Facts. We like to think they can be taken for granted, but human feelings always seem to get in the way. Even in 1923, when J. Gresham Machen wrote Christianity and Liberalism, liberal theologians struggled to reconcile the history presented by scripture with their experience of that history as 20th century men and women. Although we like to think of ourselves as scientific and objective, we nevertheless remain subjectively biased, twisting beliefs like the resurrection or ascension of Christ to...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 11
One of Christianity Today’s “100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century”, J. Gresham Machen’s earnest case for true, biblical faith and communion in Jesus Christ has been read around the world for 100 years. Originally published in 1923, this new edition features a brand-new foreword by Kevin DeYoung and is issued with the hope and prayer that the next century will be celebrated as one of reformation and renewal for Christ’s church throughout the world.
Sep 07, 2023•57 min
The Bible. A divinely-inspired book so glorious and yet so debated these days that we decided to record another podcast on this essential topic. In 1820 Thomas Jefferson completed his redacted version of the Four Gospels he called “The Philosophy and Morals of Jesus.” Although it wasn’t published in his lifetime, “The Jefferson Bible” would become a popular example of an alarming trend in post-enlightenment hermeneutics: cutting and pasting with the Word of God. According to Jefferson and other ...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 10
One of Christianity Today ’s “100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century”, J. Gresham Machen’s earnest case for true, biblical faith and communion in Jesus Christ has been read around the world for 100 years. Originally published in 1923, this new edition features a brand-new foreword by Kevin DeYoung and is issued with the hope and prayer that the next century will be celebrated as one of reformation and renewal for Christ’s church throughout the world. The 100th Anniversary Edition of Chri...
Aug 24, 2023•1 min
Inspiration means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some it’s the thrill of creative expression, or motivation to accomplish something great. But in a biblical theological context, it has a very specific, very important meaning: that God is the author of the Bible. But for liberal theologians this doctrine—that the Bible is the reliable and sufficient source of God’s revelation to man—poses a problem. If we can trust the Bible, then we can trust what Jesus says about sin, about judgment, a...
Aug 17, 2023•47 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The Church. Few institutions are more unpopular or controversial these days than the Christian church. And, let’s face it, a lot of the time, even Christians don’t appear to like it very much. Every week it seems there’s a new scandal or debate splitting congregations. It can be tempting to think that maybe the church is obsolete, maybe we’d be better off going our own way. But there’s a tragic irony in that. Sometimes it’s lost on us that in the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus says “upon this roc...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 8
One of Christianity Today’s “100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century”, J. Gresham Machen’s earnest case for true, biblical faith and communion in Jesus Christ has been read around the world for 100 years. Originally published in 1923, this new edition features a brand-new foreword by Kevin DeYoung and is issued with the hope and prayer that the next century will be celebrated as one of reformation and renewal for Christ’s church throughout the world.
Aug 03, 2023•38 min
Losing is never fun. And it’s even less fun when the New York Times is paying attention. But by 1929 that’s what had happened. J. Gresham Machen had lost the fight against liberalism at Princeton seminary. Even after reading Machen’s warning in Christianity and Liberalism, the Presbyterian church voted to reorganize Princeton to allow liberal theology on faculty. That would’ve been the perfect time to pack it in. But for Machen the fight had never been about Princeton. True Christian doctrine co...
Jul 27, 2023•52 min
What’s in a name? In the past, when Christians talked about Jesus, it was safe to assume we were talking about the son of God become man who conquered death to save the lost. You know, the person the Bible’s about. But with the rise of liberal theology in the 19th and 20th centuries, that meaning began to change. At least for some people. Christ, liberal theologians said, might be better understood as an idea, a metaphor, or a good example, rather than the sinless supernatural savior who accompl...
Jul 20, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 6
In the 1980s the Southern Baptist Convention found itself at a crossroads. While many of its churches were faithfully teaching biblical Christianity, the seminaries where its pastors were trained had been immersed in theological liberalism for decades. In a lot of stories, this is where the split would occur. But this time something different happened. Instead of dividing, a group of courageous Christians decided to change the equation. They came up with an unprecedented plan to turn Southern Se...
Jul 13, 2023•57 min
One of Christianity Today’s “100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century”, J. Gresham Machen’s earnest case for true, biblical faith and communion in Jesus Christ has been read around the world for 100 years. Originally published in 1923, this new edition features a brand-new foreword by Kevin DeYoung and is issued with the hope and prayer that the next century will be celebrated as one of reformation and renewal for Christ’s church throughout the world. https://wtspress.com/products/christia...
Jul 06, 2023•37 min
On a cold winter’s day in 1921 pallbearers carried the body of one of the great theologians of the 19th and 20th centuries to a graveside in Princeton, New Jersey. Writing to his mother afterwards, J. Gresham Machen would remark that when they carried B. B. Warfield’s body out, that Old Princeton went with him. Old Princeton had been the primary seedbed for pastors and missionaries in the Presbyterian church, but now, more than 100 years from its founding, the roots of declension had taken hold ...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 3 min
What does it mean to be a human being created in the image of God? In the brave new world of today, that’s a loaded question. Modern culture in the West has affirmed a radical reinvention of the self that was barely imaginable when J. Gresham Machen wrote Christianity & Liberalism in 1923. Not only is LGBTQ ideology inescapable—in schools, books, movies, fashion, sports, even beer and car commercials. It has become a dogma of the mainstream. And yet, as radical as this seems, there are presc...
Jun 22, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 3
What does it mean to be a human being created in the image of God? In the brave new world of today, that’s a loaded question. Modern culture in the West has affirmed a radical reinvention of the self that was barely imaginable when J. Gresham Machen wrote Christianity & Liberalism in 1923. Not only is LGBTQ ideology inescapable—in schools, books, movies, fashion, sports, even beer and car commercials. It has become a dogma of the mainstream. And yet, as radical as this seems, there are presc...
Jun 15, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Arrested Development. In the 1990s, it was a hip hop group. In the early 2000s, it was a sitcom. But it’s a real psychological phenomenon that happens when, due to a variety of causes, a person or institution stops growing and ceases to thrive. And it’s a phrase J. Gresham Machen uses in his book Christianity & Liberalism to describe the consequences of a liberal theology. In the book, Machen is describing liberals who ridicule Christians for defending a defenseless cause. It’s like defendin...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In 1923, the church in the United States was in a crisis. Modernist theology born in pre-War Europe now gripped a country experiencing vibrant technological and societal change. America in the “Roaring Twenties” was booming. Fashion was changing. Music was faster, louder. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were astonishing moviegoers with impossible stunts. The cities were electric. Industry was booming. The country was three years into a progressive prohibition of hard liquor. For the first time...
Jun 06, 2023•3 min
In this episode, Westminster faculty discuss John Murray on Romans 12 , noting how worship of God puts us in the perfect place to follow the commands of God. The power of the Spirit enables us to lead a life commensurate with Christ, to whom we are united. This life is a life that glorifies God and enriches the church.
Dec 22, 2022•19 min•Season 2Ep. 10
In this episode, John Murray's exposition of Romans explores adoption in Christ and the full restoration and renewal of all things in him. Westminster faculty also dig into Romans 9 to explain Paul's teaching on God's unconditional, electing love and our justification through union with the person of Christ.
Dec 19, 2022•21 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode, Westminster faculty reflect on John Murray's passionate teaching on union with Christ and its pastoral comfort. Union with Christ brings real change in us and offers his personal presence in the midst of our suffering so that we can persevere with hope.
Dec 16, 2022•26 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode, Westminster faculty discuss John Murray's work on Romans 6 and how union with Christ changes everything. Being united to Christ defines not just our eternal destiny, but our very identity in the present. His work doesn't just forgive us of sin; it defeats the power of sin in our lives right now.
Dec 14, 2022•12 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Mark Garcia speaks passionately of John Murray's childlike joy in the gospel, even in darker passages such as Romans 5. Westminster faculty also talk about the importance of Christ's righteousness, shared by all those who are in union with him. https://wtspress.com/products/the-epistle-to-the-romans
Dec 02, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode, Westminster faculty discuss Murray's commentary on Romans 1. Following Geerhardus Vos, Murray points out the importance of what is called a "redemptive historical view" of Christ in Romans 1:1-7. In other words, Murray focuses on the humiliation of the Son of God as our human representative, whose exaltation crowns him with power. This helps us see that we follow in the same path: going through humiliation before receiving our exaltation with the risen Christ. The faculty also d...
Nov 28, 2022•27 min•Season 2Ep. 5
John Murray’s historic Romans commentary has been republished by Westminster Seminary Press. In this video, Westminster faculty passionately discuss and recall John Murray’s focus on the biblical text, tying this to how we do theology in faithful dependence on God’s Word. They show how Murray’s serious exegetical work produced a commentary that was both careful and devotional, giving pastors and Bible readers the gift of entering the text of Scripture with awe, joy, and certainty. Music Code: LD...
Nov 16, 2022•15 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans , one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary...
Nov 09, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans , one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary...
Nov 02, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans , one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary...
Oct 28, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In 1959, John Murray, a Scottish systematic theologian at Westminster Theological Seminary, published the first volume of his commentary on the book of Romans , one that John Piper would later call “the most beautiful commentary ever written.” In more than 60 years since it first appeared, Murray’s commentary has changed the way scores of pastors and teachers read and teach the Bible, helping to draw many readers and congregations into deeper communion with their savior. Now Westminster Seminary...
Oct 27, 2022•1 min
It’s a high calling to serve the people of God, and a hard one in today’s world. Pastors need wisdom, encouragement, and guidance to serve people living in the context of secularism. In The Pastor and the Modern World , they get exactly that. Three seasoned pastor-scholars―William Edgar, R. Kent Hughes, and Alfred Poirier―come to the aid of today’s pastor, bringing their experience to bear on cultural engagement, the craft of preaching, and the care of souls. How has secularism infiltrated cultu...
Oct 12, 2022•58 min
In Episode 3 of this companion series to the book The Pastor and the Modern World , host Peter A. Lillback and guests John Currie, K. Scott Oliphint, and Todd M. Rester discuss chapter 3: “Gregory of Nazianzus: The Pastor as Physician of Souls” by Alfred Poirier. Code: EVOQLSDDMVZ9RESC
Oct 10, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In Episode 2 of this companion series to the book The Pastor and the Modern World , host Peter A. Lillback and guests John Currie, K. Scott Oliphint, and Todd M. Rester discuss chapter 2: “The Heart of the Pastor and the Pulpit” by R. Kent Hughes. Code: EVOQLSDDMVZ9RESC
Oct 10, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 2
