Theology For The Rest Of Us | Quick Answers To The Questions About God And The Bible

In this episode, Kenny clearly explains why God labels homosexuality as a sin. Kenny starts the episode apologizing to any person who identifies as gay who has been mistreated by Christians. Kenny then challenges Christians to be consistent in their evaluation of sins. Kenny then makes the point that the Bible does indeed label homosexual behaviors as sinful (citing 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Timothy 1:10, Romans 1), but then Kenny begins to answer the question "Why?" There are typically multiple levels as to why something is sinful. The deepest layer when it come to understanding sexual sin is rooted in understanding God's ideal design, and that is one man and one woman, within the bounds of covenant marriage. During the act of sex there is something mysterious and supernatural that happens that emotionally unites the man and woman. The book of Genesis says they will become "one flesh" which is translated from the Hebrew word "echad" which speaks to plurality and

In this episode, Kenny interviews Dr. Corey Allan for a second time. This time they talk about "sex toys" and how married couples can approach the topic of being "diverse" in their quest to enhance their sexual relationship. Dr. Allan is a therapist, author, blogger, speaker, and podcaster. He is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. He has coached hundreds of people through issues related to sexual integrity. After the interview, Kenny gives some additional thoughts and commentary on the issue of sex toys related to single people, masturbation, celibacy, and homosexuality. Resources: Check out our previous interview with Dr. Corey Allan (Episode 55: Why Does Sexual Purity Matter?) Connect with Dr. Corey Allan at www.simplemarriage.net Check out “Sexy Marriage Radio” co-hosted by Dr. Allan & Shannon Ethridge Check out our interview with Dr. Corey Allan on the Inspiring Awesome Podcast  

With the ever changing cultural landscape of North America, many companies are now passing policies that are not in line with a Biblical worldview. This means more and more that Christians will be faced with the predicament of working for a business that promotes something that Christians may morally object to. In this episode, Kenny dives into this topic and gives Christians several things to remember as they navigate these sorts of issues. The legal questions around this topic are certainly still very "grey" in many ways, but we need to make moral resolutions and build our ethics upon Biblical truth, regardless of whatever laws are passed. But it is also imperative to remember that our convictions will vary from person to person. As we determine our convictions, we must do these things: 1) Ask the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27); and ask yourself good questions as you determined your convictions such as: - Is this really a big deal? - Can I reconcile this? - Am I being inc

There has been a recent debate around the topic of transgender people, specifically their usage of public bathrooms. So, that begs the question, How should we, as Christians, respond to this recent transgender people bathroom usage debate? In this episode, Kenny attacks this recent debate with clarity. First, Kenny reminds Christians that we need to be sensitive to people with emotions we may not be familiar with. Secondly, Kenny affirms that it is okay for Christians to reject certain ideologies based on Biblical convictions. Lastly, Kenny gives Christians three practical things to remember as they engage with this debate: 1- Be kind. 2- Invest extra energy into protecting your children. 3- Be consistent with your voting and how you spend your money.

Many Christians compartmentalize their lives in such a way that their theology never bleeds into certain areas, but our theology should impact every area of our lives. In this episode, Kenny interviews pastor and podcaster Stephen Mackey, for a third straight episode, but this time they dive into a topic that few Christians ever talk about: "How should our theology impact our eating habits and our approach to being physically healthy?" Mackey has lost more than 70 pounds over the last few months and he has become passionate about living a healthy life. Mackey says that living a healthy lifestyle does two very important things: 1- Health honors God. 2- Gives us the power to say "no" to things that are unhealthy, physically and spiritually. 3- Exposes the fact that we find satisfaction in food more than Christ. 4- Enables us to live a longer healthier life, so that we can do more Gospel work. 5- Impacts our self-esteem and how people see us.

In this episode, our host Kenny is joined, once again, by pastor, speaker, and podcaster Stephen Mackey (M.Div.) to discuss the importance and magnitude of each individual person's view of Jesus Christ. The most important answer you will ever give in your life is the answer you give to the most important question in the world: Who do you say Jesus is? In this conversation, Mackey examines and unpacks a famous quote from C.S. Lewis wherein he made the claim that Jesus must be either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord; there is no fourth option, neither is there a hybrid. You must either reject Jesus' words or embrace them as absolute truth. We must either reject Jesus as having any value or we must worship Him, there is no middle ground option.

In this episode, Kenny interviews a pastor friend Stephen Mackey (M.Div) to answer a tough theological question that came in from a regular listener of the podcast. The question was: "I came across John 20:23. After appearing to the disciples, Jesus breathes on them and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive another's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Doesn't this seem to negate the work Jesus just did on the cross. I am not sure from a historical point how his was interpreted." Kenny and Mackey dive into the Greek nuances of the Gospel of John to help in order to help bring clarity to this particular passage.

Topics related to mental illness are very sensitive for many people, therefore it is essential that we have quality Biblical theology around the topic of mental health and related issues. A few weeks ago Kenny received an email from a regular listener, in response to episode 43: Is Judas in Heaven or Hell? In the email, the listener praised Kenny for not "blanketly condemning" all mental illnesses, and those individuals who suffer from them, as merely being "unChristian." In this this episode, Kenny addresses that comment and clearly answers the question: "Is mental illness caused by demonic activity?" There are some people that believe demons cause mental health issues and mental illness. In response to that, Kenny says that sometimes they do, but other times they cause other health issues. Furthermore, there is Biblical evidence that only some health issues can be directly attributed to demonic activity. Recommended Resources: Overwhelmed (by Perry Noble) Highlighted Passages: Luke 17 Mark 6:5 Matth

Sometimes people believe that God seemingly condemns certain things or certain behaviors arbitrarily, randomly, or haphazardly. This is not true. In this episode, Kenny explains that we were created to glorify God and reflect His character, therefore anything in us that does not glorify or reflect Him violates the purpose for which we were created. Furthermore, we were all created by God to function in certain ways, with an ideal design in mind. Anytime we do not function as we were created to function, or anytime we go outside of His perfect ideal design for us, then we will cease to glorify and reflect Him. Kenny asserts that God determines certain things to be sinful based upon the ideal design with which we were created. Anything that goes outside that design can potentially be labeled sinful, or at least will eventually lead us down the road to sin.

In this short episode, Kenny makes it clear that God never punishes believers. The Father has already punished his own Son Jesus at the cross, therefore there is no need to punish you. However, God does discipline His people. God steps in to coach us and He also corrects us, and sometimes those moments of correction can be painful, but we are never being punished. Our discipline comes from the hand of a loving Father, molding us into the image of His Son Jesus. Highlighted Passages: - Romans 5:1 - Romans 8:1 - Romans 8:29 - Hebrews 12:5-6  

In this episode, Kenny interviews David Schrock (Ph.D., SBTS) about the importance of studying the character and nature of God; being diligent in seeking to understand all areas of theology. David outlines that theology isn't just a study or discipline, but a delight in getting to know God better. He also tells us about the importance of theology because good theology has real positive impact on our lives and bad theology has the potential to be a significant detriment to our lives.   Recommended Resources:  Blog: Theology is Not Just for Theologians David Schrock's Blog The Gospel Coalition 9 Marks of Healthy Church Desiring God Ministries Timothy Keller Ministries

A somewhat frequently asked question is, "Was God unjust when He asked Abraham to kill his own son Isaac?" Sometimes this question is asked by Bible skeptics as an attack, while other times this is asked by inquiring believers. In this episode, Kenny answers the question with several thoughts: 1- Every human deserves to die, so decreeing Isaac's death would not be unjust. 2- We are not entitled to anything at all; Isaac was not entitled to life, therefore God can take away Isaac's life if He sees fit to do so. 3- God has the right to do whatever He pleases with His own creation, at any times, for the expansion of His own glory and His own pleasure. 4- The point of the story is the foreshadowing of the cross; we are "Isaac" and Jesus is the "ram in the thicket" that is ultimately killed. This Bible narrative was orchestrated by God to illustrate the Gospel.

The discussion about the duality (or dichotomy) of mankind versus the triune nature (or trichotomy ) of mankind is a mini-debate among some Christian theologians. People have asked, "Are we made up of a body, a soul, and a spirit?" or "Are we just a body and soul?" In this episode, Kenny defines the difference between the material substance of humans versus the immaterial substance of humans. Then Kenny uses several passages of Scripture, as well as our overall understanding of the "imago dei" that is indwelled within humanity, to point to the fact that we are indeed made up of three substances: Body, Soul, and Spirit. Highlighted Passages: - Mark 7:19 - Proverbs 4:23 - Luke 16:19-31 - 2 Corinthians 5:8 - Romans 12:1-2 - Hebrews 4:12 - 1 Thessalonians 5:23    

The question answered herein this episode comes from a regular listener, after he listened to episode 55: Why Does Sexual Purity Matter? His questions is about cohabitation before marriage. Many people in today's culture have abandoned traditional values, and many couples jump into cohabitation situations before marriage. In this episode, Kenny answers the questions, "Is it Wrong to Live Together Before We're Married?" Kenny says yes, and he gives three primary reasons: 1) The reality of sexual temptation makes cohabitation a really bad idea. 2) If we live with our future spouse before marriage, we are not above reproach. 3) Living together violates the pattern God established in Genesis. These reasons need to be seriously considered and evaluated before any person jumps into any cohabitation situation.  

Some times people claim that the God of the Old Testament seems so much angrier than the God we see in the New Testament, reflected in the man Jesus. But the God of the Old Testament is the same God that is incarnated in the New Testament. God never changes. In this episode, Kenny explains how God has always been loving and kind and gracious and merciful, and that God has also always hated sin; God demands that sin be atoned for and that justice be served. God has always loved human beings, and yet God has always hated the sinful choices committed by human beings. The God of both Testaments (Old and New) is the same God, filled with desire to glory Himself through demonstrating His kindness to us, while simultaneously being filled with the desire to glory Himself through the justice that we see when sin is thoroughly punished. That is why the cross took place. The cross is where both the kindness of God and the justice of God are fully on display. Sometimes people believe that God was angrier in the Old Te

Many of us have heard someone say, “Don’t judge me!” or "Only God can judge me!" Should we, as Christians, follow those sorts of requests? Kenny answered this question in a previous episode entitled: Should Christians Judge? In that episode Kenny made the point that we need to judge rightly and fairly. After that episode, Kenny received an email from a listener challenging the idea, claiming that Christians should never judge other people at all. In this episode, Kenny responds to the email and defends his original point. Kenny also seeks to bring clarity to several elements presented in the previous episode that may have needed to be clarified. Kenny explains that we all make judgments of people and we all make conclusions about people, this is not inherently evil or wrong in any way at all, but we ought to seek to be Christ-honoring in the way we come to those judgments. There is a righteous form of judgment and there is an unrighteous form of judgment. When we make wrong judgments, we hurt people. When w

There are many people in the world that claim to be angry at God. That begs the question: Are we ever justified in any such anger towards God? Are there any circumstances that would allow this to be an appropriate emotion towards God? In this episode, Kenny starts off by talking about how pain and suffering are often the cause for any anger towards God, and Kenny explains the appropriate manner to handle such feelings towards God. Then Kenny explains the moments when it is appropriate to be angry towards a person, and demonstrates how God never falls into any such category, therefore it is always wrong to be angry with or at God. Furthermore, it is extremely important to remember that it is God who has many reasons to be angry with us because it is we, humans, that have sinned against Him. It is God who has the right to be angry, but instead of remaining angry, and instead of holding a grudge, God demonstrates His love towards us by coming to planet Earth and making a way for us to receive grace and mercy (

Throughout the course of the podcast's history thus far, Kenny has mentioned, quoted, and even praised Martin Luther several times. However, history tells us that Martin Luther was extremely combative. In addition, there is some evidence that he held to some antisemitic views. If this is the case, why quote from his works? And more importantly, why praise him at all? In this episode, Kenny explains why Martin Luther is worthy of the praise he is often given, but Kenny also clearly outlines the areas where Luther was flawed; and Kenny makes no attempt to condone or justify Luther's negative words about the Jewish people. Kenny clearly condemns any antisemitic sentiments Luther may have embraced. Kenny points out that Luther was profoundly flawed, as all humans are flawed. However, Kenny also points out that Luther was still profoundly used by God. This is the evidence that God is gracious, choosing to see beyond our flaws, using us for His glory in profound ways, despite our own profound weaknesses and flaws

Theology is extremely important because theology impacts how we live our lives. Theology is simply learning more about God. If we refuse to study theology, we are then, in essence, refusing to learn more about God. Our lack of understanding in the arenas of theology will eventually have a negative impact on our lives. It is also very important to note that, as we study theology, we develop doctrines, and there is always the potential to develop doctrines that are different than those developed by some of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Knowing how to deal with those types of disagreements is vital to the unity and health of the church. In this episode, Kenny interviews blogger Jerome Danner about the importance of guarding our theology and our doctrines. They also talk at length about how to properly manage and navigate doctrinal disagreements amongst our fellow believers. How we handle such differences can make or break our Christian relationships as well as potentially impact the unity and health of

It has been asked by inquiring minds, "Why did God create us as humans here on planet Earth? Why not just create us in heaven?" Sometimes this question is rooted in legitimate curiosity, while other times it is used by secular progressives seeking only to antagonize the Gospel. In this episode, Kenny refers to the fact that everything God does is for His own glory. God intentionally created us, and the world in which we live, with specific purposes in mind, and those purposes all feed into one greater overarching purpose. That grander purpose is His own glory. Everything God does is to maximized His own glory and for the maximum amount of His own pleasure. God saw fit that creating us on planet Earth and living this life would bring Him more glory than if He had just created us in heaven in the first place. Highlighted Passage: Revelation 4:11 (KJV): “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”