Jesus the Legend

Hey everyone, welcome back to Jesus the Legend.

Today we're going to talk about something that sits right at the center of the Christianity: the cross.

For two thousand years Christians have looked to the cross as the place where God dealt with sin, defeated evil, reconciled humanity, and revealed His love. The cross is central to what we believe.

But while Christians generally agree that the cross matters, they haven't always agreed on how it works or what even happened. 

Many of us grew up in churches where one particular explanation of the cross was presented as though it were simply "the gospel." We were taught that Jesus died to take the punishment that we deserved so that God could forgive us.

For many Christians, that explanation is so familiar that they've never considered that it's actually only one theory among several theories that Christians have used throughout history to explain what happened on Good Friday.

This is called Penal Substitutionary Atonement, often shortened to PSA.

Today I want to talk about another take on the cross called Christus Victor. One that in my opinion is much more beautiful and sits better with the God revealed in Jesus.

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Hey everyone and welcome to Jesus the Legend!

Today on the podcast I’m chatting with Matt Spinks. Matt and his wife Katie have been in full-time ministry since 2008, and I think one of the beautiful things about their story is that they’d probably describe themselves as ordinary people who had an extraordinary encounter with the finished work of Christ and the glory of God.

Out of that journey, they’ve spent years exploring the deep mystery and wonder of God’s love and grace, and sharing that good news with others in a really authentic and life-giving way. They are also currently working with YWAM, continuing to encourage and equip people in their walk with God.

They’re also parents to two wonderful kids, Samuel and Rainbow, and a huge part of their heart is family, community, and simply living this thing out where they are — while also sharing the message online and with people around the world.

I think you’re really gonna love this conversation.

Intro/outro music licensed from Soundstripe (soundstripe.com)

Hey everyone and welcome to Jesus the Legend!

Today on the podcast I’m chatting with Matt Spinks. Matt and his wife Katie have been in full-time ministry since 2008, and I think one of the beautiful things about their story is that they’d probably describe themselves as ordinary people who had an extraordinary encounter with the finished work of Christ and the glory of God.

Out of that journey, they’ve spent years exploring the deep mystery and wonder of God’s love and grace, and sharing that good news with others in a really authentic and life-giving way. They are also currently working with YWAM, continuing to encourage and equip people in their walk with God.

They’re also parents to two wonderful kids, Samuel and Rainbow, and a huge part of their heart is family, community, and simply living this thing out where they are — while also sharing the message online and with people around the world.

I think you’re really gonna love this conversation.

Intro/outro music licensed from Soundstripe (soundstripe.com)

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Jesus the Legend. As usual I am so glad you’re here with me... If you’ve been following the show for the last couple weeks, you know I had a really fun conversation with a friend of mine regarding Annihilationism or a “type” of Ahhihilationism.

I want to take some time today to offer some personal thoughts regarding that chat through a different lens—the lens of a Father who never gives up.

So, grab a coffee, settle in, and let’s talk about the heart of God how I see it.

Intro/outro music licensed from Soundstripe (soundstripe.com)

Welcome back to Jesus the Legend. I’m really happy to welcome back to the show my New Zealand friend, Graeme Carle.

Graeme has been with us before and we had a great conversation about tithing—so if you haven’t listened to that one yet, I’d encourage you to go back to Episodes 39 and 40. I think you’ll really enjoy it. Graeme has been working in churches for years and he has also worked part-time in the oil industry as a logistics analyst.

He has done work in Nepal, with a medical mission before moving to Colorado as a Bible teacher and ministry trainer. He’s worked with YWAM, done itinerant ministry, taught systematic theology, conducted seminars, and just about everything else you can imagine.

Today, we’re going to do something a little outside what we’ve done on the show before. As you may or may not know, there are a few different theologies around eternity and what happens after we die—there’s the view of hell as eternal conscious torment, which most of us are familiar with; ultimate reconciliation, which is where I would land, believing that God’s ultimate plan is to restore all of humanity; and then there’s annihilationism.

I mentioned to Graeme the last time he was here that it would be interesting to have him on to talk about that perspective—not to argue or debate, but just to hear that side. And wherever you find yourself on these things, it’s good to remember—it’s not our views on eternity or the end times that get us into heaven, it’s Jesus. So we can have these conversations, love each other and rest easy.

Intro/outro music licensed from Soundstripe (soundstripe.com)