Theological Touchpoints Podcast

Jesus does not require anything of us poor wretched sinners except that we come to Him in faith. His love is offered freely to all who are willing to receive it. This grace compels us to obey. As Isaac Watts expressed, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” This kind of love demands that we give everything—my soul, my life, my all. If we come to Christ with hearts brimming with love for Him, then we are rea...

What is the relationship between faith and works? The apostle Paul taught that we are saved by grace through faith apart from works. If we are justified by faith alone, why does James say that Abraham was “justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?” Did James disagree with Paul's gospel?

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Scripture speaks consistently of salvation coming to those who believe, those who have faith. That much is clear, but the bigger question is, “What is faith?” This episode answers that very question.

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The work of Christ by which He accomplished our justification is the linchpin of the gospel. Until our sin problem is dealt with—that sinful nature which we exercise in rebellion against God—the rest of the blessing of the gospel remain aloof. It is Christ’s atoning work on our behalf which provides not only justification but all of redemption. 

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To appreciate justification we must first realize who we are and where we are headed apart from Christ. Without God’s grace, we are: justly condemned to eternal judgment, under divine wrath, alienated from God, in bondage to sin and Satan, and captive to our hearts which prefer the darkness of sin to the light of Christ.

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 J.C. Wenger said it is a “queer notion that because the Anabaptists were vigorous in their demands for a life of earnest Christian discipleship, they were therefore unclear on grace and justification.” In the same context he references Menno Simons, who set forth a clear doctrine of justification by faith, one compatible with Reformed doctrine. Menno does, however, constantly emphasize that any true profession of faith with have w...

Did the Anabaptists believe in justification by faith alone or were the Reformers alone in that view? While we often associate justification with Reformed doctrine, many early Anabaptists accepted justification as an essential gospel doctrine too.

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In our efforts to emphasize the importance of obedience, we sometimes hesitate to teach that justification is experienced apart from our works. We fear that, if people realize that they contribute nothing to their standing before God, they will consider themselves free to sin. If we are saved simply by believing, does that not free us to live however we want?

The opposite is most certainly true. Only when we understand the grace of ...

The nature of Christ’s atonement is becoming a common discussion. It’s an important one, since the atonement is a foundational tenet of Christian doctrine. The atonement is no secondary or tertiary issue. Christ's atoning work is essential to the gospel. His work on the cross is what makes it possible for sinful men to be reconciled to a holy God. Our salvation rests upon Christ’s atonement. So what we believe about it is of u...

The authority of Scripture is unquestionably one of the fundamental issues of our time. Other presenting issues (such as the atonement, hell, sin, etc.) reveal the underlying issue. We don’t think of ourselves as operating under the authority of the Bible. Sure, we reference the Bible when it supports our view. We use it to validate our opinions, but we don’t allow it to shape them. Until Scripture is the absolute, unquestioned aut...

This is part two of a presentation I did on Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Lancaster, PA. The presentation included an overview of CRT and a critique of CRT from a biblical perspective. And we had some quality Q&A with the attendees along the way. This is the second and final episode with material from that presentation.

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October of last year I had the opportunity to give a presentation on Critical Race Theory (CRT) to a retirement community in Lancaster, PA. The presentation included an overview of CRT and a critique from a biblical perspective. We also had some quality Q&A with the attendees.

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Persevering faith is not oriented inward, where we dig in, work harder, and do better. Rather, it is oriented outward. Our faith—our confidence—is in Christ. We are to hold fast our confession that Christ has accomplished salvation for us and that we will be saved if we put our faith in Him.

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Scripture reveals who we really are. It cuts through our facades, exposing our true selves. When it works on us, we are laid bare before God. Though we may be able to maintain a veneer of righteousness in our own efforts, Scripture peels it back and uncovers our sinful hearts. And in the final judgment, it will reveal our sin before the thrice-holy God. Not one thing can be hidden from Scripture’s razor scalpel. It “is a discerner ...

In Christ we can rest from the toil of self-righteousness—our striving to be good enough, our attempts to atone for our own sins. True rest, gospel rest, is experienced when we come to Christ, believing in Him, trusting in Him, and receiving the good things God offers us in Him.

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Christians ought to be confident people. Not in ourselves and not in our works, that's self-righteousness and self-centeredness. Our confidence is never in ourselves; we are those who "put no confidence in the flesh." Our confidence is in Christ. We know, because God has said it is true, that Christ has accomplished salvation for us. Our confidence is in Him.

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In his call to faithfulness the author of Hebrews is careful to point us to Christ. We are to “give heed to the things we have learned,” not neglecting the salvation God offers us. But the all-important question is: where is that salvation found? In the law? In Moses? In some other historical figure? In some other moral code? No, but salvation is found in Christ. We confess Christ, our mediator, our High Priest, our Saviour. We mus...

What we believe about the gospel is important. Actually, important is an understatement. The gospel is the very core of the Christian faith. What we believe about the gospel is one of the single defining realities of Christianity. In fact, what we believe about the gospel makes the difference between heaven or hell.

This feature episode is an in-depth look at six different views of the gospel, focusing especially on each v...

God does not save because He has to; He saves because He wants to. And it is His joy. He does not save begrudgingly; God loves to save sinners. Hebrews says Christ went willingly to the cross. In fact, He rejoiced despite the shame. He wanted to save sinners, and He freely gave His life to redeem us.

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