What Does Scripture Say About Speaking To Prodigal Children?

What does Scripture say about speaking to prodigal children? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity.

Well, happy Friday and happy three-day weekend to you. This is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. 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. Our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. Watch us live on Instagram and YouTube. And of course, you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, Adriel, at the very end of yesterday's program, we heard from a listener named JP in St. Louis, and he had a question that he asked just before we had to wrap up and you weren't able to answer it. Can you kind of recap what JP wanted to know? Yeah.

I'm glad we can start the broadcast off with this. So there were two things it seemed like he was asking about. JP wanted to know about time and just that concept because we know that God is the high and the lofty one who inhabits eternity as the prophet Isaiah says. But in the new creation, what is time going to be like?

The book of Revelation says there's no morning or there's no evening, there's no night. And so thinking about time in particular, it seemed like at least the first part of what he wanted to know about is, well, how do we make sense of this? And I think the way we have to understand it is time is a part of the created world.

God is the high and the lofty one who inhabits eternity. We can say that he's outside of time in a very real sense. And we're not going to relate to time in the same way in the new creation. We're going to have everlasting life.

We're going to experience that everlasting life. And so it is really difficult to wrap our minds around. You think about it as this idea of infinite time. It doesn't compute easily for finite creatures. And so I think that's why he was asking about it, but the Bible is very clear that God is not limited by time.

And so we have to make that point, I think, at the outset. And then additionally, he had the question that many people ask, which is, why did God create Adam and Eve if he knew that they were going to fall? Why did he allow it to happen? And the best minds, theologians, haven't tried to speculate too much about this, but what they have said is that God didn't allow anything that he hadn't already purposed to resolve or to deal with it. And so God gave Adam and Eve freedom of choice there in the garden. We do believe and confess that God is omniscient, that he knows all things.

This should be a great comfort to us. God isn't guessing what's going to happen in the future. And so he knew all things, and yet for his own glory, he allowed this to happen and had purposed from the very beginning to resolve it, even before it had happened.

And so we have the hope of the Gospel very clearly outlined for us in the early chapters of Genesis, in Genesis 3, verse 14, where God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. And so I appreciate JP calling in. It was too bad that we weren't able to get to his question on the air because it was towards the end of the broadcast, but glad we could talk about it right now.

Good. Thank you so much for that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, maybe some doubts you have about your faith. We'd love to hear from you.

833-THE-CORE is the number. Let's go to John calling in from Oklahoma. John, what's your question for Adriel? Hello there. How are you doing today? I'm doing well, John. How are you? Pretty good.

Thanks. Hey, a friend asked me what was my stand on dualism. So I didn't really know what that was. So I asked Siri, she says two opposing ideas that are both the truth. I looked at a basic philosophy textbook and it was very convoluted.

I couldn't understand what they were talking about. What is dualism and do I need to take a stand on it? Hey, John, thanks for that question. Well, in terms of, you know, if we're thinking about God and the creation, a dualistic worldview would view good and evil as these two opposing forces, almost equal forces. And in the ancient world, there were all sorts of dualistic views of creation and of the world.

So you think of, you know, the forces of good and evil sort of fighting, you know, toe to toe. And obviously, you know, we worship God, the truth, the good, the beautiful. But we don't have as believers in Jesus Christ a dualistic view of the world. We believe in the one God who made all things and made all things good. You look at the early chapters in Genesis and it's not like, you know, God was competing with some sort of cosmic evil force out there prior to the creation.

No, God spoke. He is the sovereign king over all things. And so there is nothing competing with God in the universe. You have God the creator and everything else is created, creature, even the angelic hosts. And so when we think about the forces of evil or sin, they're no match for the Lord.

And so I think what we can say is, well, we don't believe in a dualistic worldview. What we believe is that there's one God who is good, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he made all things for his glory. And now we, mankind, sinned and turned away from, you know, the fountain of life, from God, the one who is perfectly good. And as a result of that, evil has come into the world. But that evil is no competition for God.

No, God is a sovereign Lord and he's sovereign even over all of that. And so I'm just curious, John, just in terms of the context of why this person asked this, was there more background to their question or does it make, given that answer, does that sort of make sense to you given why they were asking? Yeah, well, it makes sense to me. I doubt that they know why they were asking.

They probably had just heard of it somewhere and I don't know if they know what it is or not. But I totally believe what you're talking about. God is sovereign over everything. He's, you know, in the evil forces of this world and Satan, like you say, it's not an equal thing at all.

Yeah. You know what's really interesting? Well, amen, amen. And what's really interesting, when I was preaching through the book of Genesis early on, you know, you have in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, the creation account. And what's unique about the creation account in Genesis when you compare it to a lot of the other ancient Near Eastern religions and the ideas about creation that were floating around in the ancient Near East is those accounts of creation often are very dualistic. You have this cosmic battle that's taking place, you know, the forces of good and evil or light and darkness, and through this great conflict, you got creation. And it's the opposite in scripture. In scripture, it's not the forces of light and darkness, it's just God, the sovereign king and creator of all things. And he creates freely, not out of conflict, not out of necessity, but out of the abundance of his love and glory.

And so the biblical account, the biblical worldview is very different from, and has been, you know, from the very beginning, very different from these more dualistic understandings. And that should comfort us, recognizing that there is nothing that stands a chance against the Lord. We look at the world with its brokenness and evil, and I mean, sometimes it can just be overwhelming, but realizing, hey, our God is in the heavens. He's enthroned. He does as he pleases, as the psalmist says, and one day every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Jesus is building his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against her. We know that our God is Lord, and so we ought to take great comfort from that. John, God bless. Thanks, John. Just a follow-up question for you, Adriel. Could it be that the guy asking John the question could have been referring to more the mind-body dualism, that our mind, our body are two separate distinct substances, which again is not a Christian belief?

Yeah, I mean, maybe. It sounds like, from what John was saying, that it was hard to understand even the source of the question, but if we sort of pit the mind or the spirit and the body against each other, that was kind of in line with one of the other ancient heresties known as Gnosticism, a really negative view of the physical world and creation. You know, we're trying to escape our bodies and be set free from our bodies. This was an idea that was floating around even during the days of the apostles, and John in particular, in places like 1 John, seems to be countering that sort of early, some people will refer to it as a proto-Gnostic idea, the early seed form of that heresy. And so that, too, is something that needs to be challenged and confronted, because the Bible says that God made everything, and he made it good.

Creation is a good thing, and it's a part of what's being restored through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Amen. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open if you've got a question about the Bible, the Christian life, Gnostic heresies, whatever, we'd love to hear from you.

Here's the number, it's 833-THE-CORE, that's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Viola calling in from St. Louis. Viola, what's your question for Adriel? Hello. Hello, Viola, how are you doing?

I'm well, thank you. I just love the way that you, Pastor Sanchez and Bill Meyer, are patient with our questions, and especially when you pray for us when we need it. I have a question about Matthew 12, 43-45. My cousin and I were having a discussion this morning, and I told him believers cannot be possessed by the enemy, because the Holy Spirit is inside of us, and he never leaves us. He said, yeah, he does leave us. I said, no he doesn't. He said, he brought up Matthew 12, 43-45, and I want to confirm, I want you to confirm that this is, I think this is not a saved person, with the Holy Spirit, the unclean spirit is gone out of man, he comes back with seven more deadly spirits. And I just said, no, I don't think this is a saved person, you know. So will you explain that please?

Yeah, Viola, excellent question. So this is Matthew 12, 43, when an unclean spirit is gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came, and when it comes, it finds the house swept, empty swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first, so it will be with this evil generation. Now, well right there Jesus is identifying who he's talking about, this evil generation, that is the generation that rejected the gospel. I think specifically he has the religious leaders in mind who had really turned away, I mean these are the same ones who were accusing him of being possessed with the spirit of Beelzebub. So we're not talking there about a believer who has been sealed with the Holy Spirit, and then whom the spirit leaves and is possessed by Satan.

That can't happen, and the fact that that can't happen, I think what you brought up is a good point. If you're filled with the Holy Spirit, the evil one can't be there at the same time, can't be there. But specifically I think of what John says in 1 John 5, this is verse 18. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. In other words, the devil does not have authority over the children of God, because the Lord Jesus, he guards us, he protects us, he keeps us, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit as the apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1. So I don't believe that a Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ sealed with the Holy Spirit can be possessed by an evil spirit or by a demon. I do believe that we can experience spiritual warfare, and that we do throughout the course of our lives as followers of Jesus, that we can experience that oppression that comes, temptation from the forces of evil. Nevertheless, we aren't abandoned to those forces so that they possess us, because the Lord dwells in us. Thank you so much for that question, sister. God bless you, and appreciate your digging into the Scriptures.

Thanks, Viola, appreciate you listening to Core Christianity. Let's go to George calling in from Pennsylvania. George, what's your question for Adriel? Hello, how are you doing? Hey, George, I'm doing okay, how are you?

Hi, I'm doing fine, thank you. I have a question that really goes in line with the subject matter of the show today regarding what the Scriptures say about speaking to prodigal children. I'm presently having a challenge with that myself in terms of how to best deal with a child that's presently living in a way that's totally contrary to the way that they were raised. And the challenge I'm having is twofold. Number one, how do I best communicate and deal with that child who's now a young adult?

They've left my home, and they're living on their own now. And the second portion of that same question is, how do I personally deal with it? Because I know that I wrestle with it on the almost non-stop basis in my mind, where it pains me to see how he's living now and the different things that he's going through, knowing that it did not and still does not have to be that way. Well, George, the first thing I want to do is pray for you and invite our listeners to pray for you, and to pray for your son, it sounds like, as well. That the Lord would be at work, granting you the wisdom and the grace that you need, and also drawing your son back to the grace of Christ and the truth of God's word.

So, brothers and sisters, let's pray for George right now. Father, we come before you, and our hearts ache with our brother, longing to see restoration and healing in families, and above all else, Lord, longing to see restoration and healing in relationships with you, where those who were brought up in the church, Lord, knowing the gospel, have wandered away. Lord Jesus, you are the great shepherd of the sheep, and you came to seek and save the lost.

You are the one who, when one wanders away, you leave the 99 and you go after that one, and when you found it, you lay it on your shoulders, rejoicing, bringing it home. Thank you that you are the one who pursues wandering sheep, and I pray that you would pursue this young man, by the grace of your spirit, that you would be at work in his life. Lord, would you draw him back to you, and would you be with George as well? Would you help him to trust in you during this time? Would you fill him with your Holy Spirit? Would you give him boldness, courage, wisdom, and love, and enable him, Lord, to speak your truth and love to his son, and to know what to say and how to say it, and that their relationship, Lord, would not be strained, but would even grow stronger somehow as a result of all of this, but ultimately, Lord, that your relationship with this son would be restored, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

George, I think a couple of things. First and foremost, in terms of, you know, for you personally, it's going to be continually raising this up to the Lord in prayer and entrusting your now adult son into the hands of a good and a loving God who is the God who came to seek and save the lost. Jesus did come to seek and save the lost, and when we wander, when we go astray, clinging to those promises and pleading with the Lord and saying, God, you do the work that only you can do.

Only you can soften the heart. Only you can cause the light of the Gospel to break through, to shine through where the blinders are up. And so I think fighting to trust the Lord and to rest in God's goodness, grace, and providence, and saying, Lord, you do what only you can do, but also enable me, give me wisdom as a father to know how to press forward in this relationship as well, not minimizing the importance of your word, of following you, continuing to let that be a part of our relationship. So I think that's where you don't want to just neglect that calling that you have as a father, first and foremost, but just as a Christian to speak the truth in love.

You know, a lot of times with family members, it's like, well, okay, I don't want to go there anymore. And we're not trying to use the truth as a hammer to beat people down, but I think to continue to plead with and pray for and to lovingly pursue your son. And again, that's going to require the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. I love the story in the book written so many years ago, St. Augustine's Confessions, where he talks about how his mother pursued him as he was wandering.

He wanted nothing to do with Christianity. He was through his 20s, the early 30s as well, just rebelling against God, living a life of prodigal living, and thought he knew better. And he says, you know, my mother watered the ground with her tears as she prayed for me, and as she enlisted others to pray for me as well. And she continued to speak the truth of the gospel in love to her son, and it was the work of the Lord to break through, and that's what it will be for you and for your son too.

So may God grant you grace in that. And Bill, I want to just pitch it to you as well, thinking about this question, if you would have any additional insight or ideas for George as he wrestles through this. You know, it's always about speaking the truth in love. I mean, on the one hand, we don't want to compromise on God's truth. We want to be able to state clearly what God expects of us. But at the same time, we want to make sure we want to surround that. We want to make sure it's loving and kind and gentle, demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit that we hear about in Galatians. I think it's so hard from an emotional perspective.

I have three kids, one young adult and then one that's just starting college and another who's 16. And, you know, as they make decisions in life, I pray they make the right ones, but I don't have any control over that, just as George said. And so I think prayer is the main thing that he should be doing. And again, just keeping those lines of communication open. Maybe even reading, you know, the Prodigal God by Tim Keller might be a good resource for you, George, to pick up that book and just understand God's love for us and how we extend that to our prodigal children. So we'll keep you in prayer. And George, if I could just say, I mean, obviously I know that probably this central thing that's on your mind is all of this, right?

You know, this son who is no longer, you know, walking with the Lord or not going to church. I'm not sure exactly what all the details are and how the temptation has been. I want to fix this. You know, this needs to change.

And certainly it does. Now, it's not going to be you twisting his arm and you know that. It's got to be the work of the Holy Spirit. And so I just want to encourage you, ma'am, be praying, but continue to pursue your son as well, to spend time with him as much as God allows for those opportunities. I don't know if you guys live close to each other, but still investing in him as an individual, as a person, still continuing to have conversations about other things as well, and pray that the Lord opens the doors and creates a softness there where he's receptive to the truth of God's word. And may God help you in that.

We'll keep you in our prayers and we'll keep your son in our prayers as a team as well. George, thanks so much for your call and we do appreciate you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day. In fact, over the three-day weekend, if something comes up and you think, ah, I really would like to get Adriel's perspective on that, feel free to call us and leave a voicemail at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. I also want to mention we have some great Bible studies available here at Core Christianity. As we head into the fall, maybe you've got a small group that's looking for some good curriculum, or maybe you teach a Sunday school class and you're saying, what am I going to use? Here's a great idea for you.

Yeah, just a quick plug. I mean, these are 10-week Bible studies. You can find studies on the Old Testament and on the New Testament, books like the book of Jonah, books like the book of Revelation, and this is a wonderful opportunity for you, either to study the Bible deeper on your own or with a group of people. Head over to corechristianity.com to find out more about these studies, and I hope that you'll take advantage of this offer.

Here's an email we have from one of our listeners. This is from Sherry. She says, did Jesus ever speak in tongues? I have a friend who's of the Pentecostal faith who believes that a person has to do this to be saved and go to heaven. She's a Sunday school teacher and is teaching children this is the way of salvation. I'm having difficulty finding a portion of scripture that will challenge her to change her thought process for teaching kids this belief.

I'd appreciate your help. I am so sorry, but we just got a question like this yesterday, didn't we, Bill, about is the gift of tongues the proof, the evidence that you have the Holy Spirit? Two things. One, nowhere in the New Testament does it indicate that Jesus spoke in tongues. That's not to minimize or discount the gift of tongues as it's revealed in places like Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 12-14.

But this is not something that we're told in the Bible Jesus did. Now, I recognize that if you think that it's the proof that you have the Holy Spirit, you'd want to say, well, Jesus must have spoken in tongues then. But the reality is even the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, and this is a text I go to whenever we get questions like this, even the Apostle Paul said at the end of 1 Corinthians 12 that not every believer has the same gifts. So we shouldn't expect, even if we were assuming that the gift of tongues was still ordinarily given in the church today, which I think that's a whole other discussion, but let's say a person believed that. They were saying, yeah, God is still giving these sign gifts. Paul makes it clear that not every Christian has the same gift. So you couldn't expect every Christian to have the gift of tongues. The true sign that you're filled with the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Love, joy, peace, patience, and so forth. And that's what we really need to recover is the fruit of the Spirit through a sound understanding of God's word. Thanks and 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.