Are UFO’s and Aliens Mentioned in Scripture?

After the supposed UFO sightings recently released by the government, I'm wondering are aliens mentioned in the Bible? 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. Our questions are open right now, and you can call us for the next 25 minutes at this number, 1-833-843-2673.

Or to make it easier to remember, just call us at 833-THE-CORE. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. You can watch us right now on YouTube, and you can email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Hi, I was wondering what advice you would give to a recently new children's minister who hasn't been to seminary but is called to preach. What is your advice on preparing a sermon and study material for teaching children and adults?

Hey David, excellent question you have there. Well, I can tell you what I do as I prepare every week to write a sermon. Certainly a lot of prayer goes into it, so I would say prayer is key. Praying through a passage of Scripture. Obviously, you're studying the text of Scripture. I do what's called the exegetical work, so looking at the text in its original languages, trying to understand the passage in its context, and then really asking myself, how do I apply this to the people that God has put in front of me? What are the things that God is speaking to us in this passage of Scripture? And a lot of times, there's one meaning to a text of Scripture, but there are different ways to apply the same text of Scripture. You might find as you're talking to children that there are certain applications that you will draw out for them that you wouldn't necessarily be drawing out if you were preaching to the whole congregation.

That takes time, that takes study, that takes prayer, but it really is a wonderful thing that you're doing. There are two passages of Scripture that really help to guide me as I think about my job as a minister of the Gospel, and in particular, preaching the word of God. The first one is in the book of 2 Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3. Paul said, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. That's verses 16 and 17 of 2 Timothy 3.

And then, Paul tells Timothy at the beginning of chapter 4, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and by his kingdom, preach the word. This imperative there, it's what God calls ministers to do, to preach the word, to communicate clearly the truth of Scripture to people, because it's inspired by God. It's God's very word to us.

It's God-breathed. The other passage of Scripture that I oftentimes think of when I think of what God calls us to do as pastors is what Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2, beginning in verse 1. Listen to how he describes his preaching ministry, David. And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified, and I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Paul says, look, when I preached the Gospel, it wasn't with these flowery words, this beautiful lecture that I would give, that kind of a thing. He says, no, I was preaching the cross of Jesus Christ. And so I think we communicate the truth of Scripture within its context, help people to understand that, apply it to them, and lead them to the cross.

It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be, and it shouldn't be a show. We want to fix people's eyes, whether they're children or adults in the congregation, we want to fix their eyes, placarding Jesus before them. Paul said in Galatians 3, verse 1, and so as you minister, David, to the young children in the church, set their eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ through the text of Scripture, and open their minds to the beauty of what the Bible says, and trust God to open their hearts by the grace of his Spirit. God bless you, brother. David, thanks so much for your call.

Thanks for being a regular listener, and thanks so much for what you're doing there serving in your own local church. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to a voicemail we received about a particular passage of Scripture. My question is in Romans 8, where the Bible says, there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, a lot of translations stop there. Some translations say after that, who walk in the Spirit and not according to the flesh. So my question is, when we walk according to the flesh, do our hearts condemn us? Is that a good thing, because then it leads us to the only one who can save us from condemnation and gets us back to walking in the Spirit? Thank you.

Hey, sister, thank you for that question. There's a textual question here regarding Romans 8. There is therefore, verse 1, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And then some later manuscripts add this phrase, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Now, if you have the ESV, that's what I'm using right now, or an NASB, or one of those translations, those translations omit that second part that I just read there. And the reason for that is because the earliest and best manuscripts, New Testament manuscripts that we have, don't include that other part. That's a thing that's sort of alluded to a little bit later in the text, in verse 4, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

But I think probably the original did not contain that second part of the text. So reading the ESV, I think, is the way in which it should be understood there, is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul had just talked about earlier in Romans, chapter 5, how we have been justified. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, you know, as believers, when we trust in Jesus Christ, we are justified.

It's this definitive action of God. We are now in the right, justified. We have the righteousness of Jesus Christ given to us so that we can stand before God pure on the day of judgment. That's why Paul says in Romans 8, 1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We are justified. But what about when we don't feel justified? What about when we struggle with sin, when our heart condemns us? Is that a good thing?

I don't think so. I think that when we experience conviction of sin, that's a good thing. If the Spirit of God lives in us, we will be convicted, you know, when we sin. That's a grace to us. You think of the Psalms, you know, where David talks about the hand of the Lord being heavy upon him when he had sinned.

It's a sign of the fact that God is at work in you. And so you should experience conviction, but condemning yourself is, I think, never a good idea. And John actually talks about this. He uses that very language in the book of 1 John. In 1 John, chapter 3, beginning in verse 19, he says, By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our heart before Him. We're supposed to have this confidence before God. For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything. I think what John is saying there, and this is so beautiful, I think what John is saying there is, God's verdict on your life is more important, more significant, more stable than your own assessment of who you are.

What has God said about you? And if you are in Jesus Christ, if you believe in Him, God says, Justified, my child, adopted into my family. Now when you sin, you're going to experience conviction, and you might even want to condemn yourself. And John says, here's the good news, God is greater than your heart, than your own self-condemnation. In Jesus Christ, He has declared you righteous, and so you can have peace. Thank you for your question, sister. God bless. I just love that passage from Romans, chapter 8, 8-1.

It's just so comforting in my own Christian walk, because I know I'm going to mess up, but thank the Lord that I am not condemned through the blood of Jesus Christ. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, we would love to hear from you. Our phone lines are open for the next 15 minutes or so, so now is the time to call. The number is 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Nicole, calling in from Jefferson City, Missouri. Nicole, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, so I know there's a man, a thief, who is on the cross next to Jesus when he's being there, and he says to him not to worry that he was going to be with him in paradise, and I guess forgiving him of his sins as a thief and telling him that he's forgiven. If he can go, if he can take somebody at the last minute and say, okay, you say you believe in me now, you're forgiven, I'm going to take you to heaven, why can't or why do people, I mean, can you just live any way you want until right before you die and then you're accepted into heaven anyway? So what is the point of, do you see where I'm going with that? Yeah, I think I do, Nicole.

How does that work? Yeah, I remember, Nicole, before I really started walking with the Lord or would refer to myself as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus, thinking that very thing. I mean, really what I wanted to find out was how long can I live for myself and doing the things that I want to do before I have to repent? When can I know that I need to basically get right with God?

What time is that? Because my thought back then was there's a lot of things I want to do and I feel like God is going to get in the way of some of those things and so I just want to do my own thing and then maybe at the end of life, I'll accept religion or Jesus or whatever it is and then be good to go. And there are a lot of people who feel that way as well.

Now, that's a very dangerous way to live, Nicole, because it's presumptuous. We don't know how many days we have and the fact of the matter is, especially when we turn away from God, our hearts begin to grow harder and harder and harder. And so when we experience the call of His grace, when we hear the Gospel proclaimed and the invitation of Jesus Christ to come to receive His forgiveness, we should lay hold of that by faith. It really is so important. And the other thing with that, what I didn't understand at the time is there is nothing more wonderful than knowing and walking with the Lord, having a relationship with Jesus Christ, experiencing His goodness, His forgiveness, His peace, His presence.

I didn't know about that. And so I think people, when they don't recognize that, when they don't recognize that God is good, that we were created for fellowship with the true and the living God, to experience His love, we think, well, I just want to do my own thing and then I'll accept Him at the end of my life and be saved. Well, no, you're neglecting turning away from the best thing on the planet, communion with the living God. And there's a warning that's given, Nicole, in the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 3, beginning in verse 7. This is a quote from the Old Testament. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. On the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years, therefore I was provoked with that generation and said they always go astray in their heart.

They have not known my ways. As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Then the author of the Hebrews gives this warning. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God, but exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Don't take advantage of God's grace. Don't live presumptuously thinking, I'm just going to do my own thing and then later on in life maybe I'll make a choice to follow God. The reality is that sin is blinding and hardening and when we experience the call of the Lord Jesus Christ, today, right now, is the day of salvation.

Maybe some of you are listening right now and you haven't been in church in a long time, you're not sure what you believe. Let me tell you, today is the day of salvation. Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins so that you might know and have communion with God. Lay hold of it. Lay hold of that grace because it is for you.

We shouldn't just push it aside and hopefully accept it later in life. God is gracious. We see that, Nicole, with the thief on the cross. Jesus extended his forgiveness to the thief right there, right before he died. God does that even today, but we are not and should not look to that as the example for what we should do. No, follow Jesus now, today, and get to know his goodness.

Great counsel, Adriel. Of course, our days are numbered and we may just be a car accident or a brain aneurysm away from meeting Jesus. Yeah, and we don't know, yeah. And I think for many people, Bill, they sort of think of Christianity and quote-unquote salvation as this sort of get-out-of-jail-free card, the ticket to heaven. We don't think of it as knowing and having a relationship with the true and the living God. Jesus said in the Gospel, this is eternal life, that they might know you, that they might know you. Now, of course, we talked about justification earlier. When we trust in Jesus, we are justified, but we begin to walk with the Lord and have this relationship with him, and there really is nothing better than that in this world. We were created for communion with our Creator, to know him, to experience his presence, to love him, to grow in the knowledge of him so that we might grow in love for one another and for him. So that's such a wonderful thing, and many people don't realize how wonderful that is, and so they just think, you know, I'm going to do my own thing. But that's not what we're called to. Thanks so much for that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez, and today we'd like to offer you a wonderful book that will help you grow in your faith and really get a grasp of God's tender heart towards us.

Yeah. Brothers and sisters, you know, one of the reasons why we picked this resource as a resource to offer on the broadcast, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlind, is because we get so many questions from people who are struggling with, and how do I know God loves me? How do I know I'm truly a Christian? How do I know I'm forgiven?

I still struggle with Finn every single day, people who struggle with assurance. I think that this is a book that will really bless you and help you as you grow in your relationship with the Lord and as you understand the heart of Jesus for sinners and sufferers. And so get a hold of this resource, of this offer, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlind. of UFO sightings by both civilians and military officers. Is there any mention of extraterrestrial life in Scripture?

To my knowledge, the answer is not readily found in the Bible, which causes me some anxiety. Now, Bill, you've been abducted a couple of times, haven't you? Not that I recall, but you never know. They might have wiped my memory clean. That's right.

Yeah, I think the memory is... Look, well, first I would say this. As I've studied the Scripture, I think that the answer to that question simply is no. I don't see anything in the Scripture that... What we could say clearly, definitively, this is referring to extraterrestrial life, aliens visiting the planet, Martians, that kind of a thing. It doesn't seem to me like that's something that the Bible speaks to specifically.

Here's what we can know. One, we know that God is the creator of all things and that he made all things from nothing. This is in Genesis chapter 1. I think also of John chapter 1, the first few verses, where it talks about all things being made by Jesus Christ.

And John is even emphatic there. He says, apart from Jesus, nothing was made that was made. And so anything that exists in the universe was created by God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And so I think that's something that we can say, okay, this is what the Bible teaches very clearly. We also know, so we know that God created humanity, human beings, Adam and Eve there in the garden. We also know that there's this entire unseen world, the angelic hosts, the angels, that there are good angels and bad angels.

We don't know a ton about it. There's a little bit of a mystery there, but we know that there is this unseen world. And I'm not saying that UFOs are that unseen world made visible to us in this sort of strange way. I'm not sure with these sightings.

I've actually seen some of the videos online, and they seem quite remarkable. But we know that God created all things, that there are angels, this unseen realm that's at work in the world today. And I think beyond that, as Christians, we have to be really careful that we don't get into all of the speculation and waste time with fear or concern about these things. One, I think, exhortation here that's really helpful is what Paul told Timothy. Keep going back to those pastoral epistles today. In 1 Timothy 1, beginning in verse 3, Paul said, As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus, so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myth and endless genealogies which promote speculations, rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussions.

Look, I think it's okay to talk about these things, but let's not get into vain discussions where we're just speculating and growing in fear and concern and making all of these assumptions. No, study the word. Know the God of the Bible. Get immersed in the scriptures.

Why? Paul, again, in that passage, he says the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. That's what we want to grow in as Christians, faith, hope, and love, and it comes through the word.

So that's what we should be focused on and committed to. Amen. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder that some of the radio stations that air our program air it at a delayed basis.

In other words, they don't air it live. They air it later on in the day. So here is the time to call. I'd like to talk to Pastor Adriel live in the studio. That would be at 11 30 a.m. Pacific time, which translates into 12 30 Mountain, 1 30 Central, or 2 30 Eastern time. During that half-hour period, you can call and talk to Pastor Adriel live.

Otherwise, just leave a voicemail anytime at 833 The Core. Let's go to Debbie in Lincoln, Nebraska. Debbie, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Well, I was just wondering what God and, you know, maybe the end people think about homeless people on the corner that are, you know, standing there and giving money to him. I mean, I give money to some of them, but you know, I kind of feel like I should maybe give it to all of them. What's kind of your thought on that?

Hey, Debbie. Yeah, I've been a part of several different churches that have had, you know, homeless ministries where we were able to come alongside of our homeless neighbors, people in the community, and share meals and clothing and the love of Jesus with them. I think that if, you know, you're walking down the street and you see someone and they're asking for money, you know, I don't think you need to feel obligated, necessarily, to give to them. I think one of the concerns that many people have is, you know, what is this money going to be used for? Am I actually helping this person, or is this money going to be used for drugs or something like that? I oftentimes, if somebody asks me for money, Debbie, I'll just say, hey, can I, you know, buy a coffee shop or something like, can I get you a cup of coffee or can I get you some lunch or some food or something like that?

I think that's a better route to go. But I also think, you know, the Bible's very clear about how we should have a heart for the poor. I love Proverbs 19, verse 17.

It says, whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. And so I'm not saying you have to or you shouldn't, necessarily. I think you just need to exercise wisdom as you're meeting people and seeing people on the street, even striking up a conversation, talking to people, getting to know them a little bit. I think that's a wonderful thing. And then maybe being able to provide a meal or maybe you get to a place in the conversation where you feel comfortable giving them a few dollars for a bus ride or something like that.

That's how I think you want to approach it. I do know, though, that, you know, you also want to be wise because sometimes, you know, you give money to an individual, and that could be used for something that would actually do more harm to them than help them. And so exercise wisdom and pray. And I just want to commend you, sister, for even the desire to care for the poor. I think that's a noble thing. I think that's something that God places in our hearts. And remember that scripture in Proverbs 19, 17. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and God will repay you for your deed.

God bless you, sister. You know, Adriel, I have a pastor friend who carries with him McDonald's and Subway gift certificates, and when he encounters a homeless person who asks for money, he gives them one of those meal certificates instead. He actually had one gentleman, he gave him a little book of certificates, and the guy threw it down on the ground and said, I don't want your junk food. You know, Bill, I couldn't... I think he wanted money. I couldn't do that because I would end up using the McDonald's certificates on myself.

If I just had them in my pocket, I can't get enough of the McDonald's fries. But what a beautiful picture, man. One of the reasons we should care for the poor is because we were poor and cast out, and yet Jesus showed mercy to us. He extended us His grace and His goodness, and so praise the Lord. 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.