What Role Does America Play in the End Times?

What role does America play in everything on they find it empty, they wanted to go and anoint Jesus' body with these fragrant-smelling spices.

Really interesting, actually. Jesus had been telling his disciples over and over again throughout his ministry that he was going to rise again from the dead after the third day, and yet, on Easter morning, it seems like nobody believed him. The disciples were hiding behind closed doors, the women who go to the tomb, they're going with these spices to anoint Jesus' corpse, and yet they quickly realize that's completely unnecessary.

Jesus doesn't need my spices, he's risen from the dead. Really just an amazing thing for us to remember and to celebrate. So we had a great time, Bill. How about you guys?

We had an awesome service. In fact, our pastor focused on Barabbas, which was interesting, and he basically explained that he had always thought Barabbas was some kind of an evil villain or a crook, and then he realized with more study that he was actually probably an insurrectionist. He speculated on what happened to Barabbas after he was forgiven by Pilate, and did he go on to become a follower.

Of course, we don't know that, but I thought it was an interesting way to look at the Easter story. Nice. Well, let's get to our first call of the day. This is John from Bainbridge, Ohio. John, what's your question for Pastor Adrian?

Yes, thank you for taking my call. I enjoy the show and am blessed by it. My question is, does God love everyone the same? I know from Ephesians 2, 8, 9, that it is by grace that we are saved by faith, and it's not our own doing, but it's a gift of God, not a result of works. And it seems from sections of Scripture, such as Romans chapter 9, that God is sovereign in His purpose of election, for example, choosing to love Jacob and hate Esau and have mercy and compassion on whom He will. And God is there spoken of as like a potter, making one vessel for honorable use, another for dishonorable use. So does that mean God does not love all the same, all people the same, if He elects some unto salvation?

John, yeah, a really excellent question. And I mean, we're dealing with a number of different passages in the Scriptures that we want to be faithful to. And in one sense, I think we need to clearly affirm what is affirmed in the Scripture, that God loves the whole world, right? John 3.16, perhaps the most well-known verse in the entire Bible, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And in the context of the world, it's not the world of people who love and embrace God's truth. It's the world, the sinful and unbelieving world, many of whom rejected Christ, were shown God's love for sinners. But yeah, at the same time, while we would say that, because the Scripture says that, we want to speak where the Scripture speaks clearly. We also know that God has a particular love, John, for His people, and you see this everywhere in the Bible as well. I love this passage in Deuteronomy 7, beginning in verse 6.

Listen to what we read there. It says, For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery. This is Moses speaking to the people of Israel and he's saying, look, here's why God set His love on you. It wasn't because you were great or special or more mighty than any of the other nations.

You were actually the fewest. Yet God, because of His promise, because of His covenant faithfulness, His love, He set His love on you. The Bible also does speak, John, to this particular love that God has for His people, for His children.

This is a special thing. Paul also speaks of this particular love, I would say, in the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 4, again, you know, thinking about that text in Deuteronomy 7, God choosing His people, setting His love on them, listen to what Paul said in Ephesians 1 for, Ephesians 1 for, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him, in love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will.

So we need to affirm these two things, John. Yes, we can't speak to the fact that God loves the whole world. God loves sinners.

He sent His Son into the world to redeem sinners. But then we also want to affirm what the Bible clearly says, and that's that God has this particular love for His people, that He sets His love on them in a unique, redeeming way. So we affirm that as well. That doesn't mean, I would say, that God doesn't love the whole world because we've already established it. God Himself says that, but there is this unique, particular love that God has for His children, for His bride, the Church. And so Scripture says that. That's what we affirm.

We want to believe what the Bible says. Thanks John for your question. May the Lord bless you. John, thanks so much for calling in. We appreciate you being a regular listener to Core Christianity. Let's go to Val in Oklahoma City. Val, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Hello Pastor Adriel. My question is, what Scripture states that I can be forgiven for God, by God, no matter what my sins are, and be accepted in heaven for eternal life? Yeah, Val, well there are a number of passages I think that we could go to. Certainly, you know, sometimes we get a question about what's referred to as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, where Jesus in the gospels, He's really speaking against the religious leaders, and He says, you know, those who commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit never have forgiveness neither in this age or in the age to come. But what's so interesting about that passage in particular is He does say in that same context, all manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people.

Almost as if He's saying, look, there's forgiveness for everything. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, you know, it's really interesting, the Apostle Paul, he outlines, we might call it a vice list, all these various sins that the Corinthians had once been involved in, and he says to them, you've experienced the forgiveness of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God. And so you have this list of all these different kinds of sins. And Paul says to the Corinthians, that was some of you guys. Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were cleansed by the blood of Jesus. And so we have this great confidence, Val, that no matter what we've done in the past when we turn to Jesus by faith, he forgives us and the Bible is full of stories, accounts of men and women who had done terrible things, denying even the Lord himself, who when they turned to him experienced his grace and his mercy. You see what we need to do is instead of looking at our sins and meditating on how bad they are and beating ourselves up over our failures, we need to look up at Jesus and trust in the power of his blood to cleanse our sins no matter how heinous they may be.

Because Jesus' blood is all powerful, it's sufficient, it's able, and that's what gives us hope, rather. Thank you so much for that question. Thank you, Val. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question, here's the number to call, 833-The-Core.

That's 1-833-843-2673. By the way, you can also call and leave a voicemail anytime 24 hours a day or record your question on our website at CoreChristianity.com. Want to mention that for our international listeners, that's probably the easiest way to leave a question is go to CoreChristianity.com, click on that little microphone icon and record your question there.

Let's go to Marsha in St. Louis, Missouri. Marsha, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, Pastor Adriel. My question has to do with divorce. I've just discovered that the church that we attend now is kind of espousing divorce for not keeping up with your marital vows as far as like the husband providing or he's into pornography, those areas. But as I studied the scriptures, from what I could see, there's only two things explicitly stated in scripture for divorce is abandonment and adultery. So would it be right that our church would be expanding it into those other areas as well?

Marsha, thank you so much for that question and a very complex issue. When Jesus spoke about divorce in Matthew 19 and he mentioned one of the reasons for divorce being sexual immorality, which doesn't mean that when there's a case of infidelity that couples are obligated that they have to get a divorce. I've seen many instances, Marsha, where there has been marital unfaithfulness, where the couple stays together and it's difficult, but there's healing and restoration and reconciliation, all those things.

And it ends up being a beautiful picture of the power of the gospel to work in our relationships even when there's been this great breach. But some people will say, well, that word that's used for sexual immorality in Matthew 19 is the Greek word porneia. It's where we get the word pornography from now. Of course, they didn't have pornography in the same way that we oftentimes think about it today.

They didn't have the technology, but there was all sorts of, I mean, just in the culture, sexual immorality and pornographic imagery, that kind of a thing. This really is, sister, like I said, a complex issue. And I would say it sort of depends on the situation.

Typically I would stick with those two things that you mentioned. You have the idea of abandonment in First Corinthians chapter seven, where the apostle Paul talks about a spouse, a non-believing spouse, leaving essentially their believing spouse and Paul saying, look, you're no longer bound to that person, you're free. And then you also have this instance of sexual immorality, I think of marital unfaithfulness there in Matthew chapter 19. One thing I would caution is sometimes, it's heartbreaking, but sometimes I think that people are looking for an out. They want to find an out of their marriage, and so they'll say, well, my husband was unfaithful.

He was looking at this other woman, that kind of a thing. That's pornea, that's adultery. And I think we have to be really, really careful. God says in his word, he hates divorce. And even when there are instances, I think, of marital unfaithfulness, like I said, that doesn't mean that a couple is obligated to get a divorce.

And so I think we have to weigh each case on its own. I would want to sit down with the couple in question maybe and get some more background, more information to really understand what was going on. There are situations where there is this legitimate abandonment that takes place and where there are serious cases of marital unfaithfulness and somebody just basically may have a pornography addiction, that kind of a thing, a sexual addiction. And so we have to be aware of that and also, like I said, not just giving up hope right away. And I think that sadly that's what you see in a lot of these cases, people looking for a way out of the marriage covenant, of the marriage relationship. And so I would agree with you, Marcia, that the real clear ones that were given in Scripture are adultery and abandonment. And so I would say that's a good starting point, but I wouldn't want to necessarily say that your church, I wouldn't say, well, they're wrong and I don't know the situation that's being spoken of. And so I would want more information. Thank you so much for your question and may the Lord bless you.

Complicated issue. And of course, here at Core Christianity, we always want to support the sanctity of marriage and couples staying together, if at all possible, and certainly finding pastoral counsel or a therapist who can help them work on their marital issues. Yeah, absolutely, Bill. And I think one of the big issues that we see in our society today is a devaluing of marriage. The author of the Hebrews said in Hebrews chapter 13 that the marriage bed is called to be undefiled, that we should really treat it with dignity. And too often today, there's this sort of cheap view of sex, cheap view of marriage.

It doesn't have that same value. That's what we're called. We're called to value marriage that the scripture gives to it. And so for all of us, we're called to treasure marriage and this gift that God has given to us. And so again, one of my big concerns, Bill, is that sometimes I've seen this happen.

People are just looking for a way out. And that's where I try to counsel couples and say, hey, let's take a step back. Let's think about what marriage is and the fact that God is able to work in and through this situation. Now, one thing, Bill, that we've both talked about before that's really important is there are real legitimate cases of abuse.

And so that just throws another wrench in this whole discussion, because I wouldn't ever want to encourage a woman to be in a situation where she was not safe. And so it's just such a complex issue and really requires the care and the love of the local church to work through. Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We have some excellent Bible study resources here at the Core. And today we'd love to send you for free our new study on the book of Revelation.

Yeah, this is a pretty exciting study. As Bill said, it's a new one, and we get all sorts of questions about the book of Revelation. It's called Five Things You Should Know About the Bible's Final Book, and it really is going to help you understand what the book of Revelation is all about. Is it about the rapture? Is it about modern day political events? What do the numbers and symbols throughout the book of Revelation mean?

This resource is going to help you answer those questions. So get a hold of Five Things You Should Know About the Bible's Final Book for free. All you have to do is go to CoreChristianity.com forward slash final book. That's CoreChristianity.com forward slash final book, all one word.

You can also call us at 833-843-2673 for help getting that or any one of our offers. Well, we do receive emails here at Core Christianity. You can call us anytime at 833, the Core, and leave us a voicemail or send us an email at questions at CoreChristianity.com. Here's a voicemail we received yesterday, and it kind of ties in with the Bible study that we just mentioned. Yes, I wonder if you would answer the question of whether you think the United States will be present in the end time since it's not mentioned in the Bible.

Thank you. Yeah, thank you for that question. I can state with 100% certainty that the United States will be present in the end times, and actually that we are currently present in the end times, and that we have been present in the end times for quite a while because that's what the Bible says. In 1 John, I'm thinking about 1 John chapter 4 in particular. I want you to listen to what John had to say there. 1 John chapter 4, Beloved, verse 1, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming, and now is in the world already. You see, according to the apostles, the spirit of the antichrist is already at work in the world, and he's been working in the world since Christ's ascension into heaven. The spirit of God is also at work in the world, advancing the kingdom of God through the preaching of the gospel, but we know that the evil one does not like that, that he's against the church and her work, and ultimately the work of Jesus in the world today. So we are and have been living in the end times. This is how the apostles themselves understood their existence.

One passage that I love to go to in talking about this is what Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 7, the end of all things is at hand. In other words, we're living in the last days. We are in the end times. The end of all things is at hand.

Therefore, this is great. How should we live in light of the fact that we're living in the end times? Listen to what Peter says. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks is one who speaks the oracles of God. Whoever serves is one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. I just love that because Peter says, look, we're living in the end times. The end of all things is at hand.

Therefore, you know what? Love each other. Be hospitable. He doesn't say, hey, flee to the mountains and store up ammunition and do the whole prepper thing. That's not what he says.

He says, love your neighbors. Be sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. We are living in the end times and we've been in the end times since Jesus ascended into heaven and accomplished redemption for us. We're awaiting his second coming now. It can be at any moment.

We're called to be ready by loving one another. Thanks for that question. Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Ron, who's in St. Louis, Missouri.

Ron, welcome to the program. Yes. I had a question that my wife and I always differ on a little bit. In Matthew, Jesus says that we should not judge the whole log and splinter thing in the eye. But Paul tells us, and I can't remember which book it is. I think it's, well, I'm not even going to guess, but he talks about not associating with brothers that are sinning. And the question that come to my mind was a lot of churches are letting gay couples into the church openly. And it specifically says immorality, sexual immorality.

So I was just wondering how we're supposed to deal with this. Ron, an excellent question. And some people will point to those two passages. You know, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount about not judging. And then the scripture in Paul's letters that you're referring to is in 1 Corinthians Chapter 5, where Paul very clearly says, hey, we should judge those who are in the church. Too often when people take Jesus's command not to judge in the Sermon on the Mount, they don't understand it in its context. Now remember, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is preaching before this crowd. And part of what he's doing is he's exposing the religious leaders who think they're righteous.

Everybody is sort of eating out of their hands, looking up to them. But Jesus knows the truth. He knows what's going on in their hearts. And as he's preaching essentially his law, he's exposing them. They were hypocrites who would judge others when in reality inside they were, Jesus says later, full of dead men's bones.

And so it's really important that we understand the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Too many people just say, hey, God said not to judge. How dare you, you know, say that what I'm doing is sinful or what I'm doing is wrong. God said not to judge that kind of thing.

That's not the right way of understanding Jesus' words, Ron, there in the Sermon on the Mount. Because we also know that we are called as Christians to judge sin within the Church. First Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9, I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people, not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world or the greedy or swindlers or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

But now I'm writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard or swindler, not even to eat with such a one, for what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the Church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Now listen, this is something that we often get backwards in the Church. Too often within the Church we point to the outside and we do all our judging of, you know, the sinners out there and we don't deal with the sin in our own churches and frankly we often don't even deal with the sin in our own hearts. Here Paul is saying, look, God deals with those who are on the outside.

Yeah, we can see all of the problems in culture and society and we could point the finger all we want, but look, that shouldn't be our focus. Our focus should be on the sanctity and purity of the Church. We do preach the gospel and the law to the outside world, but look, don't worry about judging outsiders, Paul says, judge the sin here at home. Deal with, you know, when you have someone in the Church who's living in this sinful way and it's open, they're not being addressed, you know, you're not really loving that person, they're engaging in behavior that's destructive.

You need to deal with this. And in the context of 1 Corinthians 5, Paul was talking about an individual who was having an immoral relationship with their mother-in-law and he says you need to judge that, you need to deal with it. Brothers and sisters, we have to take sin seriously and not just the sin that's happening outside of the Church, we have to take the sin that's happening at home within the Church seriously and the sin that's happening in our own hearts. We take it to the Lord, we receive His grace, we receive His forgiveness. 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.