Theology For the Rest of Us | Quick Answers to the Questions About God and the Bible

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. Follow Greg Dutcher on Twitter: @DutchDawgyDawg Check out The "These Go to Eleven" Podcast Recommended Resources:  "Why I Am A Cessationist" (article by Thomas Schreiner) "Why I Am a Continuationist" (article by Sam Storms) Systematic Theology (by Wayne Grudem)  

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.

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)  

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)

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    

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. Recommend Resources:  Lecture from Dr. Wayne Grudem: "Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Tongues" | MP3 | PDF Outline Convergence: Spiritual Journeys of a Charismatic Calvinist (by Dr. Sam Storms) Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? (multiple authors)   Diagram Outlining the Different Views:    

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:    

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

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.

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.

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    

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 is passionately, head over heals, in love with you and I, because He is love and He allows that love to ooze out of Him in everything He does; everything God does is driven by 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.  

  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)

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)

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