If We Must Confess in Christ to Be Saved, Where Does That Leave the Mentally Disabled?

If we must confess in Christ to be saved, where does that leave the mentally disabled? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi there, and happy Friday. I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Our phone lines are open right now, and we'll be taking calls for the next 25 minutes or so. So give us a call at 833-THE-CORE with your question. That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question at one of our social media sites, and you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners.

This is Kiana from Sacramento. My question today is, I'm in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 14, to be exact, and it's going over their diets again, like they did back in Leviticus. And I got a little stumped because I'm reading here that it says you should not eat anything that has died naturally.

You may give it to the southerner who is within your town, but he may eat it or you may sell it. And I'm just kind of confused. If God made everybody, if God made every living thing and he loves us all dearly, why would he allow other people to eat something that's died naturally but not the Israelites? Wouldn't he want all of us to be holy and set apart? Or I'm just a little confused on that.

So if you could clear that up for me, it would be much appreciated. Thank you, Pastor Sanchez. I hope you all have a great day.

Hey, thanks, Kiana. You're absolutely right that the intent has always been, yes, that the entire world would turn to the Lord, that they would be a part of the holy people. So in Deuteronomy, we have the children of Israel getting ready to enter into the promised land. And one of the things that's reiterated here in this book is God's law and in particular how they're going to need to live and relate to their neighbors there in the promised land. There are all these laws that are given, particularly here in chapter 14 as well, that help to distinguish them as the holy covenant people. And so even the very next phrase there in what you quoted, we read, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. In other words, you're to be distinct from the people of the land.

You're not going to have the same customs that they do. You're not going to worship me the same way that they do. You're to be distinct. And in part, some of that was they were called to be a light to obey the Lord there in the land so that the nations would turn to the Lord. This is something that was put out there. Actually anticipated way back in the promises that were made to Abraham.

You're going to be a blessing to all the nations of the world. But also throughout the prophets like the prophet Isaiah, this is what was supposed to be the case. Now specifically here, why is it that we read in verse 21 of Deuteronomy chapter 14, you shall not eat anything that has died naturally. Part of that was, you know, I'm assuming just hygienic. You wouldn't want to consume an animal that had been laying out in the sun. You think of bacteria and all of those things. It was just healthy, right?

It's not something that you would want to do. But then it says you may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Now part of it with that is back in chapter 12, one of the things that the children of Israel were prohibited from doing is eating the food with the blood. Chapter 12 verse 23 of Deuteronomy, only be sure that you do not eat the blood for the blood is the life and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. And this was, again, something distinct for the people of God. They were to drain the blood from the animal because the life was in the blood.

And there's a lot of imagery there as well. So again, these are all ways in which the people were to be distinct there in the land with the intention of being a light of drawing the nations to God. Now, of course, we know on this side of history that they didn't do that, that oftentimes what ended up happening is they embraced the pagan idolatry of their neighbors. And so it wasn't until Jesus, the true vine, came as a light to the world that you have this sort of inclusion of the nations being made a part of the covenant people of God, the holy people of God in the way that it was always supposed to be. And so, yes, that is God's heart for the nations. And that was what Israel was supposed to be, a light to the nations.

That's where they fell short. And that's what Jesus came to do perfectly and has accomplished. Thank you for your question, Kiana. Kiana, thanks so much for listening to Core Christianity. We really do appreciate you. Our phone number, if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, you name it, we would love to hear from you, even if you have some doubts about the Christian faith.

We're open to your questions as well. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to JB calling in from St. Louis, Missouri. JB, what's your question for Pastor Adrian? Hi, so as y'all have noted a few times over the last couple of weeks, there's been sort of a lot of difference of opinion among Christians about same-sex marriage. But something that I've noticed is that there seems to be pretty widespread agreement among Christians that divorce and remarriage are okay. But in Matthew 19, Jesus says that if you divorce for any reason other than adultery and then remarry, you are committing adultery.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 might arguably give another exception about your spouse not being a believer. But so I guess my question is, what resulted in the agreement among Christians that divorce and remarriage is okay, notwithstanding Matthew 19? And then I guess, now that I'm thinking about it as sort of a follow-up, like what's up with treating, you know, heterosexual remarriage and same-sex marriage differently?

JB, thank you so much for that thoughtful question and digging into a few passages. Obviously Matthew 19, Jesus is teaching on divorce. And really, I mean, the one thing I can say is this has been a huge problem in the church, right? I mean, it's one thing for us as Christians to say, hey, the Bible is very clear about what marriage is, about the relationship between a man and a woman. But then if we do all of those things, and then we just have a sort of low view of divorce, we don't treat it as a sin in certain contexts, right?

I mean, obviously Jesus gave some provisions, and we'll talk about those. You know, there's the case of adultery there or abandonment in 1 Corinthians 7, I believe. But the fact of the matter is I think maybe, JB, you're picking up on something here, an area where the church and Christians really need to think about, hey, is this something, do we, I mean, for all our talk of, you know, having a high view of marriage and protecting marriage, are we really doing that with the way we treat the idea of divorce?

And frankly, I think that there are probably many, many cases where we're not and where we need to repent. Now, again, I would see obviously, you know, differences with, you asked, you know, what's the difference between, you know, divorce or same-sex marriage. I do think that there are certainly, I mean, I would say in certain contexts divorce is permissible according to Jesus, where, you know, an individual is not bound to a person anymore, maybe because they've been cheated on. It doesn't mean that they have to get a divorce, but Jesus says you're free in that case. Whereas I would say I don't see that, I don't see an exception like that for something like same-sex relationships in marriage. And so I do think that there's a difference there, but I do want to be sensitive to the fact that I think you are touching on something and it's an area where we in the church really need to stop and say, hey, do we have as high a view of marriage as we often boast? And we want to because we want to honor God. We don't want to be hypocrites on this issue.

And so that's what I would say. There are some helpful resources out there specifically in terms of thinking about divorce. One small book that's going to be a little bit more technical, it was written a while back, but it's called Divorce by John Murray. It goes through basically the Old Testament passages that speak about divorce, the New Testament passages, and then it even gives some case studies for thinking through this issue pastorally. And again, that's what we want to do. We want to be pastoral, but we ultimately want to be biblical as well.

And we want to make sure that we're not minimizing one sin, in particular, maybe the sins that we tend to fall into more within the church while pointing out the sins of others. Appreciate your question, J.B. God bless you. Thanks, Adriel.

Some great counsel there on a very thorny issue. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We are very excited about a brand new Bible study that we'd like to offer you today. Yeah. We've been talking about the Bible study for a couple of days now.

I got it right here. Really just a wonderful 10-week Bible study called The Parables of King Jesus. You ever gone through a study on the parables? A lot of people think that Jesus is speaking in parables to help people really understand the message of the kingdom, to illustrate things a little bit better, but I think you'll be surprised to find out what Jesus is doing as he teaches in parables, not just teaching, but actually accomplishing something, ushering in his kingdom. And that's the emphasis of this 10-week study, really seeing what Jesus is accomplishing through these teachings on the parables. And so if you want to understand how you fit into God's kingdom and who you are in God's story, there's no better place to start than The Parables of King Jesus. Go ahead and get a copy over at corechristianity.com for a donation of $20 or more.

By the way, all of our studies are set up to work really well for personal use, but also in a group format, and they're available in bulk quantities. They'd be great to consider as you plan for your Sunday school class or your small group Bible study. You can receive a copy of The Parables Bible study, as Adriel said, for a donation of $20 or more at corechristianity.com forward slash studies. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash studies and look for the great new study on The Parables of King Jesus.

Well, let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our callers earlier this week. This is from Deborah. Does the Bible offer any allowance for the souls of those with intellectual disability? My own son is 20, but mentally about three, and he has gone to church all his life. He can point to the image of Jesus, feels joy when he attends church and hears his favorite hymns, but is incapable of verbally confessing sins. He is also incapable of verbally professing that he believes in Jesus or acknowledging that he died to take away our sins. But yet he is also incapable of breaking the 10 commandments or committing any of the seven deadly sins. So my question is, is it possible for some people to be incapable of sinning and be in a perpetual state of grace, their souls made perfect by an intellectual disability, and is there anything in the Bible to support that? Thank you.

Hi Deborah. God bless you and God bless your son as well. Now I think just based on how you worded the question, it sounds to me like you're coming from a Roman Catholic background. The way I would speak about this is one, realizing that God and his grace can extend to us, even when there isn't a lot of cognitive development there. I think of the passage I like to go to is in Luke, Luke chapter one, and it's when Mary visits Elizabeth. And if you remember in verse 41 it says, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But what's so interesting to me about that is here you have John the Baptist.

I mean talk about not having a lot of cognitive development there. I mean he's in the womb and yet somehow it seems on the basis of Holy Scripture that he was able to recognize the presence of the Word, Jesus there, the grace of God. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. And so I just want to say to you that the Lord can and does work in our children, our little children.

I think also in those who are developmentally disabled have, you know, those kinds of issues. We just know that that's not a barrier that keeps the grace of God from working in an individual's life and that Jesus welcomes the little children, those who are, you know, have those kinds of disabilities. I think even later in Luke's Gospel, in Luke chapter 18, you have that scene where people are bringing to Jesus their children, their infants even. That's the Greek word that Luke uses there. Verse 15 of Luke chapter 18, they were bringing even infants to Jesus that he might touch them.

And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him saying, let the children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, he says, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. And so it's my belief, you know, that these children, that your son, yes, can and do experience the grace of God. I want to encourage you in that, encourage you to continue to go to church together, to sing those hymns. I mean, it sounds to me like you're already seeing and have seen how the Lord has worked in his life and God will continue to do that. And so you pray and you worship together. And you know, I think that God, you know, extends his grace to us in those situations. And so I appreciate your question, Deborah, for just how thoughtful you were with them. Pray that the Lord blesses you and continues to bless your son as well. God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open.

If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, we would love to hear from you. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. We'll be taking calls for the next eight minutes or so. So now is your opportunity to jump on the phone.

1-833-843-2673. Let's go to DJ in St. Louis, Missouri. DJ, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes.

Good afternoon. My question is this. The Bible says that all Christians or all men, all people will stand before God to be judged for the deeds done in this body.

So my question is this. If we're going to stand before God to be judged, what exactly, what's the reason that we're going to be judged if, for lack of a better term, we've already arrived? And the second part of that question is, when we stand before God to be judged, can we be banished away and sent to hell even after the judgment? DJ, if we are in Jesus Christ, if we're in Christ, I don't believe that we will be banished away because we're justified in Jesus. That means counted righteous in Christ. The righteousness of Jesus is given to his children so that we can stand before God confidently on the day of judgment because of the great love that God has for us.

Now we are going to give an account still. And I think that that's clear throughout the New Testament. You have this language, especially in the Pauline epistles.

We're going to give an account for the things that we've done. Now I don't think that the result of that is going to be we're going to be banished or cursed because we've already entered into life. And in fact, this is what Jesus himself said. The verse you're going to want to look at is John, the Gospel of John in chapter 5. This is Jesus speaking in the context, he's talking about his authority, the resurrection.

And he says in verse 24, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Now, he does not come into judgment does not mean that we're not going to, he's not going to stand before God on the day of judgment. It means that he's not going to be condemned, which is precisely what you're asking. Our Christians may be going to stand before God on the day of judgment and then be condemned. You know, they're in Christ, they trusted in him. And then God is going to say, you know, you weren't good enough. No, we're not judged or saved, if you will, on the merit of our works.

It's the merit of Jesus Christ and his goodness. That's what gives us hope. That's what gives us confidence. And in fact, John also says that you should have confidence on the day of judgment in First John, chapter four, listen to what he said. And I think this is so important because, you know, often when we think about the judgment, right, there's fear and trembling.

We think about the lives that we've led, the times we failed the Lord, you know, the sin that we still struggle with, even though we repent, we turn to the Lord. But John says in First John, chapter four, verse 17, by this is love perfected with us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment because as he is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment. And whoever fears has not been perfected in love, we love because he first loved us.

In other words, that fear of punishment is driven away by what? By faith and the recognition of God's love for us in his son Jesus. We love because he first loved us. And so while we are going to stand before God on the day of judgment and we are going to give an account, we are not going to enter into judgment. That is, we are not going to be condemned. And you and I through Christ and through the love of God can have confidence on the day of judgment.

May the Lord help us by the grace of his Spirit to have that sure confidence in Christ and to rejoice in it. God bless. Amen.

Well said. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. A reminder, we have that great new Bible study to offer you. It's called The Parables of King Jesus. It's available right now if you go to corechristianity.com forward slash studies. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash studies to learn more about the wonderful new resource, The Parables of King Jesus.

Well, we do receive emails here at Core Christianity, and here's a challenging one for you, Adriel. This person says, My husband has always worked away from home, and I usually see him five days a month or so. Over a few years, this wore me down. I felt disconnected from him and ended up cheating on him. I confess that to God, but never to him. A few years later, we separated in order to think about divorce because living two separate lives and never seeing each other is just too hard. During this time, I did sleep with another man.

These instances have been wearing on me. So I confess to God, but I don't tell my husband. Not because I'm afraid he'll get mad and leave me because we're already probably going to get divorced, but I fear breaking his heart. I think to myself, if I stay with him and we agree on how to make this marriage work, I'll be committed and I won't cheat. So why bother to hurt him and break his heart? Is it okay if I confess only to God and never tell my husband, or is that considered living in sin? Yeah, well, there certainly is dishonesty there, right?

In situations like this, I always say, look, you need to speak with your husband. I think that that is so important. I recognize that when we've sinned against God and against another person, there's a sense of, oh man, this person is going to be crushed by this knowledge. I don't know what to do about it.

I don't know how I can cope with that. But the reality is that I think that you do need to be honest with your husband. You need to bring this into the light. You can't have a healthy relationship, a healthy marriage, the hope for a healthy marriage, if you're keeping these kinds of secrets. And so I think that the right thing to do would be to confess, to ask for forgiveness.

Now, again, you make it sound like you're already moving in the direction of divorce, but I think that you should pray that the Lord would give you strength to be able to be honest, that you should confess this. And it sounds like you've confessed it to God, but I think that you do need to speak to your husband about this. In 1 John chapter 1 and verse 5, John says, this is a message we have heard from him and proclaimed to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Here's what I want to say to you, sister. The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient for you. The grace of God is sufficient for you to cleanse all your sins when you confess. But confession, true confession, I think before the Lord, involves realizing what we've done and turning from it and saying, no, this was wrong. And I think in part, you know, for you, I think that would also involve speaking to your husband. What's so interesting here in this passage is it relates confession to the fellowship that we have with each other, even within the church.

The forgiveness that God gives to us should give us renewed fellowship with one another in the body of Christ, but certainly also in our marriages, in our families, because we are a forgiven people. And so there's this relationship. There's the sort of vertical relationship with forgiveness, but then there's the horizontal.

There's how it affects our relationships with each other. And I think as you've confessed this sin and truly departed from it and said, I don't want anything to do with that. I never want to do that again.

God have mercy. I think a part of that is also saying to your husband, look, I need to be honest with you. I need God's forgiveness and I've confessed to God, but I need your forgiveness as well because I want to move forward in a way that's not in the darkness, not in the shadows, but in a way that's healthy. And maybe confessing means you're no longer going to want to be with me, but that's a risk I think that you should take.

And it's respecting your husband also, being honest with him. And so I think you need to do that, sister, and appreciate you calling or leaving us that question via email. May the Lord bless you and be with you and give you courage and grace as well. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.