The Westminster Podcast

Christ died and rose again. But how do we come to share in what he accomplished? What does Paul actually mean when he says that believers are “in Christ”?

In this episode of Westminster Radio, Richard Gaffin explores union with Christ and why it matters for everything from our justification to our bodily resurrection. Drawing on Scripture, Calvin, and the Westminster catechisms, he explains how the Holy Spirit unites us to the Savior through faith, and why Christ’s benefits can never be separated from Christ himself. We receive the whole Christ: the priest who saves us, the prophet we listen to, and the king we obey. And his hold on us extends even to the grave.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate.

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Matt Jones of Empower One joins Nate Shannon to discuss church planting, theological education, and the work of making disciples in some of the hardest places in Africa. From South Sudan and Darfur to refugee camps and unreached communities, Jones explains why slow, indigenous, deeply rooted ministry often bears more lasting fruit than strategies built around speed and numbers—and what Christians in the West can learn from pastors who remain faithful when there is nowhere else to go.

Learn more about Matt's ministry at empower-one.org.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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How do we come to recognize the Bible as the Word of God, and what role does the Holy Spirit play in that conviction? In this archival lecture, John Frame explores the Spirit’s work in inspiring Scripture and opening our hearts to receive its truth, showing how his inward testimony works together with evidence, argument, and careful study. Frame calls us to approach God’s Word with intellectual seriousness and prayerful dependence on the Spirit who enables us to understand, believe, and obey it.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate.

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Why are we so fascinated by superheroes? In this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Nate Shannon talks with Ransom Poythress about superheroes, science, storytelling, and the Christian worldview. Drawing from a course he teaches at Houghton University, Poythress explores what characters like Superman and Batman reveal about our understanding of human nature, our longing to transcend our limitations, and our desire for someone powerful enough to save us.

The conversation moves from the science behind superpowers to the deeper structure of superhero stories themselves. Why do stories of sacrifice, salvation, good and evil, and ultimate victory resonate so deeply with us? Poythress argues that our attraction to these stories reflects something far greater: the world really is broken, we really do need a Savior, and the fictional heroes we create can offer faint echoes of the true story fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Nate and Ransom also discuss how these stories can provide natural points of contact for evangelism and a distinctly Van Tilian approach to apologetics.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate.

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What happens to the church when confidence in the Bible gives way to human judgment? In this archival address, James Montgomery Boice makes the case for biblical inerrancy, showing why the truthfulness of Scripture is essential to the church’s authority, reformation, and preaching. Drawing on his own encounters with challenges to the Bible, Boice calls Christians to face difficult questions honestly while standing firmly on the trustworthy Word of God.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate.

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How should seminaries prepare faithful pastors for a world being reshaped by technology, cultural change, and growing ministry needs? Recorded during Westminster’s presidential inauguration events, this panel brings together Ligon Duncan, Joel Kim, Kevin Kang, and Valdeci Da Silva Santos, with David Garner moderating, to discuss the future of theological education in the United States, South Korea, and Brazil. From residential community and spiritual maturity to artificial intelligence and the recruitment of future ministers, they explore what must change, what must endure, and why the church and seminary need one another.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate.

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Images shape what we love, what we fear, and what we believe. But how often do we stop to examine their power? In this archival address, Al Groves explores how God uses imagery throughout the Old Testament to reveal himself, communicate truth, and reach the hearts of his people. Moving from the familiar words of Psalm 23 to the images competing for our allegiance, Groves challenges us to bring our imaginations under the authority of Scripture.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate.

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In this final installment of our three-part series on Dissecting the Heart by David Powlison, Pierce Taylor Hibbs and Alfred Poirier explore Powlison’s conviction that all theology is practical theology. From suffering and the possibility of genuine change to the Psalms, death, and the Beatitudes, they consider how Scripture addresses the questions people actually face, and often redirects us toward the questions we should be asking. At the center of Powlison’s approach is a deeply God-centered vision of the Christian life, in which both our weakness and our strength are understood through communion with Christ.

You can preorder ⁠Dissecting the Heart here⁠.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the Bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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What role should evidence play in presuppositional apologetics? In this archival lecture, J. I. Packer considers the role of evidence in the covenantal approach to apologetics, arguing for their value in serving the work of Christian persuasion while insisting that neither argument nor evidence can bring a sinner to faith apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. Along the way, Packer reflects on Cornelius Van Til, the traditional arguments for God’s existence, and the task of presenting Christianity as both internally coherent and uniquely able to explain the world in which we live.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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What does it actually mean to fight a spiritual war? In the second installment of Dissecting the Heart, Pierce Taylor Hibbs and Alfred Poirier explore David Powlison’s approach to spiritual warfare, and why both secular psychology and deliverance ministries can miss the deepest battleground: the human heart. Rather than looking for demons to cast out or psychological explanations that remove human agency, Powlison returns to Scripture’s ordinary but powerful pattern of spiritual warfare: repent, believe, and resist.

Along the way, they discuss Satan as a “God mimic,” the absence of spiritual neutrality, the surprising hope found in calling sin what it is, and why sound theology must actually transform the way Christians live. The result is a vision of spiritual warfare that is less sensational than we might expect, but far more pervasive: a daily battle to turn from sin, trust the promises of Christ, and live by faith in the midst of a fallen world.

You can preorder ⁠Dissecting the Heart here⁠.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the Bible for Christ and His global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks for listening!