For thousands of years of Christianity and Judaism, there has been an ongoing debate about what it means for a person to be accountable for their sin. In fact, the debate sits at the heart of the historic contention of the Roman Catholics who practice and perform pato baptism (infant baptism) and the Baptists who believe that baptism is reserved for those who have put their faith in Christ - which implies there is a free will and intellectual capacity to understand and receive the terms of the gospel, something which infants and small children cannot do.

What is the age of accountability? That's our question for today. Or another way of asking it may be - When does a person have the discretionary faculty to make a decision concerning Jesus Christ? How do we, particularly as parents, recognize that a child is aware and thus answerable to God for their sin? Is it a sudden realization? Is there a specific age or is it a gradual realization?

To help us better understand what the Bible says about the age of accountability, we have invited Pastor, Dr. Chris Best, Missiology instructor here at the Living Faith BIble Institute to discuss this subject that will benefit anyone looking for biblical answers on the topic.

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We examine the theological framework and contradictory life of Karl Barth with Dr. Alan Shelby, Dean of the Living Faith Bible Institute. Barth was a Swiss theologian who gained popularity amongst Protestants and Catholics alike in the first half of the twentieth century. It has since been observed that Barth influenced post-war politics and the Neo-evangelical movement of the modern world. Pope Pius XII is famously quoted saying that Karl Barth is “the greatest theologian since Thomas Aquinas.” Today, we discuss why he is so highly regarded in Christendom at large and why we Bible believers should be leery of his teachings.

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In today’s episode with pastor Sam Miles, president of Living Faith Bible Institute, we discuss the definitions and errors of Supersessionism (otherwise called Replacement Theology or Fulfillment Theology) and Covenant Theology. We also look at how redefinition of Scriptural terms by these groups ignores literal dispensations of God’s dealings with humanity in Scripture and His promises to specific audiences. This man-made hermeneutic along with made-up covenants gives way to an allegorical approach to God’s Word where the nation of “Israel” is changed to “the Church.” This conflation of God’s promises to Israel with God’s promises to the church, unfortunately results in an anti-zionist attitude as exemplified in the writings and actions of the most famous Church Fathers all the way down through history to today.

Pastor Sam walks us through a few biblical passages which show us the prophets of old together with the Lord Jesus Christ plainly declaring that Israel has an eschatological purpose which literally will come to pass as surely as Christ rose from the dead.

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In February of 1996 the Kansas University Debate Team sponsored a debate on the existence of God. The lecture hall was packed with 850 students in attendance to hear Pastor Alan Shelby debate with Dr. Gordon Stein.

Dr. Stein was one of America’s foremost scholars of atheism. He served as the editor of the American Rationalist, a secular humanist journal, as well as Free Inquiry magazine. He was also the librarian of the Center for Inquiry, which houses the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Dr. Stein had written seven books on atheist history and philosophy, including a well known pamphlet titled “How to Argue with a Theist and Win.”

At the time, Pastor Shelby, now dean of the Living Faith Bible Institute, was serving as the college and young adults pastor at Kansas City Baptist Temple.

This week on the Postscript, we have the privilege of sharing with you a remastered recording of that 1996 debate.

DEBATE FORMAT:

20-Minute Opening Statement affirmative

20-Minute Opening Statement negative

10-Minute Rebuttal affirmative

10-Minute Rebuttal negative

5-Minute Closing affirmative

5-Minute Closing negative

Q&A Forum

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This week we are having a conversation regarding the true identity of the biblical character Leviathan with Dr. Chris Best, who is a professor of Biblical Studies and Missiology at Living Faith Bible Institute. The creature has often eluded the attention of scholars and theologians. While there are many theories regarding this dragon monster of the sea, we delve into a study revealing the not only his scriptural identity and his fate, but also why it matters to the believer's life. In this episode we answer the questions: How did Leviathan come to exist, why does he operate incognito today, why should the believer care, and how should the believer behave with the biblical data regarding this character?

Comparing passages in Job 41, Psalms 74, Revelation 12, and Revelation 20 we identify Leviathan by name and description, revealing God's purpose in exposing his identity before his ultimate destruction.

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This week we are sitting down with Hutson Smelley, author of “Deconstructing Calvinism: A Biblical Analysis and Refutation”. Not only is he is a seasoned student of God’s word but he is also a practicing lawyer, mathematician, teaching elder in his local church, husband and father of seven. Today we walk through Romans chapter 9 and show why it does not say what many reformed theologians argue it says.

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Purchase Deconstructing Calvinism: A Biblical Analysis and Refutation here: https://a.co/d/i9MurOh

In this episode with pastor and LFBI professor Dan Reneau we examine the Scriptures on Abraham's Bosom, also known as Paradise. We begin by touching briefly on the opponents to the doctrine of the descent of Christ. Next we look at the location, purposes and history of Abraham's Bosom and why it is not in use by Old or New Testament saints according to the Bible. What is Abraham's connection to the paradise for Old Testament saints? When Christ died on the cross where was His soul for three days? When did Christ ascend to the Father according to Scripture? These are just a few questions answered in today's conversation.

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Despite being raised within a traditional baptistic theology, Pastor Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church has made many statements that depart from a simple faith in the Bible.

In this episode we examine Andy’s confusing pronouncements about Scripture and uncover how he is leading Christians away from fundamental Christian doctrine by presenting a view of faith that emphasizes anthropological and historical perspectives. In other words, Stanley adopts a skeptical approach to scripture in order to revise his evangelical faith and make it palatable to an enlightened postmodern audience. In place of Biblical authority, Pastor Stanley leads by cult of personality.

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Dr. Leighton Flowers, Director of Evangelism for Texas Baptists and professor of Soteriology at Trinity Theological Seminary joins us to discuss the topic of Calvinism. In this second of two episodes, Leighton shares with us reasons why Calvinist theology has become more popular in recent years and why historically it seems to wax and wane among Christians.

Leighton also takes time to unpack a couple of the major tenets of Calvinism: Unconditional election and limited atonement. He uses scripture to refute both of these linch pin philosophical dogmas.

Dr. Leighton Flowers’ books available on Amazon:

The Potter's Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology https://a.co/d/6tnYnTO

God's Provision For All: A Defense of God's Goodness https://a.co/d/gCTjaV6

Visit https://soteriology101.com/ for additional resources for refuting Calvinism biblically.

Visit https://www.lfbi.org/learnmore to learn more about the academic program of study at Living Faith Bible Institute.

Dr. Leighton Flowers, Director of Evangelism for Texas Baptists and professor of Soteriology at Trinity Theological Seminary joins us to discuss the topic of Calvinism. He shares his personal testimony of salvation and his journey to undo the Calvinist theology he once held.

In this episode, Leighton lays the foundation of why it is important to counter deterministic theologies in the Church, briefly showing us historical roots and examples of redefinitions in biblical vocabulary to fit the Calvinist worldview.

We sit down with LFBI President Pastor Sam Miles for our second episode on the topic of demonology. We discuss the ways in which evil spirits manifest themselves in our world and in the lives of people. We define words like witchcraft, necromancy, soothsaying and divination to frame the many different ways in which people invite and engage with demonic powers. Sam also shares with us his personal experiences with divination and provides a warning for believers as it concerns making provision for evil in our life.

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We sit down with LFBI President Pastor Sam Miles of Midtown Baptist Temple, and Professor of our Genesis course, regarding the Luciferian rebellion before the fall of man and the ensuing spiritual battle for worship between God and the Devil’s kingdom. Specifically, we will look into what Scripture says about demons, their role in the devil’s plan and the nature of their jurisdiction.

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In this episode, Dean of LFBI Dr. Alan Shelby sits down to discuss the problems with the writings of Dr. Bart. D. Ehrman, biblical scholar and atheist. We share Ehrman’s faith story and how he came to recant his Christianity. We then address his approach to textual and form criticism and how he presses assumptions on the scriptural text. We analyze Ehrman’s book “Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet,” and Alan shares with us a biblical model for finding truth.

In this episode with professor of Genesis Sam Miles, we work through the six days of creation/restoration adjacent to human history. We also cover typology in Genesis 1 regarding Christ’s eternal Kingdom, beginning with a principle in 2 Peter 3:8.

In this episode we continue with Ps+ host Van Sneed. We pick up our conversation from episode 76 which regarded biblical dispensations. In this episode we walk through the covenant definitions often espoused by covenant theologians & discuss why this framework for dividing the Bible falls short historically, doctrinally & devotionally.

We interview LFBI professor of Speech & Reasoning Kenny Morgan regarding consequences of ideas in political & personal realms.

In this episode we sit down with Pastor Alan Shelby of Harvest Baptist Church to discuss Rob Bell's "Love Wins" and the theology of universal reconciliation.

Wright is perhaps the most influential thinker in evangelical Christianity today. So what's wrong with his hermeneutic?

In this episode we continue our conversation with Pastor Mark Trotter of One Baptist Church about how he came to be an author. We discuss the learning tools that God has used him to produce over the last year. He shares about his most recent book "Keys of Bible Study" and why he was convinced that he needed to write it.