Will God forgive me even if my family won't? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, 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. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.
That's 833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account. And of course, you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to a question we heard from one of our callers named Rhonda. I really enjoy your show.
It's been so informative, and you've really helped me a lot with a lot of hard questions. But here is my question for the pastor. Is baptism of the Holy Spirit biblical? Or is it different than being baptized? Is it a different process? Is it a different procedure?
I'm getting mixed messages from different people, and I just would like to know from Pastor Adriel if it's something else that should be done, or if it's even a thing. Okay, thanks very much, and God bless. Bye-bye.
Hey, Rhonda. Thank you so much for that question. Well, the language of the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes from the gospels as well as from the book of Acts. We read in Acts chapter one. This is really early on in the life of the church. While staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, this is verse four, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said you heard from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Just taking that right there, we can say, well, yeah, this is biblical. Jesus is talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The question is, what do we mean by that? Now, there are some people, Rhonda, in the church today who say you come to faith in Jesus Christ, you get baptized, you're walking with the Lord. You still need, though, some second blessing. You need what we refer to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is distinct from your water baptism. Yeah, you're already filled with the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, sealed by the Spirit.
You need something else. And people will argue on the basis of the book of Acts that that's the case. Now, I don't think that's a proper understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said you're going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit many days from now or a few days from now. That took place on the day of Pentecost, which we read about in Acts chapter two. It says when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now, really what you have here is this picture of new creation, the Spirit working in the church, this new temple on earth. In fact, I think that's one of the reasons why you have this imagery of these tongues of fire, this flame over the disciples, if you remember back in the Old Testament, God leading his people through a pillar of fire. This was a sign of God's presence, and so God is now saying my temple on earth is here in the church.
My presence is resting with my people. So this is the new community of faith that's being birthed by the work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, God giving them these tongues of fire. You have this new temple, these new prophets, if you will, called to go out into all the world and proclaim the message of the gospel. Now, if you believe in Jesus Christ, Rhonda, you're already sealed with the Holy Spirit. You don't need to go and get some second filling, some second baptism of the Holy Spirit. We are called throughout the Christian life to be filled with the Spirit. And how does that happen?
It's really not that complicated. It's as the word of Christ dwells in us richly. We're speaking together, as Paul says, in Ephesians and in Colossians and Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. It's God's word taking root deep down in our hearts. So if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, meditate on scripture, draw near to the Lord through prayer.
That's really what it's about. And so there are a lot of people who are looking for this baptism of the Holy Spirit experience after having been baptized with water, after having walked with the Lord for many years. Oftentimes when in reality, instead of looking for the experience, we need to fix our eyes on Christ and on his word. And as we do that, we're daily filled with the Holy Spirit. You've often also talked about one of the signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter five.
I mean, that's another thing some people will say. Well, you know, if you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you should speak in tongues and manifest these miraculous signs like you see in the Book of Acts. That's just a description of what was taking place in the life of the early churches.
The gospel was going out. It's not a prescription for all time for believers. And so if you if you want to know whether or not you're filled with the Holy Spirit, well, if you believe in Jesus, you're sealed with the Spirit. But but the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Those are the real signs of the Spirit in the life of the believer.
This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This coming Saturday is Halloween, and it seems like every year around this time we start getting calls asking about things like the devil and demon possession and ghosts and you name it. And we actually have a great resource that helps us understand how Satan is working in this world. Yeah, if you've ever wondered if the little devils in pop culture movies and novels might have shaped our idea of who Satan is more than scripture, you're probably right.
I think that they have. And when you stop to think about it, you know, how is the devil at work in the world today? Is he everywhere, all knowing, all powerful, a kind of mirror image opposite of God?
Well, no, he's not. It's important that we understand what the Bible has to say about the devil and spiritual warfare. So that's why we have this helpful resource. It's called Can the Devil Read My Mind? It's a 70 page booklet that will give you a thorough understanding of what the Bible says about Satan, demons and spiritual warfare. And it's yours for free over at CoreChristianity.com. One of the cool things about this book, it also offers some really practical suggestions on how we can avoid the letting Satan influence us in negative ways.
Absolutely. Just in terms of what does it look like for me as a believer to resist the devil? That's a command given to us in scripture to resist the devil and he'll flee. And so if you've wondered about that and how to do that, get ahold of this resource. You can find it by going to CoreChristianity.com forward slash offers. That's CoreChristianity.com forward slash offers. Or you can call us for that resource or any one of our resources. Here's the number.
It's 833-THE-CORE. Just ask us for Can the Devil Read My Mind? Well, let's go to Elizabeth in Illinois. Elizabeth, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Good afternoon, Pastor Adriel.
I have a really quick question for you. So years ago, I started a Bible study in my home and then I stopped doing it shortly after because I didn't feel comfortable with people being in my home. But anyway, I've had a desire to restart it here and I had been praying and asking the Lord to kind of open up a door for a space and I found one over the last few weeks.
But now I am wondering after reading Ephesians 4 and 11 verses 11 and 12, it talks about that our gifts are for the perfecting of the saints. And I was wondering if when you are leading a women's Bible study, is it something that you should do in the church or is it okay to go out and get a separate space and just trust that the Lord would provide resources for you as you begin to grow in that area? Elizabeth, are you a member of a local church? I mean, do you have a church that potentially you could use this space there for something like this women's Bible study? Yes, I do.
Okay. Yeah, I mean, well, one, whether you have it at your home or in the church facility building, whatever that looks like or at some other place, maybe a coffee shop we've done in my church, we've done Bible studies at coffee shops, you know, kind of a public place where if it's quiet enough, you're able to gather together with other believers and have a Bible study. Wherever you have it, the key is, and that's what Paul is getting at in Ephesians chapter 4, it's for the building up of the body of Christ. Now, the most important thing is not where it's held, it's what is being taught, is it, you know, we're getting into the scriptures, we're growing together in our understanding of who God is through his word, encouraging each other. And I think it should happen in the context of the church. That doesn't mean it has to be in the church, but I think it's something that you should do in the context of the church that is to serve your sisters there in the body of Christ under the oversight of the leadership of the church so that they can also encourage you and maybe even provide you with some resources.
So that way, you're not just off on your own by yourself trying to do everything. It's really, you know, a lot of times in the Christian life, whether it's with a women's Bible study or something else, some other kind of ministry that we want to start up, we just go off and do it on our own. When in reality, I think that the best approach is, what does it look like for me to get together with the brothers and sisters in the church and to do this together, to pool resources, to encourage each other so that, you know, through the gifts that God has given to you, you can build up others who are there in the church. And I love the fact that you're wanting to do this. I think that this is a wonderful desire. I think this is totally something that you should do, maybe just partnering together with the leadership in your church to make sure that it's done well and that you have the support that you need. Great response. Hey, Elizabeth, thank you so much for your willingness to serve the Lord in such a wonderful way.
That is beautiful. And as you said, Adriel, we don't want to do things apart from the body of Christ and apart from leadership in our church. We want to do it along with them, right? That's what God would want us to do.
Yeah. I mean, it really is just the way in which we're called, I think, to operate in the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We're each a different part of the body. We have these different gifts, and the body is only healthy as we're bringing our gifts together, serving one another for the good of the whole. And so one individual might be a gifted teacher, and they want to lead a Bible study. I think that that's absolutely wonderful. Let's come together, and maybe someone else has the gift of hospitality they want to host in the church, so we do it in their home. And so that's, I think, the way in which the church operates in a healthy manner that doesn't burn individuals out because they're trying to do everything on their own.
Great advice. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, give us a call right now. Here's our number, 833-THE-CORE.
That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a question we received from one of our listeners named Erica. My question is, is it impossible to fix a relationship with my daughter when I did 19 years worth of damage? Is it ever too late to try and start figuring things out? Thank you.
Well, I definitely don't think, Erica, that it's ever too late to try and figure things out. One passage of scripture that you can go to, Matthew 5, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, he says in verse 23, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. In other words, if somebody has something against us, whether that's someone within the body of Christ or a family member, one of our children, if they have something against us, it's on us to go to them and to seek reconciliation. Now, that can be hard because there are some wounds that cut pretty deeply. Part of that just looks like, okay, what is it that I've done, being willing to own my sin, and say, please forgive me. It may take an individual a long period of time to be able to get to the place where they feel like there can be some genuine restoration in the relationship. But I think we're always called as Christians to pursue that reconciliation and especially when we've sinned against someone to go to them.
Jesus' words there in Matthew 5 are really interesting. It's even more than just waiting for them to bring it up. We're to go to them and to say, hey, I know that you have this against me. I know that I didn't treat you like I should have treated you there. Would you please forgive me? So we are called to pursue that, Erika.
Let me just add that it's never too late. I would approach it with prayer, just asking that the Holy Spirit would bring healing in this situation. Obviously, as I said, some wounds are very, very deep and it takes time to heal and honesty and repentance. So starting that process now is really important.
You can't force the issue. You can't change this individual, but you can do what God calls you to do. I do know in Scripture there are some amazing examples of family conflict that the Lord brought healing in. I think of the scene in the book of Genesis with Joseph and his brothers.
Talk about being hurt by family, being left for dead by your brothers, sold into slavery. Yet somehow God, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, was able to bring healing and a great restoration in that situation. So there is hope, sister.
I would encourage you to pray and to pursue reconciliation, asking for forgiveness where maybe you've sinned. Erika, thank you so much for your call. We'll be praying for you in that situation with your daughter.
This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Sylvia in Bellevue, Texas. Sylvia, what's your question for Adriel? Hello. Hi Sylvia, how are you?
I'm well. I've moved in the last eight months to a community and there are a lot of people that name it and claim it. I have no cartilage in my knees and it's hard for me to walk and they just think I need to ask the Lord to heal me. But on the other hand, I know how Paul suffered and how Jesus suffered and the men in the fiery pit, they didn't ask for deliverance. They just embraced whatever God had for them. And that's my thinking on the issue.
Can you shed some light on that? Yeah, that's my thinking on the issue too, sister. So there are those sort of name it and claim it preachers out there that say, well, if you're a believer and you're filled with the Holy Spirit and you have some sort of sickness in your life, that can be God's will for you. So you should just declare in faith that God is going to heal you and trust that he will and that's God's will for you. But the reality is we do know that the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, suffered immensely. And that some of that suffering, you know, you think of the disciples, was a part of God's will. It's not always God's will to deliver us right now in our present condition from illness. We know that ultimately, Sylvia, we will be delivered. Jesus rose from the dead. Our bodies will fully and finally be healed.
But that may not happen in this moment today. And so I think it's presumptuous and frankly quite dangerous when preachers tell people, hey, you need to just sort of name it and claim it. Oftentimes, together with that is this idea that if you're not healed, maybe it's your problem. Maybe you've got some secret sin that you don't know about that you need to repent of. Or maybe you just don't have enough faith to be healed.
And it places this immense burden on the individual. It's totally fine to pray for healing. We're commanded to pray for healing in places like James Chapter five, to gather together with the church, have the elders lay hands on you and pray for you that you might be healed. But that doesn't mean that God is always going to deliver you from your illness. And so we look to the Lord and we trust his sovereign purposes for our lives and we trust that even through the suffering that we experience, God is able to work. This is the point of the Apostle Paul in places like Romans Chapter eight, where he says, look, nothing can separate us.
Nothing can separate you, Sylvia, from the love of God. And then he goes on to list all of these things that the people of God were experiencing, famine, you know, sickness, all of these things, persecution, the sword. And yet through all those things were more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. Sometimes people will point to that text in Isaiah 53, where it talks about being healed by his stripes. Really, you focus on Isaiah 53, that's about the forgiveness of sins, the atonement that Jesus offered for us to cleanse us from our sins. And that's confirmed by the Apostle Peter in First Peter Chapter two, verse 24.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds. You have been healed for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your soul. And so I'd say, hey, go to the Lord, pray for healing.
There's nothing wrong with that. Trust in him, but don't buy into the lie that if you don't get healed immediately, that it's your fault, you don't have enough faith, that kind of a thing, you're in some secret sin instead. Trust in God's sovereign purposes for you and continue to pursue him as you're doing, Sylvia.
God bless. I love Sylvia's perspective. I mean, she really is going right to God's word and the example that was set for us by the disciples. She's not saying, you know, boy, this name and claim it thing is going to work for me. Yeah, you wonder if the prosperity gospel name it and claim it thing really would have worked in the ancient church, you know, during the days of the apostles where they're being persecuted, killed, beaten for their faith. You can just say, hey, just sort of name and claim your victory, your healing.
It just would it would have just fallen flat because it's so outrageous. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We're going to be recording a second program today. So if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, theology, how your Christian life intersects with today's culture, we're going to be taking calls for another half hour or so after we finish up this program. So feel free to give us a call. Here's the number. It's 833-833-843-2673.
That's 833, the core. We would love to get your question for the next half hour or so. So feel free to give us a call right now. We've got a YouTube question. We can, by the way, you can watch Adriel on YouTube every day at 1130 a.m. Pacific time, which translates into 1230 Mountain, 130 Central, 230 Eastern for that half hour.
And you can submit a question that way. Here's a question from one of our YouTube viewers. I'd really like to know why Jewish people are still considered chosen. Are they still God's chosen people?
Hey, thank you for that question. Well, you know, one section of scripture that you can go to where it really talks about this is the letter to the Romans written by the apostle Paul in Romans chapters nine through 11, focusing really specifically on the beginning of chapter nine and then also in chapter 11. Now, the beginning of chapter nine, Paul talks about his kinsmen, according to the flesh Jews. He says, I'm speaking the truth in Christ.
I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. They are Israelites and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises to them belong the patriarchs and from their race, according to the flesh is the Christ who is God overall blessed forever.
Amen. Now, Paul is lamenting here because many of his brothers, his kinsmen, that is, you know, ethnic Israel had rejected the gospel. They rejected Jesus. And he says, look, they have all these promises that were given to them in the Old Testament scriptures. And yet the Messiah showed up and they rejected him.
As John says in his gospel, you know, Jesus came to his own and his own did not receive him. So in one sense, we could say, yeah, they're the chosen in terms of these promises that were extended to them. But that doesn't mean that they're saved apart from Christ. And that's the point that the apostle Paul goes on to make as chapter nine continues. They're not chosen in the sense that, hey, regardless of what decision they make or what they believe in, so long as they're ethnic Jews, they're going to be in heaven, that kind of a thing.
Absolutely not. They only have salvation through our union with Jesus Christ by faith in him. And so, Paul, you know, he makes it very clear as he continues there that even though many of these these Israelites rejected Christ, it isn't that God's word failed.
The promises didn't fail. In fact, it's the sovereign spirit of God that's working in the lives of these people, drawing them to himself. And then he goes on in chapter 11 to say, I ask, then, has God rejected his people?
By no means. I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham. In other words, the fact that I believe is a sign that God hasn't rejected all the Jews.
I'm an Israelite, and I belong to Jesus by faith. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says to Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left and they seek my life.
But what is God's reply to him? I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal, so too at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works.
Otherwise, grace would no longer be called grace. And so you see this discussion here. I think sometimes people are really confused about this. They think, okay, God has multiple peoples. He's got the Israelites and whatever they do, Jewish people, it's fine. They're going to end up in heaven just because of their ethnicity, that kind of a thing. And then he has his church over here, that kind of a thing. Well, look, there is only one people of God, and it's all those who are united to Jesus Christ by faith, Jew or Gentile.
I mean, that's just the reality. That's what we see in the New Testament. And so God is calling all people everywhere to turn to Christ. And as they do, we're grafted into that one people of God by faith. That's what Paul goes on to say in Romans chapter 11.
So I think it's really important that we understand that. It really is, more than anything else, it's Jesus. Are you in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus? If you have Jesus, if you belong to him, you are a part of the people of God.
So well said. This is Pastor Adriel Sanchez and Core Christianity. And one more reminder for you that we have this great resource available today on the devil and how he influences our lives.
That's right. Can the devil read my mind? And we're offering this resource because it is October, Halloween time, and a lot of people have questions about spiritual warfare, the devil. And so as we've said before, it's free. Head over to corechristianity.com to get a hold of that resource. And once again, brothers and sisters, thanks for joining us for another episode of Core Christianity. 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.
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