Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 15

5 Republican Candidates Remain

With the Republican Party Primary Debate schedule in full swing, Sinners and Saints Radio has chosen to devote an episode to some of the issues that are relevant to the debate. Pastors John Sawtelle, Movses Janbazian, and Adam Kaloostian discuss some of the candidates and the issues, and offer some thoughts on how Christians should think through the issues when it comes time to vote. The hosts have different political views, but there’s some overlap on certain issues. This episode was recorded prior to Huntsman’s withdrawal, so please excuse the mention of six remaining candidates – now it’s 5. As always, the hosts invite you to chime in in the comments section below.

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Sinners and Saints Episode 15

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 14

tebowing matthew 6:1
Should grocery clerks do this?

What should Christians think about the Tebowing phenomenon? Are public expressions of faith such as bowing the knee and praying out loud in line with what the Scriptures say? Should all Christians follow Tebow’s lead in their workplace? Should a grocery store clerk bow the knee and thank Jesus for the opportunity to bag each customer’s groceries?

How about Christian Police Officers? Should they Tebow when they pull drivers over for speeding and thank Jesus for the power and strength to successfully issue a moving violation? What is the duty of Christians at work? Questions like these barely scratch the surface of inquiry once biblically-minded Christians begin to seriously think about Tebowing.

Today’s episode takes a look at some of the implications of Tebowing and addresses the consequences of making Tebowing an accepted standard in the workplace. Join pastors John Sawtelle, Movses Janbazian, and Adam Kaloostian as they share their thoughts on the craze sweeping through land known as Tebowing!

 

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Sinners and Saints Episode 14

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 13

Actual T-Shirt

Due to schedule variants among the hosts, we were unable to schedule a new episode this week. So episode 13 is going to be a replay of an old 1.0 episode from back in 2006. Here is the original description: You probably have seen the recent Christianity Today cover story titled “Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism is Making a Comeback–and Shaking Up the Church.” It misdefines “Reformed,” “Calvinism,” and “church;” and it rehashes bad, old objections to Calvinism. Its chief value, however, is that it should cause you (if you happen to be one of these young and restless “Calvinists”) to finally realize you have to junk the martyr complex and get into a true church.

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Sinners and Saints Episode 13

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 12

last episode respoinding to john mac arthur sermon is infant baptism biblical
Final Episode of Dr. MacArthur Sermon Series

Today’s show is the final episode of the series on Dr. John MacArthur’s sermon “Is Infant Baptism Biblical?” Join the hosts as they offer a recap of the series and summarize the last 9 episodes in one neat little package. After the recap, the hosts perform another altar call which made its debut in episode 3 (the first of the series on Dr. MacArthur’s sermon). In this altar call, the hosts make 4 calls to repentance: 1) Reformed pastors/elders/Ministers, 2) People sitting on the fence of this issue, 3) Obstinate baptists, and 4) Dr. John MacArthur himself. This episode also features an invitation for listeners to suggest future show topics, and as always, an open invitation to join in on the post-show discussion forum below!

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Sinners and Saints Episode 12

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 11

justin martyr on baptism and circumcision
Justin Martyr (103–165AD)

This is the second to last episode on Dr. John MacArthur’s sermon “Is Infant Baptism Biblical?” Sinners and Saints Radio has devoted so much time to this series because the hosts, along with Dr. MacArthur, strongly believe that this is a very important subject. In this episode the hosts discuss the following section of Dr. MacArthur’s sermon: ”Thirdly, infant Baptism is not in the Scripture, it’s not New Testament Baptism, and it is not, please, a replacement sign for the Abrahamic mark of circumcision. One of the other things that Reformed people say is that infant Baptism takes the place of circumcision. I’ve heard that argument for years. So my response is, what verse says that? Where is it? Show me the verse. Where in the Bible does it say, by the way, Baptism is a replacement of circumcision? Where does it say that? It doesn’t say that anywhere. That is a fairly large assumption…These baby baptizers or paedo-Baptists as they’re often called, nonetheless, without scriptural support are left to some kind of inferential evidence based on supposed covenantal considerations. They say, Well it replaces circumcision in the Old Testament. You know, it’s almost hard to argue against that because it’s just so totally off the wall. Since there’s nothing in the Bible that says that, why would they even conclude that?”

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Sinners and Saints Episode 11

Music: Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson | The Dance of Eternity by Dream Theater

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 10

baptism by immersion is drowning
The Baptists Stone-Cold Led Pipe Lock

In Dr. John MacArthur’s sermon “Is Infant Baptism Biblical?” he said “infant baptism is not baptism…it’s not New Testament baptism. This may surprise you, it’s nothing, it’s totally meaningless…Infant baptism is not in the Bible, it is not New Testament baptism. And this is an uncontestable fact because when you do go in to the Bible in the New Testament and you talk about baptism and you study baptism, it is absolutely crystal clear what baptism is…And baptism is always immersing them in water, it is never sprinkling water on their heads from a tiny little fountain.” These are some strong words, and given that they’re spoken by one of the most highly-famed Baptist expositors of the Bible, many people will blindly take those claims to the bank assuming they’re as good as gold. But Dr. MacArthur says more. He goes on to give his hearers his stone-cold led pipe lock argument of why infant baptism is not biblical. He says, “Two verbs express this reality, bapto and baptidzo. Those two verbs are used when baptism is referred to. They mean to immerse, to dip down. The noun, baptisma is always used in Acts to refer to a believer being immersed in the water.” In today’s episode of Sinners and Saints Radio, the hosts examine Dr. MacArthur’s argument from the words in the Bible about baptism and put it to the test to show once and for all why this old, tired argument must be discarded. The hosts also discuss Dr. MacArthur’s theological explanation of what baptism is and what it symbolizes. Listen to episode 10 then join us below in the discussion area.

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Sinners and Saints Episode 10

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 9

Let's shed some light on this passage!

There are a number of interpretations of 1 Corinthians 7:14 offered to explain what Paul means when he says that a child of a believer is “holy,” including, 1) the child is ceremonially pure, 2) the child is morally pure, 3) the child benefits from Christian influence, and 4) the child is consecrated. In his sermon “Is Infant Baptism Biblical,” Dr. John MacArthur takes option #3, which perhaps makes it easier to explain how the unbelieving spouse is also “holy,” but is Dr. MacArthur’s interpretation correct? In Episode 9, the hosts dive into this passage and explain why only option #4 is a reasonable interpretation: that the child is consecrated. In line with the household/covenant solidarity principle, Paul argues that if the faith of one parent is sufficient to secure the child’s consecration, the entire household is consecrated to God, including the unbelieving spouse; therefore, Christian spouse, don’t divorce this unbeliever.

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Sinners and Saints Episode 9

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 8

infant baptism acts 2:39
The promise is for you and for your children…

Immediately after Pilate washed his hands before the crowd of Jews and said “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves,” Matthew tells us that all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Pilate released Barabbas and delivered Jesus over to be crucified. Fast forward to Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost and we find Peter preaching a sermon to devout Jews saying “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Peter’s sermon mentioned the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel against the mockers’ suggestion that the apostles were drunk, the fulfillment of the promise made to David, and a second emphatic reminder that this Jesus whom God had made both Lord and Christ, was killed by the Jews, the same Jews that told Pilate ““His blood be on us and on our children!” Luke tells us in Acts 2:37 that “when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’” Now, in view of all the connections within the context to covenant solidarity, is it reasonable to hold, as the baptists do, that Peter does not proclaim that the “promise” of verse 39 is to believers AND their children? Is it really true that as Peter proclaims the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promises in Jesus Christ that he now EXCLUDES children of believers from the covenant even while he uses Old Covenant language and categories as he preaches this message of fulfillment to these children of Abraham? Join us today for Episode 8 of Sinners and Saints as the hosts discuss this often-quoted passage and get to the bottom of Dr. John MacArthur’s flippant dismissal of this passage in his argument against infant baptism.

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Sinners and Saints Episode 8

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 7

family excluding children from the covenant
A Baptist Household

You’ve probably heard of the controversy surrounding the “household baptism” passages in the Bible. Baptists have used those passages to say that there weren’t any infants mentioned and therefore infant baptism isn’t warranted. Paedobaptists have said that a household, by definition, doesn’t necessarily rule out the presence of infants, and since the whole household was baptized, infant baptism is warranted. The baptists respond and say that the household baptisms are always preceded by repentance and faith in response to gospel preaching, and since an infant can’t understand the gospel they can’t repent and believe, therefore infant baptism is unbiblical. The paedobaptist then replies that baptism (as a sign and seal of the covenant), just like circumcision, does not require repentance and faith from each recipient if the federal head of household is a believer. Both sides are left unsatisfied with each others argument and the debate rages on. Is this controversy one that we should be indifferent towards, or can the matter be settled once for all? In today’s episode of Sinners and Saints, the hosts respond to Dr. John MacArthur’s claims about the household baptisms made in his sermon “Is Infant Baptism Biblical?” They comb over the texts used by Dr. MacArthur and present concrete evidence from Scripture that undermines the baptists’ claim that there is an unbroken chain of household baptisms where only those who hear, repent, and believe are baptized. Get your Bibles out, because the results may be shocking to some.

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Sinners and Saints Episode 7

Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 Episode 6

dr. john macarthur is infant baptism biblical?

Dr. John MacArthur

In continuing to respond to Dr. John MacArthur’s sermon “Is Infant Baptism Biblical?,” pastors John Sawtelle, Movses Janbazian, and Adam Kaloostian switch gears and begin to address the biblical texts used by Dr. MacArthur to argue against infant baptism. As a reminder, the hosts are responding to Dr. MacArthur’s points in the order that he delivered them in his sermon and they’ve not yet begun to offer their biblical arguments in favor of the Reformed doctrine of infant baptism. The next few episodes of Sinners and Saints Radio 2.0 will feature a robust discussion of the biblical texts used to support infant baptism, but today’s discussion will focus on the following section of Dr. MacArthur’s sermon:

Well, they say, “What about Matthew 18 where it says, ‘Except you become a little child, you can’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven.’” I don’t read anything about baptism there. All that’s saying is childlike faith is necessary to come into the Kingdom…Well what about Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16, “Let the little children come to Me for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” I don’t see any baptism there. Our Lord is simply saying that God has a special care for children, not the children of believing parents and not baptized children. Jesus never baptized any children, nobody in the Bible ever baptized any children.

The hosts discuss each verse and explain why Dr. MacArthur fails to see any relevance of these texts to the theology of infant baptism. Beware of the surprise at the end where pastor Sawtelle concedes Dr. MacArthur’s point and agrees that infant baptism is NOT in these passages. Although this episode is short in length, it is long in theology…we welcome your thoughts below in the comments section!

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Sinners and Saints Episode 6

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