Episode Details
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Description
This week on Thinking Out Loud with Pastor-D, Joe sits down with the man who apparently believes the IRS is doing the Lord’s work—and somehow, that isn’t even the most troubling subject of the day.
We begin with politics, taxpayer-funded promises and one rather uncomfortable question: Are we watching democracy slowly vote itself into oblivion? From there, we turn to two of Jesus’ most challenging stories and ask what He really expects from people who claim to follow Him.
Can someone be a genuine Christian without producing much visible fruit? What about a deathbed confession and repentance? Are good works evidence of salvation—and how many works are "enough?" Why did Jesus give the barren fig tree another year, and was the manure merely fertilizer…or was Jesus making a deeper point with the poop?
We also discuss conviction versus conversion, grace versus accountability and the difference between trying not to do wrong and actively trying to do right. Joe then submits himself for a spiritual inspection involving an occasional drink and a good party.
Finally, we ask whether calling Christianity the “superior decision” could lead us straight into the pride Jesus condemned in the Pharisees—and how we can know whether our faith is truly changing us or merely serving as a comfortable blanket over the things we don’t want to confront.
It’s an honest conversation about repentance, spiritual fruit, self-deception and the patience of God—with Pastor-D, Joe and a smelly fig tree.
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