Teach Me Thy Statutes

Offering meat to idols and a global health pandemic: what on earth could these two things have in common? We discussed 1 Corinthians 8-9 today, where Paul highlights the believer may have a right to do something, but nonetheless has a duty as a Christian to abstain from exercising that right in order to not offend or scandalize a weaker brother. We then showed how the situation Paul addressed to 1...

Today we discussed a section of Romans 9 often used to support a theology called “predestination.” This erroneous theology applies Paul’s words to support the idea that God has chosen some for heaven and others for hell. That approach creates an exclusive club among those who believe they have been chosen to be saved. But in reviewing the context of Romans 9, we see that Paul is doing the exact op...

Today we discussed Paul’s conundrum regarding the struggle of sin vs. the will to do what is right. Ultimately, this internal battle, together with the revelation on the road to Damascus, leads Paul to conclude that the only way to attain righteousness is outside the Mosaic Law itself, and through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We then discussed two terms used by Paul, the flesh and the mind, and how...

In today’s episode we discussed the names that Christ uses for Peter and how an understanding of the meaning of these names helps us to understand more deeply these stories from Scripture. More importantly, this understanding of the names helps teach us how this narrative impacts the way we should live our lives.

Today we discussed why Paul was so critical of the Jews in Romans 2. Fr Aaron provided context by reminding us the Jews had an advantage over the Gentiles, namely the Mosaic Law. And yet, even with the Law of God they continued to behave as though they were Gentiles. We then moved on to discussing what St. Paul means when he says, “For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumc...

Fr Aaron explained that the famous verse of Jesus praying that His disciples would “be one” should not primarily be understood as a reference to ecumenism. Rather, we should recognize that Jesus is praying that we would be perfectly united to God’s will. For centuries, Christians have been separated into many different denominations and branches, and we arrived at this place because of our sin whi...

Based on our reading of Acts 17:1-9, we discussed the role of evangelism in the Christian life. We distinguished between the overt evangelism of St Paul and other apostles and evangelists, and the evangelism all Christians should show through loving their neighbor. We also discussed how the evangelical movement has overemphasized the role of each individual Christian to be an evangelist, noting th...

We discuss why Jesus told the Pharisees there father is the devil. Ultimately, what we find is that the teaching of the devil leads us to accept God's grace for ourselves, while at the same time applying the law and judgment to others. In this context, Father Aaron showed how John 8 and Matthew 25 are intertwined, with the Mount of Olives (John 8) and the oil used in the lamps of the Five Wise Vir...

Based on our reading today, we discussed what Christ is referring to when He says that, “He who eats this bread will live forever.” Here, Christ not only refers to Holy Communion, but also to His teaching. A broader understanding of Scripture is helpful here, showing how the reception of the Word of God equips us to go forth and spread the Gospel. Prior to that, we also discussed how we should tea...

We began with questions regarding the Trinity and other theological questions, highlighting the importance that we guard against placing too much emphasis on these intellectual concepts at the expense of neglecting the practical teaching of Scripture. If our primary focus is on theology, and our faith is merely something that we believe in our head, we will likely live our lives in stark contrast...

Today we discussed the significance of the myrrh-bearing women as the first witnesses to the resurrection. This was fitting since it was the woman, Eve, who had first tasted of the forbidden fruit. And as Eve “evangelized” Adam about the fruit, so the myrrh-bearing women evangelized the disciples. We then turned our attention to the significance of this announcement being made to women, who were v...

From Proverbs today, we discussed the foundational teaching of the Bible of caring for the poor and needy. We went on to discuss how this central teaching is so often overlooked by Christians. And this is especially true during the season of Great Lent, where our focus can so easily turn inward, to obsess over rules, to keep track of our attendance at services, to become fixated on our own spiritu...

Today we discussed briefly an overview of Isaiah and his emphasis of caring for the poor and needy. We also discussed the idea of God and images or idols and how they all relate. Specific to today’s reading, God mocks the idols of the nations; for these idols are made, altered and destroyed by human hands. But the biblical God is uncontrollable and uncreated. Finally, how God is the great shepherd...

Today we discuss the story of the Tower of Babel. Fr Aaron began with a reminder of the first command that God gave to Adam and Even and later reiterates with Noah: to spread out on the earth. But the real problem in Babel is the people wanted to make a name for themselves. We then focused on the teaching throughout Scripture that God generally opposes cities and buildings, and discussed both why...

In today’s episode we discussed the story of the flood and how it separated us from Eden, from the ideal of what God intended. Fr Aaron also noted how the flood story indicates we humans are now on our “second chance” to be obedient to God’s commandments. We also hear of God’s first covenant, one that was both unconditional and merciful. Ultimately, through the flood story we learn that the event...

We began the episode discussing the strange statement made by Eve that she “acquired a man from the Lord” upon the birth of Cain. We then discussed the importance of Genesis 1-4 as an introduction to the Bible, the meaning of names, and the biblical theme of condemning possessiveness. We concluded by discussing the importance of faith in the offering made by Abel versus that made by Cain.

In today’s episode we focused on the Old Testament, from which the Church appoints the readings during the period of Great Lent. Fr Aaron explained the structure of the Old Testament. We then focused on the prominent “Wisdom literature” (the Psalms, the Proverbs and the Book of Job). One of the important aspects of this literature is that true wisdom is not found in the pursuit of human philosophy...

Today we discussed Communion from a biblical perspective. The earliest mention of the practice is found in I Corinthians where St. Paul writes of what he had received from the Lord, namely the events of the “Last Supper.” We discussed the importance and context of the idea of “remembrance” in Scripture. We also explored the similarity between Communion and all the Old Testament Feasts and how they...

In discussing what some might view as an apparent dichotomy between how we view God in the Old and New Testaments, Fr Aaron provided three key takeaways for us to consider. First, we must understand that the Old and New Testaments go hand-in-hand. More specifically, we cannot properly understand the New Testament without the Old. In his second point, Fr Aaron discussed why God is sometimes portray...

In discussing what St. Peter references as false prophets, teachers and heresies, we showed that Peter’s concern was not primarily with those outside the Church nor with what we now define as church dogma. During this discussion, Fr Aaron noted that, unlike other narratives in history that raise up and glorify its national founders and leaders, the Bible offers a constant criticism of Israel’s lea...

Today we discussed how to understand Peter’s admonition to prepare ourselves to provide a defense of our faith. This defense is best offered by living the faith vs. being able to intellectually explain it. Fr Aaron pointed out how we would be wise to remember the words from one of the saints of our Church who said, “If you are not edified by my presence, neither will you be edified by my words.” 

In contemplating the fact that the Nativity story is not included in Mark’s Gospel, our episode today focused on the most important aspect of the life of Christ, which was His teaching. And even though Matthew and Luke provide some details about the birth of Jesus, they also neglect any mention of His early life—the sole exception being the story told in Luke about the young Jesus staying behind i...

Today’s episode focused on listener questions regarding salvation. Fr Aaron explained that there are different ways to approach this issue, which lead to a discussion around legalism as well as those looking for just the minimum requirements so that they can get to heaven without doing more than is necessary. As for the legalistic approach, there is something to be said here as we all will ultimat...

Today’s episode focused on some of the most common questions regarding Mary, including the important distinction between worship and veneration. From a theological perspective, Fr Aaron explained that rather than making a statement about Mary, the names we use for Mary more specifically highlight our understanding of Christ. Finally, it was stressed that the key biblical aspect of Mary is seen in...

In this episode, Fr Aaron expounds on his sermon from January 17, 2021, which reflected on the "siege of the US Capitol" building on January 6, 2021. In that sermon, Fr Aaron talked about the false gospel that we can obtain and retain true freedom through physical violence and war. He reminded of the teaching of Jesus and the true Gospel, that true freedom can only be found in making peace with yo...