MARSCAST

In today’s episode, Dr. Beach wraps up his discussion on the Christian and free will by tackling the subject of Libertarian Free Will, a concept you’ll hear most commonly in Arminian circles.

Last time Dr. Beach affirmed the Reformed teaching on free will, that Christians do indeed have free will, but a will that is only awakened and enabled by the grace of God to freely obey his will, not a will of our own volition, a will left in darkness. In our Reformed heritage, we love to reflect on the work of John Calvin, of course. So what did he think of free will? You may be surprised to learn that he affirms what Dr. Beach was talking about but that he was a little cautious in using the exact terminology of “free will.”

In today’s episode, Dr. J. Mark Beach, Professor of Doctrinal and Ministerial Studies, begins to look carefully at the theological issue of free will by asking the simple question: Do Christians have free will?

In today’s episode, Dr. Alan Strange concludes his series on church offices by looking at the Office of Deacon and the ministry of mercy.

In today’s episode, Dr. Alan Strange, continuing his series on church offices, elaborates on the role of the Elder in the church. What does it mean to be a ruling Elder or teaching Elder? What are his obligations and duties in this ordained office? Here’s Dr. Strange to answer these questions.

In today’s episode, Dr. Alan Strange looks once again at the Office of Minister of the Word and Sacrament, tracing its history, especially in the eyes of the Reformers.

In today’s episode, we will look at a particular vocation where one is called to proclaim the Word of God, that of the Minister of the Word and Sacrament. Being in this vocation, they hold an office. Dr. Alan Strange takes us on a tour of this office, particularly in its distinction from the office of Ruling Elder, and in the weeks ahead, look more narrowly at the office of Elder and the office of Deacon.

In today’s episode, Dr. Cornelis Venema and Dr. Marcus Mininger continue their case for the cessation of revelatory gifts – speaking in tongues, prophecy, miraculous healings – by addressing an important question. If the revelatory gifts have ceased, how do we respond to fellow believers who claim to have them or have experienced speaking in tongues and miraculous signs? If Cessationism is true, how do we, as those who hold to Reformed convictions, not come across as if we’re somehow diminishing the work of the Spirit today?

Today’s episode continues our series on Cessationism vs. Continuationism and the spiritual gifts with Dr. Cornelis Venema and Dr. Marcus Mininger. In our previous conversation, they laid out the context for this debate. You could probably guess that they’ve landed on a position: Today, we’ll hear the case for Cessationism and the ceasing of revelatory gifts.

Today’s episode kicks off a new series with Dr. Cornelis Venema (President of Mid-America) and Dr. Marcus Mininger (Professor of NT Studies). They are going to address spiritual gifts in the church. We can think of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and miraculous healing, for example, gifts that were common in the age of the Apostles. The question before us is whether those gifts continue to this day. In other words, this is a debate around Cessationism vs. Continuationism in the church.