Is It Possible to Commit Sins in Our Dreams?

Is it possible to commit sins in our dreams? 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. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

You can also email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. We want to say Happy Independence Day to you. Maybe you've got a celebration planned with your family today. And, Adriel, is it true that you buy your kids industrial grade fireworks and just put them out in the driveway? Is that what you guys do?

I wish, man. You can't find fireworks, even the little baby ones in California. You know, when we take drives out of state, you know, every once in a while we'll see a big billboard that, you know, says you pull off here and you get fireworks.

And I'm always tempted to do that. We just haven't yet. So, no, we go to see fireworks. I mean, we'll go and watch fireworks, and usually there's some barbecue involved, and it's a lot of fun. And so, yeah, just however you're celebrating with your family, God bless you guys. Grateful, so grateful for the many blessings that we get to experience here in the United States. And so continue to pray and to seek the Lord and to give thanks for the good things that we have.

That's so well said. You know, last Fourth of July, it really came home to us because we actually have taken some Ukrainian refugees into our home and some Russian refugees as well who escaped from the situation over there and their thankfulness to be in the United States. I mean, literally, they wanted to kiss the ground. And we took them to fireworks, and they had little American flags that they were waving. And it was just very cool experience. Yeah, I've seen similar things as well where we live in San Diego with many of the refugees out here too. And so, boy, yeah, praise the Lord and enjoy, you know, again, however you're celebrating.

Hopefully there's some good food involved and fireworks too. Well, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can always leave us a voicemail at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to E calling in from Fort Wayne, Indiana. E, what's your question for Adriel?

Yes, good afternoon, and thanks for taking my call. I'd like to get to your feelings on how believers ought to respond to questions of biblical response to things like racial reconciliation, politics, and the like. People have gotten very contentious of all various religious persuasions.

I'd just like to get Pastor Sanchez's paper on that. Yeah, I mean, so politics in the church, but specifically you brought up racial reconciliation. And I definitely have some thoughts, but I just want to get some more, just want to hear from you, E, in your context. Are you talking about, like, discussions that are happening in your church, or what is it specifically? We're just thinking about racial reconciliation as different races coming together around the gospel and worshiping together. I mean, what specifically is, I guess, the catalyst to this question for you?

Okay. You know, I believe that I am a fairly strong Christian, and I believe that I take Scripture as it is written, and there are a lot of contentious circumstances, situations that we seem to embrace, even though one Christian in this church house or a Christian in this situation believes they are still standing on the word of God. You can't both be right, and you can't both be as contentious as we seem to have gotten.

Well, let me just say, first, it is fundamental. It's so important for us to be standing on the word of God as we have these discussions. And so sometimes as you're, quote, unquote, standing on God's word and being faithful to proclaim the whole counsel of God's word, you are going to have to address some of these topics. I have an issue with the sort of politicizing of the pulpit and that kind of thing, but the fact of the matter is the word of God addresses things that are happening in our society, in our culture. And so we can speak to those things according to Scripture. The church has a prophetic voice in the world today without being, quote, unquote, political in the sense of, you know, you need to vote for this candidate, you need to do that, this, that, or the other.

You know, I think there's a problem there where the pulpit becomes, you know, a platform for something other than the gospel, but we do want to preach the whole counsel of God's word. And here's what I'll say, E. According to Scripture, one of the beautiful things about the gospel of Jesus Christ is it brings together people. It ought to bring together people and it's able to bring together people from every tribe, tongue, and nation worshiping under the same roof.

This is the picture of heaven that's given to us in the book of Revelation. And actually, when you look at the first century church, reconciliation between different cultural groups, between different races, if you will, was at the heart of what the gospel accomplished. This is why you have books like the book of Ephesians and books like the book of Galatians, because as the Gentile nations were being brought in, if you will, to the people of God, there was a lot of cultural tension. It led to the first ecumenical council described in Acts chapter 15, the Jerusalem council. So we can't just say racial reconciliation is just sort of a political thing of today and, you know, we need to stop talking about that.

People are getting all worked up and upset about these things. The Bible actually does speak to these kinds of things and we ought to rejoice in the fact, celebrate the fact that the gospel is able to bring together people from different cultures, from different races who ordinarily would not be under the same roof, but for the grace of God. And this is precisely, again, what happened in the first century church. It's spelled out really clearly in the book of Ephesians, in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 11, as Paul is writing to Gentile believers, he says to them, Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

So look, there's a hostility that existed there between these different cultures. And Paul says, the gospel put that to death, the cross put that to death, so that now through the blood of Jesus Christ, these two groups are now made one man. And we should celebrate that.

That should just be something that we rejoice in. The church is not a social club. It's not an affinity group. It's where sinners from all sorts of different backgrounds and cultures and everything else where sinners are brought together by the grace of God and by the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's what the Bible teaches. Now, I know you mentioned, you know, some of the tension, some of the hostility, the fights, the debates about this. I think this is where it's good for churches to be challenged here, specifically.

Churches should reflect wherever it is that God has them, right? And so, you know, like if your church is in an area that's, you know, not at all ethnically diverse, you wouldn't expect that church to be, you know, 50% Hispanic and 50% Caucasian or whatever, right? You expect, and you also, we also need to recognize that, right, there are different kinds of diversity. A lot of times we talk about racial reconciliation and ethnic diversity, but there are socioeconomic diversity. There are all sorts of different kinds of diversity.

But here's what I'm saying. One of the beautiful things about the gospel is that it creates diverse communities. It ought to because it's for sinners. It's not for one type of sinner.

It's for all sinners. And so if we're not seeing that in the church, if our particular local church just looks more like an affinity group where it's sort of all the same types of people who are centered maybe around, you know, the way they think about politics or the way they think about homeschooling or whatever it is, right? If it's that, then we begin to ask questions.

What's forming and shaping this community? Is it the gospel? And if it is the gospel, then why does it, you know, look the way that it does? Why isn't it drawing sinners from all different places?

Is it something else? And so, right, I think sometimes churches can feel pressure, like they need to look a certain way. But I think the challenge needs to be, hey, are we reflecting the community where God has us? And is it the gospel that's building the church?

Or is it me and my particular interests and our affinities? And so I appreciate the question. And again, this is something that has been, you know, recently discussed for, I mean, the last several years.

A lot of heat around this subject. But I think we should just say, hey, praise God that the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we're not talking about a social club here. We're talking about a message that is able to gather together people who ordinarily would not come together again, but for the grace of God. And so, E, thank you for that question. May the Lord bless you as you continue to stand on the scriptures, wanting to be faithful to God's word and let the word of God challenge us in all of our conduct. God bless. Really well said.

Just a follow up question for you, Adriel. Then how do we deal with those differences in preference, you know, different cultural views about music or the order of worship or the style of preaching? Because if you go into, let's say, a white or black or Hispanic church, you're going to find some very different types of church experiences. And some people might say, well, that I don't feel comfortable in that particular experience. How do we deal with that?

Yeah, that's an excellent question, Bill. I think we just have to ask ourselves, you know, like, what's the primary thing for me that the church is? And fundamentally, right, the church is where the gospel is being faithfully taught, where, you know, the ordinances are being administered as Jesus commanded, where there's discipline. And the hope is that as that's happening and as the word of God is being faithfully taught and applied, that different people are coming together around that word because they're encountering the grace of God and that's going to create some discomfort. But the fact of the matter is, right there, we all have, you know, particular preferences with regard to certain things, style or whatnot. That just can't be the main thing. And sadly, I think there are a lot of people, they make that the main thing. I just want to be around people who are like me, who think exactly like I think on these issues. It's a lot safer. It helps to reassure me, makes me feel like I'm making all the right choices in my life, whether it's in regards to things like schooling or some other thing, right?

That's the way it should be. But the fact of the matter is, that's how many people think, but the fact of the matter is, is if Jesus is building the church, he's picking your brothers and sisters for you. And they don't always look like you, they don't always think just like you do. And the struggle, and this was the struggle in Ephesus, this was the struggle in Galatia. The struggle is to live together in charity with the gospel being the main thing. And when the gospel is the main thing, it's able to, that's the glue that keeps us together even with all of our differences. And so, man, that's what I long to see in the church that I pastor, just in churches throughout the United States, is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the word of God being the main thing, not minimizing or setting aside those sort of personal preferences, but recognizing that those personal preferences, those sort of cultural things, man, they bow down to the main thing, which is the word of God and the gospel being faithfully taught.

Good word. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Happy 4th of July to you and your family as we celebrate our nation's birthday today. And we'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can always email us. Here's our email address. It's questions at corechristianity.com. And of course, you can leave us a voicemail if you want to call our voicemail system today.

Feel free. 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a voicemail from one of our listeners in Michigan named Tom. My question is, is it possible for the Holy Spirit to lead two different people or groups who are truly seeking God's will to come to opposite conclusions?

Thank you very much. So I want to say no. I mean, it really depends on what you're talking about. If we're talking about some sort of a doctrinal thing, you know, like, is the Holy Spirit going to lead one group of people to be, you know, Presbyterian and another group of people to be Baptist? And they're both hearing from the same Holy Spirit. And no, I mean, you have a contradiction there in terms of the theology and an understanding of God's word. And so we're told in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse 33, that God is not the author of confusion. And it just seems like if you conclude that the Holy Spirit is leading people in every which way, contradictory ways, then you'd have to say, no, actually, he is the author of confusion.

He's the one that's led to all of this. I think part of the reason why we have all of these differences is precisely because of the fact that we don't listen to the voice of God's Spirit speaking to us in Scripture, or we misunderstand what the Scriptures actually say. But if we're not talking about, you know, a doctrinal issue or a biblical interpretation, but we're talking about something else, like, you know, maybe a personal decision, the Spirit of God convicting an individual one way or another, I think that there are instances, right?

Like for one person, it might be that, you know, X is the right job for you to take in a particular set of circumstances. And for another person, the Spirit of God is going to guide you in a different direction. And so, again, not knowing specifically what's behind this question, I would just caution and say, the Holy Spirit, God is not the author of confusion, and the Spirit of God is leading us into unity and peace.

We are one in the Spirit. And so this idea that, you know, the Holy Spirit is just leading, you know, people into all these different conclusions about the Bible or Scripture, I would just say that ought to be rejected. Thank you for that question. Excellent question. Now, we do have some churches today who claim to have apostles or prophets in their midst, and they claim they're speaking for God. How would you respond to that? Yeah, I mean, that's a really, really sobering thing, right, to say, I'm speaking on God's behalf, thus saith the Lord, I'm an apostle, I'm a prophet, I've seen this, Bill.

I mean, it concerns me for a couple of reasons. One, because I don't think that those offices are still in the church today, the office of prophet, the office of apostle. Ordinarily, what you have in the church is pastors or our pastors, teachers, you know, deacons, elders. Those are the ordinary perpetual offices of the church, and this is why in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1, Paul outlines the qualifications for elders and deacons, because the expectation was this is what's going to guide the church forward. It's not one sort of Moses individual, it's not a group of prophets over here, or new apostles, right, some new apostolic reformation or something like that. No, it's faithful pastors who have been entrusted with the deposit of faith, the word of God, once for all delivered to the saints from Jesus to the original apostles. They went out and planted churches and established elders and deacons in those churches, and it's an apostolic message that is carried down the ages.

We're passing that baton. It's not so much an apostolic ministry, like an apostolic succession, if you will. We need these new apostles or these new prophets.

No, it's the message. It's the word of God, and one of the dangers with people who say, I'm a new apostle, or I'm a new prophet, is they claim that same type of authority. My word is on par with scripture, or they can, or at least they suggest it, and in doing so, they can lead many people astray. This is why James says in James 3, verses 1 and following, don't let many of you be teachers, knowing that we'll receive a stricter judgment. Peter in 2 Peter says, just as there were false prophets back then, there will be false prophets today leading people astray. Paul said the very same thing in Acts chapter 20, and so it's a great cause for concern, and we have to be discerning, Bill.

Very well said. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, we are a listener-supported ministry. We don't play commercials on this program.

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It's a monthly donation of $25 or more. As a thank you for joining the inner core, we'll send you a copy of the book Core Christianity by Dr. Michael Horton, which is kind of an introduction to the core tenets of the Christian faith, a really helpful resource. This is one of the ways we can partner together. You can partner with us to help people grow in their understanding of what the Bible teaches and in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

I want to invite you to partner with us in that. You can find out more by going to corechristianity.com forward slash inner core, just all one word, corechristianity.com forward slash inner core. And for those of you who are part of our inner core, we just want to again express our thankfulness for your generosity in keeping this program on the air. Well, as I said, we do receive voicemails here at the core, and you can call us anytime and leave us a voicemail at 833-THE-CORE. Here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Dave. My question is, in our dreams, sometimes we have dreams that we don't always know. I mean, if it's from the enemy or but the question is, in a nutshell, basically, when we act out in our dreams, anything of the flesh, if we act out while we're dreaming, is that a sin or can we not be responsible for our subliminal, which is when we're sleeping? Thank you.

Bye. That's a great question. I don't think we've ever received a question like that on the broadcast. It sort of reminds me of just when you have an impure thought, is that a sin when that thought crosses your mind, or is it dwelling on it and delighting in it that leads to sin and that is sin? I would say just a thought crossing your mind, that's what you do with that thought.

Do you revel in it? Similarly with dreams, I don't think that if you have a dream and you act out in a way that's wrong or sinful, I don't think that you need to wake up and say, oh, gosh, I actually did that. It does seem to me that our dreams can tell us something about ourselves, about what we long for, about what we desire, about the ways in which we imagine or want to act out.

There may be something there. Of course, we know that our dreams can tell us things about ourselves. God can also speak through dreams. He did throughout the Old Testament, although I think many people today who claim that God is speaking to them through dreams, probably not, but there are some instances. This is what Joel talked about in Joel chapter 2, where he prophesied about the sending of the Holy Spirit, dreaming dreams and visions and so forth, fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.

God can use our dreams, but most of the time I think it's just that subliminal, those thought patterns that we have or those things that we experience throughout the day. I would say take it as, okay, this is a window into, in one sense, into your mind and into your heart. Maybe with that, that can give you some guidance in terms of how to pray and how to go to the Lord and say, Lord, this is something that I really wrestle with, these longings, these passions, some of them, these sinful passions. I'm coming to you, Lord, and saying, help me. Help me to fix my eyes on that which is good and true and beautiful, to meditate upon your word, to delight in that, to rest well when I sleep, and not to be consumed by my passions even in those resting hours.

I don't think that you're guilty of sin in those moments, but it might be an indication of something to think about in your own relationship with the Lord as well. Bill, would you add anything in the short time we have left? I'm just dreaming about the perfect carne asada. Yeah.

You know what, Bill? I have that dream pretty frequently too, and I make it come to fruition frequently as well, so 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.