RTS Washington Faculty Podcast

Episode 200: "Our 30th Year (and our 200th Episode) This year at RTS Washington we are celebrating 30 years of serving the church in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. As one does when one turns 30, we reminisce a bit, and what better episode to do so than this, our 200th. Join us for a bit or oral history and future hopes!

Episode 199. Denominational Diversity RTS Washington is entering our 30th year, and to celebrate we are reflection on the history and tradition of the denominations we serve. In this episode the faculty reflect on the distinctives of their own denominational affiliations

Drs. Peter Lee and Tommy Keene are finally getting to co-teach a class. In preparation for Covenant Theology, they sit down to talk about the nature of covenant in Scripture and why it's important.

Episode 198. The Public Theology of Abraham Kuyper (ft. Vincent Bacote) We are pleased to share this recent lecture with you! Dr. Vincent Bacote, Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College, recently taught a class for us and delivered this public lecture, analyzing the life and influence of Abraham Kuyper.

Episode 197. What was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh? This week we dive into the RTS mailbag. In 2 Cor. 12 Paul talks about a "revelation" that he received from Jesus: "my grace is sufficient for you." It's a challenging text for a number of reasons, not the least of which is identifying the "thorn" in question. How did Paul's conversation take place? Why three times? Join our discussion!

Episode 196: Pentecost: A Discussion with Dick Gaffin and Nancy Guthrie This week we have a crossover episode with Conversations on the Bible with Nancy Guthrie. In this discussion with Nancy and Dr. Richard Gaffin and Tommy Keene, we discuss the significance of Pentecost within the narrative of Acts, in Redemptive History, and in the life of the church. You can find other interviews on the book o...

In this Summer shoRTS episode, Gray Sutanto sits down to talk to us about his two contributions to the recently published *Ruined Sinners to Reclaim,* edited by David and Jonathan Gibson. It's a fascinating expansion of the traditional doctrine of the noetic effects of sin and the corresponding grace that we find in Christ Jesus.

Episode 195. Was Acts 15 the first presbytery meeting? (Tough Texts! Episode 13) The work of the church doesn't always feel glamorous. Our culture values individualism, freedom of conscience, and authenticity; it's also suspicious of institutions and matters of polity and order. Is there wisdom to be found in committees and councils? In this episode, we take a look at Acts 15 to tease out some pri...

Episode 193: Bavinck and Advanced Studies at RTS Washington (w/ Joshua Patrasahan and Isaac Whitney) We are joined with two of our students from our Advanced Studies initiative at RTS Washington, Joshua Patrasahan and Isaac Whitney, both of him recently presented papers at the Abraham Kuyper conference. They talk to use about the details of their research, and Dr. Sutanto tells us a bit more about...

Episode 193: How does the unbeliever "know God" (Rom. 1:18ff)? (Tough Texts! Episode 12) Returning to our "tough texts" series, this week we considered Romans 1:18-25. It's a challenging text for many reasons, but in particular we are discuss what this reveals about the unbeliever's knowledge of God. How do they know God, and what exactly does that knowledge entail? Is the knowledge of God "natura...

Episode 192. "For Thine is the Kingdom" (The Lord's Prayer, Part 9) The conclusion of the Lord's prayer redirects our thoughts to the God-centeredness of the Kingdom, and the posture of dependence in prayer. We also discuss the text-critical issues with this last line of the prayer and the place of the prayer in church liturgy. More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc/ Donate: give2rtsdc.com...

Episode 191. "Lead us not into Temptation" (The Lord's Prayer, Part 8) With this, the last petition of the Lord's Prayer, our Lord teaches us how to live faithfully in the world. What's the relationship between testing and temptation? How are we "kept" as we struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil? Join us for this penultimate episode in our series on the Lord's Prayer. More about RTS...

Episode 190. "And Forgive us our Debts" (The Lord's Prayer, Part 7) Jesus tells us to pray not only for our physical needs, but also our spiritual ones. In this episode we discuss how to best translate the word "debts," why Jesus uses that word instead of "sins" or "transgressions," and the importance of forgiving others even as we pray for ourselves. More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc...

Episode 189. Thy Will be Done. Lord's Prayer Part 5 Jesus turns from our prayer for God to prayer for ourselves, and we begin with "bread." Clearly bread means more than just bread, but what exactly? Today we discuss what this petition teaches us about ourselves, about our need for one another, and about our posture in prayer. Also: Gray has some thoughts about low-carb diets. We also have an oppo...

Episode 188. Thy Will be Done. Lord's Prayer Part 5 We round out our discussion of the first half of the Lord's Prayer this week by discussing that nature of God's providence. In his wisdom he has chosen to incorporate us, and our prayers, into the working out of his grand design. How does that impact what we pray about? How does it "work" theologically? And what does this petition tell us about G...

Episode 187. Thy Kingdom Come. Lord's Prayer Part 4 Jesus comes preaching the Kingdom of God. And he prays for it too. What are we praying for when we pray "thy Kingdom come?" Is this about evangelism, or is the a broader and deeper scope to the kingdom? How does it relate to the New Heavens and the New Earth? More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc/ Donate: give2rtsdc.com/

shoRTS: Tommy and Scott sat down mid-January (yes, it's taken awhile to get this one out because we've had so many special guests of late!) to discuss the formation and reliability of the OT. Although the episode wasn't short, our studio participation was! And yet this was a fascinating deep dive into the very complex nature of how we received the OT. Topics include prophetic discourse, the dead s...

Episode 186. Hallowed Be Thy Name. Lord's Prayer Part 3 What does it mean to "hallow" the name of God? If God is already holy, why do we pray for him to make his name holy? This week we discuss the name of God, the way in which it is to be honored, and how this petition embraces everything unique about the Christian religion. More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc/ Donate: give2rtsdc.com/

Episode 185. Neo-Calvinism, China, and Western Philosophy (ft. Alex Tseng) Prior to his lecture in our Global Bavinck Scholars series at RTS Washington, Alex Tseng joined us for a far ranging discussion of missions, the Chinese church, the impact of Western Philosophy on Eastern culture, and, of course, Neo-Calvinism. More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc/ Donate: give2rtsdc.com/

We were recently host to Dr. Alex Tseng for our Global Bavinck Scholars series of lectures, and so our podcast this week comes in two parts. First we are please to release Dr. Tseng's lecture. Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck brought insights from the historic Reformed confession of faith to bear on the philosophical trends of his day. What would a similar Neo-Calvinist engagement of culture and ph...

Episode 184: "Our Father" We continue our discussion of the Lord's Prayer this week with the preface. Though not unprecedented, Jesus addressing God as "Father," and encouraging his disciples to do likewise, is significant. It signals a new level of intimacy and corporate identity for the people of God. EPISODE LINKS More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc/ Donate: give2rtsdc.com/

Episode 183: Introduction to the Lord's Prayer We begin a new series for the new semester: the Lord's Prayer. In this introductory episode we talk about how the Lord's Prayer came to be known as such, how to use it, why it's so important, and what it teaches us about prayer. This short prayer provides us with ample opportunity for theological, historical, and spiritual reflection. EPISODE LINKS Mo...

Episode 181: When does the Millennium Start (Rev. 20:1-10)? (Tough Texts! Episode 11) There has been debates about the nature and timing of the 1000 year reign of Jesus since the early church. What are our interpretative options? Is this a literal period of history, or is it "just a metaphor?" What should Christians be doing now in light of this text? Our discussion includes exegetical and theolog...

Episode 180: Why does God command Israel to destroy everyone in the land (Joshua 6:19)? (Tough Texts Episode 10) When the Israelites go into the land God commands them to devote the inhabitants to destruction. Is this unjust of God? Some have even called it a genocide--is that an accurate description? The profs examine the issue historically and theologically. EPISODE LINKS More about RTS: rts.edu...

Episode 179: Is the Incarnation both True and Necessary (Matt. 2)? The nativity story is so well known that it may not seem like a tough text; Christians don't notice anything odd about it, and non-Christians just receive it as symbolic or mythological. But these texts each have exegetical, historical, and theological challenges worth pondering. In our last episode of 2023 we discuss the interpret...