The Bible Provocateur
BibleProvocateur is a podcast that refuses to let Scripture be tamed, sentimentalized, or softened for modern comfort. Here, the Bible is allowed to confront, unsettle, and provoke—just as it always has. Drawing deeply from Reformed theology, church history, and careful exegesis, this podcast presses hard questions about grace, law, repentance, faith, judgment, and the sovereignty of God.
Each episode engages Scripture with historical depth and theological honesty, interacting with Reformers, Puritans, and classic commentators while challenging popular assumptions in contemporary Christianity. This is not reactionary outrage or shallow controversy—it’s principled provocation, aimed at exposing error, sharpening doctrine, and calling the church back to a robust, God-centered faith.
If you’re tired of devotional fluff, allergic to theological clichés, and convinced the Bible still has the authority to offend before it comforts, BibleProvocateur is for you. Come ready to think carefully, repent deeply, and worship a God who refuses to be domesticated.
The Bible Provocateur
You Hath He Made Alive (Ephesians 2:1) - Jonathan Eubanks
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What does it truly mean to be saved? Join us as we unpack the profound and often misunderstood concept of Christian salvation through the lens of Ephesians, Chapter 2. Many believers know they're saved, but few grasp the depth of how and why. We'll explore the spiritual deadness that exists before encountering Christ and emphasize God's pivotal role in bringing individuals to life, challenging the notion that human will alone can achieve salvation.
Next, we take a deep dive into the theology of God's sovereign will. Imagine a universe where every outcome is meticulously ordained by an all-knowing, all-powerful God. By examining 2 Peter and other key scriptures, we confront common misconceptions about God's wishes versus His ordained will. Our discussion reinforces the belief that every event unfolds according to His divine purpose, ensuring that not one of His chosen perishes. This exploration reshapes our understanding of obedience and worship, painting a picture of a God whose eternal will is absolute and purposeful.
Finally, we unravel the mysterious doctrine of divine election and God's inexplicable love. Why does God choose some for salvation over others? This question leads us to acknowledge that the choice is solely God's, independent of human merit. We reflect on the special status granted to believers, emphasizing that it is not earned but given through God's sovereign grace. Our conversation wraps up with a heartfelt call to action, urging Christians to be proactive in sharing the gospel with loved ones. The eternal implications of this responsibility cannot be overstated, as we encourage our listeners to spread the message of Christ with urgency and compassion.
BE PROVOKED AND BE PERSUADED!
Understanding Salvation
Speaker 1Christians . Good evening . I'm going to be beginning in the second chapter of the book of Ephesians . I've titled this particular message you has he Made Alive . This particular message you has he made alive . You , he has made alive .
Speaker 1There are so many discussions , discussions that are had about many of the biblical doctrines , and people are fascinated with a lot of the puffery around doctrines such as or themes like the rapture and the seven-year tribulation and the millennial reign and all these things . People get so wound up in these things and they are necessary to be discussed . But it is hard to try to really lay hold of these themes when we have missed the mark on some of the more basic , fundamental and elementary aspects of the word of God which needs to be understood , embraced and and Built upon , so to speak . But people Generally In our times have missed the mark entirely when it comes to understanding the most elementary aspects of salvation . And it is sad on one hand and fortunate on another . It's sad that so many Christians don't understand why they're saved . They may know that they are saved , but most Christians don't know why they're saved , in other words , how it came about . They know that it came about , but don't necessarily why they're saved , in other words , how it came about . They know that it came about but don't necessarily know . How Many Christians know what they believe but don't know why they believe it . They couldn't explain to you why they believe what they believe . You can't deny a work of the Holy Spirit in a person's soul and bring them to Christ , but that can happen without souls actually understanding why . And so so many people they sit on their leaves , congealed , relying on what they've been told by particular ministers that they have sat under for who knows how many years . But very few people actually indulge themselves in a thorough going understanding , in learning the word of God . So you hear a lot of things over and over again the free will of man , how people came to Christ by their choices , by their will , and this is a very loud reverberating theme that penetrates the spiritual airwaves , so to speak , and the people that propagate it . They beat their chest proudly in believing that somehow they have told you the absolute truth . They feel themselves as being theological , they think they are being deep when they say things that the carnal man agrees with . You can be assured , generally speaking , that if the ungodly agree with what you're saying , that there's something wrong with either what you are saying or how you are saying it . If the ungodly people in this world today , particularly in America , if you get into a discussion with them about the word of God , if they agree with you , there's a good chance you don't know what you're talking about .
Speaker 1Ephesians , chapter 2 , verse 1 , it opens with these words by the apostle and you have he quickened . Who were dead in trespasses and sins , verse 2 . Where , in time past , you walked according to the course of this world , according to the prince of the power of the air , the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience Verse three among whom we also had our conversation in time past , in the lust of our flesh , fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind , and we were by nature the children of wrath , even as others , children of disobedience , obedience . Now , in verse 1 , to begin with , the Apostle Paul says to believers in Ephesus that they had been made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins . This verse is probably among , I don't know , the top 10 verses that I find myself reciting often , often , often . So in Ephesians , chapter 2 , verse 1 , paul says that God had made them alive who had been dead in trespasses and sins . So my question to many of you is this when he says , when he says that God made them alive who were dead in sin and trespasses , we have to consider what this is talking about , because he's not talking about people who were physically dead . He's speaking to Christians , but he's not speaking to people who were physically dead and yet they were dead , and he tells you the nature of their death they were dead in sins and trespasses and God made them alive . So we're not talking about the body , we're talking about something different . We're talking about the spiritual constitution of men . They were dead Before we came to Christ . Before you , as a believer , came to Christ , you were dead . Like Paul says in Ephesians 2.1 , you were dead in sin and trespasses and God made you alive . So the big question is this why did God make you alive ? Why did he make you alive ? In what sense did he make you alive ? We've already established that the sense in which he made you alive was you were dead , spiritually dead , in sin and trespasses , and he made you alive . So now let's consider this for a second .
Speaker 1There are many of you who love to teach and preach and spread that men can come to Christ and be saved simply by the exertion of their will , an exercise of the human will . So my question is this if the will of man is somehow involved in the salvation of men , when is the will exercised ? Is it before ? When is the will exercised in terms of coming to Christ ? Is it before God made you alive or was it after ? The $24,000 question when you chose in your mind , when you chose like people like to say , when you chose to come to Christ , was it before or after God made you alive , based on what Paul says in Ephesians 2 , verse 1 . Because it is one or the other . It is one or the other . Paul says and you has God made alive , who were dead in sin and trespasses . So if it is believed that man must exercise his will to come to Christ , when did man do so ? Was it before God made him alive or was it after ? Very simple question , very simple question , very simple question , and one of my brothers here has already said rightfully so it was after and since God making you , since you come into Christ came after being made alive .
Speaker 1Man cannot give himself credit to his will for coming to salvation , for choosing Christ . This is the only argument that I've spent so many years trying to make with people . It's not about whether or not man exercises his will to come to Christ . It's about when he does it and how he comes about doing it . Is he himself the first cause in his own salvation or is God the first cause of our salvation ? Which is it ? It is us , like Fresh Joy says , responding to God's making us alive . But I will say this man is incapable of responding without a work of God in him causing him to come to Christ . It is the Spirit of God that compels a soul and draws him to Christ . The Spirit of God must become into a man , draw him to Christ and when he does so , that sinner recognizes that he is a sinner and then , when he does , like Adam realized he was naked , this man today realized their nakedness . They recognize that they are sinners before the thrice . Holy God .
God's Sovereign Will and Salvation
Speaker 1Now I have someone already saying yet he wishes none would perish . God does not wish anything . That is absolutely not true . Respectfully , that is not true . God does not wish anything . All God has is his will , and whatever his will is , that is what is done . God is not willing that any should perish . And that is true when we read 2 Peter God is not willing that any should perish . God is unwilling that any should perish . But the question is this who is he talking about ? I made this statement many times .
Speaker 1When you go back to the very passage to which my sister is referring to , you realize that he's talking to the believers . He refers to them as the beloved and he points out that the long suffering of God is taking place now . He is long suffering to usward believers . He is long suffering to usward . And whereas some count slackness , god doesn't . So who comes to repentance ? All of those whom God wills that they should not perish . Every single person , every single person who is saved . It is they whom God has set forth before the foundation of the world to save . These are those whom Christ came here to redeem . There are going to be no failures in God's purpose . There are no failures in God's will .
Speaker 1God , my sister , he does not wish anything . Anything . Whatever God wills is what happens . He doesn't wish for anything . Consider this for a second . We all believe and know and understand that God is omnipotent . I know that God is omniscient . He knows , he knows all things . How does he know ? Because he has ordained all things to take place that do take place . That is how he knows what will happen , because he's determined it to take place . Now bear with me for a second . If God knows all things , why , in what scenario , would he be wishing for anything ? Why would he wish for anything that he doesn't already know ? I hope that makes sense . I hope that you're able to follow along what I'm saying .
Speaker 1It is irrational to assume that the most wise , intelligent being that God is . How is it that anyone can believe that he could desire something that his will counters ? God would never desire , wish or seek something that goes outside the boundary of what he has decreed by his eternal will to take place . One brother quoted Daniel 435 . Nothing can stay God's hands and he does whatsoever he pleases amongst the armies of the earth . God does what he pleases always . God can never do anything that does not please him . Whatever takes place pleases him , and that is how we need to understand takes place pleases him , and that is how we need to understand God .
Speaker 1God is not sitting back in some corner with his hands tied together like this , biting his lip , hoping that little Johnny is going to come to faith , or little Susie or little Marky Mark , or little Frank or Amber . He is not concerned about the outcome of his own plan . Think about it . We all know that God gets his will . We all know that God's will is being done . We are taught to pray . We are taught to pray that God's will will be done .
Speaker 1Do you think that there is any scenario any of you ? Do you believe that there is any scenario where God's will is not being done ? Because if you do , you are misguided and you do not understand the God of the Bible . He gets what he wants all the time , all day long , and the reason why he gets it is because he ordered it . He is not a king that has to revise his policies every four years . He is not a king that has to renegotiate his directives to accommodate some scenario that wasn't perceived . God is not a God who is sitting back wishing and hoping that things will fall out the way that he wants them to .
Speaker 1If he were that kind of a God , would you worship him ? I wouldn't . How would he be any different than some politician on the earth today ? God is not campaigning for our worship . God is not trying to persuade us . God is commanding us to do what his law requires . He is requiring obedience to him . God is going to get his worship , one way or the other , from every single creature on this earth . Every person on this earth is going to worship God . Every knee is going to bow , that's right , tammy . Every knee is going to bow , that's right , tammy . Every knee is going to bow , every
Divine Election and God's Love
Speaker 1knee .
Speaker 1But the Christian soul , the Christian soul , has been made alive and God has rendered that person capable of coming to him . More than capable , because even when God makes you alive , there is not a decision that you need to make , because God has already done it . He's already done it . He makes you alive , and that new birth , that regeneration that takes place , has transforming power , and that transformation gives you the ability to conform to Christ . Once he gives you life , you live unto him forevermore , and that can never be taken away from you , because you are kept by the power of God . When he makes you alive , he also then afterward , keeps you , so that your feet shall never slide . You will never know what it is to fall into the hands of an angry God , because he makes his children alive , and it is being made alive that enables you to worship aright .
Speaker 1The question that you might want to be asking yourself is why doesn't he make everyone alive ? If making you alive , as God says he does , as the apostle here in Ephesians 2 , verse 1 , says , as the apostle here in Ephesians 2 , verse 1 , says you , has he made alive , you who were dead in trespasses and sins ? This is an absolute requirement and is the only way you can be saved . So the question , if you really want to ask something profound , the question is why doesn't he do that for everyone ? Let me tell you what the answer is I don't know , no one knows . I don't know . I don't know why he looks out onto the mass of humanity and determines , and has determined , that he's going to save a particular group of individuals from among the mass of humanity . No one knows . I don't know why he chose me and I'm sure that every true Christian Listening Can't explain why he chose them . It is mind boggling To understand that the sovereign creator of the universe chose them . It is mind-boggling to understand that the sovereign creator of the universe is paying attention to me . Why me ?
Speaker 1Now , many of you , many people out there , like to say well , I don't believe that God should send people to hell and he should cast people into the lake of fire . That's just not . That's not a loving God . It is a loving God that kept himself from destroying this world . The minute Adam fell himself from destroying this world , the men in Adam fell . It is a sovereign , merciful , compassionate God that for upwards 6,000 , 7,000 years God has restrained his hand from destroying this earth , from destroying this earth , and yet you have people running around With their hair on fire Talking about he's unloving and unmerciful and dispassionate Because he sends people to hell when everyone Hears the same gospel that we hear . Most people today have heard the gospel and yet they continue To reject it While at the same time Complaining Of how God is exacting Inequity . Being unfair is exacting inequity . Being unfair , being hot-tempered I've heard people in this past week alone several times .
Speaker 1God is a narcissist . Everybody's all psychological . Now we have a disease for everything . So now God is a person who is subjected to psychological assessments of man . Imagine that man putting God on the sofa and analyzing him and determining his psychosis and deeming him a radical narcissist . This is the world we live in today . God has quickened us , has made us alive . Who were dead in sin and trespasses . Dead souls have no will . There is no will . There is no will to live by the dead .
Speaker 1Ephesians 2 , verse 2 . Paul says where , in time past , you walked according to the course of this world , according to the prince of the power of the air . He reminds us , those of us who have been made alive , that in the past we walked according to the course of this world . We walked according to the prince of the power of the air , that is the devil , the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience . Who are the children of disobedience ? Those who are by nature the children of wrath . Notice that he says in verse 3 that these children of disobedience , they are by nature the children of wrath , which is what we were before we were made alive . And he acknowledges that there are those who have remained such , but they remain such because they are incapable of giving themselves new life . And if they would have new life , it would require God giving them life , as he says he did to us believers in chapter 2 , verse 1 of Ephesians .
Speaker 1You see , there's no way around this . There is no salvation without God imparting life to you , no salvation without God imparting life to you . And so we know that everyone does not have this life , why ? I'm going to tell you why he gave life to the ones that he did give lives to . And as good as this really is , it's going to make some people angry when they hear it .
Speaker 1Christians , we are saved , those of us who have been made alive For one reason and one reason only Because we are special . We are special , we are special to . God Loves us Is what makes us special . His love for us is what makes us special . His love for us is what makes us special .
Speaker 1Now the question you may want to ask why are we special ? What do we do ? Why are we so special that we receive God's love , his everlasting love ? Why God elected us to salvation , chose us to be in him ? Why did he give us to Christ ? Why did he make us the sheep of his pasture and not do that for everyone else ? I'm going to tell you the reason why .
Speaker 1I don't know . I don't know . The only thing that can be said is because he loved us from before the foundation of the world . No other thing that we've been told , but one thing that we do know . We do know absolutely the reason that it was not . It is not because of anything in us . It is not because of anything in us . It is not because we were smarter than everyone else or more academic or intellectual . It was not because of our race , because there are many races of people . It is not because we are fat or skinny , short , tall , beautiful , unattractive . It's not because of any of these things . It is not because of our mental acuity or prowess . It is not because of any of these things .
Speaker 1And yet you have people , christians , running around saying they came to Christ because they just simply exercised their free will , and they did this before they were made alive . If you could do this before God made you alive , then why did God have to make you alive in the first place ? If all it takes is the exertion of the will of man to decide that he wants to accept Christ , then what is the point in God making you alive in the first place ? That he wants to accept Christ , then what is the point in God making you alive in the first place ? Because if you could do this , you would already be alive on your own . You would have made yourself spiritually enlightened , spiritually alive , and that's impossible . Absolutely and absolute impossibility . Absolutely and absolute impossibility .
Speaker 1In Ephesians 2 , 3 , paul says among whom ? Meaning among the children of disobedience , among whom we also had our former conversation or our former conduct in the lusts of our flesh , fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind , and were by nature the children of wrath , even as others , children of disobedience . That's what we were before . So for some reason , god plucked , as it were , many of us from the wrath to come . He plucked us from the fire for reasons known only to him . We only know that he loved us from the foundation of the world . That's all that we know . But we don't know why he loved us . I don't know why he loved me . I look around the world and I see many people on so many levels , so much better than me , smarter , better looking , better educated , on and on and on it goes . But for some reason , like you , I'm special to him and it is he who moves and motivates me , to persuade you , to be encouraged by these things , because it is a very I mean , look at this for a second .
Speaker 1All of us have our , most of us have our favorite sort of person in the world that we admire and that we sort of like . You know pop stars or actors , or athletes or whatever . We all have somebody that we sort of know we like and we like to see them play or whatever , and you would never fathom the prospect of you meeting this person . But one day you get a call and on the other end of that call is the person that in this world you really appreciate . You really really can't believe . They want to talk to you . You get on the phone and they say hey , I want to meet with you . I want to go to dinner or lunch or whatever and just talk and get to know you . You're like , wait a minute , you want to get to know me , me , why me ? You have fans all over the world . You want to meet me . Honestly , if I got that call from Muhammad Ali , that would have been an amazing thing , because I love Muhammad Ali , I really did .
Speaker 1But the idea you understand , because you can take Muhammad Ali Ali , you can take Barack Obama or some other famous president . You can take Taylor Swift or Beyonce or whoever , caitlin Clark , you take all the most famous people Over the entire history of the earth , existence and the glory of them all Doesn't come close , doesn't come close To the magnificence , the glory of Lord , god Almighty and Christians . Consider this . He is interested in you , he is the only superstar and I'm talking in human terms he is the only super , mega , mega , mega superstar , the ultimate , and men don't have time for it . Men don't have time for it . Men don't have time for it .
Speaker 1I've seen people , I have seen people in the last six years seven years , I'm telling you selling their soul for Donald Trump . There's something about that man that has people losing their minds . They worship this man . I have never seen this in my near 60 years . I have never seen Americans look to a politician the way they do him . Not Barack Obama , not Jimmy Carter , not Bill Clinton , no one , not JFK Noah , not JFK . I have never seen people respond to a man on this earth the way I see them respond to him , and I know from the people that I have met and know they will do anything for this man .
Speaker 1My point is not to get political . My point is to contrast what people will do and how they will respond to a man compared to how they respond to a man , compared to how they respond to God Almighty , to how they respond to the Lord Jesus Christ , who is Lord of Lord and King of Kings . This is what I'm saying . I've seen how people respond to Taylor Swift , beyonce Never seen nothing like it .
Speaker 1Michael Jackson , he was another one . Mind-blowing , mind-blowing fame . I don't know if any other person that's ever lived has had the kind of fame he had . No one . People don't really realize how famous that man was around the world , globally . No person has ever been that big . He's dead . But when it comes to God , when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ , they're not having it . Not having it . I don't understand it .
Speaker 1But in another sense I do , because we're reminded here in Ephesians that we were by nature children of disobedience , children of wrath , and we walked according to the dictates of the prince of the power of the air , succumbing to the lusts and desires of the flesh , fulfilling them even . But men daily reject Christ and he is the creator . It is astounding the resistance Against him . But you know what he told us . This is going to happen , he told us . We see what they did to him at Calvary . People are going to perish At the end of the age , at the end of this world . They're going to perish in their sins and they're going to perish at the end of the age , at the end of this world . They're going to perish in their sins and they're going to see that that one who they crucified , whom we all participated in crucifying whether we realize it or not , we all participated in his death , in crucifying the Lord of glory , and you're going to go and find out that he really is everything he said he was . People are going to be , they're going to wake up . It is going to be a dreadful , terrible , terrible day for sinners who refuse to submit to Christ .
Speaker 1If you are an unbeliever , on the slight chance that there's one of you listening now , you better pay attention to what I'm telling you , because it is a warning of the utmost warrant . Look to Christ and be saved , because when he returns , there is no salvation anymore for anyone . The kingdom of heaven , the door , will be shut and no one will be able to enter therein again no one . The day of grace is slowly but surely closing . It is coming to a close .
Effectively Sharing the Gospel
Speaker 1It is coming to a close and if you say , christians , that there are people out there that you love , that you really , really , truly , genuinely love , and you haven't spent time , not even once , to attempt to persuade them to come to Christ , because you see what's going to happen , you know what's going to happen , how can you say you love them ? How can you say you love them ? My suggestion is that you round Up every family member , every friend , every co-worker , everyone you love . Make sure that the burden is all for you For telling them that they need to come to Christ . They need to come to Christ Christians . Thank you for your kind attention tonight . Be provoked , be persuaded , and may the God of glory continue to bestow upon you his richest of blessings . May God bless you all tonight , until next time .