the ministry and the gospel. So in regards to our obedience, the people who need it are our neighbors and our church members, our family members around us. They need us to be kind and gracious and loving and to consider how to build them up, and to love and to care for them and to sacrifice for them, and to share the gospel with the lost. So this is where your good works are needed.  
  
We get so twisted with the understanding of good works as if God needs our good works to verify us before he blesses us or before he saves us, he needs to see them, he needs to see we mean business. He needs to know that when we claim his name, we're also going to then claim him as Lord, and that's just not how it’s seen in scripture.  
  
We walk by faith. We look to Christ. We find our identity there. We find our security there. We find our hope there, and that's where we find our motivation. I would just look at things like Ephesians four, one and following, where he says, if you have been called, a worthy way of walking in your calling is to love your brothers, but he gives you that firm identity and foundation in Ephesians one through three. In Second Peter one and the first 12 verses there, he starts by saying that it's God's power that comes in and transforms us and brings us to life, and it's looking at the promises of God that transforms us into the image of Christ. Then he says, now, if these are true of you, add to them love and kindness and meekness and mercy, and he says if these are not yours and increasing, he doesn't give you fear or judgment, he says you've forgotten that you've been cleansed from your former ways. So he points back to the gospel.  
  
I'd say the gospel is the way in which we should find our identity. We are in Christ by faith alone in Christ alone. It is there we then move forward and love others because we don't want to be ineffective for the gospel. Because we love the Father, we want to see the message of the gospel go forward. So I don't think we should look at it as God is pleased or displeased with us. We are in Christ, so therefore, he's always pleased with us, but our actions can be ineffective and not helpful as it is to the accomplishment of his will here on the Earth.  
  
So hopefully that was helpful. Thanks Andrew, for sending it in, please keep sending in your questions.

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### Does Jesus' Saving Work Violate the Human Will?

*Published: September 28, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/does-jesus-saving-work-violate-the-human-will*
*Tags: Calvinism, Free Will, human free will*

### Does Jesus' Saving Work Violate the Human Will? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hey, what's up? This is Justin. Today, I am answering a question submitted by Isaiah. He asks, "Does Jesus's saving work violate the human will?" It's a good question. In order to begin to answer that, we might want to first consider what the Bible says about human beings in a general sense and our wills in particular.  
  
So the Bible is clear that humans are responsible moral agents. We make choices that matter. We choose between good and bad and right and wrong, and we are absolutely culpable for the decisions that we make, the ways that we act, the ways that we think, and the ways that we feel. Scripture could not be more clear about all of that, and at the same time, the Bible is also clear that we are not exactly free in the ways that we tend to think that we are.  
  
Not only is Satan real, the one the Bible calls the prince of the power of the air, who is at work in all the sons of disobedience, but Satan exercises a kind of dominion over fallen men. Not only that, but we are also born, through Adam and Eve, with a nature that has been fundamentally corrupted and bent toward evil. So our flesh, our fallen nature, naturally desires things that are wicked. We crave things that do not honor and please God, and these desires and these cravings just happen. It's not something that we necessarily sign up for, and so it's important that we understand that our wills, in that sense, have never been, in our experience, free. It is not as though we can equally choose between good and evil. We are in bondage at birth and we are born into that bondage to Satan, and to sin, and the desires and cravings of our flesh. It is not as though human beings can walk around and make decisions that are completely free. In one sense we are always being acted upon by Satan, and even the corruption of our flesh affects and influences every decision that we make, and every thought that we have, and every feeling that we feel.  
  
What God does in his work of redemption through his Son, Jesus Christ, is he shows up and, not so much in a violation of the human will, acts in such a way where he inhabits and liberates our will. So, when we come to Christ in faith, we are doing what we want to do. We don't know everything at that moment when we decide to follow Jesus, which is an entirely appropriate thing to say. We make decisions to follow Christ, and underneath our decisions to follow Jesus is something that God has done for us. When we make that choice, when we trust in Jesus, we don't know everything, but we know that we need Christ and that he is the one who we can trust and the one that we need to atone for our sin and to provide us with righteousness. We joyfully run to him and cast ourselves upon the mercy of God in him.  
  
This is the witness of scripture, and this is the testimony of every Christian: that I was blind and now I see, I was in darkness and now I am in light, I was lost and now I'm found, I was dead and now I'm alive. So, it's important that we would understand that the human will is never entirely free in a place that is neutral, where we can equally choose good or evil, but because we are born bound to Satan and to sin, God comes in and sets us free. He inhabits and liberates our wills so that we might repent of sin and trust in Christ. It is a very good and gracious thing that God does for us, and I do not think that we should consider that to be a violation of our wills.  
  
I hope this is a helpful answer to your question, Isaiah, and I hope it's helpful to the listener. Continue to send us your questions over at asktheocast.com.

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### In John 15 when Christ says " abide in me..." should we see that as Law or Gospel?

*Published: September 21, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/in-john-15-when-christ-says-abide-in-me-should-we-see-that-as-law-or-gospel*
*Tags: abide, abide in me, john15, Law &amp; Gospel, law gospel distinction*

### In John 15 when Christ says " abide in me..." should we see that as Law or Gospel? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and today I'm answering Aaron's question. He asked, "In John 15, when Christ says 'abide in me', should we see this as law or gospel?" That's a great question.  
  
I think we can feel like it's law because it sounds like a command to do something, to abide, and when we've heard some people interpret this passage, they mean to say that abiding is two particular actions, which is reading your Bible and praying, and that those lead to abiding.  
  
Abide literally means to rest in, to reside, or to live within, so we abide in a home. In this context, Jesus is dealing with his disciples in the upper room. It's the last words he's giving them before he goes to the garden and he's going to be crucified. There he's completing all of his teaching. He's told them that he is the door, meaning that entry into the relationship with the Father comes through Jesus Christ, and that he is the good shepherd. He's the one that leads them. In his entire ministry, he's been teaching all of his followers and those who are listening to him that faith in him is the way in which we enter into this relationship and have our sins forgiven.  
  
I've come to seek and to save that which is lost. I've not come to the righteous but the unrighteous. I've not come to the healthy but the sick, to restore them. In this verse, in this context of John 15, Jesus says that if we abide in him, he will produce in us good works. Abiding in that context has to be seen in light of everything that Christ has said, that being, to trust Christ to be sufficient, not only to be our savior, but also our sustainer and the one who will produce in us the good works. This is the promise of the new covenant, that our heart of stone will be pulled out and a heart of flesh will be put in us. Paul uses the same language when he says that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. I think that is the same picture. It’s a different way of saying abiding in Christ.  
  
We are to live every day trusting in the promises of Christ, that we have been adopted, we have been set free, we have been cleansed, and that there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ, meaning that we are trusting in Christ to be the sufficient substitute in our place. That I think is what he's meaning. It's not so much a command of action as it is a command of faith, to trust in Christ and not in our righteousness. It's not trusting in the law or our obedience to the law, but we are trusting in Christ's righteousness. We're trusting in his obedience. We're trusting in him being our substitute on the cross, instead of us paying for our sins, and we are resting in that, trusting in that, and living in that reality. That's what it means to abide.  
  
So I would say it's good news. It's gospel. It's come unto me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Come abide. Come rest in me, my works, and my accomplishments. I think that's what he means.  
  
It's a great question. That passage should lead us to comfort knowing that it is God who's doing the work, and we rest in that, and God works through us through the power of the Spirit as we rest and abide in Christ. Hopefully that was helpful. Keeps sending us your questions.

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### How does God's sovereignty mesh with prayer?

*Published: September 14, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/how-does-gods-sovereignty-mesh-with-prayer*
*Tags: pray, Prayer, prayer and sovereignty of God, reformed prayer*

### How does God's sovereignty mesh with prayer? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hi, this is Jimmy. On today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to seek to answer a question from one of our listeners, Ravyn, who asks, "How does God's sovereignty mesh with prayer?" In other words, if God is sovereign, if he can do all things, then why does he ask us to pray for things?  
  
A few short weeks ago, our church was in a series on the Lord's prayer, and we see that one of the petitions that Jesus gives to us as his church, as his disciples, is that we pray. He invites us to pray, "Thy will be done." Here is what I said to our church, I said this, "When we pray, when Jesus invites us to pray, 'thy will be done,' we are actually recognizing that God is sovereign. It teaches us to recognize that God is sovereign and what happens is, when we pray, our hearts and wills are aligned with God's heart and will."  
  
What I want us to see is that prayer is not something that people have made up, but rather it is a God instituted, God ordained thing. It's a means given to us as his people, as an outworking of our faith. It draws us outside of ourselves to look to God as the giver of gifts, the giver of needs, and the giver of the things that we need in everyday life. In other words, we do not pray because we need to make God aware of something. We do not pray because God needs to know something that he doesn't already know, but rather, why do we pray? Well, we pray because God is aware. We pray because God does know and we pray chiefly because God is sovereign. God is the one who has invited us to ask, to seek, to knock, and to petition him in prayer.  
  
This drives us to see that God is a sovereign God who blesses and gives good gifts to his people. Paul says this in Romans chapter 11, beginning in verse 33\. He writes this to the church in Rome, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and inscrutable his ways! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid, or who has been his counselor? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen." Right there, Paul says in a declarative way that from God and through God and to God are all things, to him be the glory forever.  
  
That doesn't sound like an unsovereign God, but rather a completely sovereign God. So what I want us to see, and hopefully this is helpful, is this, does prayer change things? Absolutely. Prayer does change things, but sometimes the greatest thing that changes in prayer is us. As God reorients our heart, our will, our ideas, and our minds to his will, his heart, his ideas, and his mind, we see that God is sovereign. It changes our perspective on whatever given circumstance. Prayer, then, serves as a means of grace that God has given us as an outworking of our faith in Christ, to see that God's ways are better than ours. As Job declared at the end of that book, no purpose of God's can be thwarted.  
  
I think we also have to embrace the idea of mystery here, that God has clearly given prayer as a means to be an agent of change in this world and that God invites his people to pray; but, ultimately, why I think he does this is it creates a humility in us as his people. It shifts our hearts and wills to his heart and his will.  
  
So hopefully this answer has been helpful to you. You can check out more resources like this at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. Thanks for listening.

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### Is there a point at which we can no longer repent?

*Published: September 7, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/is-there-a-point-at-which-we-can-no-longer-repent*
*Tags: Assurance, Hebrews 10, Repentance, salvation*

### Is there a point at which we can no longer repent? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon and today on Ask Theocast, I'm going to be answering Devin's question: "Is there a point at which we can no longer repent?" This kind of comes from Hebrews chapter 12 when it said that Esau sought repentance even with tears and it wasn't granted to him. So can there be a moment where you walk away from Jesus or you sin against Jesus so many times that you've kind of hit your limit, where there's no more grace for you? That's kind of what that passage may feel like it's teaching.  
  
I would answer, first of all, that in the context of Hebrews, he's dealing with people who are wanting to seek redemption and salvation outside of Jesus Christ. They're going back to the law and trying to live underneath that system in order to have the blessings and protection from God and have a relationship with the Father.  
  
The writer of Hebrews goes systematically through each chapter, showing that Christ is better than everything in the Old Testament. He's better than Moses, he's better than David, and he's better than the prophets and the angels. He is proving that salvation can only be found through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 give some pretty strong warnings that if you turn away from Christ, you have no hope. There is no hope for you if you turn away from the only hope of salvation, which is Jesus Christ.  
  
It helps us when we look at all of scripture and compare the Bible with itself. We should look at other contexts where it talks about repentance and our sin. In Romans 5, it says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If we are in Christ, we are told that we have been completely washed, not only for our past sins, but also our future sins. Any sins that we can commit, if we are in Christ, they're covered. That means you can't be condemned for what you've done in the past or what will happen in the future.  
  
Paul even says in Romans 7 that he too struggles with sin. The things he doesn't want to do, he keeps doing them. The things that he should be doing, he's not doing them. Oh, wretched man, who will save me from this body of death? He says thanks be to Christ, and he points to the gospel. Then we go to 1 John 1:9, where we are told that when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So when we continue to repent and we continue to confess our sins, we will always receive that forgiveness and the promise of forgiveness: that Christ blood has already paid for it, and it's covered. So, there isn't a limit to our repentance.  
  
Now, if someone does not see the need to repent of sin, or if they're unwilling to turn away, or in an attempt at innocence they think, nope, God didn't need to die for this even though the Bible clearly says that it is a sin- well, at that moment, they are walking away from the gospel. The gospel is the good news that God saves sinners, and if you don't see yourself in need of saving, then you're not going to see yourself in need of repenting.  
  
We are horrible at repentance, and I would even say that as much as you think you've repented, you haven't repented enough. This is where grace comes over us. Grace covers the sins that we even are unaware we need to repent of - people that we have offended and hurt, or ways in which we have offended God by not fully loving him - those are forgiven as well. We have to understand that if we are in Christ and we believe and trust in him, that the gospel covers all of our sins.  
  
I think it's dangerous to believe or teach that there can come a moment where you'll be no longer allowed to repent, that you've sinned too much. You've hit your max. I don't believe that the blood of Christ has a limit. There is not a point at which Christ’s blood can no longer cover your sins.  
  
I don't think that sets you free to go sin however you want, as that would be contrary to scripture, but I think it's helpful for us to understand that if we struggle with a sin that we continue to fight, we shouldn't struggle alone. The church comes in and helps us carry those burdens, and it confronts us and it strengthens us, and the body of Christ is there, designed to build us up and help us with our repentance, through the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments.  
  
So, no, I don't think that there can be a moment where a Christian could no longer repent, unless they're unwilling to repent. God is always willing and able to forgive us of our sins as 1 John says, if we confess them. So hopefully that was helpful. Thank you for sending in your question, Devin, and please keep sending in your questions.

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### What Does It Mean to Have Saving Faith?

*Published: August 31, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-does-it-mean-to-have-saving-faith*
*Tags: Faith, salvation, Saving Faith, Sola Fide*

### What Does It Mean to Have Saving Faith? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hey, it's Justin. Today I am answering the question, "What does it mean to have saving faith?"  
  
To begin to answer this question, let's consider two words that the Bible uses when it comes to our salvation. One word is faith and the other word that we often see is repentance. I think that we tend to look at those two things as though they are different things and separate from one another as though you can have faith without repentance or repentance without faith, and biblically speaking, that's just not true. They go together. Repentance and faith are essentially two sides of the same coin. What is repentance? The biblical word for it is metanoia. It means a change of mind. Well, a change of mind about what? It’s a change of mind about God, who he is, and what he requires, a change of mind about ourselves, our standing before the Lord, and what we need, and a change of mind about the way of salvation and about Christ in particular as that way of salvation for sinners such as us.  
  
It's important that we understand that repentance is not something that we produce in ourselves, but it is something that God grants to us. So, we don't repent ourselves. God repents us. When it comes to the faith piece, I think the 1689 London Baptist Confession words it better than I could in thinking about what the real marrow of saving faith is. What is it at its heart? The confession says the principle acts of saving faith focus directly on Christ- accepting, receiving, and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace.  
  
We've already thought about how repentance is something that God does for us. He repents us. We see here that faith is by virtue of the covenant of grace. It is grounded in the unconditional promise of God to save his people. Faith is also something that is a gift from him that we could never produce. It is given to us, grounded in the grace of God. Faith focuses directly on Christ. Let's not miss that part, that it's about Jesus. We are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone.  
  
We are not resting upon anything or trusting in anything that we do, or that we might do, or that we refrain from doing. We are trusting in Christ for our justification, meaning we're trusting that he has atoned for our sin, he has satisfied the wrath of God for our sin, and he has provided us with all the righteousness that we'll ever need, and so we are declared righteous in the sight of God by faith in Christ.  
  
We are trusting in Jesus for our sanctification, our ongoing growth in righteousness and holiness throughout the course of our Christian lives. We don't understand that we're doing that, but that Christ is the one who will accomplish our sanctification by the work of his Spirit in us, and we are trusting Jesus for eternal life, that we will forever be with God on the basis of Christ's work and his merits, not our own work or our own merits.  
  
It is important for us to understand that it is not the quality of our faith that saves us or the sincerity of our faith that saves us. If someone were to ask how much faith is required, the answer to that question is, well, any! Any amount of faith is enough because you couldn't produce any of it in the first place. It came from God and it's important for us to realize that the quality of our faith doesn't save us. The object of our faith saves us.  
  
So it's not that faith in and of itself saves anyone. Jesus saves. The work of Christ, the merits of Christ, and the righteousness of Christ are applied to us through the mechanism of faith.  
  
I hope that answer is helpful to you.

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### What Will Heaven Be Like?

*Published: August 24, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-will-heaven-be-like*
*Tags: Heaven*

### What Will Heaven Be Like? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and today on ask Theocast, I'm answering the question, "What will Heaven be like?"  
  
Most of us when we think of Heaven, if we're honest, it's not a positive thought. We think of it more like a sterile hospital where we'll be floating around in white gowns and playing music, and it's this one long worship service and everything is spiritual, and there's really nothing else going on in Heaven, other than a very long hymn sing. That's just not the way in which the Bible describes our experience.  
  
First of all, we're not going to live in Heaven forever. That is the first mistake we make. The second is that we are influenced by Platonism. It's even called Christo-Platonism. Plato taught that anything physical is bad, anything at all, and the only thing that is good is the spiritual part of us, so that when we die, we're going to leave this body behind, and we're only going to live in a spiritual realm, which means we're not going to experience anything that's physical. This kind of teaching even led into thinking that Jesus was not a physical person, where he kind of floated and never touched the ground, because if he would have touched anything that was sinful or unclean, it would make him sinful, which is a heretical doctrine to think about anyways.  
  
It's influenced the way in which we think about the eternal state, where we're going to be up in the sky in this golden palace, and it's cold and sterile, and the only thing we're going to do is be in the presence of God, which I know many would say, well, what else matters than being in the presence of God? That's the only thing that matters is to be with him, which I completely agree, but the way in which John describes Jesus saying that he's going away to prepare a place for us, and this place that he's preparing is our home, and it's a gift from our Father who's going to gift it to us. Romans eight also describes it in this way, that the world has been cursed, and it's groaning, and it's anticipating when the curse will be lifted from it. So it's not that the world will be gone and passed away and there's no more world, but it's waiting for the curse to be lifted.  
  
Then Paul says in Romans eight, also, that we are looking forward. We too are groaning and anticipating and awaiting the redemption of our bodies to be restored back to the original intention, where Adam and Eve were in the garden, in this perfect place, and they walked the garden with God in the cool of the day, and they enjoyed, and they ate, and they smelled. All of these things were good when God created them. So when we think about the eternal state, we should understand that God uses this redemption, this recovering of the world that we live in now, and that the new heavens and the new Earth is a physical, real place where we will receive the benefits and the inheritance that God has for us.  
  
I would also say that we think that worshiping God only happens in song, or on our knees in prayer, or during a worship service, but the way in which the Bible describes worship, it says whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all so that it reflects, or it pays back, to the glory of God, so that in the new heavens and the new Earth, we will see the glory of God in his creations. The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows his handiwork. We will see all that God has done, and we will worship him through sight, and smell, and emotions, and sound, and embrace. So the new heavens and the new Earth is not a spiritual realm completely disconnected from what we have now, but it's this world restored back to its original intentions where we will worship God, receive the benefits of creation, and glorify him for all of eternity.  
  
So, hopefully, that was encouraging for you, that you can anticipate living with God and it not being foreign to what we have now. I would describe this world as a postcard. It's but a picture of what's waiting for us when we show up on the shores of the new heavens and the new Earth. Revelation 21 describes that God's going to come and wipe away every tear, and that there's going to be no more pain, and no more sorrow, and no more death. So it's not this ongoing music service, but worship will happen as we glorify God and we enjoy the experience of his creation, and we enjoy relationships with each other in the presence of our savior. Ephesians two tells us that for the rest of eternity, we'll be looking into the unmeasurable grace that God has shown us, that part of our salvation, the purpose of our salvation, is that for all of eternity, we will dive deeper and deeper and deeper, learning and experiencing the grace of God in which he has saved us.  
  
So, the new heavens and the new Earth is this experience with God that is something to be anticipated. This is why Hebrews 11 describes the Old Testament saints looking forward to a new land, a heavenly land, where they will live in the presence of God, and Paul and Peter describe this anticipation of the restoration of our bodies and the restoration of the fellowship with God.  
  
So I hope you look forward to Heaven and understand and explore that it's not distant or disconnected, but it's something to look forward to. Please send us your questions at asktheocast.com.

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### What Is Covenant Theology?

*Published: August 17, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-covenant-theology*
*Tags: Covenant of Grace, Covenant of Redemption, Covenant of Works, Covenant Theology*

### What Is Covenant Theology? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hi, this is Justin, and I am answering the question, "What is covenant theology?" Just a quick disclaimer, before I even get going - this is a massive topic, and so what I'm about to do is a 30,000-foot fly over in just a few minutes. I hope it's helpful to you.  
  
Covenant theology is much more than simply believing that there are covenants in the Bible or that God works through them somehow. Covenant theology is a framework that's revealed in scripture through which we understand and interpret the entire Bible, and it's a framework that God works particularly and uniquely through in order to accomplish salvation. The three fundamental elements of covenant theology are the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace.  
  
The covenant of redemption is made in eternity past, before the world began, amongst the persons of the Godhead. They covenant together to save a people from the mass of fallen humanity, and in particular, the Father and the Son covenant together to save the elect through the work of God, the Son, who would take on flesh to accomplish that redemption.  
  
The covenant of works is a conditional covenant that God makes with man, and as the name implies, it is conditioned upon what we do. If man keeps the conditions of the covenant, if he obeys them perfectly and doesn't violate them at all, then he can stand on his own merit before God, and is in right relationship with him. God makes this covenant with Adam in the garden of Eden. Adam is given things that he is to do, and he has given a prohibition that he is not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we know that Adam transgressed the conditions of that covenant, resulting in punishment and judgment, namely, he plunged himself and all of his posterity into ruin.  
  
It's important to note that the covenant of works is revealed in other places in scripture than just in the garden of Eden. For example, at Theocast, we understand that the mosaic law, in the mosaic covenant, is a reissuing of the covenant of works, not formally, but with respect to its requirements, and of course there's the gracious provision of the sacrificial system revealed in the mosaic covenant as well. The covenant of works, though, represents what God requires of us in order to stand before him and be in right relationship to him, and it is a conditional covenant.  
  
The covenant of grace, on the other hand, is an unconditional covenant. It's an unconditional promise that God makes to his people that is not based on anything that they do, but it's based completely upon what the messiah does for them, and it is to be received by faith grounded in God's grace. The covenant of grace is promised in Genesis chapter three in verse 15, where God says there's a redeemer who will come to crush the head of the serpent, and it is revealed more and more throughout the Old Testament, and we finally see the covenant of grace established and accomplished in Christ in the new covenant.  
  
A simple way, I think to understand covenant theology is this: Jesus Christ fulfills the covenant of works in the covenant of grace in order to accomplish the covenant of redemption. So Jesus fulfills all of God's conditions and requirements for righteousness and forgiveness and the like, it is counted to his people by grace, through faith, that's the covenant of grace, in order that they might be saved, that’s the covenant of redemption.  
  
Something for you to know is that we plan to produce more content on covenant theology in the coming weeks and months. Some of that will be audio content, and then some of that, we hope, will be written content, perhaps even a primer on the subject. So hopefully this brief answer has primed the pump for you, and I hope that even these few minutes have been helpful to you.

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### What is the Theology of Glory vs the Theology of the Cross?

*Published: August 10, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-the-theology-of-glory-vs-the-theology-of-the-cross*
*Tags: Luther, Theology of Glory, Theology of the Cross, Theology of the Cross vs Theology of Glory*

### What is the Theology of Glory vs the Theology of the Cross? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and today on Ask Theocast, I'm answering the question, "What is the difference between a theology of the cross versus a theology of glory?"  
  
This is a theology that is as old as the mountain, it's been around forever. Martin Luther is the one who kind of brought it back to life and compared the two theologies.  
  
So let me explain what the first one is, a theology of glory. It is this idea that we are always improving, we're getting better and can get better. The more faith we have or the more work we put into our life, we will see financial blessing, health, protection, and progress- it's always about the progress of the Christian life. We're moving up and onward, and the design of God is this very purpose: the more we put in by faith and obedience, the more we give to God, then the more God will bless us. The reason why it's called a theology of glory is because it's for our own glory- the more that we are doing, the more we're advancing- it is pointing towards us.  
  
In contrast, a theology of the cross is the exact opposite of everything that has to do with the theology of glory. When we are called into faith with Christ, we are called to die with him. Paul says in Philippians 2 that not only have we been called to believe, we have been gifted or granted to believe, but also to suffer for his sake. As we enter into this relationship with God, there is not a guarantee of our health being protected or our wealth being protected. Rather we are told multiple times by Peter and Paul that we are going to suffer for the sake of the cross.  
  
In Second Corinthians, Paul talks about God giving him a thorn in the flesh. He asked God three times to take it away. In the end, God said no, and said that “my grace is sufficient for you.” Paul says that in calamity and suffering and destruction, all of this is exposing his weakness, and he says, “when I am weak, then I am strong.” Where Paul puts his hope and his rest is in the grace of God that comes to him. Where is the center point and the center focus of grace? It is always in the cross because it's in the cross that all of our sin is being forgiven and all that is needed to have a new life, to be adopted, and to be in the presence of God is granted to us through the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.  
  
What we are being told today is that if we do more and try harder, then God will provide protection and blessing and healing, that just does not line up with what the New Testament tells us. All of the apostles- except for John, who died of old age- but all the rest of the apostles died of horrendous deaths, and it wasn't because they didn't have enough faith or that God didn't protect them. For 2000 years, you have seen Christians who are being persecuted, who die from disease, who die of cancer, who die in accidents. Is it because God wasn't protecting them? We have never been told that God will come in, and for those who faithfully follow him, he will give them this protection. There's a confusion of the promises given to Israel for the nation of Israel, for the purpose of bringing us a Messiah, and confusion of the new heavens and the new earth.  
  
We are almost trying to bring the new heavens and the new earth here and now, and that's a theology of glory. We live in what's called an already-not-yet state. We already have all the forgiveness of God and the benefits and the promises of God. The not yet part is that we live in a Romans 8 world, where we are told that the earth is groaning, it has been cursed, and our bodies are awaiting redemption. As we wait, we are looking forward to the day of the not yet, where God will give us the same body that Christ has. He is described as the first fruits. He is the one to demonstrate what life will look like when we are raised from the dead, but that's not yet.  
  
So we live in the already. We have redemption. We have forgiveness. We are being sanctified. We're being transformed, but we're not glorified. We don't live in that new state. That's the not yet. So we live every day trusting in the grace of God. This is why Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." He doesn't mean the advancement of my finances or of my health. He means as I am still living in the sin-sick, broken world, the power of Christ in me will sustain me to accomplish what it is that I've been put here to do, which is to love my neighbor and to be a part of my church and to advance the gospel. Paul writes, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," to the church who is being persecuted.  
  
A theology of the cross understands that we live in a sin-sick world, full of pain, full of suffering, full of anxiety and that it is the grace of God that will get us through. A theology of glory is basically the idea that the more you do, the more faith you have, then the more relief God will provide. And that's just not what scripture tells us.  
  
So hopefully this is helpful for you to understand that it is not your fault if you get cancer, or if a calamity happens, or if there's suffering- that is part of living in a sinful world. We rely on the grace of God to get us through, and one day we will be in the new heavens and the new earth, where all sin will be done away with, where God will wipe away our tears. So, for now, we live the theology of the cross. We look to Christ, we understand there's suffering and pain, but one day it'll all be removed. Hopefully, this is encouraging. Please continue to send in your questions and we'll see you next week.

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### What does it mean to be a faithful and mature Christian?

*Published: August 3, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-faithful-and-mature-christian*
*Tags: Christian Life, Christianity, Mature Christian, Maturity, Vocation*

### What does it mean to be a faithful and mature Christian? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hi, this is Jimmy, and on today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to seek to answer the question, "What does it look like to live every day as a faithful and mature Christian?" It's a really obvious and pertinent question because each of us lives and exists every single day, we wake up, we eat breakfast, we go to work, we eat lunch, we go to school, we do all of these things and have various responsibilities throughout the day. So, in light of that, what does it look like to do all of those things and live all of those ways as a faithful and mature Christian?  
  
To help us answer that question, I want us to remember a very small petition in the Lord's prayer, where Jesus teaches us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." You might wonder, what does this have to do with living a faithful and mature Christian life?  
  
I want to introduce you, if you're not familiar, to what's known as the doctrine of vocation, to help me explain it, let me point you to an illustration. Each and every day, when my family sits down for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, my son, who's five years old and loves farming, reminds us that what we're eating was grown and raised by farmers. Whether it's bacon, or vegetables, or wheat, or whatever it may be, he reminds us that what we're eating is farm food. So if we're having a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, a farmer had to raise that hog, had to then sell it, somebody then had to transport it and then process it, put it in a package. I then had to go to the grocery store, buy it, bring it home, and cook it. The same could be said of both the tomatoes and the lettuce. Now, what would happen if those farmers decided that they weren't going to do it that day? They weren't going to raise those things, they weren't going to sell them, and the grocery stores decided to stop working or they decided to stop selling those things. Well, what would happen is that my bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich would simply just not be in existence.  
  
The idea of vocation is that all of us have unique callings and different things that we have been handed in this life. Whether we are husbands or wives, whether we are sons or daughters, or whether we are brothers or sisters, whether we are doctors or musicians, or we are farmers, or whatever it is that we may be, we have unique callings upon our lives known as our vocations. I think often what we confuse is the idea of "spiritual disciplines" with spiritual faithfulness and maturity.  
  
That isn't to say that reading your Bible or praying daily or regularly is a bad thing. In fact, those can be very good things. But often I think what it means to be a faithful and mature Christian on a daily basis is you living out your vocation in a quiet, obscure, faithful way. If you're a schoolteacher, that means you go to school and you love your students, you serve them, and you teach them very, very well. If you're a medical doctor, you obviously do not cut corners and you do your job faithfully, and you offer proper and right and good diagnosis. If you are a dentist, a farmer, a principal, whatever it is that you may do for a living, you do your job well. Why? Well, because God often answers that petition "Give us this day our daily bread" through fellow sinners.  
  
So obviously we need farmers. We need doctors. We need musicians. We need actors. We need all of these different vocations for our lives to just exist. So let me just try to encourage you here, that often to live a faithful and mature Christian life means that you do your vocation, you do your job, you live out your calling- even if that means disciplining your kid for the nineteen thousandth time. You do it for the glory of God because often that means you're also doing it for the good of others.  
  
A lot of times I think faithfulness and maturity means that we live our quiet lives, and we attend worship, and we hear the word preached to us, and we participate in the body and the life of the church, and then we also live out our various roles and vocations in our daily life. We do so in a way that glorifies God because we do them well. We realize that everything we do, whether we eat or drink, we do to the glory of God. But we also recognize that when we do it that way- where we recognize that being mature and being faithful in the Christian life often means just living out our vocation- we do it because it exists for the good of others.  
  
So remember, when you do your job, God is answering someone else's prayer of "Give us this day our daily bread." I hope that this is helpful for you, this idea of vocation- that as we live out our vocation, God uses us sinners to meet the needs of other sinners.  
  
I invite you to check out our website, wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, where you can find more resources like this. Thanks for watching and listening.

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### Can I look at my love for Jesus to find assurance?

*Published: July 27, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/can-i-look-at-my-love-for-jesus-to-find-assurance*
*Tags: Assurance, assurance of salvation, Depravity, Jesus, Love for Jesus*

### Can I look at my love for Jesus to find assurance? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and today on ask Theocast, I'm answering Aaron's question. He asks, "If someone is struggling with their assurance, can I point to their affection for Jesus, or their love for Jesus, as the ground of their assurance, or as a way they can find assurance?"  
  
The problem with this is to assume that our affections are perfectly sanctified, they're perfectly holy, they're good and just at all times, and that we aren't going to waiver. We are told that the problem of humanity, and the problem with Christians, is our heart.  
  
Our heart has been brought to life. We are told by Ezekiel that our heart of stone has been pulled out and a heart of flesh has been put in, that we are these new creatures that really never existed before, which is those who have the Holy Spirit. But yet, we are still depraved. We know that we're depraved, meaning that we are still underneath the effects of sin, because we are warned by the apostle Paul that the flesh is going to battle against the Spirit to overcome the Spirit and the Spirit is going to be at war with the flesh to suppress sin.  
  
First John 1:9 becomes so important to the Christian life because it says when we sin, we are to confess that sin, and we receive forgiveness- he is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Repentance is a part of the Christian life where we are constantly repenting of when the flesh wins against the Spirit.  
  
We're not told that that battle somehow is suppressed or goes away, but it’s this constant battle. There's a warning from James to be aware of Satan who was coming to try and trip us up, to trip our faith up, to get us to trust in the flesh or into sin or in temptation rather than in Christ.  
  
So, Paul tells us about this war that he has in Romans seven, were the things he wants to do, he's not doing them, and he knows the things that he shouldn't do, and he keeps doing them - oh wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death? And he says, “thanks be to Christ!” So his hope, as he goes on in Romans eight to tell us, is that eventually those whom God justifies he sanctifies, and those who he sanctifies he glorifies. The glorious chain of redemption means that one day, we will have perfect affection and perfect obedience of the Father. But right now we don't have that.  
  
Where does our hope lie? Well, all throughout scripture, we are told that sinners are cleansed of their sin, and they are given a new status of child who holds on to and wears, all of the riches of Jesus. We are clothed as if we are wearing his clothes. We are wearing his wealth. We are clothed in his righteousness.  
  
How is that given to us? How is it that we are cleansed and then clothed? We are granted all of the obedience of Jesus. How was that given to us? Is it given to us by our love for God? No, we’re told that it's given to us by our faith, and that faith is never quantified or qualified. It literally says if you believe in Jesus Christ to be your forgiveness and your righteousness, you are an adopted child. You are brought in and have all the blessings of Christ as we're told in Ephesians three. All of the glorious gifts that are given to us are given to us by faith alone Ephesians 2:8-9 says, so that you don't boast, it's not of any kind of work. It's nothing you drum up. It's not your affections. It's not your obedience. It's trust. As you sit and trust in the finished work of Christ, as you sit there and trust that it's enough, that there's nothing else required, you can have full assurance.  
  
Now, we are told in scripture, and the confessions help clarify this, that our good works and our affections can add to our assurance. It can bolster it, but it can never be the foundation. It can't be the ground upon which you stand, because the moment you put your faith and trust in your good works or in your affections, and sin and temptation comes, it will topple you over, and you will feel that you have no hope. All of a sudden you have denied God, as Peter found himself denying Christ and later on, even in his ministry, being rebuked by Paul for leading people back under the law; or King David, as he gets toppled over by sin and temptation. What does he say in his Psalm 51? “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” He is looking to that which saves him, which is always a God outside of himself.  
  
So we too can take hope from Paul, and Peter, and King David, and understand that- as we wrestle and battle with sin- our adoption, our regeneration, our hope, and our foundation is always in Sola Fide. It's always faith alone. There are times where we may be called to examine ourselves. We hear those passages thrown at us. "Well, examine yourself to see if you're of the faith," and then they'll point to your affections or they'll point to your obedience. In context, Paul's not talking about their affections or obedience, he's calling their actual faith into question. He's saying, if you're accusing me of a false gospel, you better examine yourself to see if you're of the faith. I'm the one that preached the gospel to you, so you better make sure that you're in the faith because this is where you got your gospel. Context matters there. When it comes down to your assurance, I would encourage you that if you are going to base your assurance on your affections and love for God, your assurance is always going to waiver. It's on shaky ground. You should be looking to the one who is saving you. You never look to yourself to see how well you are doing at obedience to the one who is saving you. Assurance must rest in the power of the one who's saving you, never in your own power.  
  
Hopefully, that was encouraging. Please go to our website and send us your questions. Thank you for taking the time to do that today, Aaron, and we'll see you guys next week.

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### How much faith is required for assurance?

*Published: July 20, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/how-much-faith-is-required-for-assurance*
*Tags: Assurance, Faith, required faith, salvation*

### How much faith is required for assurance? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hi, this is Jimmy, and on today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to seek to tackle the question from Robert, "How much faith is required for assurance?" It's a great question, and we get similar questions like it all the time. If I may, I'm going to point you to a verse from the gospel of John chapter six, verse 44, where Jesus says this, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."  
  
You know, the question of assurance is a difficult one. Like I said, it's one that we receive all of the time, and the common thread that I see in that question is that even when people ask it, they're looking for some sort of self-validation. Something that I want to remind us all of is just the fact of scripture, the truth of scripture, what we see time and time again, that even faith itself is a gift. A lot of times we think that God does his part and then he throws the baton to us, and now it's our turn to do our part, and if we do it incorrectly, or wrongly, or not enough, then God is going to abandon us.  
  
So as we think about faith, something that I want to point us to is that we are not saved by the quality of our faith. That is, we are never saved by how good we believe, or if we believe enough. Rather, as we at Theocast like to say, how much faith is required for it to be saving faith? Well, the answer to that is, any faith. Any faith. The reason being this, as Jesus told us in John chapter six: faith is a gift. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is the one that draws us to the Father, and then Jesus promises in that same verse that he will raise us up on the last day.  
  
It's a difficult thing for us to trust it, but time and time again, something that I remind our church of is this truth: a lot of times, our greatest battle in the Christian life is not to do more and be better, but rather, sometimes the greatest battle in the Christian life is to trust and rest in the gracious promises of Jesus Christ in the gospel.  
  
So, to answer your question, Robert, how much faith is required for assurance? Well, any faith, because that faith is a gift by the Spirit in the first place.  
  
Now, you're probably going to ask some more questions, and I can even hear the alarm bells going off in your brain saying, well, how do I know that I have faith? Let me just point you to this truth, that the struggle that you're probably having internally, the struggle, the doubts, and the fears, listen to me, that is a Roman seven reality. What your feeling is what Paul felt and what we all feel, that we do the things that we don't want to do and that which we don't want to do, we end up doing. But let me point you from Roman seven to Romans chapter eight, verse one, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And right before that, what does Paul say? Who will deliver us from this wretched body? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  
  
So Robert, what I want to point you to is not the quality of your faith. I want to point you to the object of your faith, which is Jesus Christ. That is what is going to save you, and that is who is going to raise you up on the last day.  
  
If you want to hear more about this, we invite you to check out our podcasts at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com, and there you'll be able to find additional resources as well. Thanks for the question. We hope this has been beneficial to you.

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### How should a Christian understand the phrase "with fear and trembling" in Philippians 2:12?

*Published: July 13, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/how-should-a-christian-understand-the-phrase-with-fear-and-trembling-in-philippians-2-12*
*Tags: fear and trembling, Philippians 2:12, Pietism, Reformed Theology, workout your salvation*

### How should a Christian understand the phrase "with fear and trembling" in Philippians 2:12? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hey everybody, this is Jimmy, and on today's episode of ask Theocast, we're going to seek to answer Matthew's question, and his question is this, "How should a Christian understand the phrase 'with fear and trembling' in Philippians chapter two, verse 12?", and so I'm going to go ahead and read that entire verse and then see if I can offer some helpful thoughts on it.  
  
The apostle Paul writes to the Philippian church in chapter two, verse 12, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."  
  
I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and assume that the question that's being asked by Matthew has more to do with our posture before God, in terms of our sanctification, in that, isn't it fear of judgment and isn't it fear of condemnation that kind of drives us towards holy living in this life?  
  
I don't think that's actually what Paul had in mind when he wrote this passage. Philippians chapter two is a beautiful passage, and in the beginning 10 or 11 or so verses, what is Paul talking about? He's actually talking about the humility of Christ, in that Christ did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but rather emptied himself, becoming a servant on our behalf, and then later on in verse 12 and on, what Paul points to is us as Christians to live in light of that. To also be those who do not grumble, who don't complain, who do all things without selfishness tainting it, and so even as we think about "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling", I think we need to keep in mind the greater context, that Paul is actually talking about humility.  
  
He's talking about what the gospel does in us, in that it produces a life of love, it produces a life of good works, it does not produce a posture of fear, and so when we look at the gospel, and we look at the ways that Jesus sacrificed himself for us, that Jesus, though he was God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but rather became a servant on our behalf, Paul then looks at us after proclaiming the status that we have in Christ, forgiven sinners now saints in the eyes of God, he says, man, don't you think in light of this, that we, in fear and trembling - and I want you to hear his tone here, I think the tone he has is just in awe of everything that God has done - shouldn't we in awe look at one another within the church, those who suffer with sin, those who are sinner-saints around us, shouldn't we have a posture of humble service of loving the saints around us?  
  
I also want to point you to chapter two verse 13, it says, "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." I think that's something that can bring us profound comfort, that as we continue as bodies of Christ in different contexts, in different places around the world, as we continue to go to church on Sundays to have Christ heralded to our sinful and weary hearts, to participate in the sacraments of the church, to see how the church continues to build itself up in love, we understand that God uses these ordinary means to draw us into union with Christ and with one another, and it is God who mysteriously does this, and so even as we think about working out our own salvation, I don't think that means Paul is saying, you know, God did his part, now it's your part, you go do your thing.  
  
I think what Paul is saying is, standing in awe of the good news of the gospel, we now look at one another differently. We can put on this posture of humility as Christ has done for us, and look at one another in love. So this fear and trembling is not a fear of condemnation, it's not a fear of guilt, and it's not a fear of shame, but rather it is this right sense of fear and trembling and awe. I think awe is the right word here, awe of a holy God, that he has sent his one and only son Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life on our behalf, to die a sacrificial death, but then to be rising again, to be risen again for our justification.  
  
So, we're not working out our own salvation in a workspace way, but rather we are putting on a posture of humility, and grace, and kindness because of what Christ has done for us. It is that status forward mentality, that Christ has called us his own, and we live in light of that truth.  
  
So, hopefully you found this answer helpful. I invite you to check out other resources at wordpress-1294806-4720887.cloudwaysapps.com. You can check out our main podcast there, where we seek to tackle a lot of topics like this at greater length. Thanks for listening, and we hope to see you and that you tune in to future episodes of ask Theocast soon. Thanks.

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### Are Calvinism and Reformed Theology the Same Thing?

*Published: July 6, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/are-calvinism-and-reformed-theology-the-same-thing*
*Tags: Calvinism, Calvinism Vs Reformed Theology, Reformed Theology*

###  Does Jesus Ever Turn Anyone Away? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hi, this is Justin. Here at Theocast, we get a lot of questions about Calvinism and about reformed theology and questions about whether or not Calvinism and reformed theology are the same thing. The short answer to that question is no. Calvinism and reformed theology are not the same thing.  
  
Calvinism is certainly a major tenant of reformed theology, but it is not the whole of reformed theology. So, in other words, everybody who is reformed is a Calvinist, but not everybody who is a Calvinist is reformed.  
  
So I want to take just a minute and outline several of the major tenets of reformed theology that would sort of distinguish it from simply being Calvinistic. So, you can remember the three C's of reformed theology: to be reformed is to be Calvinistic, covenantal, and confessional.  
  
To be a Calvinist means that we would hold to the five points of Calvinism as they have been described historically: total depravity, unconditional election, limited or particular atonement, irresistible grace, and then the perseverance or preservation of the saints.  
  
To be covenantal in our theology means that we understand the covenantal framework of the Bible. There was a covenant made amongst the persons of the Godhead in eternity past, known as the covenant of redemption. There was a covenant of works that God made with Adam in the garden that he broke, and thereby plunged humanity into ruin, and sin, and death. Then there is the promise of the covenant of grace that's revealed in Genesis 3:15 and is accomplished consummately by Jesus in the new covenant. So a good summary, I think, of covenant theology is that Jesus accomplishes the covenant of works in the covenant of grace in order to accomplish the covenant of redemption.  
  
In addition to those things, we can talk about confessional theology, being not only that we hold to a confession from the era of the reformation, but it's a posture, even theologically, where we understand that there are truth claims - in particular, truths about Jesus - that are to be believed in, trusted, rested in, and confessed. It's a very objective understanding of theology. We are looking outside of ourselves to save what's wrong in us. In particular, we are looking outside of ourselves to Christ to save us, and we are looking to the work of Christ that is finished. There is nothing left to be contributed that's necessary. Jesus has done everything that is necessary to save his people, and so we trust and rest in him.  
  
In addition to being Calvinistic, covenantal, and confessional, two other significant things to point out about reformed theology are an understanding, first of all, of the ordinary means of grace. Those ordinary means are just that, as the name implies, they're ordinary things that we do that the Holy Spirit of God uses to accomplish extraordinary ends, namely the imparting of faith and the sustaining, strengthening, and confirmation of faith. The ordinary means have been understood historically to be the right preaching of God's word and the right administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's table, and prayer is another ordinary means that is often added in, as well as song, in the context of the gathered church. It's important that we understand that the ordinary means, properly understood, are corporate realities. These are not things that fundamentally happen when we're by ourselves, but they happen when the church gathers and assembles. The Spirit of God shows up to use these means, and these means are the primary and fundamental means of growth and sustenance in the Christian life.  
  
Finally, to be reformed in our theology would be to hold to an understanding of the distinction between the law and the gospel. Anything that we see in scripture that is a command or an imperative is law, where we're told, do these things and you'll be rewarded, do these things and you will live. That is law. There are proper uses of that law as reformed Christians have understood through history. The first use being to drive us to Christ by showing us our sin, the second use being to restrain our corruption, and the third use as a perfect guide for our lives in Christ. I've actually done an ask Theocast on the uses of the law before. The distinction there between that law and then the gospel is that the gospel is anything in scripture where we are told that Christ has done things in our place in order to save us. So when we're told, do these things, that's law, when we're told that Christ has done it for us and we are to receive it by faith, that is gospel.  
  
So in summation, in order to be reformed in our theology, we are Calvinistic, covenantal, and confessional. We would have an understanding of the ordinary means of grace in the context of the gathered church, and we would hold to a distinction between the law and the gospel. I hope that's clarifying for you and shows you some of the differences that would exist between some people who would claim to be Calvinistic and maybe even reformed, and then those who would hold to a historic understanding of reformed theology.

---

### What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?

*Published: June 29, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-does-it-mean-to-grieve-the-holy-spirit*
*Tags: Ephesians, Ephesians 4, Grieve the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Pietism*

### What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and today on ask Theocast, I'm answering Andrew's question, which he asked, "What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?"  
  
This is a great question. It's often used to guilt people, to cause them to have fear if they don't obey enough or if they don't pursue godliness enough, and then their salvation sometimes is called into question.  
  
I don't think that's the intention that Paul had when he wrote this. If you look at the book of Ephesians, the whole first three chapters are about the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, explaining how God saves sinners, that he chose them before the foundation of the world, and that their salvation is not by works lest any man should boast. It's a beautiful explanation of the hope that we have outside of ourselves in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Then in chapter four, he turns towards the church. He says, now, if this be true of you, then you need to respond in a worthy manner. He is not focused on individual obedience or the individual Christian - really at all.  
  
He focuses in on the function of the church, and explains that the Spirit comes and he gifts those with teaching, and preaching, and prophecy. He gifts those with the ability to give, and show charity, and kindness, and love, and then he says when the church functions properly, it builds itself up in love.  
  
So, that's the context of chapters one through four. The focus is on our assurance in Jesus Christ by faith alone, and then our response to that is growth in this faith. We are strengthened in this faith when we participate in the body. So then he talks about what can cause that unity. He says that we are unified. We become one because of the Spirit that lives within us.  
  
Let me just read to you from chapter four. A few of verses before he says don't grieve the Spirit, in verse 25, it says, "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." The Spirit, that lives within all of us, binds us together. It makes us one together. That’s the context. Then, if you look at verse 30, when he says, "and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God", you know he's already told us in context that the Spirit of God is that which lives within all of us, who binds us together, by whom we were sealed for the day of redemption.  
  
So, what can cause the grieving of the Spirit or cause division within the body? He says this, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from among you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you." So what he's actually going after is anything that could potentially cause friction within the body of Christ and prevent us from staying unified around the gospel that strengthens us and can go out to those who are lost. Paul is not trying to create fear or worry or saying that you better do right or God's coming after you. Paul is concerned that believers will not understand the priority and the purpose around staying unified in the gospel. Go back and look at the beginning of chapter four. It says to make every effort to remain in unity, the bond of peace, and that peace comes to us through our unity of the Spirit in Jesus Christ.  
  
Hopefully that was encouraging for you. Please ask us more questions on our website, share this with anyone that might find this encouraging, and we'll see you next week.

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### Does Jesus Ever Turn Anyone Away?

*Published: June 22, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/does-jesus-ever-turn-anyone-away*
*Tags: Calvinism, John 6, John 6:37, Reformed Theology, salvation*

### Is there ever a conceivable circumstance where Jesus would turn away someone seeking salvation in him? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hey guys, this is Justin. Today's question is submitted by Gunner, and he asks, "Does Jesus ever turn away someone who desires to be saved?"  
  
Well, Gunner, let me begin to answer your question by reading the words of Christ from John chapter six, beginning in verse 37, where he says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out, for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."  
  
In this passage, we see very clearly that the Father gives people to Jesus. The Father has chosen people from before the foundation of the world, and has given them to Christ, the Son. Anybody that is given to Christ will come to him, and Jesus says that anybody who comes to him, he will never cast out.  
  
So, in a sense, we can simply answer the question "Will Jesus ever turn away someone who desires to be saved?" with the proclamation that Jesus will never turn away anybody who comes to him in faith. He promises that he will save us and that he will raise us up on the last day. What comfort the words of John 6:40 are: the will of the Father is that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and Jesus says, I'll make sure it happens. I'll raise him up on the last day. So, no, nobody who comes to Christ and looks upon him and believes in him will ever be turned away, or will ever be rejected, or will ever be lost.  
  
Later on in John chapter six, just a few verses later in verse 44, Jesus does make it quite clear. He adds some words as to how people might come to him in the first place. He says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.” It sounds just like what he has said a few verses before. If the father has given someone to Christ, they will come to Christ. If the father has drawn someone, they will come to Christ, and this individual will never be turned away, and will never be cast out, and will never be lost, but Jesus will raise him or her up on the last day.  
  
We could also think about John three and Jesus's words to Nicodemus where he tells Nicodemus that no one will enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again. That phrase “born again” could also be rendered “born from above”. Then he tells Nicodemus that that happens by a work of God's Holy Spirit, and he compares the work of the Spirit to the wind. He explains that the wind blows and you hear the sound of it. You see its effects, but you don't know where it came from or where it's going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.  
  
So, how it is that people come to Christ in the first place is a work of God's sovereign grace, and the Bible is crystal clear that anyone who comes to Christ believing in him for eternal life will never be turned away. We can rest in that. We can hope in that promise. We can trust Christ and know that we will never be turned away from him. We will never be cast out, but we will be raised up with Christ on the last day.  
  
I hope that answer's helpful to you, Gunner, and anybody else who maybe listening. Grace and peace to you. Keep trusting Christ.

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### How does covenant theology encourage assurance and rest in Christ?

*Published: June 15, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/how-does-covenant-theology-encourage-assurance-and-rest-in-christ*
*Tags: Assurance, Covenant of Redemption, Covenant Theology*

### How does covenant theology encourage assurance and rest in Christ? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hey everybody, this is Jimmy, and on today's episode of ask Theocast, I'm going to try to answer the question: "How does covenant theology increase our assurance in Christ?"  
  
I'm going to focus specifically on what's known as the covenant of redemption, which is the covenant made between the three persons of the Godhead, from eternity past, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to redeem sinners. I just want to read from the book of Ephesians chapter one, less we think that covenant theology is something that we're placing on the text, rather, it's something that really rises out of the biblical text. So let me just read Ephesians chapter one beginning in verse three:  
  
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved." Moving down to verse 13, "In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."  
  
So, really what we see there is this covenant of redemption, that before eternity past, God, the Father, planned to redeem sinners. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the one who accomplished that redemption, and then what we see later on in chapter one is that the Holy Spirit is the one who applies, or seals, that redemption. As we think about covenant theology, and specifically the covenant of redemption and how it increases our assurance, what I want us to see is that our assurance is completely, totally, 100% found in the objective realities of the gospel.  
  
A lot of times we confuse our assurance with how we feel or what we're thinking on the inside, but I think what covenant theology does so well, as we think about the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace, is that it points us to these outward oriented things, specifically that, one, the Father has planned redemption. Before you ever sinned, before you ever messed up, before you ever took a breath, God, the Father, set his love on you. Second, Jesus Christ is the one who accomplished that redemption, so that when God looks at you, he doesn't look at your best days of obedience, he doesn't look at your worst days of sin, but rather he looks at the perfect righteousness of Christ, credited to your account, and finally, the Holy Spirit seals that redemption to you. It's not a work that you did. It's not like you had to reach up into heaven and pull it down, but rather, the Holy Spirit descended and sealed that upon your heart, took out your heart of stone, and gave you a heart of flesh.  
  
What I love about covenant theology is that it points us outside of ourselves, which is, I think, something we always need to remember when we think of the gospel. Our assurance is never found in something within ourselves, but rather in the objective realities of the gospel.  
  
If you want some more resources about covenant theology, and specifically the gospel itself, you can head to our website at Theocast.org. We hope that this episode of ask Theocast was beneficial to you. We'd ask that you'd share it with those that might find help and rest in it, and we are always encouraging you as a weary pilgrim to find your rest in the objective realities of Christ. Thanks for listening.

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### What Does It Mean To Be Confessional?

*Published: June 8, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-does-it-mean-to-be-confessional*
*Tags: confessional, Confessional theology, Confessionalism, Confessions*

### What Does It Mean to Be Confessional? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hey guys, it's Justin. One of the questions that we get here regularly at Theocast is "What does it mean to be confessional in your theology?".  
  
A confessional framework begins with the understanding that the Christian faith is founded upon the objective and declarative realities of Jesus and his work in the place of sinners, and those realities are to be confessed, they are to be believed and trusted in. When we say that the realities of Christ and his work in the place of sinners are objective, we mean that they stand outside of us. When we say that they are declarative, we mean that they're done. They're finished, and so, in a confessional context, we are always looking outside of ourselves to Jesus and his work, which stand unaffected by us. His work is unaffected by how we're doing, how we're feeling, or even by our circumstance. He has accomplished our redemption. He has secured our salvation, and so we trust in him because there's nothing left to be done that is necessary. That's the lifeblood and the heartbeat of a confessional perspective.  
  
Now, of course, in being confessional, we are looking back to confessions of faith that have been produced throughout the history of the church, and as reformed Christians, we are particularly looking back to the confessions that were produced during the era of the Protestant reformation. Those confessions, like any other confessions that have ever come about, were produced by a need for theological clarity. The medieval church was characterized by moralism and even a works-based schema when it came to salvation, and so the reformed confessions push back against those things.  
  
In a reformed, confessional context, Jesus and his work are always in the foreground. They are the focus, and then the Christian and the Christian life stand in the background and are only seen through the lens of Jesus and his work for us. This is the opposite of a perspective, or framework, that would be called pietism, where the Christian and the Christian life are the focus, and then Jesus and his work are essentially in the background.  
  
In a confessional context, the primary, fundamental question that we ask when it comes to the Christian life is "Who are we? What's our identity?", and the answer to that question is “We are in Christ by faith”. Our duty, what we are to do, is then derived from our identity, whereas in pietism, it's the opposite. The starting point in pietism is "What must we do?", and then our identity is determined by that. It's determined by our duty. So it's important that we understand that distinction, that in a confessional world, Jesus is the focus, and the fundamental question is "Who are we?", and the answer to that question is, "We are in Christ Jesus".  
  
This has important implications for the Christian life in the church: that the motivation for obedience, piety, and godliness is always Jesus and his work for us, and also that the realization of piety, and the realization of godliness, in a confessional context, is never outside of the Holy Spirit's work in us.  
  
This is the beauty, and the wonder, and the safety, and the security of confessional, biblical theology. We're looking outside of ourselves to save what's wrong in us. We are looking outside of ourselves to the rock-solid work of Christ in our place. We are looking to the person and the work of Jesus, and the fact that everything that is necessary for salvation has been completed, and we are confessing, and trusting, and believing, and resting in those truths.  
  
That is what it means to be confessional.

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### Declared Righteous or Made Righteous?

*Published: June 1, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/declared-righteous-or-made-righteous*
*Tags: Declared Righteous, Justification, Righteousness, Roman Catholic*

### What is the difference between being declared righteous compared to made righteous? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hi, this is Jon, and I am answering the question: what is the difference between being declared righteous and being made righteous?  
  
This is really at the heart of the reformation. Roman Catholic theology teaches that through works and the sacraments, you are made righteous. You actually become righteous as part of your nature. As far as the reformation goes, we hold that, according to Romans chapter 5 verse 1, we are justified by faith. This means that one is declared to be right with God by faith, not by their actions. So, we did not actually gain forgiveness of our sins, and we are not by nature righteous.  
  
When God looks at us, he does not say that we are righteous, rather he says that we have been declared to be righteous. It has been pronounced over us. It has been given to us. It is not part of who we are. Once we are justified and have been declared righteous, God begins to sanctify us, transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ; however, we will not be made righteous until we are glorified, in heaven, when we are finally transformed into the actual image of Jesus Christ. That's when we will be made righteous, but as we stand right now, as believers, we have it declared over to us. It's pronounced upon us.  
  
This is why this is important: if we are made righteous, that means that God looks to our own righteousness as to why we are justified and why we can have a right relationship with him. This means our justification is now dependent upon our level of righteousness, and you have to not only gain it, but maintain it. This goes right along with the Council of Trent, Canon 24, where it literally says that your good works not only are part of your justification, but they increase your justification.  
  
We believe that sola fide, by faith alone, one is declared to be righteous. Not in a progressive stance, but in the eyes of God, there is nothing left - it is finished. The guilt of sin is removed from you, and all the requirements to be accepted by God have been given to you by Jesus Christ.  
  
The acts of obedience to the law- by Jesus on Earth- all of those good acts have been given to us, and not because we've deserved them or earned them. That is why God can look at us and say he declares us righteous. He pronounces us righteous because of the gift that we have received. As stated in Ephesians 2:8-9, we received this gift of grace, by faith - it is not something that we earned. The difference between declared righteous verses made righteous is that to be declared righteous is something that's pronounced over you, it is not because of who you are.  
  
This is also helpful when you think about your relationship to God going forward. If you have not been made righteous, which means it is not part of your inherent nature, you are now still going to battle the flesh. Paul says, “the Spirit wages war against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit”. That is because the Spirit lives within you, and is calling you to holiness, but it's not part of your actual nature. Your nature still fights back against that. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because you have been declared to be justified- not because you are actually righteous. God looks to the righteousness of Christ that has been declared over you, not to your own personal righteousness. One day we will be holy and righteous, but that is not who we are now.  
  
So, that's the difference between being declared righteous and made righteous. I hope this was helpful.

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### What is Antonmianism?

*Published: May 25, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-antonmianism*
*Tags: Antinomian, Antinomianism*

### What is Antonmianism? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hi, this is Justin. Here at Theocast, we get a lot of questions about the Christian life, and if you look at those questions and try to find the common thread within them, it would be this: are we both saint and sinner at the same time? The answer to that question is yes.

One of the famous phrases that came out of the reformation is "simul justus et peccator," which means "at the same time justified and sinner." It could also be rendered "at the same time saint and sinner."

What that phrase is trying to communicate is what the Bible says about us. We are, by faith, in Christ Jesus. In that regard, we are saints. We have been united to Christ by faith. All of his merits, all of the benefits - everything that is his is now ours by faith. All the satisfaction that he has made for our sins is counted to us. The death that he died under the law is counted to us. It is as though we have paid the penalty that we owe to God for breaking his law. Also, the perfect life of Jesus - his perfect record of obedience and fulfillment of the law in every way - is counted to us. It is as though we have done the righteous works that Christ did.

God the Father looks at us, in Christ, and declares us righteous. We have been born again by the Spirit of God. We have been circumcised in our heart with the circumcision that is not made with hands. It's not the circumcision of the flesh, but it is the regenerating work of the Spirit of God to circumcise our hearts with the circumcision of Christ. In all of these ways, we are saints. We are new creations in Christ Jesus. We now delight in the law of God in our inner man. We are very much saints, and at the same time, we still battle the corruption of our flesh.

We still fight against sin, and that's because we have not been fully sanctified yet. We have not been glorified yet. There will come a day when we will sin no more, but that day has not yet arrived. We will still battle against the desires of our flesh. Paul makes this very clear in Romans 7 and in Galatians 5:17, where he depicts so powerfully the internal war that we now experience. We often find ourselves doing things that we do not want to do, and we often find ourselves not doing the things that we want to do. This leads us to cry out with the apostle Paul, "wretched man, wretched woman that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?". Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

So, the presentation of the New Testament is very consistent. We are saints in Christ Jesus. We are righteous in him. We are safe. We have peace with God. We have been reconciled to God and we are awaiting resurrection unto righteousness and incorruptibility. But, for now, until then, we will battle sin. We are still sinners, and that's because we have not been completely delivered from the fallen flesh that we still live in. We are free from the slavery and tyranny of the law, we have been freed from the dominion, slavery, and tyranny of sin, and we will one day, in Christ, be raised incorruptible and imperishable. We long for that day. Until then, we continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work in our place, even as we continue to battle our corruption and the sin of our flesh.

Grace and peace to you.

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### Are We Both Saint and Sinner?

*Published: May 18, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/are-we-both-saint-and-sinner*
*Tags: saint and sinner, simul justus et peccator*

### Are We Both Saint and Sinner? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hi, this is Justin. Here at Theocast, we get a lot of questions about the Christian life, and if you look at those questions and try to find the common thread within them, it would be this: are we both saint and sinner at the same time? The answer to that question is yes.

One of the famous phrases that came out of the reformation is "simul justus et peccator," which means "at the same time justified and sinner." It could also be rendered "at the same time saint and sinner."

What that phrase is trying to communicate is what the Bible says about us. We are, by faith, in Christ Jesus. In that regard, we are saints. We have been united to Christ by faith. All of his merits, all of the benefits - everything that is his is now ours by faith. All the satisfaction that he has made for our sins is counted to us. The death that he died under the law is counted to us. It is as though we have paid the penalty that we owe to God for breaking his law. Also, the perfect life of Jesus - his perfect record of obedience and fulfillment of the law in every way - is counted to us. It is as though we have done the righteous works that Christ did.

God the Father looks at us, in Christ, and declares us righteous. We have been born again by the Spirit of God. We have been circumcised in our heart with the circumcision that is not made with hands. It's not the circumcision of the flesh, but it is the regenerating work of the Spirit of God to circumcise our hearts with the circumcision of Christ. In all of these ways, we are saints. We are new creations in Christ Jesus. We now delight in the law of God in our inner man. We are very much saints, and at the same time, we still battle the corruption of our flesh.

We still fight against sin, and that's because we have not been fully sanctified yet. We have not been glorified yet. There will come a day when we will sin no more, but that day has not yet arrived. We will still battle against the desires of our flesh. Paul makes this very clear in Romans 7 and in Galatians 5:17, where he depicts so powerfully the internal war that we now experience. We often find ourselves doing things that we do not want to do, and we often find ourselves not doing the things that we want to do. This leads us to cry out with the apostle Paul, "wretched man, wretched woman that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?". Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

So, the presentation of the New Testament is very consistent. We are saints in Christ Jesus. We are righteous in him. We are safe. We have peace with God. We have been reconciled to God and we are awaiting resurrection unto righteousness and incorruptibility. But, for now, until then, we will battle sin. We are still sinners, and that's because we have not been completely delivered from the fallen flesh that we still live in. We are free from the slavery and tyranny of the law, we have been freed from the dominion, slavery, and tyranny of sin, and we will one day, in Christ, be raised incorruptible and imperishable. We long for that day. Until then, we continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work in our place, even as we continue to battle our corruption and the sin of our flesh.

Grace and peace to you.

---

### What is a Redemptive Historical Understanding of the Bible?

*Published: May 11, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-is-a-redemptive-historical-understanding-of-the-bible*
*Tags: Baptism, Bible Reading, Reading your Bible, Redemptive Historic, Redemptive Historical*

### What is a Redemptive Historical Understanding of the Bible? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
What is the redemptive-historical understanding of the Bible? It is the way we interpret God's word - how it flows and what its overarching purpose is.  
  
If you start in Genesis 3:15, you have the fall. Adam and Eve have tried to be like God. What is the first promise that is given to them? That glorious promise is the introduction to the gospel. It is what we call the first gospel - that God is going to provide a seed through Eve, and he's going to come and crush the head of Satan while his heel will be bruised.  
  
What is being said there is that he is going to take on the punishment and make right what Adam and Eve had made wrong. The Bible, from that moment forward, is the fulfillment of this promise. It is clarified as we learn that it is through Abraham that all the nations will be blessed, and then it is through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then we have the mosaic law that is given as a further explanation of our need for the gospel. We learn that the fulfillment will come through David, but we see it is Jesus Christ who ends up fulfilling the mosaic law, or obeying it. That fulfillment shows us who the Messiah is. As we continue to walk through scripture, we see the unfolding plan of redemption. God promised to Adam and Eve that he would redeem them, and it's clarified through every chapter of God's word through history. We read the history of the nation of Israel. We read the history of God interacting with humanity. As we do, we see that it's a redemption unfolding through history; hence, the redemptive-historical understanding of God's word.  
  
As you read every section of your Bible, it is not disconnected from the main theme and purpose of God's word. Often, we disconnect what's going on and individualize books. We read the story of Daniel, or we read the story of David, or Nehemiah, and we try to learn how we should live a better life, or how we should interact with God. But those stories are not disconnected from what God is doing. Those stories are a part of the main theme, which is redemption.  
  
God is fulfilling his plan as it unfolds through Adam and Eve and through Abraham and through the people of Israel and through the kingdom of David, and it keeps unfolding until you get to Matthew. You cannot disconnect these stories, including Proverbs, or Song of Solomon, or Ruth. All of these are still within the greater narrative of redemption. So, as we are interpreting them, and as we're reading them, we have to see that each book is pushing along God's promise to his people - that he is going to redeem them through Jesus Christ. Once we get to the New Testament, it becomes clear: we see a redeemed people who are now living in this new covenant reality of being in union with Jesus Christ, and then the full culmination of redemption where God is restoring all things. As we get to the end of Revelation, we see that what we lost in the garden, God is going to restore to us. He is not only redeeming people, but he's also redeeming creation back to its original intention, where we can live with God in peace and harmony.  
  
The story of the Bible is to be read with what we would say is a redemptive, historical understanding. This is what we would also call a confessional, reformed understanding - this isn't new to Theocast. It is a very historic, old understanding of scripture: where God unfolds, through redemption, these covenants through history. As we read about each covenant, we can see that God is progressing the redemption of his people through these covenants in the unfolding of history. Hopefully, this is helpful for you.

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### What Are the Uses of the Law?

*Published: April 26, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-are-the-uses-of-the-law*
*Tags: Gospel, law, Three fold Use of the Law, Three Uses of the Law*

### What Are the Uses of the Law? Answered by Justin Perdue
  
  
Hi, this is Justin. One of the questions that we often get here at Theocast is about the uses of God's law. What are the uses of the law, and how should we understand them? Historically speaking, in the reformed tradition, we understand that there are three uses of the law.

The first use is to show us our sin and drive us to the savior. God, in his law, has revealed to us what he requires for righteousness. His law is holy. His law is perfect, and he requires perfect obedience and fulfillment of his law all the time, if we are ever going to stand before him and be righteous in his sight. We learn in Deuteronomy 27 and James chapter 2, amongst other places, that if we break any part of God's law, we are guilty of breaking all of it.

As we assess our lives in light of God's perfect and holy standard, we realize very quickly that we have failed to meet that standard. We have not passed the test, and so we are driven outside of ourselves, away from our own works and our own notions of our own righteousness, to find our righteousness elsewhere.

That righteousness has been provided for us through Jesus and Jesus alone. Christ has done two massive things for us with respect to God's law. First of all, he has perfectly kept and fulfilled God's law for us in the place of sinners. His life was perfect. He always obeyed everything that God had revealed in his law. He kept it perfectly, and his perfect life, his perfect obedience, and his perfect record are counted to sinners by faith. It's as though we too have perfectly kept and obeyed God's law all the time.

Secondly, Jesus died to satisfy the penalty that the law requires of everybody who breaks it. Now, Jesus, obviously he didn't sin, so he did not deserve that penalty himself. He died, and took that penalty, and satisfied that penalty for us, so that by faith in him, we would have peace with God, and be reconciled to God. Our punishment has been handled in full.

So, the law, as God gave it, and as God has always intended, is to do just this: to show us who and what we are, to show us that we have not met the standard that God has for holiness and righteousness, and to drive us to Jesus who has kept the law for us. God never intended that we would keep the law for righteousness, but that we would be driven to Christ who has kept the law, and in him would be counted righteous, and in him we would be reconciled to God. That's the first use of the law.

The second use of the law, broadly speaking, is to restrain our corruption. Now, sometimes, in a more narrow way, this is defined as the civil use of the law because it's useful in society and for civilization. God in his law has told us what's good and what's bad, and what's righteous and what's evil. He has promised blessing and reward for doing good, and he has threatened punishment and even curses for doing evil.

As we look at that, and assess all of that, we conclude rightly that to do good will be good for our lives; we can expect blessing from that. To do evil will be bad for our lives; we can expect punishment and even curses for disobeying and breaking God's law. So, we are encouraged by all of that to keep God's law and do good, and we are discouraged and deterred from doing evil. In that sense, it restrains our corruption. That's the second use of the law.

The third use of the law is to serve as our perfect guide for living in Christ. In Christ, we know that by faith we're reconciled to God and have peace with him, and the law therefore no longer threatens us in any way; however, it does guide our living. God gave us his moral law in the Old Testament, and he's also given us a number of imperatives in the New Testament that tell us how we're to live together in the church. All of those things are good for us, and they guide our lives, and we seek to conform our lives to God's word by grace as we are safe in Christ Jesus. This is a good thing for us. Calvin would even say that the law is our kind adviser in Christ as we seek to conform our lives to it.

So, that's the three uses of the law as the reformed have understood it. I hope that this has been helpful and clarifying for you.

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### What Does It Mean to Distinguish Law and Gospel?

*Published: April 26, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-does-it-mean-to-distinguish-law-and-gospel*
*Tags: Gospel, law, Law and Gospel, law gospel distinction*

### What Does It Mean to Distinguish Law and Gospel? Answered by Jimmy Buehler
  
  
Hey everybody, it's Jimmy, and today I'm going to seek to answer the question: what does it mean to distinguish the law from the gospel? It's something we reference in our podcast all the time, and you may be a little confused by what we mean by that.

When we say law, what we mean is the imperatives of scripture, the commands of scripture, or the things that we are to do. No matter where we see it, whenever we see something that we are to do, this is what we call law.

The gospel, on the other hand, is the indicatives of scripture. By that, we mean the things that God has done, or the things that God has declared, or accomplished, for us in Christ.

Let me just give you an illustration or example: Jesus summarizes the law to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is law. So, realistically assess yourself. Do you love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength, and not only that, but do you love your neighbor as yourself? Well, the answer to that is a resounding no.

Martin Luther writes this: that the law says do this, and it is never done. As you come to the end of your day, there is always more that you could do. You could always love God better. You could always love your neighbor more; but, the law says do this, and it is never done. So, the law then drives us to Christ. It drives us to the gospel, in that Christ himself lived a perfect life. He did all of the things that we could not do. He accomplished all of the things that we could not, on our behalf, so that by grace alone, through faith alone on account of Christ alone, our sins - the ways that we've not lived up to God's law - are forgiven. Not only that, but Christ's perfection to the law is credited to our account, and so, what God has demanded of us in his law, he has provided for us in his gospel.

Does this mean that we shirt the commands or the law of scripture? By no means! Rather, we live in what we like to call "status forward", in that we are struggling sinner-saints who are walking, pilgriming through this life, and we understand that we are forgiven, not because of anything that we have done, but because of what Christ has done on our behalf. We understand that we are counted righteous in God's eyes, through Jesus Christ, through the gospel.

As we come to the commands of scripture, and as we come to the imperatives, we always look back to the indicatives: that what God has demanded of us in his law, he's provided in his gospel - that we do not have to fear the commands of God, but rather we rest in Christ and we live status forward.

This is just a short, little introduction to this topic. I invite you to check out our website, where we go more in depth with not only law and gospel, but other topics as well, that we hope to help you rest in Christ.

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### What Are the Means of Grace?

*Published: April 17, 2020 | Author: Theocast*
*URL: https://theocast.org/blogs/asktheocast/what-are-the-means-of-grace*
*Tags: Baptism, Lords Table, Means of Grace, Prayer, preaching, Sacraments, Sanctification, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Growth, The Word*

### What Are the Means of Grace? Answered by Jon Moffitt
  
  
Hey everyone, this is Jon, and I'll be answering the question: What are the means of grace? If you've grown up in a traditional evangelical church, you've been taught that the way in which you mature, or grow, is by disciplining yourself through certain spiritual acts, such as: Bible memorization, daily devotions, prayer, journaling, fasting. The better you get at these, the more mature you'll become.  
  
Paul speaks to the Christians in Galatians chapter 3, and he warns them and says: why are you so foolish to think that you've begun by the Spirit, receiving a gift of grace, faith, that you are now going to perfect yourself by use of the law, or disciplining yourself through the flesh? He says that the way in which you've begun, which is by the Spirit through faith, is the way in which you're going to continue. So, he is encouraging them that you are both saved and sanctified, or matured, by faith.  
  
This is what the reformers refer to as 'the means of Grace'. God gives us means to strengthen our faith because our faith is what sustains us and is what grows us or sanctifies us.  
  
There are means that God has promised that if we use those means, the means of grace, then God is going to strengthen and bolster our faith. The confessions describe these as the word, sacraments, and prayer - The sacraments being the Lord's table and baptism.  
  
If you look at Ephesians chapter 4, you'll notice that Paul, after this glorious Gospel message, hands the church very important instructions. He says that God, through the Spirit, has gifted many of you to be teachers and preachers, and that when the church functions properly, it builds itself up in love.  
  
The instructions to the believer after receiving the Gospel is to come together in a corporate reality, and receive the gifts that God has given the church: the preaching and teaching of God's word. So, it's through the corporate preaching and teaching of God's word that he strengthens our faith.  
  
Can you read God's word individually by yourself? Yes, but that's the new reality. During 1700 years of the church, past Acts, they didn't have personal Bibles. They used the public preaching and teaching of God's word to strengthen their faith. So, it doesn't necessarily work for a large section of history.  
  
When it also comes to baptism and the Lord's table, these are what we would call physical means, where we actually taste, and feel, and see. We hear God's word, the preached word, and then we physically interact with the means of grace. When we think about baptism, we are buried in the likeness of his death, and raised in the likeness of his resurrection. We are experiencing physically what happens to us spiritually, and we look back to our baptism to remind us that we are one with Christ because we've been cleansed and we've been united. We're in common union with Christ. This is what communion means: Those believers who are in common union, we come together in communion, and receive from Christ his body and his blood, so that we can have our faith strengthened. We're looking to the cross for what Christ has done every time we take communion, not to what we have done. We're not looking to our faithfulness, but to Christ's faithfulness to us, and then, in prayer - What are you doing in prayer? You're depending upon God. Every time that you go to him confessing your sin, go to him with a need, or even praise for who he is, you are depending on God outside of yourself. So, prayer is another form of dependence.  
  
We receive God's word to strengthen us, we receive the sacraments to encourage and strengthen us, and we also pray to receive his grace to strengthen us. It's through these primary means that God uses to strengthen and mature us. God can, and does, use other means throughout scripture. Even fellowship is an important means which God uses, but these other means are not the primary means by which God has promised to strengthen our faith. So, that's where we want to focus our attention, trusting in what scripture has handed us to be the primary means in which God will fulfill his promises in maturing and strengthening our faith.

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