If we have trusted in Christ, do we ever have to pay for our sins? 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. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And of course, you can always email us your question. Here's our email address. It's questions at core christianity.com.
First up today, here's a question we received from one of our listeners in St. Louis named Mary. Is this for us, or is this exclusively for Israel? Isaiah 43 from 1, 2, 4, 5. I just want to know, are we to appropriate that for ourselves personally, or are we to just look at that for what it is in the Bible, where it's obviously directed to the nation of Israel? I'd like to think that it can be applied personally, but I just want to be sure that I am interpreting it properly. Thank you.
Bye. Such an important question, because there's a lot of confusion about properly interpreting the Old Testament and where we fit in as believers in Jesus Christ. Is this for me?
Is this for us? Well, remember what the Apostle Paul said to the Galatians. He said that by faith in Jesus Christ, we are the children of Abraham.
We have been grafted in, if you will, to Israel. Now, Israel in the Old Testament as a political body was this sort of type of the church under the New Covenant. Now, those promises that we find in the Old Testament that were made to the patriarchs, to the people of God, we're not strangers and foreigners to those promises.
Those are for us. That's what the Apostle Paul makes very clear, Mary, in the book of Ephesians. I'd encourage you to sit down one afternoon, just open up the book of Ephesians, read through it, and see how you have this beautiful vision of the Gentiles, the people of God, now being brought in, if you will, being recipients of the promises of God. And if I was looking at Isaiah 43 just now, one thing that struck me.
You look at the first verse. But now, thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. God pledging himself to his people. There's a promise of restoration here, of salvation, even of the forgiveness of sins. Down in verse 25, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
So these are promises that I think we do and must appropriate to ourselves. But then going back to the very beginning of the chapter, Mary, where God says, I call you by name, sort of reminds me of what Jesus said in John chapter 10, verse one. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Yes, and Jesus does call us by name as the good shepherd, as the defender of the sheep, as the one who forgives our sins. And so I think we do read these passages in light of the fact that we're united to Jesus by faith, that we are the children of Abraham, that the promises of God in Jesus Christ are yes and amen for us. And so may God bless you as you read the Old Testament with those eyes, understanding where you fit into this great story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation. Thanks, Mary. You know, Mary's question reminds me, Adriel, we do get a lot of calls from people who want to take specific Old Testament promises that were made to Israel and then apply them directly to us in our present day.
What's your just basic advice for that? Yeah, and again, this is where I think there are a lot of mistakes that can be made because one, people can say, well, we should just apply them as is. So you think of the promises for Israel under the old covenant that if they were faithful, God was going to bless them with wealth and land and so on and so forth. And people say, well, see, if you're faithful to God, he's just going to give you all these things. And well, that would be a misunderstanding, right, because we're not under the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant. That's very clear from places like the book of Galatians. And yet we do have this relationship to the Old Testament as Christians in Christ. That's why I mentioned that text in Galatians chapter three, where Paul says that we are the children of Abraham.
I'm preaching right now through the book of Genesis. We're going through that sort of patriarchal history, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I like to remind our church, hey, this is our family history.
This is our family tree. Abraham was justified by faith, just like we're justified by faith, Paul says in Romans chapter four. And so we really have to be careful that as we're reading the Old Testament, we're not reading it as something that's just out there, not really relevant to us. No, this is our history and God is speaking to us through it. We just have to be careful how we navigate the way in which we're applying these promises that we see in the Old Testament to ourselves today. There's a right way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it. And so we need to be discerning.
Great advice. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our goal on this program is to answer the tough questions that people have about the Bible and the Christian life. And we actually have a brand new free resource that answers many of these tough questions in a very helpful booklet. Every day here at Core Christianity, we seek to answer tough questions about the Bible and the Christian faith because we want you to feel confident and comforted by your faith.
That's why we made this new booklet, Tough Questions Answered. This booklet is only about 50 pages long, but it really helps to answer some of those questions that people are asking, helping you to defend your faith. It answers questions like, doesn't science make religion unnecessary? Why is Christianity so exclusive? What about other religions like Buddhism and Islam? Isn't the Bible just a bunch of myths?
Isn't the Bible's view of sexuality and gender overly restrictive? These are the kinds of questions we answer in this booklet and there are many more as well. So if you have those questions or if you know someone who has those questions, and there are many who do, get ahold of this resource. Again, it's a free booklet over at CoreChristianity.com. This is such a fantastic resource that you could give to someone who has doubts or questions, or you could actually discuss maybe with a friend or relative who's an agnostic or an atheist and poses some of these difficult questions. Again, it's called Tough Questions Answered and you can get it for free by going to CoreChristianity.com forward slash offers. You can also call us for that offer or any one of our offers at 833-THE-CORE. Well, let's go to a voicemail we received earlier this week.
This is from a caller named Catherine. My question is about sin. You have sinned that you stole some candy when you were a kid to abortions to people and bills of money. For the sin as an adult, take for instance, you took some money that you're not supposed to and you have an opportunity to give it back.
Walk in there in a minute. Or is it just the same? Can we just ask God for forgiveness about very, very bad sins? I'm not too sure if he forgives all sins. I hope you know what I'm trying to say. Okay, great. Thank you.
Thank you for that question. Jesus made it absolutely clear in the Gospels that all manner of sin and blasphemy would be forgiven men except for one sin. He called that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and he talked about it in the context of the religious leaders who were accusing Jesus of being demon possessed.
They were saying that the works that he did, he did by the power of Satan. So the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is this persistent rejection of the Gospel, this hostility towards Christ and his word, so that our hearts get harder and harder and harder and we are faithless. If you die in that state, there is no forgiveness.
You're lost forever. But all sin is forgiven. You think about the kinds of sins that we've seen forgiven in the Bible.
Murder, sexual sin, adultery, those kinds of things, the things that we think of as the quote unquote big sins. God was merciful to sinners who had sinned in those ways. That's never an excuse for sin. It doesn't mean that those sins are okay.
It just magnifies the grace of God and the amount of his mercy towards people who sin. Now, you're onto something because not all sin is the same and not all sins are equal. Sometimes we say all sin is equal. It doesn't matter whether you commit adultery or look at someone lustfully, that kind of a thing. Well, it is true that all sin deserves God's wrath and curse, but some sins in and of themselves and because they're repeated by people over and over again are more heinous in the sight of God than others.
I mean, that's just the reality. You think about how God holds certain people more accountable. Teachers of the Word, for example, James 3, verses 1 and following, they're going to receive a stricter judgment.
Why? Because they should know better. And so when they do things contrary to the Word of God, when they sin, there is this added judgment, condemnation, if you will. But all sin can be forgiven. And when we are able to, I think we should make amends. So, you know, we do something wrong. We steal some candy, as you said. Well, if that candy is still in your pocket, you should take it back to the store, that kind of a thing.
Or make restitution in some way. You see this in the Gospel of Luke, in Luke chapter 19, with the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Jesus, you know, extends his grace and his mercy to this Zacchaeus. He says, Come down.
I must stay at your house today. And so Zacchaeus hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled. He is gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. In other words, this is a pretty bad guy. He's one of those great sinners that you're referring to. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.
And if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
Isn't that beautiful? Maybe today you feel lost. You feel like you've done some terrible things. You're not sure if God could forgive you, if there's grace enough for you. Well, Jesus came to seek and save people just like you. And his blood is sufficient to blot out all your sins. Only believe.
Lay hold of him and receive his grace. It's good news. Thanks for that question.
It is great news. Thank you for that, Adriel. Man, that's just so wonderful to hear you say that.
And Zacchaeus is a great example, I think, for all of us, especially those of us that may feel like, Can God really forgive me for what I've done in the past? This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and let's go to Lucy calling in from Nashville, Tennessee. Lucy, what's your question for Adriel?
Hi, thanks so much for taking my call. My question is about what Peter meant when he refers to women being the weaker vessel. Yeah, so I've just opened up to the text in 1 Peter 3, verse 7. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. God has made us, male and female, in unique ways, and I think one thing that concerns people about this text is, Does this mean that women are weaker in the sense of their cognitive abilities or their ability to discern, so on and so forth?
No, I don't think that that's the case. I think here specifically, he's talking about the vulnerability that women experienced in that society especially, but also you just think about that world, the world of the apostles, the life expectancy. I remember having a professor in seminary, he would talk about this for a second, so you think about the average life expectancy of women and the way they were treated in that day especially. I mean, it makes perfect sense why the apostle Peter would refer to them here as the weaker vessel in need of protection and care, and that's precisely what Peter is saying to do here. And he's even going as far as saying, Look, if you don't do this, it will hinder your prayers. That's a part of the verse that we don't often think about. They are heirs with you, your spouse's heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. In other words, this is something that would be detrimental to your own relationship with the Lord as the husband in terms of how you care for and love your spouse.
And so I think in particular he's talking about physical ability and strength, not cognitive ability, not the ability to discern or to reason or those kinds of things. And I think that that's the best way to understand this text in 1 Peter 3, verse 7. Thanks. Thanks, Lucy, for your question. Thanks for being a regular listener to Core Christianity. Well, here's an email question we received.
Adriel, this is from one of our listeners named Azza. Is it worth praying for someone who is almost like Satan? For example, is it God's will to pray for a figure like Adolf Hitler or Kim Jong-un for their salvation? There are always people out there who commit horrible sins. They are almost as wicked as Satan. I'm wondering if that makes sense or if it's even God's will to pray for their salvation. Yeah, okay, this is a good question.
There are a couple of things that we want to keep in mind. First, we are commanded to pray for all people. I think what Paul told Timothy, you know, for kings and all who are in authority, and in that day they weren't very great kings and people in authority. The Church experienced severe persecution at times, and yet the Christians are still encouraged, exhorted to pray for rulers that they especially might come to faith, that the Spirit of God would work in their lives and that they would repent of their sins and follow Jesus, love Jesus. So we do have these calls throughout the New Testament to pray even for our enemies, for those who persecute us, for those who spitefully use us.
This is Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. So I would say we ought to be encouraged to pray at all times for all people, even for those who are very wicked. We don't know how the Lord will use our prayers. You think of someone like Saul of Tarsus, who is there when Stephen is being martyred in the book of Acts, and as he's being martyred, Stephen is crying out for mercy for those who are persecuting him, for those who are killing him. Well, you know, the Lord heard Stephen's prayer, and one of the guys there, Saul of Tarsus, became the great apostle Paul, who wrote so much of the New Testament, who was used so mightily by the Lord, even though at one point he was a great enemy of the Church, persecuting her, dragging members of the body of Christ to prison. And so the Lord really can and does work. At the same time, we know that God does bring severe judgment against those who are evil, those who are wicked, those who are especially trampling upon the vulnerable and upon his vulnerable sheep. I think of what Peter said in 2 Peter 2, related in particular to the false prophets. He says in verse 9, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. In other words, there are some people who God just says, look, you're reserved for that judgment.
The thing is, you don't know who that is. So you're called to pray for all people, even those who are persecuting you, those who are sinning against you. And that's what Jesus himself did, and that's why that's what the apostles did, the apostle Paul, that's what Stephen did in the book of Acts.
And we see the fruit of that in the world today as people come to Christ believing in him through the testimony of those Christians who have suffered. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder, we have this free resource available to you today. It's a fantastic little booklet called Tough Questions Answered. And it includes a lot of the questions that Adriel answers here on a regular basis and questions that might be asked maybe by an atheist or agnostic, somebody you know in your life who is really, you know, struck or stuck with the whole concept of Christianity and you want to be able to respond to them in an intelligent, thoughtful way.
It's called Tough Questions Answered. It's available for free at our website. Just go to corechristianity.com forward slash offers and look for that. Well, let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our listeners.
This is Mike. Pastor Sanchez, Revelation 5-6, Revelation 3-10, and Revelation 5-13. Seven eyes, seven horns, seven spirits of God on the Lamb that had been slain, which we know was Jesus. Can you explain that, please, and who and what are the 24 elders? That's always confused me because that always sounds to me like Greek mythology or something, with all of them sitting around in a circle looking down, judging the people on earth.
I know that's not what it is, so could you please explain that to me good? I've got a fantastic show. God bless y'all's ministries and God bless you and your families. Happy New Year, too. Hey, Mike. Happy New Year.
Thank you for your encouragement. A couple of things. One, we have to understand that the book of Revelation is visionary prophecy, that so much of the book is meant to be interpreted in light of that reality. You have these symbolic visions. We have to be careful that we allow the book of Revelation to be what it is, apocalyptic literature, these symbolic visionary prophecies that were given to John by Jesus Christ for the church, the church that was suffering.
That's, I think, key in terms of just having a proper interpretive framework, because if we don't, we'll say, oh, gosh, if you just try to take everything literally, you're going to twist the book in a way and read it in a way that it wasn't intended to be read. And so you think about the 24 elders, for example, I think that they're symbolic of, if you will, the people of God standing triumphantly in heaven making judgment, God's people in particular. I love the vision earlier in Revelation chapter 5 where John sees Jesus, and he has this vision of the Lord, and this is what he sees, Revelation chapter 5 verse 6, between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain. Wow, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
A couple of things here. We know that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, John chapter 1 verse 29. John sees this lamb standing as though it had been slain.
Well, what is that about? What's about resurrection from the dead? It had been slain, but it is standing victorious. The lamb has risen from the dead, if you will. I think this is part of understanding the sort of symbolic nature of this vision. And this lamb has seven horns and seven eyes. Well, seven in the Bible is the number of completion, the number of perfection, the Sabbath number, right? Beyond which God rested.
And so seven is this picture of fullness or perfection. Horns in the ancient Near East were a symbol of power and strength. You're in the middle of the desert and you see this great majestic animal with these big powerful horns, right? You'd think twice before crossing its path because of that horn, right?
You don't want to get stuck with that thing. The horn was a symbol of strength, of power, of authority. Well, John sees this lamb with seven horns. That is Jesus, the Lamb of God, who is risen from the dead, has all power, all authority, all strength. And the seven eyes, you think of omniscience, knowing all things, seeing all things in the whole world. I mean, this is really highlighting the omnipotence and omniscience of the Lamb of God, Jesus, his deity even, that he is God.
And so when you understand some of the background there, the background symbolism of the horn, eyes, I think, which is a little bit more surface, you know, we understand that. It really helps to give us this picture of the Lamb, the Mighty One, Jesus and his power today over the whole world and especially over his church. And that would have been so comforting for the initial recipients of this book, the Book of Revelation, because as I said earlier in the broadcast, the church was being persecuted.
They were suffering for the name of Christ, following Jesus, and yet they're given a vision of his power and the fact that he is victorious over even death, the Lamb standing as though it had been slain. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, we have a free core guide on the Book of Revelation, which answers a lot of the questions that people have. It's called Five Things You Should Know About the Bible's Final Book. Adriel, we do get a lot of calls lately, especially about the end times and the rapture, don't we?
Yeah, we do. Just earlier today I was reading the Olivet Discourse to My Children, doing some devotions with them, and my wife asked me, what do you think about all the people that are pointing to these passages of scripture and saying, it's here, this is the end of times, we're there. We are getting a lot of those questions because of the things that we see happening around us. The call for us as believers is to be vigilant, to be awake, to be watchful, because the Lord could come back at any time, and it's our job to be ready, trusting in him, clinging to the truth of the Gospel, and loving one another in the Church. 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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