Why Tim Keller (and Alistair Begg) are Wrong About Christian Winsomeness (Ep. 154)

Tim Keller spent his life arguing that through winsomeness we can get people to accept the gospel. If the world sees Christians as good and kind, then the world would see the goodness of God and come to faith. He argued that if we are kind and thoughtful, then people will want to hear the gospel from us. And here’s the thing: if all you are talking about is what the life and conduct of a Christian should look like, there are lots of situations where we would agree with him. But that’s exactly why we take issue with the position. As we say early in the episode, there is no “balance” between being offensive and being pleasant. Our obedience to Christ requires different things of us at different times, and we aren’t responsible for how the world responds to that obedience.

And while Tim Keller died in 2023, this issue is something that the church has always struggled with and will continue to as long as there is sin in the world. In fact, in the last few weeks of January, Alistair Begg has been in the news for an issue that is fundamentally the same. In an interview from September 2023, Begg recounted how he was asked by a grandmother if she should attend the wedding of her grandson whose partner was transgender. Begg’s repsonse was that as long as her grandson understands that her belief in Jesus makes it such that she can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life that she should attend the wedding and buy him a wedding gift. His response was rightly criticized by many other pastors and Christian leaders. But the result has been a number of questions and discussions about where we should draw the line and how Christians should apply the principles and requirements of Christianity and the gospel to many different situations.

In this episode, we try to frame the topic in way that allows us to think about the issue more clearly. “Balance” and “kindness” can often be misleading, because “balance” suggests that we should be trying to find some middle ground that can only be determined by looking at the world’s response to our life and not to God’s expectations of us. And “kindness” causes us to misdefine what the word truly means as all kind actions aren’t necessarily pleasant and agreeable (like waking someone up in the middle of the night to tell them that their house is on fire.). Please join us as we discuss this important topic.


Note: In this episode we misattribute a quote to Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” While the quote is frequently used to make the point we reference in the article, we were wrong about who said it.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/02/why-tim-keller-and-alistair-begg-are-wrong-about-christian-winsomeness-ep-154-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 Kind vs Winsome
00:04:19 Tim Keller or Us?
00:08:18 Offense of the Gospel
00:17:33 Rebuking Offensive Sins
00:26:59 Political Red Lines
00:30:23 Idol of Social Respectability
00:45:38 Showing True Love
00:50:16 Rebuke as Love
00:59:43 Tone of Speech
01:10:22 Looking At Ourselves
01:12:24 Conclusions

Why Tim Keller (and Alistair Begg) are Wrong About Christian Winsomeness (Ep. 154 Audio)

Tim Keller spent his life arguing that through winsomeness we can get people to accept the gospel. If the world sees Christians as good and kind, then the world would see the goodness of God and come to faith. He argued that if we are kind and thoughtful, then people will want to hear the gospel from us. And here’s the thing: if all you are talking about is what the life and conduct of a Christian should look like, there are lots of situations where we would agree with him. But that’s exactly why we take issue with the position. As we say early in the episode, there is no “balance” between being offensive and being pleasant. Our obedience to Christ requires different things of us at different times, and we aren’t responsible for how the world responds to that obedience.

And while Tim Keller died in 2023, this issue is something that the church has always struggled with and will continue to as long as there is sin in the world. In fact, in the last few weeks of January, Alistair Begg has been in the news for an issue that is fundamentally the same. In an interview from September 2023, Begg recounted how he was asked by a grandmother if she should attend the wedding of her grandson whose partner was transgender. Begg’s repsonse was that as long as her grandson understands that her belief in Jesus makes it such that she can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life that she should attend the wedding and buy him a wedding gift. His response was rightly criticized by many other pastors and Christian leaders. But the result has been a number of questions and discussions about where we should draw the line and how Christians should apply the principles and requirements of Christianity and the gospel to many different situations.

In this episode, we try to frame the topic in way that allows us to think about the issue more clearly. “Balance” and “kindness” can often be misleading, because “balance” suggests that we should be trying to find some middle ground that can only be determined by looking at the world’s response to our life and not to God’s expectations of us. And “kindness” causes us to misdefine what the word truly means as all kind actions aren’t necessarily pleasant and agreeable (like waking someone up in the middle of the night to tell them that their house is on fire.). Please join us as we discuss this important topic.


Note: In this episode we misattribute a quote to Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” While the quote is frequently used to make the point we reference in the article, we were wrong about who said it.

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 Pentecostalism is Wrong: Tongues as a Sign of Unbelief (Ep. 153)

Pentecostalism teaches that the gift and practice of speaking in unknown languages in the church today is a continuation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts. But this view is fundamentally at odds with what scripture teaches about tongues. First and foremost, it misses what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 where he explains to the church that the gift of tongues was a sign for unbelievers. Quoting from Isaiah, Paul references the passage where God prophesied that he would speak to Israel in other tongues but even then, they would not hear.

What is also clear from Paul’s teaching is that much of what he is referring to as speaking in tongues, would not mesh in any way with the Pentecostal practice today. Paul is using tongues to mean languages, and when he says to “speak in an unknown tongue”, there is no reason to assume he means that somehow the speaker does not understand the tongue he is speaking in. When approached from this perspective, the meaning of these passages suddenly becomes much clearer, as Paul is obviously describing how to deal with the disunity and barriers to communication caused by those who cannot understand one another. Why is prophecy (declaring the truth of God’s word) better than tongues? Because prophesying (declaring who God is) actually builds up the church, whereas the act of speaking in a different language, all by itself, does nothing, (and actually, speaking in a different language when no one else can understand you is actually a waste of time and can be more about showing off or exercising control by cutting people out of the conversation). Anyone who has ever traveled to a foreign country and needed to speak through an interpreter will understand this implicitly. The moment you are able to speak directly to one another in the same language, all other tongues are dismissed as nothing more than a barrier.

Once we better understand these passages, we also realize that much of how we think about tongues and spiritual gifts, in general, has been influenced by bad doctrine. And while in this episode we are not going to spend a great deal of time on this issue, we do want to open the door to begin talking about Cessationism. Paul said he had the gift of tongues more than any other man, but did that mean that every time he spoke there were tongues of fire and people heard him in their own language regardless of what language he was speaking? Or was Paul incredibly gifted with languages, so much so that he could learn languages in a way that would seem miraculous compared to how most people take years and years of effort to learn to speak a new language? We’re planning to record an episode that deals with this issue more directly, but in this episode, we think it’s enough to begin reframing the way we think about tongues. Do you understand why God gave them? Do you understand the place they have in the church? And do you understand how God is glorifying himself, by fulfilling his word, by allowing the gospel to be spread, and by giving good gifts to his church? Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Episodes Referenced
Bible Translations: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2023/03/making-sense-of-all-the-bible-translations-ep-112/
Dispensationalism: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/01/why-dispensational-is-wrong-ep-151/

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/01/why-pentecostalism-is-wrong-tongues-as-a-sign-of-unbelief-ep-153-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:45 A Sign of Unbelief
00:09:54 Isaiah 28
00:34:01 Why Does Paul Regulate Tongues?
00:59:52 Why Should We Desire Tongues?
01:04:56 Prayer and Tongues
01:08:22 What Are Tongues?

Why Pentecostalism is Wrong: Tongues as a Sign of Unbelief (Ep. 153 Audio)

Pentecostalism teaches that the gift and practice of speaking in unknown languages in the church today is a continuation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts. But this view is fundamentally at odds with what scripture teaches about tongues. First and foremost, it misses what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 where he explains to the church that the gift of tongues was a sign for unbelievers. Quoting from Isaiah, Paul references the passage where God prophesied that he would speak to Israel in other tongues but even then, they would not hear.

What is also clear from Paul’s teaching is that much of what he is referring to as speaking in tongues, would not mesh in any way with the Pentecostal practice today. Paul is using tongues to mean languages, and when he says to “speak in an unknown tongue”, there is no reason to assume he means that somehow the speaker does not understand the tongue he is speaking in. When approached from this perspective, the meaning of these passages suddenly becomes much clearer, as Paul is obviously describing how to deal with the disunity and barriers to communication caused by those who cannot understand one another. Why is prophecy (declaring the truth of God’s word) better than tongues? Because prophesying (declaring who God is) actually builds up the church, whereas the act of speaking in a different language, all by itself, does nothing, (and actually, speaking in a different language when no one else can understand you is actually a waste of time and can be more about showing off or exercising control by cutting people out of the conversation). Anyone who has ever traveled to a foreign country and needed to speak through an interpreter will understand this implicitly. The moment you are able to speak directly to one another in the same language, all other tongues are dismissed as nothing more than a barrier.

Once we better understand these passages, we also realize that much of how we think about tongues and spiritual gifts, in general, has been influenced by bad doctrine. And while in this episode we are not going to spend a great deal of time on this issue, we do want to open the door to begin talking about Cessationism. Paul said he had the gift of tongues more than any other man, but did that mean that every time he spoke there were tongues of fire and people heard him in their own language regardless of what language he was speaking? Or was Paul incredibly gifted with languages, so much so that he could learn languages in a way that would seem miraculous compared to how most people take years and years of effort to learn to speak a new language? We’re planning to record an episode that deals with this issue more directly, but in this episode, we think it’s enough to begin reframing the way we think about tongues. Do you understand why God gave them? Do you understand the place they have in the church? And do you understand how God is glorifying himself, by fulfilling his word, by allowing the gospel to be spread, and by giving good gifts to his church? Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Episodes Referenced
Bible Translations: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2023/03/making-sense-of-all-the-bible-translations-ep-112/
Dispensationalism: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/01/why-dispensational-is-wrong-ep-151/

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 to Pray with Zeal (Ep. 152)

Prayer is essential for the Christian life. But if we think about it incorrectly, we may never understand how to pray with zeal. We are better equipped to pray when we properly understand God’s authority and our proper relationship with him. Because God created man to glorify Him, and saved His people to do His work in the world and to labor for His name, our zeal in prayer is tied very tightly to our zeal for God himself and for the work He has called us to do.

In this episode, we share, with as much detail as possible, how God has helped us to pray more deeply. We discuss how he answered prayers, with examples of where He said both yes and no, and how He taught us to respond in those cases. We also try to provide examples regarding how we discerned what God was saying, and try to demystify some of the aspects of prayer that plague the church today (No, God doesn’t speak to us in an audible voice). Like we said at the very beginning, prayer is essential for the Christian life. But we need to be able to think properly about prayer so we can understand it. Prayer is a real form of communication between us and the Almighty. It should humble us greatly that such a thing is even possible, but it should also make us desire to be earnest and full of zeal in our prayers. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/01/how-to-pray-with-zeal-ep-152-audio/

Thumbnail image by Elsie Lin on Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0

Timecodes
00:00:00 Conforming to God’s Will
00:06:06 Why Calvinists Pray
00:11:44 Praying in God’s Will
00:20:54 Answers to Prayer
00:33:57 Praying for God’s Glory
00:37:09 Experience of Prayer
01:24:44 Unity Through Prayer

How to Pray with Zeal (Ep. 152 Audio)

Prayer is essential for the Christian life. But if we think about it incorrectly, we may never understand how to pray with zeal. We are better equipped to pray when we properly understand God’s authority and our proper relationship with him. Because God created man to glorify Him, and saved His people to do His work in the world and to labor for His name, our zeal in prayer is tied very tightly to our zeal for God himself and for the work He has called us to do.

In this episode, we share, with as much detail as possible, how God has helped us to pray more deeply. We discuss how he answered prayers, with examples of where He said both yes and no, and how He taught us to respond in those cases. We also try to provide examples regarding how we discerned what God was saying, and try to demystify some of the aspects of prayer that plague the church today (No, God doesn’t speak to us in an audible voice). Like we said at the very beginning, prayer is essential for the Christian life. But we need to be able to think properly about prayer so we can understand it. Prayer is a real form of communication between us and the Almighty. It should humble us greatly that such a thing is even possible, but it should also make us desire to be earnest and full of zeal in our prayers. 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 Dispensationalism is Wrong (Ep. 151)

Dispensationalism is one of the most popular views of eschatology (the “end times”) in American evangelical churches, particularly among Southern Baptists where it has been estimated that over 80% of Southern Baptist churches hold to some form of dispensational eschatology. And in case you’ve never heard the term dispensationalism, you’ve probably heard of the “rapture”, which is most commonly associated with the dispensational framework.

But what is interesting about dispensationalism is that many people who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, know very little about the theology of dispensationalism. And this matters a great deal, because dispensationalism is not primarily about eschatology, but is a way of viewing all of scripture, and for attempting to explain how God is working out his will in the world and ultimately glorifying himself. The result is that even many dispensational teachers, no longer understand the theology that undergirds their teaching.

In this episode, we want to discuss the fundamental problems with dispensational theology and to contrast that system with covenant theology. Theology matters a great deal. How we think about God, his purposes, and his means and methods of glorifying himself shapes how we interpret all of scripture. It matters greatly where you start in defining your theology. Do you start with man or do you start with God?

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/01/why-dispensational-is-wrong-ep-151-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 What Is Dispensationalism?
00:07:18 Personal Experience
00:16:13 The Foundation
00:33:58 Dispensation of Innocence
00:41:51 Dispensation of Conscience
00:48:23 Dispensation of Civil Government
00:58:25 Dispensation of Promise
01:07:53 Dispensation of the Law
01:17:57 Dispensation of Grace
01:31:36 Millennial Kingdom

Why Dispensationalism is Wrong (Ep. 151 Audio)

Dispensationalism is one of the most popular views of eschatology (the “end times”) in American evangelical churches, particularly among Southern Baptists where it has been estimated that over 80% of Southern Baptist churches hold to some form of dispensational eschatology. And in case you’ve never heard the term dispensationalism, you’ve probably heard of the “rapture”, which is most commonly associated with the dispensational framework.

But what is interesting about dispensationalism is that many people who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, know very little about the theology of dispensationalism. And this matters a great deal, because dispensationalism is not primarily about eschatology, but is a way of viewing all of scripture, and for attempting to explain how God is working out his will in the world and ultimately glorifying himself. The result is that even many dispensational teachers, no longer understand the theology that undergirds their teaching.

In this episode, we want to discuss the fundamental problems with dispensational theology and to contrast that system with covenant theology. Theology matters a great deal. How we think about God, his purposes, and his means and methods of glorifying himself shapes how we interpret all of scripture. It matters greatly where you start in defining your theology. Do you start with man or do you start with God?

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 God Created Men and Women Different (Ep. 150)

Our world is very confused about the roles of men and women and this is particularly true in the United States and even in our more conservative churches. And while there is a lot of complexity in this topic, there are some basic scriptural commands and decrees of God that help frame the issue.

In this episode we want to discuss how God created men and women to be different and how God is glorified through those differences. While both are created in God’s image and are equal in Christ, God made their roles to demonstrate the relationship between Christ and the church, to show the nature of the gospel, and to glorify his name and nature.
Men and woman are not the same and anyone who tries to pretend that they are is fighting against God. God says it in the beginning and again throughout scripture: “Man is not made from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.” Scripture also declares plainly that man is the head of woman. These are true sayings and the fact that our society has labored so hard to make them offensive should confirm for us what Paul taught us: that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The church of Jesus Christ must not be ashamed of the truth of God’s word. Our families, our churches, our communities, and our nations are suffering because we allow such awful lies to be spoken and celebrated while we fear to proclaim the truth. May the church repent and may God be glorified. Please join us as we discuss this topic.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/01/how-god-created-men-and-women-different-ep-150-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 Generalities
00:03:46 Creation
00:13:53 Specialization vs General
00:29:39 Dominion as Combat
00:38:13 Long vs Short Term
00:49:10 Men’s Conflict vs Women’s Conflict
01:00:08 Repetition
01:12:01 Security vs Risk Taking
01:21:28 Looking vs Being Looked At
01:29:32 Submission vs Strength
01:38:08 Fear vs Apathy

How God Created Men and Women Different (Ep. 150 Audio)

Our world is very confused about the roles of men and women and this is particularly true in the United States and even in our more conservative churches. And while there is a lot of complexity in this topic, there are some basic scriptural commands and decrees of God that help frame the issue.

In this episode we want to discuss how God created men and women to be different and how God is glorified through those differences. While both are created in God’s image and are equal in Christ, God made their roles to demonstrate the relationship between Christ and the church, to show the nature of the gospel, and to glorify his name and nature.
Men and woman are not the same and anyone who tries to pretend that they are is fighting against God. God says it in the beginning and again throughout scripture: “Man is not made from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.” Scripture also declares plainly that man is the head of woman. These are true sayings and the fact that our society has labored so hard to make them offensive should confirm for us what Paul taught us: that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The church of Jesus Christ must not be ashamed of the truth of God’s word. Our families, our churches, our communities, and our nations are suffering because we allow such awful lies to be spoken and celebrated while we fear to proclaim the truth. May the church repent and may God be glorified. Please join us as we discuss this 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