Reconnect 20. Answering Listerners’ Questions

Andy brings Reconnect listeners’ and Contradict Movement members’ questions to the show to answer them with George and Wes. 

Reconnect Episode 20
1:53 – Responding to the claim that the Gospel of Barnabus is the true Bible that prophesies that Muhammad will be the Messiah.

16:47 – Does Contradict Movement espouse the doctrines of  “Lordship Salvation”?

24:07 – Responding to a post made by Mena Lee Grebin of Faithful Walk Healing Ministry.  She advocates that we must work to maintain our relationship with Jesus.  A Contradict follower, Nick, thinks Mena’s post is inserting our works into our salvation by her post.  In particular Nick wants to know the meaning of the Parable of the Ten Virgins which Mena uses in her post, which we read in full and respond to in its entirety.

46:25 – If we are following Christ, why are we still cursed?

49:50 – Does God’s standards apply to our everyday life or just spiritual life?

51:25 – Feedback from Kurt Calloway on Reconnect Episode 15!

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Reconnect 19. How Do I Know I Am A Christian?

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Reconnect Episode 19

Who is a Christian?  How do you become a Christian?  And how do you know for sure that you are a Christian?

If one is really a Christian, that person is really saved!

But how would you know for sure that you really are a Christian and that you really are saved?

In other words, where do you look for assurance that you are a Christian, that you are saved from eternal death?

Kevin DeYoung wrote an article for The Gospel Coalition entitled, “How Do I Know That I’m A Christian?”  He gave three signs that a person can use to have confidence that he or she is saved:

1. The first sign is theological. You should have confidence if you believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

2.  The second sign is moral. You should have confidence if you live a righteous life.

3.  The third sign is social. You should have confidence if you love other Christians.

Andy, George, and Wes discuss these three signs that DeYoung offers by using verses from 1 John that should serve to give us confidence and not condemnation.

All three of us disagree with DeYoung on the moral and social signs.  We say that using such signs will only lead us to despair and utter lack of assurance of salvation.  Turning inwards to our own morality and not outwards to the work of Christ for assurance of salvation can dangerously strip Christians of certainty that they are saved, lead to a distortion of the Gospel, and lead many into Christian legalism.  This is a dangerous road and we do our best to explain why we should not use these as signs that we are saved by looking at the Scripture verses DeYoung cites in his article.

Additional Show Link: “Sola Fide: Luther and Calvin” by Philip Cary

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Reconnect 18. Evangelism through Publishing a Christian Newspaper

Few places have a local Christian newspaper.  Starting a Christian newspaper can be a very challenging yet rewarding ministry and hobby that can bring glory to the Lord in your local area. Chris Thompson started Life in His Hands Christian Newspaper from scratch.  He shares why he did it and how he did it. He shares two things he recommends everyone to do if starting a paper and two things not to do. He shares the price of printing his paper, distribution tips, and so much more. Potentially, you could even use Chris’ layout for his paper and just update a few sections with local ads and replace a few of the local articles each week.  Maybe you are a writer, maybe you are a communications and media expert, maybe you are a graphic artist, maybe you are good at advertising and producing and sharing a product. Maybe this episode is intended for you.

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Reconnect Episode 18Show Links

Life in His Hands Homepage

PDF of issue of Life in His Hands mentioned on show concerning the deaf community in the Inland Empire

Listen to Chris preaching in the park at the sermon series he mentioned near the end of the show

Additional Link: Chris and Andy Talk Tolerance

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Reconnect 17. Sharing the Gospel when Defending the Faith

Episode 17
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Reconnect Episode 17
We should be evangelists first and apologists second.  When defending the Christian faith, we should always strive to incorporate the Gospel into our defense.  Why should we do this?  How can we do this?  Andy gives a brief explanation at the start of this episode, before reading an excerpt from his book Contradict – They Can’t All be True to answer these questions, before running these concepts through in practice on Cross Defense, a radio show hosted by Rod Zwonitzer  on KFUO out of St. Louis, Missouri!  Enjoy.

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Reconnect 16. Building Bridges

Click here to listen to Episode 16 – “Building Bridges”.
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Reconnect Episode 16Andy interviews Ken Chitwood about his article, “Building Bridges: Toward Constructing a Christian Foundation for Inter-Religious Relationships in the Shift from Religious Privilege to Spiritual Plurality”.  The key points for inter-religious dialog that Ken suggests are: pay attention, find, and form, friendships, listen and learn, dine, dialog, and do together, discern, and witness to the worldview.

Click here to listen to Episode 16 – “Building Bridges”!

Andy has written an article with a similar theme for Reformation 21: Embracing Religious Contradictions to Proclaim Christ Crucified: Tolerance and Coexistence

Click here for Ken’s website, blog, contact, and more!
Order a copy of Andy Wrasman’s book, Contradict – They Can’t All Be True.

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