Truth Be Told

And You Shall Call His Name, Jesus

The birth of our Savior is one of the most important events in human history. It is the fulfillment of prophecies, it is the answer to prayers, it is the beginning of hope. God became flesh and dwelt among us. 

While, personally, I don't celebrate Christmas (I don't think there is any chance this is remotely close to the actual birth of Jesus), to ignore this story in an effort to distance yourself from the materialistic trappings of the holiday is to refuse to participate in the recognition of an event that lowly shepherds, lofty kings, faithful Israelites, watchful Gentile astrologers, a humble Jewish family of little notoriety, and hosts of angels took very careful note of.

This story is historical fact and it is the answer to a question that has echoed down throughout time. "How long, LORD?!" The answer of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is one that should be rejoiced over.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Job Asks a Question That Jesus Answers

Job is one of the more well-known books of the Bible. It struggles through huge topics like human suffering, the spirit world, and God's goodness.

This book also presents several questions that Job, in his suffering, petitions God about hoping for an answer. Why is this happening to me? What have I done wrong? Won't you give me a fair trial? Why is there no mediator between God and man?

This last one, we know, is answered in the person of Jesus who, having lived as both God and man, is uniquely qualified to stand as our Mediator.

Job asks another question that we might gloss over, but actually highlights something AMAZING about Jesus Christ as well. The question is: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" and the answer he sees in front of him is, "There is not one."

In this episode, we explore how Jesus uniquely answers this question.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Survey of the Antagonists in the Greatest Story Ever Told

Stories have been a part of human culture since its beginning. We learn about morality, emotions, differences in people, virtue, struggle, and how the world works all through the telling and retelling of stories.

The Bible contains what literary scholars call, "The Greatest Story Ever Told." The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has everything that the best stories desire to have: dynamic characters, intricate plotlines, rising and falling of emotions and circumstances, complex topics and pleasant scenes. Amazingly, this story is true.

One thing that all stories need is the presence of Antagonists. These are characters that act to build tension, difficulty, and struggle within a story. They move the plot along and cause certain catalysts for the story's hero(es) to overcome. The story of Jesus is no different. In fact, the number of antagonists and the complexity of them are greater than any other tale.

In this episode we walk through the Greatest Story Ever Told highlighting the antagonists, or those who made themselves enemies of Jesus, to see what lessons we can learn when viewing the story through this lens.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

I'm Worse Than Eve

Eve, the mother of all mankind, gets an incredibly bad wrap. We read her story in Genesis 3 and pin the state of the world on her shoulders to, probably, an unfair degree.

Sure, submitting to the temptation of the serpent, eating of the fruit in disobedience to God, and giving to her husband to eat as well are incredibly misguided actions that had dire consequences. But we forget that her story continues past Genesis 3.

In fact, when we read of her story past that chapter, we see a type of faith that most of us struggle to have in our daily lives.

In many ways, Eve is a cautionary tale, but in many other ways, she is an exemplar that we should look to when we struggle to understand some of God's promises.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

The Mercy of God at Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah is a classic story of God's judgement. These cities have become bywords to represent evil and sin and their destruction acts as a cautionary tale to all who would disobey God. But is that all there is to it?

Upon further reading, we might be surprised to know that this story is actually an amazing representation of God's mercy and estimation of human life.

How, you might ask? Find out on this week's episode.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

When Do You Think The Prodigal Son Repented?

The story of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known in the world. After centuries of telling and retelling, preaching and writing, expounding and studying - what more could we possibly take from this short section of scripture?

Let me ask you - when, in the story, do you think the prodigal son repented? Some might place it at the moment he "comes to himself" and prepares a speech on his way home to the father. This is a great candidate for repentance since he is ACTIVELY changing his actions and walking his sinful actions back.

However, there is a noticeable difference in the speech he PREPARES to deliver and the one he ACTUALLY delivers that might give us some insight into the heart of this wayward son.

The prodigal son is, after all, a story of the heart.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Replying to Atheist's Comments

Last week's video was a wild one. I really did hope to have an even-toned discussion regarding the merits of the Christian claim of the sinless life of Jesus Christ. It turned into QUITE a bit more than that and I had comments as wide-ranging as requests for me to prove the supernatural, accusations against the validity of the manuscript evidence of the Bible, and flat out name calling.

In amidst all of this, however, there were some really pleasant people that took the challenge seriously and offered biblical arguments in favor of their beliefs, or on-topic discussions on logic and the rules of it.

Many believed me to be making use of the logical fallacy of circular reasoning. This, I found interesting.

I'm often asked by atheists to prove that a God who transcends the natural world exists while ONLY using the laws of nature. This has always seemed circular to me but I've been happy to oblige to do the best I can at building a plausible, rational case for His existence based on history, archeology, philosophy, textual criticism, and science, but it never seems to be enough.

In this video I respond to a few of the more respectful comments from atheists from last week's video. If you haven't seen it, the link is below:

https://youtu.be/eEiGSAOA0aA?si=PAEfjUoD68GjGElX

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Atheists - I Have A Challenge For You

Atheists, I am truly trying to come to you respectfully and with humility. I have no desire to call you out or to get into a shouting match in the comments. I do, however, have a challenge for you:

So often Christians and Atheists spend a lot of time debating the plausibility of the resurrection of Jesus. Let's take one step back from that and discuss the Christian claim that Jesus lived a sinless life.

This is a HUGE claim. Not only is it impossible for a human, by their own strength, to live a morally perfect life, but if Jesus DIDN'T accomplish this, He couldn't be the perfect sacrifice for our sins we claim Him to be.

Atheists, if you can find one instance in Scripture of Jesus transgressing the Law, Christians will either HAVE to admit that Jesus sinned OR that the Bible lied. The stakes are massive.

I realize, most of you won't take this challenge seriously because you don't trust the Bible to tell an accurate account that didn't make Jesus seem like a shining star - but this isn't the precedent the Bible has set for itself as a well attested to, historically accurate collection of books from a people with a culture that didn't seem to shy away from showcasing the weaknesses of its' leaders.

Take a genuine look at the first five books of the Bible. Comb through them to try and understand the requirements of the Law. Next, familiarize yourself with the life of Jesus through the Gospel accounts. If you give these works a fair look you will, at the very least, gain immense credibility in the eyes of your believing friends. Possibly you won't find anything new and all you'll be out is your time - but there's also a possibility that spending THAT much time in the Word of God might leave you changed from when you started.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Do You ACTUALLY Love Mercy?

Certain verses in the Bible act as summary verses for some of the complex and nuanced commands of God. They aren't meant to oversimplify or ignore the depth in the rest of Scripture but, in my view, to reorient the reader to the broader principles that we're being directed to.

One such passage is Micah 6:8 where God is talking to wayward Israel and tells them the 3 basic things He called them to - to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. In this episode we survey these 3 things, focusing primarily on the "love mercy" aspect.

While justice isn't always simple, it's something that makes sense within our human reasoning. While humility isn't a comfortable thing to grow in, it does have its own, natural reward that comes along with it.

Loving mercy might seem like the easiest of these commands because.. we all need it and are grateful God extends it to us, but does this mean we ACTUALLY love mercy the way God intended us to?

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Navigating A Long Distance Relationship With God

Our relationship with God is one of the "already" but the "not yet." Yes, God lives in His people via His Holy Spirit in an intimate relationship. But also, we're waiting for the time when He will FINALLY dwell with mankind and we can see Him as He is.

In a way, then, our relationship with God is similar to a long-distance relationship. We have to make time to spend with Him. We have to plan out our interactions. This is just the nature of things as we wait for the fulfillment of Scripture.

However, just like any other long-distance relationship, we might be prone to adding pressure to ourselves that we simply can't live up to. In long-distance relationships, there's often a pressure for every in-person interaction to be PERFECT. Our dates have to be enjoyable. Our interactions cannot have conflict. Our time has to be utilized well and none of it wasted.

In this episode we explore how we put the same pressure on ourselves in our relationship with God and I offer some encouragement in persevering through the less than ideal moments as we press on toward perfection.

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly