Reconnect

Wes is back to continue the Lutheran Theology series with Andy. This episode of Reconnect covers the Material Principle of Lutheran Theology (Justification), The Work of the Holy Spirit (Sanctification), Good Works, and the Doctrine of Election.

Andy sits down with one of the campus pastor's at Concordia University Irvine, Jonathan Ruehs, to discuss a show they both really love, The Walking Dead!

Andy answers some listener questions about Lutheran theology that really are about the the divisions of Lutheranism in America. Also a question about Lutherans and their lack of focus on end time teachings was addressed. He then closes with more points on the Teachings of the Lutheran Church he created to be recognized as being qualified to teach Theology in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod: Christian Identity, The Bondage of the Will, and The Doctrine of Christ.

The Nature of God The doctrine of the Trinity states that there is only one God, yet God exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6; Matthew 28:19; and 2 Corinthians 13:14) All three persons of the Trinity are eternal, not created, nor made. The Father begets the Son. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son who send him. In addition to being eternal (Psalm 90:2; Exodus 3:14; John 1:1; Romans 1:20; and Revelation 22:13), all three person of the Trinity are each omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-13 and Jeremiah 23:23-24), omniscient (Psalm 139:1-5 and 1 John 3:20), omnipotent (Luke 1:37 and Ephesians 3:20), immutable (Numbers 23:29 and Malachi 3:6), and love (1 John 4:8). Concerning the character of the Triune Lord, all three persons are holy (Isaiah 6:3 and 55:8-9), good (Psalm 145:9), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), merciful (Micah 7:18 and Luke 1:50), gracious (Joel 2:13), and patient (2 Peter 3:9). The Origins of the Universe Scripture teaches that God created all things out of nothing by his spoken word (Genesis 1, Psalm 33:6, and Hebrews 11:3). Scripture teaches that God created all things in six days and that he rested on the seventh, which is the basis of the Sabbath command for man to work for six days and rest on the seventh. (Exodus 20:9-11; 31:15-17) Each day of creation was an evening and a morning. (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31) The immediacy of creation through God's spoken word also supports a six day creation period. The LCMS rejects theistic evolution. Man came from God's direct and intimate work of creation, not from his hand of involvement in millions of years of death in the animal kingdom. (Genesis 2) Scripture also teaches that death entered the world through one man's sin (Romans 5:12), not through God's process of creation.

The Fall into Sin The doctrine of Original Sin teaches that all men are sinful, inheriting a sinful nature from the moment of their conception. David writes, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5, NIV). Every human inherits Adam's guilt and the wrath that comes with it. Paul writes, "By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else" (Ephesians 2:3, NLT).

God's response to original sin is the new Adam, Jesus Christ. "For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many" (Romans 5:15, NIV)!

Andy received a Facebook message from a follower of his Contradict - They Can't All Be True page that asked his thoughts on how to respond to the question, "Why Don't Christians Care More About their Sins?" This episode of Reconnect gives a lengthy response to this question, weaving in various Youtube videos that feature Alistair Begg, R.C. Sproul, and Paul Washer.

David Pratt is back on Reconnect to further discuss his love of Presuppositional Apologetics. His brother, Jonathan Pratt, and Andy Wrasman have lots of questions for him, especially Andy, who prefers to lead with the Gospel and defend the message of the Gospel using historical evidence for the historicity of the New Testament. The following questions are discussed (not in the particular order of the video): Did the Apostles ever try to convince someone that God exists? Did the Apostles ever use presuppositional apologetics? Did the Apostles ever use evidential apologetics? What does 1 Peter 3:15 tell us to be able to prepared to give a defense for? Does Scripture teach that everyone knows that the Triune Lord exists or just that a Creator God exists? So Atheists are lying when they say there is no God, because they actually know there is a God? Do you find it helpful to tell Atheists, you're not an Atheist, you know God exists? Then more specifically tell them that they know the Christian God? Is Presuppositional Apologetics an argument from natural knowledge or revealed knowledge? If it is an argument from natural knowledge, then how does it show Christianity to be true? Isn't evidence beyond the existence of truth, knowledge, and logic needed to show that Christianity is true? When would you, if ever, use evidence for the historical reliability of the Gospels and the evidence of the resurrection? Are you opposed to it?

Segments: Intro The Jews Expected Rambo Jesus What Romans Said About Crucifixion Has the Cross Lost Its Punch? The Crucifixion - A Medical Perspective Bit of Christology Talk Did Jesus Die on the Cross? Closing

First Segment: Andy responds to a reader's email about his use of Contradict for evangelism. Second Segment: Andy responds to a video an atheist sent him that entertainly uses a game show setting to demonstrate what the video maker claims are contradictions in the Bible.

Andy responds to an email he received from a lady claiming that he is CONTRADICTing Jesus by saying other religions are wrong. Here's the email: "Hello! My name is Summer; I'm a woman from Oregon. After reading about the Contradict movement, I do have a couple comments/questions for you. I do believe that you are CONTRADICTing the teachings of Jesus; it seems that you are saying Christianity should be the only religion on planet earth. Thing is, Jesus taught that we need to coexist with everyone on the planet. Matthew 22:39 says to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That's just one verse out of many of the teachings of Jesus that says to not persecute others based on the things that they have done or are currently partaking in. If you truly wanted to convert people to Christianity, you would have patience with those that do not agree. Shunning them and telling them their way of thinking is wrong is not how to break through to anyone. It is very confusing to me that after reading the Bible, and the words of Jesus, that you think "it would be wonderful if you could simply (and legally) replace all those COEXIST bumper stickers with another that reads CONTRADICT." That's the opposite of what is expected of Christians. Christians are "persecuted" because of things like this; it makes it look like you think you are better and above everyone else. Also, the fact that some people never found Jesus' skeleton is NOT proof that he ascended into the heavens." Contradict Movement: https://www.contradictmovement.org Andy Wrasman: https://www.andywrasman.com

Andy speaks with high school senior Morgan Lunsford about the Church's involvement in the Crusades. Does the Church need to get off its high horse when addressing Islamic invasions, Islamic terrorism, and the many Islamic nations that treat women far from equal because of the Church's involvement in the Crusades? What are the Crusades? Why did they start? Were there any good reasons that the Church was involved in the Crusades? Why does the Church get such a bad wrap about the Crusades? Did leaders in the Church condemn any of the evil actions done by members of their side during the time of the Crusades, or only centuries later? Check out Morgan's notes at Episode 88 accessed at www.andywrasman.com.