The Factory Reset: Recent Episodes
Thomas Holmes
When a cell phone has too many apps, it becomes inefficient. If you want it to run well again, you may consider giving it a "factory reset."
Christianity has generally evolved into something irreconcilable with the movement Jesus ignited. We learn doctrines and ways of thinking and living that would've seemed strange and dangerous to the early church. And so we don't become the kind of disciples Jesus produced. Let's do a "factory reset."
Let's recover the message that went out from Jerusalem in the first century.
CONTACT: tommyalbinholmes@gmail.com / 207.749.1442
Simply a reading of the books of Jonah. One of the greatest stories of God's grace, patience, and gentleness.
What is the right thing to do in this difficult case? Should someone remain in a second marriage while their first spouse is alive, or come out of it?
A children's story that will help prepare them for life as a follower of Jesus. In keeping with Jesus’ teachings, this book is not copyrighted and may be used freely without restriction and without any threat of legal action.
No. It is not. Rather, it is a powerful confirmation of the permanence of marriage until death.
What did Matthew actually write in the original Matthew 19:9? We can't know for sure. THANKS TO BRETT HANCOCK FOR GETTING HOLD OF THIS INFORMATION.
Pretty clear... If all we had was these three texts from Jesus, divorce and remarriage would be out of the question.
Jesus's words on divorce and remarriage are going to be costly for a lot of us. But before we get into that, let's remember the treasure God is so we have the strength to be objective.
What did Paul mean in Romans 13? How does it apply to Christians? And what about really awful crimes against humanity?
If the apostles had taught the veneration of icons as an essential part of the Christian faith, something we need to believe in to be part of the church, something worth excommunicating people over... Then we should see at least some archaeological evidence of this . But there's no early Christian as far as we can tell before about 200 AD. How can this be? Is it really because of poverty and persecution that the early church did not make art or icons?
Just as Just War Theory and Calvinistic theology cannot be found in the teaching of the church prior to the 4th century, so it is with the practice of icon veneration. If you want to find support for this practice in the teaching of the church, you'll only find it from the mid to late 4th century onward. You can't trace it to the apostles.
In light of these three facts, the Orthodox / Catholic practice of venerating icons cannot be of apostolic origin. It is not the faith of the apostles.
Why did the early Christian point to the lines of succession in the first place? Was it to say that there is INHERENT authority in those lines?
Reading what the early Christians said about apostolic succession apart from its original context is dangerous. And that is what I believe many Catholics and Orthodox Christians may be doing. This can lead to applying apostolic succession in a way the early Christians did not intend.
What in the world turned Paul into this kind of person? Should it be any different for us?
Do it... Tear that governor out of there and be like Mary. Change your life like she did. We can do it if we will just let Jesus's words do their intended work in our lives.
Catholics and Orthodox Christians each claim to be part of God's "one true church." One of the main pillars in their case is the apostolic succession they can point to (a line of succession of bishops going all the way back to the apostles). This is a powerful idea. Is there something to it?
Is the imputed righteousness of Christ biblical? (This is the audio for a YouTube video)
Have you ever wondered why you can't seem to live the way the New Testament says to live? This may be your problem.
Does the church in the book of Acts give us the same kind of example we get from our pastors today? Or did they set the same kind of example Jes
Jesus says not to resist evildoers. Does he mean not to resist ONLY if someone punches or slaps us, or if someone sues us? Does the principle of non-resistance only apply in the specific examples Jesus gives us in Matthew 5 and Luke 6? Or does this principle of non-resistance apply to life-threatening violence or serious abuse, as well as a variety of other possible situations we could find ourselves in which Jesus does not explicitly mention in these passages?
Is it okay to fight or kill people in some circumstances as Christians... as long as we love them in our hearts? Is that all Jesus meant? No. As appealing as that interpretation may be and as plausible as it may sound to many of us, that is not what Jesus taught.
There are only two issues Jesus gave a lot of attention to in both of his most important gospel presentations...
What if we apply some basic foundational principles Jesus and the apostles taught to all of life? Will it bring us to a position of gospel nonviolence? Or will it bring us to the same basic position most of the world has come to - "get them before they get us"?
The story of Jesus cleansing the temple is the only one we can point to in which Jesus did something you could call violent, depending on how you define "violence." Is there anything here professing Christians can use to justify going to war or injuring or killing in self defense? Let's see...
What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? It means not only that we live as he told us to live, but that we live as he lived. So let's looks at what Jesus actually did.
When the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, it did not do much to bother the kingdom of darkness. In fact, it was a victory for Satan and his armies. But when Jesus died praying for the people who were slaughtering him even though he could have easily destroyed them all, he was like a nuclear weapon going off right in the middle of Enemy territory. We can be like that, too, if we're willing to fight against evil like our Master did. His ways are not like our ways.
Are we willing to respond to Jesus on this issue? Will God's miracle happen in our lives? The door to the kingdom is open to us rich people. But are we going to walk through...
Refraining from accumulation of wealth will make you different, even in most churches. Selling possessions and giving to the poor is even more of an offense to this world. And the principle that comes out of Jesus' teaching and example for how to use our resources...That's going to make life more interesting yet. Do not invest in a nice life here on earth. But invest in the heavenly country that God will bring down here one day.
Jesus told us not to do what many of us are currently doing. Do we have the faith to stop, give it up, and trust our Father to keep his promise? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all that you need (not want) will be provided for you.
Jesus urges us to use the resources we have in the right way - to help others so that we will be welcomed into an eternal dwelling one day. He also warns us of what will happen if we choose to live in self-indulgence. May God help us wealthy believers in the U.S. to listen to Jesus carefully and to act while we have the chance.
There are a few patches of mild background noise. It only lasts for a few minutes.
If we are going to follow Jesus like the scriptures say to, we need to let down our defenses and stop trying to protect ourselves from what he says.
Thank you for listening. May God bless you and guide you along the only path that leads to his Kingdom.
When Jesus said he had come to fulfill the Law, did he mean he was taking away law? That there is no law for the New Covenant?
No. That is not what Jesus meant. Please consider what you'll hear in this episode. Please consider the implications if the early Christians were correct about what it meant for Jesus to "fulfill" the Law...
This episode covers the first of four dangerous ideas that contribute to a casual response to Jesus and what he commanded. If we have the wrong gospel, we're not going to get the right results.
May God help us to recover the true heart of the gospel and the implications for our lives. When we do, we'll begin to understand why the early believers had such a radical response to Jesus.
Reading the words of Jesus without any church background or theological training, one get's the impression that his commandments are of central importance to being a Christian. Yet, this is not the case in most of our churches today. Jesus's commands are often peripheral at best. We're often paranoid of "works-righteousness" or of "legalism." The idea of trying to keep Jesus' commandments seems like mechanical rule keeping to many evangelicals. But it was considered absolutely essential to the church of the apostles.
Something has gone very wrong. What happened to us?
Please listen with an open mind. Let's rediscover the royal law that went out from Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. A beautiful law that set the church apart from the world around them.
Protestant evangelicals generally read the New Testament through the lens of Luther and Calvin. That lens comes with certain theological assumptions and commitments. What happens if we try to put that lens aside and read it through the lens Jesus provides - the Jesus Glasses?
If we read it that way, we'll begin to understand why the apostles and their disciples were generally so much more serious about all of this than we tend to be.
Please listen with an open mind.
Many of us have been taught to think of salvation as something Jesus does for us that we do not contribute to. He made a legal transaction for us. We can simply accept it.
But Jesus describes a saving relationship, not a saving legal transaction. And relationships are conditional by nature. We are actually going to have to contribute to our relationship with Jesus if it is going to last. We do not deserve to have a saving relationship with him. But once we have one, there are conditions for remaining in it. Hence, the many warnings throughout the gospels and epistles which are addressed to true believers.
May God help us put aside the Protestant salvation message and recover the teaching of our King. Let's learn to think and talk like him so that we can become the kind of disciples he produced.
Many of us have been told that salvation is simply a matter of trusting in a legal transaction Jesus made for us. Yes, there is a process of sanctification that we go through. But it's an incredibly slow process. And besides, it's not about what we do, but what Jesus has done for us. Right?
Jesus doesn't think that way about salvation at all. His message is far more exciting, far more sobering, and far more costly. If we will drop the false gospel of Protestantism and recover the gospel of Jesus and his apostles, our lives are going to be changed in the kind of way you read about in the scriptures. Making that transition is both exciting and uncomfortable.
Are we ready to pick up a cross of our own and walk the path Jesus carved out for us? It's the only path that leads to his kingdom.