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With and Without God's Word

Release Date: 04/10/2026

Outlaw God

In this episode of the Outlaw God Podcast, Dr. Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith continue their discussion of Luther’s “new Kabbalah” and his critique of Christian mysticism. They talk about how the law accuses us and why trying to overcome that accusation through love or self-denial misses the point. Luther shows us that we are made righteous before God by faith and not our feelings. More from 1517: Dr. Paulson’s Outlaw God in Three Volumes: New Books from 1517 Publishing: More from the hosts: Follow 1517:

Lifeless Lord's Supper

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson explore Luther’s break from Platonic and mystical ideas of revelation, especially the belief that preaching exists to reveal the right way to live. They explain why the law cannot reconnect us to God or make us righteous, and why Luther insisted that the law kills while the gospel gives life through the forgiveness of sins. The conversation also examines how misunderstandings of worship, the Lord’s Supper, and the road to Emmaus can turn God’s Word into ritual action rather than the proclamation of Christ’s promise. More...

Mystical Means

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson continue exploring Luther’s “new Kabbalah” and his rejection of mystical approaches to God, Scripture, and the law. They explain how Luther moved away from Plato and Aristotle and came to see God’s Word, preaching, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and absolution as the true means through which God gives Christ and salvation. The conversation shows why Luther believed the Gospel must be separated from mystical ideas of ascending to God through suffering, rituals, dreams, or human effort. More from 1517: ...

When God Commands Promise

Outlaw God

In the episode of the Outlaw God, Dr. Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith explore Luther’s Reformation breakthrough and how it was rooted in the distinction between Law and Gospel. They discuss how Luther came to understand faith as trust in God’s promise rather than a work or feeling produced within us. Through Psalm 51 and Luther’s own struggle with a troubled conscience, they show how absolution comes from outside us through God’s Word and gives the conscience certainty and freedom. The episode highlights how God’s promise—not our works, contrition, or feelings—creates a joyful and...

Christ the Hated God

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson begin a new chapter by discussing Luther's "New Kabbalah" and what it reveals about the gospel. They discuss why Luther's theology marked a real break with Rome, showing that sinners are made right with God through faith in Christ rather than through love, works, or mystical experiences. The conversation continues by exploring how the theology of the cross changes the way we understand Christ, justification, and the Christian life. More from 1517: New Books from 1517 Publishing: More from the...

No Longer Fighting God

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Dr. Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith continue their discussion of Psalm 51, exploring why Christians continue to hear absolution even after they have already been forgiven in Baptism. They examine the Osiander controversy and the Reformation's teaching on justification, showing why forgiveness is more than a symbol or legal pardon—God's promise truly makes sinners righteous while they still struggle with sin. They also explain why Christians return again and again to God's Word and Sacraments, finding confidence not in what they see or feel, but in Christ's...

Repentance Realization

Outlaw God

Dr. Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith explore why Lutherans place public absolution at the center of worship and how it differs from approaches that emphasize repentance as a human work. Looking at Psalm 51, they explain Luther's claim that we don't fully know our sin through the law alone—we come to understand the depth of our sin when God first forgives it through His promise. The conversation shows how absolution creates faith, reveals true repentance, and keeps the Gospel, rather than our efforts, at the heart of the Christian life. Follow 1517: More from 1517: ...

Faith Creates God?

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson discuss Luther's famous and often misunderstood phrase, "faith creates God," from his lectures on Psalm 51. They trace how Ludwig Feuerbach turned that phrase into a theory that shaped modern theology, psychology, and atheism, while showing why Luther meant something very different. The conversation ultimately points listeners back to the heart of the Reformation: faith is not a human achievement or projection, but the gift created by God's powerful Gospel. More from 1517: New Books from 1517 Publishing: ...

Law of Love

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Dr. Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith continue their conversation on Luther's lectures on Psalm 51, showing how true repentance is rooted not in human effort or love for God, but in God's mercy alone. They unpack Luther's "conjunction of the incompatible" to explain how the holy God joins Himself to sinful people through Christ, shaping the Reformation's teaching on justification, the sacraments, and the Christian life. The discusssion challenges common misunderstandings about faith, emphasizing that salvation comes through God's Word creating faith—not through...

David Dilemma

Outlaw God

In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson explore what it means to "pray against yourself" through Psalm 51, showing how David learns that true repentance begins with God's law exposing the depth of sin rather than human effort or moral improvement. The conversation explains that faith is not something we produce or preserve but a gift created by the Holy Spirit through the preached promise of the forgiveness of sins. David's confidence ultimately rests not in his own worth, sacrifice, or works, but in God's Word of absolution, which unites sinners to Christ by grace...

More Episodes

In this episode of the Outlaw God podcast, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson turn to Psalm 51 to explore sin, repentance, and the human will. Drawing on Luther’s teaching, they show how David’s confession comes after God’s Word confronts him through the law and restores him through the gospel. The discussion emphasizes that repentance is not self-improvement but God’s work of creating a new heart in the sinner. Psalm 51 is presented as a living prayer that teaches how God moves sinners from death to forgiveness.

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