The Providence Podcast

Romans 5:12-6:4Series: The Final Adam Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 7th December 2025Passage: Romans 5:12-6:4

1 John 5Series: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 30th November 2025Passage: 1 John 5:1

1 John 5:1:5Series: 1 John Speaker: Dov CohenDate: 23rd November 2025Passage: 1 John 5:1-5-------------------Loving God's Commandments

1 John 3:11Series: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 16th November 2025Passage: 1 John 3:11

1 John 3:1-18 RevisitedSeries: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 9th November 2025Passage: 1 John 3:1-18

1 John 3:1Series: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 3rd November 2025Passage: 1 John 3:1

1 John 2:18Series: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 26th October 2025Passage: 1 John 2:18-------------------1 John 2:18

1 John 2 - Love of this WorldSeries: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 19th October 2025Passage: 1 John 2:1-29

Outgrowing Anxiety, Part 3: Fear of Man vs. Fear of GodSeries: Podcast Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 18th October 2025

1 John 2:1-5 John as an example leaderSeries: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 5th October 2025Passage: 1 John 2:1-5

Outgrowing Anxiety Part 2: Gospel Grace Turns Flaws Into FeaturesSeries: Podcast Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 25th September 2025

The Classical View of Biblical SufficiencySeries: Podcast Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 23rd September 2025-------------------Classical Biblical Sufficiency Article referenced: https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/by-good-and-necessary-consequence-2019-06/Manuscript:I wanted to quickly differentiate between the classical (and proper) definition of biblical sufficiency and some of the less refined versions of this doctrine floating around.The Westminster Confession of Faith Article 1.6 provides protestants with the classic definition:"The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word: and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed. " - Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6This definition is excellent because it provides three important clarifications, at least two of which are typically lacking in more modern and general definitions of biblical sufficiency:In addition to scripture, there are principles derived from scripture that are to be held as part of God’s counsel. The WCF refers to these principles as things deduced from scripture that are “both good and necessary” implications. You can read more about this idea in this excellent article from Tabletalk Magazine.The use of scripture depends on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the WCF puts it, “Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word.” When the confession speaks of the “saving understanding” of the revealed word, both salvation and sanctification are included.Finally, let’s consider the biggest distinction between carefully defined classical sufficiency and some of the other definitions that while well-meaning, are less thought out. The confession concludes, “there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”As you can see, this is an important detail. The true laws of nature (often discovered via observational science) are never to be understood as a competitor to God’s revealed word. This important wrinkle in the confession’s doctrine forces us to contend with a couple of problems:Scientists who malign God’s natural law.Like all human endeavors, the sciences are filled with individuals who hate all of God’s laws (including natural law). In an ideal marketplace setting, scientists who hate natural law would quickly be out of businesses. For the basic definition of science requires the recognition of and submission to a fixed order of nature that is to be discovered via scientific efforts. Unfortunately, we live in a corrupted world that will, from time to time, incentivize and subsidize erroneous science. Again, my definition of erroneous science would begin with the rejection of natural law.A good example of this kind of thing would be all of the confusion surrounding gender. In a more ideal world, any scientist that denies the existence of two genders, each with observable distinctions and roles, would be immediately rejected as a bad scientist. But there is currently enough corrupt funding within the scientific community that keeps disqualified people employed.Scientists who misidentify God's natural laws.In addition to the real problem of disqualified scientists (those who reject natural law), we have another problem. Since we are fallen human beings, we will, even with the best intentions, make mistakes. The scientific world is full of false conclusions which stem not so much from hostility to God’s law, but rather plain old human error. The scientific data surrounding the role of cholesterol in heart disease is one example. In that case, classic confusions over causality and correlation combined with interests from drug companies created a momentum to misapply real scientific findings.The truth is that sin creates all sorts of potential misunderstandings of real data. Take for instance the data regarding suicidal ideation amongst people with gender dysphoria. For a number of years, this legitimate data was used to argue for “transitioning” children. Certain sinful presuppositions kept scientists from seeing that by definition, a child with gender dysphoria is extremely high in character trait neuroticism and is therefore far more likely to experience suicidal ideations.Scientists who misapply their findings.The classical protestant position on epistemology states that the Holy Spirit is needed to illuminate both of God’s books to various degrees. So in addition to needing the Holy Spirit to produce a saving and sanctifying understanding of the scriptures, the Holy Spirit is needed to properly apprehend and apply certain truths we discover in the natural world.It is one thing to discover real data in the natural world, and it is another to possess the wisdom necessary to know how to apply it properly.Going back to our example with gender, a scientist might correctly discern the differences and notice that the average woman has about a third of the upper body strength of the average man. This correct finding might lead to the incorrect determination that rape is encoded in the laws of nature (there are scientists who hold this position). One of the more common examples has to do with male monogamy. In some sense, there is a great deal of observable science that indicates men are not built for monogamy. In both of these examples, scientific failure emerges from a kind of materialistic interpretation of data that disregards the clear teaching of scripture.Key Takeaways:The classical position on scriptural sufficiency includes a godly use of natural law.The main problem with so-called integrationism is not so much the use of external data as it is the three problems outlined above.The Puritans are the best example of a healthy integration of both natural and special revelation. In the average Puritan sermon or book, you will find true shepherding of souls that stands resolutely on the unique authority of the scriptures while also utilizing basic principles that support human flourishing as found in the light of nature.It would be common for instance to see a Puritan prescribe “getting fresh air and sunlight” as a means of grace. This is very similar to what we see modeled in 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul tells Timothy to “take a little wine for your stomach.”Antidotes to harmful integrationism:A reverential respect for the majesty of God’s word. Every counselor must embrace the essential gratitude and honor for the bible as displayed in Psalm 119. The majority of integrationist errors stem from a dismissive attitude toward God’s glorious scriptures.A clear understanding of God’s word. The average integrationist, while well-meaning, is often tragically limited in the amount of bible they know and understand. This ignorance often manifests itself in an under-reliance on scriptures that God has provided on particular topics. Too often, we find integrationists making assumptions that the scriptures do not speak to a particular issue when they do. The consequence is a neglect of God’s best prescription for a problem and the issuance of something far less powerful and effective.A carefulness regarding the binding of consciences. The Westminster Confession stipulates that some principles are to be held as authoritative for the Christian so long as they are both good and necessary outworkings of the scriptures themselves. One example would be the so-called love languages. In a marriage counseling situation, we could conceive of a counselor repeatedly instructing a husband to love his wife according to her love language and then, if he resists, using biblical language to shame him for his failure. The problem here is that the counselor is taking a principle that is arguably derived from natural observation, and prescribing those principles as the only way to obey God’s command to love your wife.Antidotes to harmful sufficiency:The main problem we will run into as we understand and apply the important doctrine of biblical sufficiency is that we will fail to follow the wise and nuanced definitions set up for us in classical documents like the WCF. This is often manifest in an attitudinal hostility toward natural law.As is often the case with lay-level teaching, you will find that in an effort to warn against sinful integrationism, an overly rigid explanation of biblical sufficiency emerges that is not in keeping with the longstanding and carefully defined position as staked out by the WCF and other confessions. This is understandable because in many ways, the doctrine of sufficiency (like many of the church’s doctrines) was articulated in reaction to something. Initially, the doctrine was outlined as a reaction to Roman Catholicism. More recently, the doctrine has been presented as a reaction to significant sin and corruption within the psychological community. And of course, whenever we see reaction, we should expect to see some overreaction. Such is the way of man!But to be fair to the hard line sufficiency people, psychology is essentially a secularized version of Roman Catholicism. The therapist takes the role of priest. He has “secret wisdom” unav

Church Update and Philippines Trip ReviewSeries: Podcast Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 23rd September 2025

Outgrowing Anxiety Part 1: Saying Goodbye to Plastic PrayerSpeaker: Chris OswaldSeminarDate: 23rd September 2025Passage: Philippians 4:6-7

1 John - IntroductionSeries: 1 John Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 21st September 2025

Psalm 121 - Undaunted Courage for the Year AheadSeries: Psalms Speaker: Dov CohenDate: 7th September 2025Passage: Psalm 121:1-8

Psalm 147 Inner Health Made AudibleSeries: Psalms Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 31st August 2025

Psalm 141 Seven Habits of Highly Successful SufferersSeries: Psalms Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 24th August 2025-------------------Seven Habits of Highly Successful Sufferers

Psalm 103 Developing a Godly PersonalitySeries: Psalms Speaker: Chris OswaldSunday MorningDate: 17th August 2025Passage: Psalm 103:1-22

Psalm 103 Understanding God's PersonalitySeries: Psalms Speaker: Chris OswaldDate: 10th August 2025