Episode 69 :: Dr. Bryan Litfin :: Stories of the Church and the Unconquerable Gospel of Christ
Friends, it's wild to bring this episode to you today, because my guest Dr. Bryan Litfin and I recorded it months ago, but I was certain, even then, that it would need to be released today. When I was working on it, I knew it was timely, but today, as I bring it to you, I am so sure we need to talk about where we’ve been to speak to where we are. Dr. Bryan is a specialist in Church history. He’s a theologian, a professor at Moody Bible Institute, as well as an editor and copywriter for Moody Publishers, AND he’s an author of some scholarly non-fiction books as well as historical fiction books.
The history of the Church as a follower of Christ, is our family legacy and it has informed our present and has much to teach us, warn us, and encourage us. Especially today when there are people who have chosen to wave the banner of Christ over their own agenda. When we look back on what has happened, not just in scripture, but for hundreds of years after until present day, we see the activity of God, the preservation of His Church, and the sin, the attempted destruction, the repentance, the renewal and restoration of His people over and over and over again. Not because of them, but because of the power of Christ and the Light of the Gospel inside of them.
We are part of a living body here and also who have run the race before us in Heaven. The Gospel is the answer. The God who made creation, sent His Son to save His creation and her tattered soul, and give beauty for the ashes of our own making, He is not finished with the Church, He is not finished with you.
I hope this episode is filled with opportunities to learn about pieces of history you maybe weren’t aware of, and I hope it fills you with hope about the God who is the same today, yesterday and forevermore. Let us be encouraged by the perseverance of the saints that have gone before us.
“Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us! For when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate his love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves.” Romans 5:3-6
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References:
-Bryan’s book The Conqueror
-the Reformation (the 16th century)
-Nero’s persecution that killed Peter and Paul
-Christians and the lions in the Coliseum, also an interesting article about this
-The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
-The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers
-the Greek word for universal church is catholic “katholikos”
-Martin Luther and the Catholic church
-Getting to know the Church Fathers
-Congressman John Lewis
-The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
-for modern idol discussions Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller is REALLY good)
-Hercules’ temple in Tivoli, Italy -- uh speaking Church history, as I was looking this information up for the episode, I found out The Santa Maria del Sole made this pagan temple a church for a time.
-the heart is an idol factory. There’s several quotes with this phrase, but John Calvin’s, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, and Tim Keller and more.
-”soteriology” - theology of salvation
-ecclesiology- study of the church
-eschatology- study of the end times
-Dr. Michael Heiser - “supernatural” worldview his books on Angels, Demons, The World Turned Upside Down: Seeing the Gospel in ‘Stranger Things’ and our conversation about it all on the podcast
-Screwtape Letters- C.S. Lewis
-Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and our conversation
-Perpetua - a Christian martyr from North Africa (a Church Mother) and wrote down her experiences of persecution and a contemporary finished her work after her martyrdom in the arena, The Passion of the Saints Perpetua and Felicity. “Her text is one of the rare surviving documents written by a woman in the ancient world.”
Scripture References:
-Christians struggling with being Jewish and Christian
-the body of Christ includes the saints Hebrews 12 ( a great cloud of witnesses) Hebrews 11
Ephesians 2 -those who have gone before are alive in Christ
2 Timothy 4:6-8 -run the race set before them
Matthew, 28:16-20, Mark 16:15, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, -go and tell the gospel of Christ
1 Corinthians 15-the bodily resurrection and the first fruits of the resurrection
Multiple Passages :: He is making all things new
Numbers 16- the plague went out on Israel and Aaron walked between the living and the dead interceeding
1 Peter 1:3, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 -the hope of Christ
Luke 14:25-34 -worth the cost of following Christ
Hebrews 6:19-anchor of the soul
Hebrews 13:8-God is the same
John 3:16 -God gave His only Son
1 Corinthians 6:12 -we will become a slave to anything
Luke 6:45 -what you love drives your actions
Luke 10:27 -love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength
1 Corinthians 15:57, Romans 8:31-39 -Christ is a God of victory
Ephesians 6:12-we are at war not with flesh and blood
John 1:5-Christ came to beat back the darkness
Genesis 6 - “sons of god” and “daughters of men” and “nephtali”
Luke 10:38-42-Mary and Martha and Jesus
Revelation 12:11-by the blood of the testimony
Ecclesiastes 1:9-There is nothing new under the sun
Romans 11:33, Psalm 121:8, Psalm 139 -The Lord is not surprised by creation
Isaiah 45:23, Philippians 2: 9-11, Romans 14:11 -every knee shall bow and tongue confess
*The Passage I read in the outro is from the Passion Translation of Romans 5
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*Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com