Are there any parallels between Israel's kings in the Old Testament and modern day politicians? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. That's 1-833-843-2673. If you're on social media, you can post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts.
And you can also email us with your question at questions at corechristianity.com. Well, a new study has revealed a surprising statistic. A shocking number of American kids say they have never seen a cow in person.
RV travel site Parkton Paradise recently asked 3,500 American young people between the ages of 11 and 24 about their travel experiences. According to the report, 15% said they'd never been outside of the state where they were born. And a full 33%, 1 in 3, say they've never seen a cow in person. Adriel, do your kids know where hamburgers come from?
McDonald's. They do. We have seen cows. I feel like driving around here in Southern California, you can, depending on where you are, find some cows on the side of the road. And such beautiful creatures, too. What a bummer that people haven't seen them. That actually surprises me, Bill, that so few people have seen a cow.
Yeah. Well, we live in Minneapolis and right across the border is Wisconsin, very close to us. There are lots of cows there. In fact, one day we were driving across the border and my daughter, she was younger at the time, she goes, Dad, there's the ones that make the cheese from Wisconsin. She was right.
And I am thankful for cheese, Bill. Yes, me too. Well, let's get to our first question of the day. This one came in at 833, the core.
Yes, my name is Trocon and I'm calling from Minnesota. I've been one of the persons who have been between whether someone can lose their salvation or someone cannot lose their salvation. So I want you to give some clarity on that and some scriptural references that will pass whatever point that you will be providing.
Thank you. Hey, brother, thank you so much for that question. And first, let me just say I know how scary that thought can be for a believer. I remember when I first came to the Lord being so grateful for the forgiveness of sins, for the grace of the Holy Spirit in my life.
I mean, it was also new to me. And I remember the thought hit me one day, well, what if I lose this? And especially if you know yourself and you know that you're a sinner, then it becomes all the more terrifying because you think to yourself, I know that it's hard to trust myself at times. I mean, think about what Jeremiah says about the heart of man in Jeremiah 17, the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can know it? This is one of the questions I think, brother, that causes a lot of concern for believers. Can I lose my salvation? There are passages of scripture that many people will point to to say, yeah, absolutely you can. See this text here in Hebrews chapter six or what Peter said to the false prophets in second Peter, you know, they'll go to different places of the New Testament and the Old Testament to say that a genuine believer can lose their salvation. I don't think that that's what the scriptures teach.
For me, comfort came when I began to realize that salvation was God's work, not mine, and that ultimately it was God, it was Jesus Christ who was going to preserve me. There are a few passages of scripture that I would point to. So one, John chapter 10 verses 26 and following, this is Jesus speaking to religious people, to false teachers, essentially the Jews who were rejecting him, who didn't believe in him, and he says this to them. You do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
And what a comfort that is. And Jesus is saying, look, my sheep, they come to me, they believe in me, they know me, and no one is ever going to be able to take them out of my hand. Satan himself cannot snatch my sheep out of the Father's hand. It really is a wonderful promise that we have there in God's Word. And there are a lot of passages in John's writings, I'm preaching through 1 John right now, I think that make this exact same point. I mean, throughout 1 John, John says, I'm writing these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you might know that you have eternal life.
And if you're born again, if you belong to Jesus Christ by faith, you've trusted in him, you can't lose your born-again status, you can't be unborn again, you're a child of God, and Jesus keeps you. I think also of what the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 8. We know, verse 28, that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. You see right there how all of salvation, the whole thing is the work of God. God is the one who calls, who justifies, who adopts us into his family, who sanctifies us and glorifies us. And so our hope is not in our own ability to be holy enough in order to be saved or to keep ourselves saved. Our hope is in Jesus, the Good Shepherd. If you've wrestled with this question, if you've wondered, God, am I going to lose my salvation? I don't want to, I want to follow you, I want to love you, but I'm afraid because I know that I still sin.
Well, remember what John said. If anyone sins, this is in 1 John, if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. Our hope, our comfort is in the Lord.
He keeps us, he preserves us, and so I don't think that a true believer, someone who's been born again, can lose their salvation. And those are some of the passages that I would go to, brother. Thank you for your question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.
Here's a question that came in through our Facebook account from Joshua. He says in 1 Corinthians 8, it talks about the strong and the weak as groups within the church in Corinth. These groups had differences of opinion over various issues, but Paul specifically encouraged the strong group to put the needs of the weak above their own. My question is, why is it so difficult for us to do that? Why can we in the church be so preoccupied with our group's views on various issues that we forget to love those around us? I know there are examples of churches doing what Paul commands them to do, but those good examples seem to be drowned out by controversy and strife.
What do you think? Yeah, Joshua, we've had to think about this a lot in these days, haven't we, with coronavirus and some of the restrictions that have been placed on us as citizens and also on churches as well. In 1 Corinthians 8, the issue there was food sacrificed to idols. There were some believers, people who had come to Jesus out of a life of paganism, who had once maybe worshipped some of these false idols, and it was really difficult for them to eat food, meat, that had once been offered to an idol because it struck their conscience in a way that made them feel like they were sinning when they would eat that food. Now, there were other people who didn't have that same problem.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 talks about how the idol is nothing, it doesn't have any real existence. And some people who grasped that point, for them it wasn't a big deal, but Paul says, hey, you've got to be sensitive to those who are still struggling with this, who are still wrestling with this. But you're right, it is oftentimes so difficult for people and for us to put the needs of others, the concerns of others above our own. See, the thing is, and here's the answer to your question, I think this is why it's so hard, we don't want anyone to tell us how to live. We'd rather do our own thing than inconvenience ourselves for the sake of someone else. And there is a great concern that many people have that others are trying to snatch away our liberties. So I think that there's, one, the lack of willingness to inconvenience ourselves, but I think there's another piece to the puzzle here, and that's fear.
People are afraid that others are going to try to rule over them tyrannically, and so they don't want to let go of maybe some of their rights in order to serve the quote-unquote weaker brother. There's a really important distinction, I think, here that needs to be discussed when we're talking about Christian liberty, and it's the distinction between giving offense and taking offense. A lot of times, I think, when we don't make this distinction, you can get into some serious trouble. Giving offense happens when, like Paul is talking about there in 1 Corinthians 8, we as Christians actually give offense.
We do something that causes a brother or a sister to stumble, and that's a terrible thing. And Paul says, look, what we need to do is we need to humble ourselves. We need to be like Jesus and serve each other out of love rather than giving offense. Now, taking offense is different than giving offense.
Taking offense is when someone just wants to impose their rules on you, and so you haven't really done anything to give offense, but they're taking offense. You think of Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees, for example. Do you remember how they accused him of being a glutton and a wine-bibber? Oh, he drinks with sinners. They took offense at him, but Jesus didn't listen to what they were saying because they were taking offense.
He knew that they were legalists, that they just wanted to impose their own rules and regulations on him. I think it's important for us to understand these distinctions because there are times in the church where we really give offense, and we have to humble ourselves and repent and say, you know, I need to do a better job loving the people around me. But then there are other times where people are just taking offense, and they want to impose their rules and restrictions on you personally. And it's not a matter of being caused to stumble or their faith being hurt.
It's just a matter of them wanting to control. And so, I mean, it really takes wisdom and some pastoral sensitivity to be able to distinguish between these two, and every situation is a little bit different. But at the end of the day, Joshua, I think it is important for us once again to read these passages like 1 Corinthians 8 and what Paul says in the book of Romans on the same subject.
And to say, look, am I doing this? Am I being sensitive to the needs of my brothers and sisters around me and serving them in love for the glory of God and for the advancement ultimately of the gospel through our Christian unity? So thank you for your question, and I hope that encourages you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. And one of the best ways to understand our sin nature and God's marvelous grace is by reading the book of Romans. And today we want to tell you about our core Bible study on Romans. Bill, the book of Romans is one of those books that has been life-changing for so many believers. I mean, it was the book that transformed Martin Luther.
You think about the entire Protestant Reformation, it was as Luther was studying and reading in the book of Romans that he had this great epiphany that God opened his eyes to the grace of the gospel, the free grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's one of those books that I think Christians need to study and need to know. And that's why we've created this 10-week study on the book of Romans.
It's available as a physical study, or you can even get a PDF download. There's a leader's guide available for all of our studies as well. And so head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to get your copy of our new Bible study on Romans. By the way, this could make a great resource to send to your pastor or your small group leader as they're planning their next Bible study.
You can call us for this or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673. Well, Adriel, here's an email that came in from one of our listeners named Elliot. He says, I have a friend who doesn't believe in the universal church. She says because the word ecclesia means the gathered ones, it means the church is only a local body. What we call the universal church, she calls the family of God. Where can I turn to show her that the family of God can also be called the universal church? The Bible uses the word ecclesia or church in several different ways.
I mean, sometimes it is referring to a local body. You think of all the times the apostle Paul wrote letters to the various churches or Jesus addressing the various churches at the beginning of the book of Revelation. Local congregations, bodies of believers. Sometimes, though, the word is used in reference to the whole universal church, what your friend is referring to as the family of God. And sometimes it's the church defined by its representatives. I think of places like Acts chapter 15, for example, the Jerusalem council, where we're told that the church came together, and it's probably there referring to the officers of the church, elders of the various churches coming together to talk about important matters facing the whole church, the body of Christ. Now, where can you go to show your friend that this word church can also refer to the whole church, the universal church? Well, I think Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 16 verse 18. He's speaking to Peter. Peter had just confessed Jesus as the Christ, and Jesus said to Peter, And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Just, I think it was two or three days ago, my daughter asked us this question. We were outside walking around, and she said, Dad, does Jesus have a lot of wives, because there are so many churches? And my wife and I looked at each other, and we just laughed. It was so cute, but I mean, it was an honest question, because we talk about the church as the bride of Christ, and she knows, you know, her dad is a pastor, and we have our church, but there are a lot of other churches. So I think it just struck her one day, and we said, no, you know, there really is one universal church as well. And isn't that exactly what the apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5? And this is another passage of scripture that you can go to. It's there that the apostle Paul draws that analogy between wives and husbands and Christ and the church. In verse 23, it says, For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.
And again, Paul is using that word ekklesia here. He says, Because we are members of his body, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. And so Paul makes it very clear there, Elliot, that the church can refer to the universal body of Christ. We could call that the family of God as well, but it's straining the word ekklesia to say that it can only refer to a local gathered assembly.
That's not the only way that the New Testament uses the word, so thanks for your question. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and Adriel, here's a call that came in from Rosemary in Kansas City. Hi. My question is, what's going on in the political arena?
It kind of reminds me of when Adoniah took on being king when David was dying in 1 Kings chapter one. I just wanted to ask that question because a lot of things are kind of similarity to what's going on. Dan, if you can just answer that a little bit, I appreciate it. Thank you, and I enjoy your show. Have a great day. Bye-bye. Hi, Rosemary.
Thank you for the encouragement and for listening and for that question. I can see why you might feel like there are similarities. You know, David was the rightful king. Then when it was time for him to be replaced, one of his sons, Adoniah, basically tried to unlawfully take the throne. And David's wife Bathsheba, you know, she helps to intervene so that the rightful heir, Solomon, is eventually placed on the throne. But it's a question of who is the true ruler right now?
And there have been a lot of people asking that very question in our day today. One big difference is that the stakes were much higher in David's day because this wasn't just an earthly kingdom, it was God's kingdom. It was the political body that God worked in and through under the old covenant. And the United States isn't God's kingdom on earth. The churches. We were just talking about the ekklesia, that universal body of Christ. The church is a manifestation of God's kingdom.
I like to think of local churches as kingdom outposts, embassies, where people get to hear the message of the grace of God and Jesus' victory over sin and death. I would be very cautious of trying to draw a parallel from 1 Kings chapter 1 to our current situation for that very reason, because we're not talking about God's kingdom on earth today when we talk about the United States. Now, there are some similarities, right? I mean, obviously, when you think about leadership succession, sometimes there's controversy associated with them. People want to remain in power.
We want to be in power. And so that can lead to conflict. And that's why it's so important that we have good rulers and ultimately that God would send his son Jesus, the ultimate king, into the world to establish his kingdom and to be the forever king of God's people. I love the way the psalmist put it in Psalm chapter 2.
I mean, talk about the political conflict all around us that has existed since the very beginning. Psalm chapter 2, why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now, therefore, O kings, be wise. Be warned, O rulers of the earth, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Rosemary, I think Psalm 2 is a wonderful psalm for us to meditate upon in this season. The kings of the earth set themselves. We want to take power. We want to be in positions of authority. But God has established his forever king on Mount Zion, Jesus, the eternal son of the Father. He's the king of the whole world, and we trust in him. Now, that doesn't mean we aren't citizens also of the kingdoms of this earth, and we don't participate in these kingdoms for their good. We don't pray for them.
We don't participate in voting and some of those things that we all did not too long ago. But the real thing that's highlighted by these stories and even that story in 1 Kings 1 is, like I said, the need for this king, the king of Psalm chapter 2, to reign over the whole world and to reign in our hearts by faith. That's really the focus of the scriptures, and I think that's where we have to focus as well.
So well said, Adrian. You know, my wife and I have been discussing this a lot lately with all the controversy post-election, and it's so easy, I think, for those of us who are followers of Christ to get anxious about where our country is, where it might be headed. And yet we need to place our full faith and trust in the fact that Jesus is the king who rules over all and for eternity. That's right, and there's a balance, right? So I mean, our confidence, our trust is in the Lord.
This has to be the case. The Psalm is said in Psalm 118, verse 8, it's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men. I mean, God knows, right? Like, if you put your trust, your confidence in people, they're going to let you down. And yet, like I said, we do want to participate in the world around us, and we're not trying to flee to the mountains and just say, I'm just going to trust Jesus and build my bunker, that kind of a thing. We're engaging with the affairs of this world. We're wanting to be good citizens of the countries that God has us in, to serve the people around us, to pursue laws that are going to be good for ourselves and also for our neighbors, for those who are in need. And so there is a balance, but ultimately, like you say, Bill, our hope has to be in the Lord Jesus Christ. And maybe for you listening right now, it's important that you're reminded of that, because this is a time where so many people are filled with anxiety and fear. What's going to happen tomorrow? Well, remember what Psalm 2 says, God has established his King on Mount Zion.
And you know what? When we gather together for worship as Christians, we're going to that mountain. The author of the Hebrews says this in Hebrews chapter 12, we're gathering before the heavenly Jerusalem to hear the word of our King. And he speaks to us his peace, his comfort, his love, that our sins are forgiven.
And he sends us out into the world as ambassadors of his kingdom, ultimately be comforted by the fact that our hope is not in this world, but in Jesus Christ. 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 podcast and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together. .
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