We kick off by wrestling with a hot-button question: how should Christians in 2026 think about the modern nation of Israel, are they still God’s chosen covenant people, and what changes (if anything) after Jesus? How do we separate political opinions from biblical categories like “physical Israel” and “spiritual Israel”? What do passages like Hebrews 8, Galatians 3, John 5, and Romans 9 actually mean in context, and how do end-times frameworks like premillennialism shape the conversation?

Then we jump back into Discovering Jesus and finish the second half of chapter 8 on accepting Christ as Savior. What is faith, really—does Scripture teach “blind faith,” or something evidential and substantive (Hebrews 11)? What does it mean to believe God’s character, not just His existence? How does faith move from head to heart—and what does that look like in real life?

We also walk straight through Acts 2 and Romans 6: What did Peter tell people to do when they asked, “What shall we do?” Why repentance and baptism, and what’s the connection to forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, death/burial/resurrection, and living a new life? How do we hold urgency together with “counting the cost” in a culture where Christianity can feel cheapened? And how did later church history (sacraments, sprinkling vs immersion, reactions against sacramentalism) shape modern confusion?

We wrap with Titus 3’s language of “washing of rebirth and renewal,” plus some reflection questions we use when studying with people: Have we accepted Jesus as Savior and as Lord, and what’s the difference? What are we still waiting on? And what does it look like to bring God a heart that’s simply willing to do whatever He says?

00:00 Welcome Back + What We’re Covering (Discovering Jesus, Ch. 8 Part 2)
01:42 Holiday Question: How Should Christians View Modern Israel?
06:09 Old vs New Covenant: Israel, Jesus, and the People of God
14:10 Romans 9, End-Times Views, and Avoiding Political Extremes
23:01 Transition: Accepting Christ as Savior (Back to Chapter 8)
24:01 Hebrews 11: What Faith Really Is (Not ‘Blind Faith’)
35:09 Saving Faith as Faithfulness: Receiving, Standing, and Living the Gospel
38:06 Acts 2 Pentecost Setup + Reading Peter’s First Gospel Sermon
41:22 Pentecost Explained: Spirit for All, Tongues, Babel Reversed, and Peter’s Boldness
46:42 Pentecost Response: Repent, Be Baptized, Receive the Spirit
48:20 What Repentance Really Means (Faith That Changes You)
50:06 “Cut to the Heart”: Head Faith vs Heart Conviction
55:51 Why Baptism Became Controversial: Early Church, West, and Sacraments
01:02:03 Baptism as Death & Resurrection: Romans 6 Explained
01:09:40 Trusting God’s Promise (and Not Playing God About ‘When’ You’re Saved)
01:13:27 Acts Conversion Pattern: Immediate Immersion & the Spirit’s Work
01:16:21 Quick Baptism vs Counting the Cost: Discipleship Before the Water
01:21:44 Washing of Rebirth: Titus 3 and the Mercy of God
01:26:46 Reflection & Wrap-Up: Savior and Lord, ‘What Are You Waiting For?’

Do you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:

william@ctfwylie.org
jvr@goddeal.com
rw@goddeal.com