Being Lutheran Podcast

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason switch their focus to the New Testament as they continue their examination of the Sacrament of Baptism. There is something that is appealing and refreshing about talking about your beliefs as opposed to what you don’t believe in. In the Great Commission, we see the role of Baptism in making disciples, especially in the context of the still-doubting disciples (Matt. 28:17).

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason conclude their examination of OT allusions to baptism by looking at Ezekiel 36:25-27. These verses have several connections to Acts 2:38-39. By seeing these connections, it helps us to appreciate that all of Scripture has one, unified message. This passage also highlights Divine Monergism. We always want to make our relationship with God about us and what we are doing for him, but in reality it’s about what God has done and continues to do for us.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue to look at how baptism is taught in the Old Testament. Today, they take up the story of Naaman and how his washing in the Jordan River cleansed him from leprosy. Leprosy makes for a consistent metaphor in Scripture due to the nature of the disease, which renders one unable to feel pain or detect how injured or ill they really are. Like Naaman, Baptism is a simple thing God has called us to do that delivers his gifts and promises.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their study of Old Testament passages that teach us about and point us to baptism. According to 1 Corinthians, we are baptized into Christ just as the Israelites were baptized into Moses. Christ is the new and greater Moses who leads us out of bondage to sin into the Promised Land. The crossing of the Red Sea is also an explicit connection to baptism in such a way that we can use it as an apologetic for infant baptism.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason shift their focus to the Old Testament as they continue to discuss the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. The nature of baptism is that it is an event. God has done it. It has happened. This is the first parallel and connection baptism has to the flood. The water is the means by which God delivers his salvation through the power and promise of his Word.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason complete their topical examination of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. In the Lutheran mind, infant baptism is both the logical and biblical conclusion one arrives at because of the reality of original sin and the truth of Divine Monergism. Either infants are sinners that need to be saved or they are not. There is no middle ground. But beyond the importance for infants, Baptism has daily value for the believer.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion on the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. How do you recognize the Reformation confession of Sola Fide and the Lutheran confession that Baptism saves? The first step in answering that question is defining the term “faith” itself. Faith always needs an object.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion on the Sacrament of Baptism. At the beginning of the episode, they take up the question, “Why do we baptize?” It is in God’s nature to have mercy and it is in God’s nature to save.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion on baptism by moving from the content in the Small Catechism and looking at some other issues that are addressed in the Large Catechism and elsewhere. One of the primary differences between Lutherans and other Protestants on the Sacraments is that the Sacraments are a primary matter of faith, whereas certain other Protestant denominations would view them as a secondary matter of faith. The Sacraments in the Lutheran tradition are a means of grace that are founded on the efficacy of God’s Word.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason conclude their discussion on the Sacrament of Baptism from Luther’s Small Catechism. Along with the salvific value of Baptism, there is also a ceremonial and symbolic value to Baptism. Baptism is our entrance into the Christian Church and signifies the drowning of our old nature and rising of our new nature in Christ. These are not the primary focuses of baptism, but are valuable to talk about nonetheless.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion on the Sacrament of Holy Baptism from Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms. We recognize that the power and effectiveness of baptism is not in the water, but in the Word of God. Your Baptism is an external event that God has given you and never goes away.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their discussion of the Sacrament of Baptism from Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms. Salvation was won for us on the cross, but it is delivered through the means of grace. The nature of the Sacraments is that they are external to your experience. This makes the promises delivered in the Sacraments sure and certain and comforting.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason begin their examination of the Sacrament of Baptism from Martin Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms. God’s Word is the effective element in Baptism. Baptism saves because God’s Word saves. Another effective means for understanding the Lutheran position on Baptism is Divine Monergism. God is the only active party in our salvation, and God is the active party in our baptisms.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason answer listener questions about the nature of prophecy and the Holy Spirit and about changing church membership.  

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason conclude their discussion on the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer by doing a Bible study on 1 John 3:4-10.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil, because the devil works sin.  

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their examination of the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s prayer by doing a Bible study on Genesis 3:15-24.  When we pray “deliver us from evil” in the Lord’s Prayer, the answer to that prayer is Christ on the cross.  The saints for all time, whether OT, NT, or now, have always been looking to the cross.  Ever since Genesis 3, we have been on a march back to the Garden of Eden.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason complete their examination of the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer from Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms.  In society today, we have lost the ability to call a thing evil.  The Seventh Petition shows us what it looks like to be delivered from evil.  With that in mind, this petition ultimately directs us to the Second Coming of Christ.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason begin their examination of the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer from Martin Luther’s small and large catechisms.  The Seventh Petition serves as a summary of the entire Lord’s Prayer.  In it, we simultaneously pray for deliverance from evil and from the evil one.  As Christians, we would do well to acknowledge that we have an adversary, but also to remember that he is a defeated foe.

In this episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason conclude their examination of the Sixth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer by doing a Bible study on the temptation of Christ from Matthew 4:1-11.  In his temptation, Jesus stands in the place of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, in the place of Israel wandering in the wilderness, and in our place as we each are tempted to sin.  Where Adam and Eve, Israel, and we have failed, Jesus comes through as the faithful Son of God.  And as our substitute, our righteousness looks like the righteousness of Jesus Christ because it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

In today’s episode, Brett, Brian, and Jason continue their examination of the Sixth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer by doing a Bible Study on Genesis 39 and the account of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.  Joseph’s account, from beginning to end, is excellent development of the doctrine of vocation as well as an important example of integrity in the face of temptation.