Antisemitism has been around for thousands of years. Starting with their conflicts with Rome and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the restrictions against holding public office in the Byzantine empire, the Catholic church’s view for hundreds of years that the Jewish people carried blood guilt and deserved punishment for killing Jesus Christ, the violent pogroms in Russia in the late 19th and 20th century, culminating in a worldwide attitude of Jewish hatred and indifference that led to the Holocaust and the Nazi’s systematic murder of millions of Jews. But even after the 1940’s racism against the Jewish people has been acceptable in America, with Nixon blaming the Jews for his problems (with even Billy Graham saying they had a stranglehold on America that had to be broken). And now, we are seeing a rise in worldwide antisemitism again regarding Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas with many Western nations condemning Israel and in America, college students actively protesting against Israel in support of Hamas and Palestine.

With all of this as a backdrop: in this episode, we want to understand both how antisemitism is racism that Christians should not accept or participate in and, at the same time, to understand how God, who works all things according to the counsel of his will has ordained the hatred of the Jews that exists in the world. We walk through the prophecy spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy where he explains that God will judge Israel for their unbelief and pretense of holiness, causing them to become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the nations of the earth.

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

Many people are only familiar with the idea of betrothal from the Bible (or certain kinds of romance novels). Today, in Western cultures, serious relationships begin with dating, followed by engagement, and then eventually, maybe marriage. But from a Christian perspective, betrothal is an extremely important aspect of marriage, to the point where it is central to the gospel itself.

In this episode, we want to try to explain why betrothal was built into ancient marriage practices, what it accomplished, and how it is demonstrated in Christ’s marriage to his church. We also want to discuss the different parts of betrothal that differentiate it from engagement, such as the covenant, the bride price, the commitment to the upcoming marriage, and the transfer of authority between the time of betrothal and the wedding ceremony itself. When these are misunderstood, we begin to think of the nature and purpose of marriage differently than it truly is.

We should not be deceived: marriage has been under attack for a very long time and the church needs to labor to bring it back in line with the word of God. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic..

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

What should we do when someone who calls themselves a Christian commits a crime against us? Take theft for example. Let’s say a brother comes to you and tells you that he had $1000 stolen from him by a deacon in the church or by the teenage son of the pastor, or just by another church member. Is it wrong for him to report it to the police? What about for domestic abuse? Child abuse? Sexual abuse? The sad truth is, these things happen. And whether it’s someone that you personally thought was a Christian or not, many people struggle with how to handle this situation according to scripture.

In this episode, we want to deal with the reality of how to handle the overlapping authority between the church, the home, and the civil government and, in particular, how that works out when someone has broken the civil law but professes to be a Christian. This is an important issue, because while most Protestant churches correctly condemn the Catholic church for their handling of the child abuse scandal among priests, many Baptists, Presbyterians, and Protestants still fail to report cases of physical or sexual abuse to the God-appointed civil magistrates. This does not mean that the church should do nothing, but that the church should not usurp the authority that God has given to our civil leaders. A person can be excommunicated by the church and sentenced to death by the state for murder. The church of Jesus Christ needs to care about justice, and we need to stop believing that civil justice is not a part of God’s justice. Part of the reason why Christ was born as a man under the law, who lived a perfect life, and then was unjustly put to the death as a sacrifice for sins is because God cares about what happens in the physical realm just as much as the spiritual. Or to say it a different way, Christ’s punishment and death on the cross happened physically and also had spiritual ramifications. When the church forgets that God is Lord over all things, that he appoints rulers, commands justice, and causes mercy to come to pass, we start to preach and live a gospel that denies the truth of God’s word. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

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