Theology for the Rest of Us

Latest Episodes:

88: What Are the Spiritual Gifts? May 13, 2016

Show notes

Whenever God gives a person a supernatural ability to do some particular thing or to fulfill some particular role, it can be said that specific person has been gifted by God to do that specific thing. The person of the Godhead who administers these gifts is the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that enables us to use these gifts, that’s why these gifts are often called the “spiritual gifts.”

In this episode, Kenny unpacks the passages of Scripture that explain how we are to use these gifts as well as the passages that list the many different types of spiritual gifts that are available to believers.

Highlighted Passages:

1 Corinthians 12:1-12

Romans 12:3-8

Ephesians 4:10-13

1 Peter 4:9-10

1 Corinthians 7:7-8

Ephesians 3:6-8

1 Corinthians 13:3

87: What is Prophecy? May 12, 2016

Show notes

Prophecy is a grossly misunderstood spiritual gift that often gets maligned or abused. In this episode, Kenny explains what the Old Testament office of “prophet” actually consisted of and how that changed in the New Testament, being imputed to every believer because we now all have access to the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Kenny highlights spiritual gifts as they are related to prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:8-10), explains how prophecy ought to be used today in the church, and why it is important for us to understand the difference the gift of prophecy and the gift of utterance of knowledge.

86: What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? When Does it Happen? May 12, 2016

Show notes

Whenever a person puts their whole faith in Christ, they are forgiven of their sin and invited into friendship with God. This is the moment when someone becomes a genuine Christian; in our contemporary evangelical circles we often call this “getting saved.” The other major event that takes place is this thing we call the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” So, what exactly is this baptism?

In this episode, Kenny explains what this event is and why it matter to the life of the believer. In addition, Kenny addresses the debate among evangelicals as to when this baptism actually takes place; some Christians say it happens as salvation while others claim it happens at a later time.

85: What is the Role of the Holy Spirit? May 11, 2016

Show notes

There is much confusion in the modern church about the Holy Spirit. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is His Holy Spirit; it is an absolute privilege to have God with us all the time.

In this episode, Kenny kicks off a mini-series to give a clear explanation of the power, work, personage, and role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Recommend Resources:

Forgotten God (by Francis Chan)

Highlighted Passages:

John 16:7-8

John 14:16

Galatians 5:22-23

1 Corinthians 12

John 16:14

John 15:26

John 16:13

1 john 2:27

Romans 8

John 6:44,65

84: Does God Love Everyone Unconditionally? May 05, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, Kenny responds to a question from a regular listener: “Does God love everyone unconditionally?”

First, Kenny notes that God does indeed love every person, but it is actually more than that. Love isn’t just something God does or something God feels, God is love! (1 John 4:8)

God passionately loves us, because He is love.

However, God’s love for everyone is not the same, He loves certain peoples differently and uniquely. It is also important to note that sometimes the love of God is misunderstood and wrongly equated with the approval of God. Just because God has a passionate love for you, does NOT mean that He approves of everything you do. Kenny explains why it is essential to understand this truth.

83: Muslims Accept Jesus, But Why Don’t Christians Accept Muhammad? May 05, 2016

Show notes

Many Muslims claim that their religion embraces Jesus as a great prophet and a great teacher, so many of them find it odd (and even offensive) that orthodox Christians do not embrace Islam’s prophet Muhammad. Why is it that Muslims accept and embrace Jesus, but but Christians reject Muhammad and his message?

In this episode, Kenny explains the theory of abrogation, upon which Islam is built, and why Christians ought to reject that theory. Kenny also highlights the fact that Muslims do not embrace Jesus in the same manner that Christians do (Muslims reject His Deity) and they do not embrace the narratives of the Old Testament and the New Testament in their entirety, as Christians do.

Finally, Kenny reminds us of the challenge given to us from the Apostle Paul to reject any and all other versions of the Gospel that do not match the version of the Gospel given to us by the Apostles (Galatians 1:6-9).

Recommended Resources:

What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an (by James R. White)

Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross (by Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb)

82: Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God? May 04, 2016

Show notes

Over the centuries religious skeptics and critics have claimed that all religions are just different perspectives of the same God. Others have claimed that the world’s three major monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) all worship the same God. Is this true?

In this episode, Kenny addresses the questions: “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” The answer is a resounding “No!”

Kenny gives a timeline of Old Testament history, highlighting the two lineages after Abraham: the line of Isaac (the Jewish people) and the line of Ishmael (the Arab people). Many centuries after Ishmael, in 610 A.D., Muhammad began a new religion, claiming to have received revelations from the God of Abraham, and claiming that Jews and Christians had corrupted the true religion of the one true God. Muhammad became a crusader, and for several centuries Islam was the fastest growing religion in the world.

However, it is important to note that Muhammad’s new religion was not a “purified” form of the ancient religion of Abraham, but rather nothing more than a repackaging of the polytheistic pagan religion that was popular throughout the Arab world in the 6th and 7th centuries.

Recommended Resources:

What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an (by James R. White)

Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross (by Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb)

81: When Did Jesus Become the Son of God? May 02, 2016

Show notes

Jesus is called the Son of God throughout the New Testament. But He is not the only person given the label “son of God.” The term occurs more than 40 times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. God is not the “Father” in a biological sense, but the term describes the nature of the relationship between God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Kenny explains that Jesus never became the Son of God, but rather has always been the Son of God. Furthermore, Kenny explains what the term “only begotten son of God” means and how it should impact how we see Jesus. All believers are adopted as sons and daughters of God, meaning that God chooses to treat us as if we were His own children, but Jesus is unique from us in that He has always been the Son of God, from the very same essence of God Himself.

Highlighted Passages:

Matthew 3:17

Matt 11:27

Luke 10:22

Hebrews 13

Colossians 1

Hebrews 1

80: Can Gay People Go to Heaven? Apr 29, 2016

Show notes

A regular listener of the podcast sent in an email asking, “Can gay people go to heaven?” This is a question often asked when people read 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 where it states that a person practicing homosexuality will not “inherit the kingdom of God.”

In this episode, Kenny gives a clear answer about all sin, not just homosexuality. If you have a pattern of practicing sin over and over again, without any resolve to overcome that sin, then your faith in Christ may not be genuine. If you continue to live in sin, then we need to examine whether or not you are really a believer.

If you are a genuine believer, you are labeled as righteous, you have been justified, therefore you are not identified as a sinner. Anyone with faith in Christ is labeled as a “saint” not a sinner. Saints will inherit the kingdom of God. But if you have not placed your faith in Christ, then you are labeled unrighteous, enemy of God, therefore you are indeed still identified as a sinner and the passages that talk about not inheriting the kingdom of God do indeed apply to you. This ought to be a sobering and inspiring truth.

Highlighted Passages:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Revelation 22:15

Galatians 5:19-21

Ephesians 5:5

2 Corinthians 5:21

Romans 5:1-2

Romans 5:8-11

Related Episodes:

WHAT IS JUSTIFICATION?

WHY IS HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN?

Recommended Resources:

What’s the Meaning of Sex (Denny Burk)

Transforming Homosexuality (Denny Burk & Heath Lambert)

What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? (by Kevin DeYoung)

Is Gay the New Black? (Voddie Baucham) (Video)

How Can Homosexuality Be Wrong If It Doesn’t Harm Anyone? (Video)

79: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an “Issue”? with Dr. Preston Sprinkle Apr 28, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, Kenny interviews author, speaker, and college professor Dr. Preston Sprinkle about homosexuality, but more specifically about how Christians ought to engage with people who identify as gay.

Dr. Sprinkle makes it clear: Homosexuality is not about an “issue” to be dealt with, but it is much more about people than need to be loved.

Dr. Sprinkle gained national attention several years ago when he co-wrote the best selling book Erasing Hell with Francis Chan, which was a response to Rob Bell’s Love Wins. Dr. Sprinkle has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Master’s Seminary as well as a Ph.D. in New Testament from Aberdeen University in the Scotland.

Recommended Resources:

People to be Loved (by Preston Sprinkle, Ph.D.)

Washed and Waiting (by Wesley Hill)

Is God Anti-Gay (by Sam Allberry)

What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? (by Kevin DeYoung)

Is Gay the New Black? (Video by Voddie Baucham)

How Can Homosexuality Be Wrong If It Doesn’t Harm Anyone? (Video)

Previous Related Episodes:

78: Why is Homosexuality a Sin?

70: How Does God Determine What Is Sin And What Is Not Sin?

65: Is It Wrong To Live Together Before We’re Married?

11: Why Is Premarital Sex Sin?