Is Arminianism Actually a Heresy? (Ep. 259 Audio)

Most professing Christians today hold to Arminian views, often assuming the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism is merely a secondary issue or a sort of “family squabble.” But is it much more serious than that? In this episode of The Conquering Truth, we explore why the Reformers saw the doctrines of Arminianism not just as a mistake, but as a fundamental rejection of the biblical Gospel.

When Martin Luther debated Erasmus, the core issue wasn’t the corruption of the papacy—it was the nature of God’s election and the bondage of the will. Does God choose man, or does man choose God? We dive into the outline of Arminianism to show how it changes the very nature of God, turning the Creator into a “slave” to man’s choices and stripping Him of His glory.

We also want to be very clear that this does not mean that everyone who has been taught or who holds to some form of Arminian doctrine is an unsaved heretic. But it does not help anyone to treat these doctrinal differences as if they are minor. There are wolves in and among the church who use these heresies to divide the church and to weaken the gospel. While our desire should always be unity, it should always be unity through truth, with the expectation that the spirit of Truth will guide those whom He indwells.

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

Should Christians Eat Dogs? (Ep. 257 Audio)

Why is a dog a “best friend” but a pig is “breakfast”? As Western Christians, we often mistake our cultural taboos for biblical mandates. We recoil at the idea of eating horses or cats, yet we enjoy bacon and shellfish without a second thought—all while claiming our standards are rooted in Scripture. But is our “culinary morality” truly biblical, or just a product of our zip code? Even worse, our rules and taboos often oppress the poor by forcing them to live according to our standard of wealth and “morality”.

In this episode, we look at how the Old Testament ceremonial food laws intersect with New Covenant freedoms and practices. We move beyond the common misconception that those laws were about hygiene or health, exploring instead how they served as a “tutor,” using the animals as types or pictures to paint a vivid picture of holiness and the separation of God’s people.

Link to Mike Rowe TED Talk: https://youtu.be/IRVdiHu1VCc

Timecodes
00:00 Animal Cruelty
05:32 Cultural Superiority
09:28 Food Law Symbolism
20:07 Clean Meat Healthier?
31:29 Hypocrisy
41:03 Gratefulness
45:30 Haitians Eating Dogs
49:34 Oppression of Poor

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

War, Tariffs, and the Death of the Rule of Law (Ep. 256 Audio)

The US constitution was designed to limit the power of the president regarding taxes and the use of the military. This limitation of power goes all the way back to the Magna Carta and has its foundations in biblical principles. So when the Supreme Court overturned president Trump’s tariffs and when he unilaterally decided to bomb Iran, president Trump was acting outside of the bounds of his constitutional authority.

And we should be clear, he is not the first president to do such a thing. The US has not declared war since WWII, but many soldiers and many body bags testify that we have been at war. Our constitution says that war must be declared by the Congress, (Art.1.8.11) but as a nation we now treat that as a relic of a bygone time. Our constitution also says that any bill raising revenue doesn’t just need to start in Congress, but specifically the House of Representatives (Art.1.7.1). Now the president does both of these things and so called conservatives rejoice in what he is doing, which is clearly illegal, but they say the legislative process is too hard which was the design of the system.

In this episode, we want to consider why the Constitution was structured as it was, how we should think about it as Christians, and what our responsibility is to the president, to the nation, to each other, and most importantly to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thumbnail image by Avash Media under CC-BY 4.0

Timecodes
00:00:00 Constitution
00:09:23 Control of Money
00:15:59 Call to Repentance
00:29:58 Our Duty
00:41:10 Debating War
00:51:52 Abdicating Responsibility
01:10:20 Solutions
01:18:55 Oathbreaking

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

Doctor Assisted Suicide – The Moral Endgame for National Healthcare? (Ep. 255 Audio)

In Canada, there is a law called MAiD which stands for Medical Assistance in Dying which permits medical personnel to help with suicide. Their criteria are such that in 2024 5.1% of all deaths in Canada are caused by medical personnel legally murdering or assisting in the murder of their patients. In the Quebec province, it was at least 7.3% of all deaths. These are staggeringly high numbers and since it varies by province, there are probably significantly more factors in play than just the health of the patient. Why would a nation want to facilitate the death of its own people and what does God’s word say about such a practice?

Timecodes
00:00:00 Intro
00:03:23 God’s Purpose for the Government
00:21:19 MaiD Criteria
00:40:55 Canada’s Response
00:45:00 What the Bible says About Suffering
00:53:03 Criteria Volutary Request
00:58:57 Assisted Suicide Example from Scripture
01:10:55 The Duty of the Church to Stop the Oppression

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 Man Resist the Grace of God? (Ep. 254 Audio)

If grace is the goodness of God, then it seems obvious that some goodness can be resisted while others can’t. Think about a baby being born. If the mother and father want to bring the baby out of the womb there’s nothing the baby can do to stop it. Or consider an unconscious man whose heart has stopped or is beating irregularly.. He will find it impossible to resist the emergency surgery or the doctor shocking his heart back into a normal rhythm. But other types of grace can be resisted. That same child years later can refuse to celebrate his birthday with his family and can sulk and pout even if his parents force him to come to the party. The man whose heart has been restarted can refuse to take his prescribed medicines or to exercise as he should. It is similar in the Christian life. Scripture talks about man resisting the grace of God. But it also talks about man being born again and the Spirit blowing where it will. It talks about God giving man a new heart and replacing the heart of stone with one of flesh. If an earthly parent can show irresistible grace to their child then it is hard to argue that the Father of Spirits cannot do the same.

For those who hate to think of God as God, as the One who sovereignly rules in heaven, irresistible grace or effectual calling is considered something immoral. But scripture says that it is about the glory of God. It is about God choosing to show compassion to those who He wants to show compassion. We are saved by grace and if you don’t want to receive grace from God, you should question if you are saved. So let’s start off with a question: Is there a biblical reason why we would want saving grace to be resistible?

Timecodes
00:00:00 Intro
00:08:04 Why Grace has to be Irresistible
00:12:29 Fallen Man Cannot Understand Good Gifts
00:21:25 Hate the Prerogative Belonging to God
00:26:14 This Grace is Given Throughout a Believers Life
00:34:24 It is God’s Work and God’s Purpose
00:38:59 Irresistible Grace from Scripture
00:43:41 Picture of Jonah
00:48:23 Example of Those that did not Receive Grace
00:52:51 Resisting the Holy 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

Who is Israel? The Madness of Huckabee vs Carlson (Ep. 253 Audio)

Recently, Tucker Carlson interviewed Ambassador Mike Huckabee and asked him questions that he struggled to answer. Questions like: Who are the children of Abraham? Who are the Jews? What is the land that God promised? And what was the nature of that promise? And, in this present time, how do we identify the people God promised that land to? 

Many people say the answer is obvious because there are people that call themselves Jews, but when you consider that many Christians believe America should support Israel militarily as ones who have a God-given right to the land, the answers matter a great deal. This becomes even more important when you consider that Israel does not allow Jews who have converted to Christianity the right to return, so it is not purely genetic in national Israel’s eyes.  So before we talk about the problems with both Huckabee’s and Tucker’s arguments, who was the promise of the land that was given to Abram?

Listen to the audio version here:
Timecodes
00:00:00 Tucker and Huckabee
00:05:35 Promise to Abraham
00:13:33 Israel Divorced
00:14:43 How God Gives Land
00:22:52 Two Promises
00:29:13 Descent by Father or Mother?
00:47:44 What is the Promised Land?
01:00:10 Conclusions

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

How the Super Bowl Has Ravaged the Church (Ep. 250 Audio)

There are churches that hold Super Bowl parties or cancel Sunday evening services so people can watch the Super Bowl. If the Sabbath is a day of rest, why shouldn’t we do what we want to relax on that day?

Thumbnail image by Alan Owns under BY-NC-SA 2.0

Timecodes
00:00 Sabbath Made for Man
09:56 Superbowl Idolatry
13:22 Sabbath Sports
28:57 Joy in God
40:05 Childrens’ Sunday Sports
42:54 Fighting for the Sabbath
57:28 Community Testimony
01:01:33 Are Sports Special?

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

Moses Was Not a Dispensationalist (Ep. 248 Audio)

Dispensationalists often argue that Old Testament promises to Israel must only be fulfilled in a physical way to the earthly nation of Israel. There are many complexities with that view because even in the Old Testament, the word “Israel” is also used to mean the promised land, the northern kingdom, the church, or even Jesus Christ. And while there are promises that were made to the physical nation, it is important to understand that God laid the groundwork for bringing in the Gentiles to Moses all the way back in the Pentateuch. In Deuteronomy, in the Song of Moses, Moses understood that the earthly nation of Israel was just a type and that those to whom God gave the gift of faith are the true Israel.

In this episode, we look at how fundamental the typology of Israel is to redemptive history and how easy it is to miss it because of how strongly dispensationalism has been pushed in the US and much of the rest of the world.

Timecodes
00:00:00 Song of Moses
00:09:47 Tower of Babel
00:22:01 Rejoice O Gentiles
00:32:57 Israel’s Rebellion
00:49:40 Dispensationalism

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

Is Interracial Marriage Sinful or Unwise? (Ep. 247 Audio)

There are many false teachers on social media who are making foolish statements about race, culture, and marriage, saying things like, “interracial marriage isn’t a sin, it’s just not ideal,” or “it’s fine to tell your white daughter she shouldn’t marry a solid Christian black man because you want grandchildren who look like you.” These wolves are not just giving bad advice; they are attacking the heart of the gospel, not because the gospel requires you to marry someone from a different culture or “race”, but because it commands you to prioritize spiritual matters over physical concerns. Most people don’t have the luxury of choosing between two or more identical spiritually-qualified life partners. And the last thing you should do in such a situation is make physical matters primary.
And we should not think this is a new debate. It has been going on for some time in different forms, and though now its proponents are trying to soften it from the open Bob Jones University position, which banned interracial dating until 2008 by claiming it was against God’s design. So here’s the question: Is there any actual Scriptural support for their idea?

Timecodes
00:00:00 Leaders Pushing This
00:08:32 Qualifications for Marriage
00:16:04 Moses’ Marriage
00:22:58 Christ’s Marriage
00:28:52 Ruth’s Marriage
00:33:02 What Is Race?
00:49:28 Is It Unwise?
00:54:00 Biblical Law
00:57:29 Christian Culture
01:08:35 Punishment for Foreign Wives

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

Is the American Church Bloodthirsty? Venezuela, Trump & Unjust Wars (Ep. 245 Audio)

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

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