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

In the pages of the Old Testament, we see God declare pork (and several other foods) as unclean. Any person that ate these foods would be labeled "unclean" meaning that he/she would be unfit for worship. But when we fast forward to the New Testament, we see God declare pork clean. Why? In this episode, Kenny dives into understanding why God declared pork unclean in the Old Testament but then declares it clean in the New Testament. Kenny reminds us that we must consider why God told them to refrain from eating pork in the first place. The Old Testament mandates do not apply to New Testament believers, however when we examine God’s purposes and motives in these matters, we learn valuable lessons that do indeed apply to the lives of New Testament believers.

God cares deeply about the world. As Christians, one of our greatest desires ought to be to see the Gospel proclaimed in every place on Earth. In order to do so, we need to engage people-groups all around the globe. In this episode, Kenny interviews missionary Jonathan Ferguson about the theology of world missions and the importance of all believers engaging in world missions. Jonathan was a youth pastor in Southern California for more than 9 years, but has now been living in Kenya for more than 6 years. Find and Friend Jonathan on Facebook Follow Jonathan on Twitter

  Since the late 1990's, the concept of multi-site/multi-campus churches has grown is great popularity across North America. One model for church "scalability" has been the idea of "video campuses" wherein one campus of a church has a video feed or prerecorded sermon played during the teaching time of a Sunday morning service in lieu of a live communicator. Is this sinful or wrong? In this episode, Kenny dives into this topic and gives us his thoughts about this specific model of church growth. Kenny makes it clear that he does not necessarily believe it is wrong or sinful for a church to have video preaching, but Kenny asserts that he believes that it is not necessarily the ideal scenario. Kenny makes it abundantly clear that he does not think that the video campus model is inappropriate, and he concedes that in some cases it can maybe even be a useful tool, but Kenny gives us three reasons why he believes that the video campus model is not the ideal scenario; one practical reason tied to preaching style

In this episode, our host Kenny answers the question "Are Tattoos Wrong?" He reminds us that God did indeed command the Jewish people in the Old Testament to refrain from tattoos, but Kenny makes the point that New Testament Christians are no longer under the mandates of the Old Testament. We can reasonably state that there is no Biblical argument against tattoos for modern Christians. However, Kenny reminds us that we must consider why God told them to avoid tattoos in the first place. Old Testament mandates do not apply to New Testament believers, however when we examine God's purposes, we learn valuable lessons that do indeed apply to New Testament believers. In addition, Kenny closes the episode with some quality practical advice for youth and young adults that may be seeking to get a tattoo.

While it may be rare in our modern Western world, there are some Christian communities and church leaders that hold to a more strict and more conservative view on women's fashion and modesty. Some church leaders prescribe what types of clothing a woman should or should wear in her everyday life, and sometimes that may include the claim that women ought to never wear pants or jeans. Again, this is a rare assertion, but it does exists in some contemporary church circles. In this episode, Kenny talks about how modesty shifts dramatically from culture to culture, therefore specific prescriptions as to what a women should or should not wear misses the more important Biblical value. Ultra-conservative specific prescriptions on women's fashion or clothing miss the grander point of how we ought to approach modesty in our culture in a way that points people to the Gospel; and Kenny goes as far as to say that making any such specific clothing prescriptions certainly leads Christians into the burdensome category of l

In this episode, Kenny addresses a question that he has been asked many times over the course of his ministry experience. Often young Christians have asked him whether or not they should jump into dating someone who is not a Christian? Kenny makes it clear that, if you understand the purpose of marriage, then you will know that it us unwise for Christians to date non-Christians.

Along with the expansion of new technologies and new media forums, has also come the availability of new Christian media too. One of the forums that has grown in popularity and availability over the last ten years is the live streaming of church services and sermons. So this begs the question: Is it okay for me and my family to just skip attending church services, and just watch the live stream at home? The other related topic involves how much I ought to rely upon preaching and teaching from sources such as YouTube or Podcasts? In this episode, Kenny dives into the question about live streaming as well as listening to sermons from other media platforms. Kenny makes the point that attending church and worshiping with people that you know and are "living life with" is a vital part of the Christian life. Kenny also highlights the New Testament markers for church gatherings: corporate worship, preaching/teaching, and the sacraments.

We live in a world filled with people in need; people facing difficulties such as hunger, poverty, educational needs, advocacy, injustice! One very simple way to serve people is to meet these needs with a Gospel focus. In this episode, Kenny interviews pastor, author, professor Tony Merida about the importance of "mercy ministry." In the interview Tony challenges all "ordinary" people to change the world by meeting the needs of others; both here in the USA as well as abroad and across the globe. Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, NC. He also serves as Associate Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He is the author of several books including his most recent book Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down and eight volumes in the new Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series (B&H), of which Tony also serves as a general editor, along with Danny Akin and David Platt. Tony Merida is happily married to his wife Kimberly; they have five ad

Multiple times in the Gospels, Jesus is called the "son of man." In fact, it seems to be Jesus' favorite term to use when referring to Himself. In this episode, Kenny dives into the importance of the term "son of man" and its reference to Jesus' humanity. The term also refers to a Messianic symbol found in the book of Daniel. When Jesus uses this term to describe Himself, He is indeed affirming that He is the Messiah that will "stand for the saints of the Most High."  

In this episode, Kenny interviews pastor Matt McAfee for a second time. In this interview, Kenny and Matt dive into a conversation about understanding the "fruit of the Spirit" and why that is more important than seeking the "gifts of the Spirit." Matt makes two great points that all of us need to consider: 1- The fruit of the Spirit is how we judge the Christian life, not the gifts of the Spirit. 2- Only those people with the fruit of the Spirit can truly be trusted with the gifts of the Spirit.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the term "earthly things" as He is telling the inquiring Nicodemus that some spiritual things are simply just not going to be understood by humans (see John 3). A regular listener of the podcast sent in an email asking for clarity on Jesus' intent when using that specific term. In this episode, Kenny explains what the term "earthly things" means, but more importantly, Kenny also dives into the some of the great lessons we learn about God from this famous passage of Scripture.

Many people have asked, "Why didn't God send Jesus to Earth sooner?" It seems that God waited too long. Why did God choose to send Him at that particular time in human history? In this episode, Kenny highlights Galatians 4:4, which tells us that Jesus came when the "fullness of time" had come. Kenny makes the case that, in essence, God waited for the perfect moment in human history; the specific time period that would make the most sense for the rapid expansion of the Gospel message. Then, Kenny expounds upon the things that made it more likely for the Gospel to spill over into Gentile nations. 1- The nation of Israel needed to be prepared to receive the Messiah in the way God wanted them to receive Him. God was waiting for there to be a culture of "expectancy" amongst the Jewish people. 2- God wanted people of Jewish decent to be living around the world because they would be the initial conduits for the Gospel to spread. 3- God waited for the development of Roman civil affairs and physical infrastructure

Jesus promised us "abundant life" but whenever we honestly consider and examine the life of most believers, we discover that most believers are not experiencing an abundant life at all. The problem is that many believers have never found the "breathing room" they actually need in this life in order to experience the vibrant abundance that Jesus wants to give to His followers. Finding breathing room in our finances, daily schedules, and interpersonal relationships leads to enjoying and savoring life instead of simply going through the motions. Most followers of Jesus never even scratch the surface of experiencing the freedom that Jesus wants them to experience, but it doesn't have to be that way. In this episode, Kenny interviews pastor and author Josh Reich about the topic of finding "Breathing Room" in our lives, which happens to be the topic of Josh's newest book. In this interview Josh talks about diagnosing the bad habits and distractions of our lives (often rooted in identity issues) and then he chall

We received an email, from a regular listener, asking about how we, as Bible-believing Christians, ought to approach areas and genres of our lives that the Bible isn't totally clear about, and whether or not our convictions in those genres of life should or should not be built upon any sources of information other than the Bible. In this episode, Kenny dives into understanding how we ought to approach all sources of information other than the Bible. Kenny makes it clear that we ought to have a very high regard for the Bible, and it should be the primary source of truth in our lives, but should it be the only source of truth? To that question: Kenny says no! The Bible should not be the only source of truth in our lives. "All truth is God's truth" therefore anything that is true can be embraced, regardless of its source. The Bible should be the ultimate authority when we are determining our convictions and developing our philosophies, because it is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. The Bible should be th

  The baptism of Jesus is outlined in all four Gospels, and in each case we are told that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove immediately after His baptism. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit (the 3rd person of the Godhead) took on a bodily form and descended on Jesus. Why did this happen? And what is its significance? In this episode, Kenny explains that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus to symbolize that the power of God was on Jesus, but the Holy Spirit specifically took on the form of a dove to symbolize certain things about Jesus. The "dove" is a symbol of purity and innocence. Jesus possessed the fullness of the power of God, but He also possessed the fullness of the purity and innocence of God as well. Highlighted Passages: Luke 3:21-22 John 1:32-34 Mark 1:9-11 Matthew 3:13-17  

In this episode, Kenny responds to an email that came from a regular listener, asking him to clarify a term he used in a previous episode. Kenny used the term "God-Man" in a previous episode, and he explains what that term means by explaining the doctrine known as the "Hypostatic union."

There are two commonly held beliefs examined in this episode. The first is the fact that most people believe that one of the greatest themes of the New Testament is taking care of the poor. The second common belief among many people in modern Western societies is the idea that American Conservative Republicans don't care about the poor, and that Republican politicians supposedly are fighting to pass legislation that is harmful to people living in poverty within the United States. It is certainly true and right that one of the greatest themes of the New Testament is indeed taking care of the poor. However, is that second common belief true? Is it true that Republicans don't care about the poor? If so, why would anyone, who embraces the New Testament as true, support any Republican candidate? If Jesus commanded Christians to take care of the poor, why do some many Christians vote for Republican candidates; when these candidates supposedly don't want to take care of the poor? In this episode, Kenny challenge

Is every area of doctrine important? Or are there areas of doctrine that matter more than others? Yes, every area is important, but not every area of doctrine is of equal importance. Some issues are "closed-hand" issues and some are "open-hand" issues. Closed-hand issues we hold tightly; these are essential and non-negotiable). But open-hand issues are areas of doctrine where we can lovingly agree to disagree with other believers. In other words, there are doctrines that need to divide us and there are those doctrines that need not divide us. The key is to know what to hold in which hand. Tragically, some people make open-handed things into closed handed things, which causes unneeded division among believers. In this episode, Kenny explains the difference between closed-hand issues and open-hand issues, and outlines for us how we out to approach debates and disagreements within Christianity. Closed-hand issues include the deity of Jesus, the Trinity, the inspiration of Scripture, the sinfulness of humans

As a celebration for the 100th episode of the podcast, Kenny shares the greatest lesson he has learned since launching the podcast back in January 2016: God can use anyone! After giving us that lesson, Kenny then gives us a preview of what to expect over the course of the next 100 episodes.  

What does it take to be a genuine Christian? What must a person believe and embrace in order to be considered a true Christian? Must a person embrace everything related to Christianity? There are certainly many different perspectives on this topic, and many related sub-topics as well. Many different church leaders would likely answer this question in a variety of different ways, but Kenny takes a simple approach. In this episode, Kenny examines one of the most basic and most popular passages of Scripture that give us a clear understanding of what it takes to be a Christian. Highlighted Passages: Romans 10:9-10 Acts 16:30-31