Doug Enick's Podcast: Recent Episodes
Doug Enick
Unfortunately, new batteries didn't solve the problem...still gave out after about 10 minutes... :-/
Unfortunately, the battery on the recorder died and so the whole lesson wasn't recorded...
There are essentially four views regarding the proper way Christians should think about their interaction with the political order: separation, accommodation, bifurcation, and transformation.
In our first lesson, we discussed the principle of separation and showed that it rests on a faulty understanding of Scripture. In this lesson we discuss the principle of accommodation. This could also be called the way of adaptation or compromise. This is a perennial temptation for the people of God, to adapt the faith to the norms of their own culture.
This lesson was given during the Pastor's Sunday School class.
"The Electoral College is the procedural mechanism which the United States Constitution establishes for filling the office of president. In recent years, it has increasingly become a matter of controversy. Many on the political left are calling for it to be abolished...
My objectives today are to (1) explain how the electoral college system works, (2) explain the Framers’ rationale for the system, and (3) defend the system against calls to abolish it..."
You can access the lesson PowerPoint here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rkRn4axeAz3bBJtQG3VXP_U7oqmnA2cO/view
This message follows Romans 8:1-4, pt. 3 - "What the Law Could Not Do, God has Done" and precedes Romans 8:5-17 - "We Belong to Christ"
Our last message in Romans was October 22, so it's time for a review as we resume the series. And yes, we begin in Ephesians to set the stage.
Should Christians not celebrate Christmas?
For various reasons some Christians oppose the celebration of Christmas. Why? Some do so because the Bible doesn't command its celebration. Others do so because of its supposed pagan origins (the date of its celebration, some of the customs associated with its celebration, etc.). Still others oppose it, for other reasons (its commercialization, secularization, etc.). But one thing is clear: the birth of Jesus was celebrated at the time by both angels and men both in heaven and on earth.
I am greatly indebted to my friend and mentor, Rev. Steve Schlissel of Messiah's Congregation in Brooklyn, for many of the insights in this message.
In this chapter and the next we find one of the most prominent characters in the entire book. Except for the Lamb, who takes the central place in the book, more attention is paid to “Babylon the Great" (also called the "Great City") than to any other figure. To identify this figure, then, is to take a big step toward discovering the meaning of Revelation as a whole.
What are we to make of the frequently repeated claim that fascism is a feature of the political right? Is the accusation true? What is fascism? How did it originate? Are there political alignments in the U.S. today similar to fascism?
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When was Revelation written and why is it important?
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The structure of Revelation
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An exposition of 1:1-5
"He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (Eph. 1:4)
Racism is antithetical to Scripture, which teaches that everyone alike, regardless of color, sex, or social condition, is made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore to be treated with justice and kindness.
This lecture examines the many false "Biblical" justifications for racism while dealing with the claims of an influential 19th century book, "Bible Defence of Slavery", written in 1851 by Josiah Priest.
This is part 2 of my Sunday school series on "God and Government," taught November 1, 2020.
This is part 1 of a short series from the Pastor's Sunday school class, taught October 25, 2020.
This sermon was inspired by reading chapter one of Maurice Roberts’, The Thought of God (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1993), “The Thought of God,” pp. 3-8
In this passage, Paul addresses the concern the Philippians had for him in his imprisonment. Essentially, he tells them not to worry about him. And he gives several reasons. We find the first in verse 12. He says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel (v. 12). This is the most important thing for him. Not what happens to him personally, but how things fare with the gospel. Not what trials and difficulties he endures or what pains he suffers or even whether he lives or dies. The most important question is this, Is the gospel being advanced or is it being impeded by his imprisonment? This is the measure by which he assesses his circumstances. Not whether they are easy or difficult to bear, but what affect do they have on the advance of the gospel?
"A book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name" (Malachi 3:16)
God remembers the righteous. No one else in all the world outside a very small circle of family and friends may know anything at all about you. They don’t know your name; they don’t know what you do; they don’t even know that you exist; but you are known and loved by God, and he takes pleasure when you take pains to walk uprightly before him.
The essence of idolatry is to give the first place in our thoughts, affections, and decision-making process to anyone (or anything) other than God. It doesn’t matter whether the thing idolized is officially called a “god” or not. It’s the regard we have for it (and thus the influence it has over us) that matters. Whatever (or whoever) is loved, feared, trusted in, or obeyed more than God has, in effect, become an idol to us.
What we learn from Habakkuk in how God used the Babylonians is very instructive. It teaches us a great deal about God’s acts of providence in the rise and fall of nations through history.
The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that King Jesus has come and has begun to reign. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. His kingdom was decisively established at his first advent, is progressively established through history, and will be fully established at his second coming.
In reading Hosea, we’re reminded of what took place at Sinai: the marriage covenant between God and Israel. That’s where Israel became God’s wife, as it were. This way of characterizing the relationship is commonplace in the prophets. God is the provider and protector of Israel like a man is for his wife; and Israel is to be faithful to God as a woman is to be faithful to her husband. When Israel goes off to worship other gods, they are compared to an adulterous woman stepping out on her husband and violating her vows.
This is what we have in the book of Hosea. Hosea is speaking to Jehovah’s unfaithful wife. The whole book is about the pain God experienced over Israel’s adulterous behavior (i.e., worshiping other gods). Hosea himself will become an object lesson. The Lord orders him to marry a prostitute for illustrative purposes for all the world to see what it was like for God to have married Israel
The Lord again indicts his people for injustice, one of the primary sins for which he decreed the end of Israel. Previously, the focus was on injustice in the gate, i.e., in the judicial system--corrupt judges who took bribes and perverted justice. In this passage, the emphasis is on injustice in the marketplace--unscrupulous, dishonest business practices. Israel had failed to follow the law laid down in Deuteronomy:
"You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small . You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God" (Deut. 25:13-16).
It is not either/or proposition: either we preach personal redemption for the salvation of souls or we seek to establish justice in the gate. We can and we should seek to do both. If we love our neighbors, as God calls us to do, then of course we will want to see them treated fairly under the law, not taken advantage of, robbed, or killed. If we love them, we will want to see them both come to know the Lord for their eternal salvation and to enjoy the blessings of freedom, peace, and prosperity under the rule of law.
We want no part of either a false pietism that avoids addressing worldly concerns or a false “social gospel” that only address worldly concerns. It’s possible to err in either direction. Let’s err in neither. God shows himself to be deeply interested in people’s well-being in this life as well as in the next. We should be deeply interested in both, also.
We will continue to see the progressive defeat and rolling back of all the powers of darkness as the gospel is faithfully preached and lived out by God’s people, and as we implore him to bless the preaching of the gospel and make it effective through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paganism, false religion, irreligion, atheism, and indeed every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God will be taken captive to the obedience of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5-6).
"And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah doesn’t mean that the child to be born would literally be addressed by these names during his life on earth any more than he would be addressed by the name Immanuel (cf. 7:14). Indeed, we never find Jesus addressed by any of these names in the Gospels, nor should we expect to. What Isaiah means is that the child to be born would be worthy to be called by these names, that these names would be accurate descriptions of his being and character.
Jesus is Lord. This is not just a religious conviction that leads to salvation, though it is that; but it’s also more than that. It’s a confession of the most basic fact of reality. And it must be the first truth of political philosophy. Let presidents, senators, and legislators of all kinds; let judges and governors and mayors; let all those who hold office confess that Jesus is Lord; let them confess that the government rests upon his shoulder and that they are to be his humble representatives in the offices they hold.
Chastened and humbled, Jonah is recommissioned to preach to Nineveh, but is angered by the Lord's mercy toward them.
While still in the belly of the great fish, Jonah offers a faith-filled prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance from danger and death.
Jonah is called by God to go and preach to the city of Nineveh, the heart of the Assyrian Empire, Israel's formidable and brutal enemy.
The book of Jonah extols the great mercy of God and urges us as his people to desire mercy for others—evenour enemies.
The message of the Minor Prophets is amazingly relevant for modern times. They addressed the prominent issues of their day in ways that are very instructive for us today, because the issues themselves are still with us.
Nothing foils Satan’s schemes more effectively than a living, vibrant faith in God. But this faith doesn’t appear spontaneously in the human heart. Just as there is no spontaneous generation in nature, so there is no spontaneous generation of faith. Faith come through hearing the word of God.
One of the things we ought to admire most in God is his habit of taking what man intends for evil and using it instead for good (Gen. 45:5-8; 50:20; Rom. 8:28). On the other hand, one of the things we should most lament in man is his habit of doing just the opposite—taking what God intends for good and using it for evil (Ezek. 16:17-21; Hos. 2:8).
We begin this message by considering how sin makes us slaves, as Jesus said, "He who commits sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:34). And then we consider a number of miscellaneous temptations and sins, including a sense of entitlement, grievance, victimhood, self-pity, excuse-making, and discontent.
Satan's Schemes include attacking us at the point of our desires, inflaming them into uncontrollable urges. But with God's grace we can develop the virtue of self-control and resist the devil's assaults.
What is social justice? In this episode we identify several foundational assumptions of the social justice movement and examine their dangerous implications.
The devil's lie included the claim that Adam and Eve would become like God if they ate the forbidden fruit, but they became profoundly unlike him. God wants us to become like him, but on his terms and in his way, by faith and obedience, not be asserting moral autonomy.
The great success of the mission to the Gentiles brought with it a number of problems, including how believing Gentiles were to be incorporated into the body of God's covenant people. This passage records (1) the council's disavowal of those who insisted on the circumcision of the Gentiles and (2) its requirements for Gentile believers with respect to the sensitivities of their Jewish brothers..
Sin is destructive in two ways. First, it makes us guilty before God, so that we are under the sentence of condemnation. Second, it makes us unlovely people. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died and rose again to save us from both of these effects of sin. (Sound quality is poor the first 2 minutes, but be patient because it will be corrected.)
The decision of the Council of Jerusalem charted charted the future, not only of the church, but also of the world. It determined whether the gospel was only for the Jews--and those who became Jewish proselytes--or whether it was truly for people of all nations. At issue was the very nature of the gospel. Is the work of Christ alone sufficient to save, or must something be added to it? (Audio for the first two minutes is poor, but then it clears up.)
The kingdom of heaven expands, as many Jews, proselytes, and God-fearers come to believe.
We have seen the gradual expansion of the kingdom of heaven as the gospel has been received by Jews, by half-Jews (Samaritans), and by non-Jews (Gentiles). Among the non-Jews, we have seen the gospel received by proselytes and God-fearers. Now we find it received by a third subgroup: outright pagans (idol worshipers).
Paul and Barnabas begin their first missionary journey, sailing to Cyprus, confronting a false prophet, and leading the proconsul to faith in Christ.
The church at Antioch (the third largest city in the Roman Empire) will become the center of the missionary effort to reach the Gentiles with the gospel.
The book of Acts chronicles the movement of the gospel from Jews, to half-Jews, to non-Jews. In chapter 10, a huge step is taken with Peter preaching for the first time to the Gentiles. (Unfortunately, the first half of this message did not get recorded.)
"How can a man be in the right before God?" (Job 9:2) This is the question that plagued Martin Luther to the point of despair, and the question that everyone of us must ask for himself. "How can we who are sinful be acceptable in the eyes of a holy God?"
We are saved by Christ alone because he alone is sufficient to save us, his sufficiency deriving from his identity as God manifest in human flesh.