Truth Be Told

1 Kings 17:1-16 Elijah and the Widow

Often those who study the Bible fall into the habit of researching a biblical topic and spanning the scriptures to find support when speaking on or discussing said topic. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, allowing that one is careful not to force scripture to support an unbiblical belief, it can often limit our ability to engage in verse by verse study. 

God inspired scripture and I believe there is a methodology to why He had it written the way He did. It can be incredibly valuable to read through whole books, chapters, or sections and ask ourselves, what is God intending to say with this section?

In this episode, I take a small section from the book of 1 Kings and go through verse by verse to bring out context and, hopefully, practical application that one might not draw out on an initial read through.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Return to God’s Presence

By looking at Ancient Israel's relationship to God's presence, modern Christians can get a glimpse of how we might differ in our estimation of God's Spirit dwelling in us. Do we fear the presence of God appropriately as the glory of the all-powerful, living God? Do we celebrate this incredible reality that the ancients only dreamed of?

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez

The King Has Conquered

I gave this (short) sermon in Columbus, Ohio on September 24, 2022.

 

This message is about refuting the idea that Jesus Christ did not come as a conquering King at His first coming. This statement has become so commonplace in Christian circles, that very few question it as anything less than gospel truth. However, just because the Jewish people who rejected Jesus as Messiah had a certain view of what a conquering King was supposed to do, does not mean that Christ, in no way, conquered. While He did not come, initially, to overthrow corrupt government or take authority over national powers, He did come to conquer sin, death, and you. We all await the coming Kingdom of God, but let's forget that the Kingdom, at least in part, can be here now as it is not just a place but an authority we submit to. We might be continuing to wait for the homeland but the King is on His throne and we should be acting as His subjects today.

 

Note: I've received some backlash for this message that I'd like to take a moment to respond to. 

 

First: Some have taken issue with the analogy of the story that I used at the beginning of the message claiming that it breaks down in certain spots.

Answer: Analogies all break down on some level. However, I do believe that the story fits the parallels I intended to hit.

 

Second: Some have bristled at the statement, "the world was God's prior to the tower of Babel."

Answer: At the beginning of creation, the world contained 2 people. They rebelled against God, and yet, He did not turn them over to depravity or worship of other gods. They still belonged to Him even though they separated themselves FROM Him. Even at the flood when God said, "My Spirit will not strive with mankind forever," rather than giving up the world, He destroyed all but a small family and, in that way, all still belonged to God. It wasn't until the tower of Babel that mankind, again, reached a point of lawlessness that God could not condone and, at this point, He divided the nations and gave them up to foreign gods (Deuteronomy 32:8). Israel was His chosen, special people, but even they chased after foreign gods to the point that God had to allow them to face the consequences of their sin (being conquered by foreign nations). In short, my statement that all the world belonged to God is not reflective of the actions of individuals or nations who clearly chose rebellion against Him, but about God's maintaining of ownership over them until the point where He allowed them to be ruled over by foreign principalities and powers as it was clear mankind wished to be.

 

Third: Some believe I was too hard on the Jewish people for believing that the Messiah was to come as a conquering King. 

 

Answer: I disagree with you. The Jewish people had observed Christ's proofs that He was the Messiah. The only thing He was missing was their false, preconceived notion that He would free them from Roman oppression. No verse in the Old Testament states that Rome would be overthrown by the Messiah. The Old Testament DOES state that the Messiah would conquer - but what did He come to conquer? My position is that He came to conquer - not nations or rulers, but sin, death, and individuals who would willingly submit to Him.

 

Fourth: Some have stated that my statement about Christ coming as a conquering King at His first coming negates His coming as a conqueror at His second coming.

 

Answer: I don't believe it does. It is clear to me (and I even referenced it in this message) that Jesus will return with a different agenda. Certainly the first agenda of conquering the hearts of individuals is still on His mind but, in order to do this, He will have to neutralize the corrupted national governments in the world. This will take a different form of conquering. However, my point still stands. I stated in this presentation that scorched earth warfare in the ancient world was the exception and not the norm. Christ will be victorious over so many without destroying. This does not mean that He will never have to destroy anything or anyone ever.

 

Christ has come as a conquering King. He has conquered my heart and He is my King. I look forward to the day when EVERY knee will to bow and more will "come out of the city. I realize that, in order to get to that time, some destruction will have to happen and Christ will come at His second coming, in part, to overthrow corrupt governments. The prophecies on this seem clear and uncontested. The point of this message is not to say that Christ will never come in the way that the Ancient Jews expected it. He will. But always remember - His first coming did accomplish something in the way of conquering and, I would argue, He conquered so much more than evil government powers at that coming.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez

All Things to All Men: Context to Paul’s Evangelism

When the Apostle Paul states that he became as all things to all men so that he might win some to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, it might tend to sound hypocritical to some who want to understand exactly how to apply this to their own interactions with people outside of the faith. Did Paul just put on a face or an act in order to endear people to him, or is something else going on here?

In this episode we take a look at one prime example of Paul's efforts at evangelism, giving the situation historical context, to see exactly what Paul meant when he said he became all things to all men so that we might follow his example more accurately.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Dr. Frank Turek Interview: Apologetics For Apologetics

In this episode of Truth Be Told, Dr. Frank Turek and Micah Gunn offer up a defense for the discipline of Apologetics. The defense of the Christian faith is not only something that is under attack from skeptics, but also Christians who incorrectly believe that an evidential approach to the truth claims of the Bible somehow hinders or infringes on an individual's faith. Some might believe that an answer to God's calling should be wholly apart from evidence or logic, and others might think that utilizing logical argumentation or extrabiblical sources are misguided attempts to seek God with manmade tools. Another concern for apologists (both professional and lay people) is the ever-expanding movement of liberal theology which claims that correct thinking about God is limiting to Him and shouldn't be engaged in. So, why should a Christian study apologetics, particularly in light of all of this refutation towards the discipline itself? Join us in this episode for the answers!

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

What About Original Sin?

In this episode we take a look at the term "original sin," which has long been dominated by a single perspective stretching back to the early 400's A.D. Essentially, what most people understand about this concept upon any base-level study, is that it has its origins in an argument between a man named Augustine and another named Pelagius. Eventually, Augustine won the debate via support from the organized church at the time as well as a few other early church fathers. However, while most have considered this debate to be a closed case and the term "original sin" to reflect the Augustinian view adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, the study and discussion on the topic of sin and the nature of mankind has carried on into the modern time and many views have sprung up.

The effect of this is that many people in the modern world continue to use the term "original sin" but mean very different things when they say it. This, along with the fact that the vast majority of people believe they understand what one means when they say "original sin" (the Augustinian/Roman Catholic view), results in a lot of miscommunication and disagreement.

Any time a discussion happens, terminology is extremely important as can be seen in this ongoing debate on what exactly original sin is.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Truth, Belief, Faith, and Hope - A Biblical Understanding of Terms as They Relate to Pentecost

This is a sermon that I gave on the day of Pentecost celebrating the initial outpouring of God's Spirit on His church nearly 2,000 years ago. 

In this message I attempt to highlight the intricate difference (though intimately connected) concepts of truth, belief, faith, and hope. Often, modern students of the Bible confuse the terms faith and belief as being interchangeable. This misunderstanding, along with the fact that ancient Greeks and Hebrews only had one term each (used in various contexts to show distinction) to express these two concepts makes it nearly impossible to gain any context on the topics of belief and faith, and can even confuse two other words that are directly connected - truth and hope. 

If we confuse faith and belief, which could also cause us to misunderstand the connected nature of truth and hope - it is no wonder modern Christians have such a hard time sharing what they believe with the world - just as the Apostles did at the start of the early Church. We look at a faithless and hopeless world and assume that preaching salvation to them will net us nothing. 

However, if we have a biblical view of the terms truth, belief, faith, and hope which act as stepping stones, one to another, we might at least take that first step. We might have no chance of causing someone to go from being antagonistic to Christianity to hope in Jesus Christ, but might we at least offer them truth? Might that truth stick with the person long enough for them to come to believe it? Might their hard hearts, under the weight of what their subconscious now believes, soften unto faith? Might that faith (which comes with life-changing action) might not lead to hope someday? Are not all things possible for God?

As Paul says in Romans 10:14-15 "How then will they call on Him (faith) in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe (belief) in Him of whom they have never heard (truth)? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news (hope)!”

The Faith it Takes to Listen

Listening is one of the hardest things for people to do. We're very good at discussing, informing, and telling - but listening takes a certain humility that can be very difficult. 

In this study we look at the importance of listening to God, examples of how people have not listened in the past, as well as good examples of people that listened to very difficult instruction or sayings from God.

By taking a look at this topic we should, hopefully, have a more gracious approach to those in the Bible who didn't listen (by realizing that we are often very much like them), more admiration for those who did listen, and a better understanding for how important it is to God that we listen to Him. We might not often pair the concepts of faith and listening together, but it truly does require faith to listen to God when our human reasoning doesn't make it easy to obey.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Moon Knight, Idolatry, and the Supernatural

After watching the new Marvel series, Moon Knight, I was struck with how much it seemed to be in line with my spiritual worldview. Particularly one fight scene depicting Khonshu and Ammit in their full, towering forms battling in the backdrop of a physical fight between Moon Knight and Arthur Harrow.

How can we learn about the spiritual world from a TV show about super heroes? Where did I get the idea that the Bible might somehow relate to a fight scene between ancient Egyptian deities? Isn't the spiritual world made up of God, Satan, and the angels and demons on either side of the fight? 

In this episode we'll take a look at what the Bible says about the supernatural world in order to broaden our understanding of its reality and take it seriously when confronted with it interacting in our lives as the Bible claims it does.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez

How Do We Respond to ”New Ideas”?

New ideas can almost become taboo within Christianity. The primary elements of our faith have been around for a long time and we believe we can trace our roots back to the beginning of time when our God created all things - what else could there be that is new for us to consider? Also, doesn't much of the New Testament warn us against "new ideas"?

Sometimes new ideas aren't actually all that new, and sometimes, something presented as a new idea is really only a new perspective. However, if we react to some of these things as vehemently as we would a false gospel or false prophet we could easily be rejecting a lot of good that we haven't considered, we could be weakening our skills of discernment, and we could be alienating someone who is postulating something in good faith.

Today we take an in-depth look at several people in the Bible who were posed with an idea that was new to them to see how they responded - whether for the negative or the positive - to see what examples we would like to follow when handling similar situations. We'll also take a look at Old and New Testament precedents for the handling of new ideas so that we can be better equipped to discern when something might actually have value vs. when it needs to be rejected as a danger to believers.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Music: Pop-Rock Beautiful By Twisterium

Logo: Matt Hernandez