MS Top 6 #29

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This is the Truth Network. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Next, Matt Slick's Top 6. He was during his fallen state. It seemed as though he would have been lost, that if he'd have died, maybe he would have gone to hell. But the Lord stepped in and atoned for him, made a sacrifice, and so then he was okay.

Number 5. I recall you last week saying that Satan was bound. Yep. But I was a little confused because when he appeared to Christ and tempted him, was that just allowed? Jesus says in Matthew 12, 22-32, that in order to cast out demons, the strong man, Satan, has to be bound. Well, Jesus was casting out demons, so he had to be bound.

Here's another question. What does it mean for him to be bound? I heard one commentator say, you can bind a dog on a long leash, and he's, so to speak, bound to a certain area, but he's still free in that area. And so, what does it mean for Satan to be bound? Does it mean he can't do anything? Not necessarily. You know, does it mean the demonic forces can't do anything if Satan's bound? Not necessarily.

Number 4. A lot of the reformed circles aren't quite a fan of altar calls in general. Is there ever a time that it's appropriate and that they work, or should we avoid it altogether? Well, I see nothing in the Bible that prevents altar calls. Is it wrong to walk up front to receive Christ?

Of course not. If I was a preacher of a church and I felt that it was time at that moment in a sermon or whatever it is to preach the gospel and to come forward as a public declaration that you're trusting in Christ, I would have no problem doing that. The idea of confessing Christ, we want to do it publicly, because Jesus says if you deny me to men, he'll deny you before God. So there's a public aspect to this.

Number 3. What would be considered innocent blood? Innocent blood by our standard is different than innocent blood by God's standard.

According to God, none of us are innocent. If God seeks for us to be executed, to be taken out, for whatever reason he desires, it's always justified because whatever God does is always morally right. So if he says to a people, go wipe out the men, women, and children here, there could be several reasons involved. Usually what happens in the context is the nation has been warned numerous times about their sin and would not repent, and so God wipes them out. And so everybody's guilty, because that's just how it is.

In other times, the nation is going to be there to corrupt Israel and block the messianic line, so they're wiped out. Another time is because God desires, for reasons he doesn't always tell us, to wipe out a group of people. Usually it's, though, to make way for something else, and when he does men, women, and children, people say, well, they're all innocent.

No, no, no. Nobody's innocent. Everybody's guilty of sin. Everybody deserves to be judged and taken out. It's only the mercy of God that lets anybody live.

Number 2. Should we get ready for Jesus' return? Yes, we should. We should always be ready. That's the whole point, and why I believe that the New Testament does not tell us very much about exactly when he's going to come back. He wants us always to be ready and expecting his return. But since my name, I mean, because I could be laying across my bed and watching TV when Jesus comes back. I believe I'm a part of the elect.

I don't need to do anything special or extra, right? No, oh, no. You're saved, you're saved. Okay, okay. Yeah, okay.

That's what I'm thinking. They say, are you ready for Christ's return? I'll be, like, as ready as I'm ever going to be. There you go. But you said it's more so to, like, you know, get out and preach, because, yeah, you're right.

And now that I think about it from your perspective, because I have family members who need to hear it, and they're not ready. That's right. And so you wouldn't want Jesus to come back right now because they'd go to hell. Right, right, right. Oh, my God. If he tarries, there's more time for more people to come into the faith.

Number one. The fact of the matter is, humans are not transcendent creatures. And the idea that we can understand a transcendent truth is platonic and humanist, actually. No, no, no, no.

If you're going to write a criticism, you really should learn a little bit more about what Christian apologetics is and the issue of transcendence. I've been doing Christian apologetics far more than you have, and I've been doing it for far longer than you have, and more thoroughly. How old are you? And I'm more better read. How old am I? I'm going to be 65 soon.

Oh, 65. OK. Well, I've been doing apologetics for 41 years. No, you haven't. You've been doing the first year 41 times.

It's awesome. OK, so first year 41 times. Well, then that means I've been doing it 41 years.

So 41 times one is still 41. So, OK. And now the end is near. So long, farewell, I'll be the same as you.

All secrets you shall meet me toward. Let's see it. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of Matt Slick's Top Six. For more on Matt and his live syndicated call-in radio show, go to TruthNetwork.com. Got a question? Matt Slick has your answer. This is the Truth Network.