Know.Believe.Defend Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jonathan
Helping people to know that Christianity is true so they can stand firm in their belief and defend against challenges. Check out Ratio Christi's website at www.ratiochristi.co.za
In this episode I'm joined by Karnu van Heerden and we'll be discussing another question Jesus was asked. Matthew 22 gives us the account of the Pharisees teaming up with the Herodians to try and trap Jesus by asking him an extremely loaded question—is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar? Listen to how Jesus interacts with them and the answer he gives them left them amazed.
We are starting the sixth season with this episode, looking at some of the questions people asked Jesus in the Gospels. In this episode we'll take a look at a really important question a guy asked Jesus in Mark 10—What must I do to receive eternal life?
People often make resolutions as a new year rolls in. A worthy resolution to make and stick to this year is to become more like Christ. When Jesus walked this earth, he was the perfect example of how we were meant to live our lives, and as believers we should be striving to follow in his footsteps, to be true disciples of him.
God’s salvation plan is to undo everything that sin has done to taint this world. The opening statement of the Bible is “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” and near the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation God declares: “Look, I am making everything new”
Those who choose to trust in Jesus and follow him become part of the Church. What does being part of the Church look like? In this episode we look at three characteristics of the early church that is still applicable to the Church today.
Psalm 1 and 2 are closely related and someone once described them as standing together like a double doorway into the book of Psalms. In this episode we have a look at Psalm 2 and how ultimately both these Psalms find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 1 gives you this stark contrast, two ways to life your life that lead to two very different ends. Blessed are the righteous who will prosper or cursed are the wicked who will perish.
“Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations . . ."
Jesus entrusted his disciples and all those who follow him with a very important work. They were to take Jesus’ message and spread it throughout the earth. They were to make more disciples who would in turn make more disciples and this will continue until Jesus comes again.
Understanding the account of Jesus is vital, but simply understanding the account is not sufficient. It is not enough to just gain information about Jesus—you must respond to it. The good news of Jesus’s death and resurrection requires something of us. Jesus still calls people to follow him—he calls you and me to follow him, no matter what the cost. Jesus’s death and resurrection gives us assurance of the salvation he offers.
How will you respond?
Why was a new covenant promised? What was the problem with the old covenant? In this episode we will explore God's promise of a new covenant and what that meant for Israel and the world.
God wanted His people to listen to His instruction and live a life of obedience to Him. But they didn’t trust in Him, they were stubborn and continued to rebel. Despite God sending His prophets to warn His people they would not heed their warnings. In essence they themselves chose exile. God was true to His word and had to punish them for their rebellion. Even in exile God was still working out His plan of salvation.
After the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden the way in which people experienced God’s presence changed. What God did through king David as the king of Israel served as a pointer to what He would do through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came preaching “the gospel of God,” saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15)
Understanding the day of Atonement and the sacrificial system of the Old Testament helps us in seeing the magnitude of what Jesus did when he willingly offered himself to die on a cross.
Jesus says in John 15:10-11, “If your keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
God warned Abraham that his descendants would be in captivity for a period. As history shows, God set His people free from their harsh Egyptian masters in a miraculous way through the exodus. God displayed His power to save them and kept His covenant with Abraham.
Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young person keep their life pure? By living according to your word.” This is an extremely important starting point. God has given us His word and in it we learn what it means to live God’s way. But the Bible is not just an ancient book of moral wisdom or a code of conduct to live by. Hebrews says, “The word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than any sword that has two edges. It cuts deep enough to separate soul from spirit. It can separate bones from joints. It judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart. Nothing God created is hidden from him. His eyes see everything. He will hold us responsible for everything we do.”
The LORD chose a man by the name of Abram who later was known as Abraham and made a covenant with him. The promise to Abraham was that God would make him into a great nation, that his name would be made great and that he will be blessed in order that “all nations on earth will be blessed because of him.” The blessing that the nations would experience would only be realised fully when Jesus Christ, the ultimate descendent of Abraham, would arrive.
On our journey to holiness we all have this struggle with sin. Even in someone like Paul the struggle is real. He writes in his letter to the Romans, “I don’t do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don’t want to do.” I’m sure all of us can relate to this, there seems to be this constant battle between living in obedience to God and going our own way.
In the first two chapters of Genesis we get this picture of earth as a paradise. This is how God wanted the world to be. All is good. There is no sorrow, death, pain and no sin. There is perfect fellowship with God and with one another. However, moving from Genesis 2 to Genesis 3, the story takes a terrible turn for the worse. This tragedy that is described in Genesis 3 is known as “the fall” and it has affected each one of us ever since.
In the second episode of the sermon series "The Journey To Holiness" we look at the holiness of God. Understanding the holiness of God is key to understanding holiness in our own lives. God is separated from everything else, completely unique and infinitely valuable.
This is the start of the fifth season and in this season we are going to have a look at God’s Salvation plan as we see it play out in the Bible. In this episode we will look at the very start of the biblical story and see the world was intended to be.
This is the first episode in a sermon series "The Journey To Holiness." Being a Christian is about following Jesus day in and day out. It is not a once off prayer we make to get our ticket into heaven. Our hearts and minds need to be continually transformed by Jesus as we journey to holiness.
The link to the John Lennox video mentioned in the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBtaTckF0G4
Our hope is found in the Lord. During difficult times and times of great uncertainty, he is who we can cling to. The Lord has done so much for us, saving us out of darkness. Let us remember to stand firm on him.
The epistles are among the most familiar genre within the Bible and generally they appear to be easy to understand and interpret. But the so called ease of interpreting the epistles can be quite deceptive. In this final episode of the season we look at some practical steps to take when reading the epistles.
Luke picks up where he left off from his gospel with what happened after Jesus ascended. The book is written as a narrative so the many of the same principles would apply as the ones we looked at for Old Testament narratives.
Luke records how the gospel went out, empowered by the Holy Spirit and results in changed lives and changed communities. This is God’s purpose for the church today - the forward moving growth of the gospel empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The four gospels are ancient biographies about Jesus. They were not written by Jesus. Gospel means the good news, so then the question is good news about what? In the first chapter of Mark’s gospel verse 14-15 says, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee. He preached the good news of God.The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Turn away from your sins and believe the good news!”
The good news is that the kingdom of God has come. The arrival of King Jesus is very good news indeed, even though it doesn’t play out as everyone expected it to.
The books of prophecy are usually divided into the major prophets and minor prophets. The prophet was the messenger of God sent to the people of God to call them back to the covenant relationship with God.
One of the books that are grouped together with the poetry books in the Old Testament is Psalms. Psalms are an amazing collection of prayers and hymns and probably the best loved portion of the Old Testament. Psalms are intended to appeal to the emotions and to evoke feelings that a straight forward proposition doesn’t do.
The Bible is written in various styles so it is important to know how to read the different styles so that we can get a good understanding of what is being conveyed. In this episode we’ll be talking a bit about Hebrew poetry.
The single most common type of literature in the Bible is narrative. Around 40 % of the Old Testament is narrative. The Old Testament narratives were written by people inspired by the Holy Spirit to give a historic account of the Hebrew people, but were ultimately about God and how He has been working in history.
Everyone reads the Bible as an interpreter, because when we read the Bible we come with our own experiences, culture, and prior understanding of words and ideas. The question is not whether we should interpret or not, but rather how to interpret.
On the one hand the Bible is God’s message, it has eternal relevance. On the other hand God’s message was written down by human words in history. So when we talk about interpreting the Bible we need to consider both these things very carefully.
In this final episode of season 3 we look at "Everyone Has A Part To Play". As followers of Jesus, we need each other. To encourage one another, to help each other, to hold each other accountable. The amazing thing about being a Christian is the incredible connection we have with one another, no matter what culture we are from, or language we speak, or denomination we belong to, whether we are rich or poor, young or old, male or female, we all are saved by this amazing grace and become God’s children.
Just before Paul ends his letter to the Colossians he gives the instruction to give a lot of time and effort to prayer. As followers of Christ, prayer is a really important part of our lives. Do our lives really reflect that? Are we giving a lot of time and effort to prayer?
When you become a follower of Christ, everything changes right down to our relationships with each other. Colossians 3:18-4:1 is a really challenging passage, but one we need to work through and grow in.
The next section in Pauls letter to the Colossians is 3:12-17. The new life we have in Christ means that we are his ambassadors here on earth. As we strive to follow Jesus, our lives should be filled with mercy, kindness, humility, being gentle and patient, putting up with one another, forgiving one another, and the thing that holds them all together is love.
As Christians we have been raised up with Christ. This means we have new life in him. What should we do with this new life we have in Christ . . . live it for him.
Keep on living your lives in Jesus Christ. It is a continual thing throughout your life. How do we do this? By having our roots in him, by building ourselves up in him. By growing strong in what we believe.
Part 3 in the series on Colossians. Paul's mission to spread the good news of what Jesus has done was not always plain sailing, but that never stopped him. What would you be prepared to give up for the gospel?
In this second part in the series on Paul's letter to the Colossians, we see how Paul paints this amazing picture of who Jesus is.
A high priority for Christians should be to pray for one another. Paul was all about building the kingdom of God and he knew that prayer was a big part of that.
Despite the start to this new year, there is great cause to praise God’s name and to give Him thanks for what He has done.
The gospel has had a major impact on society. In this episode we will look at how it has impacted how we should treat women, children and those who are sick and in need.
The gospel had an impact from the very beginning. A group of unlikely people took the good news into the world and the gospel has continued to impact people's lives and transform communities.
How has the gospel impacted people's lives? In this episode I interview Rebekah Howe who has suffered with a disease and we discuss how the gospel has impacted her life. You can also watch her video testimony entitled Shaped by Suffering on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNwvHbBCCQ8&t=4s
In this final episode of the first season we will look at whether good people can get to heaven.
If God knew human beings would rebel against Him, and this world be filled with so much pain and suffering, why would He create at all? In this episode we will unpack this question a bit.
Last week Thursday I interviewed Dr Craig and Dr Medine Keener for Ratio Christi South Africa's YouTube channel. Dr Craig wrote a book called Black Man's Religion, exploring among other things Christianity's rich history in Africa. This is the first part of the interview
Giving our children and young people a solid foundation on the truth of God’s Word is vital. They need to be able to know what it really means to be a Christian, a follower of Christ.
Faith is not a blind act of will, it is a trust in what we have reason to believe is true.
A worldview is like a mental map we use to navigate reality. We all have a set of beliefs that help us interpret and live in reality. A critical question is how accurate is your mental map of reality?
By its very nature religions make specific claims about God, the world and us. These claims are either true or false. Christianity claims that Jesus is the only way to get to God. Isn't this arrogant and intolerant?
Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus rising from the dead an event in history or is it some religious fairytale?
Is the Bible the stuff of legend or is it an accurate account? In this episode we will look at whether we can trust the Bible.
Are there reasons to believe God exists? In this episode we will look at some cosmological clues that point us to God.
Today we will be discussing what is truth and how we can discover if something is true.
Welcome to the first Know.Believe.Defend podcast. Understanding why you believe Christianity is really important. I will share some of my experiences that have really highlighted this.