Being Lutheran Podcast

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss the First Article of the Apostles Creed including its function in the specific layout of Luther’s Small Catechism and how it flows from the Ten Commandments.  The proper preaching of the Law should produce a thirst for the Gospel, and the Small Catechism is ordered precisely to provide the Gospel at that moment.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason conclude their three part series on the Gospel in preparation for the next section on the Apostles’ Creed.  Today, the focus is on the Gospel for the Christian life, with special implications for a Christian’s many vocations.  The episode concludes with a discussion on the place of evangelism in the life of a Christian and in the Church.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion of the Gospel, this time focusing on what the Gospel isn’t.  The Gospel isn’t cheap grace.  The error of Gospel Reductionism turns the Gospel into an “Aw, shucks” Gospel where your sin isn’t forgiven, it just doesn’t matter any more.  This type of antinomianism doesn’t comfort the conscience, but in actually robs a burdened conscience of the assurance of salvation.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss the nature of the Gospel as we prepare to launch our new section studying the Apostles’ Creed.  The Gospel must be defined because it has been so misdefined, especially in the recent past.  The Gospel is the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss the doctrine of the Trinity as it flows from our confession of the Apostle’s Creed.  The Trinity is one of the most abused doctrines taught in Scripture.  Even though this teaching from Scripture cannot be completely understood, it must be properly confessed.

On today’s episode, we play the audio from Dr. Phil Haugen’s presentation at the 2017 FFLC Reformation Conference.  The theme of the conference was “Justification”, and the title of Dr. Haugen’s presentation was “Justification Defined”. If you’d like to watch the video of the presentation, please click here: “Justification Defined“

In this episode, our fiftieth, Brett, Brian, and Jason answer topics of varying theological significance, such as “What would Martin Luther think about the designated hitter in baseball?”

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss how the Law applies to the life of a believer in Jesus Christ. The Gospel frees us from the curse of the Law, but it doesn’t tell us how to live our lives.  That’s where the Law comes in: as Christians, the Law is constantly revealing to us the holy will of God.  Sanctification, then, isn’t matter of getting better at not sinning, but of repenting when the Law accuses us of sin.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason begin to conclude the discussion on the Ten Commandments by reviewing the judgment aspect of the Law.  A desire to be in the unmediated presence of the almighty God only leads to fear and judgment (Isaiah 6).  The problem with the Law’s judgment is that we are quick to apply it to others but reluctant to apply it to ourselves.  We also recognize that while God hates, judges, condemns, and punishes sin, the ultimate purpose of the Law is to drive us to repentance so that God might have mercy on us in Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss what the Ninth and Tenth Commandments promote by doing a Bible study on Phil. 4:4-13.  The aim of the final two commandments is contentment, and the language of contentment is prayer.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss what the Ninth & Tenth Commandments prohibit by doing a Bible study on both Colossians 3:5-11 and Romans 7:7-12.  In the 9th & 10th Commandments, we see how the Law functions in general, and we see from these two passages that Law & Gospel are not two opposing words of God, but they work together to deliver to us salvation.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion of the 9th & 10th Commandments, highlighting the self-reflective nature of the two final commandments.  The 9th & 10th Commandments are designed to drive us to introspection since coveting is not a crime we can accuse our neighbor of committing against us.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss the Ninth and Tenth Commandments as explained in Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms.  They highlight the interconnectedness of all the commandments as well as the interconnectedness of the catechisms as a whole.  From there, they discuss the definition of coveting and how its status as a “victimless crime” drives us to self examination.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss what the Eighth Commandment promotes by doing a Bible study on Hebrews 10:19-25.  The life of the congregation is extremely valuable in providing context to the 8th Commandment.  As we receive assurance of salvation from the application of the Gospel, we are freed to love our neighbor in our vocations and to protect and promote their reputations.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason look at what the Eighth Commandment prohibits by doing a Bible study on James 3:1-12.  As James says, “the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.”

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion on the Eighth Commandment.  They talk about speaking the truth in love, how being edifying relates to being pro-life, and what it means to put the best possible construction on something.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss the Eighth Commandment as it is presented by Luther’s small and large catechisms.  The Eighth Commandment is especially important in today’s day and age because it deals with protecting the reputation of your neighbor, something that is increasingly difficult with the propagation of social media.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss what the Seventh Commandment promotes by doing a Bible study on Luke 19:1-10.  In the biblical account of Zaccheus, we see Jesus’ forgiveness and reconciliation of Zaccheus as what leads to his response of generosity, not vice versa.

In today’s episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss what the Seventh Commandment prohibits by doing a Bible study on 1 Kings 21:1-16.  In looking at the vile actions of King Ahab against Naboth, we are reminded of the ugly reality of our own sin and our continued desire to make our personal comfort an idol by replacing God with ourselves.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason discuss the Seventh Commandment from the Small and Large Catechism.  Even though the Seventh Commandment expressly forbids theft, it also covers things such as laziness and honest business dealing.  To nobody’s surprise, our hosts discuss the impact of the Seventh Commandment on our various vocations.