Restitutio Classes

In this the second part of our parenting seminar, we will broach the topic of disciplining children.  For many of us, this is the hardest part of parenting.  We’d rather enjoy harmony in our homes rather than having to lay down the law.  Even so, the scriptures call us to do the hard work of Read more about 326 Parenting 2 – Disciplining Children (Russell & Joelle Brown) […]

For many of us during this COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine has been difficult.  A huge number of us are working from home and those of us with children are home schooling as well.  Add to that cold and rainy spring weather, and you’ve got a perfect storm for challenging parenting.  In an effort to help out, Read more about 325 Parenting 1 – Preparing Our Kids for the Road (Sean Finnegan)...

This is the sixth and final part of Joshua Anderson’s Announcing the Kingdom evangelism class. In this panel discussion Josh Anderson, Jerry Wierwille, and I discuss several issues before taking questions from the audience.  Questions we cover include: How can we develop relationships with non-Christians? How should we handle rejection? What should we say when Read more about 320 Evangelism Panel...

We are living in an unprecedented time. As many of you know, I live in New York, the state with the most positive coronavirus cases in America. In my lifetime, I have never seen a disease spread like this all around the world. This pandemic is taking lives every day even if most of us Read more about 319 How To Get Better at Evangelism (Josh Anderson) […]

This is part four of Joshua Anderson’s Announcing the Kingdom evangelism class.  Francis of Assisi allegedly said, “Preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary.”  Sadly, many of us have taken this way of thinking as an excuse to remain silent.  However, as Anderson points out, the scriptures specifically call us to open Read more about 318 Building Relational Credibility (Jo...

This is part three of Joshua Anderson’s Announcing the Kingdom evangelism class.  In the previous teaching we learned what evangelism is not as well as some ineffective methods to avoid.  Today, we’ll hear about what evangelism is and one key to sharing your faith more effectively. Anderson also explains the history of how our culture Read more about 317 What Evangelism Is (Josh Anders...

Today we are gong to hear part two of Joshua Anderson’s Announcing the Kingdom evangelism class.  His topic is “What Evangelism Is Not.”  Evangelism is not forcing a decision, converting people, condemning people’s sins, or arguing endlessly.  This material is critical for us to grasp so we don’t get frustrated or stuck in ineffective methods.  Read more about 316 Wha...

How do you feel about evangelism?  Do you have a heart for the lost?  I know that for me, sharing my faith is pretty challenging, not because of a lack of commitment or a lack of knowledge, but because my culture makes it difficult.  And that stinks, because I want to be faithful to Jesus Read more about 315 Why We Hate Evangelism and Why We Aren’t Doing It (Josh Anderson) […]

In our last episode, we laid the theological foundation for a new covenant doctrine: Christ fulfilled the Law and ratified the new covenant, which opened a new way of relating to God apart from obedience to Torah.  Now we will discuss a number of texts that sometimes confuse Christians into thinking the Law is still Read more about Theology 24 — Challenging the New Covenant […]

We are now in our second-to-last episode in this 24-part theology class, covering the major biblical doctrines as well as various counterarguments.  Today we will focus our time on the New Covenant.  We’ll make our way through biblical history in order to understand the grand sweep of the bible, paying special attention to the old Read more about Theology 23 — New Covenant […]

Pull up a chair and listen in as we discuss and wrestle with some verses that proponents of eternal security use to make their case.  Now there will be some overlap here with our last episode, but also some new content as well.  We’ll discuss texts that seem to imply that salvation has nothing to Read more about Theology 22 — Challenging Conditional Salvation […]

We’ll delve into the multifaceted theology of salvation (aka soteriology).  We’ll look at all three tenses of salvation: how we were saved, are being saved, and will be saved.  Now, I realize this can be a very sensitive and controversial subject, depending on what your preexisting doctrinal commitments are.  However, I simply ask that you Read more about Theology 21 — Conditiona...

Finally, we arrive at practical theology or Christian ethics.  Although, we could easily spend fifteen lectures together building up a full edifice of how God wants us to live, in this episode we’ll simply lay the foundation stones of following Jesus.  What I mean by follow is to read his words and do them, especially Read more about Theology 20 — Follow Jesus […]

In this lecture, you’ll learn what Jesus and the book of Acts have to say about conversion.  From Jesus, we will examine his parable of the Sower with special focus on the good soil–those who hear the message, understand it, accept it, hold it fast, and bear fruit.  Next we’ll work through all of the Read more about Theology 19 – Conversion […]

Last time we looked at the major categories the scriptures use to answer the question, “Why did Jesus die?”  This time, we’ll take a journey through church history, making stops along the way to see how our forebearers have made sense of the crucifixion of our Lord. You’ll learn about these seven theories: Ransom Christus Read more about Theology 18 — Atonement Theori...

Why did Jesus die? Historically, we could say it was because the Roman Empire perceived him as a threat or the religious leaders in Jerusalem feared he would ignite an unwinnable revolution. Even so, the bible offers a number of theological answers that go far beyond the immediate circumstances of his crucifixion. In this lecture Read more about Theology 17 — Atonement Scriptures […]

In this episode we’ll consider what the bible says about angels, demons, and Satan.  My goal here is to be as biblical as possible, not giving in to wild speculations or dismissing an understanding because it offends my modern sensibilities.  The scriptures have a lot to say about the spiritual realm, and we can’t possibly Read more about Theology 16 — Angels, Demons, and Satan [&#8230...

Last time we worked through a ton of scripture, trying to get a multidimensional view of how the bible describes the holy spirit.  This time we’ll consider a few scriptures that have confused some into thinking the spirit is really an individual or person distinct from the Father and the Son.  This study is pretty Read more about Theology 15 — Challenging the Holy Spirit […]

How do you think of holy spirit?  In this lecture we’ll build up a biblical theology of the spirit, in an effort to comprehend its variegated facets. We’ll consider the Old Testament and the Synoptic Gospels before spending a good deal of time in John, looking at the fascinating way that Jesus talks about the Read more about Theology 14 — The Holy Spirit […]

Although later Christianity interpreted the handful of texts that call Jesus God as evidence that he shared the same rank, substance, and age as the Father, a more Hebrew-sensitive reading of these same verses yields more organic fruit.  Instead of bringing in complex Greek philosophy to distinguish person from being and divine from human natures, Read more about Theology 13 – Jesus, God’s S...

Last time we considered Jesus’ identity as God’s messiah.  Today, we’ll look at a number of texts that are sometimes misunderstood to teach that Jesus is God. We’ll go through three classifications of verses: (1) those with manuscript issues, (2) those with translation issues, and (3) those with interpretation issues.  Here is the breakdown. Manuscript Read more about Theol...

Have you joined the Restitutio facebook group?  The idea behind the group is that its a place where anyone can start topics for discussion.  So, please join if you’d like to see what’s going on. What is the defining title for Jesus of Nazareth?  Although he kept it mostly a secret during his ministry, Jesus’ Read more about Theology 11 – Jesus the Messiah […]

How many is God?  Although the ancient Shema (recorded in Deuteronomy 6) teaches that God is one, Christian theologians have put forward a number of reasons arguing for a plurality within God.  We will examine a number of these words, texts, and reasonings in an effort to agree with Jesus who wholeheartedly affirmed the Jewish Read more about Theology 10 — Challenging God’s Oneness [&#...

Today we’ll tackle the biggest question of all: who is God?  We’ll take a journey through scripture together to discover what God is like, stopping at key moments to consider what this or that interaction tells us about him. —— Notes —— theology: one’s understanding of God Ontology vs. Functionality ontology: understanding something based on Read more about Theology 9 — God […]

Today we’ll take a look at a number of confusing scriptures that seem to indicate that hell is a place where the wicked are consciously tormented forever.  We’ll look at texts that talk about weeping and gnashing of teeth as well as the how the worm will not die nor the fire be quenched.  We’ll Read more about Theology 8 — Challenging Annihilationism […]