Radically Christian

What if the vocabulary you inherited for salvation has left you more anxious than assured?Justification, sanctification, saved: many believers learned these words as tidy categories, and many sincere Christians still lie awake wondering whether they have done enough. Others have been told it is settled and nothing they do matters. Sometimes neither answer seems to match the way Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6 or 2 Thessalonians 2.Wes and Marcus take up a listener’s question about the difference between salvation, justification, and sanctification. Is there a clear line between them? Where does obedience fit? Why do so many of us swing between pride and shame? And what might we miss when we read Scripture like a system instead of a story? This conversation is for anyone who has wondered if they are on solid ground.Links and Resources* Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew Bates* Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software* Books by Wes McAdams* VidAngel Special OfferThis description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

What does it actually mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?For many who grew up in the Restoration Movement, the phrase meant a debate about water baptism or a defensive argument about miraculous gifts, and then the conversation ended. Wes and Marcus return to John’s promise in Luke 3 and the prophets’ vision of the Spirit poured out, wrestling with whether we’ve been reading it too narrowly.Was this promise only for apostles and a household of Gentiles? And what does the Spirit have to do with God’s mission, new creation, and the way you respond when life bumps you?If you’ve ever wondered whether the Holy Spirit is a topic to avoid, a doctrine to defend, or something more personal, this conversation about Pentecost, Cornelius, and living water is one you’ll want to hear.Links and Resources* Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software* Books by Wes McAdams* VidAngel Special OfferThis description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

If we’re saved by grace through faith, why does baptism still matter? An elder in Tennessee wrote in with a question many Christians are asking. If love is the heart of everything, is baptism just a ritual tacked on, a modern circumcision, or a hoop someone must jump through before praying publicly or joining a mission trip? Where did this tension come from, and why do so many sincere believers feel torn between Ephesians 2:8-9 and Acts 2:38?Wes and Marcus wrestle with the history, the Scriptures, and the heart behind the question. Is baptism a work? What does it have to do with circumcision? Is there a way to talk about it that avoids both legalism and dismissiveness? And what does any of it have to do with loving like Jesus?Links and Resources* Why Is Baptism Important and Beautiful with Marcus Stenson: Wes and Marcus’s earlier conversation on baptism, recommended for more on this topic.* Baptism, What Does the Bible Actually Teach: Wes’s earlier conversation with Bobby Harrington on baptism. * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software* Books by Wes McAdams* VidAngel Special OfferThis description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Is gluttony only about what is on your plate?Most of us assume we know the answer, and most of us feel a little uncomfortable when the subject comes up. The Bible mentions gluttony far less than many Christians expect, yet the idea seems to surface in unexpected places, from the Proverbs to Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Wes and Marcus wade into a topic that is easy to joke about and surprisingly hard to examine honestly in ourselves.What separates enjoying God’s good gifts from being mastered by them? Why do we so often swap one appetite for another? And is there a way to look at our own hearts without pointing fingers at everyone else? Links and Resources* The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: Marcus cited Lewis’s treatment of gluttony, including its “dainty” and impulsive forms.* The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis: Marcus quoted Lewis’s line about desires that are “not too strong, but too weak.”* Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software* Books by Wes McAdams* VidAngel Special OfferThis description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Have you ever been taught that being a faithful Bible reader means dividing the Old Testament from the New?Second Timothy 2:15 gets quoted for that very purpose, Paul’s charge to Timothy to “rightly divide the word of truth.” Where did that reading actually come from, and is it really what Paul had in mind as Timothy faced false teachers unsettling the church in Ephesus? Wes and Marcus trace this phrase back further than most people expect, and ask whether a common, well-intentioned interpretation might be doing exactly what Paul warned against.What does it really mean to “cut a straight path” with the word of truth? Is the Old Testament something Christians should set aside, or does it hold the story that makes the gospel make sense? And how does getting this right change the way we love people?Links and Resources* Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software* Books by Wes McAdams* VidAngel Special OfferThis description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com