The Whole Counsel

Ten years ago we were working hard on creating the study that became Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically. Part of that work included conducting interviews that would come at the end of each video session. Those interviews often went on for more than an hour, but due to the time constraints of the study, only about 20 minutes of each interview has ever been seen. As a way of celebrating the...

Ten years ago we were working hard on creating the study that became Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically. Part of that work included conducting interviews that would come at the end of each video session. Those interviews often went on for more than an hour, but due to the time constraints of the study, only about 20 minutes of each interview has ever been seen. As a way of celebrating the...

Is it necessary for the New Testament Christian to observe and obey the totality of God’s Law? In one sense, the answer is clearly “YES!” But upon closer inspection, the answer requires more nuance. To answer the question, we must first define what we mean by law. Throughout Scripture, the word is used to describe the entire Old Testament, the Torah, the rules laid out by God, or the 10 Commandmen...

Last week John Snyder and Steve Crampton began discussing how a New Testament Christian should approach God’s moral law (the 10 Commandments). For help, they are using Ernie Reisinger’s book The Law and the Gospel. In his book, Reisinger gives us seven principles. John and Steve added a few of their own to make it an even 10. These principles are not laws in themselves. We are not adding to God’s...

It has taken us some time, but our discussion of the Gospel and the Law has finally gotten around to discussing the Law. This week, Dr. John Snyder and Steve Crampton take a look at the first table of the 10 Commandments. They also take a look at a historic, Baptist catechism and John’s initial hesitation to recommending it to the church he and Steve shepherd. The Grace of Law: A Study of Puritan...

This week John Snyder and Steve Crampton continue gaining help from John Calvin through his writings on the law. Just a reminder, we are not spending two episodes highlighting Calvin’s quotes because we idolize his words. We do, however agree with Ernie Reisinger that these particular quotes, along with much of Calvin’s writings, are clear and very helpful. The quotes we are focusing on this week...

Scripture often draws a sharp contrast between the ministry of Moses in the Old Covenant and Christ in the New Covenant. Hebrews says the New Covenant in Christ is so glorious the Old Covenant has no glory in comparison. John, in his gospel, says truth and grace are realized and embodied in Jesus Christ. Reading these without careful attention can lead one to believe the Old and New Covenants in o...

The way we approach an object reveals what we think of it. Consider a child approaching a plate at dinner filled with broccoli versus that same child approaching a plate with dessert on it. So how do we approach the law of God? Or, to ask a more important question: how does God want us to approach His law?   The first step to answering that question is to realize that the moral law is a reflection...

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were given one rule to follow. Between their exile from Eden and the days of Moses, what law did they have to obey? Careful readings of Scripture reveal they had the same moral law of God that was codified in the 10 Commandments. John Snyder and Steve Crampton spent some time on this reality last week. This week builds upon that reality by focusing on the fact t...

Without a biblical grasp of the law and the gospel, we cannot understand the true magnitude of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. By minimizing the law, we minimize the grace and mercy that must be poured upon sinners to reconcile us to God. With that in mind, Dr. John Snyder and Steve Crampton spend this episode discussing the nature of the law before the giving of the 10 commandment...

This week, John continues to use Psalm 119:57-61 to lay the foundation for a discussion of the Christian’s relationship to the law. We heard last week about the foundational importance of having God as our portion. Today, we discuss 3 responses fueled by God as our portion: Love and gratitude that lead to obedience Dependence on God Determination to apply all that we find in His Word Exposition of...

In the coming weeks, we will be exploring the topic of the Christian’s relationship to the law. For the next two weeks, John will be visiting Psalm 119:57-61 to help us get a right approach to this question. The primary question for the believer is to ask if Christ is my only portion? Do I look to other things for fulfillment, for security, for peace? Or do I look to Christ alone? Charles Bridges,...

Since the beginning of this podcast, we have often pointed you to the Banner of Truth Trust for very careful, helpful books. That book publisher was started by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a pastor in London in early-mid 1900s. While we have pointed you to Lloyd-Jones, we have never truly shared one of his sermons. This week in our conclusion of his sermon from Romans 6:18 titled “Servants of Righteous...

Since the beginning of this podcast, we have often pointed you to the Banner of Truth Trust for very careful, helpful books. That book publisher was started by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a pastor in London in early-mid 1900s. While we have pointed you to Lloyd-Jones, we have never shared one of his sermons. So for the next two episodes, we want to share one of John’s favorite sermons from Lloyd-Jones...

This is our final episode focusing on Psalm 119. This week, John hones in on Psalm 119:44-45 with an emphasis on the liberty presented in these two verses. Liberty is a word Americans love to consider, but the cultural definition of that word is often not influenced by Scripture. John gives us six pictures of biblical liberty this week. For us to be truly free, truly at liberty, we must have safet...

Freedom is a precious thing. Throughout history, cultures have valued it and gone to war over it, while many individuals have sacrificed their lives for it. But there is a freedom that is more precious. In today’s episode of The Whole Counsel, John Snyder discusses the meaning of the true spiritual freedom that is given to believers through Christ. Psalm 119:44-45 So I will keep Your law continual...

We don’t know when Psalm 119 was written, but we do know it was written after man’s fall. This means the writer knew what it was to experience different seasons of the soul. He knew the warm joy of springtime, and the dreary darkness of winter. The prolonged dark seasons are particularly dangerous for the Christian. But God has given us all that we need in His Word to walk near to Him, even in the...

The Christian life must be one of balance. In this particular verse of Psalm 119, we see that balance exemplified between heart and will; between the weight of our desires and emotions versus our duties as children of a King. This protects us from sentimentalism and legalism. in other words, there is the head aspect of Christianity and the heart aspect. As John Flavel says, the distance between th...

We often speak of balance in the Christian life on our podcast. That is especially true this week as we discuss the balance of dependence and action, heart and will. We are called to live holy lives, but we can only do that by leaning wholly on Christ. But there is danger in this reality because the enemy is always present with a lie. He whispers that we shouldn’t pursue holiness because it is imp...

Today on the Whole Counsel Podcast, John turns from the introductory observations in the early verses of Psalm 119 to the Godward cries of the Psalmist’s heart that begin in Psalm 119:4-5. Beginning in these verses, we get the chance to follow the Psalmist into his prayer closet; verses 4-5 show us how the Psalmist cries out to God in light of the truths He observed in the opening verses, and they...

What does an appropriate balance between heart, mind, and life look like for the Christian? What role does the law play in the Christian’s life? How should we approach Psalm 119? In today’s episode of the Whole Counsel, John discusses these topics and addresses an important issue that is foundational to understanding this Psalm as we continue our new series with a look at Psalm 119:1-4.   How bles...

We bring our short series on Christian liberty to an early close this week to begin a series on Psalm 119. As individuals, a team, and a body at Christ Church New Albany, we have been studying Psalm 119 and found truths that have greatly encouraged us and benefitted our souls. Now, we want to share those truths with you. As John explains in this introductory episode, these episodes are going to be...

This week’s episode is a bit different from our usual setup. To begin, we are back in John’s office, but not like we have ever been before. This week you get to John’s office as it usually is, piled with books. But there is a method to our madness: we want to highlight some of the messy edges of the Christian life, particularly in the area of Christian liberty. This week, we will be considering th...

To purchase “Living with the True God: Lesson from Judges,” click here: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/products/living-with-the-true-god-lessons-from-judges-media-gratiae-online-course This is the final episode of highlighting materials Media Gratiae has produced outside our podcast network. Up to this point, we have presented you with previously released studies. But this week, we are pleased to p...

Special Episode: Family Worship For this week’s special episode, we present a study written and taught by Dr. Ryan Bush on the discipline of family worship. The ancient practice is largely lost in our modern Christian communities. But it is slowly being rediscovered by families across the globe. However, many need help to understand its importance and build it into the rhythm of their home. In thi...