Why It's OK to Have a Boring Testimony

The Bible says that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins on earth, even before he died.

Does that diminish the meaning of the cross? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Join us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

And you can email us with your question at questions at corechristianity.com. First up today, if you use Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri, here's something you should know. Researchers in Germany have compiled a list of more than 1000 words and phrases that will inadvertently cause Alexa, Siri and other virtual assistants to become activated. Once activated, the virtual assistants create recordings, and according to the research team, this has alarming implications for user privacy. It likely means that short recordings of personal conversations could periodically end up in the hands of Amazon, Apple, Google or Microsoft employees. For example, normally Amazon's Alexa is activated by simply saying Alexa, but the team found that Alexa could also be activated by saying words like unacceptable, election, a letter and tobacco.

Apple's Siri is called into action by saying, hey Siri, but the researchers found it could also be activated by saying things like a city and hey, Jerry. So Adriel, be careful because big brother could be listening in on you. Yeah, well, you know what Jesus said, we're going to have to give an account for every careless word. And so what an illustration there, right?

I mean, it's just like, it is kind of creepy thinking that, boy, my phone or my computer might be listening into my conversation with my wife or something like that. But I think we often don't think about the fact that every single thing we say, I mean, according to Jesus, we're going to give an account for. And so that's a sobering truth. You had to remind me of that. Thank the Lord that we are forgiven and justified through the blood of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. It's our only hope. And that's right. Well, let's go to our first call of the day.

Hey, this is Robert. I had a question about Daniel's dream, the four beasts. How come they are different than what is explained in Revelations?

Thank you. Yeah, I mean, talk about opening up in some pretty deep biblical waters. Daniel has this vision in Daniel chapter seven, a dream. Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed.

And he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel said, I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea and four great beasts came out of the sea different from one another. And then he goes on to describe these, I mean, really monsters like Frankenstein type beasts that are representative of worldly kingdoms, earthly kingdoms. What's so interesting about these kinds of passages, I mean, what we're looking at here in Daniel seven and then also in the book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature.

And we read this stuff and we think, man, it sounds like it belongs in a science fiction novel. You know, you have this beast, you know, like a bear raised up on one side, three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told arise, devour much flesh, you know, like this walking hunchback bear.

I mean, it really is a monster. And what's interesting is the sea in the ancient world was this place of tumult. It was often that the world, the nations were depicted as the sea, the sea of the people. And here you have out of the sea, monsters coming forth. Some years ago, there were some reports here off of the coast of Southern California that the yellow bellied sea snake was cropping up. It was this poisonous snake. And so people were afraid to go to the beach for a while. You imagine, you know, those things are supposed to stay in the water. But can you imagine if the yellow bellied sea snake grew legs and wings and had fangs?

I mean, it'd go from being, you know, like, don't go to the beach to don't leave your house. But that's what you have happening in Daniel 7, and even in the book of Revelation, these beasts that are described. The focus of these texts is it's God showing us, one, that he knows the history of mankind, and two, the great kingdoms of this world that we often think are grand and wonderful, even beautiful. In God's eyes, through his perspective, I mean, he sees all the sin, all the corruption. They look sometimes like beasts, like monsters that trampled down his people. And you see that in Daniel, and you see that also in Revelation. But one of the comforts that we're supposed to receive from this kind of literature, apocalyptic literature, is that God knows all things and that he's in control. And the beautiful thing about Daniel 7 and the vision of the four beasts is it's followed up by the Son of Man, who is given authority over the whole world.

Daniel 7 continues in verse 13, I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like the Son of Man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. In other words, these great beasts, the kingdoms of the world that are described in Daniel and that are described in the book of Revelation, are one day all going to bow the knee to Jesus. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed. In the Bible, in Daniel, and in Revelation, the kingdoms of this world are often depicted as these monsters that trample on the people of God. But one day, those kingdoms will be done away with. And as Jesus promised, his kingdom, his church, will never have the gates of hell prevail against it.

It's going to spread throughout the whole world, cover the earth, so that the glory of God covers the face of the earth. And so as mysterious and as enigmatic as these passages tend to be, I mean, it's one of the reasons we often avoid the apocalyptic literature. We don't want to read Revelation or this section of Daniel. You know, let's read the earlier chapters of Daniel, Daniel and the lion's den, those sections.

But this stuff, I just don't even know how to interpret it. I'm not even going to read that. Actually, it's meant to be a huge comfort to us, to you, as you think about the fact that God rules over the world, even the terrible nations of the world, and that one day they will all bow to the Son of Man. What a great promise. Thank you, Adriel. And Robert, thank you for your question. Well, here's an email question that came in from Chris, and Chris says, since God is all-knowing, and since he also sent his Son for us, for whom or for what precisely is Jesus interceding?

Oh, that's a great question. Well, when we talk about the intercession, the prayers of Jesus, we are referring to the fact that as our high priest, he prays on behalf of his people. The priestly work of Jesus included, first, his sacrificial death on the cross for us, the atonement. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and that's done. Hebrews talks about that being a once-for-all offering. He's put away sin for all time. It's not like under the Old Covenant where you had the blood of bulls and goats, and these animals were continually offered, and the author to the Hebrews says it was this constant reminder of sin and the fact that just it can't be put away, it can't be fully cleansed. But then Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came and with his precious blood made full and final atonement so that there is nothing else that can be offered for sinners to put away their sins.

That's done. But Jesus is continuing a priestly ministry right now by offering up prayers for his people. You see this in Romans chapter 8 where it talks about his intercession for us. You see this in the book of Hebrews where it also talks about him praying for us. And I think you see this throughout the Bible. One of the places I think that you see this in such a beautiful way, and it's a text of scripture that we often, I don't think, recognize the implications is in Acts chapter 7. And if you're familiar with Acts chapter 7, that's when Stephen was stoned to death.

Acts chapter 7 beginning in verse 54 says, When they heard these things, they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at Stephen. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

They cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. And that's when they kill him. But note, as Stephen is about to die, he sees the Son of Man, Jesus, standing at the right hand of God.

Now let me tell you something. That's the only place where Jesus is described as standing at the right hand of the Father. Everywhere else, he's described as being seated at the right hand of God. I mean, over and over again in the New Testament. But here he is standing.

Well, you know what? In the ancient world, standing was the primary posture of prayer. You know, we pray while we're sitting down or laying in bed. In the Bible, there were these postures of prayer.

You know, you'd pray on your face or on your knees or while you were standing. And it was this picture of being attentive, praying to the Lord with attentiveness. Well, here, the high priest, the great high priest Jesus, as Stephen is being stoned to death, is standing as he sees him. He's been roused from his heavenly throne. And I think that the reason the text tells us that he's standing is because he's offering up his prayers, his intercession for Stephen.

What a beautiful picture this is for us. You know, so often in our suffering we think, does Jesus notice? Does he see? Well, here, what do we have? Stephen, in the darkest moment of his life, as he's being stoned to death, Jesus is watching.

He stood up from his throne. He's attentive and he's praying. Who does Jesus pray for?

His people. When we suffer, when we're struggling with sin, John tells us in 1 John, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Christian, Jesus prays for you. Thanks for your question.

Amen. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. And, you know, one of the things we do here is we strive to help you understand the core truths of the Christian faith. Every time we answer one of your questions, every article we run on our website, every resource we produce here is seeking to help you gain a clearer understanding of the gospel, the core message of Christianity. But, you know, we need your support to do it.

That's right, Bill. We are a listener-supported program and if you've benefited or been encouraged by the answers to questions about the Christian faith that you hear on Core Christianity, we would like to ask you to please consider sending a gift now to help us continue. As a thank you for a gift of $20 or more, we'll send you our new resource, How to Read the Bible.

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And on behalf of the entire team here at Core Radio, thank you so much for your support. Okay, Adria, let's go to a question that was posted on our Facebook account. Sully asks this, If I had spiritual mentors who led me the wrong way and told me to do things that were wrong, did I sin too? At the time, I was very naive, and I still am because I have Asperger's syndrome. But now I know what they told me to do was wrong, and I wonder about verses like Mark 9 42 and Leviticus 5 17.

I solely am so sorry to hear about your experience. It grieves me, and I know it grieves Jesus. The text that you're referring to, Mark chapter 9 verse 42, Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where there is the worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched, for everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt is lost, it's saltiness.

How will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. Jesus said here, this section of scripture is really focusing on temptations to sin and things that cause us to sin. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. And of course, Jesus is not speaking literally here. He's talking about the violent attitude we should have against our sins.

Not against other people, no. Be at peace with other people, but be at war with your sin. John Owen, the great Puritan said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. Paul in Romans 8 says that by the Spirit, we mortify, we put to death the deeds of the body, but so you're right. Sometimes ungodly leaders, false shepherds can lead the children of God astray.

God knows all things. I mean, He holds us accountable for in particular, you know, what we know and the level of authority that we have. Jesus over and over again, He rebukes the Pharisees because of their spiritual position, their authority. They're going to receive greater condemnation as they're leading the children of God, the sheep, astray. We often said this before, you know, we're both sinners, but we're also sinned against. And I think that God is compassionate toward those who have been led astray, who have been taught false things. Now, that doesn't mean that we don't necessarily at times also engage in sin.

I don't know your situation, but my gut reaction solely is it sounds like, you know, you were sinned against, you were misled, you were deceived. And Jesus knows that, sees that, and I think it angers our Lord, especially when spiritual teachers, people who are meant to lead us in the ways of the Lord, don't. This is why James says in James chapter three, verse one, let not many of you become teachers, brethren, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.

Now, here's what you need to know, right? Like people are going to lead us astray at times. And if you're under a ministry where false teachers, pastors are leading people into sin, you need to get out of that. I mean, that's not what God calls us to. You think about what Peter said all throughout second Peter warning the church against false teachers who are filled with sensuality and greed, who lead the people astray, who entice, Peter says, unsteady, unstable souls.

They're going to receive greater condemnation, but solely here's what you can know. Jesus, the good shepherd, pursues you, loves you, sees the pain that you've experienced, sees where you've been misled, deceived, and he will not mislead you. He will not deceive you. His word is true.

His sheep hear his voice and they follow him and he gives them eternal life. Set your eyes solely upon Jesus and rest in him. And I hope that you get into a church, brother, where you're encouraged, where the pastor there is teaching God's word faithfully and encouraging you as one of God's children to walk with Jesus and to love Jesus. So if you're not in a good church, you need to get in a good church, but know that Jesus, the good shepherd, is also the best leader. Set your eyes upon him and let him guide you, brother. Sully, thank you so much for your question. We'll be praying for you in this whole situation. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and we'd love to hear from you. If you have a question for us, you can call us anytime at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Chris posted this on Instagram. If the purpose of the cross was to redeem man and forgive sins, why do we see Jesus in the Gospels forgiving people's sins? Why did he need to go to the cross at all if he could forgive sins on earth? If Jesus had this authority all along, couldn't he have just forgiven everyone?

Yeah, great question. Look, all forgiveness flows from the cross. Even the types and shadows of the Old Testament, the sacrificial system, right? The author of the Hebrews is absolutely clear. It's impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could ever truly forgive sin.

But what they do is they point us to the one. This is what happened under the Old Testament. Through these types and shadows, they pointed us to the one who could put away sin once for all. And his blood is what cleanses all sin, even the past sins.

Now, it is clear, as you say, that Jesus demonstrates even prior to the cross that he had authority to forgive sin. I think, for example, of Mark 2, that wonderful scene where a couple of guys bring their friend who was a paralytic to Jesus and they lower him into a room where Jesus is at through the roof. And everybody is there, right?

You can imagine this scene. There's a crowd in this living room, and this paralytic has just been dropped in through the roof, lowered down slowly. And everyone is thinking, oh boy, Jesus is going to heal this paralytic. And the first thing that Jesus says is, Son, your sins are forgiven.

And everybody there is probably thinking, wait, what? Jesus, I don't think that's why he's here. I think he's looking for his paralysis to be healed. But Jesus says, Son, your sins are forgiven. And some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, why does this man speak like that?

He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately, Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven? Or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk, that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins?

He said to the paralytic, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. In other words, the focus of Jesus' ministry is the forgiveness of sins. Even the healing of this man's paralysis is only done to demonstrate that he has authority on earth as the Son of Man. Daniel chapter 7, that's where that language comes from, the Son of Man, as the Son of Man to forgive sins.

Why? Because he's going to put sins away once for all through his blood, because he's God. There's no, I think, contradiction here between Jesus' authority here and what he's ultimately going to do. All forgiveness flows from the cross. On this side of the cross and prior to the cross, all forgiveness flows from the blood of Jesus, from his atonement that puts away sin for the people of God.

The Old Testament system, all of it pointed to that reality. Let me just say one more thing for you listening right now. The most important thing that Jesus did, and we often want Jesus to do so many things for us, but you know what the most important thing that he did was? What he came for.

It wasn't to give me a great, happy, and healthy life necessarily, not at all. He came as the Lamb of God who puts away the sins of the world. He made atonement for the sins of his people so that trusting in him, you might have a clear conscience, forgiven, and resting in your salvation by faith. Thank you, Adriel. This is Core Christianity.

We have time for one last question. This is an email that came in from Kenneth, and he says, I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and was raised from the dead. My life is full of testimony, but I struggle with whether or not I've been made new. I don't have an awe-inspiring story of when I initially gave my life to Christ.

I started to volunteer with youth, and I want to be positive and careful with what light I can shine. Yeah, I've been in those meetings where everybody's sharing their testimony, and it's kind of like people are one-upping each other. You're like, oh, this is the terrible life that I used to lead, and then I came to Jesus, and the next person says, oh, well, let me tell you what I did.

And a lot of us, I think, don't feel like we have those stories, and it can be kind of discouraging. We can wonder, am I really a new creation? Well, here's what the scripture says. 2 Corinthians 5, from now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

My brother, don't look inside. Don't try to think, well, how cool is my Christian testimony? Am I really a new creation? The question is, do you trust in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins? If you do, you know that the Holy Spirit is with you because no one, Paul said, can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

And if you are united to Christ by faith, I can tell you on the basis of God's word, whether you feel like it or not, you are a new creation. 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 podcast and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together. Thank you.