Theology for the Rest of Us

Latest Episodes:

98: How to Engage with the Holy Spirit on a Daily Basis? with Matt van Winkle May 22, 2016

Show notes

We believe that every Christian ought to cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit; seeking to engage with the Holy Spirit, His supernatural wisdom, His sanctifying power, and the spiritual gifts that He gives.

In this episode, Kenny interviews charismatic church planter Matt van Winkle to discuss engaging with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. Matt tells us that each believer ought to be looking to “live by the “nudge” of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit is constantly nudging us in the directions that He desires for us to pursue, and He is constantly giving us the power and wisdom to do the right thing at the right time.

In addition, Matt also talks about how the corporate church ought to engage with the Holy Spirit, making sure that there is always proper order in the public church services whenever the gifts of the Holy Spirit are being used by believers.

97: What Does It Mean that the Holy Spirit “Convicts” the World? May 21, 2016

Show notes

In John 16, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit would come into the world and “convict” people in the areas of sin, righteousness, and judgement. What does this mean?

In this episode, Kenny explains that the term “convict” comes from a Latin origin which means “to know” or “to point towards truth.” That is what the Holy Spirit does in our lives; He points us towards truth and He helps us see things clearly. The Holy Spirit does this so that we will better understand sin, so that we can better understand what it means to live a righteous life, and so that we can have a better understanding of the impending judgment on humanity. As we have a better understanding of these things, we are much more likely to become people of conviction.

A person of conviction is any person that has a track record of being a person of high character or a person with a strong moral resolution. In essence, whenever a person sees something as true and begins to live their life in accordance with that truth, they are often called a “person of conviction.” That’s what the Holy Spirit is seeking to transform us into, people of conviction whom have built their conviction on God’s morality.

96: Why Do Some Call Him the “Holy Ghost” Instead of the “Holy Spirit”? May 18, 2016

Show notes

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead, but why is there confusion around His name? Why do some Christians refer to Him as the “Holy Ghost” instead of calling Him the “Holy Spirit”?

In this episode, Kenny answers this question by reminding us that language evolves and transforms over the course of time. The term “ghost” meant something different several hundreds of years ago, which is why many Bible translations used that term. However, as language has evolved, the term “ghost” has taken on a different meaning, which is why the term “Holy Spirit” is now more accurate.

95: Are the Gifts of the Spirit for Today? (The Case for Cessationism) with Greg Dutcher May 18, 2016

Show notes

As a part of our series on the Holy Spirit, Kenny interviews pastor and podcaster Greg Dutcher about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically talking about the more “ecstatic” gifts of the Spirit, and their uses within contemporary charismatic churches.

In this episode, Kenny and Greg dialogue about the modern ongoing “charismatic versus cessationist” debate. Despite his disagreement with charismatic Christians, Greg approaches them with incredible grace and respect. Greg makes his case for cessationism and points out the inconsistencies that he sees within modern charismatic theology, highlighting why he believes the cessationist position is the most accurate position.

94: Are There Any Spiritual Gifts Not Mentioned in the Bible? May 17, 2016

Show notes

There are many spiritual gifts listed in the Scripture; gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, so that we will have the ability to accomplish certain tasks or take on certain roles, so that we can build up the people within the church.

But sometimes we observe people that are seemingly supernaturally gifted in an area that is not mentioned explicitly within the pages of Scripture. What are we to make of those sorts of observations?

In this episode, Kenny explains that there are not any spiritual gifts left out of the Bible (the list in the New Testament is absolutely exhaustive). However, Kenny believes that our contemporary Christian view of each spiritual gift may be too narrow. Sometimes we confuse roles with spiritual gifts or we confused natural talents with spiritual gifts, and in doing so, we often thrust onto people unfair burdens and unrealistic expectations because our views of the spiritual gifts are far too rigid.

93: Why the Holy Spirit Doesn’t Have to be Weird? with Matt McAfee May 16, 2016

Show notes

As a part of the recent mini-series on the Holy Spirit (and the gifts of the Holy Spirit) Kenny has interviewed several pastors about the importance of approaching the Holy Spirit in a Biblical and “non-spooky” manner. The bottom line: Engaging with the Holy Spirit does not have to be weird! But why does He seem so weird to so many? And how do we get past the many weird things that we often see in some churches?

In this episode, Kenny interviews charismatic pastor Matt McAfee to discuss the Biblical and non-weird ways to approach the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Matt shares his own wrestling with non-Biblical and extra-Biblical things that he has witnessed in charismatic churches that frustrated him, but also explains why he has not embraced cessationism either. Matt concedes that being a cessationist would be “cleaner” but he clearly asserts that it would not be the most Biblical perspective to take.

Recommended Resources:

The God I Never Knew (by Robert Morris)

How to be Pentecostal Without Speaking in Tongues (by Tony Campolo)

Holy Fire (by RT Kendall)

Forgotten God (by Francis Chan)

92: What’s the Difference Between Prescriptive and Descriptive Bible Passages? May 16, 2016

Show notes

In this episode Kenny explains the difference between prescriptive forms of writing in the Bible and descriptive forms of writing in the Bible. When we misunderstand the style of writing we run the risk of misunderstanding the character and nature of God.

Descriptive passages describe what happened; they give us the historical narratives and the stories of the events that took place. Prescriptive passages give us clear commands and instructions as to how we are to live our lives.

Kenny explains how we can diagnosis whether a passage is prescriptive or descriptive by reading through whole passages and whole books of the Bible over time. Kenny also asserts that we should primarily build our doctrine on prescriptive passages and then supplement that doctrine with the overall themes and trends and patterns that we learn from descriptive Biblical passages. We should avoid building our doctrine on individual descriptive passages that describe individual events.

Recommended Resources:

Exegetical Fallacies (by D.A. Carson)

91: Do All Christians Have the Ability to Speak in Tongues? May 15, 2016

Show notes

There is a segment of contemporary Evangelical Christianity that believes that every true Christian has to ability to speaking in tongues. Those Christians typically fall into the Charismatic/Pentecostal camp. Is this true? Does every Christian have the ability to use this spiritual gift? Should every Christian be speaking in tongues?

In this episode, Kenny says, “No!” Not all Christians speak in tongues. Kenny clearly combats this belief by examining several Bible passages. Kenny proclaims his appreciation and admiration for certain elements of the Charismatic movement, but he clearly challenges the belief that all Christians should be speaking in tongues, as espoused by most Charismatics.

Kenny examines the passages that mention the gifts of the spirit (1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12) and makes the point that God works in different ways in each believer.

Highlighted Passages:

1 Corinthians 12:4-31

Romans 12:3-8

Acts 2:4

Acts 10:44-46

Acts 19:6

Acts 2:41

Acts 8:5-25

Acts 16:31-34

Acts 21:20

Romans 8:9

1 Corinthians 12:13

Ephesians 1:13-14

90: What is Speaking in Tongues? May 14, 2016

Show notes

There is much controversy around the topic of speaking in tongues within contemporary North American Evangelical churches. In this episode, Kenny clearly explains that speaking in tongues is a supernatural ability, given to believers through the power of the Holy Spirit, to have the ability to speak in a language that they have never learned on their own accord.

Kenny outlines the different forms of speaking in tongues in the Bible, or the different ways this spiritual gift is used in the Bible. Kenny also points out the importance of identifying when the Bible is being descriptive versus prescriptive, and how that identification has major implications on how we interpret many of the passages that mention the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues.

89: What’s the Difference Between Charismatics and other Christians? May 13, 2016

Show notes

There are a variety of views of the Holy Spirit and how He interacts with believers. There are three main perspectives among modern Evangelical Christians, as well as a fourth minority view. In this episode, Kenny unpacks the three main views, explaining their differences and the implications of each.

Recommend Books:

Convergence: Spiritual Journeys of a Charismatic Calvinist (by Sam Storms)

Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? (multiple contributors)

Diagram Outlining the Different Views:

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