EPISODE #136 - Law Then Gospel Then Law?

/

We love to talk about God’s Law and Gospel. Some have said if you do not understand the distinction between the Law and the Gospel, you can’t understand the Bible. On this episode, Jeff and Collin discuss how the Law and Gospel work in the Christian life. Specifically, some say that the Law drives us to the Gospel and then as Christians “we go back to the Law”. But is that the best way of talking about the Law in the Christian life? Let’s talk about it!

EPISODE #135 - Simple Christian Living

/

Our American culture is in a race to find the secret to health. We're told to avoid eating until the afternoon, cold plunge, sauna, work out unless you're sick, and basically never eat processed foods. We're looking for the key and things seem so...complicated. Similarly, in the church we seem to always be looking for the secret, the key to arriving in the Christian life. We are motivated often by a sense that we are not 'OK' yet. Something is wrong but maybe this new Christian pastor, speaker, or author has the secret. We're looking for the key and things seem so...complicated. Perhaps it's time to return to simple Christian living, like we see in the New Testament.

EPISODE #134 - The Church Is Positively Incredible

/

Of course many outside the church find is easy to criticize the church. And a lot of the criticism is valid. We are all humans with corrupt natures, even those who are in Christ. It is also right to criticize ourselves. The Bible is full of correction and rebuke coming from within the church directed to the church. However, it is sometimes all too easy to miss the otherworldly difference between the church community in comparison to all other communities on the planet. So, what makes the church so positively…incredible?

EPISODE #130 - Moralism Sells

/

Many churches are filled to the brim each week not because people are coming to hear the Gospel but rather to hear another lesson in how to improve as Christians. While we assume most people on Sundays don't want to hear more commands and demands (Law), the opposite appears to the case. It seems safer to assume most on Sunday want to hear more of the Law, less of the Gospel. Moralism sells. But while we need God's authoritative Law, the Gospel should always get the last, triumphant Word.

EPISODE #129 - The Teachings of Bill Gothard and IBLP (Part 2)

/

Maybe you’ve never heard of the Institute In Basic Life Principles (IBLP) but perhaps you've seen the recent documentary, "Shiny Happy People", about the Duggar family and IBLP. And if you're an evangelical Christian you've probably come into contact, in one form or another, with the general teachings and ideas of the former leader of IBLP, Bill Gothard. In fact, it is surprising how so many churches teach the same idea just in a slightly different “flavor”. In this second episode in a series about IBLP, a former member and a former staff member of the movement discuss whether Bill Gothard and IBLP taught the biblical gospel, examining whether or not they do in fact teach historic Christianity.

“What I need first of all is not exhortation, but a gospel, not directions for saving myself but knowledge of how God has saved me. Have you any good news? That is the question that I ask of you. I know your exhortations will not help me. But if anything has been done to save me, will you not tell me the facts?” ― J. Gresham Machen

Show Notes:

https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2017/apollinarianism/ 

https://heidelblog.net/2014/03/reformed-basics-on-dichotomy-and-trichotomy/