Talks with Dad Rod

Ted asks about the 'unpardonable sin' we read about in Luke 12:10. Rod talks about how little textual clarification we get about that verse, where Scripture talks about apostasy, the importance of the 'means of grace' in regard to 'God's answer to our fretting', and why it is important that it is the Object of our faith that saves, which is Christ, and what assurance and consolation we can get from that.

Ted asks about what the Romans 5:8 verse means. Rod talks about the effect that the law has on sinners and what it makes sinners do, and that, though sinners may be tempted to think the law enables them to follow it, it actually has an opposite effect, and where sinners are to go for assurance of salvation and consolation, even in light of our ongoing sin.

Ted asks about what the term 'gospel reductionism' means. Rod talks about Dr. John Montgomery coining the term, the importance of a high view of Scripture, from the first century to the eighteenth, and about the tangles that were had in the LCMS relatively recently over the view of Scripture and inerrancy and its inspiration from God, and why a high view of Scripture is critical.

Ted asks about what cheap law means, particularly in the face of the idea of cheap grace. Rod talks about sinners' inclination to lower the demands of the law so that we can meet those demands, and just what our real inherited 'sin condition' is and why we truly need rescue, and are, in reality, incapable of even coming close to meeting the law's demands.

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Ted asks if Christians need forgiveness after conversion. Rod talks about what St. Paul describes about his Christian faith in Romans 7 and his struggles with his sin while remaining faithful, and God's forgiving nature, and what it means for Christians to be regularly and constantly forgiven for their sins throughout their whole lives, even while they believe in Christ.

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Ted asks about whether we can forgive one another in the name of Jesus Christ and if that is God's real forgiveness. Rod talks about where believers are given that ability, from Scripture, and whether only called pastors and priests can forgive sins in Christ's stead, or if any believer can.

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Ted asks about what discipleship looks like in Lutheranism. Rod talks about law and the Gospel, the message we can sometimes receive from church about discipleship, and investigates it through the Lutheran doctrine of vocation and Christian liberty.

SHOW NOTES: William Hordern, "Living by Grace" - https://www.amazon.com/Living-Grace-William-Hordern/dp/1592440630/

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Ted asks about what God empowers believers with in the New Testament versus the Old Testament. Rod talks about what preachers and teachers should look for (and find) in both the Old and New Testaments and what their focus should on be for sinners.

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Ted asks about the Lutheran position on discipleship under the Great Commission in Lutheranism. Rod talks about what the Bible is about, how churches can fail in their message, and discusses what effect teaching with a focus on law has on believers, versus teaching with a focus on Christ and His Gospel.

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Ted asks about what it means if he avoids doing something he feels the Holy Spirit has told him to do. Rod talks about the reformers' position on direct revelation, outside of Scripture, and why Sola Scriptura is important. And yet Dad also confirms the Great Commission and looks at it through the lens of the Lutheran Doctrine of Vocation.

SHOW NOTES: Gene Veith, "God at Work" - https://www.amazon.com/God-Work-Redesign-Christian-Vocation/dp/1433524473/ref=sr_1_2

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