Does God Help Us Prepare for Suffering?

Does God help us prepare for suffering? 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. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. We'll be taking calls for the next 25 minutes or so.

You can also post your question on one of our social media sites, and of course you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. So, Adriel, we've been doing this show live for pretty much every day now for two years, and I'm just curious, and I'm sure our listeners are curious as well, what keeps you going day in and day out to do this show each day in addition to being a pastor? Yeah, a lot of coffee. This is, you know, coffee.

Top number three, I think. No, but I mean, that's not the main thing. Definitely I want to say what encourages me are the listeners, and Bill, you know, I mean, we get to hear back from so many of the people who listen to the broadcast who are encouraged in their walk with the Lord, or people who are really making connections in their faith and in the scripture. And so hearing those stories is so wonderful for, I think, for all of us here, you know, on the CORE Christianity team, and that's something that keeps me going. But also, I would say, and this is kind of our mission, is this conviction that I have and that I know that you have as well, Bill, that people desperately need to recover, the Church desperately needs to recover the core doctrines of the Christian faith, the Gospel, who God is, I mean, the doctrine of the Trinity, these things which Christians have held to for 2,000 years, but which many people, we just don't understand, even within the Church. And so recovering that and pointing people to those core truths is what we live to do. And it's a privilege to get to do it as well.

There's a real problem. What are you guys focusing on? But truly, as the Word of God is being taught, I mean, rightly understanding the scriptures, we are growing in our understanding of who God is. That's at the heart of what theology is all about.

And so no need to sort of set that aside. It's something we want to grow in. And hopefully growing in that is what helps us to grow in worship and in love and in a commitment to the Lord and to our neighbors as well. And as you pointed out, unfortunately, there's some bad theology out there.

There are some doctrines that people are falling for that are not scriptural, that are not based on God's truth. Yeah. And so that's what we want to guard against. And hopefully we can help to do that with this broadcast. Well, we'd love to hear from you if you've got a question. Again, it could be a question about a theological belief or a doctrine that maybe your church or another church believes in. You kind of struggle with it. You're wondering why do they believe in that? We'd love to hear from you.

833-THECORE is the number. Let's go to Harry calling in from Tennessee. Harry, what's your question for Adriel? Good afternoon, Harry. Can you hear me? I can hear you, Harry.

What's your question? Yeah, so my question is when Noah built the ark, why didn't people want to get on the ark and be saved? That's a great question. I mean, part of me thinks for the same reason that people don't want to get on the ark and be saved today. And of course, the ark, I'm not talking about the literal boat, but I'm talking about Christ, ultimately, his people, the church, being united to Jesus to escape the wrath to come as the New Testament speaks.

I mean, there's this love of self, this hardness of heart. And of course, that was what preceded the great flood of Genesis 6. We're told in Genesis 6, verse 5, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And then when Peter picks up this story in 2 Peter, chapter 2, talking about the judgment of God and the fact that there is a judgment that's coming, he uses this story in particular as an illustration of that. He says in 2 Peter, chapter 2, verse 5, If he, that is God, did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. And so why did they not want to repent? Why didn't people want to join Noah and his family on the boat?

Well, it's because ungodliness was rampant everywhere. And so, I mean, the Scriptures, I think that's the clearest answer that we get there. It's the hardness of the human heart, it's the pervasiveness of sin, and it's our call, right, to live according to the gospel, to proclaim that gospel to the world, because it's only that gospel that can penetrate into the hard hearts of sinful men and women, redeeming them, saving them. And so, thank you for your question, appreciate you giving us a call, Harry, and may the Lord bless your day. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open if you've got a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Maybe there's a passage of Scripture that's always kind of confused you and you'd like some clarification on it.

Hey, Adriel would be more than happy to talk to you, especially if it's something to do with Leviticus or Revelation, because those are books he just really likes to help you understand. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673 and our phone lines will be open for the next 15-20 minutes or so. Let's go to a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners. This is Angie. My question is, is a man disqualified from being an elder or a pastor if his grown children are unbelievers?

Thank you. Excellent question, Angie. Of course, the passages of Scripture to consider here are in the Pastoral Epistles in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1. In 1 Timothy 3 verse 4, the apostle Paul said with regard to the one who is an elder in the church, these are the qualifications. He says, he must manage his household well with all dignity, keeping his children in subjection or submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

So there there's this call to manage your family well, to manage your children well, your household well, and it looks like the children being submissive. In chapter 1 in verse 6, again, you have qualifications for an overseer in the church or an elder, and he says, if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. Now, that word believers there can also be translated as faithful, and so there's some question there.

I tend to think that the idea of being faithful in particular here has to do with what we see in the parallel passage in 1 Timothy 3, where it's this picture of being submissive, honoring your father and your mother, that there's this discipleship that's happening in the home. I tend to recognize that we as parents can't regenerate our children, that salvation is of the Lord, it's not of mom and dad, but we are called to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. To answer your question, if it's clear that this individual wasn't doing that, that he set aside his responsibility as a father, caring for his children, that there wasn't that managing of the household well in a manner that's honoring to God, well then yeah, that calls into question the qualifications. But having adult children who aren't believers doesn't necessarily disqualify an elder in the church. We know people, we all know people, solid Christian parents who do everything they can, obviously none of us are perfect, but they do everything they can to love their children, to bring their children to church, to disciple their children, and who still, for whatever reason, these children still reject the truth of the gospel. Obviously we pray that they return to the truth, that which they were taught as they were growing up, but the fact of the matter is, as I said already, we can't save our kids, that's the work of the Holy Spirit. So we do everything that God calls us to do, and it could be that this particular pastor that you're talking about or this elder that you're talking about did that, and yet still these children or his adult children turned away from the Lord.

And so I think there are more questions that need to be asked and answered before really coming to a conclusion there, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he's disqualified. Thank you for that question. Good counsel, and whatever you do, Adriel, don't let your kids go on TikTok. Yeah, no, I don't.

I don't go on TikTok. Oh my goodness. There's a lot of bad stuff on that. I'll tell you that.

That's for sure. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We've got some phone lines open. If you have a question, we'd love to hear from you. 1-833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also feel free to leave a voicemail there 24 hours a day if you aren't able to call in right now. By the way, our program airs live every day at 1130 a.m. Pacific time. So if you're listening at a time different from that, then chances are the radio station you're listening to runs us on what we call a tape delay or a delayed broadcast. So if you want to call in live and talk to Adriel, the time to do it is 1130 till noon Pacific time. Just translate that into your own time zone. That's when you can actually reach us in the studio. Let's go to Antonio, who's calling in from Minnesota.

Antonio, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, yes. My question is, can I question and become a police officer? I've been having dreams of policing. I know it is a dangerous position to have, especially getting an offer opportunity in Los Angeles, California. I just wanted to know, because I do have some doubts, I know it is a dangerous position to be in, and I just want to do God's will and do his work on the streets and policing to make sure the community is safe and reaching out to them talking about Jesus.

Antonio, thank you for that question. It sounds like you have a neat opportunity in front of you. I happen to have some dear friends, brothers in Christ, who are police officers and who want to serve their community and want to do so with integrity. I think that's just a wonderful thing. Your question is, is there anything wrong with a Christian becoming a police officer?

I would say that the answer is no. Of course, you want to exercise biblical wisdom. You want to think about your motives, but there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. When John the Baptist is out in the wilderness paving the way for Jesus, and he's calling people to repentance, crowds were coming to John. They're curious to hear what this wilderness preacher has to say. He's basically pointing out the sins of everyone there in the crowd. He's calling them to turn to the one who was coming, and tax collectors are showing up. They're saying, okay, well, what should we do, John? John the Baptist says in Luke chapter 3 to the tax collectors, collect no more than you are authorized to do. In other words, do your job, but do with integrity.

Don't skim off the top. Then you know who else came there to the wilderness to listen to John the Baptist preach? It was soldiers, people who worked for the state enforcing justice. The soldiers also asked him, and we, what shall we do? What did he say to them? He didn't say, well, you know that it's not okay to be a soldier. No, he didn't say that. He said to them, do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages. That's what it looks like for you to repent, he says to these soldiers.

What does that mean? Translated into your question, it's don't be a corrupt police officer. Be someone who works with integrity, who is seeking to serve the community, and ultimately, as you do that, seeking to serve the Lord, to be a good neighbor, and to honor Christ in all that you do. So, Antonio, may God give you wisdom and bless you, brother, as you think about this big decision, and appreciate you reaching out with that question. Antonio, thanks so much for your call and for being a listener to Core Christianity. Adriel, one of my very best friends, was a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy for about 25 years, just recently retired, and have so much respect for him and for his service, and just for the men and women who are, you know, every day putting their lives on the line and keeping us safe. So, thank you to all police officers listening today.

Absolutely. Well, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, give us a call. We'll take calls for the next 10 minutes or so at 833-THECORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. We're also excited to tell you about a brand new core Bible study, and it's one that's written by Adriel.

Yeah. Some years ago, I had the privilege of preaching through the Book of Daniel, and so this study is a 10-week study through that book, taking some of the insights that I gleaned as I was studying the Book of Daniel and preaching through that book, and putting them together in a way that hopefully is encouraging for you and gives you a better understanding of what the Book of Daniel is all about, but also some of the practical takeaways from the Book of Daniel for us today. And so, I hope that you get a hold of this resource.

There are two ways you can get it, actually. There's a physical copy of the Bible study, which is great. I mean, if you want to do a group Bible study with friends from church or with friends just in your community, or you can also download it as a PDF.

Go through it on your own. So, get a hold of this resource over at corechristianity.com. Love to have you get this and start studying the Book of Daniel and how you can apply it to your own life. Again, that's corechristianity.com forward slash Daniel, corechristianity.com forward slash Daniel. A reminder that core Christianity is listener supported. We don't play commercials here.

We don't get money from a church or denomination. We count on people just like you to keep the show on the air. So, if you will give that gift of $25 or more, we'd love to send you a copy of the study, and thank you for contributing to this ministry.

Please do that if you would. Well, we'd love to go back to the phones, and if you've got a call, feel free to give us a call right now at this number, 833-THE-CORE. And here's a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners.

This one is from Wendy. I have a couple questions. It's about my husband and cancer, but I know that he's going to be healed earthly or divine. What I don't know is if it's going to be earthly or divine, and does God give us anything kind of like hints on how to prepare myself? I'm 43 and my husband is 45, retired from the army, and retired from the state, and now I'm on stage four terminal cancer.

I would love to have some answers. Thank you. Wendy, I'm so sorry to hear about these circumstances. I want to take a moment to pray for you and to pray for your husband. Heavenly Father, we lift Wendy up to you, and we lift her husband up to you who is battling with cancer right now.

We pray for your healing, Lord, in his life, that whether you do it miraculously by the power of your Holy Spirit or, Lord, through your providential means, Lord, doctors and medicine, God, that you would heal his body and strengthen him. We look to you, Lord, and ask that you would do that. We pray that you would help Wendy and her family to trust in you during this time, that they would have a renewed sense of hope in your Word, in the promises that you give us, even in the promise of the resurrection of the body, Lord, that one day the sicknesses that we face here and now will be done away, that there will be no more tears. And so would you be with this family?

Would you encourage them? And through this great trial, Lord, would you draw them closer to you? In Jesus' name, amen. Wendy, we do have, you do have, the promise of healing and the restoration of our bodies at the resurrection.

This is something that we see all over the place in the New Testament. It's the heart of why Jesus rose from the dead, giving us hope that we too will rise, that our broken bodies... Now, that's not the final word. Death is not the final word. Paul told the Philippians in Philippians 3 verse 20, Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. And so you have hope for healing here as well, but that's not necessarily guaranteed this side of heaven.

And so we pray, and you ought to pray and pursue everything available to you for physical healing, doctors, treatments, diet, whatever, whatever, you know, whatever you can. But you have the ultimate hope of healing. Now don't lose sight also in the midst of this trial, this difficulty of the promise that the Apostle Paul made to the Corinthians. This is 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 16 through 18. He says, We do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look, not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. This side of heaven, this side of the new creation, our bodies do break down, our outer self wastes away, but, Paul says, don't lose heart. God is still at work in you, renewing you day by day. And I pray that God would renew you and your husband more and more each day, that you would grow closer to Jesus as you continue to cling to him as a family, that you would grow closer in your love for each other, and that God would be at work in and through this great trial. I want to also recommend a book for you written by a theology professor named J. Todd Billings.

It's called Rejoicing in Lament, and it's a wonderful story, really his own story, of his battle with cancer and how the psalms of lament really ministered to him in and during that time, and how we can rejoice even in the midst of lament. And so, God bless you, Wendy, and God bless your husband, and thank you for reaching out to us. Wendy, thanks so much for listening to Core Christianity.

We'll be praying for you and your husband in that whole situation. Well, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can call us at 1-833-843-2673.

You can also leave a voicemail at that number. Let's go to Clara in Wisconsin. Clara, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Pastor Adriel. Thank you so much for spreading the gospel through this ministry.

It's really helped me as I'm going through a small group, actually. Right now we're talking about the Trinity, and a newer believer in my group brought up a good point. He said, I thought we were a monotheistic religion, but this sounds like we worship more than one God when we were talking about the Trinity, and I actually didn't know how to answer. So how can we as Christians claim to only worship one God when there are three beings in the Trinity?

Great question. You know, I think that there are ways in which we can talk about the Trinity that are really confusing. So if the way we talk about the Trinity is these sort of three separate gods that we worship, and they're separate from each other, not one in terms of their will and essence and being, well, then we can really confuse people.

Of course, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a great mystery, but it's what we see revealed for us in Holy Scripture, and so we want to stick with the words of Scripture and the words that Christians have used for the last 2,000 years, and here's essentially how we've articulated this doctrine. There is one God. Deuteronomy 6, verse 4, hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, but this one God has revealed himself as three distinct, but never separate, if you will, not divided, but three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And of course, Jesus throughout the Gospels can say, you know, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father, I and my Father are one, and this is why you have the language throughout the New Testament, this sort of Trinitarian language. You think of the benediction given at the end of 2 Corinthians, where we hear about the blessing of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit coming to the church, and so I think that the best way to address this is just say, look, the Bible is very clear, and we accept the fact that the Bible teaches that God is one. We are monotheists after all, but this one God is three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one in essence.

It's not one essence and three essences. God is one in essence and three distinct persons. He isn't one person, three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is what we see revealed to us in scripture, and this is what the church has clung to for the last 2,000 years. This is the faith of the Christian church, and so we embrace this as it is the revelation of God. And rather than speculate about it, and you know, people sometimes will make all of these analogies that Trinity is like an egg or like a four-leaf clover or something like that. I don't know, we're called to adore the revelation of God as he is, right, this revelation of the Trinity, to worship God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And as we do, as we worship him, I think by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we come into a deeper understanding of who God is and a deeper communion with God, the Holy Trinity, through Jesus the Son, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, honoring the Father in all things, and so God bless you and thank you for that question. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.