S1: Hello, friends. It's time for the second hour of Open
S1: Line with me. Michael. Right. This is Moody Radio's Bible
S1: study across America. And we're talking about the questions you
S1: have about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. As
S1: I said, my name is Michael Melnick. I'm academic dean.
S1: I'm professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute.
S1: And I'm so glad to be with you today right
S1: around the radio kitchen table. And if you'd like, give
S1: me a call right now with your question about the
S1: Bible or God or the spiritual life. Here's the number.
S1: Now's the time to get your call in. It's always
S1: best at the beginning of the hour. 87754836758775483675. You know,
S1: if you call at the beginning of the program. That's
S1: the best time to get or the beginning of the hour.
S1: Usually that's the best time to get through. Otherwise, if
S1: you wait a little too long, it's tough to get through.
S1: So if you have a question, now's the time. Even
S1: Tricia can't get through by the middle of the program.
S1: She has to interrupt, you know, jump in because she
S1: couldn't call. I'm just joking. But anyway, that's, uh. That's
S1: the best time to call right now. Uh, (877) 548-3675. Also,
S1: I wanted to let you know about our current resource. Uh,
S1: it is a really helpful book by, uh, Doctor Charles Ryrie.
S1: It's the everyday Bible commentary on the book of acts.
S1: And so often people miss out on what the book
S1: is about. They they will always tell me. Oh, it's
S1: about the signs and wonders. There's so much more to
S1: acts than that. One of the things that I loved
S1: in my experience as a professor at Moody, one semester
S1: we had a professor that became ill, and I had
S1: to teach his course, and it was called New Testament Missions.
S1: And it was taking principles of outreach and missions from
S1: the New Testament. So I went to the professor and said, well,
S1: I have to teach it for you this semester. What
S1: what should I teach? He says, just teach the book
S1: of acts and draw missiological principles right from the book
S1: of acts. And that was one of the most helpful,
S1: encouraging things I could have done. It's why I love
S1: the Book of Acts. Uh, it really helped me in
S1: terms of understanding outreach, reaching out to people in a
S1: cross-cultural way through the book of acts. And that's one
S1: of the reasons why I love this commentary. The everyday
S1: commentary on acts, everyday Bible commentary on Acts by Charles Ryrie.
S1: It really does give you an insight into the book
S1: of Acts as a missiological book, as a book that
S1: brings the gospel from Jerusalem all the way to Rome. Uh,
S1: if you would like to give a gift of any size,
S1: we want to send you a copy of the Everyday
S1: Bible Commentary on Acts by Ryrie. Uh, just a terrific professor,
S1: a great commentary, uh, a gift of any size. Just
S1: remember to ask for it. Call (888) 644-7122. Uh, you can
S1: give your gift that way. Or go to open line radio.org.
S1: And when you give your gift, remember ask for the
S1: everyday Bible commentary on Acts by Charles Ryrie. We're going
S1: to speak with Rick listening now in Tennessee on Wmhb.
S1: Welcome to Open Line. Rick. How can I help you?
S2: Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my call. Can I
S2: make a brief comment about the previous caller? Um, he,
S2: the disciples and a whole lot of other people do
S2: fish on lakes in the dark. Yeah.
S1: Yeah, that that was just a that was just an aside.
S1: I let it go, so.
S2: Okay. Yeah. Um, yeah. Our question. My question is, um,
S2: we were looking at the word of faith and from
S2: the acts of Luke and talking to Jesus, saying, when
S2: I return, will I find will I find faith on
S2: the earth? But the teacher said that he only found
S2: the word English word faith in the Old Testament. One
S2: place in Habakkuk two four where the writer says, the
S2: righteous shall live by faith. And we were wondering, why
S2: was that English word faith only used one time in
S2: the Old Testament. Where? Where is it used multiple times
S2: in the New Testament, or is that a. Yeah. You know,
S2: just a semantic thing? Do we not need to worry
S2: about it or is it worth.
S1: You don't need to worry about it. Really important distinction.
S1: By the way, the word pisteuo faith in the New
S1: Testament is sometimes sometimes translated in the verb form of believe.
S1: Sometimes it's translated in the New Testament. Uh, sometimes it's
S1: translated trust. Uh, and then the same thing with the
S1: the noun emunah. Uh, in Hebrew, sometimes it's translated faith,
S1: but sometimes in the verb form, it's translated trust or believe. So, uh,
S1: you know, I did a quick search about faith, uh,
S1: and it says in job 3912. Will you have faith
S1: in him? Uh, uh, it talks about God keeping faith
S1: with us, but then also, uh, you look at the
S1: word believe, which is the verb form of it. And, uh,
S1: Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Uh,
S1: it talks about the word trust. Uh, for example, in numbers. Uh,
S1: it's it's interesting, uh, that Moses and Aaron don't get
S1: to enter the promised Land because you did not trust me,
S1: is what it says. So obviously it's a negative example,
S1: but the word trust is used their second Kings 1822.
S1: We trust in the Lord our God. Uh, that's, uh,
S1: second Kings. Uh, this is the word trust is used
S1: all over the place. Uh, there's, uh, Hezekiah. Thus you
S1: shall say to Hezekiah, king of Judah, this is do
S1: not let your God in whom you trust deceive you,
S1: saying Jerusalem will not be given over. So it's talking
S1: about how the people believed what Hezekiah was saying about
S1: trusting him, and they were trying to get him not
S1: to trust the Lord. Uh, so, you know, it's one
S1: of the problems that we have when we limit ourselves
S1: to only the English word, Because it may have limited
S1: usage in the Old Testament. But when you take it, uh,
S1: as trust, believe, or faith, then all of a sudden
S1: the word explodes across the Old Testament. Okay.
S2: Good. Good. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
S1: Uh, and, uh, you know, I think, of course, uh,
S1: in Romans four, uh, yeah. In Romans four, it talks
S1: about Abraham believed God. It was counted to him for righteousness.
S1: It talks about Genesis 15 six. Uh, and what he
S1: is saying is, listen, you may think that by teaching,
S1: justification by faith is what Paul says in Romans three
S1: that we're somehow contradicting the Old Testament. He says, no,
S1: we're upholding it. This is what the Torah teaches. Uh,
S1: and he goes back to Genesis 15, which is in
S1: the Torah, that Abraham believed God. So he's using the
S1: word believe there as a synonym for faith. So. Okay.
S2: Yeah. And James used that too. James used to. Yeah.
S1: Okay.
S2: Very good.
S1: Thanks, Rick. Thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. Uh,
S1: we're going to talk next with Sylvester in Tampa, Florida,
S1: listening at k e s. Welcome to Open Line. How
S1: can I help you today?
S3: Thank you very much. Um, I have a question. I
S3: just want to make a small comment that you made, um, with, uh,
S3: women in, um, leadership.
S1: Well, you know what? I we don't have to go
S1: back over that if unless it's essential. So I'm not
S1: trying to.
S3: No. I'm not. I what I'm saying is that's the
S3: best explanation I've heard ever with that, that, um, that controversy.
S3: And I just want to thank you for that.
S1: Oh, good. I'm so glad. Thank you. Sylvester. It's just,
S1: you know, those controversial issues. I hate it when people
S1: just want to go back and argue. So thank you
S1: for not doing that, I appreciate it.
S4: Yeah, I didn't want to do that.
S3: I just I just wanted to know I loved your
S3: your your your your commentary. And you're going to make
S3: me go back and read it some more. Yeah. Good.
S3: But my question is, is, um, is with, uh, my
S3: question is why? Um, did Mark, who is a disciple of, um, Peter,
S3: why did his writings end up in the New Testament
S3: as opposed to like, people like, um, Ignatius, who was
S3: a disciple of John and um Clement, whose writings were
S3: read in the church and back in that time. Um,
S3: you mean, uh, explanation of that?
S1: Yeah. I think the reason why Mark's writing ends up
S1: there is it wasn't just that he was a disciple
S1: of Peter, but his book was endorsed by Peter as authoritative.
S1: It had an apostolic seal on it. If you read
S1: the history of how and of course, it's early church
S1: and it's not inspired history, but it is history of
S1: how it is that Mark came to write Peter. The
S1: story is that Peter goes to Rome, gives a sermon.
S1: Mark takes notes on the sermon, which was about the
S1: life of Jesus, and then he writes it down. And
S1: Peter endorses this book as this is what I was saying,
S1: this is what I want people all over the Roman
S1: Empire to know about Jesus. And and so it was
S1: it was like it was almost as if he was
S1: working as a ghostwriter for without being a ghost, but without,
S1: you know, being hidden. But he was writing down the
S1: words of Peter and and putting it together that way.
S1: So the, the result was that, Uh, it had apostolic endorsement.
S1: It wasn't just, uh, that that Mark was a disciple
S1: of Peter, but that he actually was endorsed, uh, and
S1: his writings were endorsed. That makes does that make sense?
S3: Oh, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. And the
S3: reason why I'm asking because my son, he's been going
S3: to a Catholic church, he's been going to Catholic schools,
S3: and he got a scholarship to play football at the
S3: Catholic college. So he's come back home now, he's graduated,
S3: and now he's having these, um, ideas, and he's been
S3: going to a Catholic church, but I think he's on
S3: a search because he would still listen to some of
S3: the podcasts and then send it to me and say, dad,
S3: what you think? So I sense that he is searching
S3: even though he's, you know, kind of headstrong on going
S3: to the Catholic Church because he still referred to me.
S3: So I want to look, I want to find these
S3: information so I can present it to him without getting
S3: into an argument, it will be more of an intellectual, um.
S3: Intellectual conversation. Yeah.
S1: You know what? There's a book by David Alan Black
S1: that I think he might enjoy, and it doesn't really
S1: address the issue of Clement or Ignatius, but it addresses
S1: how we got the four gospels and why Mark's gospel
S1: was accepted authoritatively. And so I would say, David, Alan Black,
S1: why four Gospels? Very easy to read, easy to understand.
S1: I strongly recommend it. Why four Gospels? David Alan Black. Okay, okay.
S3: Yeah. So that should cover why like people like Clement
S3: and Ignatius know.
S1: It covers more about why Mark was accepted not and
S1: by implication this is why Mark was accepted. And therefore
S1: we know why Ignatius and Clement were not. Uh, it
S1: shows more about why the mark was accepted. Okay.
S3: Okay. Okay. Perfect. Well, just one small question. Um, about, um,
S3: Catholicism and indulgences, where I can find some very solid, um,
S3: information on that. Um, because I've heard, you know, I've
S3: heard about, um, you.
S1: Know, what the best thing to do. Let's see if
S1: I can quick find it. Uh. Uh, a friend of
S1: mine has written a couple of books about this. He's, uh,
S1: adjunct professor at Moody. Uh, he's a pastor in the
S1: Chicago area, and he's a former student of mine. Uh,
S1: his name is Chris Castaldo. Uh, I want to find
S1: his books, uh, because all his books would really help
S1: with with understanding this other, uh, tradition. Uh, he's got
S1: a book called, uh, talking with Catholics about the gospel. Uh,
S1: and then he's got another book called Holy Ground Walking
S1: with Jesus as a former Catholic. Uh, so those are
S1: a couple of books by Chris Castaldo. Uh, and that's
S1: where I would go. Uh, Castaldo. Trish can, uh, maybe
S1: post a link about that on our Facebook page. Thanks
S1: for your call, Sylvester. Really appreciate it. Uh, and we're
S1: going to take a break here. And when we come back,
S1: we're going to talk about your questions. Just give us
S1: a call. (877) 548-3675. Uh, this is Michael Ray Dolnick. You're
S1: listening to Open Line, and we're going to come right back.
S1: We've got lots of great questions already lined up, so
S1: don't miss out. Stick with us. We're coming back at you.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. I'm so grateful for all
S1: of you who listen regularly. You know, I often say
S1: that that we couldn't have the program unless you listened
S1: and called and sent in your questions. It makes it, uh,
S1: possible with without it. How could we have a call
S1: in program without calls? And so I really appreciate people,
S1: but I'm always amazed that there are people who never call,
S1: but they listen every week and they're really, really committed
S1: to that. And I appreciate it so much. It's it's
S1: really remarkable the the partnership we have with our listeners.
S1: And I'm really grateful to you for it. And, uh,
S1: one of the other ways that we have a great
S1: partnership is with our kitchen table partners. These are people
S1: who commit to give monthly to open line so we
S1: can be on the air every week answering people's questions. And, uh,
S1: we're really grateful for those monthly partners, those kitchen table
S1: partners that sit around the kitchen table with us and help, uh,
S1: by committing to the kitchen table and giving monthly. We're
S1: so grateful for you. And, uh, hoping actually, our our
S1: goal is to get to 1000 Kitchen table partners this year. That's. Wow.
S1: I don't know if that's going to be possible, but,
S1: you know, God can raise up the people and that
S1: would be a great help to open line. And if
S1: you're listening and you think I'd like to become a
S1: kitchen table partner, the best way to do that is
S1: just go to our website, Open Line radio.org, or to
S1: call (888) 644-7122. And if you do become a kitchen table partner,
S1: we'll send you a Bible study moment every other week.
S1: It's an audio Bible study that get in the mail email,
S1: click on it, listen to it. We're going through the
S1: covenants right now. The biblical covenants even and I, Eva
S1: and I it's kind of a fun Bible study as
S1: we go through and study them again. If you'd like
S1: to become a kitchen table partner, call (888) 644-7122 or go
S1: to open line radio.org. And we so appreciate those of
S1: you who do that and those of you who can't.
S1: But we still appreciate you. Uh, we're going to talk
S1: to Maggie in Wheaton, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to
S1: Open Line. So glad that you're called. How can I
S1: help you? Help you.
S5: Good morning. Thanks for taking my call, Michael. I was
S5: talking to a coworker the other day, and she claims
S5: she can. It's basically speaking in tongues and then speaking
S5: the heavenly language and, um, having some extra portion of
S5: the Holy Spirit sounds like. And I said, when we're believers,
S5: we all have the Holy Spirit. I don't think there's
S5: different graduation, different levels. And also, I believe when there
S5: is a speaking in tongues biblically, there needs to be
S5: a translator. I'm just really interested in this heavenly language
S5: because he didn't give me any verses to support that.
S5: But according to her and her pastors, there is such
S5: a thing as praying in heavenly language. Um, sure. So
S5: one take is on that.
S1: So see if I can do this kind of quickly. Uh,
S1: Romans eight nine says, if we don't have the Spirit
S1: of Messiah, the Spirit of Christ, that's the Holy Spirit,
S1: we don't belong to him. In other words, every person
S1: who belongs to him fully has the Holy Spirit. And
S1: you say, well, maybe you can have more. But it says,
S1: it goes on to say in this same passage, uh,
S1: in verse 11, and if the spirit of him who
S1: raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. In other words,
S1: if the the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead,
S1: if we have that much power, then he who raised
S1: Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies
S1: to life through His Spirit who lives in you. In
S1: other words, we have the power that raised Jesus from
S1: the dead living within us. I don't think we need
S1: more power. I think that's sufficient. Uh uh, the the
S1: problem is that the word tongues or glossa in the
S1: New Testament appears to be just another word for language.
S1: Like if we said men of every tongue, we don't
S1: mean some sort of heavenly language. We just mean language. Right?
S1: That's that's how it's it's used. If you look at
S1: acts two, the people who are there from all over
S1: the world, they heard them speaking in tongues. What did
S1: they hear? They heard them speaking in the languages that
S1: they knew, their actual real languages. The problem is with
S1: the modern movement that began about 100 and some years
S1: ago of speaking in tongues. Again, they when linguists studied it,
S1: they didn't sound like real languages. They can't find any
S1: pattern of real language or structure of a real language.
S1: It sounds like gibberish. So the result is that people
S1: went to first Corinthians 13 where it says, if I
S1: speak with the tongues of men or of angels, and
S1: they say of that verse, well, that means that there's
S1: a special angel speak angel language, heavenly language that's different
S1: and not categorized by earthly language structure. So that's where
S1: the idea of a heavenly language comes from. Although that's
S1: just hyperbole, exaggeration. It's a literary device. Paul says in
S1: Galatians one, for example, if, uh, if I come to
S1: you with another gospel, or even an angel from heaven
S1: comes to you with another gospel, let him be anathema. Now,
S1: Paul's not going to come with another gospel, and an
S1: angel from heaven isn't going to come with another gospel.
S1: What is he doing there? He's using exaggeration hyperbole to
S1: make his case in the same way that he talks about.
S1: If I could speak in any language in the universe,
S1: any more than men or angels, any language you can
S1: think of, uh, but don't have love. And so I
S1: don't think there's any kind of, uh, heavenly language that
S1: we can't comprehend. Uh, I think that the word tongue
S1: in the Bible just means language, and it's a real language.
S1: And the gift of tongues in the first century that
S1: we see in acts two, for example, was the ability
S1: to speak in a language that one had not learned.
S1: It was a supernatural gift of God. And you're right. Uh,
S1: in first Corinthians 12 and 14, particularly chapter 14, it
S1: emphasizes that if you're going to speak in one of
S1: in this spiritual gift of of tongues, there must be
S1: a translation. It's we can't say amen to someone praying
S1: in a language that we don't understand. So it's really
S1: important that we have translation. Does that help at all? Maggie.
S5: Yeah, that's that's great. And I think she made it
S5: sound like that. God requires that of us to have that,
S5: to speak to him. We need to be able to.
S5: And I really don't feel that. That's right.
S1: Well, you know, it's where it talks about tongues in
S1: first Corinthians 14, it ends up by saying, uh, uh,
S1: it has all this list of gifts and it says, uh,
S1: are all apostles. And the answer according to the Greek grammar,
S1: the Greek grammar demands a no answer. Are all prophets no.
S1: Or all teachers? No. Do all speak? It goes on
S1: to say in verse 30. First Corinthians 1430, do all
S1: speak in other languages or in tongues? And the answer
S1: is no. So it's a mistaken idea that we have
S1: to love and be careful to not repudiate people who
S1: may have this mistaken idea. It's a mistaken idea, but
S1: what we want to do is love them and encourage
S1: them and tell them that it's really important that we
S1: speak to God in a language that we understand as well.
S1: So okay.
S5: Thank you so much. It really helps. Thank you. Yeah.
S1: Great. Thanks for your call, Maggie. Uh, we're going to
S1: talk with Lori in Palatine, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome
S1: to Open Line. How can I help you?
S6: Thank you. Doctor, I am a great fan of yours.
S6: And I have a question about the Nicene Creed. Uh, ah.
S6: I'm very hyper aware of how people or institutions change
S6: the language of things to try to get false doctrine going.
S6: And our church has started to use the Nicene Creed
S6: in a different way, where it says instead of I
S6: believe in one God or I believe in one Lord.
S6: They are saying we believe like a collective and then
S6: they have changed, um, where it says who for us
S6: men and for our salvation, came down from heaven and
S6: was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary
S6: and became man. Well, they have taken men out of there.
S6: So it just says for us and for our salvation
S6: he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy
S6: Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. So
S6: they're trying to take out the word man. So I
S6: don't know if at some point the Nicene Creed was
S6: ever changed. Is there can you be more liberal with
S6: these words or.
S1: I mean, well, first of all, I've I've said the nice.
S1: Let me just say the Nicene Creed has changed over
S1: the years. If you look at the history of the
S1: Nicene Creed, one of the earliest forms of the Nicene
S1: Creed doesn't have the the phrase about descended to hell.
S1: You know, the passage that you read about that the
S1: Lord Jesus died descended to hell. Yes, that that's not
S1: in the earliest, uh, Nicene Creeds, just so you know.
S1: So it does change over the years. Uh, it does.
S7: Change.
S1: You learned that from me. Is that what you said? Yeah, yeah.
S1: So it does change. And the second thing I would
S1: say is the Nicene Creed is not Scripture, and so
S1: it can be adapted I think. So I to we
S1: is not a big deal. It's a collective saying we
S1: we believe this. And I think when it was translated earlier,
S1: the word man was used in the sense of human.
S1: It was a generic term. It didn't just mean male,
S1: it just meant he became a human. That's the idea.
S1: And so I totally understand why they're if they want
S1: to update the nuance, it's that that and I still
S1: say he's the God man, you know? But the idea
S1: is when we talk about the Lord Jesus being the
S1: God man is that he's fully human and fully God. So, yeah,
S1: I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lori, I think
S1: they're they're just trying to make the Nicene Creed understandable
S1: for people today. And I think it's they're doing a
S1: pretty good job. So anyway, we're going to come right
S1: back with the mailbag. So don't go away. This is
S1: open line.
UU: With Michael Zelnick.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. So glad that you're listening. Uh,
S1: you know, you can always call with your question (877) 548-3675.
S1: Or you can send them in. Uh, one of the
S1: great ways we're going to do a mailbag question, uh,
S1: mailbag program in the next couple of weeks for the
S1: Labor Day weekend. And so what you do is go
S1: to Openline radio.org. There's a link there that says Ask
S1: Michael a question. Click on that and your question is posted.
S1: And Trish puts it in the mailbag. We're going to
S1: do our best to get to all those mailbag questions
S1: on August 31st. So that's coming up. Be ready for that. Uh,
S1: again you can call (877) 548-3675 with your question right now.
S1: But joining us right now for the Febc mailbag is
S1: to hear Haynes and Tricia McMillan. So glad that they're here.
S1: You know, Febc partners with Moody to bring you Open Line.
S1: We're really grateful for Febc. Org. Uh, that's far Eastern
S1: Broadcasting Company. They do great work in reaching people through
S1: media all across the globe, and they have people who
S1: are there to follow up and and touch people, person
S1: to person, not just through audio or media. It's a
S1: wonderful ministry, and I'd really recommend check out because that's
S1: their website and there's a link there to their podcast
S1: called Until All Have Heard. You can learn more about
S1: that there. And we're going to be joined right now
S1: by Tricia McMillan. And to hear Haynes, you got your
S1: mailbag going there. How how heavy is it? You need
S1: two people to bring it in now? Yeah, it's very heavy.
S8: Yeah. Many questions. Two of us. Yeah. Our first question,
S8: our first question is from Gary in Tennessee. Listens to Wmw.
S8: Joshua 1116 says, so Joshua took all this land, the
S8: hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen,
S8: the foothills, the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel,
S8: with its foothills from Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir.
S8: I shouldn't have tried to read all this as far
S8: as Baal god and the valley of Lebanon at the
S8: foot of Mount Hermon, he captured all their kings and
S8: struck them down, putting them to death. Is this so
S8: there's kind of two questions. Is this the same Goshen
S8: where Pharaoh settled Jacob, and then from whom did Joshua
S8: take Goshen? It says Kings. But who were these kings?
S1: Well, no, it's not it's not Goshen in Egypt, okay.
S1: It's it's it's an area, uh, in Israel, current.
S8: Present day Israel. Yeah. Okay.
S1: Uh, and, uh, secondly, uh, when Joshua was involved in
S1: the conquest, each little town, each little city state, that's
S1: what they were, were city states. So Jericho, for example,
S1: had a king. Okay. And, uh, all the different, uh,
S1: towns had kings, and they were more like a governor
S1: or even better, a mayor of that city. But they
S1: were independent. There was no one king over them all.
S1: They were all independent city states. Okay, so those are
S1: the kings that it's talking about.
S8: Okay.
S1: They they weren't they weren't like emperors or, or kings
S1: that united a whole nation. Okay. Occasionally there'd be one
S1: of those kings that would have, uh, uh, more influence
S1: than the others. I'm looking up, uh, trying to remember
S1: who it was in Judges chapter four. Uh, uh, it
S1: says that Jabin was the king of Canaan. And so
S1: all the kings of the city states were sort of
S1: responsible to him. And, uh, uh, so although there were
S1: still city states that sometimes one king became dominant about
S1: over them all. And that's what. What happened there? Uh,
S1: in judges four. So, you know, it's generally speaking, city. States.
S1: But uh, instead, uh, they can come like, uh, Jabin
S1: was in a town called Hatzor. Or Hazor.
S8: Thank you.
S1: Hatzor. And in Hatzor, he was the king over that
S1: city state. But because of his power, because he had chariots,
S1: he had influence over the whole area. And the other
S1: kings were sort of vassals to him, the other city states. Okay.
S8: But in this particular situation, when Josh was going through
S8: the land and they're conquering and taking the promised land,
S8: they're just they were not like that. They were just
S8: little standalone city states where there just would have been
S8: like the governor over that little area. And so they
S8: would take that. Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you for
S8: that question, Gary. Our next question do you want to ask?
S9: Yes. The next question is from Catherine in Alabama. She
S9: listens through WFMT. What is the remnant of Israel mentioned
S9: so many times in the Old Testament?
S1: The word remnant in Hebrew, uh, is a small part
S1: of the whole. That's what it is. And of course,
S1: the nation of Israel chosen by God. All beneficiaries of
S1: the Abrahamic covenant. One of the things that you see
S1: is only a small part of the whole remained faithful.
S1: This is always how it is faithful. Uh uh. They
S1: need to be. They were to be faithful to the
S1: God of Israel. But the whole nation was supposed to be.
S1: But of course, you know, you can see in the
S1: story of Elijah and and the prophets of Baal, that
S1: Elijah thought he was the only one left that was
S1: faithful to the God of Israel. And of course, in
S1: Romans 11 it talks about that story, and it says
S1: that there were 7000. You can read it in the
S1: Old Testament in First Kings 18 and 19, second Kings
S1: 18 and 19, I believe it is. Uh, I'm getting
S1: my kings confused. But anyway, the point is, uh, they
S1: they were uh, uh, there were 7000 who didn't bow
S1: the knee to Baal. And so they were the remnant
S1: of Israel. And even today, Jewish followers of Jesus, according
S1: to Romans 11, are a remnant chosen according to God's
S1: gracious choice. And so the idea is that, uh, they're
S1: still a remnant today, a remnant of Israel. That's the
S1: faithful remnant, the Jewish believers today. So since I am Jewish,
S1: I am part of the remnant of Israel on the
S1: one hand. So there's all Israel, and I'm part of
S1: the remnant, the faithful remnant. And then, of course, there's
S1: I'm part of the church. So I have a foot
S1: in Israel and a foot in the church. So that's it.
S1: So yeah, that's that's the idea. And its first Kings
S1: 18 and 19 that you have the whole story of Elijah,
S1: first Kings 18. Okay.
S9: Thank you so much for that. Thank you.
S8: All right. Our next question is from Joanne in Illinois
S8: listens to WNBA. What is the criteria for the canon
S8: of Scripture? Also, she loves Open Line. And whenever you're
S8: on with her with other programs like Carl and crew
S8: and and Janet Parshall and Chris Fabry with the other Michael.
S8: So good.
S1: Good. You know what people usually say they really like
S1: Open Line when Eve is on. That's what they usually say.
S1: Not Joanne likes you. Yeah, yeah. It's like whenever Eve
S1: is on, it's like, oh, can't you have your wife
S1: on all the time? Because she really is the good one.
S1: And I agree.
S8: We do love having Eva on.
S1: Yeah, yeah. If I could only convince her to come
S1: on every week. But so, so far, I'm not succeeding. Uh,
S1: but she does listen every week, and and she can
S1: send me text messages with the answers, which she does. So. Okay. Uh, uh.
S8: The criteria for the canon. Yeah.
S1: The criteria for the canon. Well, this is going to
S1: sound simplistic or even circular, but I'm going to say
S1: that the books that were chosen to be in the
S1: canon were the ones that were inspired. So often we
S1: think that they were declared inspired because they were put
S1: in the canon. It's the opposite, because they were recognized
S1: as inspired. They were placed in the canon. So. So,
S1: for example, we have prophets like Elijah and Elisha. They
S1: I'm sure they wrote things, but none of the things
S1: that they wrote ended up in the canon, right? Yeah.
S1: So just because a prophet wrote it didn't mean it
S1: went in the canon. We have the Apostle Paul. Other
S1: people say in the New Testament the test is apostolicity
S1: is it? Does it come from an apostle? But the
S1: Apostle Paul writes about two letters he wrote to the
S1: Corinthians that didn't end up in the canon. Right? So
S1: if we found a grocery list that, you know, somehow
S1: it's got signed by Paul and, you know, he's going
S1: to the Safeway and, and it's, uh, we know that
S1: he actually wrote it wouldn't mean that it's in the
S1: canon because it's not inspired. So who wrote it isn't
S1: as important as the Holy Spirit working through superintending that
S1: person to write holy or inspired scripture. What happened is
S1: when scriptures were written, they were immediately recognized as the
S1: Word of God, as inspired and placed within the canon.
S1: Now there are characteristics. They were uh, obviously it was
S1: more likely if a book written by an apostle or
S1: a prophet, that that would be the word that was
S1: recognized as inspired scripture because God spoke through apostles. God
S1: spoke through, uh, wrote through, uh, prophet through prophets and,
S1: and people like that. But the test was inspiration and
S1: reception then by the people of God immediately as the
S1: word of God. That's what it was. It was reception
S1: by the people of God as the Word of God.
S1: So people say, well, why wasn't Ignatius accepted? Wasn't accepted
S1: as the Word of God by the people of God? Uh,
S1: they just didn't see it as having the marks of inspiration.
S1: So I would say that it's inspired text. That was
S1: the test of canonicity. It sounds circular, but that's what
S1: I think. It was immediately received as the word of God.
S8: Okay, okay. Thank you.
S1: Yeah. Well let's see. Uh, do we have time for
S1: one more? No, I think yeah, I think what? We'll
S1: take a break here. All right. But by the way,
S1: I do want to, uh, recommend a book. It's called
S1: From God to Us. It was written by Norman Geisler
S1: and William Nix, and it's available in the Moody Publishers catalog.
S1: And it's, you know, isn't it true, Tricia? I always
S1: like old books. This book.
S8: It is true.
S1: Uh, because, you know, we keep trying to update things
S1: and make them much better. But, you know, they they
S1: this is a really standard textbook, easy to understand on
S1: how we got the Bible from God to us and
S1: easy to understand. And I really strongly recommend it. Uh,
S1: I studied that book when I was in college, and
S1: then I went to graduate school. And who did I
S1: have for my very first course in the doctrine of
S1: the Bible?
S8: Norm Geisler.
S1: Norm Geisler. Yeah, as we called him back then. He's
S1: with the Lord now, Stormin Norman Geisler. And, uh, he
S1: was a really great prof. And and I was so
S1: glad I had read that book, because then I understood
S1: what he was saying in class. Yeah, I'll put a.
S8: Link to that on Facebook, too, for.
S1: That. From God to us. Great book. So okay, we're
S1: going to take a break here. All right. And when
S1: we come back, we'll be going back and talking about
S1: your questions. You those of you who are calling in,
S1: we'll do phone calls. (877) 548-3675. That was Tricia McMillan to hear. Haynes.
S1: We'll be right back with more of your questions in
S1: just a moment. This is Open Line.
UU: With Michael Reidel 19.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. You know, since the very
S1: first week we were on the air. Chosen People Ministries
S1: has partnered with Moody Radio to bring you Open Line.
S1: And I'm so grateful for their faithfulness. And they always
S1: offer our people a free gift every month. And this
S1: month's gift is very special. It is the Messianic Jewish
S1: art calendar. It's all about God's faithfulness to Israel, how
S1: throughout Jewish history, God has remained faithful to his people
S1: and preserved and protected them even through the Holocaust, even
S1: through ten seven. It is a it's a really important
S1: lesson that we've learned about the covenant keeping God. He
S1: is faithful. And if you'd like a free chosen people ministries,
S1: Messianic Jewish art calendar, all you have to do is
S1: go to our website openline. radio.org. It's a beautiful calendar.
S1: I think you'll really like it. Uh, go to openline radio.org.
S1: Scroll down till you see the link that says A
S1: free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that. It'll
S1: take you to a page where you can get your
S1: sign up for a free Chosen People Messianic Jewish art catalog.
S1: Another thing that you'll find when you go to the website,
S1: and this is sort of related to the idea of
S1: God's faithfulness and chosen People partnering Chosen People Ministries and
S1: Moody Bible Institute are partnering to present a one day conference.
S1: It's called The Summit Opposing anti-Semitism. There's a banner about
S1: it at our website, openline. radio.org. It's November 9th at
S1: Torrey Gray Auditorium in Chicago at Moody Bible Institute, and
S1: it's going to be a very important day with the
S1: eruption of anti-Semitism once again all over the world. The
S1: oldest hatred is just shaking its ugly head out there. Again.
S1: We're going to talk about what does the Bible say
S1: about opposing anti-Semitism and, and try and, uh, mobilize the church, uh,
S1: mobilize believers to stand with God's people, Israel and the
S1: Jewish people all over the globe in opposing this, this
S1: satanic hatred of the Jewish people. So check out, uh,
S1: The Summit Opposing anti-Semitism in Chicago, November 9th, 2024. It's
S1: on our website, Openline radio.org. There's the link. You can
S1: learn all about it. Well, we're going to talk to
S1: Denise right now in Ohio, listening on Wtxf. Welcome to
S1: Open Line, Denise. How can I help you today?
S7: Good.
S10: Good morning, Doctor Dolnick. I just want to say I
S10: listen to you almost every Saturday in the morning, and
S10: I really like your answers.
S1: My question, thank you.
S10: Is. Um, yes. My husband and I sometimes disagree on
S10: some explanation for, um, some, uh, some stuff that is
S10: in the Bible. This one is, um, him and I,
S10: we've been arguing since yesterday, he said. He said when
S10: Jesus said, carry your cross and follow me. What does
S10: it mean? My husband said, your cross is your faith.
S10: And I thought, our cross is the trials that we
S10: go through in life. What do you think?
S1: I mean.
S10: We're not going to fight. We're going to agree, okay?
S1: Don't fight. That's good. Good. Denise. Okay. So in the
S1: first century, when Rome had someone they considered a rebel,
S1: they would then crucify that person, right? That's. And as
S1: you see in the gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus,
S1: the Romans made people they were going to crucify, carry.
S1: They made them carry the cross to the crucifixion. And
S1: the reason the Romans did that is is well known
S1: was to say you are a rebel, but we are
S1: making you submit. And they would force people to submit.
S1: And so to carry one's cross became an idiom for submission.
S1: And so when the Lord Jesus says that you're to
S1: take up your cross and follow him, it all it's
S1: saying is you are to submit to me and follow
S1: me wherever I lead you. That's what it means. It's
S1: referring to our submission to the Lord Jesus. Okay.
S10: Thank you. Thank you. That's so wonderful.
S7: Thank you. Good.
S1: Okay. Thank you so much. Thanks for your question. Appreciate it. Denise. Uh,
S1: we're going to speak with Roland in Chicago, listening on Wmbi.
S1: Welcome to Open Line, Roland. How can I help you today?
S7: Thank you. Just one. One comment. I've been listening to
S7: Open Line on and off since about 1971 anyway.
S1: Um, I wasn't on then. That was, uh, that was
S1: Don Cole back then, right?
S7: Yes. Yeah. Uh, I first Peter one one. Um, I
S7: want to know the use of the word elect to
S7: those who are elect exiles of the dispersion and any
S7: list of cities that they were. Um. Mhm.
S1: Who do you think they are?
S7: Um, first of all, I don't know if there's a
S7: common between, um, elect and exile. Uh, if that's exile, uh,
S7: indicating that there are special people that are, uh, in
S7: those cities. Um, and its dispersion or whether who are
S7: elect and they are exiles in the dispersion of uh,
S7: and Fox Glacier. Um, okay. That is.
S1: Okay. So the word elect means chosen. I really like
S1: that my Bible doesn't use the word elect. It uses
S1: the word chosen in the hcsb. It says to the
S1: temporary residence dispersed. And the word dispersed is a technical term.
S1: It even has a footnote in my Bible. It says
S1: Jewish people scattered throughout Gentile lands who spoke Greek and
S1: were influenced by Greek culture. Uh, it's the diaspora, Jewish
S1: people who are in the diaspora, the dispersion. So he's
S1: talking about temporary residence, Jewish people in the cities Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia.
S1: Then it says, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God
S1: the Father and set apart by the spirit for obedience
S1: and for sprinkling with the blood of. For sprinkling with
S1: the blood of Jesus the Messiah. So when it talks
S1: about being chosen, I don't think he's only talking about
S1: them being from the chosen people, but I think he's
S1: also talking about them being chosen by God to be
S1: followers of Jesus. Twice chosen, so to speak, Jewish believers
S1: in Jesus. Uh. Hope that helps. That's the program for
S1: the week. Can't believe it's over already. Fastest two hours
S1: of the week. Thanks, Tricia and Ryan and Tara. And
S1: to tiara for making open line possible. Thanks for all
S1: of you who make it possible by calling or writing in.
S1: Really appreciate you. Keep in touch with us by checking
S1: out our website, Open Line radio.org. It's got all the
S1: links you're looking for right there, including how to become
S1: a kitchen table partner or get our current resource. 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. See you next week.