This episode ties together several New Testament passages, highlighting how saving faith ALWAYS involves repentance. Paul summarized his mission before king Agrippa, "to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins.." (Acts 26:18) The prerequisite to receiving forgiveness of sins is a turning away from sin and Satan. Additionally no one can "follow Christ," if they're "following" themselves. Self-denial, a repudiation of one's self-centered life, is foundational to being a Christian. (Matthew 16:24) The episode anticipates that preaching a gospel that includes repentance will result in fewer "conversions," for sinners naturally balk at "receiving Christ" if it requires a change of mind and lifestyle. Since genuine conversions REQUIRE repentance, and only the Holy Spirit can bring one to repentance, the evangelist should stay in his lane, faithfully preaching the naturally distasteful message of repentance and faith in Christ, while the Holy Spirit overcomes resistance and enables sinners to receive Christ as Lord. The conversion of the soul is a supernatural event where the Holy Spirit does the heavy lifting, convicting and confirming the gospel we preach.
The Folly of Assent without Repentance
Based on 1 Peter 4:1-2, this episode spells out the gospel expectation that "calling Christ Lord" means "living for the will of God." Peter says that Christians "no longer live for the lusts of men but for the will of God." In essence, a Christian is one who repents from living for his own lusts and now follows Christ. So calling Christ Lord presumes repentance. Unfortunately many trust in confessional formulas where assent to the truths of the gospel, devoid of repentance, is sufficient for salvation. But mere assent doesn't address one's attitude towards sin, which is fundamentally not living for the glory of God. The evangelist then should not shy away from preaching repentance, the repudiation of the flesh-centered life that misses the glory of God. Faith in Christ manifests itself in an obvious change of direction: "living for the will of God" replaces living "for the lusts of men."
Conviction, Indispensable to Confessing and Calling
This episode summarizes the specific content of the gospel that informs evangelism, emphasizing leaning on the Holy Spirit's leading. Calling Jesus Lord presupposes knowledge of the gospel and personal appropriation of Christ as king, as Lord. The evangelist as co-laborer with the Holy Spirit consequently conveys the "negative" side of the gospel story, that all are judged as sinners for not trusting in Christ. The episode introduces the essential role of the Holy Spirit in convicting the world of "sin, righteousness, and judgment." (John 16:7) These convictions, or Spirit-impressed truths, are the natural consequences of any Spirit-led evangelistic encounter, in which "the good news" is founded on "TERRIBLE NEWS." Ultimately calling Christ Lord then rests on knowledge of one's hopeless desperate state before a holy God, and the wise evangelist simply cooperates with the Holy Spirit in conveying these truths.
Definitely Not the Same God
This final episode reemphasizes what makes the God of Christianity unique, compared to the those of Judaism and Islam. The program unpacks the fork in the road, Christ Himself, based on Romans 10:9. Christians believe that Jesus was God incarnate who rose from the dead. He was given all authority and dominion and made judge over all creation. He is the chief cornerstone upon which the Jewish Law and prophets are made complete. Jews are admonished by Peter to receive the Messiah or be "cut off." (Acts 3:23) True Jews are those who believe Jesus was the Messiah who rose from the dead, and Jews who don't have essentially forfeited their "jewishness." According to 1 John 2:22-23 rejection of the Son means one no longer has Yahweh as his God. Therefore unbelieving Jews do not believe in the same god, since they reject the Word of God who explained the Father. (John 1:14, 18) Since Muslims also reject the deity of Christ and the resurrection, they also do not believe in the same god. Critically the god of Islam is not remotely like the god of Judaism revealed in the Tanach (Old Testament). Allah is the author of evil, and has no knowable essence. He is so "wholly other" that a "relationship" with him is problematic if not impossible. "Relationships" are based on the free-will interactions between 2 beings. Since Allah wills everything, good and evil, belief and unbelief, "free will" between men and God doesn't exist. So "relationships" are precluded. In contrast with Islam, the god of Jews and Christians thrives off of relationships. The entire Bible presumes that God wants a relationship with humanity. And the logical outgrowth of this God is the incarnation of Christ. The Triune God, revealed only in Christianity, is therefore not the same as the god of Judaism and Islam.