Recently, President Trump sent troops into Venezuela to “arrest” President Maduro, an action that, according to the Constitution, certainly should require the approval of Congress. And even though President Trump did this on his own authority and, according to many reports, around 100 people were killed, most conservatives, including many who identify as Christians, have applauded this action. And this is not the first time that an American president has waged war or ordered the killing of citizens of foreign nations without due process. In 2011, President Obama ordered the killing of an American citizen by drone strike. President Clinton ordered bombings on a pharmaceutical company that killed one worker and injured others. President George H. W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama on the grounds of “self-defense”. And there are many other examples. And while many will defend these actions based on the fact that the people killed were “not good people”, that should not be part of the equation. The question is does the American president have the right in the eyes of God to kill those who he considers a significant enough threat? Is that where God’s word draws the line? Is it where the laws of the United States draw it? There are many bad people in the world, so can the president righteously kill whoever he chooses, or is he committing murder? And if it is wrong, why does the church so overwhelmingly support these bloodthirsty policies?

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Permanent Hosts – Dan Horn, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Kirk Cameron came out recently saying that he leaned toward a view of conditionalism which is a flavor of annihilationism. Many people started to ask, “Is Kirk Cameron a heretic?” Todd Friel described why he thinks annihilationism is not a heresy and why therefore Cameron is not a heretic. To do this, he utilized a common method that categorizes each theology as either “Essential” or “Non-Essential”. In his view, to be classified as a heresy, the wrong idea must be about an essential doctrine (he also seemed to say if you hold to a heresy, then you are a heretic, but that may have just been in the context of Cameron’s position as a teacher) The problem is that this method of categorization regarding heresy does not come from Scripture. So we feel that it is worth discussing what the bible actually says about heresy and what makes a man a heretic. While Friel and many others say that heresy is different than error or being wrong, the Greek word that is translated heresy means “to choose”. The word also contains the idea of creating divisions. So heresy fundamentally means to choose to believe something that is not true. But does this mean that everyone who chooses to believe something that is not true is a heretic. NO. Absolutely not. According to scripture, a heretic is one who refuses to repent when corrected and who teaches their false view to others, causing division in the body of Christ.

So, why is it dangerous to make heresy to hold to something essential? Because what scripture teaches us is that God loves those things that we do out of faith and he hates those who love lawlessness. And lawlessness is not limited to “essential” doctrines, but springs up in many places and defiles many. It’s also dangerous to define heresy as something other than error, as it makes distinctions and categories that God does not make. It lets us give ourself a pass on willful disobedience to the word, and it ignores the fact that all doctrine is connected. As we will discuss in this episode, annihilationism attacks the nature of the atonement and the depth of God’s justice and mercy. This is true of many other doctrines that would not be considered “essential”. So we disagree strongly with Todd Friel about whether annihilationism is a heresy. But is Kirk Cameron a heretic? Watch the episode, and let us know what you think in the comments (more importantly, let us know what you believe the scriptures say, and help us correct our thinking if we are wrong).

Timecodes
00:00:00 Todd Friel on Heresy
00:03:51 What is Heresy?
00:10:32 Gradations of Heresy
00:34:37 Confessions
00:36:59 Essential Doctrines?
00:43:35 Advancement of Doctrine
01:00:09 Lofty Goal
01:05:00 All Doctrine is Serious
01:09:58 Reject a Heretic
01:32:47 Pulled from the Fire

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Permanent Hosts – Dan Horn, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Do the New Testament writers ever use the Old Testaments verses that they quote out of context? It’s an important concept to consider because many people use proof texting to make theological arguments. They will quote a verse divorced from its context and declare that it means what they want it to mean. So if the writers of the NT, who were inspired by God, used those same techniques, then proof texting must be approved. But of course that is ridiculous, because the heart of proof texting is to put your words in God’s mouth rather than putting His words in your mouth which is the purpose of the Word of God.

In this episode, we examine how the New Testament writers handled the Old Testament and how often comprehending the meaning of a passage in the New Testament requires knowing and understanding the fuller context of the Old Testament passage that was referenced. New Testament writers would often just quote a single line from the Old Testament, expecting that those who love God and His Word would be willing to study the Bible and spend the time to understand. But today, most people in the pews, and even most pastors know very little about the Old Testament. So here’s the question: If it is wrong to proof text, how does that change how we should look at the Word of God when it quotes from an earlier writer?

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Permanent Hosts – Dan Horn, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Christians are often told to tithe, but many often wonder, is tithing really commanded for Christians? Or is it an Old Testament ordinance that passed away with the ceremonial law.

Before we talk about whether the tithe is biblical, it is important to understand something. God doesn’t need our money. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He can provide whatever is needed, so we need to start with the idea that God had another purpose for His people to give. So here’s the question: Why are His people to give, when many lack resources?

Timecodes
00:00:00 Where is Our Heart?
00:19:03 Church’s Financial Security
00:23:23 Faithful in Lesser Things
00:30:19 Honoring God with Money
00:33:37 Old Testament Tithing
00:37:20 Examples of Giving
00:49:08 Consequences of the Love of Money
01:00:07 Tithes vs Offerings
01:05:22 Old Testament Tithes

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Permanent Hosts – Dan Horn, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson