Category: Audio Episodes

People often think that what made America unique was its separation of powers and system of checks and balances, but those ideas were not really new at the time or unique to America. What actually was unique was having the Constitution as a single written document that formed the structure and scope of powers of the government and having every officer in that government take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. In almost every other government, the standard expectation was that officials would try to use their authority in any way they could get away with and the checks and balances against one person becoming a tyrant was that others who had power as well would stand against them. But the oath of office was different. It constrained by establishing that those who did not keep their oaths were both morally and legally impeachable. This allowed for powerful figures to be held in check or even removed without violence and bloodshed.

And one of the reasons for taking oaths is to ask God to judge when the oath is broken.
So here’s the question: Does God still care about oaths and does he still judge people and nations when they fail to uphold them? Because that’s really the key point about oaths. They aren’t just super-serious secular promises. They invoke the name and identity of God. And God promises that He will judge, not just the person who swore the oath (Leviticus 19:11-12), but also the people who were witnesses to the oath, if they do not require it to be upheld (Leviticus 5:1).

So in this episode, we want to look at what God says about oaths, and how we as Americans have broken our promises made before God. We also want to specifically consider how God has judged our nation, not just in general ways, but in ways that are directly tied to our broken promises.

Here’s the important thing to take away: God has not changed. He does not think it is foolish to involve Him in matters of solemnity and seriousness. What is foolish is to believe that his name is nothing more than a societal tool for deepening and embellishing the ceremonies of state, church, and family. God cares about his name. He is a jealous God and a consuming fire. We should not think we can take Him lightly and not be judged. Please join us as we consider this serious matter.

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

Can Baptists actually be Reformed? To answer that, we probably have to answer another question, “What does it mean to be Reformed in the first place? Is it a tradition, a specific set of beliefs, or something else entirely?

There are a lot of online debates and discussions about whether Baptists can be Reformed or not. And while some of those debates are just good-natured ribbing between Presbyterians and Baptists, it’s a subject worth thinking about seriously. When Baptists say they are “reformed” what do they mean, and are they correct? In one sense, the term “reformed” doesn’t have only one definition or use. Words are like that, in the abstract, they can have multiple definitions. But when a specific word is actually used, such as to identify a group of Baptists, that use must have one specific meaning. So are Reformed Baptists really Reformed?

In this episode, we want to talk about why Reformed Bapsists are Reformed and what we mean by that. We discuss some of the history of the Protestant Reformation and how Reformed Baptists emerged as a group in the UK. We discuss some of the doctrines that are specific to being considered Reformed, and we also talk about the unifying spirit of the Reformation that existed well before Luther or Calvin and goes back to the leadership and direction of Christ and His Spirit.

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

Both Daniel Penny and Luigi Mangione were in the news recently due to associated murder charges. Both men claimed they were trying to stop evil. Both men claim their use of force was justified. The public is also divided, with some claiming one or both of them a hero and many others strongly believing the opposite.

But for those of us who believe in the sufficiency of scripture, we should be able to go to God’s word to understand these two situations as well as the general question of, “When does God say that men are allowed to use force?” Please join us as we discuss this culturally relevant topic.

Podcast on self defense
https://theconqueringtruth.com/2022/01/why-christians-must-defend-themselves-ep-53/

Sermon on Sampson
https://legacy.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72224183820340

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

Jimmy Carter was one of the most outspokenly Christian presidents of the modern age, but was he an accurate representative of Christianity in the public sphere? His view of Christianity was that his beliefs should not impact his decisions or inform his policies, a view that many professing Christians shared at the time.

In this episode, we examine the legacy of Jimmy Carter, both during his time as president and in the years that followed. Please join us as we consider this topic.

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

Who has authority over marriage? When a man and a woman are married, the official often says something like, “by the power vested in me by…”. But what does that mean and it is even remotely Biblical? Does the civil government have any authority over marriage? What about the church? And do people need to get married in a church by an ordained minister for the wedding to be recognized by God?

In this episode, we want to look at many of the different issues that relate to authority over marriage. We look at the Old Testament passages where God frames and defines the institute of marriage, and then discuss how this design plays out in society as the civil magistrate, the church, and the family, each of which are divinely-appointed authorities, work together at times and in other ways against each other. Marriage is both simple and complex. The union itself is fairly straightforward, a man and a woman are joined together – two previously separate people now become one flesh, but because marriage is the foundation of societies and nations even small errors in how we understand that union can have huge impacts. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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

Before the Reformation, illiteracy was widespread. When the Reformers started to say that people needed to study the word of God for themselves, the importance of learning dramatically increased and people like Luther and Calvin started schools. Pastors were suddenly expected to be knowledgeable. Before this, people could occupy a high level in the church and not really know any doctrine. The Roman Catholic response with the counter Reformation at the council of Trent was to call for seminaries. Over time that became the standard means of education for Protestants as well, but it really is not in the bible, so are seminaries a good idea?

In this episode, we want to discuss what caused the seminary model to become dominant, and to take it back to scripture. We also think it’s worth pushing on the idol of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. While knowledge is not bad, scripture gives the warning that it puffs up. When you combine this danger with the fact that the majority of seminary graduates are effectively novices who have had very little real-world experience or training, it is easy to see why there can be serious problems with the seminary system.

One of the metaphors that scripture uses for a church body is that of a family or household of faith, with the leaders being older brothers (elders) and the body itself being composed of brothers and sisters doing the work of their Father in the world and serving one another and the body in general in different capacities. Is it possible that like in earthly families, our heavenly father has made a way for his sons to be trained to lead? Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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

One of the stranger stories to come out of the 2024 presidential elections is the story of Peanut the squirrel and Dave the raccoon. In case you haven’t heard here’s the short version: in upstate New York, early one morning, the government sent agents to the house of Mark Longo, a man who ran a non-profit animal shelter. Mark also had a popular Instagram account featuring a squirrel named Peanut that he had rescued seven years before and kept at his home. According to the man, the Department of Environmental Conservation raided his home with ten to twelve agents. They searched the home for five hours while they detained him. Finally, they took Peanut and a raccoon. They said that Peanut bit an officer, so they killed them both.

While this story is very strange, it apparently struck a nerve with many people with support for either Mark and Peanut or the government fracturing along partisan lines. In this episode we want to look at the ways these issues reveal different details about American culture, politics, and the influence of the church.

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

So here’s the question: Assuming that you are in favor of corporal punishment and believe that God describes spanking as an appropriate form of punishment for certain types of foolish/rebellious behavior, do you think whether or not you spank your children in public says anything about your faith, your obedience to God, your trust in Him, or is part of your Christian testimony?

That’s what we want to talk about in this episode. And while we have specific opinions on the matter, we think it’s worth people’s time to think through the issue and to consider how their actions are shaped by their beliefs. We should also say upfront that while there are places in the world where it is illegal for a parent to spank their child, in America, as of the time this video was recorded, it is legal in all 50 states.

One of the things that God says of Christians is that they are the salt and light of the world, and it is not just the result of their actions that are salt and light but their actions themselves. One of the tactics of the world is to try to make righteousness shameful and in the case of spanking, they have been able to do that very successfully. Many Christians who spank their children and believe that God’s Word teaches that it should be done are also ashamed to let others know that they do so. It is also a matter of fear. Because many have heard accounts of people having their children taken away from them by CPS, they fear that the same will happen to them if they openly obey God. And while God calls us to be prudent, he does not call us to fear. In fact, Revelation 21:8 says, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” And as it says in Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” So we should not think that scripture does not tie together our faith and our fear. This does not mean that we believe you should go out of your way to spank your children in public or that you should disobey your husband if he tells you that you should not do so. God has appointed authority and direction for our lives. But we should also understand that who and what we fear matters a great deal and we should labor so that we fear God and God alone. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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