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The first topic of this episode involved looking at the proposed changes to the Pennsylvania Health Code that were put forth by the Department of Health. The proposed changes included such things as allowing Health Department officials to gain access to any property without a warrant and without any opposition or interference. These changes reached national headlines and resulted in massive backlash. You can read the full list of proposed changes here: PA Code and Bulletin The second topic this week involved a brief survey of God's law prior to the time of Moses. This included looking at the laws given to Adam, Noah, and Abraham, while tracking the changes in the laws given to each. The purpose of this is to see how changes in the covenant (and the priesthood of that covenant) results in changes to the law. This will matter when we look at the laws of Moses and how to apply them as Christians. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

On this episode, I read Part 7 (the final part) of my Substack series on God's law and present several principles by which we can take an Old Testament law and apply it in light of Christ's birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. This method of interpretation and application follows the pattern presented by the Apostle Paul when he describes himself as following "the law of Christ." In future episodes, we will look at specific laws and actually apply the interpretive method presented here. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

On this episode, I read Part 6 of my Substack series on God's law. In this article, I look at how we should approach God's law as readers. As God's covenant people in the New Covenant, Christians need to remember that Scripture is written both to them and for them. This directly impacts how we understand God's law. Lastly, I dive into the typical three-fold categorization of God's law into Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil, and see if such a categorization really does justice to the text. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

On this first episode of Season 7, I open up with a discussion of murder, the death penalty, and insanity. The context of this is the Lindsay Clancy trial currently taking place. At the time of this episode being recorded, the jury remains undecided on whether or not she was morally culpable when she killed her children and if she had a mental disease or defect that makes her not criminally responsible. But is that how God's law administers justice? Does Scripture allow for insanity or even demonic possession to absolve someone of responsibility? I consider those questions, and others, on today's episode. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

On this final episode of Season 6, I read of Part 5 of my Substack series on God's law. In this article, I look at the principles of interpretation to be used when trying to apply Old Testament laws in a New Covenant context. This involves looking at the relationship between the Old and New Covenants, as well as what Jesus means when he says that he came to fulfill the law rather than to abolish it. Of note, I will be back in September with Season 7! As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

REPLAY: All legislation, or law, is a declaration of value. The question is what we will value and how value will be determined. There is always a standard, but the debate is on what standard will be used. The law that God gave to Israel was not just for Israel but was meant to be an example to the nations. For example, in God's word we find principles of federalism, rule of law, and separation of powers. Finally, I briefly address the concept of natural law and its relationship to God's law. If you have any questions, comments, or other topics you would like me to address, please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or go to http://www.ericluppold.com/ And if you would like to support the show, please become a patron!

This week is my reading of Part 4 of my Substack series on God's law. In this article, I look at the second and third uses of God's law. On the one hand, God's law serves as a light and lamp for believers, guiding them in how they should live and in what it means to love their neighbor. On the other hand, the law restrains unbelievers, preventing them from being as wicked as they otherwise would be. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

REPLAY: What does it mean for Jesus to reign over all powers and dominions? What is the Kingdom of God? What does it look like, where is it, and how do we enter? What does it mean for Jesus to have all authority on heaven and on earth? If you have any questions, comments, or other topics you would like me to address, please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or go to http://www.ericluppold.com/ And if you would like to support the show, please become a patron!

This week is my reading of Part 3 of my Substack series on God's law. In this article, I look at one of the primary purposes of God's law, which is to highlight our failure and show us our need for a savior. This is only one of several purposes, or uses, of the law. I will address the other two in future articles. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

This week is my reading of Part 2 of my Substack series on God's law. In this article, I look at the effect of the law on our hearts, as well as our naturally sinful response to it. I also consider how sin is lawlessness and what conclusions we can draw from that truth. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

This week I wanted to share a presentation that I gave at the Future of Christendom Theonomy Symposium in March of this year. My talk was on Deuteronomy 20 and Just War Theory. You can find the video, as well as the other videos from the conference, at the link below: Future of Christendom As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

REPLAY: What is Theonomy and what is a basic definition of it? What does Deuteronomy 4:5-8 say and how does it apply to us today? On today's program I play and review several clips from a recent Pastors Talk episode produced by 9Marks. The hosts, Jonathan Leeman and Mark Dever, interview Carl Trueman about his most recent book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. Although the book and the interview are excellent, a few comments are made about theonomy that are worth bringing up. The men raise several straw men arguments regarding theonomy before knocking them down, seemly misunderstanding what theonomy actually teaches. If you have any questions, comments, or other topics you would like me to address, please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or go to http://www.ericluppold.com/ And if you would like to support the show, please become a patron!

REPLAY: Politics is dirty (right?), so the Bible has nothing to say about it (or does it?). But when we look closely at Scripture, I think we will find that it says more about politics (i.e., the concerns of the city) than we give it credit for. If you have any questions, comments, or other topics you would like me to address, please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or go to http://www.ericluppold.com/ And if you would like to support the show, please become a patron!

Due to various time constraints, including finishing a PhD, I will be pausing our study of America's history and will be providing shorter content. Today I read my first Substack article of a series titled Loving God, Loving Neighbor. I begin by defining terms such as "law" and "covenant" and set the groundwork for how Christians should understand and apply God's law today. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected] or go to my Substack page at http://www.governedbygod.com and message me there! And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!

In this week's episode, I finish looking at the pastors known as the Black-Robed Regiment who, through their teaching and preaching, helped solidify and give a moral defense of the American War for Independence. Today, I end this series with John Witherspoon, who served as the President of the College of New Jersey (i.e., Princeton University) and then was chosen to be a delegate of New Jersey at the Continental Congress. Although John Witherspoon gave numerous sermons throughout his long life, one of the most influential was titled, Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Man. This sermon was given in 1776 in Philadelphia just as the American Colonies declared independence from England. Witherspoon was the only active clergyman and college president to sign the Declaration of Independence, and so I hope that you will enjoy this brief look at one of our Founding Fathers. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected]. You can follow also me on Facebook or Twitter, or go to http://www.governedbygod.com And if you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron!