Talks with Dad Rod

Ted asks about apologetics and the connection to the day Epiphany in the church year. Rod talks about how Epiphany is the time when Jesus officially 'went public' with His ministry, starting with a miracle, and that the early church always argued that the truth of the Gospel was based on fulfilled prophecy and on miracle. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about what it is about Christmas that causes Christians everywhere to make such a big deal out of it. Rod talks about the beginning of the story of our redemption and what Jesus later said he came to do, and that if the Christian faith is true, this is the happiest news of all time. "The story begins and ends in joy", says C.S. Lewis. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/do...

Ted asks about what the true connection is between what is considered pagan mythology and symbols and some things Christians enjoy during Christmas. Rod talks about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and the work they did in myth and storytelling, and where the burden of proof lies regarding the connection between the Christianity and mythology, and the potency of the evidence of the Christian claims i...

Ted asks about what hope there is for those who have failed Jesus' admonition in Luke 9:62. Rod talks about the reality of all sinners' condition, and the truth that all sinners are not 'fit for the kingdom of God', but that there is yet hope in Christ for all such unfit sinners. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about who God is and what He wants for us. Rod talks about what he learned in his training at Springfield Seminary about what God tells us in Scripture about what matters to Him, and that we should be able to see it in a simple reading of the New Testament, and what the 'normal Christian life' looks like. Some discussion occurs about earthly fathers, Rod as father, his own father, and pic...

Ted asks about looking to our self improvement to determine the status of our salvation. Rod talks about where we look for the truthfulness of the Gospel, what Luther said on the matter, and examines the real Source of our consolation and peace versus what is in our sinful hearts and behavior. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about what the doctrine of vocation is and how it is helpful for people, particularly in relationship to the church. Rod talks about the doctrine of vocation, as dealt with by the reformers, was a way of thinking practically about the sanctification of the Christian, or the place where we're called by gifts given to us at creation. SHOW NOTES: Gene Veith, "God at Work" - https://www.amazo...

Ted asks about how it can be difficult, being a sinner, to give up some things in my life that I should, and what good news there is for us sinners who struggle with that. Rod talks about Romans 7 and how Paul struggled, that these things will be with us until death or Christ's return, and how even the disciples failed regularly, and yet how great Jesus' forgiveness is for us sin addicts. SHOW NOT...

Ted asks about how Lutherans view the bible and the ages that we think there are. Rod describes the differences between the Lutheran view and other views, and how easy it is for us sinners to worry about the future, finally referencing C.S. Lewis' final book "The Last Battle" in his Narnia series and the images that Lewis put in it. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about where we sinners can look to find forgiveness in light of Jesus' parable of the talents. Rod talks about reading all of the Bible through 'the analogy of faith', which is that the overall message of the Bible is 'a messiah was promised to sinners', which is Christ, and Luther said it's all about Him, implicitly and explicitly. Dad reads from Matthew 25. SHOW NOTES: Robert Capon on t...

Ted asks about how Lutherans can say such a thing as 'baptism saves sinners'. Rod talks about when he would teach his students to go and read all the passages in Scripture that talk about baptism and report back what they found. He points students to Scripture since it is very clear about what baptism is and what benefits God delivers there through His word. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://...

Ted asks about how Jesus' sacrifice can be enough for such a great sinner as me. Rod talks about how common such a perspective is, that a sinner can feel his or her sin is so great that he or she is not savable—but in Scripture, God tells us He knows the true depth of our sin and that His perfect work IS sufficient, even when we doubt. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about the idea of being centered on Christ. Rod talks about different how non-Lutherans sometimes perceive 'Christ-centered' to mean vs. the Lutheran perspective, and what a Christian SHOULD be hearing and where the focus SHOULD be in a Christian church. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about who Dad's favorite (or second-favorite) Christian apologist is and why. Rod talks about C.S. Lewis and his history and how he became a believer and how those things affected Lewis' theological views and desire to defend the Christian faith, and what his work has meant for the world. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about how we hear the Good News that Jesus brought to us when the model in our earthly fathers is a dark one. Rod talks about the substantial, even if imperfect, grace we can receive from good men and women around us which lifts us up and shows us a significantly different model, pointing toward Him Who is the Author of grace and ever loving kindness. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https:...

Ted asks about the idea that after conversion to the Christian faith, the believer doesn't need the Gospel anymore. Rod talks about the law, and how it has nothing in itself to help the sinner satisfy it, and the paradox of those who struggle with their sin being closer to Christ than those who seem to be 'winning', and that Christ's perfect works satisfy His own law. SHOW NOTES: Support the show...

Ted asks about defending the truth of Christianity from one's own experience and heart. Rod talks about the 'apologia' Christians are called in Scripture to be prepared to give, what that means, and how emotional responses to questions about the truth of Christianity can come across to unbelievers. There is strong evidence that the claims in the Gospels in the Bible are true. SHOW NOTES: "Sensible...

Ted asks about pastors who aren't overtly preaching legalism, but aren't focused on the Gospel, either. Rod talks about how the law is in us sinners by nature, and the Gospel isn't and sounds strange to our ears and is harder to accept, and the seduction of using our improvement as a 'test case' proving the truth of the Gospel. SHOW NOTES: "Sensible Christianity" by Dr. Montgomery - https://shop.1...

Ted asks about what it means that we continue in our sins in the face of the law. Rod talks about where the verification of the Christian faith comes from and where to look, and what power the law has to improve sinners, and what value improvement has for Christians. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate  

Ted asks where we can expect trouble to start in an organization. Rod talks about how decisions made at the top of companies and organizations and churches cause the effects we experience at the lower end of the hierarchy, and the problems unchecked lack of wisdom so often causes. SHOW NOTES: "Sensible Christianity" by Dr. Montgomery - https://shop.1517.org/products/sensible-christianity-mp3 "Hist...

Ted asks about how our fear and doubt affects our salvation. Rod talks about the theme the reformers dealt with, "incurvatus in se", or "curved in on self", and how the 'self' is the enemy, and their answer: Christ. Christ, His person and His work, redeeming the world. SHOW NOTES: "How to Read a Book", Mortimer Adler - https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Classic-Intelligent/dp/0671212095/ref=sr_1...

Ted asks about how our fear and doubt affects our salvation. Rod talks about, when it comes to assurance, we know from 1 John that the intent of Scripture is that we KNOW we are saved, and not be in doubt. And what our pastors are called to do—what they are called to give to us and bring to us. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://www.1517.org/donate

Ted asks about how you can have certainty that you're saved as a Christian. Rod talks about, from the Lutheran perspective, what do the Scriptures say about baptism and the sacraments, and how it can help to know the culture into which we're born—our present culture is a 'therapeutic' one which puts great weight on our feelings, but for centuries prior, the generations instead looked to the writte...

Ted asks about Dad's long-used email signature and what it means. Rod talks about the history of how the Catholic church spoke of justification in the 16th century, and what Luther and Melanchthon began to focus on at the beginning of the Reformation—imputed righteousness—and how it's the only righteousness that saves, and that it is enough for us sinners. SHOW NOTES: Support the show - https://ww...

Ted asks about the similarities between God's grace in Jesus Christ and presents we receive under the Christmas tree. Rod talks about Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones and how it's a perfect picture of how dead we are in our sin, and how it reveals how much we need the Gospel preached to us constantly, both for conversion, and for repentance and consolation in our faith. SHOW NOTES: Support t...