This episode addresses the role of the evangelist in cooperating with the Spirit when He convicts the world concerning sin. No one calls Jesus Lord apart from the Spirit's convicting work, and the Spirit makes unbelievers uncomfortable with themselves in light of any faithful presentation of the gospel message. Many evangelists desperately want to provide the solution to the problem of sin without adequately spelling out the problem. They interrupt sinners in the PROCESS of grappling with the just judgment due their sin, leading to a very shallow conviction that they NEED Christ. Never genuinely convicted of their sin and desperate state, they abandon Christ when difficulty arises, for they never had "firm root" in themselves. (Matthew 13:21) They were never sufficiently convicted of their sinfulness. Sadly, many such "converts" erroneously conclude they're saved based on a past recitation of the sinners prayer, which now inoculates them against real conviction. And, many will likely be horrified when they are cast into hell, despite their shallow profession. (Matthew 7:22) The above terrifying outcome should motivate the evangelist not to get ahead of the Holy Spirit and allow sinners to "suffer" under His convictions. Deep conviction leading to repentance and faith in Christ produces lasting disciples who KNOW their wretched condition apart from Christ. The episode concludes with this imperative: BE COMFORTABLE WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES SINNERS UNCOMFORTABLE, for there is no curtailing the process. And curtailing, albeit well-intentioned, is a stumbling block, and we know what Jesus says about that..(Matthew 18:7)
Christian Nationalism: An American Stumbling Block
This episode chronicles the advance of Christianity in the U.S. after disestablishment, contrasting it with its declining influence where the Church is linked to the State. The Constitution forbade an established national church, and within 40 years, states with established churches disestablished. Lyman Beecher, a prominent preacher in the Second Great Awakening, remarked that disestablishment in Connecticut (1818) was "the best thing that ever happened to the State of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on state support." Lay ministry and evangelism exploded after disestablishment, ushering in a prolonged revival that many believed would usher in the millennium. (post-millennialism was definitely in vogue) The French historian Alexis de Tocqueville noted how Christianity prospered in America under a Church cut loose from the State, while Christianity in France died a slow death after the French Revolution, because of its association with the State. Voltaire remarked that "liberty will not triumph until the last king is strangled by the entrails of the last priest." Most French have since drowned the Christian baby in the revolutionary bathwater. Unfortunately the same dynamic is now operative in the United States, the Church suffering a credibility crisis. Many reject Christianity because of Christian nationalist's support of the Republican Party and Donald Trump, a would-be autocrat who traffics in demagoguery and demonization. Liberals understandably reject the gospel if it is bathed with the raw sewage of politics and partiality. They cover their noses and throw both out, while the Church wonders why any would reject the sweet aroma of the gospel. Christian nationalism is a stumbling block and, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!" (Luke 17:1)
Christian Nationalism: a Debate over Means
This episode acknowledges agreement on some core beliefs among evangelicals who nevertheless disagree on Christian nationalism. Evangelicals typically agree that Christ is the only way of salvation, and they earnestly desire that all come into relationship with Him. Evangelicals in the United States are nevertheless divided over the Church's relationship to the State: Christian nationalists want to "Christianize" the State ostensibly to bring people to Christ and/or make society more "Christlike," while "separatists" see a Church-state mixture as an obstacle to Christ's Kingdom because it corrupts the Church. Importantly, well-meaning believers want the same thing, but disagree over means. The program cites passages in Memorial and Remonstrance in which Madison (a quasi-Christian deist?) articulates the same core evangelical beliefs, that Christ is the only way to God and those "in darkness" need to come to Christ. Importantly, Madison maintains that 15 centuries of Christian establishments prove that state churches are averse to the goals of Christianity, leading to "pride and indolence in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both superstition, bigotry and persecution." The episode finally details the disestablishment position of the Baptist preacher John Leland, who observed that established churches "have done more harms than persecutions ever did."
Definitions, Definitions..
The answers to these questions largely depend on the definition of Christian nationalism, which largely determines the connection between the 2 questions. In its most innocuous sense, Christian nationalism refers to Christians loving and seeking the betterment of their country through prayer and persuasion. So 1 Timothy 2:1-2 commands us to pray for all men, particularly for those in authority. This "patriotic" dimension of Christian nationalism is definitely Biblical. Most nevertheless understand Christian nationalism in terms of a state promoting explicitly Christian laws. The episode differentiates between Christian law and common moral law, the latter to which most secularists adhere. Future episodes will address whether Christians nationalism in this sense is Biblical. The program lastly identifies an aggressive variation of Christian nationalism that goes beyond adopting explicitly Christian laws and promotes a Christian takeover of society, undermining pluralism.
What Do ‘Real’ Jews Believe about God?
This episode reiterates the main theme of the last several episodes, that belief in Christ as the Messiah is essential if one were to consider himself/herself a true Jew. Almost all early Christians (30-42 A.D.) were Jewish, and they would not have maintained that their belief in Christ was a peculiarly Christian contribution, as opposed to the god of the Jews. The God of Abraham and the God of Moses pointed to the second person of the Trinity. The New Testament authors and Christ Himself affirmed that true Jewishness required accepting Christ as the Messiah, Paul even arguing that physical circumcision without the circumcision of the Spirit accounted for nothing, and one's claim to be a Jew was spurious. (Romans 2:28-29, 1 Corinthians 7:19) The last part of the episode addresses the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Ezekiel had predicted that future believers would receive the Spirit and consequently keep God's law. (Ezekiel 36:27) Christ spoke of this regeneration as necessary for entering into the kingdom of God. (John 3:6)
Obey the Law through the Power of Christ
This episode takes many of themes of psalm 119 and applies them to Christian living. "The law is given as a tutor to lead us to Christ." (Gal. 3:24) While Christians should always rely on Christ and His merit as the basis for justification, they should nevertheless seek to honor God by fulfilling the Law, which is summed up in the Great Commandments. And, just as faith in Christ is the basis of our justification, faith in Christ is also the basis for all subsequent sanctification. Christ aids us in fulfilling the Law, while He delivers us from the power of sin. In essence, Christians are to keep the moral law THROUGH the power and grace of Christ. Many of the themes of dependence on God's grace are sprinkled throughout Psalm 119, the psalmist noting that he need God's grace to keep the Law. The episode is a needful reminder to the Christian Church to reject the Marcionite false dichotomy of our day which bogusly asserts that the Old Testament was all law and the New Testament all grace.
“Lord, Show Us the Way!”
This episode addresses the means by which God would establish the psalmist's ways to keep His statutes. (5-6) These verses capture the goal of the entire psalm. On the road to receiving God's assistance, the psalmist acknowledges his faulty ways and repents: "I consider my ways and turn my feet to your testimonies." (59) This statement indicates repentance and directs the psalmist's to God's testimonies. Throughout Psalm 119 eight expressions of God's way (way, law, precepts, ordinances, commandments, testimonies, word, statutes) become the central focus of the psalmist. The more the psalmist reflects on God's testimonies, statutes, etc., the more the way of God is established in his life. In like manner, NT believers are called to consider God's testimonies, i.e., His kindnesses, and the reflection leads to repentance. (Rom. 2:4) The more we reflect on all the spiritual blessings we have in Christ, the Son Himself Who is the Way, becomes our way of life. God establishes our way as we abide in the Way.