What Does Faithfulness Look Like in a Secular World?

What does faithfulness look like in a secular world? 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 1-833-HELP.

843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And of course, you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, today is our official second anniversary of taking live calls here at CORE Christianity. In fact, if you go to our YouTube channel right now, you will see Adriel surrounded by balloons because it's a big day, right? Yeah, there are, I don't know, it feels like hundreds of balloons.

If I fell back, I would fall into a bed of balloons. It's kind of cool. It is a big day. We're excited. Two years, which is pretty wild when you think about it, of having this live broadcast, Bill.

It's been a pleasure to get to do this with you. Hey, there it is. Now, I'm wondering, in two years of answering literally thousands of live calls from our listeners, what are some reflections you might have about what Christian faithfulness looks like in our increasingly secular age?

Yeah. Well, as I think about that question specifically, I think one thing we really need as believers in Jesus Christ today is courage because so many of the things we hold to and believe are not very popular in the broader world today. And so that requires courage.

And then there's nothing new, really. I mean, the disciples in Acts 4 prayed for courage because they were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. And God filled them with the Holy Spirit, gave them boldness to continue to proclaim the gospel.

And so I think this is something we've always needed. But especially as the broader society gets more and more disinterested in the things of God, we need to have that courage to speak the truth and to speak the truth in love. And so courage, but also charity. That's another one I think that we can't miss because we live in such a polarized society where there's a lot of mudslinging, there's a lot of tearing each other down. We need to have the courage to speak the truth, but to do so in a manner that's honoring to the Lord, full of charity, seeking to win people to Christ through the proclamation of the gospel.

And if I could add one more thing, Bill, I would say also integrity, really walk in the walk as well. I think that's so important for us as Christians speaking the truth in love, that truth that we proclaim, that we live by those principles as well as the followers of Jesus Christ. One of the things they looked at is are we people of integrity or some of the criticisms that we receive in the media, and of course the media tends to be often biased against Christians, but are some of those valid criticisms because we're not walking with integrity?

Yeah, yeah. And of course, you know, my life and the way that I live is not the gospel, but it should be fueled by the gospel, if you will, the truth that we believe in. So we need to be grounded in the truth of God's word. And those truths ought to shape us, the way we live, the way we relate to each other so that the world might see our good works as Jesus said and glorify our Father in heaven.

Very well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez as we celebrate our second anniversary of taking live calls here on the air. Our producer loves the fake applause.

Any opportunity he has to put that on. I don't know why he doesn't do that more often, like every time I give an answer or we'll see if we can get him to do that. OK, well, let's go to the phones. Haley is on the line calling in from Nebraska. Haley, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Hi. OK, so I was listening to the broadcast yesterday and there was a man who called in in regard to, like, binding faith. And I was listening and I understood, but I just need, like, further clarity on that. I know that ultimately Jesus is the one who has all authority and and we have been given authority through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And when I was listening yesterday, I'm not going to lie. When I pray, you know, it's not necessarily every time I pray, but there are plenty of times that I've prayed, like, and the power and authority of the Holy Spirit through Christ Jesus. Like, I bind Satan's, you know, plans against my children and I and so on and so forth in reference to, like, Matthew 18, 18 through 20, which is, you know, truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you bind on earth is bound in the heavens, whatever you loose on earth is loosed in the heavens. Am I using this scripture out of context? Is there, you know, is there something I'm missing here? Can you elaborate on that scripture and kind of delve into that more? Yeah.

Happy to, Haley. What a great question. Let me just encourage you by saying we're called to engage in spiritual warfare. And the primary way that I think that we do that is through prayer. You think about what Paul said to the Ephesians where he talked about putting on the armor of God, and he sandwiches that whole entire section with with prayer, you know, standing fast, praying at all times for all the saints. And so let me just encourage you and say it's good that you're praying for your family, that you're praying against the evil one.

Yeah. This is really a question of language and how to apply certain texts in particular here. This one that you've brought up, Matthew Chapter 18, verse 18, where Jesus said to his disciples, truly, I say to you. Now, this comes, by the way, in the context of church discipline where he talks about, you know, if your brother sins against you, go to go to him.

If he doesn't listen to you, take someone else, then tell it to the church. And he says, truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now, this picks up something that we heard a little bit earlier in Matthew's Gospel, in Matthew Chapter 16, where Peter confesses Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus blesses him, you know, gives us this confession. He says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh and blood is not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven, and I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And so in Matthew 18, we have those keys given to Peter extended to the disciples, the apostles, if you will, and I think primarily the way in which that's applied today is through the ministry of the church, the preaching of the Gospel, the way heaven is opened is through the preaching of the Gospel. You see this in the book of Acts, for example, in Acts Chapter 2, the Gospel going out to the Jews, and then in Acts Chapter 8, the doors being opened to the Samaritans, and then later to the Gentiles in the book of Acts, and so you see how the kingdom of God is advancing through the proclamation of the Gospel and the ministry of the church.

I don't think it's something so much that we do as individuals. Me as a pastor, I'm not the one binding things and opening heaven. Even as a minister of the Gospel, it's something that happens through the ministry of the word in the context of the church and the community of believers. But again, that doesn't mean you should be discouraged in any way from praying for your family in the way that you do. Maybe Matthew 18 is not the best text to go to in terms of the application there, but there certainly are so many others, Haley, that do support and encourage us to pray against the evil one, to pray for our family, to pray for our children, and so God bless you as you do that.

Let me just take an opportunity right now to pray for you and to pray for your kids as well. Father, thank you for Haley. Thank you for her desire to serve you, to follow you, and to raise her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So I pray that you would fill her with your Holy Spirit, that as she continues to study your word, that you would open it up more and more to her and to her family, Lord, that they would be encouraged, growing in grace, and just grateful for your people, Lord, and for the work that you do in and through them. And so bless Haley and her family. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Haley, thanks so much for your call, for listening to Core Christianity. We really do appreciate you there.

In Nebraska, let's go to Robin, who's calling in from Iowa. Robin, what's your question for Adriel? I'm getting closer to the Lord and stuff and disciplined.

How do I get that? I mean, I have no idea really how to, you know, discipline myself. You know, I like I'm an addict and I want to stop it and I don't know how to do it.

Or I mean, I'm not having, you know, no luck at it. Okay. Robin, I can tell that this weighs heavily on you and you need support. I mean, this is not, especially with something like addiction, this is something where you need people around you who can support you and fight this alongside of you. Discipline is a difficult thing. I do believe that it's a part of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. You know, the Bible talks about self-control as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. And so I think that there are a couple of things. I think there's one, there's the work of the Holy Spirit in your life as you come to the Lord, confessing sin, addiction, whatever it is that you have there, and then also getting the help and accountability that you need, the support that you need.

And so let me just go back to you, Robin, really quickly. You said I'm an addict, so this is something that you're currently struggling with. Do you have people around you in your life, a church community, that is aware and is able to help you? They're not aware of it, but I mean, I go to church every Sunday and since COVID, it's kind of, our church is collapsed in a way, so I don't, they have no idea what I'm struggling with or anything.

No one really does. I've kept to myself and everything, you know, and I just, you know, I want to be closer to God and everything, and I know I need to, you know, because it just weighs me down, you know, the guilt and everything. And, you know, I just, forever I've been trying to do it on my own, and I'm not getting anywhere.

Yeah. Well, Robin, I think one of the first things you need to do is open up, and it sounds like your church where you're at right now, maybe things aren't going well there, it's collapsed, but you need to be in a community of believers. And I know that there are organizations like Celebrate Recovery that can be really helpful, but getting that support and being honest about the addiction, the evil one, the devil with sin, with addiction, with whatever it is, wants us to be isolated, wants us to be on our own, trying to fight by ourselves, and really there's no hope for victory there in isolation on our own. And that's why it's so important, I think, that you do get into a good church, a solid church where you can be honest about this sin struggle, this addiction. I mean, there's a fine line here, but so often these things that we give ourselves to, it becomes addictive behavior, and so we need more help.

And so I would say, you can't do this alone, and you're not alone. The body of Christ is for you, and more importantly, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is for you, is for your health, and for your healing. And so you can go to Him, confessing your sin, confessing your addiction, and saying, have mercy upon me, God, help me, and He hears your prayer. And from that place, I think it's doing everything that you can to say, Lord, help me to walk in the light, truly to bring this to you, to bring this into the light, and to take whatever steps I need to take to put myself in a position where I'm not going to be surrounded by these temptations that are continuing to bring me down. And so you need to get that support and encouragement from the body of Christ, and maybe even, I would say, beyond that, there are other programs as well. And Bill, I would like you to speak to that, too.

What would you say to Robin? I'm so glad that you mentioned Celebrate Recovery, because that's a fantastic group. It's basically kind of like a Christian version of AA, and many churches across the country run Celebrate Recovery groups. So Robin, I would encourage you to go to the Celebrate Recovery website, find out if there's one in your town. If there's not, even if there's one within a half-hour drive, I would get plugged into that, and I believe it will be a true help to you, because you'll be meeting people that have the same kind of struggles as you do, but won't condemn you, won't shame you, will love you, will accept you, and help you to find healing and hope. And so by all means, do that today, Robin.

Go to Celebrate Recovery's website and find a group in your area. And for anyone who is listening who has a similar struggle to what Robin is talking about, that is just a wonderful organization that we would endorse here at CORE Christianity, so thank you for that. Yeah, I think of the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 13, beginning in verse 11. You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand, so then let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Part of getting this accountability and support through the Church, through organizations like Celebrate Recovery, is giving no provision to the flesh.

It's saying, look, I'm bringing this into the light so that I can't keep this hidden away and not have the support, the accountability, that I need desperately. So make no provision for the flesh, and may God fill you with a sense of His grace and forgiveness as you confess these things to Him, your need of Him. He hears you, and He forgives you when you come to Him in faith through Jesus Christ. So let's pray right now for our sister. Lord, we pray that You would break the chains of addiction. Lord, we pray for our sister that You would help her, that You would bring people into her life who can support her and encourage her, and that You would set her, Lord God, on a path of recovery and healing, and that that would come from a place of having experienced and received Your grace, truly a deep understanding, Lord, of the forgiveness of sins, of the mercy that You give, and just ask, Father, for Your protection also from the evil one who has come to kill, to steal, and to destroy, and how often He does that, Lord God, through addictions. And so I pray again for my sister, protect her from the evil one, set her on the solid rock that is Jesus Christ, give her the comfort of knowing that her sins are forgiven when she comes to You by faith, and surround her with the support that she needs, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you're a believer, chances are there are times in your life where you get some tough questions asked of you by maybe friends or relatives, work associates, maybe people you go to school with, and you're not always sure how to answer some of those tough questions about the Christian faith. Well, on our first anniversary of answering your questions live every day, we put out a great resource.

We want to offer that to you again today. It's called Tough Questions Answered. Yeah, Tough Questions Answered is really a wonderful resource thinking about the difficult questions that we really want to have answers to for our non-Christian friends and neighbors, stuff related to science, world religions, the Bible and the authority of scripture, morality, so many questions that we get now even on the broadcast about sexuality and the way in which broader culture thinks about gender and so on and so forth.

Well, this resource, this booklet, Tough Questions Answered, really gets into all of that. This is a wonderful book, a wonderful short resource that you could go through in just about an afternoon, but it really packs a powerful punch. Get a hold of it over at corechristianity.com for a donation of any amount. Once again, it's called Tough Questions Answered, and you can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash offers.

We'd love to get that in your hands. Here's our phone number. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, it's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. By the way, after we finish this live broadcast of Core Christianity, we'll be recording a second episode of the program. So if you're not able to get in right now, as long as you call us in the next 40 minutes or so, we'll be able to take your question and pass it along to Adriel. So give us a call at 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Joe calling in from Memphis, Tennessee.

Joe, what's your question for Adriel? It's a pretty easy question. It's just that I'm curious about the Ten Commandments. And one of the commandments says, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

And I understand that Jesus fulfilled the law and that we're not under the law. But my question is, when did the, I guess, switch from Saturday, which is a Sabbath, to Sunday happen? I know Paul mentioned that you can worship on any day and that a particular day is not deemed necessary. But still, I guess I'm just curious as to, God gave a commandment, remember the Sabbath. And I'm just curious as to when did it change or when was the ordinance changed from Christ or from whomever?

Yeah. Joe, that's an excellent question. And it's one that a lot of people, I think, I've heard people assume, well, that came much later. The earliest Christians were worshiping on Saturday, they were going to the synagogues, and it wasn't until the third century, the fourth century, that Christians changed the day of worship. And there are some who make a really, really big deal of this, even going as far as to say, if you're worshiping on Sunday, you're not a true believer because you're not keeping the Sabbath command. But the change didn't happen in the centuries after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was really a change that was brought about by his resurrection. He rose on the first day of the week. And because he rose on the first day of the week, Christians were gathering together on that day, it's called the Lord's Day in places like Revelation chapter 1, to worship him, to commemorate the fact that he had risen from the dead and that through him, by faith in his name, we have entered into that true Sabbath rest. And so we begin our week, if you will, in light of Christ's redemptive work, resting in what God has done for us, as opposed to resting at the end of the week, we rest at the beginning of the week, on the first day of the week, in Jesus Christ. And so you see evidence for this among the apostles in places like 1 Corinthians 16, Acts chapter 20. It talks about the church gathering on the first day of the week to break bread, probably a reference to the Lord's Supper, to hear preaching, to receive offerings for the poor.

And so from the very beginning, that's when you have the change. We already hear about it in the book of Acts. It doesn't mean that the Christians weren't going to the synagogues on Saturday. A lot of that was evangelistic as well, going to preach the gospel. You see this especially in the book of Acts. From the earliest times, Christians were gathering on Sunday in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And so there was this great shift. Now, we are still called to worship God and to honor Him and to rest in Him. And that looks like worshiping together with the people of God. And so there's a sense in which this Sabbath command is still in effect and still observed by Christians gathering together on Sunday, on the Lord's Day, to worship together with the people of God and to devote themselves to prayer and to those things that God calls us to.

But really, I mean, it highlights how magnificent and earth-shaking, if you will, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was for us, for the people of God, and for subsequent generations. And so God bless. Thank you for that question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, you can always post your question on one of our social media sites. Here's a question that came in on our Facebook page from Seyon.

And here she says, God bless you for all you do. If God can see past, present, and future as now, does this mean our conversion has always been accomplished? If so, how come we have to be in a state of being unconverted or unregenerate before being born again in our lifetime? Yeah, we think about God being outside of time, the eternal one, and what His relationship to time looks like. I mean, it's very different from our relationship to time, right? And so some people wonder, well, does that mean that we've always been saved or, you know, that our salvation is eternal too?

Well, no. We're talking about the application of God's redemption, which takes place in time, and we experience that salvation. Now, God might have, and certainly did, from all eternity, know these things and was at work in bringing them about. But the fact of the matter is we don't experience them until we experience the grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives through the promise of the gospel.

And so I think that's a simple approach to this question. Now, we don't know why God saved us at one point and not at an earlier point. I mean, I think one of the things, and just using my own life, as I think about my own life, I can look back and see things that the Lord was teaching me in ways that He was drawing me to Himself even prior to coming to faith in Jesus Christ. And so I think we can see, as we look back on our lives, you know, God providentially at work.

But we don't know ultimately, you know, why God does certain things certain ways. We just say, Lord, we trust You and we praise You for Your goodness to us, Your mercy to us in drawing us to Yourself through Jesus Christ, Your Son. And brothers and sisters, that's why we live, to rejoice in His goodness and His mercy to us and to spread that goodness to the people around us as well. 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.