Advertise on podcast: The Study Boys

Unity sounds like an unquestionably good thing—but can the pursuit of unity itself become sinful? In this episode, we examine the difference between Christian unity rooted in sound doctrine and a false unity that requires us to ignore, minimize, or compromise what God has revealed. Biblical unity is not simply agreement for agreement’s sake. It is unity in Christ, His Word, and the truth He has given His Church. We also discuss another danger: adding man-made laws and burdens to God’s commands. When human traditions are treated as necessary for pleasing God, becoming more spiritual, or drawing closer to Him, they can obscure the very means by which God has promised to come to us. Rather than inventing our own path to God, Christians are called to receive His gifts where He has promised to give them—in His Word and the means He has established. What happens when keeping the peace requires compromising truth? And what happens when our attempts to become “more spiritual” actually lead us away from the freedom of the Gospel?

On this episode of The Study Boys, Lex Lutheran and FLAME discuss teenage retention in the church and the troubling number of teens who walk away from the faith after high school---heading to college. What can the Church do? Teenagers need more than moral instruction—they need to hear the Gospel, be catechized in the Christian faith, and experience that faith as something lived within the life of the Church. We discuss discipleship, formation, and preparing the next generation for a faith that endures. MEN’S DISCIPLESHIP: 👇 Check out On the Line’s Memento for men’s discipleship below:  ⁨@otl_podcast_⁩   Access a discount from the link below: https://memento70.com/partners/flame

What did Jesus mean when He said that if we forgive others, our heavenly Father will forgive us—but if we do not forgive others, neither will our Father forgive us? In this episode of The Study Boys, Lex Lutheran and FLAME respond to the recent dialogue between Ethiopian Orthodox Deacon Mihret Melaku and Ruslan Karaoglanov (Ruslan KD) and wrestle with one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings. Is Jesus teaching that our works contribute to our salvation? Is our forgiveness from God conditioned upon our ability to forgive others? Or is something else happening in these passages? We explore these questions through the Law-Gospel distinction, asking what Jesus’ words reveal about God’s perfect, unmovable, and unbudgeable standard of righteousness—and what they reveal about us. We also discuss the Christian as simultaneously sinner and saint, our ongoing need to confess our sins and pray for forgiveness, and why our true righteousness can never finally be located in our performance—even our performance of forgiveness—but only in Jesus Christ and His righteousness for us. How do we take Jesus’ warning with full seriousness without turning the Gospel into a system of salvation by works? Let’s study. 📖

Every Christian good isn't the gospel. Obedience is good. Loving your neighbor is good. Prayer is good. Justice is good. Mercy is good. Holiness is good. Faithfulness is good. But none of these are the gospel. So what is the gospel? In this episode of The Study Boys, FLAME and Lex Lutheran tackle one of the most important—and most confused—questions in Christianity. Drawing from Dr. Michael Horton's work as a springboard, they examine why the gospel is something specific, objective, and unique: the announcement of what God has accomplished for sinners through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Why does it matter to distinguish the gospel from the law? What happens when every Christian virtue, command, or good work is called "the gospel"? How does this confusion affect preaching, assurance, sanctification, and the Christian life? Join us as we recover the biblical distinction between Law and Gospel and ask a simple but vital question: If that's not the gospel… what is?

Can we really all be one simply because we use the name Jesus and identify as Christian? Or does Christian unity require something deeper? In this episode of The Study Boys, Lex Lutheran and myself (FLAME) tackle one of Christianity's most pressing questions: Can’t we all be one in Christ Jesus and get along? Together, we wrestle with the biblical call to unity while also asking whether there are times when division is not only unavoidable, but faithful. Looking closely at Matthew 13, we discuss Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds, considering what it means to let them grow together until the harvest without abandoning the Church's responsibility to distinguish truth from error. Is every disagreement worth dividing over? Can Christians simply rally around the name of Jesus? Where do we draw the line between charitable disagreement and doctrinal compromise? Join us as we explore biblical unity, necessary division, Christian charity, and why truth and love must always go hand in hand.

Is baptism merely a public symbol of an inward faith, or is it one of the very means through which God delivers His saving promises? In this episode of The Study Boys, we react to and analyze clips from Philip Anthony Mitchell and Gina Views as they discuss the nature of baptism. Using their comments as a springboard, we examine what Scripture actually teaches about baptism and ask whether it is merely a metaphor or a miraculous means through which God gives the forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation in Christ. Walking carefully through key biblical passages and the witness of the early Church, we explore what Jesus and the apostles taught, how the earliest Christians understood baptism, and whether modern views align with the historic Christian faith. Whether you're exploring the Christian faith, wrestling with questions about baptism, or simply want to understand what the Bible teaches, this episode seeks to bring clarity by letting Scripture—and the testimony of the historic Church—speak for themselves. Join us as we carefully evaluate these popular perspectives and ask the central question: Is baptism merely a metaphor... or is it one of God's miraculous means of salvation?

What makes a church truly Christian? Is it ancient liturgy, beautiful architecture, viral influencers, or something deeper? In this episode of The Study Boys, Lex Lutheran and FLAME discuss why the Augsburg Confession (1530) remains one of the most important documents for anyone asking where the true Church is found. As growing numbers of Gen Z—especially young men—return to Christianity, many are choosing churches based on aesthetics, tradition, or online personalities. But are those the right criteria? Together, we explore the historical circumstances surrounding the Reformation, the witness of the conservative Reformers, and why the marks of the Church are found not in style or "vibes," but in the pure preaching of the Gospel and the right administration of the Sacraments. We also explain why the doctrine of justification by faith alone is not merely one doctrine among many, but the article upon which the Church stands or falls. Whether you're Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or simply exploring Christianity, this conversation will challenge you to ask not, "Which church feels right?" but "Where has Christ promised to be for sinners?

Disclaimer: Please pardon some of the visual glitches throughout this episode. Something most likely went wrong during the rendering process, and while the video may do a few odd things visually, we hope it isn't too distracting and appreciate your patience. Description Claiming to Be God & Having His Power? Many people eventually grow bored with Christianity's central message: that Jesus Christ won the forgiveness of sins on the cross and continues to deliver that salvation through His external means of grace—His Word and Sacraments. In search of something more exciting, sensational, and personally empowering, some teachers begin making increasingly extravagant claims that subtly (or not so subtly) shift the focus away from Christ and onto ourselves. In this episode, we examine statements and teachings from Kenneth Copeland, Tim Ross, and Steven Furtick that move toward self-deification—the idea that believers somehow become divine or possess God's unique attributes. We also offer an honorable mention of Christine Caine and her claims that we possess God's power in such a way that we can use our words to create our own preferred realities. Rather than seeking secret knowledge, personal revelations, or divine status, Scripture calls us back to the crucified and risen Christ, who freely gives forgiveness, life, and salvation through His appointed means: the preached Gospel and the Sacraments.

Who is Jesus, really? In Part 2 of our series Which Jesus Do You Worship?, we explore the biblical truth that Jesus is not only fully God, but also fully man—two distinct natures united in one Person. He experienced real human weakness, temptation, hunger, sorrow, and suffering, yet remained completely without sin as the perfect Savior. Join us as we examine why Christ’s true humanity is essential to the Gospel and what is at stake when we misunderstand who He is.

A lot of people talk about Jesus, pray to Jesus, and claim to follow Jesus—but are they talking about the Jesus revealed in Scripture? In Part 1 of this 3-part series, The Study Boys examine the many competing claims about Christ throughout history and ask the question Jesus Himself asked: “Who do men say that I am?” Join us as we begin separating the biblical Jesus from the countless counterfeits.

In this episode of The Study Boys, FLAME and Lex Lutheran confront several troubling statements made by popular influencers regarding the nature of God, Christ, and the Holy Trinity. We examine claims such as: • Jesus being a created being • Jesus and the Holy Spirit being the same Person • the manna from heaven being money • and even the shocking statement that “Jesus is a stripper” These are not minor theological disagreements. These teachings strike at the heart of historic Christian doctrine and the biblical revelation of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together, we discuss why these teachings are dangerous, how false doctrine spreads through charisma and influence, and why Christians must recover discernment, theological clarity, and fidelity to Scripture. Jude 1:4 warns us: “For certain people have crept in unnoticed…” False teaching is not always loud, obvious, or outside the church. Sometimes it hides in plain sight.

In this episode, Lex Lutheran and I wrestle with what happens when our immediate needs and perceived pressures begin to take priority over God’s priorities. When that shift happens, the goalposts move—and what God has actually given to His Church starts to feel secondary, outdated, or even irrelevant. We’re seeing a growing trend where Christians prefer a version of the faith centered on feelings, prophetic words, dreams, and mystical experiences—while struggling to see the ongoing relevance of the Gospel itself: the forgiveness of sins, the finished work of Christ, and His continued presence for us in Word and Sacrament. We react to Dr. Rod Rosenbladt's "The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church." A well-known message to the hurting Christian—those who have been crushed under heavy doses of law preaching and have rarely, if ever, heard the Gospel clearly delivered. His work exposes just how easy it is to lose the main thing, even in churches that claim to preach Christ. Here is the full talk: https://youtu.be/5TJvBxIXLlI?si=DiOJW2-34ZQH3p89  PLEASE Take a listen---to the whole thing!! Thank us later!! We also engage voices—pastors and teachers—who assume that message is old, insufficient, or no longer compelling, and who push for something “more.” But in chasing experience, many have unintentionally displaced the very center: Christ for you. This episode is a call to recover what God has actually promised to do for sinners/saints.

In this episode of The Study Boys, Lex Lutheran and Flame dive into a growing trend in modern preaching: using Holy Week as a platform for self-help, personal elevation, and motivational messaging. We engage recent examples, including teaching that turns Palm Sunday into a lesson about “humble means” leading to personal destiny, and interpretations of the resurrection that suggest Jesus died so we can avoid physical death—reframing it as mere temporal escape rather than the victory over sin and death. But is that what the Scriptures actually teach? We walk through what Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter are truly about—not our platform, not our elevation, not our temporal success—but the forgiveness of sins, won for us by Christ and delivered through His Word and Sacraments. This episode brings clarity, correction, and comfort, drawing the line between Christ-centered proclamation and man-centered application. Christ for you—not a metaphor for you.

In this episode, Lex Lutheran and I respond to recent teaching from Tim Timberlake, who argues that God wants you to dream bigger, want more, and not be comfortable having less than your enemies, and that believers should draw closer to God for new revelations so they can be elevated. He uses the life of Moses to support this idea, and we take time to examine whether the Bible actually teaches this. We talk about how Scripture is often used to promote ambition, elevation, and personal success in ways that the text itself does not support, and why this kind of preaching can become spiritually dangerous. When people are taught to expect things God never promised—promotion, elevation, constant increase—it can lead to disappointment, doubt, and even a crisis of faith when life does not go the way they were told it would. We also briefly discuss the recent controversy involving LaRussell and the phrase “heaven-sent,” and how language like that can be misunderstood if we are not careful with how we speak about God’s work in our lives. This episode is really about learning the difference between what God has actually promised and what American Christianity often says God promised, and why that distinction matters for real faith, real suffering, and real Christian life.

Not all worship is the same — not because of the instruments, but because of the theology behind it. There is nothing inherently wrong with guitars, and nothing inherently holy about an organ. The real question is this: What is going on theologically in your worship service? Is worship primarily about what we bring to God — our energy, our emotion, our commitment, our performance? Or is it about what God is giving to us — His Word, His forgiveness, His body and blood, His promises? In historic Christian liturgy, the center of worship is not our performance for God, but God’s service to us — through the preached Word, the read Word, the sung Word, and the Sacraments. The Church gathers not to give God something He lacks, but to receive from God what we lack. That changes everything.