God, Morals and Personal Responsiblity

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together. It's reasoned relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know.

You need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio. And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. We forget all too soon the things that we thought we could never forget.

Hi, Alex McFarland here. Welcome to Truth for a New Generation. Thank you for listening. And let me reiterate that quote that I opened with. Someone once said, We forget all too soon the things that we thought we could never forget. Hey, if you've got a Bible, turn to 2 Timothy 1.

And I want to talk a little bit about the things about God that we should remember at this time. I know, like myself, you've been just agonized watching the rioting, the looting, the tragic murder, really, of George Floyd. And so many people have just reacted violently, and there's theft and looting. And this tragic death of George Floyd has resulted in hundreds of injuries and other deaths. People have died during some of the protests and rioting. And I think about the toll on the economy in the inner city, many of the inner cities, where a lot of the rioting has taken place.

I mean, the economy was very tenuous anyway. And 2020 has been such a hard year because of the COVID and the quarantines. And among the 50-some questions a day that come into our ministry, people are asking, Will things get back to normal?

When and how? You know, I really don't know. But I'll say this, a couple of things to bear in mind at this time, as maybe economic struggle and cultural and social and physical and emotional and spiritual stress seems to be where we are right now.

Two things to keep in mind. For one thing, we really took it for granted, didn't we? The comparative stability that our nation has enjoyed for two centuries plus.

And I know there have been World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, and in the 19th century, the Civil War. And then going back to the 1700s, our very fight for freedom. Look, there have always been rough times, but doesn't it seem like in recent years, and I would say in the last several decades, there's just been this tension and this struggle. Now, if you've heard me speak much at all, you know that I would attribute it to beginning in the 1960s. Immediately after World War II, the post-World War II era, there was a solid decade of just bliss and prosperity, really.

And that's why, you know, I think about the television show Happy Days. I've talked to hundreds of people who say, you know, it really did seem like just this great time, but there was a blight on the American landscape, and that was racism, and that was segregation. And I thank God for the civil rights movement of the 1960s and Dr. King and Fred Shuttlesworth, and those that just so courageously fought for civil rights. But I would say there are nonviolent protests, and we've talked about that on our live webcast, how their philosophy was right. And Dr. King made his fellow marchers pledge to meditate daily on the life and teachings of Jesus. And there was a 10-point pledge that they had to sign if they were going to march with Dr. King, and they promised not to return evil for evil. And they said, I will not react to any foe with hatred, hatred of the heart or the fist.

And so there were a lot of good things about the way they approached the social change they were trying to achieve. But here is where we begin to go wrong. The removal of prayer from public schools, the removal of the Ten Commandments, abortion, our absolute cutting loose from moral truth, natural law, and God's revelation, the mainstreaming of homosexuality beginning in the late 70s up to the present day, the increasing debauchery and immorality that now passes for entertainment. And so for a number of decades, we have been on this track to cut ourselves loose from God and from our founding principles, and we're seeing the fruit that it's brought to us. You know, several years ago, there was a bestseller called The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom. Allan Bloom said this, quote, the relativity of truth, in other words, that there is no truth that God has revealed. There is no objective, ultimate truth applicable to all people. We all just make up whatever we want to be our reality, our truth. Allan Bloom's quote from The Closing of the American Mind, Bloom said, quote, the relativity of truth for college students in American culture is not a theoretical insight, but to them, a moral postulate, the condition of a free society, or so they see it. The point is not to correct the mistakes and be really right. Rather, it is not to think there is any right at all.

The students, of course, cannot defend their opinion. It is something with which they have been indoctrinated, end of quote. Do you understand part of the reason that we are in the anarchy that we're in? And thank God, I want to be on record. If there's one ray of hope, listen to me, folks. If there's one ray of hope in this time of anarchy, it is that number one, God is real, but number two, that Donald Trump is president. Can you imagine if Hillary Clinton were president right now?

My goodness, COVID alone would have caused a Clinton administration to surrender our Constitution and our sovereignty to the UN and the World Health Organization. And folks, I would believe that God is done with America, and there is no hope except that Donald Trump is president. And here is a man who knows Christ as his Savior. He believes in our Constitution. He believes in truth. And yes, I know, he speaks and carries himself like a human wrecking ball sometimes.

And it's been my privilege to meet him and to be in a couple of meetings and a couple of phone calls. But I'm going to tell you something. I honestly believe that Donald Trump is the Winston Churchill of our times, and we need to pray for this upcoming election and pray that God will give us principal constitutionalist moral leaders. And listen, friend, do not be deceived by all of the false accusations of people like Nancy Pelosi and the hyper-liberal socialist media like CNN.

Folks, pray for America. Stay tuned. We're going to come right back, and we're going to talk about some things about God to be re-reminded of at this time. Alex McFarland here.

Don't go away. Bible prophecy. Each reveals things about world history and the future that only God could know. Their prophecies could be a source of motivation, warning and assurance. They can also be an apologetic persuasion for non-believers. Get clarity on which events today may relate to these two prophetic books and be equipped to answer the big questions and objections about prophecy, Daniel and Revelation, How God Wrote History in Advance with Alex McFarland, July 27th through 31st at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Find out more and register at thecove.org. ... You don't need to have a Bible degree from Liberty University to love, serve, pray, worship, or obey God, but it can make life more vibrant when you do. When you're ready for a religious studies degree, you'll find more than 60 ministry degree options, from a bachelor's to a doctorate of ministry, and you'll pay one low block rate for divinity courses at Liberty University, where we train champions for Christ. Go to liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. That's liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. For apologetics resources, books by Alex McFarland, and to find out where Alex is speaking, visit alexmcfarland.com. Welcome back.

Alex McFarland here. If you've got a Bible, if you're in a place where you can look at God's Word, turn to 2 Timothy chapter 1. Of course, these are part of the pastoral epistles. Paul was in jail, but he's writing to Timothy, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. A lot of information about how to do the ministry. Paul was in a jail cell in 2 Timothy.

It would be his, you know, death march, really, and he would die incarcerated. And yet, he was talking about joy, and just the great hope of all that we have in Jesus Christ, and the importance of being faithful. Now let me read a couple of scriptures. 2 Timothy 1, 5 through 10. Paul says, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded is also in you. He's saying, hey, your faith is real.

It's not imitation, it's genuine. Wherefore, I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you, by the putting on of hands. In other words, put to use your spiritual gifts. Right now, folks, it's time to dwell on the truth of God, all that we have in Christ, and to use whatever your strengths and abilities are as a witness for Christ.

Put to use your spiritual gifts. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. I mean, can you imagine, hey Timothy, aren't you a disciple of Paul?

That guy, he's always being arrested by the Romans, and accused, you know, he's the enemy of the religious leaders. Don't be ashamed of Paul, the mentor. Don't be ashamed of Jesus, the testimony.

And do not have fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, and of power. Where is our power in all that we have in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in the truth of God's Word? Listen to this in verse 9. God who has saved us, who called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but who is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Now think about your purpose, and I want to give you some things to be remembering. The word purpose in verse 9, 2 Timothy 1.9. God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because of our abilities or, you know, good looks and a winning personality, or any strength we have. Listen, it says, according to his own purpose. And that word there really means, quote, the way God set it in place.

See, here's the thing. Your life, and where you grew up, and actually even when you were born, and your personality traits, your life, the making of you, has been a joint labor between your Creator, your Savior, and yourself, as your will has surrendered to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, as you've obeyed, as you've grown. You're opening your heart to Christ, being saved, and then being discipled. Listen, who you are, what you are, where you are, all the opportunities you have right now, is a beautiful tapestry that God has woven. And there's no accident that you're where you are right now. I know we're living in a tough time of COVID, and riots, and the economy, and everybody is wringing their hands, figuratively, but wondering, what does tomorrow hold?

I know this. You are here, friend, you are here for a specific time and purpose, according to 2 Timothy 1.9. Now it's not hard for us to imagine that Franklin Graham is here for a specific purpose, and the great Christian leaders that we look up to, we know they have a call on their life, but my friend, you have you have a call on your life.

God's got this. You are God's person, you're here with His calling, and you've got a mission. And it was, according to verse 9, scripted and written before the world began, but verse 10, now is made manifest, the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ, verse 10, this is wonderful, who abolished death.

The word abolish, I've shared it many times, it's wonderful. 2 Timothy 1.10, it means unemployment. Jesus Christ put death out of a job.

Sin, death, guilt, judgment, for those that are believers in Jesus, hey, death and judgment and condemnation, you're out of a job, see you later. Because Jesus has made manifest that the plan of salvation is for all people. He paid our sin debt on the cross, He rose from the dead, and He has given verse 10 life and immortality to us through the gospel. The word appearing there is really the word epiphany. In the land of darkness has shined a great light, Isaiah wrote, the coming of Christ.

That's a great epiphany, obviously. Maybe today you need an epiphany, a renewed vision of Jesus the Savior. And so these verses, 2 Peter 1.12-13, I put you in remembrance, I think it's suitable as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up, said Paul. Paul says till the day I die, I'm going to call you to remembrance, Timothy, I'm going to put you in remembrance, stir you up. 2 Peter 3.1, Peter knew what it was to remember things, Peter wrote, I now write to you to stir up your minds by way of remembrance. Jude verse 5, I put you in remembrance. My dear brothers and sisters, it is time to remember the gospel, remember God who never changes, remember the Lord who will never leave us or forsake us. But I want to say remember some things about America, the United States of America. What a privilege, what a God-ordained honor to live in the greatest nation in the world, second only to Israel under King Solomon, the United States, a country birthed on biblical principles.

So friend, I want to say this, look, obviously our home is heaven and our mission to know Christ, to make him known, and one day we're going to leave this world and be with Jesus, yes. But as long as we're here, do we care about our country? Are we going to fight for America?

You bet we are. We've got to. And that's why this election is coming up. And folks, you need to be courageous enough to talk to your friends about voting. We must, if God will help us, we must preserve this constitutional republic.

Why? For the sake of the Great Commission and preserving, as Jefferson wrote, those inalienable rights that belong to all people by virtue of God being their Creator. All right, stay tuned, hold this thought some more things to remember about God when truth for a new generation returns. Pressing questions in 10 issues that divide Christians. Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of 10 current issues such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography and environmentalism. As he echoes the biblical invitation, come, let us reason together only by engaging the scriptures deeply, thinking clearly and speaking truthfully. Can we in God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose? 10 issues that divide Christians.

Find this book and many others at alexmcfarland.com. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children ages 5 to 12 and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide and video series, you'll find it at afastore.net. That's afastore.net. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation Radio. Welcome back to the program.

Alex McFarland here. Before we talk about some things to remember about God, I want to bring to your remembrance that I will be at the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. July 27 through August 1, we'll be doing Daniel and Revelation, Bible Prophecy, Does God Write History in Advance? And you can register, there's still time, thecove.org, t-h-e-c-o-v-e, thecove.org. If you've never been to the Cove, it is just so amazing. It is so beautiful.

And it's been my honor to be there, oh, I don't know, 12 or 13 times. And we're going to be looking at the Old Testament Book of Daniel, the New Testament Book of Revelation. Are we in the last days? When is Jesus coming back? Will believers go through the Tribulation?

A lot of things like that. And so I would love for you to be there at the Daniel Revelation study. And you can register by going to thecove.org. I do want to say a big thank you to Good Shepherd Church of Greensboro, North Carolina. Their website is goodshepherdchurchofgreensboro.com. They helped sponsor this radio program, and I'm deeply grateful for them. And also, Monday, Wednesday, Fridays at 11 a.m. Eastern time, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 11 a.m. Eastern, on the Facebook page Rev Alex McFarland, R-e-v Alex McFarland.

I'm doing live webcasting, been doing it two months now during the COVID pandemic, and those numbers are going up, up, up. We appreciate that. And if you share the webcast, you're automatically entered to be a part of our book giveaway every Friday. I give away a book.

And so we would love for you to be the recipient of one of my books. And you know, we're talking about apologetics, defending the faith, the reality of the Christian message, and calling our nation back to God. And people are hungry to know truth and have some stability. So a lot going on.

It's interesting. People have asked me, Alex, as an evangelist, as an itinerant speaker, how in the world are you surviving during this COVID time? Well, you know, it is true that right now, some three dozen of my conferences, events, speaking events around the country for 2020, gone.

And by this point, we should have next year's calendar all filled up. And of course, that's not happening. But do you know what? And I thank God for every one of you listening. We are talking to hundreds of people every week. We've online sharing the gospel, several thousand during the pandemic time that we've been able to lead to Christ. It's different. It's, you know, a change.

But we may see more people come to Christ through Truth for a New Generation in 2020 than in any of the previous 22 years. So thanks for your interest. Thanks for your prayers. You can reach us online, my own website, alexmcfarland.com, or you can write to us, P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. P.O.

Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. Hey, but let's, in this time of uncertainty, let's talk about some unshakable realities, some things to, as Paul told Timothy, as Peter said, as Jude writes, to put in remembrance. All right, listen. Number one, God's existence. God is real. Never forget that God is real. Number two, think about God's character. Praise God, his nature.

Theologians have this 85 cent word, God's attributes, or his traits, who God is. God is loving. God is merciful. God is righteous. God is holy. God is just.

And do you know what? God is sovereign. That means that God is in control. Aren't you glad that God is above humanity, superior in his position, his authority?

He is independent. He is unlimited. God doesn't answer to anybody because he's omniscient. He has all the wisdom and knowledge himself, all the ability and all the authority.

And do you know what? When we talk about God's providence or God's sovereignty, that's really what we would call a judicial word. In a very in a very legal sense, God is in control. And that's wonderful to think about. I think about God's power.

He really does have the power. We read the second Timothy chapter one where Jesus abolished death. Nobody but God could pay for sin and abolish death. And let me say this, Christ is coming back one day and we want you to be ready. And Revelation 11 is true that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ.

And he will reign forever and ever. Right now this world is in a position of sin and fallenness and brokenness. But remember also not only God's existence and who he is, remember God's works, God's deeds, God's great work of creation, God's great work of redemption, God's great work of starting the church. We just celebrated Pentecost Sunday and the Spirit of God was poured out at Joel 2 in the last days.

The Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh. And right now think about God's great work of sending the Spirit, beginning the church, bringing people to Christ including yourself and using people. In time, God brings to the human race eternity. Through finite people, God brings the infinite experience of Jesus. Isn't that amazing? Through human words, God conveys the timeless, eternal, inerrant truth of his message.

It's amazing. Think about God's message. In Deuteronomy 4 verse 2, when Deuteronomy really means second law, the restatement, Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments are reiterated and the people of Israel were re-reminded of the law of God. And in Deuteronomy 4 verse 2, God reminded his people, hey, diminish not a word. So let's remember God's message that we don't truncate or trim or shorten God's message.

Yes, God is loving, but sin is serious and we're to repent and turn to Jesus and we're to not only be saved but live righteously. And that's something to remember God's commands. What are God's commands? Well, believe on Jesus, salvation, then grow and give and serve. We're to repent and represent, turn to Christ, live for Christ. Remember God's people. We're familiar with the phrase, you know, pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 1-3. Remember without ceasing. We're to think about God's children and pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for those brothers and sisters that are impoverished and we're to remember God's blessings. Deuteronomy 8-11, forget not the Lord thy God.

Stand strong, be encouraged in the reality of our Lord and tell somebody about Jesus. TNG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland Ministries, P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. That's P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. Call us at 877-YES-GOD-1.

That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. Or give online at AlexMcFarland.com. While you're there, listen to program archives, read Alex's blog, invite Alex to speak at your event or contact Alex with a question or comment. AlexMcFarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG radio.