What Does God's Providence Look Like in Every Day Life?

What does God's providence look like in everyday life? 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'd love to hear from you. And here's our phone number. You can call us for the next 25 minutes or so at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Now, you can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And in fact, we have a YouTube channel.

You can watch Adriel live in the studio right now on YouTube. And you can always email us your question. Here's our email address. It's questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Tom. Ah, that's a great question. Well, first, I think it's important to maybe talk a little bit about the creeds, those universal creeds, the Apostles Creed in particular, and the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed being confessed in both the East and the West, that is the Western Church and the Eastern Church, with a little bit of discrepancy, but by and large, the same. And these are creeds that have been used in Christian worship for a very long time.

Many people think that they were originally used in the context of preparing people for baptism. And so as new members were joining the church in the ancient church, they would be instructed in essentially the creed in the cardinal core Christian doctrines, the things that we love to talk about on this broadcast, core Christianity. And the churches I know that use those two in particular, the church that I pastor every Sunday before we take the Lord's Supper as a church and as an act of worship, we confess our faith, what the faith is in the Nicene Creed summarized there. Now, your question specifically is how come in the Apostles' Creed, it talks about the communion of the saints and in the Nicene Creed, it doesn't. Well, the Nicene Creed does talk about one holy Catholic and apostolic church. And that one church being called the people of God throughout the ages, not just the people who are on earth right now, it's the one church, universal Catholic.

And I use that word Catholic, not in the way that maybe some of you were thinking, not referring to the Roman Catholic Church, but the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said in Ephesians chapter four, verse four, there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And in the Apostles' Creed, talk about that Catholic church, that universal church, the attributes of the church, holy, universal, one, right?

I mean, right there are two, they're not multiple churches. And so this idea of the communion of the saints is this communion that we have as the body of Christ with all believers who call upon the name of the Lord. And also even with the church triumphant, our brothers and sisters who have gone before us and are in the presence of the Lord now, who we worship, God with. Now they're the church triumphant, we're the church militant, but we're still one church. We have a special communion as the people of God.

And that is what the Christian church has confessed for a long time now. And so I appreciate that question, just an opportunity to talk about those very important creeds and pray the Lord blesses you. Now, in fact, if you have a particular question about maybe a doctrinal issue or something in theology that sort of confuses you, Adriel is happy to answer your questions. And if you've maybe got some doubts about the Christian faith, perhaps you consider yourself to be an agnostic or an atheist. And you're wondering what this whole Christianity thing is about and why he believes it.

Hey, he's open to your questions as well. Here's the number. It's eight, three, three, the core.

That's one, eight, three, three, eight, four, three, twenty six, seventy three. Rose called in from Nebraska with this question, Adriel. She says, My husband professed his faith while he was a teenager, but recently he recanted his faith. I'm a believer. How can I minister to him? Well, Rose, I'm so sorry to hear about these circumstances.

I don't know specifically what has led your husband to turn away, to recant his faith. But I do want to take a moment right now to pray for your husband, Rose, and pray that the Lord gives you wisdom in this situation. Father, be with Rose. Fill her with your Holy Spirit, with wisdom, Lord, to know when and how to bring up these circumstances.

These things, these important things. And I pray that you would give her husband an open heart, Lord. Whatever the issue was that has caused him to walk away from his faith, God, I pray that you would bring him back. And Lord, that you would strengthen his faith, that you would bring him back to church, that both he and Rose could worship you together in Christ. And so use our sister and bless her, bless their marriage. And Father, may it be a marriage that glorifies you, I pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. So two passages of scripture that come to mind, Rose. The first one is in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, where the Apostle Paul is talking about, you know, what to do when you're married to someone who doesn't profess faith in Christ. He says, well, don't abandon the marriage.

If they're willing to live with you, that's a good thing. And the reason it's a good thing is because you have an influence on your husband. Paul says in verse 14 of 1 Corinthians chapter 7, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife. And the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so.

In such cases, the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?

Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? And there the idea is, look, I mean, when Paul says in verse 14, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, he uses a verb there. He's talking about this relationship where you, through the grace of the Holy Spirit at work in your life, can have a positive impact, influence on your husband as you seek to live a godly life following Jesus, being a part of the body of Christ, as he sees and tastes of truly the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life. And here's the promises of the gospel coming from your lips, the ways in which God has blessed and continues to bless you in Christ. May that be something that brings him back, that draws him back.

I also think of Peter's exhortation in 1 Peter 3 verse 1. Likewise, wives be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct. In other words, it's not just what you say, Rose, it's how you live, the example that you set before your husband.

And of course, we can't say, even when Paul talks about how do you know whether or not you're going to save your spouse, it's not that we can do that, we're not the ones who save, we're not the saviors of our spouses through our righteous actions. He's saying, look, God will use you, God will use your testimony, God will use your life, the way in which you reflect the light of Christ in your life, and so pray that the Lord gives you strength, pray that the Lord opens his heart and brings him back, and that the Lord uses you and gives you those opportunities to continue to talk about faith in Christ, and may the Lord do what only the Lord can do in your husband's life. Thanks, Rose.

Rose, thanks so much. We'll continue to pray for you in that difficult situation. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, maybe a Bible passage that's always been kind of confusing to you, here's the number to call, 833-THECORE.

We'll be taking your calls for the next 15 minutes or so, 1-833-843-2673. If you're a Christian who sometimes gets into discussions with friends or relatives or work associates where you feel a little inadequate, you're not really sure how to answer some of the tough questions they ask you, we have a resource that's designed just for you. Yes, the resource is called Tough Questions Answered by Doug Powell, and it's a wonderful, short sort of crash course in a lot of these difficult questions that we get as believers today from friends, family, from non-Christians related to the Bible, related to science and how we should think about science as Christians, related even to a number of discussions that people are having in the culture today about gender and sexuality. How can we apply the Word of God to these very important and relevant questions?

Get a hold of Tough Questions Answered. It's yours for a donation of any amount over at CoreChristianity.com. This is really a fantastic resource. As Adriel said, it covers topics such as science and faith, sexuality, different religions, a whole lot more. You can get Tough Questions Answered by going to CoreChristianity.com forward slash offers.

That's CoreChristianity.com forward slash offers. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the Core, and you can call us 24 hours a day with your question if you're not able to get in during the live program. And by the way, some radio stations air this program by delay, so the time we're actually on the air live is at 1 30 central time. Translate that into your own time zone. And that's the time you can actually call in with a live call. But if you call outside of that time, you can leave us a voicemail at 833 the Core.

Here is a voicemail from one of our listeners named Taylor. My question was, well, I'm a single mom. And I haven't, you know, had any contact with my son's father for the last four and a half years. And I was wondering, you know, I've been considering filing for child support for the last couple years, but I was recently saved. And I'm not sure if I should still go through with that, or if I should just, you know, depend on God's Providence, if part of his province would be, I'm not really sure. And I also want to make sure you know that my motives are okay that I'm not like just trying to get revenge.

So I just wasn't really sure how to proceed if I should file or not file or is it really like inconsequential and it just doesn't matter what I do. Thank you. Taylor, thank you so much for giving us a call. And my heart goes out to you as a single mother, I was raised by a single mother, I know how much work that is, how difficult that is. And so God bless you and use you and he is using you to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let me pray for you first, Father, be with Taylor, thank you for her. Thank you, Lord God for drawing her to you.

yourself through Jesus. So grateful, Lord, that she is in Christ, that she believes in you. And Lord, knowing that she wants to follow you, I pray that you would fill her with your Holy Spirit and grant her wisdom. Provide for all of her needs, Lord, and bless her as she raises her children grant her strength and your peace in Jesus name.

Amen. Well, first thing I want to say is you definitely don't need to feel bad about making this request, you know, as if, well, am I being too greedy or am I doing something wrong? You're giving your children's father an opportunity to take responsibility.

You know, you being greedy or something like that. No, this is, view it positively as, look, this is something that he is called to just as a man, not even as a Christian, I mean, as a Christian. I don't know if this individual professes faith, but just as a man, he's called to take care of his family, his children.

And he's not doing that. And you don't need to feel bad for asking him to do that or filing for getting child support. You know, Scripture speaks very strongly about the importance of taking care of our families. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 5 verse 8, if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he is denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

It was just such strong language. And so I would just say, I would see this as something to do positively and giving him an opportunity to take responsibility. Now, God can use all sorts of different things in terms of providing for you and for your children. I think one of the things he uses, you know, ordinarily is just the local church. And so I hope, Taylor, that you're in a solid Christian church, where you are being cared for and supported, and your children are also being supported by the community of faith there.

And so I think that that's really, really important. And just trusting that the Lord is going to provide for your needs, whether it's through, you know, getting child support, getting some help there, or some other means, just knowing that God is gracious and good and provides for his people. I was just reading with my kids, we're going through 1 and 2 Kings right now, and there's that beautiful story of Elijah, the prophet, on the run in the wilderness, and how God provided for him night and day, sending ravens who would bring him food. And then, of course, later he's provided for by a widow, a poor widow who doesn't have anything.

And yet God uses her to provide for him. Well, may the Lord use whatever means he's ordained to provide for you and for your family, sister, and bless you in the work that you're doing as a mother. So grateful for you. Thank you for reaching out to us.

And we're so grateful for you. God bless. This is Cora Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Love to hear from you if you have a question for us about the Bible or the Christian life. Heath is on the line from Oklahoma. Heath, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, how are y'all doing today? We're doing well, Heath.

How are you? No, I'm okay. I've just got a question for you. Okay, I was baptized 25, 26 years ago, and I was not really living the life that I thought I should be living. So it's plagued me for 25, 26 years to whether I should get baptized or not. And I was at a Christian concert with a friend and a couple walked up to me and said they had a message for me from the Holy Spirit.

And I said, okay. And they said, I see you in a body of water. He said, I believe it's baptismal. And he said, as you come out of the water, everything falls off of you and you finally see yourself the way that Jesus sees you. My jaw hit the ground. You know, a couple that I didn't even know said what would have been plaguing me for 25 years.

And I got baptized three or four months later. And but I, you know, I still get plagued with doubt about my salvation, you know, especially when I mess up and do something I shouldn't do or say something I shouldn't say and I repent. But I still get plagued with that. And I don't know how to get the reassurance.

Yeah. Heath, you're not alone at all. Something so many believers struggle with.

And if you listen to the broadcast, you know, we get calls almost every day, somebody calling in men and women saying, I'm struggling. I don't know if I'm really saved. How can I be sure? Well, the first thing I want you to know is that the Lord does want us to have assurance. And we can have assurance through the grace of the gospel.

John, in 1 John 5, verse 13, says, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. There are some preachers and pastors who I think they feel like it's their duty to make people question whether or not they're truly saved. And they're oftentimes, you know, pointing out, you know, well, how much are you doing? How sanctified are you? Are you really totally, wholly committed to the Lord?

And especially for those of us who have a sensitive conscience. And it sounds to me like you do, Heath. And, you know, we ask ourselves, well, am I really devoted like I should be? I've struggled with this sin again.

I've fallen again in this way. Am I truly saved? And there can be all sorts of doubts and questions that arise. And yet, John here writing to the church says, I want you to know you who believe that you have eternal life.

The primary ground of your assurance isn't your performance. It's what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you 2000 years ago. It's his resurrection from the dead. It's the fact that he is seated right now at the right hand of the Father and ever lives to make intercession for his people. Jesus is the anchor of our souls, of your soul. This is actually what the author of the Hebrew says in the second part of Hebrews chapter six.

We also have other things that we can look to for assurance. Sometimes people will talk about the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit. Paul in Romans chapter eight said that, you know, those who believe the Spirit of God bears witness with their spirit, that they're the children of God.

That's a little bit more subjective, but there are times in your life where you might have this strong sense of I am indeed a child of God because of the Spirit's work in your life. There's also that changed life, you know, the fact that believers, those who are justified, are being sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit, but that's imperfect this side of heaven. And so if that's the only thing we're looking at is, you know, how sanctified am I, we're going to have a lot of questions and doubts. And so when we're struggling with assurance, you know, you confess your sins to the Lord, and you know on the basis of God's word that when we confess our sins truly, we're forgiven. Even if you're confessing the same sin that you struggled with yesterday or the day before yesterday or the entire week, right, Jesus said if your brother sins against you, you know, 70 times, seven times, and comes to you and says, forgive me, forgive him. Well, God would not ask us to do something that he was unwilling to do himself, and God is more forgiving than we are even. So you can go to the Lord, broken, contrite because of your sin, and say, God have mercy on me, please forgive me, and he does forgive you, and your hope is rooted not in your righteousness, but in the righteousness of Jesus Christ as your great high priest who has forgiven your sins by faith in his name, and who is praying for you right now, Heath.

And so that's where our confidence needs to be. Even baptism is this sign, this visible sign of the gospel that as surely as we believe in Jesus, our sins are washed away. We're united to Christ, so we don't need to live with that fear. We don't need to live controlled by our passions that the old man, as Paul talks about in Romans chapter six through eight.

You are a child of God, born again through faith in Jesus Christ, and now you have the freedom to follow Jesus by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And so may God help you and all of us to do that, brother. God bless.

Amen. Some great words of counsel. Thanks for that.

And thanks so much for your call. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder, we have that great resource available today.

It's called Tough Questions Answered. You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash offers. And you know what? In case you aren't aware of this, Core Christianity is a listener supported ministry. So we count on people just like you to help us with our mission. And the mission, of course, is to share the gospel on a daily basis, to equip believers and to answer the questions of nonbelievers.

And we do all those things here. If you'd like to make a gift to this ministry, you can easily do that by going to corechristianity.com and clicking on the donate link. And while you're there, you can learn more about becoming an ongoing supporter by what we call joining our inner core, some great people who support this ministry on a monthly basis.

So check that out, if you will. Well, let's go back to the phones. We have Ryan on the line from Oklahoma. Ryan, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? First of all, I'd like to say hello.

And I'm fairly new to the program. I wanted to ask if there was a difference, right, wrong or indifferent on baptism, either in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost or baptism by Jesus name? Hey, great question. And always encouraged to hear a new listener to the program. I hope that core Christianity continues to bless you in your walk with the Lord. Of course, you do have throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles baptizing in the name of Jesus. And there's some question about this because, you know, in Matthew 28, when Jesus gives the Great Commission, he tells his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples.

How? By baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I've commanded you. And so is there is there a contradiction there? Jesus has told the apostles, go baptize in the triune name, the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And then you get to Acts, places like Acts chapter two and so on. And there's this baptizing in Jesus's name. Now, I think that the reason Luke records it that way specifically is not because there were two different baptisms that were happening.

I think he's distinguishing between the baptism of Jesus, that is baptism into his death and resurrection, his life, as the apostle Paul talked about in places like Romans six, which I referenced earlier, and the baptism of John, John the baptizer. In fact, there's even a point in the book of Acts where, you know, the disciples come across a group of people who had been baptized with John's baptism, but had not been baptized in the name of Jesus, which I take to be Christian baptism, baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And so I think that the proper way to baptize, and this is what the church has been doing for 2000 years, is in the triune name. We baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit with water into the church, into the life of Christ. And so I think that's what churches should be doing. Of course, there are some who say, no, we baptize in Jesus's name based on, you know, what you had happening there in the book of Acts.

But I think that's a misunderstanding, actually, of what was happening there. We ought to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. God bless.

Well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question for us, you can always email us.

Here's our email address. It's questions at corechristianity.com. Melody says, Does Pastor Adriel believe Christ's church is going to go through the tribulation? It seems to me that Jesus' death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God, and all who are in Christ are saved from that wrath. The tribulation is God's wrath poured out on non-believers. That's why Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 to 18, we're going to meet Christ in the clouds. What is your view?

Boy, that's a big question to take with just a handful of seconds left. But what I'll say is what Jesus said in John chapter 16, where he told his disciples, In this world, you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. Brothers and sisters, we do experience tribulation in this life.

It's going to happen. But Christ has overcome the world. And in Him, we have the hope of eternal life, justification, sanctification, glorification. 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. Thank you.