The Dialog

"The Bible says cleanliness is next to godliness." A classmate said that in one of my college theology classes. My professor asked her to show us where. She flipped through Proverbs and just about everything else, then said, "Well, I don't see it in here." It's not in there.

Then he said something I've never forgotten: "If your beliefs don't line up with the Bible, you throw out your beliefs. You don't throw out the Bible."

My co-host Nick Surface and I talk about tradition versus truth, and why money is where it shows up most.

What is a tradition?
A belief that gets handed down to people as a law. Traditions aren't bad. They make us feel safe. But nobody sits down at Thanksgiving and asks, "Do we like this food?" Put bluntly, traditions are peer pressure from dead people.

What's the difference between a belief and the truth?
Truth is true whether you believe it or not. The trouble starts when we raise our beliefs to the level of truth (Mark 7:13).

Where did your beliefs about money come from?
Probably not Scripture. Most of us got them from how we were raised, our culture, our parents and the movies we watched. And "money is the root of all evil" isn't what the Bible says (1 Timothy 6:10).

How do you test what you believe?
Does it produce good outcomes in your life? Is it reflected in what Scripture teaches? Don't just take my word for it. Do the work.

Scriptures
Mark 7:1-23 · 1 Timothy 6:10 · 1 Corinthians 9:16 · Genesis 1:28 · Proverbs 13:22 · Deuteronomy 28:6, 12 · John 10:10

Chapters
0:00 Cold open and show intro
1:25 Why prosperity is such a battleground
4:25 Not the prosperity gospel, not a poverty gospel
7:04 Everyone learned a model of money growing up
7:30 "Money is the root of all evil" isn't what the Bible says
12:21 Why does the Bible talk about money so much?
13:21 The problem is tradition (Mark 7)
14:59 Thanksgiving food and the power of tradition
17:32 Traditions are peer pressure from dead people
19:49 What's the difference between a belief and the truth?
20:35 What does prosperity actually mean?
22:42 Where your beliefs about money really come from
25:17 Don't just take my word for it
28:36 What beliefs about money hold people back?
31:21 Abundant life (John 10:10)
33:20 Tithing your whole life and still broke?
34:22 "Cleanliness is next to godliness" isn't in the Bible
36:35 Is the Bible changing your life?

Previous: 1.22 / How do you hold conviction without losing compassion?
Next: 1.24 / Trusting God when you can't control the outcome

New episodes most weeks.
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Go to my website / https://jkc.is

What is The Dialog?

Ancient philosophers used the dialog to find answers to life’s greatest questions. The Dialog is a search for truth in modern life through the lens of ancient philosophy, history, and theology. This podcast will challenge your assumptions, change your thinking and show you how to master modern living.