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. Hey everybody, welcome to the show. It's me, Matt Slick, listening to Matt Slick live. Today is October 26th, 2023, and, excuse me, cough there. If you want to give me a call, all you got to do is dial 877-207-2276.

The last four numbers are C-A-R-M on your dial and or on your phone, it is. Hey, so some of you may be aware we had a glitch on the website starting last night around midnight. It took about 12 hours to fix. I don't know what it was, but it's fixed. It happens every now and then.

That's just technology. All right, let's see, let's see. Oh, I got a little typo thing that I got to fix, it looks like. All right, hey, we got one caller waiting and I'm hoping you'll give me a call. Now, by the way, last night I was on Discord, I had a couple of very good conversations with one with an atheist. It was one of the best conversations I've ever had, seriously. This guy was polite and intelligent and he actually, to my surprise, admitted that his atheistic worldview was insufficient to account for rationality. But then he said, well, but so what? And, you know, but at least he admitted it and most atheists won't. But it was a very good conversation too, but I don't have that thing recorded. Oh, well, that's what happens.

And maybe if you were listening Monday Champs, we had about, I don't know, 50, 60, 70 people listening in the room while we were there. All right, I think that said, oh, I got a Bible study I'm teaching tonight. We'll be discussing the issue of government and going through Romans 13, the first few verses of Romans 13. It'll be, hopefully it'll be interesting, informative. I will see. I think that is it.

Let's get to Shibu from Virginia. Welcome. You're on the air. Hi, I have a question. Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? You're breaking up. You're breaking up. It's hard to understand you.

Could you try this again? Why? Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Because right now in Israel, Hamas was going on, there are innocent people died. So my question is that there is, if God causes this or God is the father of sin because God knows everything what happened in the world.

Hold on. OK, the question is, why does he allow innocent people to suffer? He doesn't. No innocent people suffer. Why are you saying that? Because no one's innocent. No one is innocent.

Everyone is deprived. Everyone is a sinner. Everyone is guilty before God. Everyone deserves the judgment of God. No one deserves the rain and the sun that he gives to them. So he never lets innocent people.

So that's the first issue, OK? So you're saying that everybody is a sinner, even babies, innocent babies killed in Hamas, they are also... We are by nature children of wrath, Ephesians 2-3. In sin did my mother conceive me, David said. So we can't say that babies are sinless.

Now that may upset a lot of people. But if anybody wants to disagree and you want to call up, I would just simply say show me a verse in the Bible that says they don't have sin. Because to say that means they don't have the representation of Adam upon them. Because the Bible says in Romans 5.19, through the transgression of the one, the many were made sinners.

And so that's those who are in Adam. So we can make the theological case that all infants have sinned upon them and are therefore not innocent. Not in the theological perspective, OK? You know that there are a lot of innocent people are dying in both sides, Palestine and Israel. So that people, God allowed innocent people to die?

Yeah, in the sense of the innocent, in the sense of they didn't do anything wrong against the government or something like that and their suffering. That's a different topic and God is certainly allowing that. He's allowing them to do that. Why God?

God is cruel? God is allowing these people to die? They didn't do anything wrong? Well, we don't know if they did or did not do anything wrong. Because we can't say that God wasn't warning them, trying to communicate to them that they're resisting God.

We don't know. But we do know that sin is in the world and sin affects all kinds of people. So if we have a man who's drunk and he gets into the car and he drives and he kills someone who has never seen before?

Just somebody going out taking care of errands? Well, the innocent in that sense, that innocent person dies because of the sin of somebody else. That's just the nature of how sin works in the world and God allows it.

And why God allows? You know, there are a lot of people dying. 20,000 people died in Palestine. And, you know, if you think about eye for an eye, 5,000 people die in Israel, 5,000 people die in Palestine. Now there's 20,000 people.

There are some kids in school. They're dying. They didn't do anything wrong. Yeah, I agree.

I agree. They didn't do anything. But what Israel has been doing is warning them to flee, warning them to leave. And they are trying to minimize the innocent in this context, innocent from being injured.

They've put leaflets over, told them we're going to bomb here, get out. And the Hamas, the Muslim cultists, what they're doing, what they had been doing is stopping them from fleeing. Because this is Islam.

Islam is a cult of death. But God allows it. He allows the wicked to have their way. He allows the wickedness of Islam to prosper, the wickedness of the Mormons, the Mormon church, the wickedness of Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, the wickedness of Atheism. He allows different people in different groups, different whatevers to survive in the world and carry out their desire. And God will work it all out on the end of the judgment day. He'll sort it all out.

Okay? So you think God is cruel God? God is what? God is cruel. So you're saying God is cruel? See cruel means to cause pain and suffering and have no feelings, no concern about it.

That's cruelty. And that's not God. That's not the Christian God.

He doesn't rejoice when people suffer. But it's the way of the world. It's how sin is in the world. And if you think about it and you say, well, you want God to stop the Hamas from being bad, let's say. Well, okay.

Then let's say you get to people who want to, like this guy. Like, for example, he's this guy who shot up a bunch of people in Maine last night. The murderer. And, well, why does God allow that to happen? Well, we can get to different reasons, but let's talk about the issue of. He's just sitting on his home. They haven't got him.

It looks like yet. So why does he allow that? Okay. Let's say we want God to stop that. All right. So we want to stop him from shooting people. All right. Why stop there? Should we have God stop him for thinking evil things?

Okay. Why would we say he can think evil things? He just can't do evil things.

Well, why is that the standard? Because what people want to do is they want to tell God how to be. And to God, even as Jesus says, to lust after a woman in your heart, you commit adultery. The action is a manifestation of the evil in the heart. Well, if he wanted to stop the action, but not the evil of the heart, why?

Don't you want him to stop evil? All of it, or just part of it? Some of it. Some of it that you agree with and don't agree with. Then you become the judge of what ought to be done and not.

And this is a real problem with this kind of questioning. Okay. So he's saying that God is the author of evil, then, because God is the author of evil.

No, he's not. He does not cause evil to occur. He permits it to occur.

What does that mean? Permit to occur? He permits it to occur. He permitted, for example, the devil to come into the garden and tempt Eve. He permitted it. But he's not the one responsible for Eve's sin or Adam's sin. Okay. So he permitted it.

Okay. Are you chosen by father? Are you a chosen person? I can't understand you.

Say that again. Are you chosen by father? Am I chosen? Yeah. You mean am I chosen for salvation?

Yes. Well, 2 Thessalonians 2.13 says that he chooses people for salvation. And I would say I have definitely been chosen by God for salvation since I affirm the things of Scripture that are spiritually discerned and spiritually understood. That, you know, the Trinity and that Jesus is God in the flesh and that he died on the cross, he rose from the dead, atoning sacrifice. These are the things I trust in and I have faith in them. It's because God granted that I have faith. Philippians 1.29.

And that faith is in Christ. John 6.29. So, yeah, I've been chosen by God as many, millions of people have by God. He's electing and he's choosing of them for salvation. Before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1.4.

Okay. And you can know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5.13 says so.

It's not that we're boasting, we're just saying, look, God has granted to me the favor. He's granted it and that's why I believe and we rest in him. Okay. You know that you are chosen and not the other person is not chosen. You are the only one chosen. I'm the only one chosen. What kind of nonsense is that?

I just said the opposite of that. You know, I'm chosen because of 2 Thessalonians. It says that God granted you to believe. God granted you faith. Yeah, 2 Thessalonians 2.13 says God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation.

Okay. God chooses people. This is not what people want to hear, though. They don't like the idea that God's the sovereign king. They want their own sovereignty.

They participate. They listen to the adenic lie, the echo through history, through our sinful fathers, that we will be the ones who judge what is true and what is good and what is bad. Because when Satan came into the garden and tempted Eve and said, did God really say, that what she did was she altered the word of God, that when she saw the fruit was good to eat, even though God has said not to, this is what people want to do. They want to judge what ought to be true and what ought to be right. And so they're humanistic in their philosophy inside of Christianity.

It's happening more and more. But the Bible says he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of his will.

Ephesians 1, 4 and 5. That's the truth. You and others are obligated to believe it.

Okay. So it looks like you are a Calvinist. Are you a Calvinist?

Well, I happen to be that. But you mean you got Calvinism out of those verses, out of scripture like that? Is that what you're saying?

Yeah, Calvinism, you know, that is, a lot of people say, God chose me. We've got a break. We've got a break. And I'll answer that. Okay. I'll go to Romans 9 and answer that. But you can not like God's sovereignty and want your own all you want.

But it won't help you in the day of judgment. Hold on, I'll be right back after these messages, folks. Please stay tuned. Everybody, welcome back to the show. Let's get back on with Shabu. Okay.

So are you there? Yes, sir. Oh, okay.

All right, go ahead. You said I was chosen by father. You said yes, Second Thessalonians. And then you said you are a Calvinist. Yeah, I hold to the five points of Reformed theology, yes. Yeah.

Are you there? Yes, sir. Okay, yeah. So what about it?

Okay. So how come you are a Calvinist? God chosen you before the foundation of the world. That's why you believe? That's exactly why I believe, because God chose me and other Christians. He elected them before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1.4. And he granted that they believe, Ephesians 1.29. And that faith that he granted to them is in Christ, John 6.29. And that as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed, Acts 13.48.

Okay. Are you sure you're going to heaven guaranteed? Yes, because the faith that I have is the faith given by God. Because it's in Christ, God in flesh, died on the cross, rose from the dead. And all who believe that and truly trust in him have that same God authored faith in them.

And they will be with him forever. Okay. That's a heresy. They're talking about heresy now.

Are you going to hunt? No, it's not. 1 John 5.13, these things are written so you may know you have eternal life. Do you know if you have eternal life? Yeah, I can lose salvation. I can lose my salvation because of my belief in free will. You don't believe in free will?

Yes, I do believe in free will. So if you can lose your salvation, what do you have to do to keep yourself right with God? What do you do to keep yourself right with him? Hebrews 6.4 says that once you are enlightened... Hold on, hold on, hold on.

I know about Hebrews 6.4. I'm asking you, what do you have to do? What do you have to do to keep yourself right with the infinitely holy God? That's what I'm asking.

What things do you have to do? I have to keep your own salvation from fear and trembling. That's Philippians 2.12 and 13. So are you keeping yourself saved by your goodness? God is the one who gives me goodness and then I have to be holy. Are you keeping yourself... Hey, hold on. Are you keeping yourself saved by your goodness before God, by your continued belief, your continued goodness? Is that how you're keeping yourself saved with God? No, he gave me a wisdom what to do and I do... Oh, so? Oh, I guess maybe you're a Roman Catholic. He gives you things to do. You do those things and that's what keeps you saved?

Is that right? I'm not. I'm a Pentecostal. I'm a Pentecostal guy. I'm a free will. Okay, well, we Calvinists believe in free will.

Hold on. We believe in free will. But I'm asking you, what things have you got to do to keep yourself right with the infinitely holy God? Because apparently, if you can lose your salvation, that means you keep it by your own goodness. You should pat yourself on the back and thank yourself and others around you for your goodness, how you can keep yourself right with God by how good you are.

Boy, that's really good. That's arrogant. That's a heresy. If you want to know what heresy is, you can just look in the mirror and you can look at your false doctrines and you can understand that what you're believing is false. I'm quoting you scripture and when I quote you scripture, you say, oh, you're a Calvinist. Oh, so the scriptures teach that? So you don't understand the theology. And you have to figure out what it is you do to keep yourself right with the infinitely holy God.

And if you have any list of the things that you do by which you keep yourself saved, well, then you can boast on the day of judgment of how good you've been. That's arrogant. Let's get to Terry from Raleigh, North Carolina. Terry, welcome.

Yes, Matt. How are you doing? Doing all right, just dealing with the heresy. I understand. I understand. I see them every day, but, you know, oh, Lord, I'm just trying to keep myself from being one.

I've got a question to ask you here. I was reading the word this morning in 1 John 4, 18. There is no fear in love. No fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. What fear, you know, there's a healthy fear, Matt, I understand that, but what fear is it that he's talking about here? For some reason I don't get it.

I just don't. I always think that what he means is all kinds, all sorts, because it could be a fear of destruction, a fear of sickness, a fear of poverty, the fear of judgment to come, all kinds of fear of all kinds of things. He doesn't list it out specifically, but he does say because fear involves punishment.

Now, punishment here could be understood to deal with damnation or judgment from God. Well, if we're walking with God and we're trying to walk with God and we're not perfect, but we're walking with God, then we don't have to worry. Now, this guy who called up before, he's got to worry because he says he can lose his salvation. Well, then that means there's fear because he's not trusting what God did, but what God and himself does. That would make me afraid.

Did I do something wrong? So you see, the thing is the perfect love, the love that comes from God, is what casts out that fear. We don't have to worry about things, all kinds of fear, okay? Yeah, you know, sometimes me, I don't know, I can't speak for anybody else, but I know you need to read the Word, you need to pray, and you know, as far as salvation, I know I'm saved. I'm saved by grace alone. There's nothing I did to deserve it. I know what I deserve. We all do, if you're being honest, but you know, you often wonder, is there something else?

I mean, I'm not trying to put nothing else on myself, but you know, I often wonder, am I missing something? You know what I'm saying? Because I lost a marriage. Well, you know, I lost a marriage because I profess Christ.

And that's been 23 years ago. But you know, I guess it's a fear. Am I missing something? I want to think I have this Word of God, and that's it. I mean, you know, whatever can you do?

Yeah, but there's many categories. Fear of missing something. In your car maintenance, in your house payments, in your diet, in your spiritual walk with God, in understanding Scripture, and what?

Are you there, Lucio? Yeah, yeah, I'm listening, I'm processing. You know, it's all kinds of fear.

Well, the main thing is for myself, it's for my salvation. You know, just making sure, you know, I'm not trying to put anything on me, but I just so want to, knowing that I missed something. You know what I'm saying? Okay, tell you what, hold on, we've got a break, and we'll answer that, and we'll get a mixed caller. Okay, buddy? So hold on, all right, now? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you so much, Matt.

Sure. Hey, folks, we'll be right back after these messages. Please stay tuned. It's Matt Slick live, taking your calls at 877-207-2276.

Here's Matt Slick. All right, everybody, welcome back to the show. Let's see, get back on there with Terry.

Terry, you still there? Yes, sir. All right, so you're worried about having missed something, and so therefore maybe possibly there might be a risk to your salvation. Well, yeah, in a way, yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm not trying to do works or anything like that. I understand there's nothing I can do.

Jesus has paid it all. I understand that. But, you know, I've also been listening to, you know, the word on audio, also, you know, driving to work, because I work, it's an hour and a half drive, and, you know, you hear some parts of the word that you've never heard before. I just want to make sure, you know, is there something that I'm missing here, because, you know, I'm trying to go to church on Sunday, but here in my area, it's hard to find a church. I mean, there is so much, I mean, there is so much, a lot of feelings and emotion.

The most of the churches you go to, and I don't think you're saved by feelings and that sort of thing. Okay, but you say you're missing something, and I'm asking you in what regard? I don't know. I just don't want to, you know, pass away, let's say, the night at 12, and thinking I'm, is there something else that I have to do? I'm not trying to, I don't know.

Let's just kind of bring this down, if we can here. God has granted that you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 1.29, and the reason is because you've been appointed to eternal life, Acts 13.48. Your faith is in Christ, John 6.29, so that's what justifies you, Romans 3.28, Romans 4, 1 through 5, Romans 5.1, Galatians 2.16, 2.21. So there are, these things are, you don't have to worry about your salvation, your damnation, because it's already been secured. You're okay.

Now, if you're talking about other areas of your life, missing something in your personality, in your habits, in whatever it might be, you know, you're not nice enough to somebody. This is a different category than your justification. Justification is merited by Christ, and it's granted to us by the faith that God grants to us. We really do the believing.

We freely choose to believe, but it's also the work of God that we believe, Philippians 1.29 and John 6.29. So the other issue here is what you can only be concerned about, the other areas, like your sanctification. In that respect, what you have to do is you have to go through the word of God and let it shape you and let it change you and then pray through what you've learned and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. And so that's what you're going to do. We all are going to be missing something, all of us, but we also become aware of those areas, the major ones we've got to work on, and there's areas I'm working on and I will be working on until the day I die.

So that's it. So you don't have to worry about missing a thing for salvation, but we all have to worry about missing something in our sanctification, and that's normal, okay? Right, right, because sometimes I'm not that nice guy. You know what I'm saying?

Yes, I know. And sometimes it's a flaw, you know? And I think we all have those flaws and those tendencies. Yes, we do.

But I thank God for you, Matt. I really do. I really do.

I've learned a lot, looking at your videos and that sort of thing, and there's a lot of you guys. And I think I'm more of a – I seem to be more of a callousness as well than I am anything else, because I really believe the same way that you believe. I really do.

Not trying to make you feel good or anything, but I do. I disagree a lot about what you're saying. I'm glad, but you've always got to check what I say against Scripture. That's why I quote the references from people. That's right. Yes, sir. I agree with that.

Like that first caller, he was denying Scripture, and they don't see it, because people are so blinded by false teachings that they can't see truth. But you're okay, buddy. All right? So we're going to move along, but keep listening, and you keep working in the area of sanctification, because we all need that.

But you, too. Okay? All right, brother? Yes. Yes, sir. All right. Thank you so much, Matt. You have a great day, and I hope your wife is doing well.

Today's not a good day for her, but it goes up and down. But okay. Well, thanks a lot, brother.

Yes, sir. I appreciate it. All right.

All right. Bye. Bye. Bye-bye, wife.

She needs it. Let's get to Ryan from Utah. Ryan, welcome.

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

Hey. So I was wondering if you could just maybe expand a little bit more about just the problem with suffering. I know for me, as a young man growing up, that was a stumbling block, and I think it probably is to a lot of people.

And am I wrong to think that, I mean, God allows suffering and the evil that we see in the world because of free will? In part, yeah. It's not just one thing.

It's a whole bunch of things. It's not just one thing. Oh, it's only because of free will.

Nope. It's because of free will. It's because of God's sovereignty. Because of his decrees. It's because of what he wants to occur ultimately in certain circumstances for his own vindication, his own glory. He wants to show his wrath upon people because he's holy. But he also wants to save people because he's righteous.

And so all of these things fit together. And more, a part of God's aspect is omniscience, omnipotence, omnisapience. And so he allows evil to work in and through all of those things.

He's not surprised by anything that occurs, any suffering or evil. And he allows people to have the fruit of their own work because we're made in his image. And so being in his image, we have self-responsibility. And so he lets us have that. And people do what they want. And then they don't turn to him. They don't bow to him.

They don't acknowledge his greatness. So he lets him have that selfishness as well and that arrogance and pride and what goes along with it. And the world becomes horrible. And in my opinion, one of the reasons that God is allowing things to go its natural course is because that's the natural condition that sin brings us to. Sin brings us to death, Romans 6.23. And Genesis 2.17, God said to Adam today that you eat of the fruit, you will die.

And in Romans, excuse me, Matthew 24, 22, unless those days be cut short, no flesh should be left. So I'm of the opinion that history is a parenthesis of the holiness and eternal nature of God. And that when he comes back and the new heavens and new earth are made, 2 Peter 3.10, then this temporary parenthesis of our own work within our sinful state, that will end. And then we will enter into eternity, the eternal design that God has had. So in the meantime, sin is allowed to have its course in the world. And in that course, the cross occurred, the crucifixion occurred, so that we could be redeemed from that very curse that is there. So if God, if we want God to stop suffering or stop certain sins, then we have to develop a standard of justification of why we can say God ought to or ought not to do whatever. We can't. In fact, Romans 9 says, who are you to answer back to God, the thing not to the molder?

Why did you make me like this, will it? Who are we to say what God can and can't do? So there's a lot there with that. Okay.

Yeah. No, he had definitely, I definitely agree and appreciate, I know my life, I've learned a lot from the mistakes and sins that I've made, and I'm still learning and, but anyway, I appreciate that. And if there's any scriptures that you could point to, cause I know, you know, the time of living in there's a lot of people suffering and people go through things all the time. But scriptures in particular come to mind that you would point to, to maybe give people hope and look to Christ. Well, hope for what? Hope to not suffer?

I can't guarantee that. No, no, no, no, not hope not to suffer. Hope to hope and comfort in it, to get through it, to continue praising God in spite of it. Ephesians one is good, but at least for me, it's Ephesians one is good. And read Psalms, you know, just read the Psalms. You'll find, you'll find a lot of suffering that's recorded there.

And then the appeal that people have to God and trusting through it. So that's what I'd recommend. Okay. Awesome.

Thanks man. All right. All right. Well, God bless. Okay. All right. Well, let's see who's next longest waiting. That would be Damian from Richmond, Virginia.

Welcome. You're on the air. Hey, how are you doing, Matt?

Just calling to ask you a question about the Shabbat day, the seventh day for the Christians after observance. Can you hold? We've got to break. Can you hear me? No, we don't.

Yeah, I can hear you. And no, we don't, but I'll explain why when we get back. Hold on, butter. Okay. Hey folks, we'll be right back after these messages and hope you stay tuned. We'll be right back. It's Matt Slick live taking your calls at 877-207-2276.

Here's Matt Slick. All right. I want to welcome back to the show.

All right, Damian, you're on the air. Okay. Go ahead. All right.

Yes. I was asking the question about the Shabbat, the seventh day, is that to be observed today? Why do you call it a Shabbat? Why do I call it a Shabbat?

Because that's what it is. It's called the Shabbat, the seventh day. Okay. Are you Hebrew?

Exodus 11 verse 8 to 11. I am not. Okay. What church do you go to? Everybody could be saved as long as they believe in the... What church do I go to?

Yeah. What church do you go to? We are the church.

The body is 1 Corinthians 3.16. Okay. Do you think we have to keep the Sabbath to be saved?

I'm just curious. I'll put it to you like this because I'm posing the question to you to ask you the question, right? But do I believe we have to? This is what I would say. Ephesians 2, Paul says, right, that no man is saved by his works what he supposed, correct? I know Paul is used. What does Paul say?

What Paul is saying... Okay. So hold on.

Hold on. I already answered you that we don't have to keep the Sabbath. Okay. It's not obligated for us to do that.

We're free. I answered before the thing. So now I'm curious.

Do you teach we have to keep the Sabbath on Saturday? Okay. So I'll answer you. All right. Yes.

Revelation 14, 12. Hold on. Hold on.

I don't need... Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.

Hold on. I'm not asking you what you're doing. I talk to a lot of people like you. I ask a simple question and you go into a teaching mode about all these scriptures. I'm not asking for that.

I don't want you to do that. No. I'm just asking simple questions. For example, do you believe in the doctrine of the Trinity? One God in three distinct simultaneous persons.

Do you? I believe in three in one, correct. But that's not the question that we're asked. Yes, it is. It's a question I just asked you.

Don't tell me... Okay. We're gone. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. All right. If you're not going to have a dialogue with me and start trying to dominate and teach me how it's supposed to be, I'm not going to put up with it.

It's just not going to happen. I need to know where he's coming from so I can deal with him, but he doesn't want to do that. Now, I'm telling you guys out there, I've had thousands of conversations. When I ask somebody...

He fell into this one category. If I ask a question and they just give me scripture without telling me what they believe, that's not right because they could interpret scriptures differently. A lot of times what people will do, well, do you believe in such and such?

Well, John 3. I'm not asking you for a verse. I'm saying, what do you believe?

Then they won't answer the question. They go to another verse. No, no, no. We have to get into what you believe and then this verse to see if what you think the verse means supports what you said because I know these verses. What do you believe? That's what I'm trying to get to.

He didn't want to do that and I don't want to play that game. Let's get to... Let's see. Elijah. There we go. Elijah from Philly. Elijah, welcome. How are you doing today? You did all right. Hanging in there, man.

What have you got buddy? Yeah. Well, my question would be out of Revelation 16, 15. Jesus said, behold, I'm coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake keeping his garments on that he may not go about. naked and be seen and exposed and and so i guess my second follow-up question will be uh do you believe wait what's the first question what's the first question oh uh first question is is jesus referencing the rapture here and if so uh he's not oh he's not it's not jesus but but uh we will say this yeah i don't believe you i don't in my opinion i'll just say this he's not talking about the rapture he's talking about the wicked being taken oh okay okay because it says i saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon out of the mouth of the beast and the uh the false prophet three unclean spirits like frogs there's uh there's spirits of demons performing sign which go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for armageddon and when you go to matthew 24 luke 17 two men are in the field and one is taken one is left i believe that's a reference to this because a lot of people say that two men in the field want to take and one's left is the rapture it's not the matthew 24 luke 17 is not about the good being taken it's about the wicked being taken and if you read the context that's it's clean it's clear and i'll debate on that one easily because that's what it's that's what it's teaching and it's a shame that pastors all over america are misusing those sets of scriptures now the rapture occurs but that's not it so when uh they talk about this two men in the field one is taken one is left and they ask jesus in luke 17 where they take and he answers the question he says where the body is the vultures are gathered so the ones who are taken are taken to a place of death and it says one taken one is left well could it be three unclean spirits like frogs one's taken one's left they hop one here and one there maybe i don't know but uh i don't believe this is about the rapture this pericope revelation 16 okay yeah uh uh this there's some strange interpretations about uh who those unclean spirits that are like frogs and revelation i heard some people say that uh they think it could be the uh the alien graze since the alien graze are like very like frog-like in appearance well i never heard that one but um but that's that's interesting uh to think about that one because but you know yeah that's interesting but it says demons okay and the the uh we're gonna do that that rabbit trail right now what's your second question um oh yes so my second question would would be on uh john uh wait is it uh yeah yeah john 824 where jesus says if you do not believe that i am you will die in your sins and i know how you know unitarian is like a twisted to say that jesus wasn't claiming to be god but uh my question would be uh what do you think about the arabic bible in plain english and how it translates it because it translates it where jesus says uh if you do not believe that i am the living god uh do you think that's a a better way of translating it because if you translate it that way i don't i don't see how a unitarian could could butcher the text that way yeah i wouldn't go with the arabic i'd go with what the greek says and it simply says unless you believe that i am you will die in your sins and what they'll do is they'll say he's referencing his messiahship not his deity and so they didn't like the idea of claiming to be the messiah not he was god and that's what they do with it and then i i know how to respond to them for that way but that's what they do okay yeah uh also one more thing before i go uh uh my question would be would you would you be would you be interested in like doing a or or i guess adding more to your catholicism section on the car uh because uh i just started reading a book today from trent horn it's called the case for catholicism and uh and and the in like a prologue he just explaining that this is the best defense for the for the catholic faith so i think i think that would be pretty interesting if if you like read the book and then like write write out like you know you know like a whole article you know you know going through it yeah yeah i wonder if i have that book already i can open it up i've got so much to do but i think i've written about 150 articles on catholicism and i'll say it again roman catholicism's official doctrine is anti-christ and you can't be saved believing in official roman catholic theology and so uh yeah you know i can look at it and see i'm opening up my kindle i have everything on kindle now because i i just have too many books so i gave a lot of them away so uh but yeah i'll check it out okay it's called what what was it make sure i have it the title's one again the the case for catholicism okay and then and then uh at the bottom of the of the front cover it says answers to classic and contemporary protestant objections all right so uh yeah i have it yeah yeah okay yeah just open it up let's see the central inch and here's some highlights i've got uh i've been yeah i've been already reading through some of it and um no that's not he doesn't know what he's doing uh just some other stuff yeah okay but it's just some of the things i can read and uh and that's it so you know go check it out it's too bad it's too bad catholicism is so bankrupt but we got another caller okay we gotta get going okay buddy all right i'll probably call back tomorrow sounds good man call back tomorrow all right god bless thank you all right okay let's get to colleen from georgia hey colleen welcome you're on the air hello how are you i'm a fine i'm fine so what do you got that's great um well i have um i wasn't going to call in but i decided to and they told me to call in so here i am so i have um ocd and i know that ocd is a kind of abused word everybody says it but they're a clean freak but i have like diagnosed ocd so it's not um tapping or anything it's just mental i play things over my mind over and over the worst things can happen probably to you or to loved ones that's what i just do it's like a mental war so now it has crept into my spiritual life where i i'm there's times many times a day i think okay maybe i'm not saved what if i have mustered up this false faith um how do i know it's real and then i go down a checklist i read john mccarther's study notes and in the law in the very back of his bible he has a checklist of you know do you love the brethren do you love reading the word and of course i'm like yes yes yes yes yes but then i'm thinking okay well i rather sometimes just put on netflix instead of reading the words i have to drag myself on the on the neck to get into the word and discipline myself and then i'm like well i should really love it i should crave it like a we'll tell you what let me jump in because we're running low on time okay almost at the end of the show okay so let me tell you something i'll preamble this i'll tell the answer that i was given in seminary west mister theological seminary i actually talked to one of the professors and i said how do i know i'm really believing how do i know i'm not really believing that i'm believing but not really believing and i went through all this because i think these things sometimes i doubt this and i doubt that sometimes and uh he said something was very interesting it really did help me he went to matthew 7 starting at verse 7 ask and it will be given you seek and you'll find knock and it'll be open to you for everyone who receives everyone who asks receives who seeks finds and to him who knocks it'll be opened what men among you when his son asks for a loaf will give him a stone because that the bread used to look like a stone and it was kind of a relationship there and if you ask for a fish you won't give them a snake there was in the sea galley there's a skinny fish looks like a snake and he said he said look if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who's in heaven give to what is good to those who ask him if you've asked god he's not going to fake you out he's the one who opens your heart and mind to understand scripture okay look 24 45 um acts 16 14 he's when it grants you faith leopins 1 29 that faith is in christ john 6 29 that's it he's not going to fake you out and he won't let you fake yourself out because it's his faith that he gave you it's the faith that he gave to you and then you believe and it's now yours but it's from him and you can't go and say well is that really what i'm doing no he gave it to you that's why you believe those things so you're okay okay thank you so much that does help a lot matthew seven seven through twelve well through two eleven okay matthew seven seven okay thank you so much and we're out of time sorry call back tomorrow though i know how this is this can help like a band-aid but sometimes it takes a while to work through it so yeah okay i know how it is hey folks we'll be right back no you won't we'll be back on tomorrow by god's grace we'll talk to you then god bless bye another program powered by the truth network