Dear friends,

Debates about real nature of ‘church’ have been around even longer than Phillip’s and my combined age. It’s a complicated and perennial topic, but we thought it was worth another outing in this week’s edition because it’s also very practical.

It’s practical not just because what you think a ‘church’ is will shape what you do in church. What you think about ‘church’ will also have big implications for all those other Christian activities or gatherings that aren’t ‘church’ (according to your definition).

If that sounds intriguing, read (or listen) on.

Your brother

Tony

PS

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Dear friends

We continue to be enormously grateful for your fellowship, which (I suppose if we’re honest) largely consists in us talking and you listening!

But it’s especially nice when you speak back, which a very encouraging number of you do—either in person when we bump into you round the place, or by email as you comment and raise questions. Quite a few of you have said how much you’ve been enjoying our meanderings through Romans, and we’ll be back to Romans again in the near future.

But this week we’re catching up with three of the questions you’ve written in to ask:

* From Matt about whether it’s right to say that Jesus ‘raised himself from the dead’;

* From Barry about Sabbath-keeping in the New Testament, and whether Jesus really approved of it or not;

* From Ethan about the steps and motivations and factors that play into the decision to go into ‘full-time ministry’.

Hope you find the discussion stimulating!

Your brother

Tony

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Dear friends

Today we belatedly answer a question that regular reader/listener Richard sent in some time ago, but which got lost in the bilge of my inbox—which is a shame, because it is an excellent question!

Richard asks about those voices today that are calling for a recovery of the ‘spiritual disciplines’—things such as contemplative prayer, solitude, fasting, sabbath-keeping, and so on. He writes:

What is the history of ‘spiritual discipline’ and, we could add, ascetic practices, within Christianity and evangelicalism? How do we integrate the different strands of biblical teaching and biblical examples on this topic (e.g. Mat  5:16-18; Luke 6:12; Col 2:15-23; Acts 14:23)?

Phillip and I had (as usual) a wide-ranging talk about this question, an edited summary of which appears below.

Your brother

Tony

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Dear friends,

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the Ten Commandments were a central part not just of church culture and Christian living, but of the cultural landscape of our community.

This no longer seems to be the case—certainly not in our very secularized society, but also not in our churches either.

A recent and somewhat surprising Sydney Morning Herald article got us talking about the Ten Commandments, how they are regarded by the non-Christian world, and indeed how they are seen by Christians these days.

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Your brother

Tony

(For various reasons, this week’s transcript is even more truncated than usual—it’s a short summary of the main points of our conversation.)

PS

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Dear friends

As the Paris Olympics slip down into the long feed of events below the screen horizon of our consciousness, what will stay with us? The hilarious, kangaroo-hopping breakdance of RayGun? The golden triumphs of the Fox sisters? The controversial tableau of the opening ceremony? What will we still remember and talk about in 12 months time?

Not much probably.

In fact, how long will it be before most of us forget that the Olympics of 2024 were even held in Paris? Tell me quickly—where were the Olympics held in 2004? In 1964? In 1924?

Well, I can tell you where they were in 1924—Paris!—because of an incident that took place at those games that was scandalous at the time, and which was immortalized in the award-winning movie, Chariots of Fire.

Chariots of Fire was a fascinating and enjoyable film—fascinating because of its largely sympathetic portrayal of a Christian man standing on a point of theological principle. Eric Liddell would not run on the Sabbath.

Was he right about the Sabbath?

We’ve been talking a bit about the ‘law’ and the Christian life recently—and that continues in this week’s Olympics-themed episode.

Your brother

Tony

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Dear friends

Time for another Q&A episode, but with a twist this time. Regular Two Ways News contributor Marty Sweeney joins us from Ohio to pitch me a number of questions about the Bible, theology and ministry—questions that have come from his regular conversations and seminars with pastors and ministry people in the US.

The questions revolve around the Bible, theology, ministry and evangelism—all the good stuff. Questions like:

* Is the Bible the only tool we need for ministry and evangelism?

* What place should topical or systematic preaching or Bible study have?

* Can our theology end up hampering our Bible reading?

* What about courses or other study programs—do we really need them?

Hope you enjoy the to-and-fro!

Your brother

Tony

PS

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Links

Evangelize 2024

Always two there are

by Tony Payne (when this podcast was called The Payneful Truth)

An article that discusses the way the Bible is full of pairs of ideas that you have to hold together.

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Dear friends,

Time to take a break from Romans for a few weeks, and deal with some other issues that have been on our minds.

This week we turn our attention to a moral question: How should we respond when our workplace or school wants us to take a stand about some social issue that we think differently about? What should we do, for example, when ‘Wear it Purple Day’ comes around in support of LGBTQ+ rights? Quietly wear a purple tie and keep our head down? Or just as quietly ‘forget’ to? Or make a more visible protest? And what biblical principles should inform our decision?

We hope you find our exploration of the ins-and-outs of this question illuminating not just for situations like this one, but as a model for thinking about moral questions generally.

Your brother

Tony

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

Dear friends

Well once again, I have to open with an apology for the lateness of this week’s edition, again due to sickness in the team. (Please bear with us as we try to get back on track and on schedule over the next couple of weeks.)

There are deep waters in Romans 9-11, which we’ve been discussing over the past couple of episodes. And today, we get to the deepest mysteries of all—how God’s plans for Israel and the nations involve the hardening of Israel, the grafting in of the Gentiles, and the salvation of Israel through jealousy.

It’s a passage that leaves us exclaiming with Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

We hope you find it enriching and humbling.

Your brother

Tony

Sermons by Phillip on Romans 11

* Israel’s Future (Romans 11:1-32)

* The Mind of God (Romans 11:33-12:2)

PS

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Dear friends,

Apologies for this week’s episode being a couple of days late — some unavoidable delays due to sickness in the team. And sincere apologies too that (for the same reason) we’re not able to bring you a transcript of the conversation this week.

For those of who you are readers rather than listeners, we’ve provided a few choice quotes below that might tempt you, just this once, to listen to the conversation rather than read it. (And we won’t blame you at all if do so at 1.25x speed!)

And let me encourage you that this week’s episode is full of fascinating stuff, including:

* answering a reader question about the difference between our human ‘spirit’ and the Holy Spirit;

* whether all cultures are equally valuable;

* the cultural arrogance of evangelism; and

* what happens to those who’ve never heard the gospel?

Your brother

Tony

Links to Talks

Phillip Jensen’s talk on Romans 10

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Dear friends

It’s been a history making few weeks—a presidential debate in the US that seems likely to change the course of the election, elections in France and the UK that seem likely to change the direction of both countries, and so on.

But why do we choose some events and declare them to be the stuff of ‘history’ (as opposed to other events)? And is there any point or direction to history? Or is it just wave after wave of people and events, crashing upon the shore and then disappearing again?

Romans 9 brings us to the subject of history and God’s control over it—in particular, his control over the destiny of his people Israel.

It’s one of those humbling passages that challenges us to get back in our box and let God be God. I hope you find it both challenging and encouraging.

Your brother,

Tony

PS. At the beginning of our conversation, Phillip and I had quite a long chat about the nature of ‘history’, about how we view history in the West, and what it all has to do with Christianity. It was a bit long and a bit much to transcribe, but it’s very close to the beginning of the audio version above if you’d like to listen.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe