Theology for the Rest of Us

In this episode, our host Kenny is joined, once again, by pastor, speaker, and podcaster Stephen Mackey (M.Div.) to discuss the importance and magnitude of each individual person’s view of Jesus Christ. The most important answer you will ever give in your life is the answer you give to the most important question in the world: Who do you say Jesus is? In this conversation, Mackey examines an...

In this episode, Kenny interviews a pastor friend Stephen Mackey (M.Div) to answer a tough theological question that came in from a regular listener of the podcast. The question was: “I came across John 20:23. After appearing to the disciples, Jesus breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive another’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive t...

Topics related to mental illness are very sensitive for many people, therefore it is essential that we have quality Biblical theology around the topic of mental health and related issues. A few weeks ago Kenny received an email from a regular listener, in response to episode 43: Is Judas in Heaven or Hell? In the email, the listener praised Kenny for not “blanketly condemning” all ment...

Sometimes people believe that God seemingly condemns certain things or certain behaviors arbitrarily, randomly, or haphazardly. This is not true. In this episode, Kenny explains that we were created to glorify God and reflect His character, therefore anything in us that does not glorify or reflect Him violates the purpose for which we were created. Furthermore, we were all created by God to functi...

In this short episode, Kenny makes it clear that God never punishes believers. The Father has already punished his own Son Jesus at the cross, therefore there is no need to punish you. However, God does discipline His people. God steps in to coach us and He also corrects us, and sometimes those moments of correction can be painful, but we are never being punished. Our discipline comes from the han...

In this episode, Kenny interviews David Schrock (Ph. D., SBTS) about the importance of studying the character and nature of God; being diligent in seeking to understand all areas of theology. David outlines that theology isn’t just a study or discipline, but a delight in getting to know God better. He also tells us about the importance of theology because good theology has real positive impa...

A somewhat frequently asked question is, “Was God unjust when He asked Abraham to kill his own son Isaac?” Sometimes this question is asked by Bible skeptics as an attack, while other times this is asked by inquiring believers. In this episode, Kenny answers the question with several thoughts: 1- Every human deserves to die, so decreeing Isaac’s death would not be unjust. 2- We a...

The discussion about the duality (or dichotomy) of mankind versus the triune nature (or trichotomy ) of mankind is a mini-debate among some Christian theologians. People have asked, “Are we made up of a body, a soul, and a spirit?” or “Are we just a body and soul?” In this episode, Kenny defines the difference between the material substance of humans versus the immaterial s...

The question answered herein this episode comes from a regular listener, after he listened to episode 55: Why Does Sexual Purity Matter? His questions is about cohabitation before marriage. Many people in today’s culture have abandoned traditional values, and many couples jump into cohabitation situations before marriage. In this episode, Kenny answers the questions, “Is it Wrong to Li...

Some times people claim that the God of the Old Testament seems so much angrier than the God we see in the New Testament, reflected in the man Jesus. But the God of the Old Testament is the same God that is incarnated in the New Testament. God never changes. In this episode, Kenny explains how God has always been loving and kind and gracious and merciful, and that God has also always hated sin; Go...

Many of us have heard someone say, “Don’t judge me!” or “Only God can judge me!” Should we, as Christians, follow those sorts of requests? Kenny answered this question in a previous episode entitled: Should Christians Judge? In that episode Kenny made the point that we need to judge rightly and fairly. After that episode, Kenny received an email from a listener challenging the idea, cl...

There are many people in the world that claim to be angry at God. That begs the question: Are we ever justified in any such anger towards God? Are there any circumstances that would allow this to be an appropriate emotion towards God? In this episode, Kenny starts off by talking about how pain and suffering are often the cause for any anger towards God, and Kenny explains the appropriate manner to...

Throughout the course of the podcast’s history thus far, Kenny has mentioned, quoted, and even praised Martin Luther several times. However, history tells us that Martin Luther was extremely combative. In addition, there is some evidence that he held to some antisemitic views. If this is the case, why quote from his works? And more importantly, why praise him at all? In this episode, Kenny e...

Theology is extremely important because theology impacts how we live our lives. Theology is simply learning more about God. If we refuse to study theology, we are then, in essence, refusing to learn more about God. Our lack of understanding in the arenas of theology will eventually have a negative impact on our lives. It is also very important to note that, as we study theology, we develop doctrin...

It has been asked by inquiring minds, “Why did God create us as humans here on planet Earth? Why not just create us in heaven?” Sometimes this question is rooted in legitimate curiosity, while other times it is used by secular progressives seeking only to antagonize the Gospel. In this episode, Kenny refers to the fact that everything God does is for His own glory. God intentionally cr...

Sometimes people accuse God of being an egomaniac. People often wonder, “Why Is God Consumed with His Own Glory?” This is a great question that has a very simple Biblical answer. In this episode, Kenny explains what it means to “glorify” something or someone by using a silly metaphor from his favorite Chik-fil-A sandwich. Then Kenny uses the recent Villanova University Men&...

There are many different Christian denominations around the globe, with a variety of different theological perspectives. In response to a recent episode, Why Are There So Many Denominations?, one of our regular listeners asked about the fact that so many Christians disagree on doctrines. The listener asked, “How can we read the same Bible and claim the Holy Spirit guides our interpretation o...

In a previous episode of the podcast, episode 35: Why Are There So Many Different Denominations? , a regular listener of the podcast made this comment: “[You described] the Reformation as being a significant benefit for mankind. How can splintering dogmas and denominations be beneficial for the church?” This a great question that deserves a quality answer. If the Reformation caused so...

Some of the most frequently asked questions asked by younger believers are about the topic of sexual purity and sexual integrity. In essence, does it really matter? Do my sexual choices today really have any impact on my life in the future? In this episode, Kenny interviews therapist, speaker, author, and podcaster Dr. Corey Allan about the topic of sexual purity and sexual integrity, particularly...

While it may seem like there’s an obvious answer to the question “What is Sin?” our podcast host Kenny feels that many people often miss the real definition of sin. Many people would define sin as “bad things.” While there is certainly an element of “bad” when it comes to our sin, the idea of sinning against God is much bigger than just doing something tha...

The now-famous Quaker author Richard Foster wrote a well-know book Celebration of Discipline to discuss the things that we can do to engage with God and grow in our faith. However, our guest on this episode of the podcast has a different perspective on how we grow in our faith. Our interviewee David Mathis points to grace as the means for growth in faith. Grace is abundantly available to us each d...

The last several episodes of the podcast have been a mini-series on the doctrine of the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead, including several evidences for the resurrection and responses to several common attacks from skeptics and liberal theologians. This is the capstone episode, bringing the mini-series to a close. In this episode, Kenny answers the question: “Why do I believe in...

Over the last several episodes, Kenny has been in a mini-series about the evidences for the physical resurrection of Jesus. There are three common theories used by skeptics and liberal theologians to attack the validity and credibility of the traditional resurrection story. Those three common attacks are: 1) The Swoon Theory 2) The Stolen Body Theory 3) The Wrong Tomb Theory In this episode, Kenny...

Can you imagine if the world’s biggest terrorist, all of a sudden, based upon an experience he claims to have had, changed his mind about his ideology? What if the biggest enemy of a particular group of people, all of a sudden, became their biggest advocate? Well, this is exactly what happened in the first century with a man named Saul of Tarsus. In this episode, Kenny examines the conversio...

Some skeptics and opponents of Christianity will concede that the early Christians did in fact believe that they had seen the resurrected Jesus Christ, but that those early Christians were actually hallucinating. Some critical scholars will claim that the early Christians, led by the disciples, were so passionate about their movement that they began to see visions of Jesus after His death, and the...