The Living Waters Podcast

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Ep. 103 - How to Be an Effective Ambassador for Christ Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, the guys discuss how to be an effective ambassador for Christ. This topic never gets old, because it is all about living out who we are in Christ. We are reminded that each of us is a witness for Christ. What a person believes is much less important than the way that they act. Our Christian lives should gravitate people towards us who are ready to hear the gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:20 proclaims “Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ.” If we have been born again for Christ, we are automatically His ambassadors. When we remember who Christ is, it is astonishing that he has called upon us sinful human beings to be His ambassadors. An ambassador is defined as an accredited diplomat sent from a country as its official representative to a foreign country. We should remember that this world isn’t our home, we are only passing through in exile. Our mission here is singular: To bring glory to Christ and to make Him known.

The number one most important trait for an ambassador is discretion with words. This refers to the ability to know when not to say and do certain things as to avoid offense. The ultimate work of evangelism actually has little to do with our power to transform lives. God calls on us to be His ambassadors as a way to live out our faithfulness to Him. Anger, sarcasm, demeaning comments and self righteousness are some traits often seen among evangelists who forget that they are also ambassadors. We should be careful to avoid these traits as we walk through life. If you haven’t shared the gospel with others in a while, the guys urge you to get started just by being friendly in public places.

It is important to keep in mind that as ambassadors, we are not just representing the Lord, but also other Christians. Our witness has the potential to extend far beyond what we can imagine. Christ left us an example of what we should do for one another as believers, and it all starts with the representation of the love and service within church. In closing, we are reminded that we represent the God of the universe. This realization should sober us, honor us and lead us to recognize the seriousness of our calling. It is in His grace alone this calling may be achieved.

You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.

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Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!
Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!
You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.
Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.
You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!
Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.
Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro

Ep. 102 - The False Teachings of the Catholic Church Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, the guys discuss Catholicism. To begin, they reiterate that they are in no way trying to talk down to Catholic people, but rather are speaking the truth and being honest about a religious institution which they believe has serious harmful teachings. Catholics and Christians do have things in common, such as believing in the existence of God and the person of Jesus Christ, but the glaring differences can not be overlooked.
While Christians believe we are saved by grace and not ourselves, Catholics believe that we are saved by grace and by our actions. When we say that we were saved by grace, we are saying that we as individuals had nothing to do with it and we can not upkeep out salvation. There is no need for Christians to worry about losing our salvation after a sinful action. It is by our faith alone that we receive the gift of justification.
While it is possible for a person to be saved and be part of the Catholic church, the guys believe it would have to be despite the official teachings of the Catholic church. It is in response to the grace that has been given to us by God that we may pursue righteousness, not out of fear of condemnation or eternal hell and punishment. Even if you have everything else sorted out, if you don’t have salvation right, then you won’t have eternal life. When it comes to eternal life, the Scripture should serve as our guideline, and all traditions of man should fall to the wayside. Today, all we have to do is look upon the curse of Jesus on the cross and live. We do not look to the Pope, the sacraments or to tradition, but to Jesus alone. Before wrapping up, the conversation shifts to discussing the idolatry common within the Catholic church. In closing, we are reminded that our debts were paid by Jesus on the cross in perfect righteousness. Repent, place your faith in Him and let Him set you free!
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Ep. 101 - Why Legalism is so Destructive Oct 20, 2022

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In today's episode, the guys discuss legalism and its destruction. Legalism itself comes in two forms. On one hand are the legalists obsessed with their obedience to the law as a condition for acceptance with God. At the heart of this is the idea that works are a condition for justification. The other kinds of legalists demand that others submit to his own image of what constitutes spirituality and judge those who fail to measure up. It is inevitable that legalism ends up in hypocrisy.

Then, the guys share about their own encounters with legalism. Oftentimes, those who are legalistic are trying to give an outward appearance of piety, holiness and righteousness, but the corruption that is still within ends up coming to the surface in other ways. It is, however, often the byproduct of a sincere zeal for God that is lacking in knowledge. Looking to Christ and His righteousness outs to death any idea that we can gain, earn, prove or pay off the righteousness that has been given to us through Jesus. Legalism comes from a very man-centered way of viewing himself. Legalism forgets about grace and mercy and replaces it with appearance by negating the gospel.

We are so prone to want to demand our own ways and become frustrated when things don’t go according to our own plan. We may often find ourselves in situations where we are demonstrating self absorption, and should recognize that these times should be flipped as an opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace. Next, the guys differentiate between legalism and what isn't actually considered legalism. Legalism is distorting the gospel by adding conditions to free grace, substituting manmade regulations for the word of God, majoring on the minors and neglecting the more important issues, overconcern with externals while disregarding matters of the heart and regarding with contempt or judgment based on matters of personal conviction. Legalism is not a zeal for the Commandments of Christ, a ministry that teaches others to follow Christ and obedience and having strong personal convictions not required for others. In closing, we are reminded that a part of grace is recognizing that our quality is not based on the output of our performance. When we recognize that the love of God is where our true value lies, we are freed from the need to prove ourselves in life.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.

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Ep. 100 - How to Strengthen Your Christian Worldview Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

In today's special episode, the 100th episode of the show(!!), the guys welcome back special guest Emilio Ramos for a third conversation! This discussion is the broadest of the three, and it focuses on Christian worldview and how to strengthen it. To get things going, the guys first consider what worldview is, focusing on a definition from Got Questions: “A worldview refers to a comprehensive conception of the world from a specific standpoint,” and it is a person’s big picture and way of both understanding reality and making decisions. Emilio explains how a significant worldview issue among Christians today is that they leave eschatology out of their worldview formulations. They think of eschatology, or the study of the last things, in terms of apocalyptic predictions and church debates, relegating it to the sidelines of their lives. In reality, eschatology is central to the Bible’s storyline, and is present from the very beginning in the hope that God will bring all things to a beautiful redemptive culmination. Eschatology, and our theology more broadly, the guys urge, has everything to do with how we live now!

Of course, factors other than theological misconception oppose the Christian worldview. As people living in the world, Christians must immerse themselves in Scripture to curb the influence of the world on their worldviews. The guys revel in the sufficiency of the Bible as the standard to build our lives on, and work through dangers of modernism, a gnostic dismissal of the present world, the deeply self-refuting “worldview” of atheism, and the problems of process theology. They explain how people can be boiled down in terms of worldview to Christian theists and practical atheists, and how the three absolutes of truth, goodness and beauty - central pieces of worldview - require something transcendent to define them. A biblical worldview is grounded in the fear of God, and it has its start with the miracle of regeneration, when a person is given a new heart and desires. As the conversation wraps up, the guys offer insight on drawing non-Christians toward the true worldview of Christianity, sharpening one’s own worldview as a believer, and helping to train up children in a biblical worldview.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

Check out The Evidence Study Bible and Ray’s book Overcoming Insomnia.

Connect with Emilio at redgracemedia.com, and check out the Christ and Kingdom podcast.

You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!

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Ep. 99 - The Insanity of Transhumanism Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, the guys are joined by Emilio Ramos, and they all discuss the idea of transhumanism, which is the integration of technology into human life and experience. Transhumanism is all about how technology can help the advancement of our human lives, and how technology can aid us. The guys discussed wearable examples of this such as the ring doorbell or our smartphones. However, this can become very serious when transhumanism enters posthumanism, which is when technology is used to achieve versions of humans other than what constitutes humans now. Transhumanists are saying that technology will take us to the next stages of evolution and that we can play a part in it. They believe that integrating technology into our bodies will be the next stage.

The guys talk through these four stages of posthumanism. Phase one is “wearables” or technology that creates benefits for humans. They gave an example as a pacemaker, which keeps people alive and helps people lead more comfortable lives. The second phase is integration of silicone technology for our health. The hosts mentioned this technology called “CRISPR”, which futurists expect to put an end to diseases such as cancer. The third phase is “enhancements,” where futurists believe scientists will be able to adjust genetic mutations for diseases, but then also mutate genetics for preferences, such as specific eye colors, higher IQ’s, etc. They discuss that in this stage, changing genetics will only be available to the elite and to the wealthy. People will not be created equal anymore. The last phase is where these futurists want to transfer our subconsciousness into a computer, virtual reality or an avatar in order to “live forever.” The futurists are saying that technology will give birth to future centiens and not just humans. They also discuss what does it actually mean to be human and what consciousness really is.

The guys also talk about how this idea of posthumanism is really humans trying to become like God and how this idea is not really new. Humans have been trying to become like God since the beginning of time. It all started with Satan wanting to become like God and then convincing Eve that she could be like God as well if she ate the fruit. But, we are already like God by being made in the image of God. In the story of Babel, the people tried to build the tower to reach into the heavens, but God destroyed the tower and did not let their plans succeed. Every time we try to be like God, it falls apart because we created something less than good. No matter how much man tries to reach His level, God will always be on His throne in heaven. God is in control and it all comes down to what God will allow to take place. God at some point will take down posthumanism, but no one knows when. The guys wrap up this episode by reassuring Christians that God is not worried and the only way to truly have immortality is in His kingdom forever.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit theLiving Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

You can find helpful counseling resources atbiblicalcounseling.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Ep. 98 - How Technology Will Challenge Our Faith Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, the guys welcome special guest Emilio Ramos to talk about an important and relevant topic: technology and how it will challenge our faith in the days ahead. In order to wrap our minds around this topic, we also need to understand the related concept of futurism. “Futurism” is an umbrella term that deals with predicting what our lives will look like in the future. Thinkers ranging from philosophers to tech developers weigh in on this future, and their ideas are not only relevant to the future, but have ever-growing implications for today. The agenda for tech now and moving into the future is more and more integration into our lives, and we can see even now that tech giants inform us not so much about new gadgets as about what these gadgets can do. Technology is part of our lives, and is becoming nearly part of us. And as things continue to move forward, we step toward a point of “technological singularity,” which will occur when tech will advance so far that we won't be able to comprehend what it will look like to live in that world or to be human in that space.

This may sound concerning, but the guys also explain that technology in itself is amoral; this lack of a clear moral problem is, in fact, what complicates the situation of developing tech for us as Christians. The guys love technology for many reasons, but are wary of dangers that it brings along with it. Technology can, for instance, oppose our resting before God and our meditating on His Word, and we can easily transition from using technology as a tool to help us to being used by technology. Technology can turn us into overly political or conspiratorial people, distract us from the gospel, and have negative effects on our kids. Ultimately, technology shaping us is not a new thing, but it is a matter that we have to deal with in new and different ways. As developers pursue life-extension tech and delve further into VR, we must remember that these things can never be true eternal life. We must always work to be wise in our use of technology, saying no to things that will be unhealthy in our lives and homes, and factoring in the realities of technology and its influence in our discipleship relationships.
Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

Check out The Evidence Study Bible, Ray’s book Banana Man, and his film, Genius.

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Ep. 97 - The Life of John Wesley Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, the guys discuss John Wesley, founder of the Methodist faith. He was born June 17, 1703 and died March 12, 1791. His father was a minister in the Church of England and he was 15th out of 19 children. This was a man who lived constantly with the realization that he shouldn’t be alive. He was driven by the eternal and once said “I have thought that I am a creature of a day, passing by life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God.” He attended Oxford and was immediately recognized as an extraordinary student, and became a minister right off the bat.

He arrived in Savannah, Georgia, where he was invited to serve as a pastor for the colonies. He was converted in May of 1738. He writes of the reassurance he felt at this moment as Christ had saved him from sin and death. In order to know his savior, Wesley first had to understand his sin. In order to experience mercy, he had to know wrath. He began to feel uncomfortable by the emotions his preaching often elicited and warmed to the new method of ministry.

His journal reveals his intimate relationship with God, which is what likely helped him complete all of the amazing things he did over his lifetime. For example, he averaged about 5,000 miles a year in travel, equal to traveling around the globe 12 times. Most of this he did on horseback. He delivered an average of 15 sermons per week, mostly in the open air, and under difficult circumstances. Over his lifetime, he preached a total of 42,400 sermons. His list of extraordinary accomplishments goes on, including planting over 400 small local churches. Then, the guys discuss how we should respect our forefathers not as God, but as wise men we can learn greatly from. In closing, we hear Wesley’s wish to see the world grow closer to God in body, soul and substance before his own passing. It is reported that his final words following an illness were “Best of all is God is with us.” And he is with you, too!

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.

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Ep. 96 - What is the Sin Nature All About? Oct 04, 2022

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In today's episode, the guys discuss the destructive element of sin nature. They start off by saying there are two parts to a sinful nature- the historical depravity and how sin is played out in the life of a Christian. They first discuss that the original sin does not refer to Adam’s first sin, but comes from the guilt and tendency to sin with which we are born. However, we were not created to be sinners. Adam rebelled in the Garden of Eden and then brought on the nature of sin. Sin is in total depravity, which means that sin’s power affects the whole person. There is no part of man that can escape sin. If you could imagine a world without God’s hand on it or even if civil law was removed, we would see the complete evil that human beings would do. Man is a predator by nature and is naturally evil. Some people think that man is naturally good because they surround themselves in circles that do good or they don’t see how people truly are in private, but all men have an evil or sinful nature. Culture tells us that the reason why people sin is because of the structures and authority that people grew up in, but man created those structures and authority.

Then, they talk through the manifestation of the sinful nature and how you can even see it in children. We don’t teach our children to sin, but even from the womb they are born with a sinful nature. They discuss how the modern parent puts so much pressure on themselves thinking that they aren’t doing something right or they messed something up, so they coddle their children. But in reality, children are born sinners and it is our job to teach and disciple them. It is not our job to raise Christian men and women, it is our job to model what a Christian is to our kids and then let God do His job.

The guys continue on by discussing what happens to sin nature when you are born again. They say it is a constant battle of the flesh against the spirit that continually wages. As Christians, we should be the first to confess when we are wrong to be good examples and to show that we are not a slave to sin. Guilt of our sins leads to confession and repentance. We need to lead the charge when we do wrong. However, there is victory as a Christian through the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ bore our sins on the cross so that we would die to sin and become alive in Him.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit theLiving Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

You can find helpful counseling resources atbiblicalcounseling.com.

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Ep. 95 - Can Christians Smoke Weed and Drink? Sep 29, 2022

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In today's episode, the guys discuss the substances of marijuana and alcohol. Beginning with alcohol, the guys stress that the idea is not to allow yourself to be mastered by these substances. If you are going to drink, you must do it in faith, because anything done not in faith is a sin. We are free to abstain from alcohol, but we are not free to condemn those who choose to drink in moderation. In scripture, wine is considered a gift from God. However, as we know, people have the incredibly sinful capacity to distort God’s gifts and make them into something atrocious. In the scriptures, alcohol is an important theological symbol. It is not by accident that the first miracle of Jesus was turning water into wine. We have to keep in mind that in our culture today, alcohol is not used as a symbolic celebration of what God is doing, but instead as a numbing mechanism. The very thing the Bible condemns, drunkenness, is the reason why people drink today.

Then, they apply everything just discussed about alcohol to the issue of marijuana. As the substance is being legalized, this is a huge question in the minds of many, especially younger people. Compared to wine being used in Scripture as an act of celebration, marijuana is a mind-altering drug used to get high. With this in mind, it’s difficult to see how a Christian could smoke weed with a good conscience. Recreational marijuana use can be compared to drunkenness in the Bible, which is a sin. We are reminded that when you are in God’s will, you will not want to partake in sinful activities. If you are questioning whether partaking in substances is okay for you to do as a Christian, this is demonstrating where you are in your relationship with God. We can't forget that our bodies are temples to the Holy Spirit, and marijuana is very bad for our bodies and impairs our intelligence.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.

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Ep. 94 - How to Avoid Becoming Worldly Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, the guys discuss how to avoid becoming worldly. They define worldliness as the love of the world and the pleasures within it. A friend of the world is an enemy of God. This, however, is not to say that we should not partake in worldly things such as having a job or being friends with non-believers. We may actively enjoy the things God has given us while still remembering that the earth is a place we are just passing through.

The story of Israel and the exile to Babylon gives a good example of how Christians should and shouldn’t live. The four ways the Babylonian Empire assimilated the Jewish exile are exactly how we tend to assimilate into our own culture. These are assimilation through isolation, indoctrination, assimilation and confusion. A major wordly trait Christians should be wary of is that of the wise and worldly man who thinks he can solve all of the world’s problems on his own. The whole principle is based on the idea that we were put into the world for a reason, but this does not mean that we are of the world. We must remember that worldliness disgusts the Lord and should feel visceral disgust of our own at the sight of worldly indulgences.

We can push back against the world by committing our heart, mind and soul to better knowing who God is. To know God is to immerse yourself in Him. We must be careful when walking through this world about the things we give our attention to. It all comes down to having a discernible understanding of what is corruptible to you and those around you. As we don’t conform to the patterns of this world, but instead allow ourselves to be transformed through God’s word, then we are equipped with discernment. Similarly, it is valuable to begin teaching our kids the lesson of discernment at a young age so they may avoid falling into worldliness.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!

Links:

Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!

You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.

Send us Fan Mail

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