Entire books have been written about the thorny theological issue I want to talk about today.

James chapter 2. At face value, James 2 seems hard to reconcile with the rest of the New Testament.

That’s because the rest of the New Testament pretty clearly teaches this doctrine of salvation by grace through faith not of works. That’s a direct quote, actually.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 4:2-3

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

Galatians 2:16

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,

So it’s like, every page of the New Testament makes this clear: salvation is only by grace through faith. There is nothing you can do to earn your salvation. Works play no part in it.

And then James comes along and says this in his second chapter,

Verse 14

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

Wait a second here. Let me read that again. (Re-read it)

Is James going against Paul? I can’t emphasize enough how much this seems to be saying the exact opposite of so many other verses in the Bible.

Is James contradicting Paul? Is James contradicting the Bible? Is James contradicting God Himself?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to James 2, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:00 - James 2

6:15 - The Context of James

11:30 - Going Back to the Greek

17:00 - Next Time

20:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

So we’re in this chapter called Ezekiel’s Greatest Hits. That’s my name for it. Ezekiel 33 recaps some of Ezekiel’s earlier lessons; in fact, some of my favorite lessons from earlier in the book. And today we’ll be looking at verses 10 through 20, which recap my favorite chapter of Ezekiel: chapter 18.

This is the chapter on personal responsibility. It was one of my most popular podcast episodes before, and it’s still getting a lot of play even today. If you heard the lesson on Ezekiel 18 before, don’t tune out, because even though this is recapping something we’ve already studied, I’m going to expand on it today.

A lot of people question how Ezekiel 18 fits in with the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, not of works. We’re going to talk about dispensationalism. We’re going to talk about Calvinism and God’s sovereignty. And if you listen until the end, we’re even going to talk about the difference in worldly sorrow and true repentance that Paul discusses in the New Testament.

So you’re gonna get a lot of good theology if you stick around today on the Cross References podcast.

0:00 - Introduction

2:30 - Javascript Bible

5:20 - v10-12, The Limits of Calvinism

13:35 - v12-13, The Limits of Dispensationlism

20:30 - Faith and Works

30:50 - Next Time

34:10 - v17-20, Worldly Sorrow vs Godly Sorrow (II Corinthians 7)

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

I am looking at changing this podcast's name to "The Book of Ezekiel: A Cross References Bible Study."

I hope you will agree that I have a good reason to make this change.

You are probably going to regret listening to today’s episode. I’m just gonna put that out there now.

Why do I say that? Do you ever learn something and you just kind of wish you didn’t know?

Like, I wish I didn’t know about germs. Sometimes I just really wish I didn’t know that there are these tiny little microscopic bacteria all over virtually everything and if you get too many of them you’ll get sick and feel yucky.

That sounds like pretty helpful information to know, except for the fact that I have this awareness at all times that I’m constantly surrounded by germs. I’m a bit of a germaphobe. I keep hand sanitizer in my car, on my desk at work, and sitting over here by me as I say these words at my desk at home.

Yes, it makes me feel better to have it. But I kinda wish sometimes I didn’t worry about germs as much as I do.

Well, there are things about spiritual reality that we don’t know and that we are perfectly happy not to know and yet that we should know. For example, whose responsibility is it when someone goes to hell? Is it just that person’s fault? Can another person be responsible for it? Can YOU be responsible for it?

The answer might make you a little uncomfortable. But, it’s something you need to know, and you’ll learn that answer today on the Cross References podcast.

0:00 - Introduction

4:50 - v1-9, The Burden of the Watchman

19:50 - A Note about the Future

23:50 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

Today, I'm just asking for prayer for the family of a friend of mine. Though my heart is heavy right now, I hope you all have a Happy Memorial Day :)

A conversation with Nate Vainio, host of the Something to Gnaw On podcast. He has graciously allowed me to share this interview with my listeners over here for the month of May, and this is part 3 of 3.

The Cross References Podcast with Luke Taylor: Episode 122

(And Part 57 of my Ezekiel series)

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

A conversation with Nate Vainio, host of the Something to Gnaw On podcast. He has graciously allowed me to share this interview with my listeners over here for the month of May, and this is part 2 of 3.

The Cross References Podcast with Luke Taylor: Episode 121

(And Part 56 of my Ezekiel series)

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

A conversation with Nate Vainio, host of the Something to Gnaw On podcast. He has graciously allowed me to share this interview with my listeners over here for the month of May, and this is part 1 of 3.

The Cross References Podcast with Luke Taylor: Episode 120

(And Part 55 of my Ezekiel series)

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com