Defending and Commending the Faith With Dr. Joe L. Mott, inviting the atheist, agnostic and skeptic to examine for themselves the evidence for the Christian faith

References: (1) Some will object that it’s extremely NARROW-MINDED for God to have only provided JUST ONE WAY to heaven. But, frankly, in light of mankind’s DEPRAVITY and REBELLION against God, it’s extremely BROAD-MINDED for GOD to provide us with ANY WAY to heaven at all. We deserve JUDGEMENT, but God gives us the WAY OF ESCAPE from judgment (1 Cor. 10:13) by sending His one-an...

References: (1) The Word of God is God’s means of offering us the salvation found in Christ, and faith as the means of accepting that salvation. Faith appropriates the work Christ accomplished. (2) Allow me to turn now to answer these questions: How can I guarantee my eternal destiny? How can I know FOR SURE that I am going to heaven? (3) we need to embrace THIS SIMPLE TRUTH — not ever...

References: (1) The apostle Paul explains justification this way: “Being JUSTIFIED freely by His GRACE through the REDEMPTION that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). (2) SANCTIFICATION is the SECOND MAJOR STAGE of salvation. To be sanctified is to be “set apart” from a PROFANE, SECULAR, and CARNAL use to a SACRED, RELIGIOUS, and SPIRITUAL use, to be consecrated WHOLLY to God...

(1) Sin’s effects are moral and spiritual bondage, guilt, death, and hell. James explained: “Each one is TEMPTED when he is DRAWN AWAY by his own DESIRES and ENTICED. Then, when desire has CONCEIVED, it gives birth to SIN; and sin, when it is FULL-GROWN, brings forth DEATH” (James 1:14-15). (2) Secondly, in the last episode I began a discussion of other names for salvation. The t...

References: (1) All sins can be placed into 2 broad categories: sins of COMMISSION, doing what we should not do, and sins of OMISSION, not doing what we should do. (2) God singled out 7 particular sins He HATES: “There are 6 things the Lord hates, yes, 7 are an ABOMINATION to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift i...

References: (1) But here is a VITAL POINT concerning our understanding of faith: we must never refer to FAITH as the CAUSE of our salvation, or of our righteousness. It is merely the INSTRUMENT, so to speak, by which we receive it. It is ONLY a CHANNEL through which the righteousness of Christ becomes ours. Faith does not SAVE us; salvation is THROUGH FAITH. The real cause of my justification is t...

References: (1) My question to you is: Are all these things concerning Jesus important to you? Has it changed ANYTHING about you? If not, I think you are FOOLING YOURSELF when you claim you are Christian. Let me emphasize it again: no CHANGE, no SALVATION. (2) “Romans Atonement and Justification” by David Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This is episode 177.

References: (1) The Bible teaches that God Himself has provided the ONLY means through which His WRATH against sin can be appeased and sinful man can be RECONCILED to Him. In the New Testament, the act of PROPITIATION always refers to the WORK of GOD and NOT to the GIFTS and SACRIFICES offered by MAN. (2) There is NO SERVICE, NO WORK OF CHARITY, NO SACRIFICE, NO GIFT, NO VOW that man can OFFER tha...

References: (1) “Knowing God” by J. I. Packer. (2) There is a pagan idea and a biblical idea of propitiation. (3) The words “propitiate” or “propitiation” in the Bible are NEVER USED of any act whereby man BRINGS God into a favorable attitude or gracious disposition. (4) Vine’s Expository Dictionary says: “Through the ‘propitiatory’ sacri...

References: (1) Dorothy Sayers has said that God underwent 3 great HUMILIATIONS in His effort to rescue the human race. The first was the Incarnation, when He took on the confines of a physical body. The second was the Cross when He suffered the ignominy of public execution. The third humiliation, Sayers suggested, is the church. In an awesome act of SELF-DENIAL, God entrusted His REPUTATION to or...

This is episode 173.

References: (1) “25 Basic Bible Studies” by Francis Schaeffer. (2) The ABC’s of salvation is that you must ADMIT you are a sinner; BELIEVE that Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient to save you, and that God raised Jesus from the dead, and CONFESS Jesus as your Lord meaning He is enough to guide you throughout your life. (3) “Handbook of Christian Apologetics&rdqu...

References: (1) In the book “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek lists10 non-biblical writers all who record facts of Jesus’ life. (2) Bart Ehrman. (3) “The Verdict of History” by Gary Habermas. (4) Norman Geisler, of whom I have immense respect, says that this book “The Verdict of History” “takes the s...

References: (1)”Evidence and Truth” by Robert J. Morgan. (2) There are 2 books entitled “The Incomparable Christ”: one by J. Oswald Sanders, the general director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship in the 1950s, and one by John Stott, the pastor of All Souls Church in London, England. (3) Rather than attempt to summarize these books, I chose to report salient comments from an...

References: (1) A. T. Pierson observed that Jesus taught the Scriptures as if He were its AUTHOR rather than its COMMENTATOR. (2) In 1 John 5:11-13 the apostle writes: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” This is not an “iffy...

References: (1) “Introducing Christian Doctrine” by Millard Erickson. (2) Jesus’ answer to the high priest is as CLEAR an INDICATION of Jesus’ deity as can be found in the Gospels. (3) Not only did Jesus not DISPUTE the charge that He claimed to be divine, but He also accepted the attribution of deity given to Him by His disciples. (4) Here was an excellent opportunity for...

References: (1) “What the Qur’an Really Teaches about Jesus” by James K. Walker. (2) The gospel of John begins with the first 18 verses of chapter 1 that sets forth the theme of the entire gospel. (3) There is one significant event where the title Son of Man resulted in Jesus being condemned to death. In Mark 14:61-64, Jesus is on TRIAL for His life before the Sanhedrin. (4) Some...

References: (1) 1 Cor. 15 is a key chapter in the Bible on the resurrection. Verses 3-8 give the 4 basic points for the proclamation of the gospel: (1) Christ died for our SINS. (2) He was BURIED PROVING that He was dead. (3) He rose from the dead. (4) And He APPEARED ALIVE to many eyewitnesses PROVING He did rise from the dead. (2) In the book Handbook of Christian Apologetics Peter Kreeft and Ro...

References: (1) William Lane Craig’s ARGUMENT FOR the historicity of the resurrection. (2) In 1 Cor. 15:3-8 the apostle Paul provides a list of EYEWITNESSES of the resurrection. (3) I call attention to the writings of Paul regarding the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians is generally considered to be the earliest epistle of Paul. It was written in the year 50-51 AD. It relates that Jesus Christ w...

References: (1) Nothing like the resurrection is claimed by any other founder of a religion, and no miracle has as much historical evidence to confirm it. (2) Dan. 9:25-27 tells us much about the time when the Messiah will be “cut off.” I think that refers to His death. (3) The meaning of “weeks” can refer to any period of 7. It is generally accepted that it should be inter...

References: (1) According to the Qur’an, the holy book for Islam, “they SLEW Him NOT nor CRUCIFIED Him, but it APPEARED so unto them.” (2) Michael Baigent claims Mark uses the Greek word soma for body which he believes means a “living body,” and NOT a CORPSE. Furthermore, Baigent concludes “Jesus’ SURVIVAL is revealed right there in the Gospel account&rdqu...

References: (1) Douglas Groothuis in his book “Christian Apologetics” states that Islam’s argument for abrogation is rooted in 5 major claims against Christianity. The claims are: first, the Bible has been distorted; second, Jesus was not crucified; third, Jesus is not divine; fourth, God is not triune; and fifth, Jesus was only a prophet of Islam. (2) Islam DENIES that Jesus is...

References: (1) In the 18th century, influenced by the Age of the Enlightenment, a number of scholars began questioning the reliability of the 4 Gospel accounts in the NT concerning Jesus’ life, deeds, and purposes. (2) FICTION 1. The gospel accounts in the NT regarding Jesus CANNOT BE TRUSTED because these records were written perhaps as LATE as the end of the second century or LATER. (3) &...

References: (1) In “The Worlds Great Religions,”Huston Smith says Jesus is the ONLY LEADER of a major world religion who claimed to be DIVINE. (2) We can say unequivocally, Jesus claimed to be God. (3) Contrary to the common notion that there are many roads to heaven, the book “Not All Roads Lead to Heaven” by Robert Jeffress, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, implies the...

References: (1) Since the first century Jesus Christ has been the DOMINANT FIGURE in Western culture. But more than that Jesus is the CENTER of history. A large portion of the human race continues to divide history into BC and AD by reference to His birth. (2) “To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus” by Norman Geisler. (3) The DEITY of the person of Jesus is the foundation of Christian...