S1: Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open
S1: Line with me, Doctor Michael Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America.
S1: We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and
S1: the spiritual life. I'm Michael Redlich, professor of Jewish studies
S1: at Moody Bible Institute, and I'm coming to you from
S1: Moody's downtown Chicago campus. If you have a Bible question today,
S1: don't call me the reason you shouldn't call me. It's
S1: a special all mailbag, all the time edition of Open Line.
S1: You can send your question by going to our website,
S1: Open Line Radio, and you can click on the link
S1: that says Ask Michael a question and that will pull
S1: up a form, fill it out, and it'll be put
S1: into a future mailbag. But for today, listen in. You've
S1: sent in a lot of questions. We're trying to clear
S1: the spindle and get them out of here and answer
S1: as many questions as we can to help me do that.
S1: I've got Eva right here. She's my wife. You may
S1: know that, but really, she's my colleague at Moody Bible Institute.
S1: She's on the faculty there. She contributed to the Moody
S1: Bible Commentary and to the Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy.
S1: And also joining me is Tricia McMillan. She is the
S1: producer of Open Line. You hear her every week during
S1: the Febc Mailbag edition, the Febc mailbag segment, when we
S1: talk about that. And that's always great. But now you've
S1: got a huge mailbag and you're covering all our questions.
S2: I do.
S1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So let's see what we can, uh,
S1: what we can get to this hour. We're trying our
S1: best to answer all of these questions.
S2: All right. William from Ohio listens on the mobile app
S2: and asks, why does the temple become significant again in
S2: revelation at the abomination of Desolation, it seems it was
S2: made insignificant at Christ's death when the temple veil was
S2: torn them. There isn't a need for a temple in
S2: the end times, so how could it be desecrated if
S2: God is no longer in the temple or recognizing the temple?
S1: I'd start by saying there's nothing in the New Testament
S1: that deprecates the temple. It does say that the blood
S1: of bulls and goats in the book of Hebrews didn't
S1: take away sin, even in the Old Testament temple. It
S1: always pointed forward to the those sacrifices were pointing forward
S1: to the messianic sacrifice. Um, and uh, but also early,
S1: if you look in the book of acts, even after
S1: the temple veil was rent, the early believers went to
S1: the temple. Isn't that interesting? Uh, in the early chapters
S1: of acts, even Paul goes to the temple at, uh,
S1: at James suggestion when he comes back to Jerusalem. So.
S1: there's nothing bad about the temple. The. The Tribulation temple
S1: will be rebuilt, uh, by people who don't yet believe
S1: in Jesus. And they are going to. I don't know
S1: how or when, but Jewish people will be worshipping in
S1: the temple until the future false messiah tries to tell
S1: them he's God and they should worship him. And that's
S1: when they they refuse, and that's when he turns, breaks
S1: his covenant with Israel and begins to persecute them. But
S1: also there will be a temple once again, looking back,
S1: remembering the sacrifices that were made. You can read about
S1: that in Ezekiel 40 through 48. It talks about a
S1: future millennial millennial temple. Also in Zechariah 14 it talks
S1: about that. And so there's going to be a temple
S1: that remembers the sacrificial system, remembers the sacrifice of the
S1: Messiah Jesus, by reestablishing a sacrificial system in the messianic kingdom.
S3: And in the The Tearing of the veil doesn't wasn't
S3: a comment on the the temple being bad, but it
S3: was showing the.
S1: The finality of the sacrifice.
S3: Of the sacrifice.
S2: Okay. All right. Thanks for that question, William. Next question
S2: is from Helen in Indiana, listens on WGN. I'm studying
S2: Ezekiel and trying to understand it in Ezekiel 44. I've
S2: always assumed that the prince is the Messiah. But in
S2: Ezekiel 45, verse 22, the prince makes a sin offering.
S2: How could it be? The Messiah is he does not sin.
S2: Are the latter days the millennial reign? And if so,
S2: why are there sacrifices? Okay, so I know you've just
S2: kind of covered.
S1: This a little. I'll answer that in a minute. But
S1: usually when a question comes up about Ezekiel, I just say,
S1: I don't know, ask Eva because she wrote the commentary
S1: with Charlie Dyer in the Moody Bible commentary on Ezekiel. So?
S2: So, Eva. Yeah.
S3: Well, let me just let's just look at the Moody
S3: Bible Commentary, which I think is a great tool, and
S3: I recommend all of our listeners and friends to get
S3: this great tool because it goes through the scriptures, verse
S3: by verse, answering the the big questions, showing how everything
S3: relates together. Very messianic in its appreciation for the message
S3: of the Bible. So here's here's Ezekiel's what we say
S3: in in the Moody Bible Commentary just on this passage. It,
S3: it says that, that, um, it says although the gate
S3: will be shut in the, in the in for the
S3: temple area, the area of the gate will be used
S3: by the prince, which she is saying she's thinking of
S3: as being the Messiah. But I think the clues in
S3: the text are that it is not the Messiah. The
S3: Hebrew word translated prince in most translations is the word nasi,
S3: which would be better translated as the leader. The leader
S3: will sit in the gate and and render judgments and
S3: settling affairs, although some have suggested this is the Messiah.
S3: The evidence is to the contrary. This prince or leader
S3: is not the Messiah because first of all, the leader
S3: made a sin offering for himself an act that would
S3: be unnecessary for the sinless Messiah. Secondly, this prince or
S3: leader has natural children. Another impossibility for the God-Man Messiah Jesus.
S3: And thirdly, he will have a special portion of a
S3: land allotted to him, whereas all the land belongs to
S3: King Messiah. So? So it's not the Messiah, but it
S3: is a leader who will be functioning under the kingship
S3: of Messiah in the millennial period.
S2: All right.
S1: So now the question is, why have the offering which
S1: I mentioned before, but I just want to the offerings
S1: in the Old Testament, even sin offerings didn't take away sin.
S1: The book of Hebrews makes it really clear they were
S1: pointing forward. So even the sacrifices in the temple before
S1: the their being destroyed didn't take away sin. So what
S1: was the point of the sin offering? To point forward
S1: to the Messiah. Now, what is the point of the
S1: sin offering or the different sacrifices in the Millennial Temple?
S1: The temple of the Kingdom? They would be to point
S1: back to the death of the Messiah, because there will
S1: be people who enter that messianic kingdom right away. When
S1: Jesus takes, you know, the people who survive the campaign
S1: of Armageddon that are the sheep in Matthew 25 and
S1: that parable, the sheep and the goats, the Gentile nations
S1: will enter who believe they will enter the kingdom, and
S1: so will the Jewish people who are saved at the
S1: end of the tribulation, when the Lord Jesus comes, they
S1: cry out for him to be saved, and they will
S1: not have resurrected bodies, neither will those nations. They will
S1: enter the kingdom. They will marry, they will have kids,
S1: and those kids will need to come to know the
S1: Lord Jesus and death will be less common. It says
S1: in Isaiah 65, in that millennial period, and because of that,
S1: when we when it's explained to these people who are
S1: born in the millennium. That Jesus died for your sins
S1: and rose again. They may not quite get it. What
S1: do you mean? He died? There he is. He's reigning
S1: over us. And so, to help them understand the significance
S1: of death, there will be a temple. There will be sacrifices.
S1: There will be memorial sacrifices. Just the same way we
S1: have the Lord's Supper today. Uh, to look back on
S1: the death and resurrection and return. Look forward to the
S1: return of the Lord Jesus. So then there will be
S1: sacrifices to explain the death and resurrection of Jesus.
S2: All right. I hope that helps you. Helen and the
S2: Moody Bible Commentary. You might be a good resource for
S2: you as you study Ezekiel.
S1: Yeah, there's a good discussion about why their sacrifices as
S1: well in the Moody Bible Commentary. Thank you. Eva. Yeah.
S2: Thank you. Yes. Thank you very much. All right. So
S2: let me find where my questions are here. I'm on
S2: the wrong page. Hang on. Okay. Tim in Georgia listens
S2: to Wpba. So, still talking about the temple? Sort of. Okay.
S2: But now going New Testament. Uh, when Jesus went to
S2: the temple and he overturned the money changers tables. Did
S2: he do this twice? Uh, because the Gospel of John
S2: seems to have it at the beginning of beginning of
S2: his ministry, and Mark has it during the week before
S2: his crucifixion. Or was there only one time that he
S2: overturned the tables and the timing and the two is
S2: just kind of different?
S1: I think we have two options. We option one is that, uh,
S1: in Mark, Mark and John disagree and they there's an error.
S1: I don't like that option. Option two is there seemingly
S1: were two cleansings of the temples, the temple two times.
S1: That's the simplest answer. Makes sense. That's what most scholars
S1: believe at the beginning of his ministry. At the end
S1: of his earthly ministry.
S2: Okay. They just didn't get it, huh?
S3: Yeah, they just didn't understand it.
S1: Yeah.
S2: Or just waited for him to leave. Okay, now we
S2: can set it back. Exactly. That's right. Yep. Okay. Hope
S2: that helps. Tim. John in South Carolina listens to Wlp.
S2: Does the Bible tell us why God chose the avenue
S2: of salvation by Jesus Christ through his death on the
S2: cross and the redemptive power of his blood? Leviticus 1711
S2: tells us that the life of the flesh is in
S2: the blood, and our atonement stems from this blood. Is
S2: this the answer, or is there more? I want to
S2: be able to justify our God to a non-believer who
S2: questions your bloodthirsty God. Why would God choose this particular method,
S2: which subjected Himself and His Son to the terrible torture
S2: of the cross for the redemption of his people?
S3: This is such a typical question from the New Atheist.
S1: Yeah, well, let's just put it this way. First of all,
S1: it's clear that a death for the soul that sins
S1: it will die that there had to be a death
S1: to pay for sin. And so God chose to take
S1: the penalty. The penalty that we deserve. That's it. And
S1: you know, you think about the father and the son.
S1: Remember their triune. Let's emphasize the EWN aspect of that
S1: triunity that when we talk about the Trinity, the tri
S1: represents his threeness and the the nity represents his oneness, right? Unity.
S1: God himself said, I will take this. It's not like
S1: Jesus saying, no, no, the father hates me. He's sending
S1: me to die. That's ridiculous. The the entire godhead agreed
S1: on this. This is what Jesus said. No man takes
S1: my life, but I lay it down willingly. That's what
S1: Jesus said. And so now I've heard this question framed
S1: this way in Isaiah 53 it says that God was
S1: pleased to do this. Have you heard that expression? God
S1: is pleased us to make him suffer. And they say,
S1: look how, what a what a terrible, brutish father this is.
S1: But the word pleased in Isaiah 53 actually means willing.
S1: The Lord was willing to do this. Um, and I
S1: think that that's really important because the father took no pleasure.
S1: That's why it says he's willing, but he took no pleasure.
S1: He wasn't pleased. Uh, because he God took no pleasure
S1: in the death of the Messiah. The death of his son.
S1: God the father didn't do that. Um. What the. The
S1: example I would give is in the Holocaust. This happened
S1: more times than we really want to admit, but there
S1: would be people being hidden from the Nazis in a
S1: back room or in a basement or something like that.
S1: And just when the Gestapo was coming to to find them,
S1: an infant baby would start to cry, just like in
S1: the movie Sophie's Choice. The infant would start to cry,
S1: and a mom might even take that baby and smother
S1: the baby to her own breast to keep it from crying,
S1: so that it would not expose the family members or
S1: the other people and would take the life of her
S1: own child. If you can imagine the horror of doing that,
S1: to say that she was willing to do it, that
S1: makes sense to save others, to say that she was
S1: pleased would obviously be wrong. So? So God the Father
S1: took the the Punishment through sending the son. He was
S1: not pleased with the son's death, but he was willing.
S1: That's how much he loved us for our redemption. And
S1: I think that, uh, that's that's the answer I would give.
S1: And listen, if a person's got a hard heart, they'll
S1: never receive it. But if a person understands how much
S1: God loves them, that he would be willing to do that,
S1: then they'll be responsive to it. And so I can't
S1: make a person change their mind. But that's my best
S1: understanding of why God did that. So, uh, believe it
S1: or not, I actually know met a woman who smothered
S1: her own baby, hiding her children from a terrorist. Uh,
S1: a Palestinian terrorist came into her home, and she was
S1: hiding some of her children. She was holding her baby,
S1: and she watched her husband being murdered by this terrorist
S1: and smothered her own child to keep to protect the
S1: other children with her.
S3: Yep. Up in northern Israel. So sad.
S1: And she took no pleasure in it. And so God
S1: the Father was willing to give his son. And the
S1: son said, no one takes my life. Hey, if you're listening,
S1: Jesus loves us so much that he died willingly for
S1: us and rose again. Don't become embittered at the father,
S1: but thank him for it and trust in Jesus. We're
S1: going to be back with more of your questions in
S1: just a moment. You're listening to Open Line right here
S1: on Moody Radio. Open line is designed to take your
S1: questions and provide you with straightforward, honest answers from Scripture
S1: about the things that matter most. When you join our
S1: team of Kitchen Table Partners, your monthly gift will help
S1: us stay on the air to continue to share the
S1: truth of the Bible with those who need to hear it.
S1: Become a kitchen table partner by calling us at 886447122
S1: or sign up online at Open Line radio.org. Org. Welcome
S1: back to Open Line. My name is Michael Radonich. Joining
S1: me today for this all mailbag edition of Open Line
S1: is Eva Ray melnick and Tricia McMillan. And we're having
S1: a really good time trying to get through the questions
S1: you have sent in. Doing our best to do that, Trisha.
S1: Let's keep going.
S2: All right. Monica in Ohio listens on the mobile app.
S2: I've heard binding and loosing talked about in churches for
S2: many years and this is in Matthew 16. Can you
S2: please elaborate on this subject?
S1: It's actually a phrase from Rabbinic Judaism. To bind means
S1: to forbid, to loose means to permit. And it was
S1: used when it came to decisions that were made about
S1: the law, about the commandments, in terms of rabbinic authority.
S1: So what Jesus is using is just that language that
S1: was understood to everyone. All the readers of the Gospel
S1: of Matthew were Jewish initially, and when Jesus said those words,
S1: he was speaking to a Jewish audience. They all knew it.
S1: He said when. When the church comes into being and
S1: they're exercising congregational discipline, the elders, whatever they say is binding,
S1: will be bound in heaven. You know, and whatever they say, whenever,
S1: when they make a legal judgment or whatever they say
S1: is loosed or permitted, when they're going to say, okay,
S1: you're released from this. The discipline isn't enacted that will
S1: be recognized. It's basically saying that heaven is backing up
S1: the authority of congregational leaders to make congregational discipline decisions.
S1: That doesn't mean that they can do anything, even wrongly.
S1: It just means that God's recognizing their authority when they
S1: do it right. He will. Heaven will back it up.
S2: Okay. All right. Thank you. Kenneth in Georgia, listens on
S2: the Good News Network and says, I've been listening for
S2: the last few Saturdays and I like your program. Yay!
S2: My question is about our nature and the New Testament.
S2: A believer gets a new nature and the Holy Spirit
S2: to live a Christ like life. So how does a
S2: Joe average Hebrew believer that was looking forward to Christ?
S1: I think he's talking about an Old Testament believer there.
S1: Joe average there. He should have said something like Joseph.
S1: Joseph or Yaakov. Old Testament believer. Okay.
S2: But but living in the New Testament time.
S1: No, no. How does he. I mean, Old Testament believers.
S2: Looking forward.
S1: To Christ, to Christ live a Christ like life.
S2: When his ungodly nature hasn't changed. I know the Holy
S2: Spirit came on people, but that was usually just unimportant
S2: people and only temporary.
S1: I think the assumption is that there wasn't a changed
S1: nature for Old Testament believers, but there is a changed nature.
S1: You could see it in the life of Jacob. He
S1: keeps saying, If God's faithful to me, then I will
S1: make him my God. And then he comes back. God
S1: kept him safe, brings him back, and he then builds
S1: an altar and includes it. Calls it the God, the
S1: God of Jacob. He's made God his God as well,
S1: just like Abraham and Isaac. Uh, and there's a changed
S1: nature in him. What it is, is, as a person
S1: is living by faith. The Old Testament, they're living by
S1: faith with an anticipation of the future Messiah. When they
S1: put their trust in the God of Israel, that's part
S1: of what their anticipation is. And God, based on that
S1: future anticipation, can change their nature. It's it's living by faith.
S2: And and Hebrews 11 illustrates this very well with all
S2: of the people listed, even with the specific examples given.
S2: And then, you know, I could say all of this
S2: about these other people that yeah, he doesn't the author
S2: doesn't go into detail about and just rattles off their
S2: names and hundreds more. But but those those examples of
S2: faith in Hebrews 11 and how they lived with that faith,
S2: looking forward to the coming Messiah.
S1: Yeah. I think sometimes we denigrate Old Testament believers as
S1: if now, certainly I think we have more blessings. We
S1: have the permanent Holy Spirit. The moment we believe there
S1: definitely is better to be a believer in Jesus after Pentecost. But,
S1: you know, yeah, it's better. We have greater spiritual blessing.
S1: No question.
S2: We have the we have this entire Bible that we
S2: can look at to remind us, you know, it's not all.
S1: But we shouldn't denigrate. It's not like they don't have
S1: anything to say to us or model for us. That's
S1: what Hebrews 12 says. This is the great cloud of
S1: witnesses that reminds us to stay faithful. And, uh, so no.
S1: And God could work in their lives and transform them
S1: and did.
S2: Yeah. Okay. Thanks for that question, Kenneth. Uh, Craig in
S2: Florida listens on the mobile app. Uh, he says, by
S2: God's grace and mercy, I was and am saved. June 22nd, 2003.
S2: I was on fire for the Lord, singing, praising, studying
S2: the word, attending church. And I left the church due
S2: to a challenge there. So now I'm on my own
S2: with the Lord.
S1: A challenge with another person?
S2: Yes. With. With another? Yeah, with another person in the church.
S2: My problem is this. When I go to the Lord,
S2: I'm so disappointed in myself and I almost always dread it.
S2: I love coming to the Lord, but I'm so sick
S2: of telling God that I agree with my sin and
S2: repenting all the time. Um, I feel like I'm on
S2: my knees telling him lies, knowing that I will fail,
S2: and this makes me not want to come to him
S2: because I know I'll disappoint him.
S1: Well, it sounds to me that he always starts his
S1: time with the Lord with confession. And I would say
S1: that the I like the acts model of our time
S1: with the Lord, which is adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. Now
S1: that's just one way that we can pray. But I
S1: wouldn't make confession. First, I would make adoration of God first.
S1: Worship of him for his nature and a great way
S1: to develop a heart of adoration. I found reading Tozer's
S1: book The Knowledge of the Holy or J.I. Packer's. Knowing God,
S1: which deals with the attributes of God as we get
S1: to know the attributes of God, worship him. It'll take
S1: you time to get through those books. Worship him for
S1: those attributes. Uh, as you're going through those books. So
S1: I think start with worship instead of confession.
S3: It's the Lord's Prayer. Our father, who art in heaven,
S3: hallowed be your name. Holy be your name. That's a model, right?
S1: It starts with.
S3: With worship.
S1: Uh, and confession is good. It's to agree with God.
S1: He seems to understand that. But I'm just going to
S1: say now you guys girls have to. You women. I
S1: have to be.
S3: Yeah.
S1: Have to stop me. Okay, but I want to say, Craig,
S1: I love you and I want what's best for you.
S1: And it sounds to me that there's a problem. And
S1: here's the problem isn't that you have to confess your
S1: sin all the time. Because I do. And I'm always
S1: so grateful that God forgives me. But why are you
S1: not going to church? Maybe the first sin you need
S1: to confess is disobeying Hebrews 1025. If you had a
S1: problem with someone, you can't work it out. That's possible.
S1: I'm not saying you have to go to that church.
S3: That's Hebrews 1025. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.
S1: You're disobeying God. God wants you to be part of
S1: a community. And that's what being part of a community is,
S1: how he helps us recovering sinners recover from sin. That's
S1: why we stimulate each other to love and good good deeds.
S1: Part of the frustration that you feel about confessing your
S1: sin will be overcome if you're part of a community.
S3: It's interesting, he says about himself. I'm telling God lies. Well,
S3: you think God doesn't know? I think you better straighten
S3: up your, uh, conversations with God.
S1: When we confess our sins, telling him lies, I'll never
S1: do it again. Don't do it. Say I keep doing this. God,
S1: thanks for forgiving me. Now, the cycle of life for
S1: believers in first John one. It doesn't start with confession.
S1: It starts with if we walk in the light as
S1: he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.
S1: We have fellowship with God as we walk in the light,
S1: and then we confess our sin. And then, uh, what
S1: happens is we're walking in the light. We have fellowship.
S1: We sin breaks fellowship with God. We confess it. We
S1: agree with him that it was sin. He restores fellowship
S1: with us. But let's start with walking in the light,
S1: not with confession. And so if a person knows something
S1: in Scripture that we're supposed to do it, we need
S1: to do it. That's what James chapter three says. If
S1: we know it, we need to do it. So, Craig,
S1: go back to congregation, be part of a community, grow
S1: in your walk with them. We're going to be right
S1: back with more questions in just a moment. You're listening
S1: to Open Line on Moody Radio. So many of you
S1: call or write with questions about the Jewish people, and
S1: particularly how you can share your faith with your Jewish friends.
S1: One of the best way to do that is to
S1: help your friends understand the marvelous prophecy of Isaiah 53.
S1: Chosen People Ministries, one of open lines underwriters, wants to
S1: help you do just that. They're offering a booklet called
S1: Isaiah 53 explained. As you read Isaiah 53 explained, you'll
S1: get a better grasp of this pivotal passage of the
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S1: get your free copy of Isaiah 53 explained, just go
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S1: to people via media and personal engagement. Check out the
S1: Febc podcast until All Have Heard featuring Ed Cannon, president
S1: of Febc, by going to Febc. Org that's Febc. I
S1: hope you're enjoying this all mailbag, all the time edition
S1: of Open Line. I'm Michael Wright. I'm so glad to
S1: be with you. With Eva Rydell and Tricia McMillan. We're
S1: trying to get to all the questions you have sent
S1: in as you enjoy the holiday weekend. So let's go
S1: back to the mailbag. Tricia.
S2: All right. Next question is from Sally in Tennessee. Listens to.
S2: And these are a couple of kind of witnessing questions
S2: that we'll have here. I have a non-believing friend to
S2: whom I'm trying to witness, and I don't know how,
S2: looking for words that will help her see the truth.
S2: She respects her religious tradition and does not read the Bible.
S2: Do you have any wisdom or help for me?
S1: So it sounds like she comes from a Christian tradition.
S1: Maybe not an evangelical church, but Christian tradition. What would
S1: you say to someone who doesn't want to read the Bible? Eva?
S3: Well, I would I would say that perhaps the best
S3: thing Sally could do would would first of all, talk
S3: about how valuable the Bible is for her own life
S3: in some specific areas and then say, maybe you want
S3: to read together. She might be more interested in wanting
S3: to read than Sally knows.
S1: Because all Christian traditions, whether they're evangelical or not, are
S1: have a recognize the authority and respect the Bible. What
S1: did you what did you find about that, Tricia?
S2: Oh, well, I my my church a couple of years
S2: ago did a whole series on the Bible and just
S2: opening the Bible and reading it. And the challenge given
S2: to us was find a neighbor or a friend that
S2: is unchurched and ask them if they would read the
S2: Bible with you, and then we could use they had
S2: developed this whole not a curriculum, but like help on
S2: the church website that um, to help ask questions. And
S2: so they had kind of made questions. So it started
S2: in Genesis and went through revelation and just kind of
S2: hit high points of the the Bible.
S1: The Bible story?
S2: Yes, the whole Bible story. 50. You know, it was
S2: a full year thing. And so it was pretty easy
S2: to just pick up, like if you didn't know anything
S2: about the Bible, it was like, hey, would you read
S2: the Bible with me? And I didn't do this, my friend.
S2: I had several friends who did, and they were surprised
S2: that their friend was like, sure, yeah, I'll read the
S2: Bible with you. And the hardest part was asking, you know,
S2: like getting past any fear you had that, oh, no,
S2: they might fill in the blank, scoff at me or or.
S3: They're not going to really want.
S2: To know. Yeah. And and so you just set up
S2: a time and, you know, get together and you could
S2: do it over zoom if Sally, you could do it
S2: over zoom. If you don't live near this friend or
S2: if you do, you could get together and, you know,
S2: have a cup of coffee and just read the Bible.
S2: It doesn't have to be a lot. And then just
S2: talk about it.
S3: Yeah.
S1: So, so.
S3: Sometimes people are afraid to ask to invite their friend
S3: to read the Bible with them because they think, oh,
S3: my friend's going to have questions that I don't know
S3: the answer to. Well, don't be afraid of that. If
S3: they ask the question or the answer to just say,
S3: I don't know that. I'll look it up. Let's talk
S3: about it next week.
S1: Get your Bible.
S3: Get your moody Bible commentary out. Yeah.
S1: Or call open line.
S2: Come on. Yeah.
S3: Don't be.
S2: Afraid. Lots of resources.
S1: Uh, you got good resources. I have found that some
S1: people are afraid to say yes, I'll read the Bible
S1: because they don't know anything about the Bible. And I
S1: always say, well, I'll give you an orientation, and it's
S1: not that hard to understand. And believe it or not,
S1: people say, oh, you'll orient, I get orientation. Oh yeah,
S1: that's no problem. And we used to there was a
S1: woman that used to always invite her friends to read
S1: the Bible and say, and I was this was when
S1: I was leading a congregation, and I'm going to get my, my, uh,
S1: she would call me her rabbi, but my rabbi to
S1: come in and he can read it with us. I
S1: wasn't a rabbi, but that's what she would say. And
S1: so we'd get together and I'd say, okay, today our
S1: lesson is on the table of contents.
S3: Yeah. Start really.
S1: Basic. And I start the Bible isn't a book, it's
S1: a library of books. Look, it's divided in two big sections.
S1: And I explained, just people are going, oh, this is wow.
S1: I never knew that. Hey, it's okay to start at
S1: the most basic thing. Invite people to read with you,
S1: give them the orientation and start reading. It's great.
S2: Yeah. And depending on how much your friend knows, and
S2: if you're willing to ask your friend to read the
S2: Bible with you, there are children's resources could help with this.
S2: I mean, like like the two parts of the Bible. Um,
S2: or there are some, you know, kids videos that kind
S2: of go through here are the parts of the Bible
S2: and they've got there are lots of fun songs that
S2: go through here, the books of the Bible or the
S2: different parts of the Bible that those might be, depending
S2: on where your friend is at, those might be helpful
S2: for you as well.
S1: A few weeks ago, we, uh, linked the Bible project
S1: on the Psalms on our Facebook page. So Bible Project's
S1: got some great resources. Videos eight nine minutes that really
S1: help you understand different parts of the Bible. So yeah,
S1: there's there's great stuff out there. So just be bold.
S1: Ask her to read the Bible with you. Um, if
S1: you don't want to listen to me, just listen to
S1: Eva and Trisha. They think it's.
S3: A good idea. We think it's a good idea.
S1: Yeah.
S2: Uh, Mark wrote us from Florida, listens to RMB, says Shalom.
S2: My Jewish doctor does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
S2: Because in the Talmud it says Jesus is an illegitimate
S2: son and that he used sorcery to walk on water.
S2: How do I refute that? In love?
S3: Of course I like how he says that.
S1: In love, of course. Well, first of all, I don't
S1: think any Jewish person says I don't believe in Jesus
S1: because of what the Talmud says about him. They don't
S1: believe in Jesus because of the cultural predisposition not to
S1: believe in Jesus. Even what the Talmud says about Jesus, um,
S1: is that he was illegitimate Legitimate and that he did
S1: do miracles, but he did them by sorcery. The Talmud
S1: does say that, but you got to understand. The Talmud
S1: was written. Codified between the fifth, about between 500 and 600.
S1: It was already way past the time when the church
S1: had become so malevolent, so hostile, so hateful of the
S1: Jewish people. And sort of in response to that, that
S1: the rabbis incorporated some answers Jewish people had for then.
S1: But we don't believe this because of what it said
S1: about this Jesus. So it does have says negative things
S1: about Jesus, but it's in response to the terrible persecution
S1: that Jewish people were already feeling from the hands of,
S1: and the lips of people like Augustine, the Great Church
S1: father of the West, and John Chrysostom, the great Church,
S1: father of the East. So it's reactionary.
S3: Self-defensive.
S1: Yeah. Self-Defense. But all this I have, you know, people
S1: have said this to me and I've said, well, it
S1: is kind of interesting that he they recognize that there
S1: are seeming miracles. Uh, maybe what we ought to do
S1: is examine to see if they got it right. And
S1: in fact, one of the things that the Hebrew Bible
S1: says of the Messiah in Isaiah 35 is that he's
S1: going to open the eyes of the blind and heal
S1: the lame and open the ears of the deaf. Maybe
S1: this is what Jesus was doing as fulfillment of messianic prophecy.
S1: And I just say, let's let's look at it. If
S1: you want, we can take a look at these other ideas.
S1: Maybe this is a misrepresentation of Jesus. Uh, it does
S1: recognize he did miracles.
S3: And sort of going back to the previous question we
S3: were talking about about reading the Bible, you can encourage
S3: your Jewish friend. Have you ever looked at really looked
S3: at the New Testament to see what the gospels, what
S3: Jesus is really like. What does it really say about him?
S3: Maybe we could take a look at some original documents
S3: about that.
S1: Yeah, there's. I don't get mad. Just like this person says, uh,
S1: in love, of course. But, hey, let's just look and
S1: see what the other evidence is.
S2: And I think for both of these, just noting the
S2: relational aspect of these, both for Sally and her friend
S2: and Mark and this and his doctor, that having that
S2: relationship where they can actually have a conversation about spiritual
S2: things can open doors that, um, that you wouldn't have
S2: expected with just a, you know, with someone else that
S2: you don't have that relationship.
S3: With some guy on the bus.
S2: Yeah.
S3: Yeah.
S1: I had a Jewish doctor once that saw me on
S1: TV teaching the Bible. He was so taken by that
S1: that he said he was going to take a look
S1: at what I taught. He was just amazed.
S3: It was like flipping channels, flipping channels.
S1: And there I was, Michael. And he started shouting to
S1: his wife, Hey! Come here. It's my patient. It's my patient.
S2: That's fun. Yep. So hopefully that's helpful for you, Mark.
S2: And also Sally. Um, get some ideas there on how
S2: you can talk to these people in your life. Deborah
S2: in Ohio listens on the mobile app and says, how
S2: can we respond to those who say Christ's teaching counts,
S2: but Paul's does not.
S3: Sounds like you should only read the red letter parts
S3: of your Bible, right?
S1: Yeah. That's what.
S3: That's what. It's a very skinny edition.
S1: Uh, Paul's teaching.
S2: Is the Gospels, I guess.
S3: And only the red letter parts.
S2: Right? Just just the things that Christ said.
S1: Yeah. Uh, Paul says all Scripture is inspired, and so
S1: that would include his own writings. Peter says, uh, of
S1: Paul that his words are hard to understand, as are
S1: the and that people distort them as they do the
S1: other scriptures. And so Peter is recognizing Paul as Scripture.
S1: I believe that's in Second Peter where he says that.
S1: And so yeah, it's in second Peter chapter three. Uh,
S1: he says they distort the untaught and unstable twist them
S1: at his writings as to their own destruction, as they
S1: also do the rest of the scriptures. Second Peter 316. Uh,
S1: I think that this now, this is the one that
S1: people often ask me about is Paul is talking about
S1: issues about divorce and remarriage in First Corinthians chapter seven.
S1: And he says, I say, not the Lord. And they say,
S1: even Paul is recognizing that his words are not from
S1: the Lord. That is such a mistake. What he means
S1: in first Corinthians seven when he says, I say, not
S1: the Lord is. He's referring to the words that we
S1: have recorded of the Lord Jesus. The Lord. Jesus said,
S1: stay married, a one clause, one exception to divorce and
S1: remarriage that you can divorce, unfortunately, is immorality. And now
S1: Paul is dealing with another issue that's been raised to
S1: him is abandonment by a person who doesn't know the Lord. Uh,
S1: he says, let him leave and or let her leave.
S1: You're not under obligation. He's saying, I say not the Lord. Meaning,
S1: I don't have a word from the Lord Jesus about this,
S1: but I'm giving you now as an as an apostle,
S1: an authoritative apostle, and an an inspired answer. I am
S1: writing to you what you should do. He is not
S1: denying the inspiration of his own words when he says,
S1: I say, not the Lord. He's saying, I don't have
S1: a written word from the Lord Jesus about this. But
S1: now I'm telling you as an apostle what the authoritative
S1: answer is. And so that's a misunderstanding of Paul. No,
S1: We should read the whole thing. In fact, I am
S1: so committed to this, you guys, that my Bible that
S1: I read, I made special effort. I found one without
S1: red letters because the whole book is inspired, not just
S1: the words of Jesus. Okay, we're going to we're going
S1: to come back in just a bit. We're you're listening
S1: to Open Line with Eva Redlich, Tricia McMillan and me,
S1: Michael Wright. And we're having a great time going through
S1: the mailbag, getting through as many questions as we can.
S1: Hope you're having a wonderful Independence Day weekend. Uh, having
S1: some fun, watching some fireworks, eating some grilled out food.
S1: Enjoy yourself. We're going to be back with more questions
S1: in just a moment right here on Moody Radio. My
S1: favorite professor, Howard Hendricks, used to say that it was
S1: a great sin to bore people with the Word of God,
S1: and that's why he wrote Teaching to Change Lives. Whether
S1: you're a parent, Sunday school teacher, or someone who just
S1: shares God's truth with others. Teaching to change lives will
S1: help you become the teacher who has mastered not just
S1: what to teach, but how to teach. Receive your copy
S1: with your gift of any size. Call (888) 644-7122 or visit
S1: online radio. Org. We're back right here at Open Line.
S1: I'm so glad you've listened today. Thank you for listening.
S1: And with me is Eva right? Tricia McMillan. I'm Michael
S1: Ray Melnick. We're answering the mailbag questions you've sent in
S1: for this special holiday weekend edition of Open Line. Let's
S1: go back to the the questions, Tricia.
S2: All right. Dory wrote us from Georgia Listens on WNBA.
S2: I was married before, and I committed adultery when my
S2: husband found out he did the same. But I am
S2: the offending spouse now. I'm remarried.
S1: I'm guessing she divorced.
S2: I'm assuming that because she's now remarried.
S1: Mhm.
S2: Um. And I'm afraid I'm living in adultery. I have repented,
S2: but I want to make sure that according to the Bible,
S2: I am not living in sin. What do I do now?
S1: I don't want to make this an issue of sin,
S1: that grace may abound. But let's remember the grace of
S1: God is greater than all our sin. And she has
S1: turned to the Lord. Now she is recommitted to the Lord.
S1: Come to know the Lord. It's not clear, but she
S1: has indeed repented of that sin, and God has forgiven her. Uh,
S1: but does it mean that she should divorce and go
S1: back to her previous spouse? Uh, we faced that in
S1: pastoral ministry. What was the quick answer? Eva?
S3: No, you have to be. You have to serve God
S3: where you are. You can't go back. You can't. We
S3: don't even know where her first husband is. Maybe he's
S3: already remarried. I mean, it just gets to be such
S3: a tangled mess. Just live where you are. For the
S3: Lord Jesus, King. Messiah. Moving forward.
S1: We can't undo the sin by committing another sin.
S3: Right?
S1: So faithfulness in your marriage, that's what you need.
S2: In her current marriage.
S3: In her current marriage.
S2: Okay. All right. Marty wrote us from Elgin, Illinois. Listens
S2: to WNBA. Can you tell me what the gift of
S2: prophecy is in the Bible? And if it's being rightly
S2: used in the church today because of past experiences in
S2: my church growing up, I tend to shy away from it.
S2: Is there anyone using the gift correctly today?
S1: Well, I'm going to just say plainly that the gift
S1: of prophecy was part of the, in my opinion, the
S1: foundational gifts of the church. Uh, and they have ceased
S1: the gifts of there's no longer any apostles. No one
S1: is testifying of the resurrected Lord. And the prophets of
S1: the New Testament were linked with the apostles in Ephesians 220.
S1: The foundation of the church was laid by the apostles
S1: and the prophets. That was a foundational gift.
S3: So by testifying, you mean somebody who actually saw it
S3: and reporting it?
S1: Yeah. A living witness to the resurrection. Paul even says,
S1: am I not an apostle? Have I not seen the Lord?
S1: And and so there are no apostles. I think even
S1: our friends who believe in prophecy would mostly recognize there
S1: are no apostles, but the prophets are linked to them.
S1: And so I would say, uh, therefore, if anyone is
S1: exercising prophecy in any way whatsoever, they're not doing it
S1: biblically because it doesn't exist. So sometimes people redefine it,
S1: sometimes they redefine it as preaching, sometimes they redefine it
S1: as exhortation. But listen, if someone just exhorts you with
S1: what would be the Word of God, accept it. Be
S1: happy about it. But sometimes people come and they want
S1: to get into our lives and tell us, I have
S1: a word from God for you. And you know it's too,
S1: too much.
S2: That is beyond scripture.
S1: Yeah. Just. No, no, no. I would just say thank
S1: you very much, but no, that's what I would say.
S1: And and move on. I had a friend once say, oh,
S1: you need prophecy because the Bible is a dusty old book.
S1: It's like getting a text message from God. You wouldn't
S1: understand it because you're too old to text message. But.
S1: But prophecy is like getting a phone call from God.
S1: I love the Word of God. And what did you
S1: always say?
S3: I'll honor. Yeah. That says I will honor my word
S3: above my name. So what God says about himself.
S1: Let's not denigrate God's Word as the containment of God's revelation.
S1: That's what we.
S3: Need. And he's written down all that we need to know.
S2: All right. Thank you. And I think our last question
S2: will be from Diana in Indiana. Listens to what are
S2: the Jewish people still looking for their Messiah through the
S2: genealogical line of King David? And have they kept track
S2: of that pure line all these years?
S1: Okay. Some Jewish people are still looking for the Messiah,
S1: and some are still looking for him to come through
S1: the line of David. Uh, but most Jewish people who
S1: are looking for the Messiah recognize that we have not
S1: kept track of that genealogy. Although a few years ago,
S1: when a Rabbi Menachem Schneerson was proclaimed by his followers
S1: to be the Messiah, uh, they said he was from
S1: the line of David. And everyone looked around the rest
S1: of the Jewish community and said, well, how do you
S1: know that? We don't know who's from the line of David?
S1: They said, well, the rabbi told us that he was
S1: from the line of David. Well come on. He was
S1: making it up. He doesn't know that. Uh, and so, yes,
S1: Jewish people are still looking for the some and some
S1: are even looking that when it comes, it will be
S1: revealed from God that he is from the line of David.
S1: But here's the thing. We know for a fact that
S1: the Messiah has come and he is from the line
S1: of David. It's clear both genealogies and Luke. Mary's genealogy
S1: shows that he's from the line of David, and Matthew's
S1: shows that he's by his adopted father Joseph from the
S1: line of David. So he is from the line of David.
S1: He is declared the son of David, most importantly with
S1: power through the resurrection. Jesus is alive. And so I
S1: would just tell anyone, Jewish or Gentile alike. You don't
S1: have to be looking for a future Messiah. What you
S1: have to do is look at the evidence that Jesus
S1: really is alive. He is declared with power to be
S1: the Messiah by the resurrection from the dead. So yeah,
S1: the Son of David has come and he's our Messiah.
S1: And that's where I would put people. Seek him out.
S1: Read the Gospels. See how Jesus fulfills what you want
S1: to say.
S3: Yeah. Just thinking about that verse in Second Timothy. Remember Messiah, Jesus,
S3: the descendant of David, risen from the dead.
S1: Yeah. That's it. That's that's the key idea. So if
S1: you're listening today and you've been thinking, I don't even
S1: know what I think about this, you can find out
S1: all about what you need to know the most about
S1: the Son of David by reading the Bible, read the scriptures,
S1: read the Gospels and learn about Jesus, and learn that
S1: he died for us and then was raised again, declaring
S1: him to be the Son of David with power and
S1: put your trust in him. What a great time together,
S1: you guys. Thank you, Eva, for uh, joining me today
S1: and Tricia and also Courtney Young for helping me out today,
S1: helping us out by doing a great job engineering. Thanks
S1: for listening, everyone. We are going to be back next week.
S1: Hope you'll be listening. Then check out our web page, radio.org.
S1: It's got every link you might be looking for. Keep
S1: reading the Bible. We'll talk about it next week. Open
S1: line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio,
S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.