Am I Allowed to Support Muslim Affairs as a Christian?

Am I allowed to support Muslim affairs as a Christian? 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. We'd love to hear from you. Here's our phone number.

It's 833-THE-CORE. You can leave a voicemail for us if you get our voicemail system. And of course, you can always email us anytime at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Ebony calling in from Texas. Ebony, what's your question for Adriel?

Hello. My question is, me and my husband divorced in late December. And as I gain wisdom and get closer and thrive to please God, I see the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7-11, we must not separate, but if we do, it's the Lord's will that we be reconciled. So my question is, what advice or steps should I take if me and my ex-husband have both moved on in life and he is actually in another relationship? But I would like to be reconciled, my marriage to be reconciled, and the Lord would like us to be reconciled too, according to His word.

So I just need guidance on what to do. Ebony, can I ask you, was he a believer? Is he a believer? We were very worldly when we got divorced and ended the marriage, but now I've heard from family members that he's getting close to the Lord. And myself, on my journey, I'm actually getting closer to the Lord as well.

Well, Ebony, I'm grateful to hear that for the both of you, that through these circumstances, God has drawn you both closer to himself. And there in 1 Corinthians 7-10 and following, Paul is saying, look, don't separate from your spouse. Now, of course, in the Bible, there are instances where divorce is, it's okay to be divorced, and I use that word lightly, but Jesus talks about how adultery, sexual immorality can dissolve the marriage covenant.

And then in 1 Corinthians 7, you get this sense also that abandonment, if one spouse just abandons the other, that there comes a point where the spouse who's been abandoned is no longer bound to the marriage, that they're free to go and get remarried if they want. It sounds to me like there was an unhealthy situation, an unhealthy marriage, the two of you got a divorce, and now, in hindsight, as you draw near to the Lord, you're thinking, okay, did we do the wrong thing? Maybe we should reconcile.

The Lord wants us to be together. And so, one, I would say, I'm wondering, have you guys had any conversations since then? Have you expressed the desire for reconciliation, or is that communication totally cut off and he's already planning on getting remarried with someone else? I don't think he's planning on getting remarried, but I think we've been divorced in late December, so I honestly believe we are just, like, he's in a relationship, and I'm just kind of living life, so we haven't had a chance to even have that conversation.

I don't even know what that would look like, or if he would even be open. Well, look, this is really complex. Part of, with questions about marriage and divorce, one of the first things I tell people is this is why it's so important that you are plugged into a solid church. Maybe this is something that you and your husband didn't have while you were married, but it's just so, so important, so imperative that we as Christians, first and foremost, because God calls us to this, this is just something that the Bible outlines you need to be, we need to be in churches where the word of God is being taught, and we're growing together with other believers, and people know us, and they know our spouses, and they can speak into our lives and encourage us, and you need to have that kind of encouragement on the ground where you are, the wisdom of godly men and women around you who can help you see clearly, and especially from where I'm sitting here, I can give just some thoughts on the basis of what the Bible teaches, but I know with situations like this, it's always so complex, and so I want to make sure that the people who know you best, and who are godly influences in your life, are speaking into your life, and so that's what I want to encourage, and if you don't have that, I think that also needs to be a priority for you as you continue to grow in the Lord, as you are maturing in your own relationship with Christ, and as the Lord is showing you, Ebony, how to walk with him, and how to be faithful to him, that certainly is a part of it, and in that, if there was an opportunity to express to your ex-husband, as I'm growing in the Lord, and I think about our relationship, and I see all the things that went wrong, I feel like I'm at the place now where I would like to come together again, as I'm maturing in my faith, and I hear you're maturing in your faith, I don't know what's going on with this other relationship, but I think of what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, and could this be a beautiful picture of reconciliation, of healing, of restoration, but again, this is something that is in the Lord's hands, I mean, it could be that he says, no, we got divorced back in December, I've moved on, I'm in this other relationship, and in that situation, I would say, well, you're not bound anymore, and if he goes and gets married, then you're not bound anymore to the marriage, I mean, there's already been a legal divorce, and again, just because there was a legal divorce doesn't mean that it was necessarily the right, I don't know all of the ins and outs of your situation, but I would say being patient, looking to others who know you and are wise and are godly influences, getting solid encouragement from the local church, and continuing to just pray and ask the Lord for guidance in this situation, that he would give you more clarity as the days progress, but especially in these days, again, praise God that the Lord has drawn you closer to him, being committed to that relationship with Christ, and to continuing to grow and mature in your own faith as a godly woman, and so let's take just a moment right now to pray for Ebony, that the Lord would give her wisdom, that he would bring healing in her life and guide her in his will in this situation. Father, we lift Ebony up to you, and we thank you, God, that you have been at work in her life, and Lord, we know that sometimes, Lord, it's through great difficulty and relational strain even that we are driven to you, and so I pray, Lord, no matter what the circumstances were, I just thank you that in these days, our sister has grown in her relationship with you, and I pray that you would continue to mature her, to strengthen her, that you would help her, O Lord, to find a solid church where she can get plugged in and continue to grow and mature in her faith, and Lord, that you would give her wisdom in this situation, of course, Lord, that you would guide her by your Holy Spirit and help her in whatever comes, Lord, whatever decision is made, that you would help her to honor you and to glorify you in all things. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Ebony, thanks for your call, and we'll continue to pray for you in that situation.

We know how difficult that is. And you know, Adriel, I was just thinking, you often mention this, the importance of the body of Christ when it comes to our growth and our healing, and unfortunately, I think in America, we have so many Christians that are very individualistic, and yet the Bible doesn't say they're our lone ranger Christians. I mean, it talks about the importance of the body, and when we do go through life struggles, whether that's a marital issue, whether that's depression, whatever it might be, we need that accountability. We need that encouragement. We need people bearing our burdens in the local body, the church.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's easy to say that, and of course, I'm a pastor, so, you know, people are probably thinking, well, of course, you're gonna say that, but when I look at the New Testament, it's just the assumption that believers are plugged into local churches where they're a part of the body, where we're able to bear and share each other's burdens, and of course, there's no perfect church. I mean, you might go to a church and be in a church and fellowship there and still feel alone, and I know that there are a lot of Christians like that, too, and so it is a struggle. I mean, it's hard enough even when you're in a church, and so if you're severed from Christian community, if you're not a member of a church, it's gonna be really, really hard, and so we ought to strive as believers in Jesus Christ, as followers of Christ, to be in the church, but also to be engaged with the body, to seek help out when we need it, and to be willing to lend a hand when others need help and encouragement and restoration and care and so on and so forth, and so I repeat that over and over again because I know for so many people who listen, that's something that they don't have, and we long to see people embrace that reality, the need for the local church to get plugged in, and so appreciate you mentioning that again, Bill, and it is so vitally important for us. By the way, we have a great resource on this topic. It's called How to Find a Church. You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash questions. We'd love to get that into your hands if you're looking for a church and trying to discern, is this the place where God would have me get plugged in? Well, let's go back to the phones. We have Jamie on the line calling in from Indiana. Jamie, what's your question for Adriel?

Hi. I have a question about how can I pray for my church family? We have what seems to be, I believe, some sort of a demonic influence on our church or within the church for the last couple of years. It's almost like watching a chess game and these important pillars of our church and proven men and women of God are quitting or resigning from their positions. We have lost so many family members to just whatever this force is of trying to cause disruption within the church body. How can I specifically pray against this?

Well, man, Jamie, I'm so sorry to hear that. Just know when you pray for that, for unity in the church, that you're not praying alone. I think of Jesus' high priestly prayer in John chapter 17 where one of the things that Jesus prayed for, for his church here on earth is that we would be one.

Listen to this. This is John chapter 17 verse 20. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. Our unity as the church, that oneness that we have, is central to the ability to witness and share the love of Christ with the world. So often it's these divisions within the church that keep us from proclaiming the gospel like we should because we get caught up with these other things.

Oftentimes they're peripheral issues. And so I would say, one, praying for that unity just as Jesus did, but praying for unity around the gospel. So often, I don't know what the source of the division is in your particular congregation, but so often the issue, I think, is that fundamentally we're not united around that common purpose that we have as the body of Christ.

We've lost sight of that. And so we begin to focus on these other things, maybe things that are peripheral to our primary mission and calling the Great Commission. And as a result, you begin to have divisions. And again, I can ask you if you want to go deeper into some of those specifics, but the other text that I think of, and again, just realizing that this is something the church has had to wrestle with from the very beginning, is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10. I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. Then he begins to say, you know, I hear reports about you, Corinthians, that you guys are divided. You guys are, you know, some of you are saying, I am of Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, and you're not united around the message of the cross, the power of the gospel. And so pray that that message, that message that is central to our Constitution as the church, that commission that Jesus has given to us to go and make disciples, that that would be recovered, and that there would be a vision for that, and that that would be what unites the congregation, the body there.

And I just want to go back to you. So I think those are some of the ways that you can pray, Jamie. But are you, do you know, I mean, as a member of the congregation, is it kind of out there what some of these divisions are about?

It's really tricky to pinpoint exactly, and I do try to stay out of specific conversations, just because I know it could be demonically influenced in some way, but in saying that it seems to be groups of people thinking that someone's not doing their job correctly. That seems to be the major thing that they're focusing on. Yeah. Well, in humility, sister, just praying.

And you know what? Division in the church is so often demonically influenced, motivated. I mean, it can be just the selfishness that exists in us, the sin that exists in us. But at the core, it handicaps us. It keeps us from being able to do what we're called to do as the body of Christ.

It keeps us from that focus that we're supposed to have. And so pray that the Lord brings peace and humility, and ultimately that there's a recovery of that great gospel that unites us, that brings us together. If there are issues that need to be addressed, that need to be dealt with, because that's also a thing.

And again, I don't know specifically everything going on. I know that there are instances where individuals, pastors aren't doing their jobs, and that needs to be addressed. So you just don't know, but pray for wisdom, pray for humility, pray for peace, and pray with Jesus that the church would be one. May God bless you, and may God bless your church, Jamie. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. You know, we live in a culture where so many Christian young people are being bombarded with anti-Christian ideas, and a lot of that's happening in the college environment.

And if you have a kid at home, a teenager who's about to go off to college, you probably have a lot of concerns about that, especially if they're going to a secular university, a state college. We actually have a resource on this topic that we'd like to offer you today, and it's called How to Keep Your Faith After High School. Yeah, it's a wonderful resource.

I'm looking at it right now. You can get a physical copy or order a physical copy over at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. But what I love about this, and Bill, we were just talking about the importance of the church. You think about the call for us as Christians, and especially for our kids and grandkids who are going off to college from high school, like you said, how important it is for them to understand the fundamentals of the faith, getting the gospel right, belonging to a true church, knowing what we believe and why we believe it.

We find that so many kids grow up in church but really don't understand the basics of the gospel and don't have a strong commitment to the local body so that when they go off to college, they just stop attending church altogether. And so this resource is going to help identify that problem and address it. And so if you have kids or grandkids, I hope that you'll get a hold of this. Again, you can get it over at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. A lot of helpful information here for you guys as you move forward and for our young friends and family members who need to be equipped for what they're going to face in the world. Such an important resource.

You can find it again by going to corechristianity.com forward slash offers and look for How to Keep Your Faith After High School. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the core and you can call us 24 hours a day and leave your question on our voicemail system. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Genevieve. I have a question for Pastor Adriel. As a Christian, the Bible teaches me to be selfless or love my neighbor as myself, help the poor and needy. As a Christian, am I allowed to support Muslim affairs such as donations or anything that has to do with Muslims? How does God view this and is that a sin because I'm encouraging the Muslim beliefs?

Thank you. Yeah, hey, thank you for that question. And you're right, we are called to love our neighbors as Christians.

Who is my neighbor? Jesus helps define that question for us in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It isn't just the people who think like we do or believe what we do.

We're called to love all people whether they're Muslim or atheist or agnostic, whatever the case. But I think we need to be strategic with our resources as followers of Christ. First and foremost is the church. So when we think as a church about the kinds of things we want to come alongside of and support, I mean, this is something that our congregation talks about.

I mean, we have discussions about this because we want to make sure that whatever it is we're investing in is related to the Great Commission. That's our mission as the church, going and make disciples. And that happens through the proclamation of the gospel. And so we want to support things that are going to be in line with that end, the Great Commission. And I think as individual Christians, I think we want to be strategic there as well. And so I would say, yeah, we are called to love our neighbors, all of our neighbors, no matter what they believe individually. But if it's a question of giving my resources to certain things, I would say find a solid Christian organization that is ministering to people who are in need with the gospel and give your money to that.

Store up treasure in heaven, as Jesus says, as a believer in Jesus Christ. And so that's what I would say. I mean, just in terms of what you give to, I think you want to be wise, I think you want to be strategic, and I think you want to ask that question, is this going to contribute to the good of my neighbor and the advancement of the gospel, the work of the Great Commission? Or am I giving my resources to things that aren't really going to contribute to that? And so would it be more effective and more wise to give to the things that would? And so I think the question is more complex than can we support Muslims? In one sense, yeah, we're called to love all people.

But if we're talking about giving money to Muslim ministries that are teaching things that are false, frankly, and leading people astray, then I would say, no, you want to give to organizations that are helping people know the truth and embrace it even as you love all people and show all people respect. And so appreciate that question. May God bless you and grant you grace as you seek to be generous and help the people around you who are in need.

Well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Adriel, here's an email that came in from one of our listeners named Aaron. He says, I've started watching the chosen TV series and I've read enthusiastic reviews from some pastors I follow. However, I've also read other reviews from Christian leaders who say it's adding to scripture since it includes scenes that are not in the Bible and that scripture alone is sufficient. I don't want to watch something dishonoring to God, even if I haven't seen anything yet that goes against scripture. I'm looking for discernment and I would highly value your opinion if you've seen the series. Yeah, man, I know a lot of people have been just stoked about the chosen. It seems like it's, I mean, a lot of it has been invested in it.

The acting is great. And yeah, I mean, I just keep hearing things. And not just that, but people I've even heard people say like, man, it was just so edifying.

I feel like it's really helping me to understand, you know, who Jesus is and whatnot. Boy, we have to be so careful. In the Old Testament, God warned his people not to create any images or representations of him. And there was a reason for this. It's because so often when we're doing that, we end up shaping God a little bit like us. We make him in our image the way we want to see him and perceive him. And that's, I mean, that's idolatry.

That's not a good thing. And there's a temptation, I think, even today with media and movies and theories like this, there is that artistic license that's taken that does communicate things about Jesus. I mean, we're saying, they're saying, here's what he was like. And in essence, right, like it's presenting a Jesus to people. Well, this is where the scripture is sufficient and this is where we want to be real, real careful and recognize that God has given us his authoritative revelation in Holy Scripture.

That's where we want to go. If you want to know what Jesus is like, who he is, what he calls you to, read the Bible, study the scriptures, meditate on it. And again, I might get some pushback because I know there are many people who love the chosen thing. Oh, it's not that big of a deal. And, you know, boy, it just seems like wholesome with all the crazy stuff that's on TV these days. This just seems nice and wholesome. But again, I just want to issue that warning, how easy it is for us to take a little bit of artistic liberty and then present Jesus in a way that can be unfaithful to scripture.

And I haven't seen the series, so I can't comment on all of that. But I just know that God has warned about this before and he has given us a sufficient authoritative revelation already. Let's make sure that we're diving into that first and foremost. 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.