The Sure and Secure Podcast

The work of God the Father is enough to secure our salvation, but there's a redundancy of sorts in the work of the Trinity that's meant to leave us totally assured that our salvation is secure. Find out about the work of God the Son and the work of God the Holy Spirit in this episode. Find a transcript in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bGmzYt1-aKK4ri7UG4Le7-r_7Fy19A5u3Z_64OSg4Tg/edit?usp=sharing

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! Find out in this episode how God the Father keeps us secure in salvation. Find a transcript in this app or through this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tvJAiwcVqwBh_f5ycfwR8ASnCrOaQAfVofyL6FodSCg/edit?usp=sharing

Gifts that we exchange don't always establish a permanent relationship. Is that true of the gift of salvation--or is it a gift of a different quality? Is it really a gift that keeps on giving--forever? Find out in this episode! Find a transcript of this episode on this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JVtZDCkgHDeUx_seawXpZHosNp2IAfZp2YSHL6YD2TM/edit?usp=sharing

Can you lose your salvation? That's one of the most personally significant questions of your spiritual life. In this episode, I begin to examine that very issue to help you know that your salvation is secure through Jesus Christ. Find a transcript of the podcast in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ztB5D9-oc1eqHP_uhSB4jtoFBOuqvkc9JPrnKcCbQBY/edit?usp=sharing

The authors of Scripture weren't the only people writing about Jesus! Hear from three ancient writers whose works confirm that Jesus lived and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Find my paper on Lucian of Samosata here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Iiu8APvPPUKf4n4wDyyAaznQEEa570Uo/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=116845678267730439595&rtpof=true&sd=true Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iBg0C6dfC8c6ZOxmga5tirnPyCc1McKBxZJ_F7BOdtc/edit?usp=sharing

The doctrine of inerrancy getting trashed on Facebook? Not if I have anything to say about it--and I do in this episode! Listen in as I defend inerrancy against one of its detractors. Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U70ov-zYpb8m3yutJ3gLsiL0-RSfCZIGWJetWdHcZU8/edit?usp=sharing

Tim Keller once said, "Until you follow God expecting no personal benefit, you're not really following God." Is that true? Is it an accurate summary of biblical motives for following God, or is it okay to think about the personal benefits of obedience? Find out in this episode! Find a transcript in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1weJ225DyzxrmKmQn9uyEEKzzQ84x7VX5slpyvPLFdKU/edit?usp=sharing

To know what something is supposed to do, you have to know what it is. So what are human beings? Are we just highly-evolved animals or are we something else altogether? The Christian answer to this question is very dangerous to some other worldviews--and to our own sinful temptations. Find a transcript of this episode on this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l_YoxSYH65iuRLOgCzOetuK1UqDDWg_ZZ9DUL1q9dFY/edit?usp=sharing

Ideas have consequences, and the profound ideas on which Christianity is built have some implications that could be considered--dangerous. This episode will explore the idea that God is a living, thinking being who is different from His creation. Find a transcript in this app or at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dMVMOSQ4yZYA1aKJYzUH87xhKqwDhSPpUek_9HSXfmY/edit?usp=sharing

What did Jesus mean when He said a disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me? Does that command tell us what we must do to go to Heaven? Should we doubt our salvation if we struggle with such a commitment? Find answers for these questions here from a Free Grace perspective. Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xtlhmof6zWcRcn02u6fdsAw-dZ6_GCh3OUsiw2gpVkk/edit?usp=sharing

Christ's conversation with the Rich Young Ruler has been confusing for many people. The Lord seems to be presenting salvation by works--which is just the opposite of what He said to others! How exactly should we interpret this passage? Find out in this episode! Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WvkwCrFq-s1xFEWYcucxNVWxOWWSzI08gj2MJxNIliQ/edit?usp=sharing

Those who reject Christianity often take themselves to be very rational people--simply following facts wherever they lead. The Twelve Points framework shows that the facts truly do lead one to Christianity. One cannot deny the Faith without paying the price of sacrificing rationality. Find out why in this episode! Find a transcript in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16O7M-dzlLa8S_REt5kWq1Utt-ChhnVqL4Dqaradhc8M/edit?usp=sharing

Christians have always believed that the Bible is the word of God--but does that belief match what Jesus had to say about it? Indeed it does! Find out more on this episode. Find a transcript in this app or at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TgIiVEPwmDAHICIP6A0HkqE1lpf4OpouJw9_k7rFqJQ/edit?usp=sharing

Jesus proved that He is divine, but He has a human nature, too. Could His humanity compromise the truthfulness of His teachings? Find out in this episode! Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wGB5QUs_wUKrYjEsJ53VhqFAVOavB3NA-nFmFRT8dWw/edit?usp=sharing

The claims of Jesus are staggering, so we ought to make sure we have every reason to believe them. What criteria can help us assess the miracles that support His claims? Can any other religions boast of miraculous confirmation? Find out on this episode! Find a transcript in this app or at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11J8UgxHjDluwVC9B5zCDf4sNc_jyWRJ1rS7A9GBesDM/edit?usp=sharing

Plenty of people have claimed to be a big deal. Jesus did, too--but did He make good on His claims? If miracles can confirm a spokesman from God, did Jesus receive such a confirmation? Find out in this episode! Find a transcript of the episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RFAsTX6j3SDL0PgQsdW-wRbk419jEFbBnJUJ_Q9PwVw/edit?usp=sharing

If I make a claim about you, that doesn't hold as much weight as if you would make the claim yourself--especially if that claim deals with the core of your identity. Critics of Christianity have claimed that Jesus himself never claimed to be God, but is that true? Find out on this episode! Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwydecspuYP9kj6ILUefzm7duBpvTLgzHQb6iM9jYWk/edit?usp=sharing

The New Testament records miracles being performed by Jesus and His messengers. Can an educated person today believe that these are factual accounts--or are they really embellished tall-tales that stretch the truth too far? Find out in this episode! Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v4mmiC0AQa_NWlbuT3siIFlt34u_Z-m5loqLQyKBaw4/edit?usp=sharing

Many people throughout history have claimed to be messengers from God--sometimes with tragic results for the people who have followed them. Is there something that God has done to set apart His true messengers from false ones? Learn how miracles have proven the identity of God's true messengers. Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R8PVadeAn4puvv33iUwQ_aqPOfQnwz015tPsTm3mIPM/edit?usp=sharing

Skeptics may deny them, but you don't have to experience a miracle to know that they can happen. Since we know that God exists, we know He's really capable of acting in this world He created. Find out more in this episode. Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vLZF-cKbuRVnkBxsn3UMKCrD2NvtG-xHQUI2eBZ4XTM/edit?usp=sharing

There's a reason why atheism really isn't widely believed--it's because we can prove that God exists! God is real and He has made this fact obvious to us in a variety of ways--hear more about those ways on this episode of the podcast. Find a transcript in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SgQZaVK1ZMW6v4bdmhr7H66-NZwdbfpK5J8Pm59dC2M/edit?usp=sharing

Truth has a powerful implication--once you've found it, you know anything that contradicts it is false. Our society has a hard time handling it, but it's true--opposites cannot both be true! Find a transcript of the episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15qlZYoyQzJKfWVPEUN0aZgkE_oOnQ8Yr37z-_cubK7Y/edit?usp=sharing

The process of changing your beliefs is often slow--unfolding over a series of baby steps. Are there some small changes in thinking we can encourage unbelievers to make to guide them closer to Christ? Yes! In this episode, you'll hear about an undeniable truth that's just the first step to proving that the fullness of the Christian faith is true.  Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rf5z0ljyPmJERe8rwGvxtB5VHuBzPDCS5oWNIOwMEA8/edit?usp=sharing

What does it mean to have a "dead faith?" Is such a faith not really faith at all? Is it merely a claim to have saving faith without truly having it? Does James teach us a different way to get to Heaven than Paul? Listen in for Free Grace answers to these questions and more on this episode! Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xY9Sqf3oomLeP4rUF2b4M9aiSWE6DuJoTN0sVJgCdCI/edit?usp=sharing

Whenever Christians face ongoing struggles with sin, we have to reckon with the teaching of 1 John 3:4-10. But what exactly does this passage teach? Does it teach that a true believer cannot have a sinful habit? Gain some clarity on this passage in this episode of the podcast. Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WTclAhC1DN7LHEXiF-vSavyhlD-5PxlrfLgBJh514gs/edit?usp=sharing

Christ's metaphor of the Vine and the Branches should be a comforting yet challenging passage for believers. Yet it is often interpreted in a way that makes some believers doubt whether they're even saved! How should we understand this passage of Scripture? What are the problems with the Lordship Salvation understand of this text? Listen to find out. Find a transcript of the podcast on this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QWMCkgKO-r0u4g51qIERKh8CDBYsmHt1xfqNsM92JPk/edit?usp=sharing

"You will know them by their fruits." These words of Christ have often been presented as a principle that will show you who's saved--and who isn't! But is that what the Lord was talking about? Let's clear the air about a common--and significant--misinterpretation of Scripture. Find a transcript of this episode in this app or at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EYIKQ0UHwqeOHPTz8EmNT4OgOKAoyAmfUjauVriDV7A/edit?usp=sharing

Our health is more important to us than just about anything else. If we have good health, we can often feel very content; if we don't have good health, we'll do almost anything to get it. The Word of Faith Movement draws in many people with promises of healing, but are these promises based on truth?   Find a transcript of this episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HEOh0ilCanoc0GwujsP9f3BOyx5bikHyXjmdBMhJru4/edit?usp=sharing

Fewer promises are more enticing than the promise of easy money. People are taken in by that promise every which way--perhaps especially when they're told it's what God wants them to have! Word of Faith teachers claim that God wants each of us, as His children, to be wealthy. But this true? Listen in as this claim is examined and debunked. Find a transcript of this episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z8gXNPGtYVloJoBkwpfFLfwqfZMW_r0kBPBDDv8Oack/edit?usp=sharing

It's the stuff of our dreams--being able to change our circumstances with just the power of our words. But Word of Faith teachers tell us the dream is reality. By twisting the Scriptures, the Word of Faith movement holds out a false hope of changing your problems simply by speaking. Find out what they claim and how they distort the Scriptures in this episode. You can find a transcript of this episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rrVSGxWOfIN1ZtM6oS0IqetoyFhNuqpVaEVg4tCl6Zw/edit?usp=sharing

It was the first lie humans believed: You shall be like God. It's what we've wanted ever since, and the Word of Faith movement buys into this lie completely. Listen to hear more about "little gods" theology and how to untwist the twisted Scriptures that are used to support this idea. Find an unedited transcript of this podcast here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mHlOwVCWs35OQIoptpYnj18yDU43xntRdVGXtvaKGHM/edit?usp=sharing

Kenneth Hagin is the OG of Word of Faith teachers, but where did his ideas come from? Learn about E. W. Kenyon, the man who formed the bridge between the occult system of New Thought and the ministry of Kenneth Hagin. For the information in this episode, I'm indebted to the book "A Different Gospel" by D. R. McConnell.

Witchcraft, astrology, voodoo--and the Word of Faith Movement? Are these teachings really rooted in the same worldview? Yes! Listen in to discover the common ties.

You've probably heard of the Word of Faith Movement; perhaps you've even heard some concerns about it but weren't sure if it's really something to be concerned about. This new series will explain the core claims of the Word of Faith movement, critique its distortions of Scripture, and reveal how the movement got its start in the worldview of the occult. Listen on your favorite podcast channels.

Reality insists there is a God--but which God is it? Various religions claim to be the true revelation of the God who exists, so how can we make a case that Christianity is the true revelation? This episode will make that case by looking at the evidence for the Resurrection of Christ.

Reality shows the existence of God in many different ways--not the least of which is the existence of objective moral standards for humans. Only a God who created us could put us under such obligations! Listen in to this deep-dive on a moral argument for the existence of God.

We can know truth about reality, and as we observe the world around us, we find observations everywhere that point to the existence of God. This episode will briefly introduce the idea of making an argument for the existence of God along with 11 observations that have been used to make such an argument.

We often hear these days that you can have your "truth" while I have mine. But this claim is simply false--and we can prove it! Listen in as we start to become even more sure that Christianity is true.

All Protestants are proud to proclaim that forgiveness of sins is a free gift from God--but do some Protestants make this truth a little less clear than it should be? Listen in to find out more about the consistent presentation made by a system known as Free Grace theology.

The word "apologetics" makes it sound like you might be apologizing for something, but the reality is quite different. Apologetics is the art of defending the Christian faith against intellectual attack. Listen in to find out more about what apologetics is and why I love it so much!

The world has too many podcasts already--who needs another one? Anyone who wants to become more confident in their Christian faith! Listen in as Pastor Tim's nerdy mid-life crisis unfolds in real time!

To answer the Lord's high calling for our lives, we've got to be sure and secure Christians. This podcast will help you become just that!