White Horse Inn

All Bible stories are really just one story repeated over and over again, describing the intersection between our sinful condition and God's relentless faithfulness. So it should come as no surprise when even the heroes of the story seem to be the most flawed. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland consider the shocking narrative...

Called by God to lead his people to the promised land, Moses is heralded as a prophet like no other—one with whom God spoke face to face. But between his murderous past, bursts of anger that ultimately kept him from entering the promised land, and his own record that he was the most humble man to ever live, is he the hero we think? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin H...

When new converts are brought into the church, they are often loaded up with the need to read the Bible, pray, practice repentance, and get into the community—but equally vital to spiritual health is a right understanding of and participation in the means of grace. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss how the means of g...

Christ instituted the Lord's Supper and commanded the church to "do this in remembrance of me." But why? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland compare the unique views of the Lutheran, Baptist, Reformed, and Anglican traditions of this sacrament and what it means to participate in our union with Christ by "eating his body and dr...

From his own baptism by John the Baptist to his last commission to his followers to go and make disciples from all nations, Jesus's ministry is marked by this sacrament. But what does it mean? What are its biblical origins? And who should receive it? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss the traditional Roman Catholic, L...

What are the differences between Reformational, Roman Catholic, and Anabaptist sacramental views? And what are sacraments for? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss the common impressions and misconceptions of the sacraments in a society prone toward unmediated spirituality.

Soteriology precedes eschatology—but how? And what will the judgment of the risen Christ look like? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland examine different views of the end times as they consider our hopeful future—one where the work of Christ finally culminates in the new heavens and new earth.

The ascension seems like a really bad plan. Why would Christ leave his disciples? Is the indwelling Spirit truly better than Christ in the flesh? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss Jesus's gifts to the church through his intercession and his continuing priestly office in which he acts as our advocate and intercessor.

Many people struggle with the concept of atonement. What do we make of a God who demands the sacrifice of his own Son? And what exactly is happening in Christ's work on the cross? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland consider the covenantal context for Christ's passive obedience and speak to some of the harmful ways this doctri...

Most Christians know about the forgiveness of sins, but not the doctrine of active obedience. But how do we become righteous if not through imputation? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland explain what is meant by the active obedience of Christ and why there's no hope without it.

Christ's incarnation immediately sets Christianity apart from other religions and disrupts the expectations of religious leaders. So, what is this important doctrine and what do we lose if we deny it? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland consider Christ's divine and human natures and what Christ's incarnation means for us.

Throughout this series, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland have talked a lot about the need to distinguish law from gospel, but what happens when there's not only a distinction but a division between the two? In this episode of White Horse Inn, the roundtable considers various distortions of the law-gospel distinction and their implications for the church.

Proponents of the law-gospel distinction have often emphasized the need for them to appear in the right order. But how important is that order? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss what's at stake if the law and gospel are out of order or confused.

Is the gospel something that we do? Is it something—like a law—that we can execute or abide by? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland unpack the covenant of grace throughout Scripture, considering the counterintuitive nature of God's unilateral kindness to us in the gospel.

We are no strangers to the category of "law," but how is God's law different from man-made laws and rituals? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss the importance of the law-gospel distinction and dig into the definition of the law and its impact on God's people today.

We have a remedy to our sin problem, declared in 1 John 2:1-2, the fourth and final Comfortable Word. Because Jesus was our sacrifice, he is now our advocate. In this conclusion to our series on Thomas Cranmer's Comfortable Words, White Horse Inn hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller reflect on the doctrine of propitiation, the order of the words, and the comfort found in rememberin...

The third word (1 Timothy 1:15) diagnoses our human condition, revealing not just the subjective feeling of burden but also the objective consequences of violating God's law. So how is this a "Comfortable Word"? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller consider the doctrine of sin and the concept and comfort of simul justus et peccator—"simultaneousl...

The second of the Comfortable Words, John 3:16, demonstrates God's desire and initiative to save his people. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller unpack this familiar verse and consider its implications for how we think about salvation, fellow image-bearers, and our Christian freedom.

As Christians, we often struggle to view God as one who wants to meet us with words of comfort and good news. But understanding God's heart towards sinners is not just a therapeutic exercise, it's our only hope in the midst of our spiritual fatigue. In this episode, White Horse Inn hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller discuss the first of the Comfortable Words, Matthew 11:28, expos...

Do Reformational people read their Bibles? Do they have daily "quiet times"? Is it important for them to pray every day? Sometimes we can give people the sense that all God really cares about is public worship, but what happens in our public assembly should flow down into our families and then into our individual spiritual lives as well. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Ju...

Many of us were raised in churches that downplayed the clergy-laity distinction. Every member, we were told, was a minister. Now, we're in churches that take ordination seriously and that sees the biblical rationale for "office." Maybe we're even relieved to find that these churches don't fill our calendars with a busy week of "ministry activities," but instead prioritize Sunday worship. But where...

Many churches preach that your biggest problem is that you're not living your best life now. Rather than calling people to repentance, they call them to "try harder, do better" so that they can be fulfilled, healthy, and happy. Reformed theology provides a doctrine to help counter this wrong diagnosis of our true problem: total depravity. But sometimes, this doctrine sounds much more like "utter d...

Is Christianity really as intellectually driven as some of us seem to think? Sermons are lectures. Bible studies, book groups, and theology discussions take on an outsized role in the life of the church. We have difficulty talking to people who don't know our jargon. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller discuss how we can push back against an ove...

Martin Luther once said, "Prayer, study, and suffering make a pastor." Few things can better describe the life and ministry of Tim Keller. In this episode, Michael Horton is joined by Tim Keller to discuss how his cancer diagnosis has affected his spiritual practices, why forgiveness is essential in life and society, the church's resilience amidst increasing secularization, and more.

In this final episode for the 2022 Christmas series, White Horse Inn hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller unpack the beloved Christmas text, Isaiah 9:6, considering how each phrase is truly good news of great joy: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting...