the Proclaim & Defend Podcast

As I write this, it is the day after the 2026 mid-term elections. I am not in a particularly good mood. On the surface, yesterday’s elections do not bode well for the freedoms of believers in our nation, for the welfare of the unborn, and a host of other issues of importance to believers. So I opened my Bible this morning to my regular reading.

Jeremiah 32 was the text that came up on my reading schedule.

This is a remarkable passage of scripture in which God commands Jeremiah to buy real estate. This was not investment advice; it was an investment command.

Jeremiah records the exact date of these events. It occurred somewhere between April 23 and October 17, 587 BC[i]. Jerusalem was under siege, the city would soon fall to the Babylonians, and Jeremiah was imprisoned within the city for prophesying that the city would fall to the enemy (Jeremiah 32:3-5).

God tells Jeremiah that his cousin will visit him in prison and ask him to buy a piece of property.

“Buy a property?! Now?!”

That would have been my reaction. Who buys property while in prison?

He did it to demonstrate hope, not for himself but for generations to come. …

Read the rest of the article here: Why Did God Tell Jeremiah to Buy Real Estate?

… or, just listen to the podcast!

Lots of believers ask themselves this question in the privacy of their own hearts. Sometimes they also ask it out loud. With 46% of adults 18 and over in the USA unmarried, it is very likely than many single Christians are considering this question. What does the Bible and biblical wisdom have to say about it?

Biblical Reasons to Get Married

Believe it or not, but Bible makes a case for biblical marriage. God officiated the first marriage when He made Eve. He “walked Eve down the aisle” when He presented her to Adam (Genesis 2:22). If God created marriage, He had reasons, and those reasons are good reasons to get married.

Companionship.

“It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

One of the aspects of the image of God in man is that God created humans as social beings. Just as the Three Persons of the Trinity enjoy companionship within the Godhead, so God created mankind to have companionship with Him and with one another.

Sexual Intimacy.

“And they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

“Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (1 Corinthians 7:2-5)

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 12:4)

Sexual desires are God’s gift to humanity, not a curse. They are not evil. The sexual relationship is a beautiful part of marriage that bonds a man and woman together in one-flesh unity. This unifying act is one of the reasons why sex outside of marriage is so damaging (1 Corinthians 6:14-20). Certainly, the idea of romantic emotional love also fits here. Romantic love is designed by God to culminate in a physical union.

Procreation.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth . . . . (Genesis 1:18)

Therefore a man shall leave his father . . . . (Genesis 2:24)

One of the important reasons to be married is so that children grow up in a family relationship that provides a committed, biblical, stable, environment. This does not mean that God will not help the single parent, or that He does not even providentially place children in such a home. God is always our helper. But the creation design is for fathers and mothers to raise children.

Blessing.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:22)

God pronounces a blessing on marriage. In the Proverbs context, it relates the favor and blessing a good wife is to a husband, I can only assume this blessing goes both ways.

For the church and society.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:7)

The home is where biblical and societal truth is taught from one generation to the next. Marriage is the foundation of the home (Ephesians 6:4).

As a testimony of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her . . . . (Ephesians 5:22-25)

Of course, for this testimony to be effective, not only must there be a marriage, but also the husband and wife must truly reflect that sacred relationship.

Unbiblical or Unwise Reasons to Avoid Marriage.

The reasons I hear in our culture at large for not getting married are often unbiblical, and these are creeping into our churches as well.

I want some years of freedom. Such an attitude is selfishness. When we become believers, our lives must be committed to service for God (Romans 12:1-2). There is no place for “sowing wild oats.” Wasting our lives in selfish pursuit does not fit into that biblical model.

It doesn’t fit into my career plans. This is backwards thinking. Marriage is more important than career and commitment to family is more important than status or income. True biblical marriage is about making the spouse primary and selfless commitment (Ephesians 5:22-23). There is a biblical case for remaining single for ministry, we will talk about that later.

We can’t afford it. This is a modern invention, often imposed on couples by themselves or their parents. It is reasonable to want a young man or young woman to show the ability to work hard, avoid laziness, etc. But it is not an appropriate biblical requirement to demand a man provide a certain lifestyle for a woman (or vice versa in today’s liberated thinking). Character is an appropriate concern; lifestyle is not. In almost all cases, two can live together less expensively than apart. They can even pay off debt more easily together than apart. Most often this is a standard of more of status and pride than of function.

I can satisfy my needs without it. If this means that pornography, self-gratification, or sex outside marriage is enough, this is just wickedness. It is treated as acceptable in the culture, but it is sin before God.

It is just a piece of paper. Marriage in the Bible and throughout history has always been a legally enforceable covenant. In scripture, it was a legal contract and required a legal procedure to nullify. The couple that thinks they can have biblical marriage without having a legal marriage is self-deceived.

We want to have a big wedding. There is nothing technically wrong with wanting a big wedding. There is nothing wrong with waiting so that a big wedding can take place. Having a wedding that beyond your financial means is not only unwise, but it might also be sinful. Waiting perpetually for this cultural fabrication is foolish if the couple truly believes God wants them to be married. Living with one another in sexual disobedience while waiting for the big wedding is sin.

I am afraid of divorce and its consequences. We live in a legal environment that can make divorce quite painful. It is financially horrible for men and women. It is most often emotionally devastating and very hard on children. People who lived through the divorce of their parents might fear marriage. Be aware that just because your parents had a bad marriage does not mean you are doomed to have one as well. Be willing to let God help you to break the pattern. However, if you approach marriage as disobediently as your parents did, you will likely have the same result. Marriage is a step of faith. It requires faith in God and faith in your marriage partner. It takes work to make a marriage work. But that is no reason to avoid marriage when God is leading you to it.

I haven’t found someone who is rich enough, tall enough, etc. Having unbiblical and unrealistic standards for a partner often leaves people—men or women—without a partner at all, or with the wrong partner in the end.

My church forbids it. I do not know of any denominations today that forbid marriage altogether, but some groups forbid marriage for members of the clergy. This is an unbiblical requirement (1 Timothy 3:1-7, 4:3).

Biblical or wise reasons to wait on marriage or remain single.

I have not yet found the right person. This is always a good reason to wait, and everyone waits for some period of time. It is biblically obedient to wait for a person who is a believer, loves God, is the right match, and has the appropriate biblical love (2 Corinthians 6:14).

I believe God wants me to be single for the sake of serving Him more fully. The Apostle Paul not only gave this as a reason for his remaining single, but he also recommended i…

We are closing our discussion of the September/October edition of FrontLine, on the topic “Getting Ready to Vote.” It seems a lot of places in our world are in election season right now. Our last interview in this series is with pastor David de Bruyn from South Africa.

As we were chatting before we started recording, I mentioned how I thought it ironic to have a Canadian and a South African talking politics when perhaps the most important elections in the world (and for the majority of our listeners) is coming up in the USA.

However, as it turns out, South Africa is having an election next Tuesday, along with the USA, and in my province we had a sudden provincial election along with municipal elections just a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad to say that the candidates I supported this time around almost all won! I only missed on one of my votes for town council. I’m hoping our listeners will all enjoy a similar result next week when they go to the polls.

David’s topic is, “Should Pastors Be Political?” His article and topic are timely for the season we are in. David has given a lot of thought to the subject of biblical political philosophy. I think what he says is very sound, I hope you will find it beneficial as well. In the course of the discussion we talk about the kind of teaching pastors should make a practice of in their ministry. I found David’s suggestions particularly helpful in this area.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that David’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Should Pastors Be Political?

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend

On October 16, 2026, Christianity Today published an article on its site entitled What We Know—and Cannot Know—About Elisabeth Elliot’s Sexuality, by Lucy Austen. This article publicly questions whether Elizabeth Elliot was bisexual.

Most often I completely ignore what Christianity Today says, but I cannot let this one pass. Lucy Austen and Christianity Today have sinned against God, against Elisabeth Elliot, and against every believer who reads the article. Christian honor demands that I defend the integrity of a defenseless sister in Christ.

Let me explain why.

It makes several real accusations.

The article makes an accusation of sin against Elisabeth Elliot. Some might argue against this since the title says, “What We Know—And Cannot Know.” However, there is no place in the Christian world for saying “we don’t know for sure, but we think it might be possible that . . . .” Such scandalous accusations do not require proof to be “honest” but accomplish the same sinful purpose that making an all-out accusation does. It questions a person’s entire life and ministry. It robs Elisabeth Elliot of her “good name” (Proverbs 22:1). It is the same wickedness in which Candace Owens now publicly trades. …

Read the full article here or just listen to the podcast.

We continue to discuss our September/October edition of FrontLine, on the topic “Getting Ready to Vote.”

Today’s guest is Brett Williams. Brett is the provost of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. He has extensive experience and involvement with the pro-life movement. His article is called, “What’s Included in Pro-Life?”

Behind the arguments of this article lie a lot of discussion or argumentation between conservatives and liberals and even people who are sort of a mix of both. A lot of thinking has gone into fundamental questions like, “Is there a right to life?” and “Who has the right to life?” and how the answers to those questions impact other social issues.

My discussion with Brett involves probing a lot of the different ways people have taken the arguments, trying to understand how someone can hold to a Pro-Life position when it comes to babies in the womb but then hold other positions that seem so inconsistent with a conservative position in this area.

Sometimes the answer is just that people are inconsistent, but often the answer lies in philosophical or theological errors people make. Brett is trying to help us wrap our minds around this concept and understand better the world we live in.

And understanding this has an impact on who we support with our votes. Politicians haven’t necessarily thought out their philosophy on this area, but their philosophy about Pro-Life issues will impact the way they vote in other areas as well. This helps us to understand whether a candidate is worthy of our support or not.

I hope you find the discussion interesting and helpful.

Before we get into it, though, let me remind you that Brett’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

What’s Included in Pro-Life?

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend

The National Catholic Register ran an article this week entitled The Marriage Crisis is No Longer Just a Western Problem. The article articulates the trends worldwide away from traditional (and biblical) marriage. This quote seems to sum it up.

Julie Hanlon Rubio, a Santa Clara University theologian serving as an expert at the gathering, told the assembly on Oct. 12 that “the global trend away from marriage is accelerating,” citing declining marriage rates in the Philippines, Poland, Argentina and South Africa

When marriage declines, birthrates decline. It’s inevitable. We can make a “chicken or the egg” argument about which comes first, but the coincidental nature of the stats is unmistakable.

The decline of marriage and the family as a result is the way humanity commits suicide. While human beings have been preoccupied with nuclear war, global warming, and a myriad of real and perceived health concerns, we seem to be ignoring the most basic aspect of human thriving and survival—reproduction of the human race in a happy and healthy family environment. Abortion, same-sex unions, divorce, promiscuity, and more have all led here.

Now, I do believe humans will survive because Bible prophecy tells us how it will all end. But that does not mean that the present crisis is not real.

Social media is filled with both men and women complaining about what is happening. Women (at least some) complain that men are not pursuing women any more while men openly declare that the devastation of potential divorce—financial, loss of children, and more—makes marriage no longer worth the risk. …

Read the rest of the article here, or just listen to the podcast.

I’m basking in the “afterglow” of our Annual National Meeting held last week at Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, SC. The FBFI got its start in 1920 as a pre-convention meeting as a subset of the old National Baptist Convention. ((See here to find the last message of that meeting along with an index to the rest.)) Over the years the Fellowship changed in response to the changing ecclesiastical landscape of North America. We had several name changes along the way reflecting those changes.

In the early days, the reasons for gathering centered on concern over rising liberalism in the NBC. Many years of controversy called men to gather in response or to provide encouragement and direction to fellow pastors beset by changing times.

These days, with most of us pretty well settled in our positions, little controversy drives attendance at our meetings. Rather, our emphasis now is on shared ministry philosophy and fellowship. When I was a “tent-making” pastor, I was in the business world. For a time, one of the buzz-words of business was “networking.” Whether that’s a current term or not, networking makes up a lot of what we do.

Various ministries are represented by exhibitors, among our speakers, and in the attendees at our meeting. From mission boards to ancillary church services to Christian colleges and universities to many local churches — all kinds of leaders from various organizations gather together. It really is an amazing time to connect and re-connect with old friends and fellow workers in the ministry.

The preaching and workshops were good, but that’s not the most important thing about the meeting. The most important thing (in my opinion) is that opportunity to meet new and old friends, catch up on their ministries, and learn about things to pray for among our many like-minded friends.

You should plan to attend the annual fellowship meeting next October 12-14 at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, WI. Mark your calendars and make your plans. You will come away refreshed.

In the meantime, through the year we have regional fellowships meeting, including two coming up later this month: October 24 the New England brethren will meet in Dover, NH; October 26-27, the Central Region brothers will meet in Yukon, OK. Check here: Fellowships - Foundations Baptist Fellowship International for other regional fellowships through the year. These meetings provide the fellowship we find at the National meeting but on a smaller scale. They are well worth attending.

One of the great verses on the strength of fellowship is Ecclesiastes 4:12:

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

We need the encouragement we can provide one another.

We could go on, but we will give you a little flavor of this years meeting with links to the main sessions below:

* The Church Recovered in the Word - Dr. Craig Hartman

* The Church Recovered in Its Shepherds - Dr. Bruce McAlister

* The Church Recoverd in Its Courage - Lt. Col. Nathan Mestler

* The Church Recovered in Its Loyalty to Christ Alone - Pastor Caleb Phelps

* The Recovered in Its Mission - Dr. Patrick Odle

* The Church Recovered in Its Order - Dr. Kevin Bauder

* FBFI 2026 Annual Fellowship - Panel Discussion

* The Church Recovered in the Home - Dr. Mark Herbster

Stay tuned for the audio from the workshops, we will make links available in a future post. We are hoping to post the audio of all sessions as a series of podcasts on the P&D podcast platform as well.

May the Lord bless you in your place of ministry. We hope to see you next year.

We continue to discuss our September/October edition of FrontLine, on the topic “Getting Ready to Vote.”

Today’s guest is Michael Riley, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Wakefield, Michigan. He is a regular in FrontLine and on our podcast. His article this time is called, “Can We Vote for the Lesser Evil?”

In a day when we increasingly see candidates whose personal character and/or political viewpoints just don’t match our own, we have to wrestle with voting decisions. Should we vote for one of the major candidates who matches our viewpoint more closely than the other major candidate, despite serious disagreements with the “lesser evil” guy’s platform? That is the question.

There are times when we might choose to vote for a candidate who has no hope of winning, one outside the leading candidates. We might want to send a message to the group we normally would support, and that is simply, Do Better!

On the other hand, we might have to make a decision based on the most important political issues of our day. If we have a flawed major candidate who nevertheless is right on most of those issues, or enough of those issues, then we may choose to vote for him or her.

These decisions are difficult, and Michael helps us think through the issues both in his article and our conversation.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that Michael’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Can We Vote for the Lesser Evil?

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend

This seems like such a 21st century topic. It sounds like I am joining the modern legions who are preoccupied with and find comfort in discussions about their mental health. But the springboard for this discussion comes from a text written 150 years ago. It was a recognized problem them, and it still is today—maybe even more so.

Every preacher should go back and read Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students. Too often students preparing for ministry read it in college or seminary and then fail to pick it up again. After a decade in ministry (or more) it strikes a more familiar chord than for seminary students. In this article, I am focusing on chapter eleven—“The Minister’s Fainting Fits.”

Discouragement is common among those in ministry.

Here is how Spurgeon so eloquently admits that he struggled with what we would today call depression. …

Read the rest of the article here, or just listen to the podcast.

We are discussing the September/October edition of FrontLine called, “Getting Ready to Vote.” Of course, we are writing in light of the upcoming elections in the USA and, as it happens, we are having elections here in the province where I live as well, so our topics seem very timely to me.

Today’s conversation is with Ryan Martin, pastor of Columbiaville Baptist Church of Columbiaville, Michigan. Ryan is a long-time online friend so I enjoy talking to him on the podcast. He is writing this time on “Welfare, Collectivism, and the Christian Vote.” What he is doing in the article and in our interview is to help us think about this issue and how to look at candidates for office. How closely do our candidates reflect Christian thinking on this issue? We will likely not find candidates who fully embrace the Bible model for caring for the needy, but the more we understand about the Bible point of view, the better we can analyze those who want our vote.

I hope you find the conversation helpful.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that Ryan’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Welfare, Collectivism, and the Christian Vote

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend