Matt Slick Live

The following program is recorded content created by the Truth Network.

If you want to give me a call as usual, all you have to do is dial 877-207-2276 and we can talk. I love answering questions. I love being able to have that privilege of teaching God's Word. And by His grace, I'll continue to do it, Lord willing. Okay, and if you're a newbie, this is a Christian apologetic show.

What that means is we answer questions on the Christian faith and all kinds of stuff related to it. So if you want to do that, you can. You can check it out.

Give me a call, 877-207-2276. And also, hold on. I just updated the YouTube link. Not a big deal if you want to watch. You can just see me sitting here in my office with the headset on and stuff like that going on over the air. But you can just go to the CARM homepage and on the right-hand side you'll see the Mass Look Live thing. And there's a link.

All you do is click on that, it'll open up, and there you go. Is it exciting? Not really. But what is good is that the people who are in the chat room, they're wonderful. Over the years, we've had a lot of people join us and become friends and exchange phone numbers and stuff like that in that chat room. So just think about checking it out, all right? Just go to the CARM.org website, C-A-R-M dot O-R-G. And if you've not heard of the CARM Ministry, C-A-R-M dot O-R-G, check it out. The Christian Apologetics Research Ministry.

It's a very large Christian website and it's full of Christian information. It is a lot there. All right, all right. So if you want to give me a call, all you got to do is dial 877-207-2276. I want to hear from you. So let's get on the line here to Kim from Earl Hall, North Carolina. Welcome. You're on the air.

Thank you, man. My question is, when we end a prayer, should it be in a man or should it be on me? I was listening to a podcast and this guy was saying that in the Greek and in the strong concordance, it should be on me instead of our man. And when we say our means, we are giving a credence to a Egyptian deer. You know, I just get so irritated with stupidity. I'm sorry, but that's what it is. You mispronounce a word.

Now what you're doing is really giving to the Egyptian guy. You know, it's just shut up. I just get so tired of stuff like that. You know, to say that you have to pronounce a certain Greek word the proper way and if you don't, you're in sin, where's that in scripture? It's ridiculous.

And I just, I really get irritated with people who say that kind of, it's just stupidity is what it is. The actual Greek way of saying it from the pronunciation system that I learned in seminary is amen. That's how it is in the Greek. It's alpha, mu, eta, nu. It's a, m, long a, n. Amen.

That's how it is. But we don't say, we don't say amen, we say amen. Like Jesus really is pronounced Iesous. That's how it's pronounced. So does this same person say Jesus or say Iesous?

Because in the Greek, it's how it's pronounced. You know, it's just, it's lame. It's a dumb argument. I'm sorry.

It is. What? Okay, but thank you man.

God bless you. Okay, I'm just telling you, just don't fall for that kind of stuff. It's just, it's more the kind of stuff where I hear that I just close my eyes, shake my head, rub my forehead and just say, you know, so much heresy, so little time. I wish people would stop that, you know. You know, okay. It's just frustrating.

It's so old. All right, buddy. Thank you, man.

All right, man. God bless. Hey folks, you want to give me a call? 877-207-2276.

Winfield from North Carolina. Welcome. You're on the air. Hey Matt, how are you?

A little irritated with that laugh. Not to call her, but that topic, it's just, oh, you know. So anyway, other than that, I'm fine, man. I'm fine.

What do you got, buddy? All right, so I got, well, I got confused today. We threw Acts chapter 8 and verses 14, I guess through 17. So it seems like John and Peter were sent to Samaria after the Samarians were actually given the word of God and baptized in the name of Jesus to receive the Holy Spirit. So it seems the reading to me is that they haven't received the Holy Spirit, which kind of confuses me a bit.

Yeah, there's some debate on that. And when I say that kind of a thing, what I'm saying is I don't know the exact right answer because there's discussions among theologians. And so you've received the Holy Spirit when you're a believer. Yet there seems to be here, you know, the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God. They said, Peter and John, and who came down and prayed with them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. So here's the thing, receive the Holy Spirit. I'm going to go back and I'm going to make a case for something and give you what I think it's leading towards. And this is a, it's a new kind of a thought that I've had in the past few months. Now that's a warning because, you know, the guy named Slick was something new.

You've got to be careful. But as I've been doing my apologetics, um, you know, it says in Acts 2 38 that you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And I was talking to somebody about that once of months ago, and I looked at the context and it occurred to me that the context of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift, is the speaking in tongues, because that's what Acts chapter two is about. And it's not because that's what Acts chapter two is about. They were hearing them speaking in tongues in their different languages.

And they said, well, what are we going to do? Peter said, repent and get baptized and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And it looks like that's what they're talking about. And the reason I say that is also because when you go to Acts 10 44, while Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who are listening to the message. The circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. There's another thing, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And how do they know? Because they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. So it looks to me like the gift of the Holy Spirit is a charismatic kind of a movement, tongues and exaltation and movement of God in a more powerful way.

And so I'm leaning towards that as what that means simply because of what I just read. So now let's take that in the book of Acts. Now, when the apostles in Jerusalem, in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and Paul, Peter and Paul, Peter and John, and came down and prayed with them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Now it doesn't say receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I think there's a difference there, but I can't help but wonder, and I'm thinking out loud, that the receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is a movement of the Holy Spirit upon those who've already received the Holy Spirit and kind of an extra oomph kind of a thing.

That's one possibility. In Acts 8, 15, that they might receive the Holy Spirit doesn't say the gift of. So that's there for, you know, that a mission is there for a reason. So what I'm kind of thinking is what it says is to receive the Holy Spirit that, as it says, for he had not yet fallen upon any of them, for they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Now I'm like, wait a minute. They've been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. What that means is they're baptized by the authority because in Acts 4, 7, in what name are you doing this?

In the name of the Lord Jesus we're doing this. So to baptize in the name of the Lord is to do so with his authority. So I would baptize someone and say, I'm going to baptize you in the name of the Lord. You ready?

Yes. I baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because it's by Jesus' authority that I'm able to do that. I don't need some apostolic authority for this. So they baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So when I'm looking at this and it says, then they began laying their hands on him and they received the Holy Spirit. Then they were receiving the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. So then I have to ask, is this an apostolic only thing because it was the apostles who went down and laid their hands on them. And then Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed upon laying by laying on of hands. He offered them money and it's called simony to get the Holy Spirit by money, which is what a lot of Christian churches today do. You tithe, you tithe, you tithe, and you'll get gifts because God will bless you with the seed tithing and all that kind of stuff. It's a form of simony.

It's very, very bad. And so it doesn't really say what the movement of that gift is. So I can't really tell you. When I look at this, it seems to be that they received the Holy Spirit. They had already been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit hadn't been upon them. We know if they're truly believers, they have the Holy Spirit. So I'm thinking after all of this, to receive the Holy Spirit in the context of what's being spoken of there is the unction of the Holy Spirit in a more charismatic and powerful way.

It doesn't necessitate us speaking in tongues, but in unction and power that we have the confidence and boldness to speak in the name of Christ. And I think that's what it means, but I'm not sure. And you can see why I'm saying this that way. Makes sense. Right.

Right. But so you would basically, because the way I've always understood it, well, not always, but I mean, once you listen to the word of God and accept it, and then you have faith in Jesus, at that point, you're safe. Whether you're baptized, whether you receive, but to me at that point, that the Holy Spirit has done that. You can't do that unless you have the Holy Spirit.

You can't believe in God. That's true. Unless you already have the Holy Spirit. Right.

Right. Because look at this, the gifts of the Holy Spirit have been poured out upon the Gentiles in Acts 10 because they're speaking, glorifying in God. So look at the gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit's work in a charismatic, powerful way. And you can have the Holy Spirit and then he can do more upon you.

And that's what I think is going on. Because I remember, not that I make experience out of, or doctrine of experience, and I can only relate to an experience in this context. I remember back before I was on fire for the Lord. I literally shook my fist up in the ear of God and yelled at him to leave me alone.

I really did. I can remember. I can tell you where I was.

I could take it to the spot, you know, in my foolishness. And I was walking with the Lord, but I had one foot in the world, one foot in the spiritual realm. You know how God lets us do this stuff so we can hang ourselves? And I got mad at God one night. And I said, leave me alone. You don't want to do what I want to do, you know, and just being stupid.

Okay. I'm just confessing it. One month later, I was absolutely on fire for the Lord, insatiably. Reading the Bible six hours a day.

Going to Bible study six nights a week. It was just insane. And I could not get enough of it.

Now I was already saved, and you know, stupid in some areas of rebellion, of course, because I was just new. But there was this movement where it was power. It was desire. It was from him. And I think that's what the Bible is talking about.

Now, I'm not making doctrine out of experience, but I don't see my experience contradicting any scripture, and I think the scriptures support it if we understand the gift of the Holy Spirit to be that. Then it would make sense. You see? Like, I don't know. Some of these charismatic churches can go the wrong way.

The wrong way. Absolutely. See, I'm very fearful of the word in the sense of I'm going to make sure that it's by God's word. I was just talking to someone today and online, and they said, well, the Holy Spirit illumines the scriptures to us. And it occurred to me, is that true?

That makes sense. But where's the scripture for that? And I wasn't challenging him. I just said, you know, I heard you, but I want to know what that verse is.

Is it there? Because we assume so much. And I want to go with what scripture says. All right, buddy? All right, man. Appreciate it. Thank you. God bless. You too.

God bless. Hey, folks, we'll be right back after the messages. 877-207-2276.

Be right back. It's Matt Slick live, taking your calls at 877-207-2276. Here's Matt Slick. Hey, everybody.

How are you doing out there? I just saw something. I get to talk about this really fast.

We'll take a minute. So I'm on different venues of discussion. And someone posted this in my phone text.

This will go down in history as one of the best comments ever when dealing with black Hebrews are liked. And it's a quote the guy got from me. I asked a simple question. I get two minute dissertation ending in a question without the answer. So that's true.

It's talking to black Hebrews are like stuff. What it is. Okay.

Having said that, let's see. We want to get to let's see. Jason from Virginia. Hey, Jason.

Welcome. You're on the air. Hey, Matt.

Good to hear you. Oh, good. I'm glad Mary doesn't say that because, you know, I like it. That's why I like radio. People like me, you know, they think I'm great.

And they're like, but my wife, you know, you know, it's going to call the office and tell her I'm great because we need people to do. Okay. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Yeah, no, no, no.

Okay. I think I got a softball for you here tonight, but it was just something I, I kicked across when I was doing my, uh, my reading today. And it's always something that sort of thumped me, but, uh, in Matthew chapter 22, when Jesus was speaking to the strategies about the resurrection, he gives them as evidence where Moses, God's speaking to Moses and the burning bush says, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So you see, he is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And correct me if I'm wrong, but these, you know, these men were deceased.

So how is this, how is this like, you know, is there something in the translation that I'm not picking up? They're alive. They died. They continue on in the afterlife. I see. So he's just referring to like this, this is like fact that they are alive in afterlife with the Lord.

Okay. They're with the Lord. And the Bible says to be absent from the bodies, behold them with the Lord, act two of second Corinthians five, eight.

And we were, we're dying. We go be with Jesus and that, so that, uh, he's the God of the living because the sadducees when you died, you didn't exist anymore. You are like soul sleep and Jesus is rebuking them. Right.

Okay. So when, when God was speaking to Moses and the burning bush and saying this, he's telling Moses, you know, I'm the God of these, of your ancestors who are alive with me is kind of what he said is what he's saying. I'm not sure what you mean by that, but here in, in Matthew 22, he's just simply saying he's the God of the living. God is a God of living. They're alive because the sadducees were saying that the resurrection of the dead, there is no resurrection of the dead.

The sadducees denied the resurrection. Okay. Okay.

I'm not sure if I'm on the same track here with you, but yeah, no, no, no, no. I've just like, you know, like when, when I'm hearing him quoting like the original text of God speaking to Moses, you know, like I'm not like automatically picking up that, well, you know, it's so I'm, but what we're getting on is it, if nothing else, Jesus's testimony that these are alive with the Lord. Yeah. Yeah.

To say nothing more than Jesus testimony, it's a little bit problematic since he's, I mean, I'm good with Jesus's testimony. Yeah. And so if Jesus says it, that settles it. Right. Right. Yeah.

There you go. No, I was just not like understanding, like if there was like a way that this was like making an obvious point to the Sadducees who were saying that there is no resurrection. It is an obvious point. And the Sadducees remind me of the annihilationists because the annihilationists, you can give them obvious stuff and then they work hard to deny it. This is a good example of it because it says regarding the resurrection of the dead, you have not read what's spoken to you by God. I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He says, he's not the God of the dead, but of the living. See, Jesus says he's a living.

That's what the text is saying. And, but the Sadducees would say, no, you see, it's partial. It means that when they don't, they die, they don't exist anymore. And then really they come into existence and to them, he's really the one that they go on is, you know, just it's like, stop. So that's what's going on. So Jesus is basically just pointing to the simple, uh, understanding of scripture as it was written, not like all the crazy, you want stuff that the Sadducees were doing, trying to, you know, twist meanings and the things. Yeah.

And which is done a lot in the false religious systems. Yeah. Oh yeah.

Still today. Oh yeah. That's right.

That's right. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much, Matt.

That helps a lot. All right, man. Well, God bless. God bless you too, man. Have a good evening. You too. Okay. Hey, let's see the next, let's not next.

Let me try this in English. The next longest waiting is Chuck from Burlington, North Carolina. Chuck. Welcome.

You're on. Hey Matt, how are you doing? I'm doing all right. You do? Why?

Cause I got a great wife. Work you did. Of course. Yeah. I do too. I said, oh, she's listening. Great wife.

Yes, of course. So do I, you know, but I am here all the work you do for the Lord. Wow. The good mind he gave you, you know, think about it.

The great minds he gave you and your desire to learn all the more. And you're still very, very old age. You're what? 79 Matt? 65. I'm up there.

65. I'm a cesarean. We're in the last day. Literally. I know we're in the last day, but we're in the last day now because well, what's happening in our country and people are going nuts by calling a man, a woman, a woman, a man that purposely disregarding what's true. It's like, but I feel the urge to get out the gospel more.

I passed out gospel fast and I agreed with you completely on your previous talker where the Lord will give you an extra dose of his spirit or extra oomph as you say. That's the best way we can explain it as humans, right? Yeah.

And I just think we are definitely in the last days because Western Europe's gone, it's not because, I don't know. Oh, it's going bad. Now let me, let me read some scripture to you. Okay.

All right. I'm going to read something to you. And this is Isaiah 5 18 through 23 and see if it reminds you of anything. Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood and sin as if with cart ropes.

I'm not sure what that means. Who say, let him make speed, let him hasten his work that we may see it and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come to pass that we may know it. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right. That's happening. Oh, you're right on there. You are absolutely.

That is exactly the scriptures that could be placed in our day. You know, that's exactly what's happening. I have no what's going on with political leaders.

I just can't relate with them. No, they, uh, most of them, most of them need to be brought up on charges of treason in my opinion. Yeah. Yep. That's right.

And we need to rise up and get them out of office. All right. We've got to go, buddy. All right.

There's the break. Keep on that. Okay. God bless. All right, folks.

One open line 877-207-2276. We'll be right back. Welcome back to the show. And we're doing some, uh, just playing around with different, uh, outro and intro music things. So let me know what you think of them. All right. If you like, don't like, like the old one.

In fact, uh, one of the guys in the chat said that, uh, my intro should be bad to the bone. I forgot what group it is, but I got a kick out of it. All right. Let's get on the phone with Rita from Durham, North Carolina, whom we lost.

That means we have two open lines. You're going to give me a call. 877-207-2276. Julie. Julie.

That's right. Julie from Charlotte. Welcome. You're on the air. Hey, how are you? I'm doing all right by God's grace. I am.

What are you at? Good. Um, listen, I wanted to tell you first, I really enjoy listening to your show. You answer a lot of my questions that I have in my Christian walk, but today I just want to know what is your take on near death experiences? Do you think they're real? Well, let me read you scripture and then I'll comment.

Okay. This is second Corinthians 12, starting at verse two. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know. God knows such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man, whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know. God knows was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. So what we have here is an account that it looks like someone was either in or out of the body and went to heaven. That's what it says.

A lot of people are surprised by that, but I just read the text. So that means to me that NDEs, near death experiences are possible. So I've, I've watched them and I still do occasionally. I watched them last week and, uh, you know, my 20 minutes and it was this ethereal presence of light and total acceptance.

Okay. And they're demonic because they're not about Christ and demonic realm can certainly imitate stuff. Now, one thing about the NDEs that people don't talk about are the ones that are bad. There are NDEs all over the world that people go into flame and demonic forces around them. And it's utter, complete terror and agony.

And they're brought back. I remember reading a story about a doctor who was working on a guy in ER doing CPR on him, give him chest compressions. And he said, this is what the doctor said.

This is what started me studying NDEs. This man was just limp and they're trying to get him back and they're doing the heart compressions. And the man's eyes are bolted open. And the man on the table grabbed the doctor by the smock and yelled at him, don't let me die. I'm in hell. And he screamed it. Don't let me die. I'm in hell.

I'm in hell. And the doctor was so shocked. He stopped, watched, and the man went out again and he continued with the compressions and he was lost. And this kind of thing occurs in different places. I remember hearing about a woman in a lake at a car accident in a pond or something, and she was drowning and someone rescued her and she was being drugged down by demonic forces through darkness.

I actually incorporated some of this in a novel that I wrote called The Influence. And so are these things true? Well, is it brain waves and the throes of death and the brain? I can't tell you. I'm not there.

I don't know. I do know the Bible says that there's a possibility of something like that out of 2nd Corinthians 12, 2-4. And so the things, however, that kind of convince me that they're true is, first of all, scripture, but also when blind people who have never seen in their lives die on operating tables and have reported what they've seen during that interim and then they're brought back. And they recognize their loved ones who were in the waiting room and stuff like that, recognize them by their voices and could tell them who was there, what they were talking about, and even describe things they were wearing.

And they come back and there's absolutely no way they could know that, period. And so when the blind people who see and know, that tells me, that to me is pretty convincing. So I think that a lot of them are real. I think a lot of them are fake and demonically authored.

And the only reason I would say that I believe a lot of them are real is because of 2nd Corinthians 12, 2-4, where Paul says, Well, they're in the body or out of the body, I do not know, but such a man was caught up to paradise and he saw things. Okay. Yeah. The reason why I ask that is because, and I'll say his name because he's all over, he's written books and he's on YouTube. His name is Howard Storm and he was an atheist, raised his children as atheists, mocked Christians, just wouldn't, you know, had the biggest ego. He goes to another country, he has a health crisis, he dies, he goes to hell, long story short, and now he's a retired Baptist minister. So, I mean, that near-death experience was absolutely life-changing for, you know, for him.

It made him obviously, you know, question his faith and, I mean, he came out of that, woke up from his surgery or whatever, and he would just talk and talk and talk about God and, you know, on his family's nerves and everything, because he's raised them, his children, to be atheists, and they just thought he was babbling. So, things like that, so stories like that intrigue me because I don't have like a big, you know, coming to Jesus thing, because I was raised in a Christian home with Christian parents and have gone to church my whole life, so I'm drawn to stories like that, but I was warned, be careful about what you're listening to and take it, you know, and take it as the truth, because if it's good, it's from God. If it's not, then it's not. No, don't say, if it's good, it's from God. Don't say, people say that that's a bad thing to say, if it's good, it's from God. Well, how do you know it's good?

Because people, what they think might be good might not be good. Always judge it by scripture, and one of the things I recommend is checking out Gary Habermas. He has information on near-death experiences. He's interviewed a lot of people, people, and he's a Christian. Gary Habermas.

Did you spell his last name? H-A-B-E-R-M-A-S. All right. Okay. All right. Well, thank you so much. You're welcome so much. All right.

God bless. All right. Bye. All right. All right. All right. All right. So, thanks, Todd, for putting that in there.

All right. Let's get to Dave from Idaho. Hey, Dave. Welcome. You're on the air.

Hey, Matt. Thanks for taking my call. Thanks for also meeting Dad's memorial last week. I really appreciate it. No, no problem, brother. Sorry, but yeah.

We appreciate it. Mom had a question regarding the concept of soul sleep. Can you hear me okay?

Yes, I can. Okay. So, Mom had a question regarding soul sleep, and what happens when a believer actually does pass away. And in my viewpoint, soul sleep wouldn't be biblical as it would break the hypostatic union in Christ. The man portion of God's character or Christ's character were to go to soul sleep.

That doesn't seem to work. Right. And that's one of the major reasons why soul sleep doesn't work. But the Bible says to be absent of the body is to be home with the Lord, 2 Corinthians 5-8.

And I just read 2 Corinthians 12, 2-4. There's someone who's conscious apart from the body. Soul sleep is an invention by modern day people, annihilationists and Jehovah's Witnesses, who say and imply the idea that the soul, mind, spirit, whatever you want to call it, is dependent upon the physical body for its energy, for its life. If the physical body dies, therefore, it ceases.

Now, some say it actually ceases to exist, and there's logical problems with that. And some say, no, it continues, it's just unconscious. Well, the problem with that is, unconsciousness is a biological thing. That's, you know, I go to sleep, I'm unconscious.

I'm under drugs for an operation, I'm unconscious. That's a biological thing. It's never said to be of a spirit realm. There's no unconsciousness that's there.

This is an invention that they have put on it. So when someone dies, they go to... Yeah. So when someone dies, a Christian dies, they go straight to be with the Lord Jesus.

That's it. They go be with the Lord. And there's no soul sleep. And plus, if there's soul sleep, if there is, you're right about the hypostatic union issue. But also, I ask them, so you have firm soul sleep?

And they'll say, yes. Okay. Is there any energy being expended by the soul, you know, in the afterlife? Uh, I don't know. Well, if there is no energy, it's not alive, and you have a problem with continuity.

But if there is energy being exposed, do you have any idea about this? No. So you don't know what soul sleep is, do you? No. But yet you believe it?

Yes. That's a good point. That's a good point. So also, in the Old Testament, when we read about Sheol, or those that are asleep in Christ, reference, I think Paul references it that way. What does that actually mean, as far as when passing away? Was it prior to Jesus's resurrection that souls would go into Sheol?

Or how does that work? The theory is that before the crucifixion, the sin offering of Christ, and the resurrection, that those who died in the faith went to paradise. Paradise was in Abraham's bosom. Now, what does that mean? It's just a holding place. And this is spoken of in Luke 16, 19 through 31, where Lazarus, the rich man, both died, and the good guy went to paradise.

And the theory is that Jesus then went down, according to Ephesians 4, and during his resurrection preached and taught, and then ascended into heaven with them. But hold on, we got a break. That'll make sense. So hold on, buddy. Hey, folks, two open lines, 877-207-2276.

Be right back. I'm Paul AC, and you're listening to Plugged In. By now, some families may have heard all they want from the Encanto soundtrack.

The Disney Plus film has given us so many earworms that moms and dads might want their kids to sing Frozen's Let It Go Again. But in the case of Encanto's surface pressure, there's more than meets the ear. The song talks honestly about anxiety, identity, and the struggles to measure up, issues that lots of kids and lots of adults can relate to. The song asks, who am I if I can't carry it all?

It's an important question that surface pressure doesn't answer, but the movie does. And more importantly, moms and dads can answer it too. You don't need to carry it all to be known and loved. You can read this or hundreds of other reviews at PluggedIn.com slash radio. I'm Paul AC for Focus on the Families, Plugged In. That's it for today. I'm Paul AC for Focus on the Families that lead to Christ. Fun, Friends in the Lord and Testimonies, the Christian Car Guy Podcast with Robbie Dilmore at TruthNetwork.com. With nearly any invention, the inventor knows it best. He or she knows how it works. This week on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to God's words on the family.

The family was His idea, and He has a good idea how it works best. Join us this week on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. It's Matt Slick live, taking your calls at 877-207-2276.

Here's Matt Slick. All right buddy, welcome back to the show. All right, let's get back on the line with Dave here from Idaho. Hey Dave, you're back on buddy. Did that help?

Yeah, that helps a lot and I thank you for that. Is your mom listening? She was wondering about that.

Sure. Is she listening? I'm not sure if she is. I know she went back to the house a little bit today, but she does listen on the recorded programs.

Well hey Barbara, I'm waving. There you go. Thank you Matt, I appreciate it brother. All right man, God bless. You see you Thursday? Yep, I'll be there. All right, make sure you bring your better half there.

Yeah, she'll be there too. Thank you brother. Okay, God bless. All right, yeah that was Dave and his mom Barbara.

I did a memorial service for them on Friday, which is why I was out last week. All right, let's get to Jennifer from Mount Airy, North Carolina. Welcome, you're on the air.

Hello, yes I did hit right button. Let's give it another little bit of time here. Jennifer, are you there? Hello? Waiting, maybe we'll put you on hold. We'll come back to you. All right, I'm here. Oh, there you go. Hello.

Boy, just a nick of time. It was me, I had you on mute so you could hear everything around me. That's all right.

A lot of people like that, so no problem. So what do you got? I'm calling for my incarcerated boyfriend again. He listens to your show every night and he uses me as his mouthpiece to ask you questions. And the question is from Hebrews 6, I guess 4 through 8 maybe? Yeah, 4 through 6 actually.

Yeah, that's what they usually go with Hebrews 6, 4 through 6. Those who, you know, once enlighten and they fall away, that kind of thing. Yeah, he wants to know exactly what, he is very confusing to him. What's father saying there? Is he saying he can't, if he backslides you're done or it's like you couldn't, you killed me.

Sure, sure. If backsliding meant you couldn't be saved again, then I'm in a lot of trouble. I backslid, oh yeah, I backslid enough for God to kill me. In fact, he was even communicating to me he was going to kill me. That's a bit of a story.

This is no joke. And that was back in my early 20s and I'm in my 60s now and when the trigger that God used for that still occurs, I still get nervous. That's how traumatizing and severe it was. So God has his way of communicating and rightfully so. So this is what it says, in the case of those who've been enlightened, it doesn't say they're saved. Right, enlightened.

Right, and it tastes like the heavenly gift. Made partakers of the Holy Spirit. People say, well that means you're saved.

Show me where. Show me where it says partakers of the Holy Spirit means you're saved. Could not have the Pharisees been considered partakers of the Holy Spirit in the sense that they watched Jesus do stuff and watch miracles? What about Judas? Was he partakers of the work of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely. Did they taste the heavenly gift? Of course they did. See, tasting and seeing is not consuming, it's not in you.

These are externals. They've been enlightened, tasted, made partakers. And have tasted the good word of God and the power to the age to come. And then have fallen away, it's impossible to renew them again to repentance. So sometimes people say, well wait a minute, I did some bad stuff. I used to do nine years of prison ministry, okay.

So you know, guys would go, well I did these bad things. Yeah. I'd say, so? Well can't they be saved? Yeah. Well it says impossible to renew them again to repentance. And I'll say, are you repentant?

Yes. Then that doesn't apply to you, does it? Because you're repentant.

Right? You recognize your sin and you're in jail for it or something else or whatever and a multitude of other sins that we all want to repent from. There you are. And I say, you've repented, you're trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're trusting in him, it does not mean you can't be saved or that you're trying to be repentant and you're not. God grants repentance, 2 Timothy 2.25.

So what this is talking about here is, and he was 6, 4 through 6, is that those like the Jews who had tasted all these good things and the miraculous works and everything, when they fall away from this, they can't be renewed to repentance. They're rejecting everything. Okay.

With their own eyes and they're still turned away. Yes, absolutely. So check this out. This is Hebrews 10.26. If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer made a sacrifice for sins. Uh oh.

Well, I ask people, have you ever sinned willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth? Yes. Okay, I guess you can't be saved.

Right? Is that what this text is saying? The answer is no, it's not that literal. If you go on sinning willfully, those who have been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, tasted the good word of God, and they continue their rebellion and their unrepentant hearts and attitudes toward God, there's no longer made a sacrifice for sins. They don't have anything because they're rejecting Christ and his sacrifice.

That's what's going on. Remember, this is written to the Hebrews. The Hebrews. And so he's talking about those who have tasted this stuff, who knew because, according to Romans 2.1, they had the law, they had the oracles of God, and they were rejecting what God had provided. They're sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth. They're no longer the sacrifice for sins. They're not saying that Jesus' sacrifice no longer is there.

Of course it is. But there is no sacrifice for sins because with Christ, there is no more sacrifice. There no longer remains a sacrifice. You don't have anything. You're lost.

And that's what's going on. All right? Okay.

Well, thank you. Do you have time for me to ask? Sure. Go ahead.

You go ahead. That's good. Tell him. You tell him in the prison if he's hearing me. Brother, you put your eyes on Jesus. Don't look to your own heart. You put your eyes on Jesus.

Don't look to your own heart and your own failures or your own successes. Look to the work of Jesus on that cross. He died on that cross and he rose from the dead. And no matter what station in life you're in, whether in prison, outside of prison, or married or single, you keep your heart and your mind on Jesus. And though you may stumble and though you may fall, he is faithful and will never abandon you. He's granted you the repentance and the faith in him.

It's by his work and you're secure in him. So you rest in him. Don't live in fear. Rest in Christ and then be a light where you are.

And then when you get out, you can be a brighter light to more people. All right? Okay. Okay. What's the other one?

Really fast. It was something you said to another caller earlier. It made me question what I've always been taught about resting in Christ, like the dead in Christ. Like when you die, they put you in the ground, you're not sleeping. You're awake. You die, you're awake and you go be with Jesus.

You're conscious. You're just not in your resurrected glorified bodies. What about when he comes back to get the dead in Christ? Why does he have to come and get us if we're already there? No. He's going to come back and get those who are still on earth.

Okay. So 1 Thessalonians 4 is what you're talking about. And so there in verse 16, the Lord himself will descend with a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. That means those who died in Jesus who are believers, they're going to have the first resurrection in that sense. And then who are alive and remain will be caught up and meet him in the clouds. That's their resurrection. So those who die with him come back with them. They're glorified, resurrected glorified bodies.

And those who are alive and remain on the earth, they're glorified in their bodies. Okay? Okay. That helps a lot.

Yes. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Okay. God bless you. Okay.

All right. Let's get to Todd from West Virginia. Todd, welcome. You're on the air. Hey, Matt. How you doing? Doing all right. Hanging in there.

What do you got, buddy? Yep. Hey. Hey.

Okay. I've been studying eschatology from here. And I was wondering, after chapter 4, I think we hold the same eschatology to Amillennial.

Yeah. And after chapter 4, though, where do we see the church? Or if someone says, well, the church is gone after chapter 4. It's not there. I know that it changes.

It's not true. And I'll show you. Okay? It's been a long time. So you go to Revelation 4, 4. Around the throne were 24 thrones. And upon the thrones, I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments.

And golden crowns on their heads. Most of the commentators agree this is representative of the Christian church. Right? You heard of that, right?

Yeah. 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. It's the church.

They're washed in the white clothing. That's in Revelation 4. In Revelation 5, and when he took the book, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb. So there's a church in Revelation 11. And 24 elders who sit on the thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God. There it is in Revelation 11. Revelation 19. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying Amen. Hallelujah. So, yeah.

The church is there. It's in reference to the 24 elders. Okay. I see it.

I appreciate it. Yeah. I knew it was there.

I just wanted to know how to explain it to somebody else. Yeah. That's what you do is just go through those verses and that's it. And if they say, well, the 24 elders is not the church, then please tell us what are the 24 elders who fall down and worship before the throne and worship God and cast their crowns before the Lord because we receive crowns of glory and we hand them to the Lord. And that's where it's found.

So the 24 elders is representative of the Christian church. Simple. Okay. Yeah.

I knew he changed perspectives there, but I didn't know how to, I just didn't see that. I appreciate it. Sure. No problem, buddy. All right.

Yeah, that's all. Thanks. All right, man.

God bless. All right, man. Sure. All right. Let's get to the last caller, Nelson from Bakersfield.

Nelson, welcome. You're on the air. Okay. Yeah, no, we got a few minutes in a second. Yeah. I just wanted to share something from Revelation.

I'm sorry? Matthew 24. After the tribulation. 29 through the... Yeah. 39 through 31.

29 through 31. Sing. The elect will be... Gathered. ... I forgot.

Well, how would I say? The elect. He says he will send forth his angels. This happens after the tribulation. Okay. elect will be gathered raptured it says he will send forth his angels this happens after the tribulation immediately after the tribulation of those days it says a great trumpet will sound it'll gather his elect from the four winds yep that's verse 31 Matthew 24 31 about the Jehovah's Witnesses that supposedly refers to the anointing class the hundred and forty four thousand and so when they're raptured up the all the remaining Jehovah's Witnesses will still be on earth yeah they say that yeah and but they're wrong and of course the 144,000 or you know it's out of Revelation 7 and are out of the 12 tribes Judah Asher Simon Gadd and their male virgin Jews that's what it says yeah exactly oh hey we're out of time we're out of time buddy all right there you go Nelson all right man God bless hey folks we're out of time and the Lord bless you and by his grace we'll be back on there tomorrow I hope you have a great evening and we'll talk to you later God bless good night another program powered by the truth Network