How Can Christians Overcome the World? (Ep. 159)

It doesn’t take much discernment to see that we live in dark days. In Romans 1, the Bible says that God judges people by turning them over to a debased mind and we can see in our nation an in much of world, sodomy and perversion are all around us. God also says clearly that these thing come to pass because men and women do not want to retain God in their knowledge. But, as of 2021, as many as 63% of Americans identify as Christians. How can we be a people who do not retain God in our knowledge when so many of us profess Christianity and even more importantly, what should we do about it?

In Leviticus, when God establishes the Aaronic priesthood, the very first command that he gives to Aaron is a command for the priests to distinguish between the holy and the unholy. And this is not something that changes in the New Testament. All who are Christians are priests, and one of our most serious roles in the world, as we see in Romans 1, is to declare the righteousness and holiness of God. In this episode, we want to deal with the work that God has given each Christian to do, both within the church and out in the greater world. It’s so tempting to think that kindness is accepting all things, and that love is overlooking every form of sin, and while the blood of Christ does wash away sin, he never ignores it or pretends that it does not exist. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and because this is true, the people of God will always care about what is holy and what is unholy. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/03/how-can-christians-overcome-the-world-ep-159-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 Confronting False Christians
00:24:45 Duty as Priests
00:36:26 Responsibility in the Church
00:41:41 Taking God’s Name in Vain
00:47:32 Responding to Persecution
00:51:14 Exaulting Men
01:00:18 God is Holy
01:07:12 God is Fearsome
01:12:08 God is Powerful

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

How Can Christians Overcome the World? (Ep. 159 Audio)

It doesn’t take much discernment to see that we live in dark days. In Romans 1, the Bible says that God judges people by turning them over to a debased mind and we can see in our nation an in much of world, sodomy and perversion are all around us. God also says clearly that these thing come to pass because men and women do not want to retain God in their knowledge. But, as of 2021, as many as 63% of Americans identify as Christians. How can we be a people who do not retain God in our knowledge when so many of us profess Christianity and even more importantly, what should we do about it?

In Leviticus, when God establishes the Aaronic priesthood, the very first command that he gives to Aaron is a command for the priests to distinguish between the holy and the unholy. And this is not something that changes in the New Testament. All who are Christians are priests, and one of our most serious roles in the world, as we see in Romans 1, is to declare the righteousness and holiness of God. In this episode, we want to deal with the work that God has given each Christian to do, both within the church and out in the greater world. It’s so tempting to think that kindness is accepting all things, and that love is overlooking every form of sin, and while the blood of Christ does wash away sin, he never ignores it or pretends that it does not exist. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and because this is true, the people of God will always care about what is holy and what is unholy. Please join us as we discuss this 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

Why IVF is Wrong and Anti-Life (Ep. 158)

IVF is getting a lot of attention this past week because of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling. For those who do not know, IVF refers to “in vitro fertilization”, and is a fertility procedure where multiple eggs are harvested from a woman, fertilized in a laboratory, and then one or more are selectively implanted back into her (or a surrogate’s) uterus. And all of this matters because the basic pro-life position is that life begins at conception meaning that each of those harvested eggs that are fertilized deserve the same protection and life-honoring treatment that any other image-bearer of God should be afforded under His law. And that’s really the heart of the discussion, because IVF is marketed as a this purely positive treatment for those who greatly desire to have a child, but not much attention is placed on the process itself, where in the Western world there are currently millions of frozen but fertilized embryos, many of which, no one has any plans to implant, and which will eventually, if nothing is done to prevent it, be destroyed.

So, in this episode, we want to talk through the issue. Our position is pretty straightforward. IVF has a lot of serious moral problems, and while a single IVF customer might be able to find a doctor and associated laboratory that is willing to limit its egg harvesting, fertilization, and implantation so that every egg harvested is implanted, there are still moral problems with that strictly controlled process, and there is no reason to believe that the doctor and laboratory are following this strict and limited protocol with their other patients.

In the end, this really does become an issue about God’s sovereignty. As we see in scripture, men and women have always wrestled with the issue of fertility and offspring. And it has always been an emotional and heart-wrenching topic. But God’s answer is always the same. He opens and closes the womb. Yes, there are things that man can do that do not fall outside of our obedience to God, but there are also paths that require us to sin and even kill our own children to get what we want. IVF is not special in this regard, but it is something that Christians should understand. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/03/why-ivf-is-wrong-and-anti-life-ep-158-audio/

Thumbnail image by mulan under CC BY-SA and Marco Verch under CC BY (via Flickr)

Timecodes
00:00 The Problem with IVF
05:58 Abortion is Legal Everywhere
07:17 A Dark History
12:38 Can it be Done Right?
19:27 Death Rate
22:24 Intentions and Infertility
39:33 Snowflake Adoption
53:12 What if You’ve Done IVF?

Why IVF is Wrong and Anti-Life (Ep. 158 Audio)

IVF is getting a lot of attention this past week because of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling. For those who do not know, IVF refers to “in vitro fertilization”, and is a fertility procedure where multiple eggs are harvested from a woman, fertilized in a laboratory, and then one or more are selectively implanted back into her (or a surrogate’s) uterus. And all of this matters because the basic pro-life position is that life begins at conception meaning that each of those harvested eggs that are fertilized deserve the same protection and life-honoring treatment that any other image-bearer of God should be afforded under His law. And that’s really the heart of the discussion, because IVF is marketed as a this purely positive treatment for those who greatly desire to have a child, but not much attention is placed on the process itself, where in the Western world there are currently millions of frozen but fertilized embryos, many of which, no one has any plans to implant, and which will eventually, if nothing is done to prevent it, be destroyed.

So, in this episode, we want to talk through the issue. Our position is pretty straightforward. IVF has a lot of serious moral problems, and while a single IVF customer might be able to find a doctor and associated laboratory that is willing to limit its egg harvesting, fertilization, and implantation so that every egg harvested is implanted, there are still moral problems with that strictly controlled process, and there is no reason to believe that the doctor and laboratory are following this strict and limited protocol with their other patients.

In the end, this really does become an issue about God’s sovereignty. As we see in scripture, men and women have always wrestled with the issue of fertility and offspring. And it has always been an emotional and heart-wrenching topic. But God’s answer is always the same. He opens and closes the womb. Yes, there are things that man can do that do not fall outside of our obedience to God, but there are also paths that require us to sin and even kill our own children to get what we want. IVF is not special in this regard, but it is something that Christians should understand. 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

How a Wrong View of History Obscures the Glory of God (Ep. 157)

There are a few major ways to study history. One is the great man method which basically teaches that history is shaped by great men that rise up and lead and so studying those important men is the way to understand history. Another is to study history as a pattern of political or societal events where one cultural event by its nature leads to the next. Many modern educators completely reject the idea of history having any real patterns and instead, just study societies as stand-alone representations of human behavior. But Christians should think about history differently. And from a Reformed perspective in particular, Christians should think about history as an ordained series of people, circumstances, and events planned by a God who knew the end from the beginning and is moving the world from that beginning to the end in a way that manifests his glory.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/02/how-a-wrong-view-of-history-obscures-the-glory-of-god-ep-157-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 Theories of History
00:15:09 Learning from History
00:18:24 Looking Back at COVID
00:25:59 God’s People Driving History
00:43:30 God’s Use of Sinners
00:53:49 Hope from History

How a Wrong View of History Obscures the Glory of God (Ep. 157 Audio)

There are a few major ways to study history. One is the great man method which basically teaches that history is shaped by great men that rise up and lead and so studying those important men is the way to understand history. Another is to study history as a pattern of political or societal events where one cultural event by its nature leads to the next. Many modern educators completely reject the idea of history having any real patterns and instead, just study societies as stand-alone representations of human behavior. But Christians should think about history differently. And from a Reformed perspective in particular, Christians should think about history as an ordained series of people, circumstances, and events planned by a God who knew the end from the beginning and is moving the world from that beginning to the end in a way that manifests his glory.

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

Why Altar Calls Are Wrong (Ep. 156)

Altar calls are a common feature of church services around the world. But are they Biblical? What theology and history are they based on, and what do they teach converts and church members about the gospel?

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/02/why-altar-calls-are-wrong-ep-156-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 The Problem
00:04:31 Personal Experience
00:13:39 Wrong View of Salvation
00:19:14 Brith as a Process
00:24:15 Salvation Requires Knowledge
00:27:05 Exaults Man
00:37:17 Call for Sanctification
00:47:56 Why an Altar?
00:52:24 Communion Warning
00:57:55 Giving False Assurance
01:03:34 Does the Bible Contain Altar Calls?

Why Altar Calls Are Wrong (Ep. 156 Audio)

Altar calls are a common feature of church services around the world. But are they Biblical? What theology and history are they based on, and what do they teach converts and church members about the gospel?

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

If Debt is Slavery, Is it a Sin to be in Debt? (Ep. 155)

The Bible says a lot about debt and slavery and teaches that the two are tightly connected, going so far as to say “the borrower is a servant (slave) of the lender”. And as Christians, when we read God’s word, it is our duty to take God’s commands and instructions seriously. But if you asked the average Christian if slavery is bad and then examined the amount of debt they have, would you come away with the sense that their stated beliefs and actions were in alignment?

In this episode, we want to deal with what God’s word says about debt and slavery. In doing this, we discuss the purposes for which God created debt, how we should think about freedom vs bondage, and even how this is different for the individual Christian than for a local church body. We even want to push back on our view of slavery itself as Scripture uses slavery to demonstrate both positive and negative aspects of our physical and spiritual lives. This is important, because part of the Christian life is keeping our minds from being conformed to the world but allowing them to be transformed through the renewing that God’s word and spirit bring upon all who faithfully abide in Him.

Topics discussed:
What is debt? What is slavery?
Are mortgages good or bad?
Is it better to rent or be a homeowner?
How the United States has structured its laws and policies to favor debt
How God uses debt and slavery to accomplish his purposes.
Why not paying back debt is evil and is a sign of being unsaved
What debt and slavery shows us about man’s relationship to God (and sin)
How should we treat the poor?
How living beyond our means is a rejection of God’s sovereignty and being carnally minded and covetous
Why churches shouldn’t take out a loan to buy a building
What does it mean to be free to serve the Lord Jesus Christ?

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/02/if-debt-is-slavery-is-it-a-sin-to-be-in-debt-ep-155-audio/

Thumbnail image by nikcname on Flickr under CC BY

Timecodes
00:00:00 The Meaning of Slavery
00:08:55 How Debt is Slavery
00:15:57 Mortgages
00:21:15 Requirement to Repay
00:31:24 Debt as Metaphor
00:34:37 Businesses Based on Debt
00:43:59 When Debt Makes Sense
01:03:558 A Word for the Debt Haters
01:12:49 Church Debt

If Debt is Slavery, Is it a Sin to be in Debt? (Ep. 155 Audio)

The Bible says a lot about debt and slavery and teaches that the two are tightly connected, going so far as to say “the borrower is a servant (slave) of the lender”. And as Christians, when we read God’s word, it is our duty to take God’s commands and instructions seriously. But if you asked the average Christian if slavery is bad and then examined the amount of debt they have, would you come away with the sense that their stated beliefs and actions were in alignment?

In this episode, we want to deal with what God’s word says about debt and slavery. In doing this, we discuss the purposes for which God created debt, how we should think about freedom vs bondage, and even how this is different for the individual Christian than for a local church body. We even want to push back on our view of slavery itself as Scripture uses slavery to demonstrate both positive and negative aspects of our physical and spiritual lives. This is important, because part of the Christian life is keeping our minds from being conformed to the world but allowing them to be transformed through the renewing that God’s word and spirit bring upon all who faithfully abide in Him.

Topics discussed:
What is debt? What is slavery?
Are mortgages good or bad?
Is it better to rent or be a homeowner?
How the United States has structured its laws and policies to favor debt
How God uses debt and slavery to accomplish his purposes.
Why not paying back debt is evil and is a sign of being unsaved
What debt and slavery shows us about man’s relationship to God (and sin)
How should we treat the poor?
How living beyond our means is a rejection of God’s sovereignty and being carnally minded and covetous
Why churches shouldn’t take out a loan to buy a building
What does it mean to be free to serve the Lord Jesus Christ?

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