How Do I Know I’m Saved?

How do I know I'm saved? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity.

Well, hi, happy Friday. I'm 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 number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's one 833. 843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites, and of course, you can always email us anytime at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Christina calling in from Alabama. Christina, what's your question for Adriel? Hello? Hey, Christina.

Hey, how are you doing? Thank you. So I have a quick question.

Actually, I'm from Wasilla, but that's where I was a little concerned. So my niece is wanting to become, you know, she's transgender. She's saying that she's transgender. And the mother who claims to be a Christian is wanting to use the pronouns for, you know, a male. And I want to know, you know, obviously we know that the transgender is definitely, you know, not biblical. But how do we approach the pronoun issue on a biblical level? Okay.

You're going to get different answers here from believers. Let me give you my answer though. And it's that we should not use the pronoun.

So if somebody says, you know, your niece says, I want you to refer to me as, you know, he, him. I don't think that you should do that. I don't think that that's justifiable. I don't think that that's right.

I think that that verges on violating the ninth commandment, which is not bearing false witness because it's just not true. We know that our identity is not something that we create from the ground up on our own. It's something that's given to us from the outside.

We're created by God in his image, male and female. And so, I mean, one, that's what I would say. Now that doesn't mean I think that you sort of use that as a hammer. But I also don't think that you should just sort of buy into the whole thing and say, okay, well, you know, whatever you want, that's just what I'm going to go along with and live in that lie. And so I think you can still be sensitive, but I think that you want to be sensitive without lying, without being dishonest. And I know that this is so, so difficult because for many people, I mean, it's just like the greatest defense.

If you're not willing to call me by my preferred pronouns or if you're referring to me by my old name or whatnot, it just becomes, I mean, it's just like World War II. And I've seen this in families, experienced this in conversations with others. And so that's part of the issue is there's this blindness, there's this hostility. And Christina, I would encourage you to pray for your niece that the Lord would really be at work in her heart and look for opportunities to have honest conversations about this. I know, again, it can be very emotional, it could be very hostile, but pray that the Lord would bring peace and opportunities to be able to broach this subject. And for parents, I know it's especially difficult because, you know, you feel like you're caught in this difficult situation where, you know, you just want to go along with what your child is saying. And oftentimes, there can really be this sort of like holding of the family hostage. If you don't do these things, well, then you're just contributing to my hurt and harm. And I mean, the tragic thing is I think what these individuals who are wrestling with this really need is the truth.

And yet, so often, it's like the moment you give me the truth, I'm just going to rage and fight. And so praying for a softness, praying for the Spirit of God to be at work, and may the Lord grant you wisdom and bless you as you have these conversations, Christina. And I'm just going to give you an opportunity to follow up again, if you'd like, because I know that this is just such a sensitive topic and one that a lot of people are wrestling through right now, but that's my view. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, why don't we just pray for you, Christina, and just ask for the Lord's... Okay, thank you.

Yeah. Father, we want to lift our sister, Christina, up to you who's needing your wisdom, Lord, and your help. Of course, we want to be faithful to your word. And we also want to be sensitive and loving to those who are caught in the bondage of sin and false beliefs, false ideologies. And so I pray that you would help her, Lord, not to compromise when it comes to the truth, not to compromise when it comes to your word, but at the same time to still find opportunities to exhibit love, the love ultimately that you have for us, Lord, to speak the truth in love and that those opportunities, Lord, would not disintegrate into a fight, into that relational conflict, but that there would be understanding and openness and that you would be at work in her niece's life as well. Lord, we know that there is such a strong delusion that exists in our world right now, and we need the work of your Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives, Lord, of those who are blinded.

We've been taken captive by the evil one. And so would you, Lord Jesus, lift the veil and be at work and deliver this young woman, Lord, from these false beliefs. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Christina, thanks so much for your call.

We'll be praying for you and that entire situation. You know, Adriel, I was thinking you gave a perspective on this issue, which I have not heard before, and the Ninth Commandment tells us specifically not to bear false witness, not to lie, not to deceive. And that's exactly what's going on here, isn't it? Yeah.

Yeah. Well, well, I mean, in just a number of different ways. I mean, if you think about me, how is it that God created man?

He created man, male and female, after his own image and knowledge, righteousness, holiness with dominion over the creatures. And what we're doing right now as a society is we're saying, no, that's actually not the case. I decide these things.

I make myself what I am. And there's this insane pressure upon so many people, so many young people that need to determine that which has already been determined, frankly. And so this is not to say that there aren't serious cases of issues where, that's right, gender identity issues, but I think a lot of this is also at the root of it is this sort of social thing all over the media, all over social media, these pressures that people are feeling and experiencing. And so we need to rise above that as believers clinging to the truth of God's word and speaking that truth with all charity, with all love, but also with all boldness.

And so God help us to that end. You know, this whole idea of social contagion is something that I think a lot of people don't think about. We've had this like, you know, 1000 percent increase in teen girls saying they struggle with gender identity just in the last 10 years or so. Okay, so obviously, as you said, social media, the mainstream media, they're pushing this narrative. And unfortunately, so many of our young people are falling victim to it.

And it's a tragedy. So thank you so much for addressing that. And for all Christians, I think, yes, that ninth commandment, do not bear false witness.

That is a great reminder for all of us on all issues about being honest. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, maybe a question about doctrine or theology or something going on at your church that you're concerned about. Hey, give us a call. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Peter calling in from Missouri. Peter, what's your question for Adriel?

Hello. First of all, thank you for the opportunity to ask the question. And my question is, does a Christian who commits suicide go to heaven? Peter, thank you for that question. Does a Christian who commits suicide go to heaven?

Well, a couple of things. First, I think recognizing that taking life, the taking of a life is sin, right? I mean, this is a violation of one of the Ten Commandments, the commandment not to murder. And that's what suicide is. It's self-murder. Now, there's also the element here of mental health, of clinical depression.

I know that that gets factored in as well. There are people who are really wrestling with that and who are devastated by that. And that in part is the effects of sin on the world, right? The way in which sin is affected even our minds. And so I think we need to identify suicide for what it is. It's not an okay thing.

It's not deliverance from this life or whatever. It's a sin. I don't believe personally that it's the unpardonable sin.

There are some people in the history of the church who have made that case, who have believed that. But I don't believe that it's the unpardonable sin. When we are united to Jesus Christ by faith, we can still struggle with depression, with thoughts of despair. And those thoughts of despair don't sever us from the love of God, I would say. And so we don't know. I can't say, well, this person committed suicide, this is exactly where they're going or not going. I mean, that's in the Lord's hands.

But I don't think that suicide is the unpardonable sin so that someone who's a genuine believer who did do this, that they just wouldn't go to heaven, that that would sort of seal the deal. But for those of you who wrestle with this, you need to get help. You need to get immediate help. If it's something that you're thinking about, there are hotlines on Google. But people who are there standing by who want to come alongside of you. And I know that this is just a huge issue.

We've gotten calls about this on the broadcast before. So I want to encourage you to get the help that you need if you're listening right now. And this is something that you're contemplating. Your life is valuable. You're made in the image of God. And God has a purpose and a plan for you. And may you cling to him and his grace in this moment and receive that grace as he offers it to you and his son, Jesus.

So well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, we have a core question called, have I committed the unpardonable sin? And that's asked by a lot of people, not just about the suicide issue, but a wide variety of the topics people are struggling with. If I somehow grieve the Holy Spirit to the point where I'm not forgiven anymore.

And we'd love to put that into your hands. You can find that by going to core Christianity dot com forward slash questions and look for have I committed the unpardonable sin? Well, this is Core Christianity. We would love to hear from you if you've got a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

Maybe you've got some doubts about the Christian faith. Maybe you consider yourself to be an agnostic or an atheist and you just stumbled upon this radio program and would like to talk to Adriel about your doubts. Hey, we're open to that. Here's the number. And I mentioned we're only taking calls for the next 12 minutes or so. So now's the time to call. It's eight three three the core.

That's one eight three three eight four three twenty six seventy three. Let's go to Aaron calling in from Missouri. Aaron, what's your question for Adriel? I work in a prison system where I'm supposed to stock wood for alternative religions like Asatru and Wicca to provide. Supposed to load up their wood so they can burn it where they do rituals to these gods that don't exist. I'm kind of struggling with doing that when I'm a Christian and I'm providing the material for them to worship a God that doesn't exist.

OK, that's a sticky question. Well, one, I would just say whatever is not from faith is sin. And I could totally see where your conscience would be conflicted here. Part of me would I mean, I would be conflicted, too. I would maybe want to say, like, hey, can I can you give me a different job here? Because what I'm doing like this, this part of my job is something that I don't feel like I can do with a clear conscience as a follower of Jesus Christ, because I feel like I'm contributing to this pagan idolatrous practice.

I think there are there are a couple of different ways to look at it. I mean, there are some people who would say, well, you know, if I worked at a restaurant and I was serving people drinks and this is, you know, there were things were getting out of hand. I'm just I'm just doing my job. But but specifically here where we're talking about, you know, religious worship, I might I might I mean, let me just go back to you. And is there is there the option to go to your supervisor to say, hey, can you put me on desk duty for a while? This is not something that lines up with me and I don't feel comfortable with this.

Possibly. I mean, there's other people that do my job that could also do it, too. But it's just the whole idea of me feeling like I'm having someone else do something that I don't agree with. My dad's actually a pastor and was a bastards in biblical theology, and I talked to one of the former chaplains who's a Christian, too. And they said, well, you probably will have to continue to do it and just pray for the people while you stop. There was that that they would have a something would happen where they'd encounter Christ and change their life from believing what they're believing.

Yeah, I mean, look, like it could be an opportunity for you to to broach this this subject with the people that you work with. And in one sense, like it'd be an opportunity to share your own faith with them and saying, I really you know, worship is is so significant, so important. And I think that there is true and false worship in the world. And I just I can't, with a clear conscience, participate in something that I feel like is involving me in false worship.

And certainly, if you can't, then you just shouldn't. And Paul talks about this in places like First Corinthians Chapter eight and in the Book of Romans, where he speaks specifically about, you know, meat sacrificed to idols and the association with pagan worship and how for some believers, it was just like, I can't have anything to do with that. And it's sin for me when I participate in this. And Paul says, well, just don't do it then.

Whatever is not from faith is is sin. And so that's an area where just in your own conscience, you're going to have to wrestle, but could be an opportunity for you to, again, have a have a broader conversation, maybe allow other people to do it because, you know, you're a believer in Jesus and you just don't feel like you you can. But may the Lord grant you wisdom as you think through this.

And may he open the doors for you to just be able to talk about your faith with others that you work with so that they might see as well. So, Aaron, God, God help you. God give you God give you wisdom.

And like I said, if it's not something you can do with a clear conscience and you certainly shouldn't do it. And and may God help you in that. Thanks, Aaron.

Thanks so much for your call, for listening to core Christianity. Tough situation. Many people find themselves when they work in, let's say, a state job, some kind of a maybe university setting. They often run up against things that are contrary to their beliefs. And man, there's, you know, a lot of times there's a risk of losing your job. It's a real struggle, isn't it? Totally.

And I mean, we were just talking about this, the first caller with the transgender pronouns. And I know that there are many people who, you know, they're in a workspace where it's like, hey, you need to do this. You need to respect this. And so this is something that that many believers, as you say, Bill, are coming up against in different ways.

I mean, Aaron's was was an interesting circumstance there. But but again, God help all of us and whatever whatever it is to shine brightly for Jesus and to walk in integrity and in truth. And so we need to be praying for each other and encouraging each other to do just that. Amen. This is core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

By the way, if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, we're open to hearing from you. Here's the number. It's eight three three the core.

That's one eight three three eight four three twenty six seventy three. We also have a YouTube channel and you can go on to YouTube. Watch Adriel live in the studio every day at eleven thirty a.m. Pacific time and also submit a question through YouTube.

Here's one from one of our YouTube viewers. And she says, I have a YouTube channel where I share my testimony, but I struggle with drinking. Is it fair that I'm, quote, influencing people if I'm also sinning? God uses us as sinners.

But obviously, you know, if you if you have a problem with alcohol, you need that needs to be addressed. You need to confess that to the Lord. I hope that you are in a solid church community where you can get accountability and support there as well. Because if we don't deal with these things, if you don't confess your sins to the Lord, then eventually what's going to happen is the very sins that you're not dealing with are going to be the sins that that undermine the quote unquote service or ministry that you have.

I think it's wonderful that you want to share your gospel, share the gospel with others on your your YouTube channel to talk about what Jesus has done for you. And you want to do that. You want to do that in all honesty and all integrity. And so when there are things like this, you need to be honest about that, too, and confessing that to the Lord.

And with something like this, I think getting the help that you need and the support that you need and the accountability that you need. And so is it possible for an individual who's wrestling with sin to still be influential and used by the Lord? Yes, but that's not how it's supposed to be. God wants you to live in the light and in integrity. And God can use us, even though our lives at times can be a contradiction.

But that's really, really dangerous ground to be on. And so you need to address the sin or let God deal with it as you continue to seek him and to serve him, confessing, confessing to the Lord. I think about what David said, for example, in Psalm 51, where he's pleading with the Lord to forgive him for his sin. He's confessing it right.

He had been concealing it, hiding it. And and then he says, no, you know, I'm going to I'm going to confess my sin. He's confronted. And then when he's confronted, he says, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise for you will not delight in sacrifice where I would give it. You will not be pleased with the burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.

Oh, God, you will not despise. And then just a little bit earlier there, you know, after he's experienced the forgiveness of God, he says in verse 13, then after you've restored me, God, then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will return to you. In other words, as I've been honest to the Lord, if I've confessed my sins to God, then I'm going to then I'm going to talk about God's forgiveness.

Then I will teach transgressors. Then sinners will return to you. And so God be with you and bless you. And thanks for reaching out to us. You're listening to Core Christianity. Let's go to Kathy, who's calling in from Missouri. Kathy, what's your question for Adriel?

Yes, I do. I work for a professional baseball team. And as part of their diversity and inclusion program this year, they are celebrating Pride Month.

And so there's a Friday at the ballpark. And as a Christian, I'm not really comfortable about that. And so I don't know if I should just put my head down and go through it.

I don't know if I should ask off on the day that that's being celebrated. I'm just not sure how to handle it. Yeah.

Yeah, because you're right. I mean, you can't, as a Christian, we shouldn't just sort of go along with the crowd. And this being, as I mentioned yesterday, you know, quote, unquote, Pride Month. And everybody's saying, you know, you need to follow in line. You need to embrace this.

And we say, no, as followers of Jesus Christ, we can't compromise here with the cultural idols of the day. And so I would say, I mean, you have a seems like a couple of options. I mean, it is a statement for you to say, I'm just not going to go. I can't participate in that.

I think that would be my first my first choice. Do you think that you'll get pushback there, Kathy, if you say I just want that day off or if you skipped it altogether? I mean, I don't know that I will. The question then, though, is, do I explain why I want the day off?

Yeah, I think that you totally could. I mean, I don't know that you have to. I think I think just not participating in it is is key. But I think I think it's fair for us as believers in Jesus Christ to express our concerns, our frustrations.

There was a Major League Baseball pitcher recently who just wrote a letter, I forget his name, but I saw it on Twitter, wrote a letter about how he was frustrated by the whole pride thing and the celebration that at least that organization was having because it ostracized a bunch of people, believers, people of faith. And that's the reality. That's the reality. And so I think it's fair to say, hey, I can do this with a clear conscience for these reasons.

And I also feel like it sort of pushes me out. And maybe that's fine. That's what you want. But I'm just I'm just saying this is what I stand by and this is what I hold to. And know that as you do that, Kathy, you're you're following Christ. You're being honoring to the Lord. You're you're wanting to walk with Jesus. And so may God give you the strength and the courage to do that. And may God use that that that witness that testimony for others as well.

And so and so God bless you, sister, and be with you and give you wisdom. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Adriably had this question from one of our listeners named Mitchell. He says, how can a person know that they're saved?

I love this question. You know, for a while we were doing some we do Bible memorization with our kids. And for a while, my wife had our kids going through that wonderful text in the book of Acts in Acts, chapter 16, verse, verse 30. But that that section with the Philippian jailer who, you know, he's he's concerned. He's actually he's about to harm himself. And Paul comes to me and he cries out to don't harm yourself for we are all here. And the jailer called for lights and rushed in and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. And then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? How can I know that I'm that I'm saved?

How can I be delivered? And what do they say to him? Here's your answer. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.

You and your household. It's faith in Jesus Christ. John 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. You have faith in Jesus Christ. You are saved.

You're justified. You're being saved. That is, day by day, being sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And you are going to be saved on the last day, raised again in the future and glorified.

And that's the hope that we have through Christ and by the grace of God. 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.