Milk and Meat Podcast

01/04/2025

This is a section of Scripture where Jesus rebukes the false religious practices of the Pharisees and scribes ⬇️⬇️

You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”
— Matthew 15:7-9

I have spent years in a religious tradition that gets the same exact rebuke from Christ as this. It was eye-opening and shocking when i came to terms with the fact that i was in a cult that severely mis-taught basic and complex elements of the Christian faith. This was done by twisting and mis-representing various portions of Scripture in a historically disagreeable way, and to the detriment of those that were under that teaching and preaching.

The way that i was able to rightly understand God’s truth on a variety of topics, such as His triune nature, salvation by faith instead of through a Jesus-name-only baptismal formula, and the actual meaning, limitations, and functions of spiritual gifts, was through a series of verse-by-verse instruction and teaching out of God’s Word.

That (historically valid) style of preaching/teaching, where no verse is overlooked or left behind, puts the preacher in the position to deal with all of God’s Word faithfully and contextually, and leaves the hearer responsible for all of what God’s Word says, and not just the often-highlighted and out-of-context verses that have become popular among biblically-ignorant churchgoers.

It was this selfsame method of preaching and teaching, through a proper exposition and exegesis of Scripture, that led me to realize and conclude that what i was being taught at my local church and its affiliated partner churches was not only heresy, but even New Age Christian mysticism and emotionalism clothed in spirituality.

So many are held captive to those false doctrines and expectations, and our hope is to properly exegete God’s Word so as to bring forth the milk and the meat of Scripture so that hearers will not only understand the foundational truth, but grow to appreciate and comprehend the complexities of God’s Word as well.

This year, we hope to answer the questions that are actually being asked, and to deal with topics of concern as they organically sprout up through our biblical studies and interactions with others.

For His glory, and the benefit of His people, Soli Deo Gloria!

10/25/2024

Christian Courtship (Part 2)- [EP #93]

This episode is the second of a two-part discussion centering on Christian courtship and premarital relationships, where Aldo and Vanessa are at the stage of engagement apps one month prior to their wedding day.
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Listen on these platforms, among others ⬇️

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-meat/id1487771980?i=1000674402786

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/05EWGFvwUkzIcse0TVLNn7?si=f8d3c27d85c846cc

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0DKX6QF7X?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

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Youtube: https://youtu.be/VqZ8HfOcyyI

[Episode #93 w/ Aldo Beltran, Vanessa Woody, and Leslie Krymkevich]This episode is the second of a two-part discussion centering on Christian courtship and p...

10/16/2024

Christian Courtship (Part 1)- [EP #92]

This episode is the first of a two-part discussion centering on Christian courtship and premarital relationships, where Aldo and Vanessa are at the stage of engagement apps one month prior to their wedding day.
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Listen on these platforms, among others ⬇️

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-meat/id1487771980?i=1000673364361

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3TSYUOa5rqZSKgEWVaLV0n?si=O-Yy73HVSEy8gUOWqVk-yQ

AmazonMusic: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1360a02f-5012-4873-8e6a-72609ec68efd/episodes/2c98c9bc-b538-42a6-a140-04d73adadd59/milk-meat-podcast-christian-courtship-part-1-of-2---ep-92-w-aldo-vanessa-and-leslie

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Youtube:

[Episode #92 w/ Aldo Beltran, Vanessa Woody, and Leslie Krymkevich.]This episode is the first of a two-part discussion centering on Christian courtship and p...

05/07/2024

In no sense are good men compelled to sin. God always provides a way of escape. That way may be through a burning fiery furnace, through a lion's den, through a shower of stones, through death itself; but it is still a way of escape. It is not wicked to die.

—William S. Plumer

05/04/2024

👀

05/03/2024

An excerpt from The Valley of Vision
• • •
• •
•
“JESUS MY GLORY”

O LORD GOD,

Thou hast commanded me to believe in Jesus;
and I would flee to no other refuge,
wash in no other fountain,
build on no other foundation,
receive from no other fullness,
rest in no other relief.

His water and blood were not severed
in their flow at the cross,
may they never be separated
in my creed and experiences;

May I be equally convinced of the guilt
and pollution of sin,
feel my need of a Orince and Saviour,
implore of him repentance as well as forgiveness,
love holiness, and be pure in heart,
have the mind of Jesus, and tread in His steps.

Let me not be at my own disposal,
but rejoice that I am under the care of one
who is too wise to err,
too kind to injure,
too tender to crush.

May I scandalize none by my temper and conduct,
but recommend and endear Christ to all around, bestow good on every one as circumstances permit,
and decline no opportunity of usefulness.

Grant that I may value my substance,
not as the medium of pride and luxury,
but as the means of my support and stewardship.

Help me to guide my affections with discretion,
to owe no man anything,
to be able to give to him that needeth,
to feel it my duty and pleasure to be merciful and forgiving,
to show to the world the likeness of Jesus.

04/05/2024

Responding to opposition and religious fallacies
• • • • • • • • • • • •

It is important for us to be able to articulate our faith in God, and to reasonably stand against deceptive ideas and false theologies. A we are approached by a Mormon, 7th Day Adventist, or an Apostolic, we will be in the position to defend biblical Christianity over and against their views.

This isn’t a “maybe if it happens,” but rather a “when it happens” scenario, and we ought to be ready. So, take Peter’s words to heart: ⬇️

“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence”
— 1 Peter 3:15

Thus, know the Word and the Author by studying it and applying yourself to it, otherwise, you might find yourself unable to answer important questions about the Faith, and in turn, your assurance of Christ can dwindle.

04/02/2024

Jesus is NOT the Father ⬇️
• • • • • • •

John 10:30: "I and the Father are one." This passage is seemingly the single most cited passage by Oneness supporters (e.g., Bernard, 1983:
126-7). However, a Oneness understanding of this passage would be foreign both in a first-century Jewish and biblical context. The Oneness doctrinal argument concerning John 10:30 is rather straightforward: Jesus said, "I and the Father are one," therefore, Jesus and the Father are the same Person. The use of this text is not new to the modern era, for there have been many through the centuries who have sought to preserve the Oneness premise by appealing to this passage. An exegetical analysis of the passage in its grammatical structure actually proves the very converse of the Oneness assertion. First, notice the Greek rendering: egõ kai ho pater hen esmen, literally, "I and the Father one we are."

What directly challenges the Oneness assertion is the fact that the verb "are" is the first person plural form (esmen) of the Greek verb eimi. Hence, Jesus did not say, "I and the Father am [eimi] one," but rather, "I and the Father are [esmen] one." The plural verb differentiates Jesus from the Father. When Modalism first emerged, Christian theologians brought out this grammatical point against misinterpretations of this commonly implemented passage.

Early church polemicist and defender of Christian Orthodoxy, Hippolytus (Against Noetus 7, in Roberts and Donaldson, 1994; vol. 5:226) responds to the use of John 10:30 in the modalistic assertion made by the first known modalist, Noetus of Smyrna:

If, again, he [Noetus] alleges His [Christ's] own word when He said, "I and the Father are one," let him attend to the fact, and understand that He did not say, "I and the Father am, but are one." For the word “are” is not said of one person, but it refers to two persons, and one power (emphasis added).

—Edward L. Dalcour, Ph.D., “A Definitive Look At Oneness Theology In the Light of Biblical Trinitarianism”

03/08/2024

HOW TO GROW IN SANCTIFICATION?
• • • • • • •

Sanctification comes about as a result of walking in obedience to God. It is the result of following after God’s righteousness. ⬇️

“I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”
—Romans 6:19

Therefore, if you are struggling to understand how to grow in your sanctification, begin with understanding your own sinfulness, which the Word of God explicitly articulates in Romans 3:10-20. Then, beholding Christ as your only hope and salvation, follow Him and His Word. Set your mind on things above, on heavenly truths and realities (Colossians 3:1-3), and focus on that which God approves as worthy and right, as stated simply in Philippians ⬇️

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things”
—Philippians 4:8

As you do this, learn, by applying the Word to your life and directing your life in accordance with the Word. In this, the Holy Spirit will be providentially leading you through convictions and promptings, maturing you in sanctification. This command is given us in 2 Peter ⬇️

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”
—2 Peter 1:5-7

The promise of fruitfulness comes afterwards, but is dependent on our consistency and faithfulness to this principle of following after Christ intentionally, and as you submit to Him, you will progressively grow in sanctification for the glory of God, as stated further in 2 Peter ⬇️

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
—2 Peter 1:8

Backsliding, or getting caught up in contradictory behaviors and endeavors, will result in unfruitfulness, discontent, and uncertainty for true believers ⬇️

“For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”
—2 Peter 1:9

So be sure to grow and not become stagnant. Christ is our refreshment and our strength. He is our joy and our hope. From Him we gain our resolve to get up and keep going amid frustrations and difficulties. True believers prove themselves to be so by always returning to Christ despite various failures and weaknesses. False converts and pretend Christians identify themselves by excusing and loving their sin while totally rejecting Christ and their need or desire for Him ⬇️

“Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
—2 Peter 1:10-11

Believer, GROW and PERSEVERE! It is Christ in you! It is God working in you to desire and to perform for His will and pleasure! ⬇️

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
—Philippians 2:12-13

True believers are secure in their salvation because salvation is an eternally promised gift attained by Christ’s perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross. Their assurance comes from the Word as well as the Holy Spirit witnessing within them about their unity with God (Romans 8:16). This certainly of salvation, however, dwindles when conviction of sin accrues, or when lack of fruitfulness or progress in the Christian life is noticed. This uncertainty is to be battled with refreshment in the Word, prayer, communion with the saints, and striving towards God in the things He has commanded.

Go forward and gain your assurance by pursuing fellowship with God in sanctification, God’s way!

02/24/2024

A commentary excerpt on the topic of blaspheming the Holy Spirit ⬇️
• • • • • • •

Then He gave them a chilling warning in verses 28-30: "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin' —for they were saying, 'He has an unclean spirit." Here we have the so-called "doctrine of the unforgivable sin." There are few Scriptures so consistently misunderstood as this one, and so misapplied. Nearly everyone, even the most unchurched and Biblically illiterate, has heard of the unforgivable sin. I have even had Christians tell me they are afraid they have committed it.

The question is: what is this unforgivable sin, this unforgivable blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? First, let us note what it is not. It is not cursing the Holy Spirit. It is not taking the Lord's name in vain, though that is certainly a vile sin. It is not adultery or sexual perversion. It is not murder, even multiple murders, or genocide. Very simply it is the ongoing, continual rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit to the divinity and saviorhood of Christ. It is the perversion in the heart that chooses to call light darkness and darkness light. It is continuing rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit, whether that witness be a quiet witness in the conscience, the rational witness of the Word, or even miracles and wonders.

The scribes here were at the very brink of committing this sin, because they were saying that the Holy Spirit's witness to Christ through His exorcisms and miracles were really the work of Satan. Moreover, they were persisting in their blasphemy (verse 22 indicates they kept repeatedly saying it). If their attitude had become permanent, they would have crossed the line.

Have there been people who have committed the unforgivable sin? The answer is yes. There have been men and women who rejected the Spirit's testimony regarding their own condition and the person and work of Christ so consistently that their hearts became unable to believe. Such people have ranged from the gross sinner to the urbane "good" person.

Several years ago Ben Haden visited a hospital at 3:30 A.M. to see a man he had known for some years. The doctor had said the man was dying and knew it, so Pastor Haden asked him how it was between him and the Lord. "Oh," he said, "I've always believed in God, and I know everything is shipshape."

"What do you believe about Jesus?" Haden asked him. "I've known God all my life," he said, "and I've tried to observe godly standards. I've been honest in business, and I've worked hard."

"My friend," said Pastor Haden, "and I wouldn't be here if I weren't your friend, answer a straight question: how is it between you and Jesus?" To which the man replied, "I've never made a place in my life for Jesus. I don't believe in Jesus. If I were to believe in Jesus, it would upset everything in my philosophy and my life, and I would have to rethink everything about me.”

"By the grace of God," Pastor Haden said, "you have that kind of time; rethink it." "No," he said, "I will die without Jesus."

"Why then do you think Jesus died?" asked the pastor. "Oh, I understand he died for sins."

"Your sins," said Haden. "Perhaps, perhaps, but it's too late in my life to rethink the place of Jesus." And he died." This knowledgeable man died resolutely rejecting Christ.

We must add that the unforgivable sin — blasphemy against the Holy Spirit — is a sin that requires knowledge. C. E. B. Cranfield, the eminent New Testament scholar and theologian, notes that the "scribes" whom Jesus warned were the accredited theological teachers of God's people. He further notes that their daily business was the Scriptures and that they were therefore subject to the constant witness of the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures. Then he concludes: "If we have been following the right clue, then it means that those who particularly should heed the warning of this verse today are the theological teachers and the official leaders of the churches."

Cranfield is right. It is not the ignorant blasphemer on the street who is in danger of committing the unforgivable sin, but the man or woman in the church who knows the Scriptures, has heard the Word held forth with accuracy, has seen something of the miraculous power of God in changed lives, and yet rejects it all, even identifying what he has seen with the power of Satan. He calls light darkness and good evil, in testimony to a massive perversion of spirit (cf. Isaiah 5:20). The warning is particularly to those who have grown up in the church and may even have some theological education, but have willfully rejected it and in their heart of hearts attribute supposed Christian reality to evil.

To those who are afraid they have committed the sin, we can say with absolute confidence that their being so troubled is infallible testimony they have not committed it. Note that as vile as the blasphemy of the scribes was, Jesus did not say they had committed this sin, but only warned them.

Those who continue to blaspheme the Holy Spirit do not care a whit about What they have done. If someone cares at all, though his sins be the worst, there is hope and the possibility of grace.

•
•
—R. Kent Hughes “Preaching the Word” Bible commentary on Mark 3:28-30

02/20/2024

Except from a Puritan prayer titled “The Mover”
• • • • • • •

O SUPREME MOVING CAUSE,

May i always be subordinate to Thee,
be dependent upon Thee,
be found in the path where Thou dost walk,
and where Thy Spirit moves,
take heed of estrangement from Thee,
of becoming insensible to Thy love.

Thou dost not move men like stones,
but dost endue them with life,
not to enable them to move without Thee,
but in submission to Thee, the first Mover.

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference
between my receivings and my deservings,
between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness,
between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but Thee?
for I was no more ready to receive Christ
than were others;
I could not have begun to love Thee hadst Thou not first loved me,
or been willing unless Thou hadst first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit the head of such a sinner!
such high advancement be for an unfruitful person!
such joys for so vile a rebel!
• • • • • • •

—The Valley of Vision

02/14/2024

Puritan prayer titled “God The Source of All Good”
• • • • • • •
O LORD GOD, WHO INHABITEST ETERNITY,
The heavens declare Thy glory, The earth Thy riches, The universe is Thy temple;
Thy presence fills immensity,
Yet Thou hast of Thy pleasure created life, and communicated happiness;
Thou hast made me what I am, and given me what I have;
In Thee I live and move and have my being;
Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation, and wisely administers all my affairs.

I thank Thee for thy riches to me in Jesus, for the unclouded revelation of Him in Thy Word, where I behold His Person, character, grace, glory, humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;
Give me to feel a need of His continual saviourhood, and cry with Job, “I am vile”, with Peter, “I perish”,
with the publican, “Be merciful to me, a sinner”.

Subdue in me the love of sin,
Let me know the need of renovation as well as of forgiveness,
in order to serve and enjoy Thee for ever.

I come to Thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus, with nothing of my own to plead, no works, no worthiness, no promises.

I am often straying, often knowingly opposing Thy authority, often abusing Thy goodness;
Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges, my low estimation of them,
my failure to use them to my advantage, But I am not careless of Thy favour or regardless of Thy glory;
Impress me deeply with a sense of Thine omnipresence, that Thou art about my path, my ways, my lying down, my end.
•
•
—The Valley of Vision - a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions

02/13/2024

LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;

Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty
Thy glory in my valley.
• • • • • • •
—The Valley of Vision

02/01/2024

Once Saved Always Saved? - [EP #91]
This episode is an extended response to a question that was asked at the final Q & A service of 2023, "Can a Christian lose their salvation?"

Due to time constraints during the Q & A, it wasn't possible to go too thoroughly into the response. Therefore, this episode serves to give a more detailed answer to that selfsame question.
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Listen on these platforms, among others ⬇️

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-meat/id1487771980?i=1000642989387

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FnhSvusKpPKLI3xzbJD2k?si=7533ba2e13c042ff

AmazonMusic: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FnhSvusKpPKLI3xzbJD2k?si=7533ba2e13c042ff

GooglePodcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xMDIxZjQ1Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/ZmRkYWI1YTgtNGU4OC00NzM3LWJiMDUtZTUzNmMwYWE2Mzdi?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjIkov9gIuEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQOQ

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Youtube: https://youtu.be/9V1D2T-Lhjk

[Episode #91 w/ Jeremy Dillman, John Gradillas, and Dan McGrew]This episode is an extended response to a question that was asked at the final Q & A service o...

01/23/2024

“It is not for us to say what degree of faith is requisite to salvation. This is a point, the decision of which must be regulated in each particular case by the amount of divine testimony possessed. Jehovah judges us according to what we have, and not according to what we have not. Where much is given, much is required. Without divine testimony to Jesus, faith in Him is a manifest impossibility. Hence, where the name of Jesus is utterly unknown, not believing in Him cannot be looked at as a sin.

“Persons in such a predicament will not be condemned for their unbelief of a testimony which they never heard. Their perdition will be the just punishment of their violation of laws which they actually possessed, such as the law of reason, of conscience, and of nature.

“But although those who never heard the gospel will not be condemned for not believing it, yet the salvation of man is impossible apart from faith in it.”

—Rev. John Stock, “A Handbook of Revealed Theology”

01/23/2024

01/23/2024

When people lie about the Gospel by twisting and contorting it to match their own unbiblical and carnal ideologies, the people of God must stand in the gap to correct the fallacies being proclaimed. The gospel is the wondrous truth and goodness of God stretching out towards unruly sinners, and should be rightly proclaimed, or not at all.

John Stock, the 19th Century minister said of the gospel ⬇️

• • • • • • •

“The gospel is itself an unparalleled manifestation of divine love, and it presents us with the mightiest motives and incentives to the imitation of the goodness of God. The benevolence of Jehovah, as displayed in creation, in providence, and in redemption, is set before us as a splendid model, conformity to which is to be the object of our highest ambition.

“Every doctrine, every promise, and every precept of the New Testament, combine to teach us to deny ourselves for the good of others. Motives the most tender and persuasive are urged upon our attention to excite us to a career of holy philanthropy. It is only thus, says Christ, that we can prove ourselves to be the children of our Father who is in heaven.”

—Rev. John Stock, “A Handbook of Revealed Theology”

01/22/2024

2024 Kickoff - [EP #90]

This episode kicks off the new year with a quick summary of 2023, and a look into the expectations for 2024.
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Listen on these platforms, among others ⬇️

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-meat/id1487771980?i=1000642440801

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Feorcklgzg6GEsU0y0xGg?si=61ba6b82764b4429

AmazonMusic: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1360a02f-5012-4873-8e6a-72609ec68efd/episodes/ea8d2204-e7ba-40d3-ac20-31ebf467934f/milk-meat-podcast-2024-kickoff---ep-90-w-aldo-and-carlos

GooglePodcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xMDIxZjQ1Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/ZTg5MWU4ZDYtZjcwYy00M2ZkLThjNzgtMzc1N2UwNTMxZmYy?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjgos6tjfGDAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQOw
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Youtube: https://youtu.be/dbOpnQfQ9L0

[Episode #90]This episode kicks off the new year with a quick summary of 2023, and a look into the expectations for 2024.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ...