The Weekly Essentials | 05-20-2022

In by Right Response Staff

Right Response Ministries has produced hundreds of high-quality videos/podcasts. So for your convenience, every Friday we provide a list of our top five videos for the week. Each of these videos are personally selected by Pastor Joel Webbon. He has insisted that we not merely highlight our most popular content, but the content that he believes is most vital for Christians to be convicted, emboldened, and encouraged. May God use this content to bless you richly.


#1 CHRISTIANS MUST BUILD, NOT JUST BOYCOTT | WITH MARCUS PITTMAN

In this episode of Theology Applied, Marcus Pittman shares his vision behind LOOR.TV. Christians have spent far too much time complaining about the culture and boycotting certain companies and products. What we need to do is build a better culture.

#2 HOW EMPATHY RUINED AMERICA

Jesus is the merciful High Priest because he sympathizes with our weakness. But Jesus is NOT an “Empathetic” High Priest. Empathy only makes problems worse.

#3 A PRIMER ON CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENT | THEONOMY - PART 5 OF 6

30. What is the sphere and assignment given by God to the civil government?

The sphere and assignment given by God to civil government is punishing criminals, establishing good order and justice in society through equal weights and measures, and praising the righteous.

31. Does the Bible require a particular form of civil government?

The Bible allows for some flexibility and freedom in form of government, but it clearly teaches a constitutional and representative form of government, governed by Scripture, common law, and natural law, prioritizing personal, local, and covenantal relationships and loyalties, with multiple checks and balances, given the natural tendency of sinful men to abuse power. A Christian civil order requires a limited government.

32. How is civil government to be limited?

Civil government is to be limited by honoring the assignments given to the governments of the family and the church, not meddling in or taking to itself those assignments, and remaining steadfast in the sphere and assignment given to it by God: punishing criminals and upholding justice.

33. Who are the officers of civil government?

Following the pattern of Scripture, the officers in civil government are ordinarily qualified men who are judges, legislators, and executives, beginning with local magistrates in the city gates.

34. What are the sanctions granted to the civil government?

God has granted the civil magistrate the sword with which to execute God’s vengeance on criminals. The basic principle is the lex talionis “eye for eye” which requires strict punitive or retributive justice and biblical restitution in cases of theft, property damage, or divorce, but may also include stripes, banishment, exile, or the death penalty. Incarceration is not an ordinary tool given to civil government.

35. What is the difference between a sin and a crime?

Not all sins are crimes, but all crimes, if defined by the Bible, are sins. However, sins are the jurisdiction and ministry of individuals, families, and churches. Crimes are the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate and do objective, public harm to life, liberty, or property. The Bible identifies crimes as those actions which require restitution or penalty by civil magistrates. For example, in the Bible, drunkenness and ethnic animosity are sins but not crimes, while adultery is a sin and a crime.

You can find the full catechism on Toby's blog here: https://www.tobyjsumpter.com/a-catechism-on-the-governments-50-questions-answers/

#4 POSTMILLENNIALISM | DEALING WITH “PROBLEM” TEXTS


One of the most common passages of Scripture used against Postmillennialism is 2 Timothy 3. In this brief video, Gray DeMar demonstrates how to simply exegete this chapter of the Bible within a Postmillennial framework. “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:1-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

#5 BIG EVA PERVERTS GRACE & HATES LAW

Evangelicalism officially embraced antinomianism a long time ago. And by despising God's Law, Evangelicalism has done something truly horrific to the Gospel

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM PASTOR JOEL WEBBON

Unfortunately, 2021 did not provide the relief that many were hoping for. Instead of the promised return to normalcy, tyranny and deception have become commonplace. From vaccine mandates to record-high inflation, our current political elites have made it abundantly clear that they have no concern for the public. And yet, God’s goodness has continued to shine through. More and more people are waking up to reality and joining the fight for liberty and truth.

However, there still appears to be a problem. On the one hand, there are Evangelicals who claim to love the Gospel, while consistently echoing the talking points of neo-Marxists. And on the other hand, there are Conservatives that champion many Christian values, while rejecting Christ as the source of all that is good. Our world desperately needs Christians who believe the whole Bible and are committed to applying it to every area of life. From family to church, and culture to politics, we must hold fast to the sufficiency of Scripture.

This is our goal: To equip Christians with a thoroughly biblical worldview, and teach them to apply it to every area of life.

To this end, we humbly ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with Right Response Ministries. Right Response Ministries is seeking to continue to be a voice of reason in a world that has gone mad, but we cannot accomplish this without your help.