WEBVTT - Hour 1: Labor Day Weekend Mailbag 0:00:08.990 --> 0:00:11.960 Do you have a question about the Bible, God, or 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:15.470 the spiritual life? Well, you've come to the right place. 0:00:15.470 --> 0:00:19.610 Hello friends. Welcome to Open Line with Doctor Michael Reginald 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:24.050 Moody Radio's Bible study Across America. My name is Michael Radonich. 0:00:24.050 --> 0:00:26.840 I'm the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:30.890 Bible at Moody Bible Institute. And normally we take your calls, 0:00:30.890 --> 0:00:36.050 but today it's a special pre-recorded program, so please don't call. 0:00:36.260 --> 0:00:39.979 We're clearing the spindle, we're emptying the inbox. We're answering 0:00:39.979 --> 0:00:43.339 the questions you've sent us in past weeks. And if 0:00:43.370 --> 0:00:45.440 you'd like to send a question, you can still do that. 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.820 Just go to our website, openline radio.org. Click on the 0:00:49.820 --> 0:00:52.610 link that says Ask Michael a question and you can 0:00:52.610 --> 0:00:55.160 put your question right there. And then it will be 0:00:55.190 --> 0:00:58.250 added to the mailbag for a future program. But right 0:00:58.250 --> 0:01:00.370 now I want to say special thanks to Chris Siegert 0:01:00.370 --> 0:01:03.640 for handling all things technical today, and for Open Line 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.970 producer Tricia McMillan for joining me with the questions today 0:01:06.970 --> 0:01:11.710 and discussion. And here she is now with this very 0:01:11.709 --> 0:01:15.880 large mailbag. Tricia McMillan dragging it in. Welcome, Tricia. 0:01:15.910 --> 0:01:16.720 Thank you. 0:01:16.990 --> 0:01:20.890 Hey, so it's a Labor Day special program, right? Have 0:01:20.890 --> 0:01:22.120 your kids started school? 0:01:22.150 --> 0:01:24.669 Yes they have. They started a few weeks ago. 0:01:24.850 --> 0:01:28.300 Yeah, it starts in August in Illinois, right? 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:29.740 A lot of them do. Yeah. 0:01:29.770 --> 0:01:31.630 Yeah. It's hard for me to get used to it, 0:01:31.630 --> 0:01:33.490 even though, you know, I raised my kids here in 0:01:33.490 --> 0:01:36.850 Illinois and they all started, you know, all the kids, 0:01:36.850 --> 0:01:41.470 both of them. All of them started in in August. 0:01:41.470 --> 0:01:44.080 But I'm from New York. It always started one week 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.840 after Labor Day. So so. 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:47.710 Nice. But no. 0:01:47.740 --> 0:01:50.710 Labor Day was the end of summer for me, right? 0:01:50.740 --> 0:01:55.300 But of course, in New York City, where I grew up, school, 0:01:55.330 --> 0:01:57.070 I don't know what it's like now, but school ended 0:01:57.070 --> 0:01:59.370 on June 30th, so it went kind of late. 0:01:59.550 --> 0:02:02.610 Okay. So you needed that extra couple of weeks. 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.420 Yeah, yeah, but it's Labor Day getting ready to work, right? Yes. 0:02:06.420 --> 0:02:09.390 That's what we're going to do. Labor day weekend. Okay. 0:02:10.110 --> 0:02:13.230 Well how many? I know we've got a big bag 0:02:13.230 --> 0:02:16.170 of questions there and we're going to I let you 0:02:16.169 --> 0:02:19.320 choose the order, you know. However we're going to go. 0:02:19.770 --> 0:02:22.559 But I'll do my best to to clear the spindle 0:02:22.590 --> 0:02:25.649 today to see how many questions we can answer. All right. 0:02:25.650 --> 0:02:28.350 And we do the mailbag every week. So if they 0:02:28.350 --> 0:02:30.450 don't get in this one, they may make it to 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:34.080 a future one. Exactly, exactly. Well, our first question is 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.500 from Michael in Iowa who listens to WSM. Can you 0:02:37.500 --> 0:02:40.889 explain the New covenant, and does it make the Mosaic 0:02:40.889 --> 0:02:42.870 or Sinai covenant obsolete? 0:02:43.950 --> 0:02:48.450 Well, that's kind of an interesting question. I think that, uh, 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:52.440 a lot of people treat the new covenants versus the 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:56.010 Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is indeed the Sinai covenant. 0:02:56.010 --> 0:02:59.650 I think that's right. But they treat the New covenant 0:02:59.650 --> 0:03:02.679 as if it cuts out part of the Word of God, 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:07.630 or somehow it wasn't anticipated. It seems to me that 0:03:07.630 --> 0:03:09.880 even in the book of Deuteronomy, when we come to 0:03:09.910 --> 0:03:15.190 the end of the book, there's a promise. It says 0:03:15.190 --> 0:03:18.580 in Deuteronomy 30 verse six, the Lord your God will 0:03:18.580 --> 0:03:23.050 circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and 0:03:23.050 --> 0:03:25.600 you will love him with all your heart and all 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:29.380 your soul, so that you will live. This is so 0:03:29.380 --> 0:03:34.600 crucial because there's an anticipation that that idea of a 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.380 circumcised heart is the new covenant. So right at the 0:03:38.380 --> 0:03:41.110 end of the Pentateuch, at the end of the law, 0:03:41.620 --> 0:03:44.860 the promise from Moses is that there will be a 0:03:44.860 --> 0:03:50.350 new covenant. And then, of course, it's presented in Jeremiah 31. 0:03:50.650 --> 0:03:56.770 And there Jeremiah kind of distinguishes it from the Old Covenant. 0:03:56.800 --> 0:04:03.580 He says in Jeremiah 31, verse 31. He says, the 0:04:03.580 --> 0:04:08.860 days are coming. This is the Lord's declaration when I 0:04:08.860 --> 0:04:12.130 will make a new covenant with the house of Israel 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:15.580 and with the house of Judah. This one will not 0:04:15.580 --> 0:04:18.760 be like the covenant I made with their ancestors, when 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.370 I took them by the hand to bring them out 0:04:21.370 --> 0:04:23.770 of the land of Egypt. Now there we go. That's 0:04:23.770 --> 0:04:26.979 the reference to the Sinai covenant, where Moses went up 0:04:26.980 --> 0:04:30.609 the mountain and received the law. A covenant they broke, 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:34.450 even though I had been a husband to them. The 0:04:34.450 --> 0:04:38.799 Lord's declaration. Instead, this is the covenant I will make 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:43.300 with the house of Israel after those days. The Lord's declaration. 0:04:43.330 --> 0:04:45.310 And by the way, he keeps saying, this is declares 0:04:45.310 --> 0:04:47.800 the Lord or the Lord's Declaration, because this is a 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.260 very significant thing he's saying. He keeps wanting to say, 0:04:50.260 --> 0:04:53.380 this is from the Lord. I will put my teaching 0:04:53.380 --> 0:04:57.140 within them and write it on their hearts. I will 0:04:57.140 --> 0:05:00.980 be their God and they will be my people. No 0:05:00.980 --> 0:05:04.100 longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, 0:05:04.100 --> 0:05:07.130 know the Lord, for they will all know me from 0:05:07.130 --> 0:05:10.549 the least to the greatest of them. This is the 0:05:10.550 --> 0:05:14.300 Lord's declaration will. The new covenant was inaugurated by the 0:05:14.300 --> 0:05:16.969 Lord Jesus at his death. He says at the Last 0:05:16.970 --> 0:05:20.839 Supper to his disciples, this is the new covenant in 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.810 my blood. When the death of the Messiah and then 0:05:23.810 --> 0:05:28.160 his resurrection, it's inaugurated, everyone that believes in him lives. 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:32.480 They operating system we live by is the New covenant. 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:37.820 And and that's why in second Corinthians three, all followers 0:05:37.820 --> 0:05:40.430 of Jesus, although it was made with the Jewish remnant 0:05:40.460 --> 0:05:46.460 of the disciples, every, uh, person who believes in Jesus is, 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.910 even if they're not Jewish, is grafted in to this 0:05:49.910 --> 0:05:53.000 promise and experienced the New Covenant. And that's why Second 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:57.760 Corinthians three says that we are ministers of the New Covenant. 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.099 So yeah, we're part of the New covenant. It's the 0:06:00.100 --> 0:06:03.130 promise of a circumcised heart. It's the promise of God 0:06:03.130 --> 0:06:05.080 putting his teaching in our hearts. But that doesn't mean 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.210 we don't obey the Word of God. And the Word 0:06:07.210 --> 0:06:10.180 of God includes the law of Moses. I would say 0:06:10.180 --> 0:06:13.570 that what Hebrews eight is saying about the new covenant 0:06:13.570 --> 0:06:17.500 replacing the old. I think that's true as our operating system. 0:06:17.500 --> 0:06:20.800 But the whole word of God teaches principles of truth. 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.280 And so, for example, nine of the Ten Commandments are 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:27.190 repeated in the New Testament or the New Covenant, and 0:06:27.190 --> 0:06:31.180 we still live by them, but we're doing it because 0:06:31.180 --> 0:06:35.260 of them being in the New Covenant. And so we 0:06:35.260 --> 0:06:40.779 are today New Covenant believers, uh, those of us who 0:06:40.810 --> 0:06:43.240 have trusted that Jesus died for us and rose again, 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.390 we are operating system that we live by, that we're 0:06:46.390 --> 0:06:51.340 related to God by is the new covenant. Now here's 0:06:51.339 --> 0:06:56.969 something that's crucial about this. It's not just following your heart. 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.370 Even though he put his law within our hearts, it's 0:06:59.370 --> 0:07:03.420 to guide us. He gives us spiritual power to obey 0:07:03.420 --> 0:07:06.690 his commands. But the Lord Jesus still said of the 0:07:06.690 --> 0:07:09.000 new covenant, if you love me, you'll obey me. He 0:07:09.029 --> 0:07:12.510 still expects us to follow the teachings and principles and 0:07:12.510 --> 0:07:16.650 commandments of the scriptures, as they are found in the 0:07:16.650 --> 0:07:18.900 New Covenant. That's the key. 0:07:18.930 --> 0:07:23.580 So, okay, I love, I think, one thing that was 0:07:23.580 --> 0:07:28.860 very helpful in what you just taught is that, you see, 0:07:28.860 --> 0:07:32.910 there is this connection between the Old Testament, the New Testament, 0:07:32.910 --> 0:07:36.300 where so often, you know, you may hear Christians say, 0:07:36.300 --> 0:07:39.150 I'm a New Testament believer, which like you're saying, we 0:07:39.150 --> 0:07:43.860 are believers following Jesus under the New covenant, but that 0:07:43.860 --> 0:07:49.050 that is tied to this history of the this promise. Yeah. 0:07:49.050 --> 0:07:53.320 This promise that started back then, where God talks about 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.890 renewing the hearts and how important that is and bringing 0:07:56.890 --> 0:07:58.540 that up to today. 0:07:58.570 --> 0:08:00.760 So, you know, at the end of Deuteronomy, it's not 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:08.410 just that, uh, that God says to Israel, uh, that 0:08:08.410 --> 0:08:12.490 they that they are going to get a new covenant. 0:08:12.490 --> 0:08:15.880 In Deuteronomy 31 it says, I know that after my 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:19.120 death Moses says, you will become completely corrupt and turn 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:22.870 from the path I have commanded you. So what's he saying? 0:08:22.870 --> 0:08:25.540 I know you're not going to keep this Torah. And 0:08:25.540 --> 0:08:29.140 so what the hope is, is that they will get 0:08:29.140 --> 0:08:32.680 the law circumcised on their hearts. Right? That they'll have 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.440 the New covenant. And then Jeremiah says the same thing. 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:36.970 I'm going to give them a new covenant, not like 0:08:36.970 --> 0:08:38.920 the law of Moses that they broke the one I 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:41.380 gave them when they came out of Egypt. The problem 0:08:41.380 --> 0:08:44.740 is that we didn't have the internal power to obey it. 0:08:44.740 --> 0:08:48.370 With the new covenant, God gives us spiritual power. The 0:08:48.370 --> 0:08:51.510 Holy Spirit comes and dwells us and empowers us to 0:08:51.510 --> 0:08:55.140 be obedient. That's what's so crucial about the New covenant. 0:08:55.170 --> 0:09:00.780 Okay. Thank you. Thanks for that question, Michael. Related. Only 0:09:00.780 --> 0:09:03.600 in that looking at Old Testament and kind of the 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:08.790 future promise, Maxwell and Florida wrote listens to Wcqs and 0:09:08.790 --> 0:09:13.230 was wondering if there's a connection between job 33, which 0:09:13.230 --> 0:09:18.360 is part of Elihu's first speech, um, and the gospel. 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:22.260 So he was seeing some kind of overarching things about 0:09:22.260 --> 0:09:28.140 man experiencing death and needing salvation, having a mediator petitioning 0:09:28.140 --> 0:09:33.510 for man's salvation. Um, that mediator providing a ransom, man 0:09:33.510 --> 0:09:37.260 praying to God and being accepted by God who restores 0:09:37.260 --> 0:09:42.150 man's righteousness, and then man proclaiming that good news to others. Um, 0:09:42.179 --> 0:09:45.150 you in the previous question, were able to show us 0:09:45.150 --> 0:09:49.940 how the the various Old Testament passages can connect to 0:09:49.940 --> 0:09:53.960 the New Testament and and look forward. But I think 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.949 sometimes we can get we try to look so hard 0:09:57.950 --> 0:10:03.200 for connections of, um, of Jesus, I guess, which is 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.319 not what Maxwell's saying, but looking so hard to make 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:11.450 it fit into something that can also have, um, like 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:16.219 present day connections to Jesus that we can we can 0:10:16.220 --> 0:10:18.710 try too hard. So how do we. 0:10:19.550 --> 0:10:21.410 How do we do that? You're right. Well. 0:10:21.740 --> 0:10:24.710 Um, I mean, like, I read through job 33 and 0:10:24.710 --> 0:10:26.929 I was like, you know, okay, I could kind of 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:32.690 see some loose kind of connections, overarching ideas where this 0:10:32.690 --> 0:10:36.140 might be happening. Um, but what do you say? 0:10:36.290 --> 0:10:39.740 I think that here's what I would start. I look 0:10:39.770 --> 0:10:41.930 at the context and it says that God's going to 0:10:41.929 --> 0:10:45.650 speak to us in verses 15 through 18. It says 0:10:45.650 --> 0:10:49.209 he speaks in jobs day. He speaks in a dream, 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:52.030 a vision in the night. Uh, so one of the 0:10:52.030 --> 0:10:55.090 ways that God can communicate is through dreams and visions. 0:10:55.090 --> 0:10:59.800 And then God speaks. Also, according to verses 19 through 22, 0:11:00.460 --> 0:11:04.449 he can speak through suffering. A person may be disciplined 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:09.010 on his bed with pain and constant distress, and so 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.530 his flesh can waste away. God is speaking to him 0:11:11.530 --> 0:11:16.900 through that. Uh, and then he can also speak in 0:11:16.900 --> 0:11:22.120 the verse that he cites in verse 2223. He can 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.570 speak through angels, through mediating angels. If there's an angel 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.910 on his side, one mediator out of a thousand to 0:11:27.940 --> 0:11:30.370 tell a person what is right for him, be gracious 0:11:30.370 --> 0:11:32.559 to him, and say, and so forth, and he can 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:36.460 speak through an a mediating angel. I don't think that 0:11:36.460 --> 0:11:38.800 was very common. But you look at the book of Daniel. 0:11:38.830 --> 0:11:43.120 Angels came and communicated with him. The the point that 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:50.340 Elihu is making is that God speaks through various ways 0:11:50.340 --> 0:11:53.430 dreams and visions, suffering, mediating angels. But then if you 0:11:53.429 --> 0:11:58.110 read verses 25 through 33, he does this to bring 0:11:58.110 --> 0:12:02.459 people to repentance. And the reason he says this is 0:12:02.460 --> 0:12:06.929 he thinks, job, you did something really wrong or you 0:12:06.929 --> 0:12:10.380 wouldn't be suffering this way. God's using these things, the 0:12:10.380 --> 0:12:14.010 suffering in particular, to bring you to repentance. You better 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.309 get your act together. Uh, and it's true that God 0:12:17.309 --> 0:12:22.650 can use these things to speak to any person. Uh, 0:12:22.650 --> 0:12:27.120 he uses suffering sometimes to communicate with us. But we 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.940 ought not to be like Elihu and presume that God 0:12:29.940 --> 0:12:35.760 allows suffering only to correct and bring people to repentance. 0:12:35.850 --> 0:12:38.040 God does use suffering. I think one of the ways 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:40.230 that he uses suffering is to refine us and make 0:12:40.230 --> 0:12:43.469 us closer to him, but the point that he's making 0:12:43.470 --> 0:12:46.100 is that God mediates his message to us through a 0:12:46.100 --> 0:12:49.910 variety of ways. Today, I would say since the coming 0:12:49.940 --> 0:12:52.820 of the Messiah, God is you know, it says in 0:12:52.850 --> 0:12:56.840 Hebrews one that God spoke to us in many different 0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:02.479 ways through many different means. That's what it says in 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.120 Hebrews one one. I'm turning to the verse so I 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:08.960 can quote it exactly. Long ago, God spoke to the 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.980 fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 0:13:13.010 --> 0:13:16.610 Now verse two, in these last days he has spoken 0:13:16.610 --> 0:13:20.569 to us by his son. So the great mediator that 0:13:20.570 --> 0:13:24.439 communicates the truth of God through the new covenant is 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.740 the Lord Jesus. And so I don't think that this 0:13:27.740 --> 0:13:33.500 passage in job 33 is a specific, uh, prediction of 0:13:33.500 --> 0:13:38.360 the Messiah, but I do think that it teaches a 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:41.540 principle that leads us to the Messiah, who will be 0:13:41.540 --> 0:13:45.570 the A primary. He is the only way that God 0:13:45.570 --> 0:13:48.870 speaks to us through His Word. But through the Messiah's Word, 0:13:48.870 --> 0:13:52.559 the Word of Christ is called in the New Testament. Uh, 0:13:52.710 --> 0:13:57.360 he he speaks to us through his great mediator, the 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:01.679 Lord Jesus. So that's that's what this is about. But, uh, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.080 you know, I think it's hard to see a direct 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.380 messianic prediction here in job 33. And that's what we 0:14:07.380 --> 0:14:10.349 want to see. But, you know, we have to be careful. 0:14:10.350 --> 0:14:15.240 We want to read it for what it really actually says. And, uh, 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.030 and I think you're right that we all want it 0:14:18.030 --> 0:14:23.190 to be a prediction. Right. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. But that 0:14:23.220 --> 0:14:26.280 it's what Ellie. Ellie who. This is what you find 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:27.990 about job's friends. And when you read the book of 0:14:27.990 --> 0:14:30.570 job this should help you. They usually take a bit 0:14:30.570 --> 0:14:35.940 of truth and then they apply it wrong. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Which, 0:14:36.090 --> 0:14:38.610 which we have to be careful of. They're applying it 0:14:38.610 --> 0:14:42.290 in the wrong way to the life of job. But, uh, 0:14:42.710 --> 0:14:45.110 they but they have truth there. But they have to 0:14:45.110 --> 0:14:48.020 apply it better. And I think sometimes when I talk 0:14:48.020 --> 0:14:50.030 to us, that's what we do as well. We have 0:14:50.030 --> 0:14:52.280 a bit of truth and we apply it in the 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.320 wrong way. We're going to come back with more questions. 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.800 Tricia McMillan and I, we're taking your we've we've taken 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.890 your questions on the Bible, God and the spiritual life 0:15:00.890 --> 0:15:05.240 and on this special clear the the spindle day. We'll 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:17.330 be right back. With. The book of acts is much 0:15:17.330 --> 0:15:20.930 more than history. It's also about defending the faith. It 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:24.800 includes the biographies of the apostles and has profound teachings 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:29.720 about God, especially the Holy Spirit. And with Doctor Charles Rogers, 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:34.370 everyday Bible commentary on acts will gain a richer appreciation 0:15:34.370 --> 0:15:37.460 for how the same Holy Spirit can radically change our 0:15:37.460 --> 0:15:41.500 lives today. Request your copy with your gift of any amount. 0:15:41.530 --> 0:15:51.580 Call (888) 644-7122 or visit open Line radio.org. Ministry isn't a 0:15:51.580 --> 0:15:54.340 solo effort. You know my voice. But if you could 0:15:54.340 --> 0:15:57.160 see inside our studio, you'd see a team behind the 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.040 scenes putting open line on the air. Look a little 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.860 further and you'd see into the homes of listeners like 0:16:02.860 --> 0:16:06.250 you who give monthly to make this ministry possible. And 0:16:06.250 --> 0:16:09.070 when you join our team of Kitchen Table Partners, I'll 0:16:09.070 --> 0:16:11.710 send you a Bible study moment email every other week 0:16:11.710 --> 0:16:15.100 with tips and encouragement. Become a kitchen table partner today 0:16:15.100 --> 0:16:30.550 by calling (888) 644-7122 or go to Open Line radio.org. Welcome 0:16:30.550 --> 0:16:33.100 back to Open Line. I'm so glad to be with 0:16:33.100 --> 0:16:36.700 you today. Really grateful for that. And I'm glad that 0:16:36.700 --> 0:16:41.780 Tricia McMillan is here. We're recording a special, uh, Labor 0:16:41.810 --> 0:16:46.880 Day weekend open line. So it's, uh, so as a result, 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.580 there's no need to call. But do listen, these are 0:16:49.580 --> 0:16:51.740 the questions that you have sent in by going to 0:16:51.770 --> 0:16:55.280 Open Line radio.org and clicking on ask Michael a question. 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:57.920 Trish is with me. A lot of people send those 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:59.660 questions in don't they. Oh yes. 0:16:59.660 --> 0:17:02.300 And I'm glad they do otherwise. I mean I could 0:17:02.300 --> 0:17:05.180 come up with my own, but I'd rather other people 0:17:05.210 --> 0:17:07.310 I'd rather other people have a chance to have their 0:17:07.310 --> 0:17:08.450 questions asked. 0:17:08.540 --> 0:17:10.730 Yeah. You know what? There are a lot of people 0:17:10.730 --> 0:17:13.639 that come up with their own besides you. And I 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:15.260 think it's so funny when I like, I go to 0:17:15.290 --> 0:17:17.959 the grocery store and someone recognizes me. They've looked at 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.570 the website, they've seen my picture. Usually people just recognize 0:17:20.570 --> 0:17:23.720 my voice and they say, are you Michael Radonich? And 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:25.010 I say, yes. And they say, oh, I have a 0:17:25.010 --> 0:17:27.830 Bible question. And I'm standing there, you know, checking the 0:17:27.859 --> 0:17:30.350 tomatoes at the same time. So, sure, I'll answer a 0:17:30.350 --> 0:17:32.810 Bible question. So I'm glad that people send them in. 0:17:32.810 --> 0:17:34.910 We could do them here so everyone can hear the. 0:17:34.940 --> 0:17:38.470 Yes, yes, yeah. We can all I'll learn. Yeah. So 0:17:38.470 --> 0:17:41.620 our first our next question is from Ashley. Why did 0:17:41.619 --> 0:17:45.070 God permit Satan to harm job? We talked a little 0:17:45.100 --> 0:17:48.520 bit about this. Um, despite job's reverence for God, I 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.850 know Satan cannot harm people without God's permission. So why 0:17:51.850 --> 0:17:55.780 does God allow Satan to harm people, especially believers today? 0:17:55.869 --> 0:17:56.350 So kind of. 0:17:56.380 --> 0:18:00.610 A question is why does God allow suffering? Yeah, I mean, 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:04.270 that's really what the question is. And truth to tell, 0:18:04.300 --> 0:18:09.850 I don't think we have a simplistic, easy answer to say, oh, 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:13.750 this is why God allows suffering. You know, I there 0:18:13.780 --> 0:18:16.600 are a lot of different things that that happen. I, 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:19.540 I have looked at this particularly, you know, when I 0:18:19.540 --> 0:18:23.260 think about my mom as a young woman, went to 0:18:23.290 --> 0:18:27.040 concentration camp. She lost her family. She was a slave 0:18:27.070 --> 0:18:31.600 to the Nazi regime. She suffered greatly. They did experimental 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:35.800 surgery on her eyes. And you could say, well, maybe 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:37.500 she didn't know the Lord. Well, she did know the Lord. 0:18:37.500 --> 0:18:39.570 She had just come to know the Lord right before 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.590 concentration camp. Now, after she married in Germany. We didn't 0:18:43.590 --> 0:18:46.740 know growing up. She kept that she was a secret believer, 0:18:46.740 --> 0:18:49.830 but she had become a believer before going to concentration camp. 0:18:50.010 --> 0:18:53.609 I'm like, well, why in the world would God allow that? 0:18:53.609 --> 0:19:00.000 But if you asked my mom, she would say that 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:04.200 God used it to refine her faith. God used it 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:09.900 to make her more dependent on Jesus than ever. Uh, 0:19:10.380 --> 0:19:16.230 he used it to, to really give her a stronger 0:19:16.230 --> 0:19:18.750 faith that she had. You know, it's easy to believe 0:19:18.750 --> 0:19:22.050 when everything's going great, but our faith is really strong 0:19:22.050 --> 0:19:25.800 when things are horrible. And we still trust and believe 0:19:25.830 --> 0:19:29.400 God's word and believe in the Messiah. So I think 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:32.940 that when you look at job, if we go back 0:19:32.940 --> 0:19:35.570 to this text, job had was a godly man, but 0:19:35.570 --> 0:19:39.050 he had an issue. He thought he deserved everything good 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:43.490 because of his faithfulness. And what he learned was that 0:19:43.490 --> 0:19:46.400 God is sovereign and he doesn't have to answer to us. 0:19:46.430 --> 0:19:49.250 That's a really big lesson to learn. So in a sense, 0:19:49.250 --> 0:19:53.660 we could say that with job, God allowed that to happen, 0:19:53.990 --> 0:19:58.669 to refine job's faith, to strengthen it, to make it 0:19:59.030 --> 0:20:01.850 a better faith. Because what does he do at the end? 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:04.669 He says, I repent in dust and ashes. He just. 0:20:04.700 --> 0:20:08.510 He recognizes that he can't demand of God to answer 0:20:08.510 --> 0:20:12.200 to him. We are answerable to God alone. So why 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:16.100 does God allow suffering in the lives of believers today? 0:20:16.130 --> 0:20:19.580 Many different reasons. One of the reasons I would say 0:20:19.580 --> 0:20:23.899 another one is when you look at Hebrews 1136 through 40, 0:20:23.930 --> 0:20:27.290 where it talks about godly people who suffered greatly, God 0:20:27.290 --> 0:20:31.070 uses them to create heroes for us. I mean, who 0:20:31.100 --> 0:20:33.139 are the ones that we think are real heroes of 0:20:33.140 --> 0:20:38.679 the faith? The people who remain steadfast and faithful regardless 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:43.720 of how much they suffer. I mean, would Johnny be 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:47.020 a real hero of the faith the way she is? Uh, 0:20:47.050 --> 0:20:50.110 had she not suffered so much? But it's her great 0:20:50.109 --> 0:20:53.260 faith in the face of suffering that makes her one 0:20:53.260 --> 0:20:55.119 of our true heroes. So, Johnny. 0:20:55.869 --> 0:20:57.040 You're talking about Johnny Erickson. 0:20:57.220 --> 0:21:01.570 Johnny erickson. Tada! Yeah. And it's. The thing is, he 0:21:01.570 --> 0:21:04.450 refines our faith and gives us heroes to follow who 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:07.480 have had their faith refined through suffering. 0:21:07.750 --> 0:21:12.070 Okay, so Orlando's question on the heels of this is 0:21:12.070 --> 0:21:14.800 he's trying to talk to his daughter and engage with 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:18.070 her on this question. She's drifted from the faith. And 0:21:18.070 --> 0:21:22.690 this is her big sticking point that that God, um, 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:26.500 that people are going through this suffering and he's allowing 0:21:26.500 --> 0:21:31.150 it and he knows what's going to happen. Um, why 0:21:31.150 --> 0:21:36.740 why How do you respond to especially a young person like. 0:21:36.830 --> 0:21:39.080 She wants to know why did God let Adam and 0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:42.260 Eve sin just to start with? Yeah, and I think 0:21:42.260 --> 0:21:46.670 that's actually a good question. Uh, because it helps us 0:21:46.670 --> 0:21:51.290 answer the question about why he allows things today. First 0:21:51.290 --> 0:21:55.940 of all, he allowed Adam and Eve to sin, gave 0:21:55.940 --> 0:21:59.780 them the option to obey him or disobey him because 0:21:59.780 --> 0:22:04.250 if he did not, and this is crucial, they would have. 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:07.250 If it was just. You can only obey. Then they 0:22:07.250 --> 0:22:10.280 were nothing but computers. They were nothing but robots. They 0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:14.750 were nothing but machines programmed to do whatever God said. 0:22:14.990 --> 0:22:18.679 And if of think about this, if if Adam and 0:22:18.680 --> 0:22:21.650 Eve had been programmed to love and obey God, how 0:22:21.650 --> 0:22:26.060 genuine is that love? It has to be a choice. 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:30.020 It has to be a choice to obey God and 0:22:30.020 --> 0:22:33.250 love him so that we are not robots. That's why 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:36.160 God did that from the beginning, taking the risk that 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:41.080 they might disobey him. Uh, and now God knew all 0:22:41.080 --> 0:22:43.090 along that they would. I'm not saying he didn't say 0:22:43.090 --> 0:22:43.869 it's not a risk. 0:22:43.869 --> 0:22:46.629 I guess if you know that, that's what's going to happen. But. Yeah. 0:22:46.750 --> 0:22:50.290 Yeah, but he said that's what's going to happen. And 0:22:50.290 --> 0:22:52.870 that's why it says in the Bible that Jesus was 0:22:52.869 --> 0:22:57.460 the lamb slain before the foundation of the world was laid. Why? 0:22:57.730 --> 0:23:01.090 Because God knew that they would disobey and he would 0:23:01.090 --> 0:23:05.409 do everything. He would make the greatest sacrifice ever to 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:12.250 redeem humanity. So, uh, God is doing that. He. So 0:23:12.250 --> 0:23:17.650 that he could have a genuine relationship with people, not 0:23:17.650 --> 0:23:21.489 just a a computer that does what we tell it 0:23:21.490 --> 0:23:25.060 to do when we program it. Okay. And that's. But 0:23:25.060 --> 0:23:30.990 because Adam and Eve, uh, did this, um. Hmm. The 0:23:30.990 --> 0:23:33.990 result is the world has fallen and and people need 0:23:33.990 --> 0:23:38.970 to turn to the Lord Jesus for redemption. And I 0:23:38.970 --> 0:23:41.700 would say, if God is all knowing. And why does 0:23:41.700 --> 0:23:45.150 he allow sin and bad things to happen? Because it 0:23:45.150 --> 0:23:51.900 causes people to turn to him. Uh, it says in 0:23:51.930 --> 0:23:59.460 Psalm 120, I believe. Let me just pull this up here. Uh, 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:07.020 Psalm 120, verse one. It says, in my distress I 0:24:07.050 --> 0:24:10.860 call to the Lord, and he answered me. So what 0:24:10.859 --> 0:24:14.159 is God doing? He allows bad things to happen because 0:24:14.160 --> 0:24:17.609 of the fallen world, so that people would look to 0:24:17.640 --> 0:24:21.420 him for deliverance. And I think that's a really crucial 0:24:21.420 --> 0:24:24.600 aspect of this God. One aspect of why God allows 0:24:24.600 --> 0:24:27.960 suffering is so that people would turn to him for 0:24:27.990 --> 0:24:31.670 that relationship. God uses suffering to speak to us. That's 0:24:31.670 --> 0:24:36.470 what we just talked about with job. Mhm. Uh, so he, 0:24:36.500 --> 0:24:40.430 he uses bad things in our lives to direct our 0:24:40.430 --> 0:24:44.960 attention to him. Uh, now some people get bitter, other 0:24:44.960 --> 0:24:47.419 people turn to him in suffering, and that's what he 0:24:47.420 --> 0:24:50.389 wants us to do. And then he delivers us. And 0:24:50.390 --> 0:24:52.760 the last thing I would say is the best of 0:24:52.760 --> 0:24:56.570 all possible worlds is not a world in which there 0:24:56.570 --> 0:25:02.750 was no evil, because there's so many things that difficulties 0:25:02.750 --> 0:25:05.660 in evil teach us. You know, there are there are 0:25:05.660 --> 0:25:14.780 virtues like bravery that we wouldn't know were there no suffering. Uh, faithfulness. Sacrifice. 0:25:14.780 --> 0:25:18.830 The man who jumps on a grenade to save his platoon? 0:25:18.830 --> 0:25:20.840 If there were not, would that happen? If there were 0:25:20.840 --> 0:25:23.570 no the there if there wasn't the evil of war. 0:25:23.630 --> 0:25:29.170 So there are virtues that God creates. And then ultimately, 0:25:29.170 --> 0:25:31.570 I would say the best of all possible worlds is 0:25:31.570 --> 0:25:34.090 not a world in which there was no evil, but 0:25:34.090 --> 0:25:37.840 a world in which evil has been overcome. And so 0:25:37.869 --> 0:25:39.700 and that's what the Lord Jesus is going to do 0:25:39.700 --> 0:25:44.680 when he returns, establish a world that is perfect. So 0:25:44.920 --> 0:25:47.680 we'll continue this mailbag program in just a moment. I'm 0:25:47.680 --> 0:25:50.950 Michael Radonich. Tricia McMillan is here with me. Stay with us. 0:25:50.980 --> 0:25:55.270 We're coming right back on this very special mailbag only 0:25:55.300 --> 0:26:03.459 day of open life. We're so glad that Febc partners 0:26:03.460 --> 0:26:07.030 with Open Line with Doctor Michael Radonich, bringing the Febc 0:26:07.060 --> 0:26:11.020 mailbag every week. Learn how far East Broadcasting Company is 0:26:11.020 --> 0:26:16.270 taking Christ to the world@febc.org on their weekly podcast. Until 0:26:16.270 --> 0:26:19.000 all have heard with Ed Cannon, you'll hear stories of 0:26:19.000 --> 0:26:23.110 lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again, you 0:26:23.109 --> 0:26:29.300 can hear the podcast when you visit Febc. Org. That's Febc. Org. 0:26:37.580 --> 0:26:43.040 Welcome back to Open Line. It's a very special Labor 0:26:43.040 --> 0:26:46.580 Day weekend program. We're clearing the spindle emptying the inbox. 0:26:46.580 --> 0:26:49.669 Don't call in. We love your calls. But save them 0:26:49.670 --> 0:26:54.800 for next week. And the reason is we are answering 0:26:54.800 --> 0:26:57.890 the many mailbag questions as a pre-recorded program. Joining me 0:26:57.890 --> 0:27:01.190 is Tricia McMillan. Hey, Tricia. Hi. I'm so glad that 0:27:01.190 --> 0:27:03.500 you're here. This is usually our mailbag segment, but this 0:27:03.500 --> 0:27:07.070 whole program today for two hours is our mailbag segments. 0:27:07.070 --> 0:27:11.840 So but I'm really glad that you're here. And we're 0:27:11.840 --> 0:27:13.280 going to go back to the questions. What do you 0:27:13.310 --> 0:27:13.639 got for me? 0:27:13.670 --> 0:27:16.700 All right Lori in Alabama listens on the Moody app. 0:27:16.730 --> 0:27:19.369 And she wants to know if you can explain. First 0:27:19.369 --> 0:27:24.940 Corinthians 1013 says, no temptation has overtaken you except what 0:27:24.940 --> 0:27:27.700 is common to humanity. God is faithful and he will 0:27:27.700 --> 0:27:30.639 not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. 0:27:30.670 --> 0:27:33.040 But with the temptation, he will also provide a way 0:27:33.040 --> 0:27:35.379 of escape so that you are able to bear it. 0:27:35.500 --> 0:27:38.439 She says Paul says God will not tempt beyond what 0:27:38.440 --> 0:27:42.040 I can handle what I need. God then, doesn't God 0:27:42.040 --> 0:27:45.459 give us more so that we have to lean on him? 0:27:45.550 --> 0:27:48.670 No. He only what this is saying is we absolutely 0:27:48.670 --> 0:27:50.979 need God, who is the one that gives us the 0:27:50.980 --> 0:27:55.060 way of escape. It's the Lord who provides the way 0:27:55.060 --> 0:28:00.370 of escape. Uh, and and that's the thing that we 0:28:00.369 --> 0:28:04.629 remember is that in every circumstance when we're tempted, God 0:28:04.630 --> 0:28:09.730 is also providentially involved so that he is working because 0:28:09.730 --> 0:28:11.709 we desperately need him. What we need to do is 0:28:11.740 --> 0:28:14.080 see what is God doing to give me a way 0:28:14.080 --> 0:28:16.570 of escape. This is so important because people always want 0:28:16.600 --> 0:28:21.550 to blame someone else for their sin, right? Think about Adam. Uh, 0:28:21.550 --> 0:28:25.000 it was the woman whom you gave me. Right? And 0:28:25.000 --> 0:28:29.320 the woman said it was the serpent. And we're always 0:28:29.320 --> 0:28:32.709 looking for someone else to blame. I think of the 0:28:32.710 --> 0:28:36.610 old Flip Wilson comedian, the comedian Flip Wilson, who said 0:28:36.609 --> 0:28:39.400 that when he had I think it was Geraldine. It 0:28:39.400 --> 0:28:42.010 was one of his characters. And she would say, the 0:28:42.010 --> 0:28:45.190 devil made me do it. Right. We we want to 0:28:45.190 --> 0:28:50.440 blame someone else all the time. And what this is 0:28:50.440 --> 0:28:53.650 saying is there's no one else to blame, because in 0:28:53.650 --> 0:28:58.300 every temptation, God provides a way of escape. It's not 0:28:58.300 --> 0:29:01.810 saying that the temptations won't be hard. They won't be challenging. 0:29:01.810 --> 0:29:04.060 It's just that there's never a place where we say, 0:29:04.060 --> 0:29:07.720 I had to sin. I couldn't help myself. God put 0:29:07.720 --> 0:29:10.600 me in a circumstance where I must sin. This is 0:29:10.600 --> 0:29:15.850 saying no. Any temptation we have. God has also provided 0:29:15.850 --> 0:29:20.140 a pathway to obedience if we'll take a look for it. 0:29:20.140 --> 0:29:22.760 So it's not saying we don't need the Lord. It's 0:29:22.760 --> 0:29:25.310 just saying, in fact, what we do need the Lord 0:29:25.310 --> 0:29:27.950 to do in our lives by his power is to 0:29:27.980 --> 0:29:32.960 help us to find that pathway of escape. Uh, and 0:29:32.960 --> 0:29:36.020 so that's that's all that that is saying. It's not 0:29:36.020 --> 0:29:39.110 saying that. Oh, we don't need the Lord because there's 0:29:39.110 --> 0:29:40.970 a way of escape. No, we need the Lord. Who's 0:29:40.970 --> 0:29:43.640 the one that provides the way of escape. 0:29:43.670 --> 0:29:46.190 And I think when we use this verse, or at 0:29:46.220 --> 0:29:50.030 least when I've heard it, we only quote the first part. 0:29:50.150 --> 0:29:54.200 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. 0:29:54.230 --> 0:29:56.930 You know, except what's common to humanity. And we don't 0:29:56.930 --> 0:29:59.960 get as far as or we just we just quote 0:29:59.960 --> 0:30:01.910 the middle. He won't allow you to be tempted beyond 0:30:01.910 --> 0:30:06.290 what you're able. As if we. As if we are 0:30:06.290 --> 0:30:09.740 relying on our own strength to do that. And and 0:30:09.740 --> 0:30:14.420 rarely do I ever hear anyone include he will provide 0:30:14.420 --> 0:30:17.690 a way out. So it's only that those first two 0:30:17.720 --> 0:30:19.460 parts that I hear quoted. 0:30:19.730 --> 0:30:22.060 I love the story. A friend of mine told me 0:30:22.090 --> 0:30:24.820 she was a college student. She was a former student 0:30:24.820 --> 0:30:28.360 and she's good friends with Eva. She was a student 0:30:28.360 --> 0:30:32.890 and she was a committed follower of Jesus. And she 0:30:32.890 --> 0:30:36.400 was in Manhattan, and she was making out with a 0:30:36.400 --> 0:30:40.960 guy in a car in Manhattan, of all places. And 0:30:40.960 --> 0:30:45.430 she was getting really tempted to maybe go beyond what 0:30:45.430 --> 0:30:50.770 she should do. And she prayed at that moment she said, God, 0:30:50.770 --> 0:30:54.730 give me a way of escape, or I'm going to 0:30:54.760 --> 0:30:58.840 behave in ways that are really wrong. And in the 0:30:58.840 --> 0:31:05.890 middle of Manhattan, a car right there parked a raccoon 0:31:05.890 --> 0:31:10.240 jumped into the back seat of the car. It's a 0:31:10.240 --> 0:31:15.370 true story. A raccoon jumped in there and it disrupted 0:31:15.370 --> 0:31:18.730 the whole thing. And she said, there's my way of escape. 0:31:18.760 --> 0:31:21.890 And she says, I'm getting out of here, so. Wow. 0:31:22.610 --> 0:31:26.630 And so you just never know how it is. Know 0:31:26.660 --> 0:31:30.020 that God will provide a way of escape. So. 0:31:30.050 --> 0:31:32.330 But we have no excuse to sin. 0:31:32.360 --> 0:31:35.810 Yeah, exactly. And I just thought that was the funniest story. 0:31:35.810 --> 0:31:40.520 I was teaching this verse in spiritual life once, and 0:31:40.520 --> 0:31:44.180 this person was in the class and told that story 0:31:44.180 --> 0:31:47.150 to the class, and I just thought, that is hysterical. 0:31:47.270 --> 0:31:51.050 But God provided a way of escape, didn't he? 0:31:51.080 --> 0:31:54.740 He did. So he did. And again, I'm I'm always 0:31:54.740 --> 0:32:00.740 surprised how God answers prayers and how we cannot see 0:32:00.740 --> 0:32:04.160 any way that this could happen, whatever that is. I mean, 0:32:04.160 --> 0:32:07.760 I mean, you name whatever the prayer request is and 0:32:07.760 --> 0:32:11.300 the way that God shows up or God answers prayers 0:32:11.300 --> 0:32:14.150 in ways that that's that's not what I would. You know, 0:32:14.180 --> 0:32:16.400 I was expecting you to say. A cop pulled up 0:32:16.400 --> 0:32:19.060 behind them with the lights flashing or something like that. 0:32:19.060 --> 0:32:22.630 A raccoon was not on my radar for that. 0:32:23.050 --> 0:32:24.670 In Manhattan, right? 0:32:25.840 --> 0:32:29.440 Oh yeah. But I love that. God still. He was there. 0:32:29.440 --> 0:32:32.770 He provided that way out for her after she prayed that. 0:32:32.800 --> 0:32:33.880 Yeah. Isn't that great? 0:32:33.910 --> 0:32:34.630 Yeah. And what. 0:32:34.630 --> 0:32:35.200 Encouragement. 0:32:35.200 --> 0:32:38.290 That story, too, for those who are struggling with sin 0:32:38.320 --> 0:32:41.050 and saying, I just can't I can't quit, I can't, 0:32:41.050 --> 0:32:45.460 I don't see a way out that God is faithful 0:32:45.460 --> 0:32:48.280 and will also provide a way of escape. 0:32:48.310 --> 0:32:50.680 Yeah, we have to be looking for it and asking 0:32:50.680 --> 0:32:53.950 him to show it to us. Yeah. So yeah. That's it. Yeah. 0:32:53.980 --> 0:32:57.370 All right. Well, thanks for that question, Lori. Um, switching 0:32:57.370 --> 0:33:00.489 gears a little bit, Ed from Florida listens Online and 0:33:00.490 --> 0:33:06.100 said that I've heard different people testify on television programs. Christian, 0:33:06.100 --> 0:33:09.400 mostly that Christ has appeared to them in a dream 0:33:09.400 --> 0:33:12.670 and was the catalyst of how he how they came 0:33:12.670 --> 0:33:16.330 to faith in Christ. Um, what is your take on this? 0:33:16.360 --> 0:33:18.840 Like today in the Western world, we don't see that 0:33:18.840 --> 0:33:21.330 as much. But I've heard, especially in the Middle East, 0:33:21.360 --> 0:33:24.510 a lot of times, these stories of how Jesus appears 0:33:24.510 --> 0:33:27.210 in a dream and that kind of gets them asking 0:33:27.210 --> 0:33:28.680 questions and different things. 0:33:28.710 --> 0:33:37.890 It's usually in very resistant cultures like Islam or even Judaism, uh, Hinduism, 0:33:37.890 --> 0:33:41.190 where they have really made their decisions about who Jesus 0:33:41.220 --> 0:33:46.920 is in some of those cultures. Uh, that the Lord uses, uh, 0:33:46.920 --> 0:33:53.010 dreams and, and visions to get people's attention. So but 0:33:53.010 --> 0:33:55.500 I want to be really clear, the gospel generally, when 0:33:55.500 --> 0:33:57.990 you hear those stories, it was just to get their attention, 0:33:57.990 --> 0:34:00.510 to open them up. But they need to hear the 0:34:00.540 --> 0:34:03.180 gospel either from the Word of God or the people 0:34:03.180 --> 0:34:06.720 of God, in order to put their faith in the Lord. 0:34:06.720 --> 0:34:09.989 But that's just the opening. I've never heard of anyone 0:34:09.989 --> 0:34:14.190 coming to the Lord through the dream, only becoming open. 0:34:14.190 --> 0:34:17.420 And then when they hear the gospel, they respond. I 0:34:17.420 --> 0:34:19.520 had a student who gave his testimony back in the 0:34:19.520 --> 0:34:22.520 day at Moody. We had a course called Personal Evangelism. 0:34:22.580 --> 0:34:23.450 I think you. 0:34:23.480 --> 0:34:24.890 I did. I took that class. 0:34:25.250 --> 0:34:27.740 And we one of the things that I did when 0:34:27.739 --> 0:34:30.589 I taught that course was have people write up their 0:34:30.590 --> 0:34:35.630 testimony how to how to tell their faith story. And 0:34:35.630 --> 0:34:39.890 there was a wonderful student from Jordan who was one 0:34:39.890 --> 0:34:45.020 day praying to God as he overlooked the Gulf of Aqaba, 0:34:45.050 --> 0:34:47.480 and he was looking at into the state of Israel 0:34:47.480 --> 0:34:50.660 from Jordan. And he saw the state of Israel. And 0:34:50.660 --> 0:34:56.750 he what he was praying to Allah, he said, was saying, 0:34:56.750 --> 0:35:00.380 May the. May there be peace between Israel and the 0:35:00.380 --> 0:35:03.830 Arab states. That's what he was praying. And just as 0:35:03.830 --> 0:35:07.400 he prayed that, he said, I saw a vision. And 0:35:07.400 --> 0:35:11.660 he says, I was certain it was the Prince of Peace. Jesus. 0:35:12.440 --> 0:35:16.020 And He didn't know what to make of it, and 0:35:16.020 --> 0:35:18.930 that was sort of the end of it, he thought. 0:35:18.960 --> 0:35:21.090 A few months later, he came to the United States 0:35:21.090 --> 0:35:24.570 of America on a soccer scholarship with setting up his 0:35:24.570 --> 0:35:28.830 dorm room and went into a hardware store to pick 0:35:28.830 --> 0:35:33.810 something up and saw a young woman reading a Bible 0:35:34.890 --> 0:35:37.739 in Korean. And he said, what book is that? And 0:35:37.739 --> 0:35:39.330 she told him what it was. And he said, well, 0:35:39.330 --> 0:35:43.529 I can't read Korean or English very well. And she said, 0:35:43.530 --> 0:35:47.910 I'll get you an Arabic one, come back tomorrow. And 0:35:47.910 --> 0:35:51.870 he came back the next day, looked at the the Bible, 0:35:51.870 --> 0:35:55.259 read it in Arabic, and within a week came to 0:35:55.290 --> 0:35:59.129 know the Lord. Wow. Uh, and then after he spent 0:35:59.130 --> 0:36:02.759 that year in school, he transferred to Moody Bible Institute. Yay! 0:36:03.090 --> 0:36:07.980 Today he's an evangelist. Wow. With Muslims in on the 0:36:07.980 --> 0:36:12.210 west coast of the United States. Uh, what what I 0:36:12.210 --> 0:36:15.980 think is amazing is what opened him up. Was that dream, 0:36:16.010 --> 0:36:20.689 that that vision. So I think that that's crucial. Hey, 0:36:20.690 --> 0:36:22.040 let's take a break here. All right. Why don't we 0:36:22.040 --> 0:36:24.560 do that? Uh, because we want to have some time 0:36:24.560 --> 0:36:27.140 to take some more questions in our next segment. Uh, 0:36:27.140 --> 0:36:30.770 that was Tricia McMillan with that great, great question and 0:36:30.800 --> 0:36:33.770 sent in really, really helpful for us to know that 0:36:33.770 --> 0:36:37.339 God is working among people who are resistant. And we're 0:36:37.340 --> 0:36:39.230 going to come right back with more of your questions 0:36:39.230 --> 0:36:41.299 that you've sent in in just a moment. This is 0:36:41.300 --> 0:36:52.820 open line with Michael Jelinek and Tricia McMillan. With all 0:36:52.820 --> 0:36:56.600 the suffering and persecution Jewish people have faced throughout history, 0:36:56.630 --> 0:36:59.300 we need to be reminded that the Lord has always 0:36:59.300 --> 0:37:02.270 been faithful to his chosen people. And that's what the 0:37:02.270 --> 0:37:07.460 new 2024 2025 Messianic Jewish Art calendar from Chosen People 0:37:07.460 --> 0:37:10.850 Ministries is here to do. It tells the story of 0:37:10.850 --> 0:37:13.760 Jewish people in the Land of Israel, from the promise 0:37:13.790 --> 0:37:18.740 given to Abraham through exiles and returns and then statehood. Yes, 0:37:18.739 --> 0:37:23.090 even on October 7th, God's hand has been evident. He's 0:37:23.090 --> 0:37:26.600 always been faithful to his covenant promises to the Jewish people. 0:37:26.660 --> 0:37:30.020 If you'd like a free copy of this marvelous art calendar, 0:37:30.020 --> 0:37:35.360 just go to Openline radio.org. That's our website, Openline radio.org. 0:37:35.360 --> 0:37:38.060 Scroll down to the link that says A free gift 0:37:38.060 --> 0:37:41.210 from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that, fill out the 0:37:41.210 --> 0:37:44.029 form and you'll be sure to get your free Messianic 0:37:44.030 --> 0:37:57.739 Jewish art calendar from Chosen People Ministries. Welcome back to 0:37:57.770 --> 0:38:00.770 Open Line. This is a special call free day. We 0:38:00.770 --> 0:38:03.620 just have the questions you sent in. The best way 0:38:03.620 --> 0:38:05.270 to do that, by the way, if you want to 0:38:05.270 --> 0:38:07.700 send a question in is just just go to our 0:38:07.700 --> 0:38:12.810 website openline Org and you'll see a link that says 0:38:12.840 --> 0:38:15.569 Ask Michael a question and you can put your question 0:38:15.570 --> 0:38:17.790 there about the Bible, God, or the spiritual life. I'll 0:38:17.790 --> 0:38:19.800 do my best to answer it. Trish will make sure 0:38:19.800 --> 0:38:22.739 it gets into the mailbag and we will cover it 0:38:22.770 --> 0:38:27.089 hopefully sooner or later, but hopefully sooner. And we're covering 0:38:27.090 --> 0:38:30.990 as many questions as we can today. Right, Tricia. We are. Yeah. 0:38:31.020 --> 0:38:33.810 So we're going right through the mailbag. Yeah. 0:38:33.840 --> 0:38:36.660 All right. Next question is from Jeff in Illinois listens 0:38:36.660 --> 0:38:40.440 to WNBA. I believe that the only thing that saves 0:38:40.440 --> 0:38:43.500 us is accepting Christ as our savior. But why is 0:38:43.500 --> 0:38:47.010 baptism mentioned in connection with salvation in so many verses 0:38:47.010 --> 0:38:50.130 in the New Testament? Was baptizing something new, or was 0:38:50.130 --> 0:38:53.430 it a custom that already existed in the time starring Christ? 0:38:55.020 --> 0:38:57.719 Well, first of all, it was not new. You go 0:38:57.719 --> 0:39:00.210 back to the book of Leviticus, the book of Exodus. 0:39:00.239 --> 0:39:05.640 You'll see places where, uh, priests were had ritual washings, 0:39:05.640 --> 0:39:10.399 people had ritual washings. Uh, that was the idea was 0:39:10.400 --> 0:39:15.320 that there were ritual washing, ceremonial washings, and that's what 0:39:15.680 --> 0:39:19.850 immersion in water was. So when John the Baptist shows 0:39:19.850 --> 0:39:23.810 up baptizing, no one thinks, oh, what's going on? We 0:39:23.840 --> 0:39:25.819 don't know what this is. They know what it is. 0:39:25.820 --> 0:39:30.380 It comes from Judaism. And one aspect of immersion in 0:39:30.380 --> 0:39:36.770 water was when someone would convert to Judaism, when a 0:39:36.770 --> 0:39:39.230 Gentile would convert. And we've seen that, you know, there 0:39:39.230 --> 0:39:43.219 are converts to Judaism in the New Testament. What would 0:39:43.219 --> 0:39:46.850 happen by the time you come to the first century 0:39:46.880 --> 0:39:50.840 is not only was there a conversion ceremony, not only 0:39:50.840 --> 0:39:53.750 was were men circumcised, but both men and women who 0:39:53.750 --> 0:39:58.880 converted to Judaism would be immersed in water immediately upon conversion, 0:39:58.880 --> 0:40:02.120 and it was to have their new identity. They go 0:40:02.120 --> 0:40:06.529 down under the water, not, uh, not Jewish, and they 0:40:06.530 --> 0:40:09.510 come up out of the water. According to rabbinic theology. 0:40:09.510 --> 0:40:14.040 They came up Jewish, and that's really the background. Jewish proselyte. Proselyte, 0:40:14.040 --> 0:40:22.170 baptism is the background for, uh, New Testament baptism of believers. Believer, baptism, 0:40:22.170 --> 0:40:25.320 not talking about John the Baptist baptism, but the baptism 0:40:25.350 --> 0:40:29.070 that the Lord Jesus commanded about making disciples of the nations, 0:40:29.070 --> 0:40:31.350 baptizing them in the name of the father and the 0:40:31.350 --> 0:40:34.710 son and the Holy Spirit. That was so linked to 0:40:34.739 --> 0:40:37.560 the new faith that there was no such thing as 0:40:37.560 --> 0:40:41.730 an unbaptized believer. It was a person who was surely 0:40:41.730 --> 0:40:44.670 saved by grace through faith. That was it. But you 0:40:44.670 --> 0:40:49.080 could see, for example, the Ethiopian royal official, the treasurer, 0:40:49.440 --> 0:40:52.830 as soon as he believes in acts eight with with Philip, 0:40:52.860 --> 0:40:55.950 he says, what prevents me from being baptized? And he 0:40:55.950 --> 0:40:58.350 gets right in the water to identify with his new 0:40:58.350 --> 0:41:03.750 faith immediately. Uh, and, and that's that's what happens. It's 0:41:03.750 --> 0:41:07.279 an immediate decision. So we've delayed it. But there's something. 0:41:07.280 --> 0:41:12.290 We have a similar thing. Tricia. This is. This is 0:41:12.290 --> 0:41:16.219 something that people often miss. Have you ever encouraged. I've 0:41:16.219 --> 0:41:19.460 done this. I've encouraged people to pray to receive Christ. 0:41:19.489 --> 0:41:21.020 Yes. Right. Yes. 0:41:21.050 --> 0:41:26.900 Yeah, but the prayer isn't what saves them. What saves 0:41:26.900 --> 0:41:28.219 them is their faith. 0:41:29.360 --> 0:41:30.500 Right? Yes. 0:41:30.530 --> 0:41:34.130 They believe the. If they say yes, I'm ready to 0:41:34.130 --> 0:41:37.430 receive Christ. They have just believed in him. And the 0:41:37.430 --> 0:41:43.549 prayer follows. It expresses the faith that they already have. Right. Yeah. 0:41:44.239 --> 0:41:49.580 And it. But the. Because the prayer is so closely 0:41:49.580 --> 0:41:53.300 associated with faith. Like if you said to some. Would 0:41:53.300 --> 0:41:56.930 you like to believe in Jesus? Yes. Okay. Let's pray. Well, 0:41:57.050 --> 0:42:00.140 when they said yes, they've just believed. Right. But the 0:42:00.140 --> 0:42:04.819 prayer expresses it. That's sort of how baptism and faith 0:42:04.840 --> 0:42:09.969 worked in the New Testament. When a person believed, they 0:42:09.969 --> 0:42:13.780 believed in Jesus and the baptism was the expression of 0:42:13.810 --> 0:42:16.480 that belief. Sort of the way we use prayer as 0:42:16.480 --> 0:42:18.609 an expression of it. That's why there was no such 0:42:18.610 --> 0:42:23.080 thing as an unbaptized believer. They just immediately were baptized. Okay. 0:42:23.110 --> 0:42:26.259 So and I think going back to the ritual washings, 0:42:26.260 --> 0:42:31.150 I think I just assumed that was like hands, maybe feet. Like, 0:42:31.180 --> 0:42:35.380 I was never picturing a full body immersion for those 0:42:35.380 --> 0:42:40.900 ritual washings, you know, because they just they I mean, 0:42:40.900 --> 0:42:43.569 that's that's what we clean when we clean to eat 0:42:43.570 --> 0:42:47.229 or something. That is, that is our cleansing. And of course. 0:42:47.230 --> 0:42:49.239 That shows up in the New Testament, too, because the 0:42:49.239 --> 0:42:53.800 disciples were told were not washing their hands ritually. Do 0:42:53.800 --> 0:42:57.040 you remember that? And and of course, they got they 0:42:57.040 --> 0:42:59.230 were like, why don't they wash their hands? You know, 0:42:59.260 --> 0:43:01.420 when all that every time when they eat. Because that 0:43:01.420 --> 0:43:05.010 was part of Judaism. But, you know, I think it's interesting. 0:43:05.010 --> 0:43:11.489 It's it's my view of, uh, of the baptism of Jesus. Oh, boy. 0:43:11.520 --> 0:43:16.860 Now we're getting into the weeds here. Uh, in a 0:43:16.890 --> 0:43:19.259 lot of people think that. Why was the Lord Jesus 0:43:19.260 --> 0:43:22.259 baptized by John the Baptist? Right? Right. 0:43:22.620 --> 0:43:24.359 I mean, because he wasn't he wasn't. 0:43:24.390 --> 0:43:28.200 He wasn't repenting of sin. Right? Right. And then others say, well, 0:43:28.200 --> 0:43:30.150 he was just giving us an example of how to 0:43:30.150 --> 0:43:33.270 repent of sin. But I actually think it's related to 0:43:33.300 --> 0:43:37.500 the book of Exodus chapter 40, verses 12 through 15. 0:43:37.500 --> 0:43:40.230 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the 0:43:40.230 --> 0:43:44.730 tent of meeting and wash them with water. Clothe Aaron 0:43:44.730 --> 0:43:47.490 with holy garments, and anoint him, and consecrate him so 0:43:47.489 --> 0:43:51.000 that he can serve me as priest. So he has 0:43:51.000 --> 0:43:55.650 a ritual bath, and then becomes high priest. What is this? 0:43:55.650 --> 0:43:58.890 This is the Lord Jesus entering into his office as 0:43:58.890 --> 0:44:03.890 high Priest. That's what the ritual bath was. So that's 0:44:03.890 --> 0:44:05.989 why he goes to John the Baptist. It's not that 0:44:05.989 --> 0:44:07.669 he's repenting of sin. 0:44:07.850 --> 0:44:10.070 And it's not to be an example. 0:44:10.550 --> 0:44:13.940 No, it's to enter into his office as high priest. Okay. 0:44:14.360 --> 0:44:15.740 Oh, okay. 0:44:16.070 --> 0:44:18.259 I thought I was the only one that thought that. 0:44:18.560 --> 0:44:21.080 I thought I was the only one that thought that. Huh. 0:44:21.350 --> 0:44:25.489 And then I was reading Lewis Sperry Chafer, the president 0:44:25.489 --> 0:44:28.940 of Dallas Seminary. He held the same view as I. Okay. 0:44:28.969 --> 0:44:29.660 I feel like. 0:44:29.660 --> 0:44:30.440 I'm in company. 0:44:30.469 --> 0:44:31.970 I'm in good company. 0:44:32.390 --> 0:44:36.950 Oh. That's fantastic. Okay. Yeah. So, becoming the high. Okay, 0:44:36.950 --> 0:44:40.339 so not as an example for us, then? No. Of 0:44:40.340 --> 0:44:41.629 what we should do. 0:44:41.630 --> 0:44:43.490 But to become our high priest. 0:44:43.610 --> 0:44:44.000 Mm. 0:44:44.330 --> 0:44:47.540 So what were the what what was John baptizing then 0:44:47.540 --> 0:44:49.009 for his baptisms? 0:44:49.040 --> 0:44:52.610 John's baptism for people with, uh. It is very common, 0:44:52.610 --> 0:44:56.719 even in Judaism to this day, that when people are penitential, 0:44:56.719 --> 0:44:59.300 when they're sorry for the thing that they've done wrong, 0:44:59.750 --> 0:45:02.969 they go to the mikvah, the ritual bath, and they 0:45:02.969 --> 0:45:08.550 take a ritual bath. Sometimes very Orthodox Jewish men will 0:45:08.550 --> 0:45:13.950 go to the mikvah before Sabbath for a penitential washing. 0:45:13.950 --> 0:45:17.819 Now they do it over and over again. But the, the, the, 0:45:17.820 --> 0:45:21.390 the baptizer John was saying, repent, the kingdom of God 0:45:21.390 --> 0:45:23.280 is at hand. So people were repenting not to get 0:45:23.280 --> 0:45:26.400 ready for Sabbath. They were getting ready for the kingdom coming, 0:45:26.400 --> 0:45:29.760 for the messianic kingdom being announced. And what they were 0:45:29.760 --> 0:45:33.810 doing is going into living water. That's what the requirement is. 0:45:33.840 --> 0:45:36.600 It has to be running water for a Jewish ritual bath. 0:45:36.600 --> 0:45:38.520 And so they were going to a river which had 0:45:38.520 --> 0:45:45.509 running water, living water, and they were exercising a penitential immersion, 0:45:45.510 --> 0:45:50.040 ritual immersion, uh, a ceremonial bath to show that they 0:45:50.040 --> 0:45:53.520 were prepared. They were they were penitent. They were confessing 0:45:53.520 --> 0:45:57.060 their sin and being prepared for the coming of the Messiah. 0:45:57.060 --> 0:46:00.680 That's where it comes from, from this, uh, from Judaism, 0:46:00.680 --> 0:46:06.230 and it's still practiced today in Judaism. A lot of 0:46:06.230 --> 0:46:10.430 people are are kind of surprised about that, but it's 0:46:10.430 --> 0:46:15.110 it's still exists. Uh, well, we've that's the first hour. 0:46:15.110 --> 0:46:18.469 I can't believe we've finished the first hour of Open Line, 0:46:18.469 --> 0:46:21.380 but we have a second hour of your questions that 0:46:21.380 --> 0:46:24.230 you've mailed in on this all mailbag, all the time 0:46:24.230 --> 0:46:27.950 special edition of Open Line, uh, during the break that's 0:46:27.950 --> 0:46:30.290 coming up right now. Check out our web page, open 0:46:30.290 --> 0:46:32.750 Line radio.org has all the links you're looking for how 0:46:32.750 --> 0:46:34.940 to become a kitchen table partner, how to get our 0:46:34.940 --> 0:46:37.910 current resource, how to get the chosen people, offer whatever 0:46:37.910 --> 0:46:40.790 it is. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a 0:46:40.790 --> 0:46:45.800 production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. 0:46:45.830 --> 0:46:47.150 We're coming right back.