Is marriage a sacrament? 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. We would love to hear from you and our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes.
The CORE, that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites, and you can always email us at questions at corechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Paul in Johnston, Rhode Island. Paul, what's your question for Adriel?
Hello? Hey, Paul. Hey, Pastor. I'm trying to determine if anywhere in scripture it addresses, when we pray we know that he hears our prayer, but if we talk to Satan, does he hear us?
Okay, Paul. Well, you're right that when we pray to the Lord, he hears us. This is something that John says in 1 John. We have this confidence that when we pray, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. This is 1 John 5, verse 14. That means that we should go to the Lord with confidence in prayer, knowing that he listens to our prayers and that when we pray according to his will, as the Lord Jesus taught us, that God hears us.
This is something that many Christians struggle with, questioning, doubting, that the Lord really hears their prayers. But there is no indication that Satan hears us when we talk. Let me just say, you said, I would just don't talk to Satan.
That's not a good idea. Invoking the evil one or spirits, there's something very problematic with that. Now, the reason I can say that he doesn't hear us is because he's not omniscient. He's not God. He's finite.
He's limited. He's a created being. But that doesn't mean that people don't get themselves into trouble. I'm thinking in particular of the occult, witchcraft, some of those things where you have these invocations of evil spirits. The evil one is at work in the world today. There are demons at work in the world today. The spirit of the antichrist that John talks about also in 1 John.
I don't think it's a good idea at all to even go in that direction. We pray to the Lord and we know that he hears us because we pray according to his word. Thanks for that question, Paul. How about this, Adriel? What if someone is saying something like, get behind me, Satan, or get away from me, Satan?
Maybe that could be another question. Can Satan hear us when we're telling him in the Lord's name to flee from us? Yeah, the Lord rebuke you. You think about that scene in the Gospels where Jesus referred to Peter as Satan. He says, get behind me, Satan. The idea there was Peter was saying, you're not going to go to the cross. You're not going to suffer and die.
Jesus had been talking about his crucifixion. That's when the Lord says to him, get behind me, Satan. Your plan is not my plan, Peter. You don't have the right idea.
You don't know what I came to do. I think in that sense, we can say the Lord rebuke you, but just generally speaking, there's nothing in scripture that would indicate that we should be talking to the devil. By the way, we have a great resource that we just released recently. A little booklet, it's about 70 pages long, called Can the Devil Read My Mind? If you want to go deeper into this stuff, get ahold of that resource.
You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash offers and look for Can the Devil Read My Mind? Well, let's go to Tom in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Tom, what's your question for Adriel? Hello. First of all, I want to thank Pastor Adriel for his ministry.
I really appreciate what you guys do. My question is, what actually constitutes a second commandment violation? Is there a different conclusion on this? Is this something that Christians should break fellowship over?
Yeah, thank you for that question. The second commandment, I'm looking at Exodus chapter 20 right now. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness or anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. In Israel, you think about the nations that surrounded them there in the ancient Near East and there was this practice of creating these idols, these images of God and then worshiping them. One of the things that was distinct about God's covenant people is they worshiped the God who could not be seen but who spoke. Whereas the idols of the world, they could be seen. They have mouths but they don't speak, the psalmist says in Psalm 115, eyes but don't see, ears but don't hear. One of the things that was distinct about Israel's worship is you just didn't have images of the deity.
Why? Because that would corrupt worship. We can't box God up, if you will, with our own imagination.
The danger is creating God in our own image or misrepresenting who he is by creating these idols. That's what God was completely against. Also in the New Testament, you think about the earliest Christians. The Romans often accused Christians of being atheists.
They called them atheists. Part of the reason for this was because the Christians didn't have these images of God like the pagan world where you had these idols again. Early on in church history, this was just how the church operated. We're not going to make images of God. It wasn't until later on that you began to see things like iconography and imagery of God in the church. I think that the second commandment has to do with not making images of God, not worshiping them.
I think it's pretty clear. It's one of the ones that many Christians don't even really think about today. The big issue here is misrepresenting God. We are so prone, friends, to make God in our own image, to want to create a God that we can manipulate, one that looks and thinks just like we do. The Lord says, no, don't create or try to create me or what you think I'm like.
Worship me as I've revealed myself to you in my word. Is this something that Christians should break fellowship over, or is it something that would cause me to say, well, that person who has a different view on the second commandment, I don't think that they're truly a believer? I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that somebody who took a different view on the second commandment was not a Christian. I think it really does affect the way in which we think about worship and piety because there are Christian traditions where this is a big thing, where they talk about the veneration of images.
I would be opposed to that. I couldn't be in fellowship or worship in a church that was doing that. Hopefully that answers your question, Tom. Thank you so much, and God bless. Tom, thanks so much for being a regular listener to Core Christianity. We appreciate you and your digging into God's word on a regular basis.
That's very commendable. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez and Thanksgiving here just a couple of weeks away. We actually have a very special resource just in time for that holiday. We're offering this resource over at corechristianity.com. It's a wonderful resource. We're thinking about how can we as followers of Jesus Christ give thanks to the Lord as God calls us to do. Throughout the scripture you have these repeated exhortations, give thanks for all things, give thanks at all times. We want to help you to do that with this resource, Five Biblical Reminders for Thanksgiving. It's a free download, a free resource over at corechristianity.com. It's got some great material in there teaching us what it means to be grateful and to give thanks to the Lord and what our attitude should be as we approach Thanksgiving. Check it out. Go to corechristianity.com forward slash offers and look for Five Biblical Reminders for Thanksgiving.
Well, let's go to an email that we received from one of our listeners. This is from Nick, Adriel, and it says the word sacrament means mystery and in Ephesians Paul calls marriage a mystery. Is this the same word used in each instance? I've been wondering why Protestants don't view marriage as a sacrament. Hey, thank you for that very thoughtful question and you're right that Protestants don't view marriage as a sacrament although marriage is considered a sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and in other Christian traditions and marriage is referred to as a mystery in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 32. Paul says this mystery is profound and I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
That is the mystery that he's talking about there is that mystical union relationship that exists between Jesus and his bride, the church. Now what is a sacrament? A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ, by our Lord, wherein through signs, through sensible signs like water or bread and wine, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant described in places like Jeremiah 31 are represented before us in these tangible ways that are represented, sealed and applied to the faithful, applied to believers and so there are these signs and seals of the gospel, of God's gospel promises for us that we're called as Christians, as believers to lay hold of.
Some people throughout the history of the church have referred to these ordinances or sacraments as a visible word. You think about the gospel being proclaimed audibly by a preacher, the forgiveness of our sins through the death of Jesus Christ, his resurrection from the dead. Well, we get these visible pictures of that reality of the gospel, of the work of Christ for us in baptism. We're baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. Paul talks about this in Romans 6 and in the Lord's Supper where we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We have this vivid picture of his body given for us, his blood shed for us and more than just a picture, a sign, it seals the reality of those promises to us. A seal is something that certifies the reality of something. We get this language of signs and seals in scripture. You think of what Paul says in Romans 4 for example where he talks about Abraham receiving the sign of circumcision, the seal of the righteousness that he had by faith. This is biblical language and the reason we don't believe that marriage, I don't believe that marriage is a sacrament, is because it wasn't instituted by Christ as a representation of those new covenant benefits if you will, the forgiveness of our sins, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the filling of the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean that marriage isn't important and that in a real sense, as Paul says in Ephesians 5, it doesn't raise our minds to the gospel in so far as marriage is about the relationship that Jesus has with his bride and the love that he has for his church.
But we wouldn't say that it's a sacrament in the strict sense. I appreciate that question and thank you for giving us an email. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, one reminder that some of the radio stations that air our program actually air it on a delayed basis. So if you want to call into the studio and talk to Adriel live, you want to do that at 11 30 a.m. Pacific, 12 30 Mountain Time, 1 30 Central or 2 30 Eastern.
That's the time that we are on the air live. If you hear the program at a later time in the day, then feel free to call in and leave us a voicemail with your question at 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Judy in Eldred, Illinois. Judy, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yeah, I wanted to know what your feelings are about going to mediums for readings and I know I think the Bible talks against it, but I can't find the scripture to go back to it.
Judy, thank you for that question. I talked earlier a little bit about how someone had asked the question, can Satan hear us if we speak to him, if we're talking to him? And one of the things I said is when we invoke evil spirits or the dead and I think there's a part of this in going to mediums that we're giving an open door to Satan and that's one of the reasons why the Bible throughout scripture prohibits this for God's people. Leviticus 19 verse 31, do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists for you will be defiled by them.
I am the Lord your God. Or Isaiah 8 verse 19, when someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, you whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God, why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Listen, we have the true and the living God that we can go to.
Don't go to a spiritist or a medium. This is something that is prohibited for the people of God. It's against God's law. It brings curse and judgment. I think of the scene in Acts chapter 19 where as the gospel is advancing, the apostle Paul is preaching, you have this amazing thing taking place in Ephesus. Acts chapter 19 verse 17, and this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also, many of those who were now believers came confessing and divulging their practices and a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.
They counted the value of them and found it came to 50,000 pieces of silver. The word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. That is as the word of God advances in society and in our own hearts, we turn from these kinds of wicked things.
We get rid of that from our lives. A few passages of the scriptures there for you to consider, Judy, and I love that reminder from Isaiah chapter 8 verse 19. Should not a people inquire of their God? Let's go to the Lord when we have questions of spirituality, these kinds of questions that we all have.
Let's not go to the wrong sources. God bless. Amen.
Great response. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. One of the ways you can submit a question to us is through our YouTube channel.
You can actually watch Adriel live on YouTube every day, 1130 a.m. Pacific time. Here's a question from Emily who's watching right now on YouTube. She says, I don't believe that the Bible affirms women pastors. Should we be mindful to stay away from their books or anything they put out? Hey, Emily.
Thank you for watching us on YouTube and for that question. I've really benefited from some of the female scholars who are doing work in biblical theology, even commenting on scripture. Some of the best exegetical commentaries that are out there were written by women. I've benefited from those commentaries in my own ministry.
I don't think that we should dismiss something simply because the person who wrote it is a woman, certainly not. In fact, I think in the book of Acts or just looking at Acts chapter 19, if you go back one chapter, when you have this interesting scene, you have Apollos who's mighty in the Lord. He's preaching and teaching and he's eloquent, competent in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He was fervent in spirit and he spoke accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
In other words, you have these two people, Priscilla and Aquila, who come alongside of this great teacher, Apollos, and they instruct him further in the word so that he understands it more accurately. We can learn, brothers and sisters, from anyone. We ought to. We ought to learn from the people who have sat at the feet of Jesus, who study the scriptures, who know the scriptures, and ultimately take the content of what they say and weigh it against the scriptures. That's the most important thing. Is it in line with what the Bible teaches? If it is, then I would say we can really benefit from it.
In terms of written material, commentaries, those kinds of things, I don't think that we have to just stick to that which was written by men. I appreciate that question. God bless. Thanks so much for watching us on YouTube. We appreciate that. Here's a question that came in from one of our listeners earlier this week. His name is Matthew.
Yeah. That's a great question because we do believe that there are those out there who are self-deceived. You think of what Jesus says in Matthew 7 where he's rebuking the religious leaders, the scribes, and the Pharisees. He says, Many are going to say to me on that day, on the day of judgment, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all these things in your name? The Lord is going to respond to them, Depart from me.
I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness. Everybody thought that they were the most pious, they were the most holy. These are the people that really have their lives together. They thought that they had it all together, and yet they were in for a rude awakening on the day of judgment. People read those passages and they think, boy, how do I make sure that I'm not self-deceived, that I'm not just telling myself I'm saved when in reality I'm not. The big question is, do you believe in Jesus Christ? John, the apostle, could say in 1 John 5, I'm writing these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you might know that you have eternal life. I can say that because I'm just essentially quoting what John the apostle himself said. John says, if you truly believe in Jesus Christ, if you're trusting in him for your salvation, you can know that you have eternal life.
You can rest assured in that. Our confidence, first and foremost, has to be not in our own feelings, not in the perfection of our obedience, it has to be in the word of God, in the promise of the gospel. Earlier, we had that question about whether or not marriage was a sacrament and what the sacraments are. I mentioned these are gospel promises, visible word to the people of God that we're called to sink our teeth into, that we're called to say yes and amen, to receive them by faith. It's those kinds of objective promises, the promise of the forgiveness of sins that ought to give us confidence that we are the children of God as we receive them by faith.
That's where we rest, brethren. I would say to you, when you're struggling, when you're thinking, I don't know, am I really saved? When you're in church and you're about to take communion, the Lord's Supper, and you hear the minister say, quoting the words of Jesus, this is my body given for you, and this is my blood shed for the forgiveness of sins.
Take and drink, do this in remembrance of me. As you take that bread and that wine, know, rest assured that by faith, this is yours, it belongs to you. As a weary, broken sinner, as someone who's not perfect, as someone who's struggling to live the Christian life and obey the Lord, the gospel is for you because it's for sinners. You lay hold of it, you sink your teeth into it, and you rest in the promise of the gospel for you. That should be a comfort, the main comfort for all of us because it's that gospel that's objective, that took place, that happened, and belongs to the people of God.
Hey, thanks for that question. God bless. God bless you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Once again, we have that free resource available for you just in time for Thanksgiving.
It's called Five Biblical Reminders for Thanksgiving. You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Let's go to Mark in Illinois.
Mark, what's your question for Adriel? Is it possible to see Christ, Jesus, personally, face by face? Well, do you mean like right now, Mark, like while we're here on earth? No, not right now.
I did in 2017. Oh, okay. Well, what I would say is we're all going to see, I mean, John says we will see him as he is and we'll be like him. Some have referred to this as the beatific vision, the vision of God. That is when we're in the presence of the Lord. In that sense, I'd say, yeah, we're going to see the Lord and we're going to be redeemed. This is a part of our salvation. You hear about people and it sounds like this is what you're saying, saying I've had a vision of Jesus or that kind of a thing.
We don't see Jesus bodily or physically because Jesus ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of the Father. He's going to come back one day to rescue his bride, to redeem his church, to judge the world for its sin. But we're looking forward to that day. That's not something that has happened already. And so I say one day we will see the Lord when we're in his presence for all time.
And that's going to be wonderful. God bless. 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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