Matt Slick Live

The following program is recorded content created by the Truth Network. It's Matt Slick live. Matt is the founder and president of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry, found online at KARM.org. When you have questions about Bible doctrines, turn to Matt Slick live. Francis taking your calls and responding to your questions at 877-207-2276. Here's Matt Slick. All right, everyone, welcome to the show.

Let's see, it's the it's August 22nd, 2022. Hopefully, the Internet at my house will be up and and stable. Now, the reason I'm bringing that up is because lately it's been pretty bad. And so today I actually went and got a new Internet setup system. It works super fast downloading stuff, but even three or four times slower than I normally have uploading stuff. And the uploading is the serious part.

So that didn't work. And now I've got a tech coming out, another tech coming out on Friday to install another Internet line just dedicated to the radio show and stuff like that. We had a tech guy come out on Friday or Saturday, I think it was. He spent almost three hours working on stuff. And he's like, man, I get this. This is weird. And he thinks that the Internet is just maxed out.

So who knows? I'm troubleshooting and that's what I'm doing, trying to get it working. And hopefully everything will be today.

I did two things different today, differently. My wife's computer is off, and so she won't be working on it during the Internet. And we have a ring doorbell, you know, we turn stuff off. I've turned this off.

I've turned that off. So hopefully we're dedicated here on this this Internet feed. It should be fine. That's what we're hoping. Think positive and we'll see what happens to open lines. If you want to give me a call, 877-207-2276. Let's get to Darryl from Texas. Hey, Darryl, welcome. You're on the air. Hey, Matt. Good to talk to you again. It's been a little while since I've been on the phone with you. Oh, OK. All right.

So what do you got? My old rockin' buddy. Yeah, I've been an old drummer, man. And the drummer for Korn raises gear, man. He's a teacher of mine, actually. He taught me many things, and now you're a big Korn fan.

Yeah, I am. So you have a connection with him. And I'd love to talk to those guys and do Bible studies with them.

Well, I hear that they have some of that. Yeah, I don't have a direct connection with him. It's a secondary connection, actually. OK, gotcha. But yeah, it'd be cool to have a direct connection to you now.

But oh well, what are you going to do? Yeah, that's what it is. Well, yeah, my question is, you know, a lot of the questions and answers that I've come to understand being reformed and Calvinist, you know, it's something that the Lord is really helping me through. But Leighton Flowers, I know you know who he is. I think you even might have debated him. Well, I know James White did, but I don't know if you have. Yeah, we've had an impromptu debate discussion, and he really blew it on a certain exegetical issue in order to make the Bible fit what he wants. Yeah, sure. Sure, he does. But my question is regarding Matthew Chapter 13 from about 10 to 17-ish, those verses, especially Matthew 13.

I think it's 1313. But he said, you know, the parable, I speak in parables so that you're hearing, you will not hear and that you see, but you will not perceive. And Leighton Flowers says, Well, wait a minute. If if all our heart have hardened hearts are dead in their sins and trespasses and sin, and they cannot understand anyway, why would Jesus be worried about them hearing and what he said was, this is this is pertaining to the Jews that are following the father already and the ones that are not following the father already cannot perceive in here. And if Jesus would speak to them in truth, then they probably could.

But the other Jews that do hear are the ones that are already following the father. So he says that this is one thing Calvinists can't can't refute. No, they can, it's easy. It's easy. I know.

I know. I just I'm just curious about it because I'm like, you know, we're dead in sin. So Jesus spoke in parable.

But I just don't. Well, just speaking, speaking in parables doesn't mean that someone's not totally depraved. He speaks in parables, so they will not hear in Mark 4, 10 through 12. He specifically says he speaks in parables, so they will not be saved. Well, this is because they're not elect. If Jesus, who's God in flesh, commands people to believe they're going to do it because of the nature of his word. So to the non elect, they get everything in parables. So that they will not be saved because it's not chosen to be saved. Period.

No problem. Easy peasy. OK, so what you're saying is that Jesus would speak the truth to them.

That would be a command to be saved. What would you do if Jesus says believe? I command you to believe, believe they've got to believe. Oh, oh, yeah, most certainly.

So I think that's what happens all the time. He's speaking to a mixed crowd of of the Jews. There are people who are trusting in God and people who are not trusting in God. Now, this is an interesting issue because he's God in flesh. What he says occurs. His speech is an attribute of his greatness and his holiness and his purity and his deity. And if he commands things, things are going to occur.

So he speaks in parables because certain people are not destined to be the ones who are going to hear. And so it's hidden from them for that purpose. It's perfectly consistent with Reformed theology. So, yeah, that's that. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, not a big deal.

And Leighton should know this one. But yeah, but but was the things that he telling the Jews or his, let's say the ones that were his disciples, especially his apostles, that would be that would be that they definitely chosen and they would hear. But my point is, is Jesus speaking things of commands to them or is he just giving general revelation? I don't know. Here's the thing. An intention of his command is different than what we might call not interrogative, indicative, but it's worth the command.

I just read it a couple of days ago. I forgot it imperative. So the thing is, if he's intending for them to do certain things by his command, it's going to occur.

If he's saying certain things, covenantally required that are not intended for them to be under that repentant area, then it won't occur. OK, so are you chewing something? Are you chewing something or not?

There's something in the background. All right. No problem. OK, so I just I just see, OK, because in the text, what do we see in the text that if Jesus would speak, that it was an imperative command to them? That's where I don't see that. I don't see it as imperative either. But if you look at verse 11, it says to you, it has been granted. It's the perfect passive indicative. So perfect tense means it's an action that's in the past with with effects in the present.

Perfect tense has been passive means they received the action of knowing to you. It has been granted to know the mysteries of the God. But to them, it has not been granted right there in the pericope. Jesus is saying to you, it's been granted to them. It's not been granted. Now, what does that mean? It means to you, it's been granted and to you over there.

It's not been granted. That's what it means to know these mysteries. That's all he's speaking in parables because to them, it's not been granted.

OK, no problem. So simply speaking parable. So it's because if he wasn't speaking in parables and it would be opened up, he'd be granting them to believe that.

Right. There'd be a con, this is how I interpret it, it'd be a conflict in his decrees. You know, if, if Leighton and others, you know, they say, oh, you know, reform theology doesn't work and say, well, wait, let's think about it. Does God work all things after the counsel of his will?

They have to say yes. Does God know how to move the heart of the king where he wishes it to go? They have to say yes, because that's Proverbs 23, three. So God does this. He works all things, right? OK, does he know how to speak to someone to bring them to belief? The answer has to be yes. You can't say, well, I don't know, it's up to their free will.

Wait a minute. Does God know how to work? If God wants someone to be saved, all he has to do, all he has to do is just shine his glory on him. Just there it is, right?

The people are going to repent. So why does he do it? I mean, for them, they think they have all the good questions.

Oh, no, you don't. And I started asking them difficult questions. And I'm going to tell you, I did this last week with a guy, Kelly Powers, and we had a discussion and I asked some difficult questions and the wheels came off his cart from his perspective, because you can't answer it. Why does one person believe another one does not believe in that context? Because it's their free will. Why does one person's free will enable them to believe another one does not? Because that's what their free will is. They can't answer the question. They can't answer the question, but we can. God grants that they have faith. Philippians 1 29.

Now, people do not like it, but that's what it is. Well, then you're telling me God doesn't grant it to everybody. Correct. He doesn't.

Yeah. And notice what it says right here in Matthew 13 11. He says, he says right there, he says to you, it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, it has not been granted. Who grants it? God.

Too many people. Go ahead. Yeah, right. And Leighton Flowers under that would say, yeah, it's been granted to them. The reason why it was granted to them is because they were following the father studying the father already because he came to the Jews first. He was going to talk to the Jews. And the other Jews are the ones that won't believe because they weren't leading.

Yeah, let's work with it. So then is God being gracious to them there? Yes.

Is the grace of God based on their goodness? That's the question. No, never. It's never. But that's what he'd have to say.

The reason God's granting this wisdom to them, this ability and his great kindness and grace is because of how good they are. That's what he's saying. That's what they're saying. That's what it is.

Oh, yeah. You know, this person who's a hater, a slave of God, doesn't seek for God, et cetera, et cetera. Now, this is generally the unbelievers, OK? Now, the covenant people of Israel, that's a different topic because don't forget, they're under covenant obligation. And so God's going to speak to them covenantally. Believe. Do this because it's what's obligated in the word.

But they choose not to. Now, if he intends them to do so, they're going to, because he grants that people have belief and it's in it's in Christ. This is what the scriptures teach. Now, you and I are having this conversation.

A lot of people are listening, going, what? I tell people this is what the scriptures teach. It's not what is taught about the blonde haired, blue eyed, Caucasian surfer dude, Jesus dressed in a woman's nightgown. This is what the scriptures teach. God's sovereign, not us.

And so there's a combination of the covenant aspect of people under covenant requirements in Israel, and also the fact that they have not been granted it, because in verse 11, that's exactly what Jesus is saying. And I can go in more, but I won't. OK? OK. As Bill cannot. That's what it says. OK? That's right. That's right.

Bill says. All right, Matt. I really, really appreciate you, man. Thanks a lot.

I can talk to you, man. All right, buddy. God bless. Good, buddy. Thank you.

God bless. We got a debate later. I got a debate. All right.

Three whole wide open lines. If you want to give me a call, 8772072276. Elijah from Pennsylvania.

Elijah, welcome. You're on the air. Hey, how you doing, Matt? Doing all right. Well, the Internet laughs. We've been having a lot of Internet problems, but doing OK. What's up, man?

What do you got? Yeah, I saw your your debate with Kelly Powers last week, and I wanted I wanted to ask this question. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, that we know that Jesus obviously did not bear that sin on the cross because if he did bear it, then he would have to give us for it. But the Bible says he can't forgive for it.

But if he's never bored. So this Jesus never bore blessed me of the Holy Spirit on the cross. Isn't that limited atonement right there? Limited atonement means the who, not the how much. So limited atonement would say that Jesus only bore the sins of the elect.

Not everybody. But that verse and that that what you said, I was thinking about that during our discussion going that I bring this up now. But, you know, conversations flow and grow. So I didn't. But that is another issue. But if you remember, first Samuel three fourteen, you know, God says, I've sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquities of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. You know, the wheels came off his cart at that point.

He didn't know what to do with that. And you could tell. So he he he his view is that Jesus literally paid the sin for everybody ever lived. And you're right. Blasting the Holy Spirit could not be included in that. But limited atonement says it's regarding how many people, not how many sins.

In that restrict restriction. Hold on, buddy. We got to get a break. Hey, folks, three open lines if you want to give me a call. 877-207-2276 We'll be right back. Please stay tuned.

It's Matt Slick live, taking a call at 877-207-2276 Here's Matt Slick. Everyone, welcome back to the show. Let's see.

It's eight twenty two, I guess. Wait a second for the podcasters. Let people know because the Internet's been going up and down.

People are wanting to know curious when they do podcast. We have three open lines if you want to give me a call. 877-207-2276 All right, Elijah, are you still there? Yep. All right.

So where were we? Talking about blessing the Holy Spirit. Oh, yes. Yeah, that's right. So it could not have been born by Christ. And you're exactly right.

It could not have been. So you just not bear everybody's sins because people committed blasphemy, the Holy Spirit, therefore it's not paid for. And there's a logic problem, too, is as I show people, you know, if you paid for your sin, that means a sin that's paid for. Right. Yes.

That means a debt's paid for. Right. Yeah.

That doesn't exist anymore, does it? And well, yeah, no. And I take them to Colossians 214, which, you know, Kelly messed up on that as well. But if the sin debts cancel at the cross, not when you believe, not when you get baptized, that's a very sobering verse.

And so who's it canceled for? Well, you know, there's just certain logical things you've got to deal with. If it's canceled for everybody, then how can anybody go to hell? Well, you've got to accept it. It doesn't make any difference if you accept it or not, because there's no sin because it's canceled. And it can't be held against you, so there's nothing to hold against you, whether you believe it or not. And that's the issue. That's the logic. So, yeah, we need to get back to good biblical theology and sort of the mamby-pamby stuff that's taught from so many pulpists.

It's all right, but it's true. Yeah. Um, one of the doctrines of Calvinism, it's irresistible grace, right? That's when you can't resist the Holy Spirit when it comes upon you or something like that?

No. Irresistible grace does not mean that people cannot resist God's kindness, graciousness to us. It doesn't mean that. What it means is that the gracious movement of regeneration, when God regenerates you, you can't resist that. That's what it is restricted to in its meaning. And it's a misnomer that a lot of people say, oh, well, people resist God's grace all the time. Yes, we know that, but that's not what the term means.

It's unfortunate that the term is used that way in misunderstanding, but that's what it is. So it has to do with regeneration. God causes us to be born again. That's regeneration.

That's 1 Peter 1-3. We're born again not of our own will, John 1-13. So this is what God does. When he changes us, we're changed.

That's all it means. Okay? Yeah, and before I go, I just want to give you a video that I think you'll enjoy. Can you email it to me? Can you email it to me?

And the reason I'm saying is because I don't know if the video is going to be good or bad and if you might be accidentally distributing something that's bad, so just email it to me. I'll check it out, okay? Okay.

Yeah, no big deal. Just info at karm.org is all you got to do, and we'll give it a shot, you know, check things out. And tell me what you want me to look at, like, you know, 20 minutes and 13 seconds right here, man. He says this, and that helps, all right? Yeah, it's just a Bible study on Genesis 6, and the guy in the video just shows how there's actually a chapter in the book of Ezekiel that talks about the leader of the angels of Genesis 6 in a symbolic way. He, you know, discusses how to unlock the symbolism and all that stuff, so it's just very interesting.

Yeah, now I want to check it out, sir. Sounds interesting, yeah, okay. Sounds good, let me know, email it. Okay. All right, buddy, sounds good. All right. All right, thanks. Have a good one.

You too. All right, that was Elijah, we have four open lines. If you, if you want to give me a call, 877-207-2276. Rudolph from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Rudolph, welcome, you're on the air. Yes, sir, do your missionaries ever talk about being active in the place? Whoa, I'm not, I'm not understanding you. Something about missionaries and what? Do your missionaries ever talk to y'all about being ripped away? You're breaking up, so the connection's not very good.

Did the missionaries ever talk to you about, and then I couldn't understand what you're saying, about what? Yeah, okay, you're breaking up, call back. Can you call back? Oh, me, yes, okay, okay. Sorry, Rudolph, we got a bad connection, butter. Call back, okay, we'll get you right online.

There's nobody waiting. Sure, hey, folks, you know, the previous caller and stuff, you know, I say stuff that's not popular. And I have to say stuff that I know is biblical.

Now, people may say, well, that's your interpretation of things, well, call up and we can talk. But you'll notice what I do is I quote the scriptures, I quote the references. For example, Colossians 2, 14, where it says that he canceled out the certificate of debt, consisting of decrees, which was hostile to us. He took it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. That's when it's taken away, at the cross. It's not taken away when you believe, because if it's taken away when you believe, then it's not taken away when Jesus did on the cross. It's either the case that what he did was accomplished at the cross, or it's not the case that what he did was accomplished at the cross.

This is simple, critical thinking in logic. It's applied to scripture. It's the case that Jesus canceled the certificate of debt, having nailed it to the cross.

This means the certificate of debt's not canceled when you do something, when you get baptized, when you believe, when you take communion, when you do whatever. It's not made effective by what you do. That's what's critical. It's made effective by what Jesus did. Jesus' work is not dependent on your goodness and your faithfulness. It's complete and total in himself.

He did everything necessary. That's why he says in John 19, 30, to Telestai, it is finished. Jesus finished the work that God had given him to do, God the Father. He did it on the cross. He bore our sins in his body on the cross, 1 Peter 2, 24.

That's where he died with them. He canceled the certificate of debt at the cross. It's all done at the cross, not when you believe, not when you get baptized, not when you take communion, not when you do penance, not when you do anything. Because if you say that it must be completed by what you do, then you're saying what Jesus did isn't finished.

When he said it was, it's really simple. And so we have to ask questions about this. Well, what did he accomplish and finish at the cross? Well, he finished the atoning work. And it's up to us to believe.

It's up to us. If it's up to us, well, then why does God have to grant that we believe? If it's just simply that easy, see, it's not. And I show people these things in the Word.

And like some, when I say, well, God grants that we believe, they say, no, God grants the opportunity to believe. Just add a word in there to change the meaning of the text. That way, it makes sense. That way, we feel better about it. That's what we do with the Word of God. We change it to make it fit what we feel it must say.

And that's bad. Three open lines, 877-207-2276. We'll be right back after these messages. It's Matt Slick live, taking a call at 877-207-2276. Here's Matt Slick. All right, welcome back, everyone.

Three open lines, 877-207-2276. Let's give Rudolph a try again. Hey, Rudolph, you're back on, buddy.

Is there game here right now? I hear you better. Sounds much better.

OK. All right. OK. My question is, do your missionaries ever talk to you about being raptured or what? Do my missionaries? Yes, because you know, we in America, that's all they talk about.

So I think it's obviously not one. Which missionaries? Whose missionaries? Your missionaries overseas today, especially Africa. Wait, oh, you mean the Karm missionaries? Yeah. Did they ever talk about the rapture?

I don't know if they ever do. But I'm sure that Carlos has, because he translates all my material. And I know that David Brito in Brazil has, because he's translated a lot of my material, thousands of articles. And we have a guy in Malawi who takes a lot of my material and translates it.

And another guy in Nigeria, which we're trying to get on the air here. So yeah, they have, you know. But in Nigeria, they're more concerned about not being murdered by the Muslims. And they're working on the issue of the right of self-defense. That's one major issue. The other one is the name it and claim it stupidity that's going on that God always wants us to be healthy and wealthy. And it's causing all kinds of problems. Those are the things they're dealing with in Nigeria. So rapture stuff?

I don't know if they're getting talking about it specifically. OK, how come? OK, thank you. I will call you back tomorrow. OK, well, excuse me. There's a good deal. OK, Rudolph, God bless, buddy.

Four open lines. Why don't you give me a call? 877-207-2276. Aiden from Texas, welcome here on the air. Hey, how you doing, sir? I am hanging in there, man, hanging in there.

What do you got, buddy? So I'm trying to work through. So if the Trinity is one triune God, and from a Protestant point of view, coming down and the son took on our punishment and so on, doesn't that, if it's a triune God, three persons one nature, doesn't that split the Trinity? And if Christ assumed full human nature, doesn't that mean that if he was born to be damned in his human nature, wouldn't that essentially take away the free will aspect of things? Wait, wait, I'm not sure I understand. You talk about the Trinity, then you're talking about Jesus. So you're mixing concepts. So go ahead. Go ahead, I'll let you finish, though. No, I'm just saying I don't know what your question really is.

So go ahead. OK, so we're talking about the Trinity, and then we're saying that Christ, who is fully God, fully human, assumed human nature, and he came just to be punished by himself because the triune God is all equal, so eternal, then isn't that splitting the Trinity if God is damning himself and punishing himself to fulfill that death that the Protestants talked about? I've missed one word. Are you saying damning the Trinity?

It can't be what I heard, so. Wouldn't that mean that God is damning himself? So if the Trinity is co-eternal, co-equal, throughout all time and uncreated, when Christ assumes full human nature, wouldn't that mean that God is damning himself? And wouldn't that be splitting the Trinity into a completely different entity within Christ? No. Nothing that you have said logically flows from one point to another. Nothing that you've said has.

You have to be able to establish a logical connection. First of all, the Trinity is three distinct, simultaneous persons. One of the persons became man by becoming in union with a human nature. So Jesus is the one person with two distinct natures, and he's distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. He bore our sin in his body on the cross, not the Father and not the Holy Spirit, OK? OK, so where was the Holy Spirit in the whole time? Wherever the Holy Spirit was.

Everywhere, like the Father, OK? So I don't understand what the, I'm a little confused on why you would say what you did. No, I mean, that's what I'm trying to work out. So if there's, if one person with three natures. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, not three natures. God is one nature, one thing, three distinct, simultaneous, co-eternal persons, OK? Not three natures.

Three persons, one nature. Yes, person is significant. Yes, it's significant to understand theologically what person means. It deals with the characteristics of such things as self-awareness, self-identity, awareness of others, being able to have fellowship with, to speak, to communicate. These are the attributes of what we call personhood. We recognize the essence of something by its properties. We recognize an apple by its shape, which is a property, its redness, which is a property, et cetera.

And so we recognize the ontos of something, the essence of something by the properties that are related to the ontos or to the essence. So God is one thing, one being. This deals with the doctrine of divine simplicity, that he's only one substance, one nature, divine. We perceive him, and he reveals himself through three simultaneous and distinct persons. So person, the father speaks to the son.

The son speaks to the father, for example. Hence, this designates at least two persons in that immediate context. That's how it works, theologically.

Right. But you're still saying he's one person, right? All three create a trinity to be one person, right?

Did you not? I'm confused, because I just said something to the contrary of that. And then you speak in a manner that was inconsistent with what I just said. And then you say, he, and you're not differentiating who you mean he by, whether it's God as the single being or if it's the person of Christ. You've got to be more specific, OK?

Go ahead. So God as a single being then is not in any way punishing himself if you're saying God is one thing. When you say in any way, no, no, no, hold on, hold on. It's a simple issue of logic.

If you say in any way, now we have to discuss all possible understandings of any way possible, however might exist. But you said any way, and it automatically makes the whole discussion to be extremely difficult. OK. What you need to do is stick with what it does say, not with what it doesn't say. This is a mistake a lot of people make. Well, it doesn't say this, so I'm going to argue from what it doesn't say.

Don't do that. Argue from what it does say. What it does say is the word, which was God and was with God, became flesh. And the word in flesh, Jesus, is the one who bore our sins.

Then God the Father is the one who, well, as they say in Psalm 22, 1, and quoted by Jesus on the cross, why have you forsaken me? Pointing out the issue of the crucifixion and the prophecy and the whole bit. So there's theological difficulties at this point. There are certain things we just don't understand.

Nobody does. How it would work, the person of the Son, whose divine has sin imputed upon his personhood, and yet it's not imputed to the Father or the Holy Spirit. And the only way we can really say that is if we understand the distinction of personhood. Because if the Son bears sin and it's imputed to his account, if there's only one person in the Godhead, then sin would be imputed to the whole Godhead or the whole one person. And that would be logistically a bit of a problem.

Because then you get into what's called patripascianism, where the Father is the one who died and suffered and told him to answer and stuff. It gets, these things are very interrelated. That's what I'm saying. OK? Right. Right.

So yeah, OK. So I'm still not getting to how one portion of it, one third of it, could be damned to take on our sin. We don't say one third. And the other two thirds aren't? We don't say one third.

I mean, how is that not splitting it? We don't say one third. Well, I mean, I don't know how to put it right.

How do we put it then? Don't say one third. Say the person of Christ.

Don't say one third. Because God is not divided into parts. That violates a doctrine of divine simplicity.

I tell you what, I would suggest. Well, I'm saying I agree with you there. If they're not divided into parts, that's not saying. Well, hold on.

I don't understand how one part would be. OK, hold on. We've got a break. Hold on.

Hold on. OK. Folks, we have a break coming up, three open lines. If you want to give me a call, 8772072276. We'll be right back. It's Matt Slick live, taking your calls at 8772072276. Here's Matt Slick. OK, everybody, welcome to the show. It's the last segment. If you want to give me a call, three open lines, 8772072276.

Aidan, are you still there? Yes, sir. All right. What I was going to suggest is that you go to CARM. And I'm serious.

I think you should really do this. Go to CARM and look up the article, an in-depth study of the doctrine of the Trinity. The Christian, or the exact title is The Christian Trinitarian God Examined in Depth. And it's lengthy. And the paragraph that describes the Trinity is over 500 words. And then it goes in with scripture references. Then it analyzes in the five groups of that paragraph. And then it goes in with scriptures, et cetera.

And I took five weeks to teach through this. And the reason I'm saying that I think you should do that is because it'll deal in there with what's called perichoresis and also divine simplicity. Some of the issues that you're dealing with.

Once you get that down, then we can start talking about the relation of Christ in the atoning work. OK? Are you a Christian?

I will put that up. What church do you go to? Yes, I was raised wrong. OK. I grew up Methodist, so now I just go to a non-enominational. OK, non-enominational. All right.

I've written a great deal on the Trinity and I've debated it hundreds of times. I would just suggest you go check that out. There's videos there attached. I've got to get all the rest of them. Oh, they're all there.

So me sitting in a chair, just going through and explaining stuff. So there's a lot there. I would suggest you check it out, OK? All right? OK, will do. All right, man. God bless, buddy. All right, four open lines.

Why don't you give me a call, 877-207-2276. Let's get to Taylor from Virginia. Taylor, welcome. You're on the air. Hello, sir. Thank you. And God bless, everything you have to do. I actually just started listening to you the other day and was very happy that I was able to get on with it. And I've asked all some questions that I've been holding on to for quite a while.

Well, what I've been discussing is how to keep the Sabbath holy in today's homes. You're a little bit muffled to me. I don't know if you're too close to the mic or what. Is that better?

Yeah, I think so. Go ahead and ask it again. Sorry.

My question was, well, the first one was, I got a couple of them, so that's OK. But my first one was how to keep the Sabbath holy. Well, holiness is an intention of the heart. And so what we need to do in order to keep the Sabbath holy is to be holy before Christ. And the way to do that is to trust in him, because he's the one who imputes to us righteousness.

And he's the one through whom the Father sees us. Now, God says in 1 Peter 1 16, be holy, for I am holy. We can't be holy. Holiness is a quality of moral perfection that God alone possesses.

He is the standard. We can't achieve that. So holiness in the sense of keeping the Sabbath, now we've got a problem, because in the Old Testament economy, under the Old Testament law, there were certain requirements regarding the Sabbath. However, we're no longer under that law. In Hebrews 8 13 and Hebrews 9 15 through 16, it says the Old Testament covenant has now been abrogated.

So we're no longer under that obligation. Furthermore, the Sabbath was an issue of the law. And of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, only nine of them are reiterated in the New Testament. And the one that's not reiterated is the Sabbath. And the reason is because Jesus is our Sabbath.

He is our rest. Matthew 11 28. So we need to remember that our attitude of holiness before God is not by keeping the law or keeping the Sabbath holy, but in our attitude and submission to the work of Christ on the cross. If he calls us on a particular day, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, whatever it is, because we can do that on any day, according to Romans 14 1 through 12, then what we do, if it's upon our hearts that God wants us to be a little bit more Old Testament-ish, then fine.

As long as we're not doing it in order to obtain or maintain salvation, and we cannot require that obligation of others. OK? OK. I really got the law.

Thank you. The next one was, this one kind of just, I don't know, stuck out to me. It is in Mark 22, or 822, I'm sorry, pardon me, 823. And it says, so he took a blind man by the hand and let him out of town. And when he had stayed on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and he said, I see men like trees walking. Then he put his hands on his eyes again, and made him look up, and he was restored, and thought everyone clearly.

I was wondering, the Lord Jesus has healed a blind, or healed a blind, many times, or a few times throughout the New Testament. So I'm wondering why this one was so particular in having it taken twice. That's a good question. I actually started wondering about that just a few days ago. So there's possibilities.

I see men like trees walking, certainly too. I don't know. I know what that means. What that means is real simple. It's an old cultural thing. So what they would do back in the day, back then, is people, in order to survive, would do different businesses. And one of the things that some people would do is go out, walk up into the hills, and gather sticks from fallen trees, dead this, dead that, twigs. And they'd gather stuff up, and they would put up in a humongous bundle. Then they would get underneath that bundle, and they would walk it down. They still do that.

There's actually pictures of people in the Middle East doing that. And so what it looks like is men walking like trees. That's an expression. Oh, cool.

So that's what's going on. So Jesus puts the mud on his eyes with a spit in the stuff. Now, I'm thinking, OK, why would he do that? And why is it that he would say, because they came to Bethsaida. And they said, they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored him to touch him. Taken a blind man by the hand, he brought him out of the village. And after spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, did you see anything? Now, what? He's spitting on himself.

Well, that sounds kind of gross, doesn't it? Well, I don't know what the significance of that is. And I don't. I just don't know.

Maybe someone could have some insight that has studied this before can tell me. And it seemed like a really strange mystery. And also, was that kind of unique also, how he took this individual out of the town, too, to do it?

I don't know. Because in Mark 7, he took someone aside from the crowd by himself, put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue with the saliva. So Jesus, it looks like he touched his tongue with the saliva there. And he says there, and looking to heaven in a deep sigh, he said, ephrathra, that is, be opened.

So it was opened. So why would, now think about this, why would Jesus have to do this physically, then give a command, and then his eyes are opened? Why didn't Jesus just wave his hand in the back of his hand? Hey, you're done.

I got things to do. He could have. But the case is that Jesus often does things for our benefit. He does things in real time. He really went to sleep. He really took one step in front of another. He really walked into a crowd, and a woman touched his talit and tzitzit, the hem of his garment, and with a law, it was encoded. And she was healed. And who did this?

He turns around. Yeah, who touched you. Yeah, who touched me. Yeah, who touched me.

Everybody's touching. So why would he just heal her? Why is it he goes to the Samaritan woman in John 4? He goes out of his way.

So God, he arranged that. Yeah, so there's a lot of questions. That's a good question. I don't know. There's something going on. So taking the blind man by the hand, he brought him out of the village.

That's interesting. Why? Why out of the village? Why not just do it right there?

I'm not exactly sure. Maybe it's because if he did it inside, people would be converted all the more, and there's a political issue that some people think about that might be the case, because Judas Iscariot, they think, may have tried to force Jesus' hand by turning him in. Because Judas Iscariot was a zealot, and they were a political party seeking the overthrow of the Roman government upon the Jews. So one theory is that he was trying to force Jesus, the Messiah, to do stuff. He betrayed him to do this, to force his hand.

That's one idea. But Jesus also said to people, don't tell anybody. Before my time has not yet come. He says that to his mother Mary.

Why do you want me to do this? My time has not yet come. The time for his death. So if he'd been doing all this, and it was out there in the open all over the place, then the Jews all the more would have been out to kill him, but it wasn't the right time. So that's why it looks like he was saying, don't tell anybody. He takes him out of the village, keep it low, low and slow, until the appointed time, the appointed day was there. And so that's why I think he was doing that. And as far as why, you know, he spit in his eyes, laid his hands on him, and then asked him, do you see anything?

He didn't say, be healed. He says he brought him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes, laying his hands, he said, do you see anything?

Well, that's interesting. Because you know people are going to be watching him. And the man looked up, and I see men walking like trees. And then he laid his hands on his eyes, looked intently, and restored and began to see everything. And he said, don't even. He sent him home to his village. He said, don't even enter the village. It looks like he was.

Yeah, don't go in town, nor tell anyone in the town. Right. So I think it was because the timing of his crucifixion was not yet. And he would have been forced early, and that wasn't what was going on.

The timing of maybe other people or maybe other people weren't ready to see what he was about to do to him. Right. And plus, Jesus speaks in parables so people will not be saved, that there's a purpose to everything he does. So then, you know, this is.

A couple of us are going to be able to hear him. Yeah, I like that. I like that. True. But another one, if that's OK, was Jesus, when he said he healed, I did the bread and give to, is the one that would betray me. And it says, when Judas ate the bread, Satan entered him. Right.

And I was wondering, it also kind of says, I'm thinking, I'm not sure where. Jesus also said that we are not defiled by what goes into our mouth, but what comes out. Right. Yeah, those are completely different topics.

It's not the issue of the food going in. It's what comes out of your heart that defiles you. But Satan entered him, and notice that it says he went out into the night, into the darkness.

And that's when Satan entered him. It's just a little tidbit of information. So those are just unrelated things in that. I got you.

OK, I'll just give you. And how come the disciples, they had Jesus, they were following with Jesus. They had a best, I guess, experience, you can say, with their apostles. And how come it took them so long? How were they able to watch him suffer without intervening, without wanting to suffer with him?

How come it took them so long, that's an old age, too? Because they were sinners. They didn't know who Jesus was. It was the women that figured it out first. Well, I mean, he didn't rest on the water.

No, no, no, no, no. They didn't know he was God in flesh. They thought he might have been a great prophet. That's a world of difference between a great prophet, who could do a miracle like Elijah did, versus God in flesh.

There's a huge difference. But then they say that he is Christ? Is he a Christ?

Christ means anointed one. OK. OK. So. Thank you so much.

That's what's going on. OK. All right? OK. Thank you. All right, buddy. Keep listening. OK, God bless.

All right, Gary from Utah. Idea that Jesus was a socialist. Call back tomorrow, and I'll show you why he was not. All right?

People think that he was, but he wasn't. Call back tomorrow. We'll talk about it.

OK, we're out of time. May the Lord bless you, by his grace. Everybody, we'll be back on here tomorrow. And we'll talk to you then. God bless. Have a great evening. Another program powered by the Truth Network.