Does the Apostle Paul Contradict Himself?

This edition of Core Christianity is pre-recorded. You can call us right now with your question at 833-The-Core. That's 1-833-843-2673.

You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, we have a good news story to share with you. Marian Thomas is 90 years old. She's a great-grandmother, and she just earned her college degree. That's after putting her education on hold to care for her husband, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Mrs. Thomas had completed 113 credits toward her degree prior to leaving Georgian Court University in New Jersey.

That was seven credits short of graduating, but the school agreed to give her the remaining seven credits and award her a degree for the class of 2020. Now talk about being a lifelong learner, Bill. I love that story. So cool.

I think when I'm 90 years old, I'm just going to be sitting in front of the TV with a tab soda, and I say, stop making tab soda, so I'm out of work. Yeah, a bottle of water or something there. Yeah, there you go. Well, let's get to our first question of the day, and Paul posted this on our website. He says, How do you explain the doctrine of the Trinity to young children? My kids understand that Jesus is God, but they have a hard time understanding the idea of other persons in the identity of God.

Yeah, and you know what, my kids struggle with this same thing. In fact, my daughter just recently, she's six years old, she asked me the question, how is it that we believe in one God, because we talk about how we believe in one God, and obviously there's all sorts of scripture that brings that out. I think of Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 4, hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, but we talk about Jesus being God, the Holy Spirit being God, the Father being God, and so how do we explain this to our kids?

Frankly, I think it's helpful for us not to try to use, you know, the many analogies that we oftentimes hear. I mean, I've heard all sorts of different analogies, the Trinity is like a three-leafed clover, the Trinity is like, you know, ice, water, and vapor. They're all the sort of same substance in one sense, but they're different modes, if you will, and frankly, a lot of times those different illustrations, Paul, can actually confuse the doctrine of the Trinity, and so I think what we want to do is stick as close as we can to the words of scripture and teach those words to our children. And what does the scripture teach? The scripture teaches that there is one God and that this one God eternally exists in three persons. You have many passages of scripture that identify the Son as God. You think of John chapter 1 verse 1, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, the Spirit as God. You think of Acts chapter 5, where Peter, speaking to Ananias and Sapphira, talks to them about how they've lied to the Holy Spirit, they've lied to God. The very fact that our bodies are called the temple of the Holy Spirit is indicative of the fact that the Holy Spirit is God, and then of course there are numerous places in the scriptures that identify the Father as God, and these three are often brought together. I mean, I think of that place in the end of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus gives the Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28, and what does he command the apostles to do?

He says to them in verse 19, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Now, Paul, one of the things that's so interesting to me about the New Testament is often when these three distinct persons, one God, but these three distinct persons are brought together, it's in the context of worship, of the community of God's people worshiping and praising God, even there in Matthew 28. It's, you know, the context of baptism, baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You see the sort of triune formula in other places of the New Testament, 2 Corinthians chapter 13, for example, at the very end, there's this benediction that's given with the triune formula, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so I think what's helpful for us is to take a cue there from the New Testament and to say the best way to teach our children about the Trinity is to teach them the songs of the faith, songs that worship the Holy Trinity.

It's not something that we're ever going to fully understand. I mean, the mystery of the Trinity, we're not called to speculate about the Holy Trinity, we're called to adore and worship the Holy Trinity. And so, Paul, my encouragement to you is teach your children songs about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

There are all sorts of wonderful songs that you can find throughout the history of the Church, and it's there as we're singing and praying to the Father in the name of the Son and through the Holy Spirit that the faith, the triune faith, is really ingrained in the hearts of our children. You're listening to CORE Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone number, if you've got a question, is 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Noel who's calling in from Placerville, California. Hi, Noel.

Hi, thank you for having me. What's your question for Pastor Adriel? My question is, do we have to keep forgiving someone who time and time again continue to sin against us?

Yeah, such an important question. I think it was C.S. Lewis who said, you know, forgiveness is something that sounds good to everyone until we have something to forgive. Forgiveness is really not an easy thing. Actually, there was a study that was done by the Barna group some time ago that found that, I think it was one in four Christians has someone in their life who they simply say they cannot or will not forgive. Believers in Jesus who say, nope, there's no way I can forgive this other person, and a lot of times, Noel, I think it's probably because, you know, they feel like they've been sinned against over and over and over again. I can't help but think about the words of our Lord Jesus to Peter where Jesus has asked, you know, how many times should my brother sin against me and I forgive him up to seven times?

You remember what Jesus said to him? It was sort of a shock, and Peter in that context thought that he was being gracious, thought that he was being really charitable, and I'll forgive my brother up to seven times, and Jesus said, no, seventy times seven, which I think is just another way of saying never stop forgiving. Now, there's a really important distinction that we need to make here, Noel, the distinction between forgiving someone and reconciling or even restoring the relationship. We're always called as Christians to forgive people when they sin against us, but that doesn't necessarily mean we need to reconcile. In fact, reconciliation would require the other person who's sinning against you to repent, to identify the fact that they're sinning and for there to be this genuine reconciliation, and restoration would require a further step beyond that, and that's not always necessary for us as believers. I think, you know, within the body of Christ we're always pursuing reconciliation, we're always called to forgive, and we hope to reconcile, but if someone is unwilling to repent, then reconciliation because it involves two parties is just impossible.

But simply put, to answer your question, we're called to forgive every single time, as many times as we're sinned against, and ultimately we can do that because we are people who have been forgiven immensely by God, and so when we're struggling to forgive someone, we need to remember how gracious God was with us, forgiving our sins, even though we didn't deserve it. Noel, does that help out? Do you have a follow-up question maybe there? No, that was it, thank you so much, that was so informative, thank you, I truly appreciate this, thank you so much, I definitely answered my question. Thank you, have a great day.

Thank you, you too. Thanks, Noel, we appreciate so much you being one of our regular listeners. You're listening for Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

One of the ways to get in touch with us is by posting a question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, and we had one coming through Facebook, Adriel. This person says, I need some clarity on John 20-22 and the day of Pentecost. Jesus says he will send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, after he went to the Father. But in John 20-22, Jesus says to his disciples, receive the Holy Spirit. But in Acts, it looks like the day of Pentecost was the first indwelling of the Holy Spirit into believers.

How can you understand these two events without contradiction? Yeah, that's a really good question, and of course, Jesus in the Gospel of John had been promising the Holy Spirit to his disciples, especially in that section of teaching which we refer to as the upper room discourse begins in John chapter 13 and then goes all the way to Jesus's high priestly prayer in John 17. It's where Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to be leaving them very soon, and of course they're confused, they're worried, they're afraid, but it's in that context of, you know, the upper room discourse that Jesus says, no, I'm going, but the Helper is going to come, the Holy Spirit is going to come.

And in one sense, you know, it makes sense that at the end of John's Gospel, you would have a statement like this, you know, verse 23, excuse me, verse 22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, the disciples, this is after the resurrection of Jesus, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. Now there are differences of opinion as to, you know, how does this relate to Pentecost, but I think the best way to understand this is to see this as a sort of foreshadowing of what was going to happen on the day of Pentecost. We know that Pentecost was when the Holy Spirit fell upon the church in this unique way.

It never had happened before in the history of redemption. It was prophesied way back in the Minor Prophets by the prophet Joel, when Joel said in the latter days, or when God said through the prophet Joel, in the latter days, I'm going to pour out my Spirit on all flesh. That is to say that it's not just the priests and the prophets and the kings who are going to be filled with God's Spirit, but the entire people of God, young and old, men and women. I mean, it really is this amazing promise, and it's being foreshadowed there in John chapter 20, verse 22.

And so there's no contradiction. No, actually, what we have instead is just the preparation, if you will, for Pentecost. And I think what's highlighted here is that the Spirit comes to us from Jesus himself. He breathed on the disciples. It's the Spirit of Christ, and that's exactly what we see in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost as well. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and then he poured the Holy Spirit out upon the church. Thank you so much for your question.

Hopefully that clears it up for you. Let's go to another call, Adriel. John is listening in Kansas City. Hi, John. What's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, Bill. Hi, Pastor Adriel. Thank you so much for being on Bot Radio Network in Kansas City.

We really love listening to your program. I had a question about the Apostles' Creed. It says that Jesus descended into hell, but at the same time, Jesus turns to the thief on the cross and says, today I'll be with you in paradise. If Christ's punishment was meted out on the cross, why did he have to go to hell, and what did he do there? John, that is an excellent question, and there are so many people who have been confused about that clause in particular in the Apostles' Creed.

Now first let me just say, because I think some of our listeners might not be familiar with the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed, which we sometimes refer to on this program, and they're essentially just ancient statements of faith that summarize core Christianity, what we're all about, you know, the core cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. And as the the Apostles' Creed is talking about Christ suffering, his humiliation, you have that statement, he descended into hell. Now that statement has been understood in different ways throughout the history of the church, and if I'm not mistaken, the way in which early on Christians understood that statement was to be a reference to the cross itself. So you're right, you're right, the punishment that Christ experienced, he experienced on the cross, he bore the wrath of God for our sins. This is why Paul can call Jesus a propitiation, he's this wrath- removing sacrifice, and how did he remove the wrath of God over our heads?

Through suffering and dying on the cross. And there we can say that Jesus experienced hell for us, the darkness of the cross. And so it's not that, and this is where people can be confused, you know, they hear that statement, they imagine Jesus, you know, in some sort of fiery pit for three days. Well no, you're right, and Jesus made it absolutely clear when he was speaking to the thief on the cross, you're going to be with me in paradise today.

Jesus was victorious over sin and hell through his crucifixion. And so we need to recognize that that statement in particular is a way of misunderstanding it, and there's a way of rightly understanding it, and I would say the way of rightly understanding it is to see it as referring to the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. John, does that clear it up for you?

Can you have a follow-up? Yeah, and I don't have the reference at hand, but wasn't there a reference of Jesus speaking to the souls in Hades or something along those lines? Yes, yeah, there are a few texts in the New Testament, or a couple that seem to allude to this, and there, I mean, that raises all sorts of other questions, but just let me give you really quickly my take on that passage of Scripture. I think Jesus is essentially proclaiming his victory over the grave, over the dead, so it's not that Jesus is going, you know, to preach to those who are dead and in the grave to offer them another chance at salvation, or that he was down in hell, as we already made clear earlier. It's that Christ, after he died on the cross, he's victorious in paradise, and he's proclaiming his victory. Some of the places where you find him, 1 Peter, that's one of the places where the reference is at, he's proclaiming his victory over the grave, over the dead, and so really, after, you know, Christ's crucifixion, his death on the cross, which you begin to have, especially in his resurrection, is the exaltation and glorification of Christ. He's resurrected after three days, he ascends at the right hand of the Father where he's seated, and one day he's going to return to judge the whole world.

He's exalted now, but the path to exaltation for our Lord Jesus was first through his humiliation there at the cross. John, thank you so much for your question. Thank you so much. Thanks, John, we appreciate you.

Thanks for listening there on the Bot Radio Network. Let's get to another call here on Core Christianity. This is Kendra from Escondido, California. Hi, Kendra, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, Pastor Adriel. I was wondering if you could tell me how you understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and does every Christian perceive that baptism?

Yeah, that's a great question. This is another one of those topics of theology, of sort of understanding this phrase that you find throughout the pages of the New Testament, both in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There are some churches that teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to this kind of second blessing. So, you know, you have faith in Jesus, your sins are forgiven, you're united to Christ by faith, but if you really want to live the victorious Christian life, you know what you need? You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And so, you know, I was actually a part of a church for many years that that was what they believed, that was what they embraced. I don't hold that position anymore, and I think that there's some confusion then about what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for many Christians.

So I think it's important that we clear this up. First, I would say that yes, every Christian is baptized in the Holy Spirit, if you will. I mean, the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. And again to the Corinthians, he said, by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. You cannot be a Christian without being filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized in the Holy Spirit, if you will. And the fulfillment of that language, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is found, we were already talking about Pentecost a little bit earlier, but it's found on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapters 1 and 2. In fact, Jesus himself said prior to his ascension, Acts chapter 1 verse 5, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Now, I want you to notice something in Acts chapter 2, where it talks about this baptism of the Holy Spirit. Beginning in verse 1, when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now, there's a lot going on there, and I think it's really helpful when we understand some of the Old Testament background to this text of scripture to see really what's taking place here. First, you have this breath of God that comes on the people, this wind from heaven, if you will, sometimes referred to as breath.

It is, you know, in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, actually that's the word that's used in Genesis 2-7 to refer to the breath of life that fills man. So this is almost like what we're having here on the day of Pentecost, this sort of new creation. This is the new creation, the church breaking into earth. You also have here, think about the image of fiery tongues over each of the disciples. Where would fire appear in the Old Testament? How about over the tabernacle, the fiery presence of God?

It was a sign of God's presence. One of the things that's being indicated to us here with the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is that the disciples are themselves the new temple of the Lord. And you see that again throughout the pages of the New Testament, that we as Christians, the church, is the temple of God on earth. So you have this new creation, this new temple, and each of us are called to speak forth the truth of God's word with boldness, with confidence. You might even say sort of a new group of prophets. In Numbers chapter 11, you know, Moses longed that all of God's people would be prophets, that they would all be anointed by the Spirit of God. And of course I mentioned earlier that that was prophesied in Joel chapter 2 verses 28 and 29. And so what you really have here, this is what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about. It's about this new creation work of God, this new temple, these new prophets, the church of Jesus Christ, bringing the message of the Lord to the whole world, spreading abroad, and sharing the message of salvation with others. That's really what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is about, and what a wonderful thing that each of us as Christians, each of us as believers, have been filled with the Spirit. Kendra, thank you so much for your question, and I trust that that was encouraging for you.

You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and here at the Core, our goal is to help you understand the core truths of the Christian faith, and we want to help as many people gain a clear understanding of the gospel, the core message of Christianity as we can through things like this radio show, our website, and our articles. But you know, the resources that we produce and all the questions answered on this program are really done with your help. We could use your support.

Yeah, that's right, Bill. We are a listener-supported program, and if you've benefited, if you've been encouraged by the answers to the questions that we give here on Core Christianity, we'd like to ask you, would you please consider sending a gift now to help us continue? As a thank you for a gift of $20 or more, we'll send you our new resource, How to Read the Bible. This is really just a wonderful workbook, basically, that's going to take you through the whole narrative of scripture and inform you about the different genres in the Bible, ways to rightly interpret the Bible, how to see Jesus throughout the pages of the Bible. It's a 10-week study that can be used in personal devotions, Sunday school classes, or your Bible study group. Each weekly lesson includes selected passages from the Bible, reflection questions, and explanations of the key themes we know every Christian should know about the Bible as a whole. And you can get that by making a donation and receiving our new study heading over to corechristianity.com forward slash Bible. That's corechristianity.com forward slash Bible. We have time for one more call, Adriel. This is a voicemail that we received at 833-THE-CORE.

Yes, this is Ray from New Hampshire, and I had a question I wanted to leave. In Ephesians 2, 8, it says that we are not judged by our works, but the shedding of blood by Jesus. But in 2 Corinthians 5, 10, it says that, for we must all appear before judgment seat of Christ so that each one of us may be judged for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

This is a little confusing. I know it's grace and mercy that saves us, but this says that we're also be judged by our deeds. So if you could clarify that, and thank you so much for enhancing my Christian experience. Yeah, thank you for your encouragement and for your question.

It's a really important one. First, Paul the Apostle is not contradicting himself. He makes it absolutely clear that we're justified by faith alone. That means we're right before a holy God, not on the basis of our works, but on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's important that we get that settled in our minds, because so many believers are terrified. You know, they feel like, I'm not sure I'm saved, and the reason I'm not sure I'm saved is, yeah, I believe in Jesus, I've trusted him for my salvation, but at the end of the day, I still fail every single day.

Well, the fact of the matter is, as Christians, we're going to fail, and there's no one who's without sin. John makes this absolutely clear in 1 John. But Christ is our hope, our salvation, our righteousness. And so what do we do with these passages like the one in 2 Corinthians 5?

Well, we are going to have our works examined, and we're going to be commended for the good that we've done. The Bible talks about the Lord giving rewards to his people, and we're not exactly sure what those rewards are going to look like entirely, but we know that God is going to commend us, and we know that when we have faith in Christ, we're not condemned. John said very clearly in John chapter 5, these are the words of Jesus, verse 24, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. That's the hope that we have as followers of Jesus. If we believe in him, we have eternal life now and forever. 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.