WEBVTT - Hour 2: Learning from the Scriptures 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:12.200 Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:17.160 Line with Doctor Michael Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America. 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.920 We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:24.120 the spiritual life. My name is Michael Ray. I'm the 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.160 academic dean, and I'm also a professor of Jewish studies 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:31.600 and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. We're live today sitting 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:35.000 around the radio kitchen table, and we're talking about your 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:40.360 questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.160 you'd like to give us a call with your question, 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:55.760 the phone number is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. If you can't call, 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:59.400 just go to our website Open Line radio.org. Click on 0:00:59.540 --> 0:01:04.179 the link that says Ask Michael a question and you 0:01:04.180 --> 0:01:07.620 can post your question there. It'll be put into the mailbag. Now, 0:01:07.660 --> 0:01:10.140 do you have your second cup of coffee? I hope so, 0:01:10.180 --> 0:01:12.899 because if you have your Bibles open, we're ready to 0:01:12.900 --> 0:01:15.020 talk about the scriptures, and we're going to talk with 0:01:15.020 --> 0:01:19.259 Jeff in Minnesota listening on CTI. Welcome to Open Line, Jeff. 0:01:19.380 --> 0:01:20.580 How can I help you today? 0:01:21.300 --> 0:01:24.140 Thank you. Michael. It's very much an honor to talk 0:01:24.140 --> 0:01:27.419 to you today. My question is about the law. About 0:01:27.420 --> 0:01:31.820 the law to understand the, uh, you know, it all 0:01:31.860 --> 0:01:35.340 the that which, uh, the New Testament tells us Jesus 0:01:35.340 --> 0:01:39.900 fulfilled the law. Did he? First off, is there a 0:01:40.260 --> 0:01:45.740 definitive list? And did he fulfill just the sacrificial part? 0:01:45.780 --> 0:01:52.900 Certainly there's some law that we follow in the legal, uh, governmental, uh, 0:01:52.900 --> 0:01:56.700 situation right now. Uh, basically the same, same thing. But 0:01:56.700 --> 0:02:00.280 he didn't deliver us from from that. But just I 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:03.000 was trying to find out. Is there a definitive list 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:07.160 or where I should look to really get a full description? 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:12.040 The passage you're talking about the the Lord fulfilling the law, right? 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.880 Is Matthew five okay? Right. That's what you're talking about. 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.080 Or am I telling you or are you. Are you 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:20.840 aware of that? 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.360 Yeah, I'm aware of that. That's that's true. 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:29.519 Okay. So Matthew five says this in verse 17. And 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.840 I think most people miss this. Are you ready? 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:32.919 Yes. 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:37.480 Don't assume that I came to destroy the law or 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:42.760 the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:45.560 When he talks about the law of the prophets, he's 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.240 not talking about just the Law of Moses. He's talking 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:55.040 about the Old Testament. Now, later on, uh, the Jesus 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:59.190 and Luke talks about the law, the prophets, and the writings, 0:02:59.190 --> 0:03:03.630 or the Psalms. The threefold. But generally speaking, when people 0:03:03.669 --> 0:03:07.150 talked about the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures, they called 0:03:07.150 --> 0:03:10.950 them the law and the prophets. And so when Jesus said, 0:03:10.950 --> 0:03:12.870 I didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets, 0:03:12.870 --> 0:03:15.510 I didn't. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill. 0:03:15.550 --> 0:03:18.630 He's saying, I didn't come to destroy the scriptures. I 0:03:18.630 --> 0:03:23.989 came to fulfill the scriptures. He's talking more broadly than 0:03:23.990 --> 0:03:27.070 just the Law of Moses. And then he goes on 0:03:27.270 --> 0:03:30.510 to talk about the law of Moses in particular. But 0:03:30.510 --> 0:03:34.350 he is talking about the whole Bible. Uh, that's the 0:03:34.350 --> 0:03:37.830 first thing. Secondly, when we look at the Bible, people 0:03:37.830 --> 0:03:39.830 will say, are we under the law of Moses or 0:03:39.830 --> 0:03:42.310 are we not? And I give the really clear answer 0:03:42.310 --> 0:03:47.870 of yes and no. Uh, the the reason I say 0:03:47.870 --> 0:03:50.070 no is when we use the word law, it's used 0:03:50.070 --> 0:03:55.290 a number of ways. It's used of the Pentateuch from 0:03:55.290 --> 0:04:01.090 Genesis through Deuteronomy, right? Right. Is that the word of God, 0:04:01.090 --> 0:04:04.810 or are we under its authority? Yeah, of course it is. 0:04:05.010 --> 0:04:09.170 It's our authority. When when Paul talks about the inspired scriptures, 0:04:09.170 --> 0:04:15.930 he's including that, right? That's our authority. So, uh, on 0:04:15.930 --> 0:04:20.050 the one hand, yes, we're under that. Secondly, he also 0:04:20.089 --> 0:04:24.970 uses it of the Sinai covenant, the laws, the 613 0:04:24.970 --> 0:04:29.890 commandments that were handed down. Now, many of those Sinai 0:04:29.930 --> 0:04:33.610 covenant laws have been repeated in the New Covenant. So 0:04:33.730 --> 0:04:36.450 if we're new covenant followers of Jesus, we have to 0:04:36.450 --> 0:04:40.090 be obedient to those same laws. Uh, like nine of 0:04:40.089 --> 0:04:45.690 the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. So 0:04:45.810 --> 0:04:53.010 are we under that? But our lifestyle is sort of 0:04:53.050 --> 0:05:00.230 an enhanced New Covenant law, meaning Paul keeps talking about 0:05:00.230 --> 0:05:02.950 the law of Christ. You may have seen that the 0:05:02.950 --> 0:05:07.029 Messianic Torah, the messianic law, that's that's how you could 0:05:07.029 --> 0:05:11.430 translate it. So we're we're operating our operating system is 0:05:11.430 --> 0:05:17.430 the law of Messiah, but that encompasses, uh, the teachings 0:05:17.830 --> 0:05:20.830 and the principles that are in the law of Moses. So, 0:05:20.830 --> 0:05:25.470 for example, kosher laws, I think all foods have been 0:05:25.470 --> 0:05:29.070 declared clean. People can eat whatever they want. Uh, people 0:05:29.070 --> 0:05:31.830 can keep kosher. They can not keep kosher. It's up 0:05:31.830 --> 0:05:34.150 to them. You want to have bacon and eggs or 0:05:34.190 --> 0:05:38.350 instead of turkey bacon, have actual bacon from a pig. 0:05:38.710 --> 0:05:46.710 It's allowed. Right? However, there are principles that are in 0:05:46.750 --> 0:05:50.349 that passage. So no matter what, we need to treat 0:05:50.350 --> 0:05:55.450 those individual laws as God's wisdom and find the wisdom 0:05:55.450 --> 0:05:58.690 principle that governs our lives. And in that sense, we're 0:05:58.690 --> 0:06:03.090 under it. We're not under the specific don't eat these foods, 0:06:03.089 --> 0:06:05.770 but we are under the principle of that. God said 0:06:05.770 --> 0:06:09.650 he wanted Israel to be holy in Leviticus 11. He 0:06:09.650 --> 0:06:11.930 wanted Israel to be separate, and one of the ways 0:06:11.930 --> 0:06:15.850 they could separate themselves would be to carry, to keep 0:06:15.850 --> 0:06:21.930 the kosher laws. So that's why, uh, it says be holy, 0:06:21.930 --> 0:06:24.410 for I am holy there at the end of Leviticus 11. 0:06:24.450 --> 0:06:28.050 Should we keep ourselves distinct and separate? Yeah, that's the 0:06:28.050 --> 0:06:31.450 wisdom principle. And we have to be different in some 0:06:31.450 --> 0:06:35.250 way than those people around us. Does that does that 0:06:35.250 --> 0:06:35.930 make sense? 0:06:35.970 --> 0:06:38.370 Yeah, it gives me a lot to think about, about 0:06:38.370 --> 0:06:41.890 fulfilling all the scripture, uh, rather than just the first 0:06:41.890 --> 0:06:46.570 five list, Leviticus and and whatnot. So, uh, yeah, I 0:06:46.610 --> 0:06:49.489 appreciate that insight. Yeah, it gives me more. Yeah. 0:06:49.890 --> 0:06:58.270 Great. Uh, okay. Uh, we're going to, uh, we're going 0:06:58.270 --> 0:07:02.950 to talk to Tony in West Chicago, uh, listening on Wmbi. 0:07:03.310 --> 0:07:05.510 Welcome to Open Line, Tony. How can I help you? 0:07:06.270 --> 0:07:10.910 Thank you. Um, yeah. Um, my question, um, has been 0:07:10.910 --> 0:07:12.990 something that's been on my mind for a while now. 0:07:12.990 --> 0:07:16.950 And just to preface, uh, I am a strong supporter 0:07:16.950 --> 0:07:22.590 of Israel. I hope and pray for their safety and success. However, 0:07:22.630 --> 0:07:27.110 Old Testament Israel was disciplined by God for idolatry, by 0:07:27.110 --> 0:07:34.110 enemy nations, and news of Israel's secularism, like the abortion, uh, 0:07:34.110 --> 0:07:38.630 counts and homosexuality, which is all idolatry, has been very 0:07:38.630 --> 0:07:44.310 worrying to me. Could it be that the October 7th 0:07:44.310 --> 0:07:47.870 massacre has been a wake up call to Israel? And 0:07:47.870 --> 0:07:51.620 if so, has there been a discussion on this perspective 0:07:51.620 --> 0:07:55.140 in Israel regarding future concerns, and should we be praying 0:07:55.140 --> 0:07:56.740 in this respect in this regard? 0:07:57.940 --> 0:08:02.820 Well, I would put it this way. You know what? 0:08:03.140 --> 0:08:05.660 I'm going to be really blunt here. Where would I 0:08:05.700 --> 0:08:12.060 rather be as a person who affirms God's and the 0:08:12.060 --> 0:08:16.180 biblical expectations of human sexuality? I would rather be in 0:08:16.180 --> 0:08:20.620 Israel than, for example, in Gaza, where Hamas kills people 0:08:20.820 --> 0:08:25.580 who have same sex relationships. Right? They throw them off 0:08:25.580 --> 0:08:29.820 the roof. So I would I would rather be in 0:08:29.820 --> 0:08:32.940 Israel where there's freedom, just like I think in America. 0:08:33.100 --> 0:08:36.059 I think that I would rather be in a democracy 0:08:36.059 --> 0:08:43.060 that has recognizes the humanity and human rights of of 0:08:43.059 --> 0:08:49.040 people like, engaged in, in same sex relationships. I'm not 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:54.720 in any way saying that we need to, to to, uh, 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.640 have anything but respect for those people, even if we 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:03.360 disagree with their lifestyle. I'm not endorsing anything about the lifestyle. 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:05.760 I'm just saying people are made in the image of God. 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:09.960 And I appreciate that Israel doesn't do what happens in 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:13.559 many countries around Israel. Wouldn't you agree with that? 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.199 Well, I think that's that's not only just one issue 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.679 of of idolatry. It's the whole issue. 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.520 Well, I'm going to go on to talk about the others, 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.040 but I just want to know if you agree with 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:24.960 me about that. 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:29.880 I think that, um, it's certainly good to be certainly 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:34.439 trying to find how to help those who are have 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:38.840 made these decisions. Absolutely. And in, in as a Christian, 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.720 I work I absolutely work toward that. 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:48.180 Yeah. Okay. Good. Now, uh, Uh, the. That's a governmental perspective, 0:09:48.220 --> 0:09:51.219 not a personal. Do you understand what I'm saying? Uh, 0:09:51.220 --> 0:09:54.060 I think that we ought not to do anything unkind 0:09:54.059 --> 0:10:00.780 or un. Uh, untoward, uh, to anyone. Even people who 0:10:00.820 --> 0:10:06.460 don't know the Lord. I mean, what do you think? So, uh, now, 0:10:06.460 --> 0:10:12.219 the other thing I would say about this is. Yes. God. Uh, 0:10:12.220 --> 0:10:16.179 so often people think there's, like, this tit for tat 0:10:16.220 --> 0:10:18.780 thing going on, but God does this in our lives, too, 0:10:18.780 --> 0:10:22.340 doesn't he? He brings difficulties and challenges in our lives, 0:10:22.340 --> 0:10:24.860 either to make us more faithful or to correct us 0:10:24.860 --> 0:10:28.780 when we've been unfaithful. Isn't that true? Right? That's what 0:10:28.780 --> 0:10:30.059 Hebrews 12 is about. 0:10:30.860 --> 0:10:33.660 So pretty. Pretty, uh. Painful? 0:10:33.700 --> 0:10:38.459 Yeah. And so not that there was any justification for what, uh, 0:10:39.740 --> 0:10:43.939 for what Hamas did. Not that, uh, there's any endorsement 0:10:43.940 --> 0:10:47.880 of it. Uh, and we shouldn't approve of it in 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.920 any way, shape or form. Uh, we should condemn it. 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:55.280 Hate it, uh, respect Israel's right to defend itself. All 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:59.920 that's true. But don't you think it causes people to say, well, 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.920 I better seek the Lord? You know, it says in 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:08.920 Psalm 120, verse one, uh, that out of my distress 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:12.520 I cry to the Lord, and he heard me. And 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:16.120 so I've been talking to friends who are followers of 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:19.360 Jesus in Israel, and they have been telling me they 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.360 have never seen Israelis quite as open spiritually as they've 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:28.480 seen them since 1011. That this has done something in 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:32.600 the land to bring a sense of searching, a searching 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.240 for the Lord, to see where God is at. So 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:36.880 that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pray 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:41.520 that God opens hearts and people will, uh, come to 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:45.540 know him because of the struggles that they're facing. I 0:11:45.540 --> 0:11:48.420 think that's how I would pray for Israel right now. 0:11:48.460 --> 0:11:54.059 Not only for deliverance from this difficulty. Difficult situation. For safety, 0:11:54.100 --> 0:11:59.220 for protection, but also for spiritual pursuit of the Lord. 0:11:59.220 --> 0:12:02.220 And that God would reveal himself to them. I think 0:12:02.220 --> 0:12:05.300 that would be great, don't you, Tony? I do, I 0:12:05.300 --> 0:12:08.020 hope so. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. We'll be back with more 0:12:08.020 --> 0:12:10.420 questions in just a moment. This is open line with 0:12:10.420 --> 0:12:21.819 Michael Radulovic. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Radulovic. 0:12:22.220 --> 0:12:24.700 Glad to be with you today. Talking about your questions 0:12:24.700 --> 0:12:29.180 about the Bible, God and the spiritual life, and seems 0:12:29.179 --> 0:12:33.380 like today a lot of questions about Israel as well. So, uh, 0:12:33.700 --> 0:12:36.179 I do want to mention a couple of things. One 0:12:36.420 --> 0:12:40.580 is we have our favorite. I have my favorite resource. 0:12:40.580 --> 0:12:43.570 I think I've given it a long time as a 0:12:43.570 --> 0:12:46.530 thank you for your gift of any size. And that 0:12:46.530 --> 0:12:50.890 is a Bible dictionary. Uh, I think it's so crucial 0:12:51.330 --> 0:12:56.690 that everyone build a library and, uh, a good Bible 0:12:56.690 --> 0:12:59.650 library as a resource when you're reading the Bible to 0:12:59.690 --> 0:13:04.290 be able to turn to something and and look things up. Uh, 0:13:04.290 --> 0:13:07.090 when you wonder who are these people that are mentioned? 0:13:07.250 --> 0:13:11.050 What's this place name? What happened there? What's this event? 0:13:11.050 --> 0:13:14.650 What's this Holy day? Well, you could look it up 0:13:14.650 --> 0:13:18.370 in the Ultimate Bible Dictionary, published by B.A. publishers. It's 0:13:18.370 --> 0:13:22.010 the same publisher that produced my favorite Bible translation, the 0:13:22.010 --> 0:13:26.330 Holman CSB. And we'd like to send you a copy 0:13:26.330 --> 0:13:28.730 of the Ultimate Bible Dictionary as a thank you for 0:13:28.770 --> 0:13:31.770 a gift of any size. And boy, we could really, uh, 0:13:31.970 --> 0:13:34.850 we would really appreciate a gift. Now, this month, as 0:13:34.850 --> 0:13:36.450 we come to the end of our fiscal year at 0:13:36.450 --> 0:13:39.410 Moody Bible Institute. So if you'd like to give, uh, 0:13:39.410 --> 0:13:44.190 the best way to do that is to call (888) 644-7122 0:13:44.230 --> 0:13:47.510 or go to open line radio.org, and we'll send you 0:13:47.510 --> 0:13:49.910 a copy of the Ultimate Bible Dictionary. You're going to 0:13:49.910 --> 0:13:55.910 love this handy terrific book. Uh, it's it's small, it's 0:13:55.910 --> 0:14:02.350 easy to carry. It's a great resource. Again, call (888) 644-7122 0:14:02.830 --> 0:14:05.510 or go to Open Line radio.org. And remember to ask 0:14:05.510 --> 0:14:08.390 for the ultimate Bible dictionary with your gift of any size. 0:14:08.429 --> 0:14:10.590 Now some people are asking me about something else, and 0:14:10.590 --> 0:14:14.630 I need to mention this that one of one of 0:14:14.630 --> 0:14:17.750 the things that happens if you become a kitchen table partner, 0:14:17.750 --> 0:14:21.710 which is people kitchen table partners give monthly so that 0:14:21.710 --> 0:14:24.390 we can be on the air weekly. Uh, it's a 0:14:24.390 --> 0:14:28.390 commitment they make, uh, for 12 months to give monthly. Uh, 0:14:28.430 --> 0:14:30.350 do you still get the resource? Yes. All you have 0:14:30.350 --> 0:14:32.510 to do is ask for it. We're really grateful for 0:14:32.510 --> 0:14:35.310 the gifts that you give on a monthly basis. And 0:14:35.350 --> 0:14:37.830 of course, we want to send you the resource, but 0:14:37.830 --> 0:14:40.850 we really appreciate that monthly commitment to be a kitchen 0:14:40.850 --> 0:14:44.330 table partner. And if some of you have given occasionally 0:14:44.330 --> 0:14:46.410 or never given and would like to help keep this 0:14:46.410 --> 0:14:49.210 program on the air. What a great time now at 0:14:49.210 --> 0:14:51.250 the end of the fiscal year, to make that commitment 0:14:51.250 --> 0:14:54.090 to become a kitchen table partner. Again, all you have 0:14:54.090 --> 0:14:56.810 to do to become a kitchen table partner is go 0:14:56.810 --> 0:15:06.970 to our website, Open Line radio.org or call (886) 447-1221. And 0:15:07.250 --> 0:15:10.090 we're going to talk with Craig and Grand Rapids Michigan 0:15:10.090 --> 0:15:13.730 listening on WGN. Welcome to Open Line Craig. How can 0:15:13.730 --> 0:15:14.650 I help you today. 0:15:15.930 --> 0:15:21.810 Hi. Um, thanks for taking me. And I'm kind of 0:15:21.850 --> 0:15:24.250 I've been reading through the Bible and stuff. And then 0:15:24.250 --> 0:15:26.650 with all the, all the wars and stuff going on 0:15:26.650 --> 0:15:29.450 right now, and, and I just had the question, like 0:15:29.490 --> 0:15:36.770 going through, um, in Matthew where Jesus says, um, to 0:15:37.270 --> 0:15:40.990 love your enemy. And then in Luke he says, do 0:15:40.990 --> 0:15:47.110 good to them. I don't, it's how how would that 0:15:47.110 --> 0:15:53.150 look if, say, Netanyahu said, I'm going like, I. 0:15:53.630 --> 0:15:55.630 I love Iran and so they can nuke me if 0:15:55.630 --> 0:15:57.390 they want. They can nuke my people. 0:15:57.510 --> 0:16:00.510 Well, no, no, no, not if and I believe I 0:16:00.510 --> 0:16:03.910 believe in Israel because it says in the Bible, um, 0:16:03.950 --> 0:16:05.790 don't ever go against Israel. 0:16:06.470 --> 0:16:09.230 Well, here's here's the thing that you're asking about, first 0:16:09.230 --> 0:16:12.350 of all, those verses about love your enemy. That's not 0:16:12.350 --> 0:16:20.950 talking about international affairs, that's talking about, uh, into interpersonal conflicts. 0:16:21.670 --> 0:16:25.790 And I think it's, uh, very important that we do 0:16:25.830 --> 0:16:28.190 make enemies in life, and we have to love them 0:16:28.190 --> 0:16:30.350 and care for them and do good for them. That's 0:16:30.350 --> 0:16:37.660 first of all. Right. Uh, secondly, uh, Uh, sometimes holding 0:16:37.660 --> 0:16:40.940 people accountable is the most loving thing to do. I'll 0:16:40.940 --> 0:16:44.300 think back to when there was some people. I was 0:16:44.460 --> 0:16:46.580 leading a Bible study that was going to become a 0:16:46.580 --> 0:16:51.740 congregation in Brooklyn, New York, and we were there, and 0:16:51.740 --> 0:16:55.060 some people came in to disrupt the meeting, and they 0:16:55.060 --> 0:16:58.740 started turning over our tables and knocking over chairs and 0:16:58.740 --> 0:17:02.180 knocking people down and doing all this. And one of 0:17:02.180 --> 0:17:07.300 our guys working with the ministry I was with grabbed 0:17:07.300 --> 0:17:10.419 one of those guys to protect the people and held them. 0:17:10.660 --> 0:17:13.300 He was sort of a martial arts expert. He didn't 0:17:13.300 --> 0:17:15.219 hurt the guy. He just held him. We called the 0:17:15.220 --> 0:17:19.980 police and the police said, uh, you know, when the 0:17:19.980 --> 0:17:23.500 police were on their way, we called 911. Uh, this 0:17:23.500 --> 0:17:25.739 guy says to us, I thought you were supposed to 0:17:25.740 --> 0:17:30.220 be Jesus followers. What about loving your enemies? And we said, 0:17:30.220 --> 0:17:32.459 we do love you. You have to learn not to 0:17:32.500 --> 0:17:35.760 act this way. And the way you can learn that 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:39.639 is by being held accountable. And so we're calling the 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:43.120 police in love, and we're going to press charges and 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:45.040 we're going to, you know, try and find every charge 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.520 we can. Press. So you learn not to behave this 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.400 way because that would be the most loving thing to do. 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:55.560 That's also loving and doing good for people. And then finally, uh, 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.960 there's the responsibility of a state. According to Romans 13, 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.040 that it's not that it's not loving, but there still 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:08.119 is this accountability that other nations will have if they threaten, uh, 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:12.679 your nation with a nuclear weapon to eradicate it. A 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:16.000 government would be responsible to stop that. Uh, and it 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.760 would be the most loving thing to do for all involved. 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.720 The same thing when Hamas acted that way and threatened 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:30.320 to have repeated, um, uh, assaults on Israel, repeated invasions. 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.439 They said that right away. This is not the first one. 0:18:32.580 --> 0:18:35.060 We're going to do it again and again and again. Well, 0:18:35.060 --> 0:18:37.619 then there had to be. The most loving thing to 0:18:37.660 --> 0:18:41.060 do is to hold them to account. And so it's 0:18:41.260 --> 0:18:43.180 a lot of times we look at love as being 0:18:43.180 --> 0:18:46.380 very soft. And sometimes love has to be very tough. 0:18:46.540 --> 0:18:48.859 That's not that's definitely not what I'm saying, but I'm 0:18:48.859 --> 0:18:53.580 saying Jesus says so they came in the Hamas did 0:18:53.580 --> 0:18:56.740 that horrible thing. And I can understand they threw your 0:18:56.740 --> 0:18:59.940 tables over. You stopped the guy. Yes. That's defending immediately. 0:18:59.940 --> 0:19:04.460 But they're done. They're gone. And now we plan. And 0:19:04.460 --> 0:19:08.300 you look at Jesus and say, all right, Jesus, what 0:19:08.300 --> 0:19:10.420 do we do? We get over there. And I just 0:19:10.420 --> 0:19:14.180 can't like, does Jesus say, yes, get over there and 0:19:14.180 --> 0:19:15.060 kill them. 0:19:16.220 --> 0:19:20.060 He says, well, I'm going to tell you what he says. Okay, Craig. 0:19:20.660 --> 0:19:21.740 Greg can handle it. 0:19:21.940 --> 0:19:25.660 Craig. This is what he says. He is the New Testament, 0:19:25.660 --> 0:19:26.500 the word of God. 0:19:28.500 --> 0:19:28.980 Yes. 0:19:29.380 --> 0:19:32.640 Yes. So it's the word of Jesus. In fact, it's 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:37.480 called the Word of Christ in Romans chapter 13. It 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:40.640 says that the government is a servant of God. Twice 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.360 it says the government is a servant of the Lord 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:52.119 to carry out vengeance appropriately. Now, I don't mean revenge. 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:53.800 But that's a verse. 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:55.639 Yeah. Here's what it says. 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:57.560 Said to carry out vengeance. 0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:03.800 Here's what it is. Uh. An avenger. Listen to the verse. 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:07.080 Government is God's servant for your good. This is Paul writing. 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:10.360 But the word of God is the word of Christ, right? So. 0:20:10.640 --> 0:20:12.400 But if you do wrong, be afraid. 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:13.440 Right? 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:14.399 Pardon me. 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:16.720 Whether they believe or not. Believe. 0:20:16.760 --> 0:20:20.200 Yeah. Listen to this, okay? Government is God's servant for 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:23.640 your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid because 0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:26.800 it does not carry the sword. That's the assault weapon 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:30.700 of the first century. For no reason for government is 0:20:30.700 --> 0:20:37.100 God's servant and avenger that brings wrath on the one 0:20:37.100 --> 0:20:41.700 who does wrong. That's a governmental responsibility. 0:20:42.220 --> 0:20:44.379 Yeah, that does make sense. What verse was that? 0:20:44.700 --> 0:20:46.220 Romans 13 four. 0:20:48.580 --> 0:20:51.100 Okay. And then so would it be wrong to you 0:20:51.100 --> 0:20:54.900 for a soldier in Israel, to a Christian soldier, to say, 0:20:55.740 --> 0:20:58.179 I'm not going over there and killing those people? 0:20:58.580 --> 0:21:01.460 No, I think it would be wrong. Uh, a soldier 0:21:01.500 --> 0:21:06.260 is under the government, and the government is authorized to 0:21:06.300 --> 0:21:11.060 do this. And just like in Israel, in ancient Israel, 0:21:11.060 --> 0:21:15.699 when God authorized, uh, the government of Israel to to 0:21:15.740 --> 0:21:16.460 go to war. 0:21:17.220 --> 0:21:19.540 Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but I'm saying, would 0:21:19.580 --> 0:21:22.540 Jesus would that be he's using Jesus as to say, 0:21:22.700 --> 0:21:23.820 that's my worst enemy. 0:21:23.859 --> 0:21:25.619 I think he I think I think. 0:21:25.619 --> 0:21:25.939 He's. 0:21:26.700 --> 0:21:29.609 I think what he would be saying would be misusing 0:21:29.609 --> 0:21:33.170 the words of Jesus, which have to do with personal 0:21:33.410 --> 0:21:36.730 enmity and not governmental responsibility. 0:21:37.330 --> 0:21:40.729 So you could hear Jesus only saying, get over there. 0:21:40.730 --> 0:21:43.370 And you know what, Craig? I'm trying to say to 0:21:43.369 --> 0:21:47.210 you as clearly as I can, that I believe I 0:21:47.210 --> 0:21:52.970 was once in a discussion with a pacifist who didn't 0:21:52.970 --> 0:21:56.930 believe that anyone should ever go to war, and when 0:21:56.970 --> 0:22:02.730 asked why wait, Craig. Wait when when when when he 0:22:02.730 --> 0:22:08.570 said that the question was why? And he said, what 0:22:08.570 --> 0:22:12.290 would Jesus do? And I said, okay, read revelation 19 0:22:12.730 --> 0:22:15.890 and revelation 19 says that the Lord Jesus himself will 0:22:15.890 --> 0:22:20.369 go to war. So if we're going to do what 0:22:20.410 --> 0:22:24.770 Jesus did, there may be circumstances that a government requires 0:22:24.770 --> 0:22:30.510 us to go to war. So that's all I'm saying. 0:22:32.310 --> 0:22:36.910 And what you're doing is dealing with a non-governmental situation 0:22:36.910 --> 0:22:41.550 and trying to make it into, uh, apply it to 0:22:41.590 --> 0:22:44.389 a governmental situation, which is different. 0:22:45.869 --> 0:22:48.590 I know. Okay. We follow the government until it goes against. 0:22:49.470 --> 0:22:50.910 And I'm not I'm not saying it's wrong. 0:22:50.950 --> 0:22:51.790 I'm talking about. 0:22:51.990 --> 0:22:53.310 I'm. I'm just confused. 0:22:53.310 --> 0:22:57.910 Craig. I'm talking Craig. I'm talking about a biblical responsibility 0:22:57.950 --> 0:23:03.070 for government. Romans 13 four. So. Okay. That's what I'm 0:23:03.109 --> 0:23:03.550 talking about. 0:23:03.590 --> 0:23:05.869 What happened when Babylon came in and took them? 0:23:07.350 --> 0:23:12.030 Babylon was held accountable for that. Read the book of Habakkuk. 0:23:12.070 --> 0:23:15.590 But yeah, but that's the I mean, God came in 0:23:15.590 --> 0:23:16.790 and said, go, go with. 0:23:16.790 --> 0:23:19.950 Them, you know. Craig, listen, I'm going to just tell 0:23:19.950 --> 0:23:24.630 you Babylon has really nothing to do with what we're 0:23:24.630 --> 0:23:28.369 talking about here. Here's what it says. The Bible says 0:23:28.369 --> 0:23:32.290 that that's a governmental responsibility. That's all I'm saying. Okay. 0:23:32.770 --> 0:23:35.609 And that may be the most loving, loving thing to do. 0:23:35.609 --> 0:23:38.170 And by the way, I do think it's loving, uh, 0:23:38.170 --> 0:23:43.449 to get Hamas out of Gaza. That would be the 0:23:43.450 --> 0:23:47.729 best thing to do. So anyway, thanks for your call, Craig. Uh, 0:23:49.450 --> 0:23:55.050 we're going to talk with, uh, David in Mentor, Ohio. Uh, 0:23:55.050 --> 0:23:57.010 welcome to Open Line. David. How can I help you? 0:23:58.490 --> 0:24:03.330 Uh, good morning, doctor. Thank you for taking my call. Sure. 0:24:03.330 --> 0:24:05.609 I have a question. Well, first, before I say anything, 0:24:05.609 --> 0:24:10.730 I want to say to Craig, um, he needs to 0:24:10.730 --> 0:24:15.369 learn what Jesus meant when Jesus said that no longer, uh, 0:24:15.609 --> 0:24:18.170 you know, you would go bare handed that you would 0:24:18.170 --> 0:24:20.969 need to pick up a sword. So you're allowed to 0:24:20.970 --> 0:24:22.810 protect yourself anyway? 0:24:22.850 --> 0:24:24.030 Yeah. Go ahead. 0:24:24.270 --> 0:24:25.550 Getting to my question. 0:24:25.869 --> 0:24:26.310 Mhm. 0:24:26.950 --> 0:24:34.270 And acts 1040. Verse 42 and says to him, uh, 0:24:35.590 --> 0:24:37.990 which was ordained of God to be the judge of 0:24:37.990 --> 0:24:41.990 the quick and the dead. I'm kind of curious if 0:24:41.990 --> 0:24:48.070 the quick if he's referring to people who are physically alive, 0:24:48.230 --> 0:24:52.030 or is he talking about people who are spiritually quickened 0:24:52.670 --> 0:24:57.230 and with the dead? Same thing. People were physically dead, 0:24:57.590 --> 0:25:01.310 or people who are spiritually dead. It may be both. 0:25:01.750 --> 0:25:03.190 But I think he's talking about. 0:25:04.030 --> 0:25:06.470 The living and the dead just means all people for 0:25:06.470 --> 0:25:09.910 all time. That's all it means. 0:25:10.990 --> 0:25:12.350 It's a it's a it's. 0:25:12.350 --> 0:25:15.830 A merism meaning that he is going to be the 0:25:15.869 --> 0:25:18.070 judge of all people. People who have died, people who 0:25:18.070 --> 0:25:21.670 are alive, people who will live, all people he will 0:25:21.670 --> 0:25:24.169 be the judge of. Okay. 0:25:24.810 --> 0:25:28.410 You're here to talk that people are. People are saved, 0:25:28.410 --> 0:25:31.250 that they will not be judged. But I believe. 0:25:31.850 --> 0:25:32.050 He. 0:25:32.090 --> 0:25:33.609 Is the judge of all people. 0:25:33.650 --> 0:25:35.010 For actions. Yeah. 0:25:35.330 --> 0:25:36.889 He's a judge of all. And now he's going to 0:25:36.890 --> 0:25:40.410 judge believers differently. It'll be at the the Bema Seat 0:25:40.410 --> 0:25:43.090 of the Messiah. Well, thanks for your call, David. We'll 0:25:43.090 --> 0:25:45.330 be back in just a bit with more of your 0:25:45.330 --> 0:25:48.210 questions right here on Open Line with Michael Ray Dolnick. 0:26:04.170 --> 0:26:07.410 Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Ray Elnec, and 0:26:07.410 --> 0:26:10.690 so glad to be with you. So grateful that you're listening. 0:26:10.690 --> 0:26:13.730 And also so grateful that Tricia McMillan is coming in 0:26:13.730 --> 0:26:19.609 with the Febc mailbag. So happy to see you, Tricia. 0:26:19.810 --> 0:26:24.680 The Febc mailbag is there because the Febc Far Eastern 0:26:24.680 --> 0:26:28.520 Broadcasting Company partners with us to bring you the mailbag. 0:26:28.720 --> 0:26:32.560 And this is a terrific organization that brings the good 0:26:32.560 --> 0:26:36.760 news to people through media, through personal engagement. They have 0:26:36.760 --> 0:26:40.320 a wonderful podcast called Until All Have Heard. It features 0:26:40.320 --> 0:26:44.720 Ed Cannon, the president of Febc. I encourage you to 0:26:44.760 --> 0:26:47.600 check it out by going to Febc. Org or to 0:26:47.640 --> 0:26:52.240 your favorite podcast distributor and get a copy of that. 0:26:52.240 --> 0:26:55.920 Listen to it and be encouraged as the gospel is 0:26:55.920 --> 0:27:00.440 spread through Febc. Hey, Tricia. Hey, we got a lot 0:27:00.440 --> 0:27:02.239 of questions here. Let's see how many we can do. 0:27:02.240 --> 0:27:02.800 What do you think? 0:27:02.840 --> 0:27:05.280 All right. Sounds great. We got a question on Facebook 0:27:05.280 --> 0:27:07.760 from someone who says I'm a baker for farmers markets. 0:27:07.760 --> 0:27:09.919 And last year, I began a farmers market in our 0:27:09.920 --> 0:27:13.240 church parking lot with the support of the pastors, elders 0:27:13.240 --> 0:27:16.560 and trustees and then the vendor fees that the people 0:27:16.560 --> 0:27:20.820 selling things, um, pay goes back into the church and 0:27:20.820 --> 0:27:22.500 needs there, which is kind of a cool deal. 0:27:22.540 --> 0:27:22.820 So it's. 0:27:22.859 --> 0:27:24.340 A fundraiser in a sense, for the. 0:27:24.380 --> 0:27:28.139 Church? Yeah. Several members of the church are vendors there, too. 0:27:28.180 --> 0:27:30.620 And we've even had a hot dog lunch outreach as 0:27:30.619 --> 0:27:34.900 a youth group fundraiser. An influential member has compared this 0:27:35.180 --> 0:27:37.780 farmer's market, though, to the story of Jesus overturning the 0:27:37.780 --> 0:27:40.780 tables in the temple and has told has told me 0:27:40.780 --> 0:27:43.500 that we should know better. My vision was to use 0:27:43.500 --> 0:27:46.020 it as an outreach, a collaboration with the church, creating 0:27:46.020 --> 0:27:48.780 connections in the community, and so many good things. But 0:27:48.820 --> 0:27:51.460 instead it seems to be turning into a battle. I 0:27:51.460 --> 0:27:54.100 don't want to continue this if it's a bad thing. 0:27:54.380 --> 0:27:57.900 Is the market comparable to the temple money changers? And 0:27:57.900 --> 0:28:00.060 I would even throw in like a church rummage sale 0:28:00.060 --> 0:28:01.980 would be, I think, a similar thing. 0:28:02.859 --> 0:28:03.300 Well. 0:28:04.660 --> 0:28:08.340 This was not only did this come up once before 0:28:08.340 --> 0:28:11.500 when I was a pastor in New York a long 0:28:11.500 --> 0:28:15.380 time ago. Uh, we were going to a Bible conference, 0:28:15.380 --> 0:28:19.280 and we had a lot of new Russian Jewish immigrants 0:28:19.280 --> 0:28:22.919 in our congregation, and they couldn't afford to go to 0:28:22.960 --> 0:28:25.959 this Bible conference at a Bible conference center in the mountains. 0:28:26.240 --> 0:28:29.440 And we were going to go. And so what we 0:28:29.440 --> 0:28:31.760 did is we had a rummage sale in our parking lot. 0:28:32.000 --> 0:28:36.679 Everyone brought everything, and we raised enough money to send 0:28:36.680 --> 0:28:41.240 every single person that couldn't afford to go to this conference. 0:28:41.640 --> 0:28:44.080 And what was so strange is there was one woman 0:28:44.080 --> 0:28:47.520 in our congregation who just went crazy about it. She 0:28:47.520 --> 0:28:49.840 thought this was the end of the world. She thought 0:28:49.840 --> 0:28:54.200 that what we were doing was turning our our temple 0:28:54.200 --> 0:28:59.440 into a den of thieves. Uh, and so I've encountered 0:28:59.440 --> 0:29:03.720 this before. Here's what I would say. The problem with 0:29:03.960 --> 0:29:08.000 the money changers and what was going on in the 0:29:08.000 --> 0:29:13.360 temple is completely different. Here's what was happening. First of all, 0:29:13.400 --> 0:29:16.000 they people had to bring a sacrifice so they would 0:29:16.140 --> 0:29:19.180 go to the temple. No matter how spotless or perfect 0:29:19.180 --> 0:29:22.660 their lamb was, if they brought one, the inspectors from 0:29:22.660 --> 0:29:25.820 the priesthood would say, nah, that's not quite good enough. 0:29:25.820 --> 0:29:27.979 We want the ones that we can be sure of. 0:29:28.420 --> 0:29:30.300 You have to buy one of ours. And it was 0:29:30.300 --> 0:29:33.100 like at airport prices is the way I would describe it. 0:29:33.140 --> 0:29:34.900 You know, you go to the airport and you want 0:29:34.900 --> 0:29:37.580 to get a hot dog and it's $16 and you're like, wow. 0:29:38.220 --> 0:29:41.060 Do they know what's going on outside of the airport? 0:29:41.180 --> 0:29:44.380 So they would charge a great deal for those perfect 0:29:44.380 --> 0:29:47.980 spotless lambs and goats and things in, in the temple. 0:29:48.260 --> 0:29:50.900 And then you'd say, okay, I'll buy it because I 0:29:50.900 --> 0:29:54.260 have to bring my sacrifice. And then they would say, oh, 0:29:54.300 --> 0:29:56.860 I'm sorry, your money's no good here. You've got to 0:29:56.860 --> 0:30:00.580 go to the money changers. We only have temple currency. 0:30:00.580 --> 0:30:02.340 You can't give us a shekel. You've got to give 0:30:02.340 --> 0:30:05.740 us a temple shekel. And. Okay, so I'll go to 0:30:05.780 --> 0:30:09.300 the money changers, and those guys would charge. Well, there's 0:30:09.300 --> 0:30:12.980 a 20% fee to convert your money to temple money. 0:30:13.260 --> 0:30:16.240 And so they were making money in a corrupt way. 0:30:16.880 --> 0:30:20.040 And that's what was upsetting the Lord. Not that there 0:30:20.040 --> 0:30:22.680 were if they had just been a nonprofit and providing 0:30:22.680 --> 0:30:25.960 the animals at at proper price, if they were converting 0:30:25.960 --> 0:30:31.560 the money with a reasonable amount of, of a surcharge, 0:30:32.240 --> 0:30:36.600 I don't think it would have spurred the, the, the, the, 0:30:36.640 --> 0:30:40.240 the conflict that that did come out because of it. 0:30:40.360 --> 0:30:43.840 That's what made the Lord Jesus so righteously angry. And 0:30:43.840 --> 0:30:47.640 so it seems to me. Go ahead with your parking 0:30:47.640 --> 0:30:52.080 lot farmers market. It's it's a great way to raise money. 0:30:52.440 --> 0:30:55.360 Okay. All right. Thank you for that question. I hope 0:30:55.360 --> 0:30:58.880 that helps. Um, as you continue to reach out in 0:30:58.880 --> 0:31:03.320 your community. Uh, Michael wrote us in Indiana, listens to WGN, 0:31:03.360 --> 0:31:05.360 and said, I'm leading a Bible study through the book 0:31:05.360 --> 0:31:10.360 of acts. And as I have prepared, I have gotten 0:31:10.360 --> 0:31:15.510 to verse two, chapter 16, verse three, which has raised 0:31:15.510 --> 0:31:19.950 two questions for me. One why would Paul circumcise Timothy? 0:31:20.230 --> 0:31:22.630 Let me read the verse. Paul wanted Timothy to go 0:31:22.670 --> 0:31:24.790 with him, so he took him and circumcised him because 0:31:24.790 --> 0:31:27.310 of the Jews who were in those places. Since they 0:31:27.310 --> 0:31:30.470 all knew that his father was a Greek. So why 0:31:30.470 --> 0:31:34.590 would Paul circumcise Timothy if, as he states in first 0:31:34.590 --> 0:31:39.630 Corinthians 718 and 19 and Galatians five six, the circumcision 0:31:39.790 --> 0:31:44.670 isn't what saves you, and it doesn't matter. Um, and 0:31:44.670 --> 0:31:47.390 then perhaps more to the point, number two, how would 0:31:47.390 --> 0:31:50.270 anyone even know that Timothy was circumcised? 0:31:53.030 --> 0:31:56.590 Okay. Uh, the verse, first of all, let me just 0:31:56.590 --> 0:32:01.030 state that when Paul writes in first Corinthians 718, was 0:32:01.030 --> 0:32:03.950 anyone already circumcised when he was called? In other words, 0:32:03.950 --> 0:32:07.550 are you Jewish because Jewish people would be circumcised on 0:32:07.550 --> 0:32:09.550 the eighth day because of an outward sign of the 0:32:09.550 --> 0:32:12.890 Abrahamic covenant? He should not undo his circumcision. There was 0:32:12.890 --> 0:32:15.650 actually a surgery that people were doing. So they compete 0:32:15.650 --> 0:32:21.290 in Greco-Roman World Games that demonstrated that restored the circumcision 0:32:21.690 --> 0:32:26.890 or undid the circumcision, I should say. And so he said, 0:32:26.890 --> 0:32:30.450 don't do that if you're Jewish, stay Jewish. Uh, he 0:32:30.450 --> 0:32:33.690 should not get if someone is uncircumcised, if you're a 0:32:33.690 --> 0:32:37.890 Gentile and become a follower of Jesus, don't get circumcised. 0:32:37.890 --> 0:32:40.010 You don't have to become Jewish to become a follower. 0:32:40.210 --> 0:32:43.250 So when he says he should not get circumcised, he's 0:32:43.250 --> 0:32:47.890 talking about Gentiles. Same thing in Galatians. What was the 0:32:47.890 --> 0:32:50.810 problem in Galatians? They were telling Gentiles they had to 0:32:50.810 --> 0:32:54.210 be circumcised in order to become followers of Jesus. It 0:32:54.210 --> 0:32:57.730 was addressing Gentiles. He says in the Messiah, Jesus, neither 0:32:57.730 --> 0:33:03.210 circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything. In other words, if you're 0:33:03.210 --> 0:33:05.450 a Gentile, you don't have to be circumcised to come 0:33:05.450 --> 0:33:11.630 to faith. That's the point of that. And so. why 0:33:11.630 --> 0:33:16.150 is it that Paul Circumcises Timothy? Is because Timothy's mother 0:33:16.150 --> 0:33:20.430 is Jewish. He considers Timothy fully Jewish. The outward sign 0:33:20.430 --> 0:33:23.670 of the Abrahamic Covenant. Not for salvation, but for the 0:33:23.670 --> 0:33:28.110 the God's faithfulness to Israel was through circumcision. And so 0:33:28.110 --> 0:33:32.110 Paul did that as a mark of the Abrahamic covenant, 0:33:32.110 --> 0:33:36.150 just as you would with any Jewish child. Uh, just 0:33:36.150 --> 0:33:39.550 as Paul was circumcised on the eighth day. So that's 0:33:39.550 --> 0:33:43.590 why he circumcised Timothy. He wouldn't have circumcised Titus. In fact, 0:33:43.590 --> 0:33:46.470 he says he didn't. The reason he didn't was because 0:33:46.510 --> 0:33:49.310 Titus was a Gentile and there was a principle involved. 0:33:49.590 --> 0:33:51.310 Don't want anyone to think that a person has to 0:33:51.310 --> 0:33:55.630 be circumcised on the eighth day, or ritually, in order 0:33:55.790 --> 0:33:59.469 to be saved. That's why it was for the outward 0:33:59.470 --> 0:34:01.550 sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. How did they know? I 0:34:01.550 --> 0:34:04.630 think people would ask, uh, are you are you are 0:34:04.630 --> 0:34:07.350 you circumcised? Yeah. You know. 0:34:07.750 --> 0:34:09.650 Because they would know that he's Jewish. 0:34:10.170 --> 0:34:10.690 Yeah. 0:34:10.770 --> 0:34:11.170 Okay. 0:34:11.210 --> 0:34:13.930 Yeah. That's it. Okay. And they would also know that 0:34:13.930 --> 0:34:18.649 his father wasn't Jewish. People would. And. And so they ask, 0:34:18.650 --> 0:34:20.690 I don't think that they have an inspection. 0:34:20.850 --> 0:34:21.250 Okay. 0:34:21.730 --> 0:34:25.170 You know, I've been asked. Believe it or not, when, uh, 0:34:25.730 --> 0:34:29.690 when I've met people, uh, in very observant Jews and 0:34:29.690 --> 0:34:33.330 they find out I'm a messianic Jew, they'll say, well, 0:34:33.370 --> 0:34:37.530 were you circumcised? Of course. Eighth day, you know. 0:34:37.570 --> 0:34:37.970 Okay. 0:34:38.010 --> 0:34:41.410 So no one ever would do anything other than that. 0:34:41.450 --> 0:34:46.169 Okay. And it wouldn't matter that that his father was 0:34:46.170 --> 0:34:48.570 Greek because his mother was Jewish. 0:34:48.930 --> 0:34:49.290 Yeah. 0:34:49.330 --> 0:34:53.890 Either in the Bible, either parent being Jewish makes the 0:34:53.890 --> 0:34:54.770 child Jewish. 0:34:54.810 --> 0:34:59.210 Okay. All right. And therefore, as a witness to the 0:34:59.210 --> 0:35:01.850 Jewish people in those places where he was going to go, 0:35:02.170 --> 0:35:04.010 this was also a witness to them. 0:35:04.050 --> 0:35:06.770 I would go even further. Not just a witness. Yeah. 0:35:06.810 --> 0:35:10.029 But also because God commanded Jews to circumcise on the 0:35:10.030 --> 0:35:12.830 eighth day. He missed it because obviously his father had 0:35:12.870 --> 0:35:17.509 objected to it. So, uh, but as an obedience to Abraham, 0:35:17.550 --> 0:35:19.630 the outward sign of the Abrahamic covenant. 0:35:20.310 --> 0:35:24.509 Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that. You want 0:35:24.550 --> 0:35:25.270 to do one more? 0:35:25.590 --> 0:35:25.750 Yeah. 0:35:25.750 --> 0:35:26.430 Let's do it real quick. 0:35:26.469 --> 0:35:30.030 Okay. Anita in Indiana listens to WGN and says, first 0:35:30.030 --> 0:35:33.790 John 516, which says if anyone sees his brother committing 0:35:33.790 --> 0:35:36.670 a sin that does not bring death, he should ask 0:35:37.190 --> 0:35:39.790 as in prayer, and God will give life to him. 0:35:40.030 --> 0:35:42.950 To those who commit sin that doesn't bring death. There 0:35:42.950 --> 0:35:45.270 is sin that brings death. I am not saying he 0:35:45.270 --> 0:35:47.950 should pray about that. So Anita wants to know, is 0:35:47.950 --> 0:35:51.710 this saying not to pray for someone who has rejected 0:35:51.710 --> 0:35:55.189 God in faith? How do we know that that person 0:35:55.190 --> 0:35:57.390 won't repent and that we shouldn't pray for them? 0:35:58.190 --> 0:36:00.830 Yeah, this is not talking about whether a person, uh, 0:36:00.830 --> 0:36:04.350 sealed their fate or if they're saved or anything like that. 0:36:04.350 --> 0:36:07.100 This is talking about believers. And what it's saying is 0:36:07.100 --> 0:36:09.660 that there are people, there are certain sins that mentions 0:36:09.660 --> 0:36:12.540 it in first Corinthians 11, that there are some people 0:36:12.580 --> 0:36:15.180 taking the Lord's Supper unworthily, and they were sick. Some 0:36:15.219 --> 0:36:20.380 have even gone to sleep or died. Euphemism for death. Mhm. 0:36:20.739 --> 0:36:23.540 That there's a sin that can lead to death. Uh, 0:36:23.540 --> 0:36:27.100 that there are certain sins, whether it's abusing, taking the 0:36:27.100 --> 0:36:31.339 Lord's Supper, uh, inappropriately. Uh, there are certain sins. I'm 0:36:31.340 --> 0:36:33.219 not sure what they all are, but we know that 0:36:33.219 --> 0:36:37.060 there are certain sins that are more significant and that they, 0:36:37.100 --> 0:36:42.260 the Lord, will take someone home. Um, and he said, here, uh, 0:36:42.660 --> 0:36:45.780 in this verse, if a person is involved in sin, 0:36:45.900 --> 0:36:48.620 this believer, and it's not one of those sins that 0:36:48.660 --> 0:36:52.180 they're not sick yet, they're they're not on the verge 0:36:52.180 --> 0:36:55.379 of death, but pray for them that they would repent. 0:36:55.900 --> 0:36:57.940 On the other hand, there may be a person who 0:36:57.980 --> 0:37:00.419 is involved in a sin that brings death, and they're 0:37:00.420 --> 0:37:02.980 already sick. They're on the point of death. Uh, it 0:37:02.980 --> 0:37:06.200 is clear that God has disciplined them. I'm not saying 0:37:06.200 --> 0:37:09.000 he should pray about that, because the only thing that 0:37:09.000 --> 0:37:12.359 can help this person is James five. I believe if 0:37:12.360 --> 0:37:16.600 they call for the elders to pray, and that person 0:37:16.600 --> 0:37:21.319 not only will be raised up from their deathbed, but 0:37:21.320 --> 0:37:25.160 also their sins will be forgiven. So that person has 0:37:25.160 --> 0:37:29.680 to repent. This is just talking about temporal sin. Okay. 0:37:29.719 --> 0:37:31.440 So temporal judgment for sin. 0:37:31.480 --> 0:37:32.799 Okay. All right. Thank you. 0:37:32.840 --> 0:37:35.960 Yeah. And sometimes it's God's mercy that he takes us 0:37:35.960 --> 0:37:38.879 home rather than let us go on in our rebellious ways. Yeah, 0:37:38.920 --> 0:37:41.160 it's hard for us to imagine that, but that's what 0:37:41.160 --> 0:37:43.680 it is. We're going to. We're going to take a 0:37:43.680 --> 0:37:46.360 break here. Tricia, thank you so much for putting the 0:37:46.360 --> 0:37:47.320 mailbag together. 0:37:47.360 --> 0:37:48.000 You're welcome. 0:37:48.040 --> 0:37:51.520 I, I just I find it amazing how many you 0:37:51.520 --> 0:37:54.600 get through and grateful for all of you who write 0:37:54.800 --> 0:37:58.920 to Openlibrary.org by going to ask Michael a question. Really 0:37:58.920 --> 0:38:01.920 appreciate that. That was Tricia McMillan asking the questions. I'm 0:38:01.920 --> 0:38:04.419 Michael Ray. I'll be right back with more of your 0:38:04.420 --> 0:38:07.899 questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. In 0:38:07.900 --> 0:38:21.899 just a moment. Welcome back to Open Line. There's so 0:38:21.900 --> 0:38:28.140 much today going on in Israel and a lot of 0:38:28.140 --> 0:38:32.580 questions today at Open Line about that as well. It's 0:38:32.580 --> 0:38:35.460 so hard to see where the future is going. But 0:38:35.460 --> 0:38:37.380 the Bible is really clear. And that's why one of 0:38:37.380 --> 0:38:42.460 our partners, Chosen People Ministries, is offering a really helpful book, 0:38:42.500 --> 0:38:44.420 and it's for free if you'd like it. It's called 0:38:44.420 --> 0:38:49.900 Israel's Glorious Future. It's a book that reveals the promises 0:38:49.900 --> 0:38:53.420 that God made to Israel and his covenants. And what the. 0:38:53.700 --> 0:38:58.300 Although the past may be difficult, the future is indeed glorious. 0:38:58.340 --> 0:39:01.279 If you'd like a copy of Israel's glorious future, All 0:39:01.280 --> 0:39:03.040 you have to do is go to our website, Open 0:39:03.040 --> 0:39:06.680 Line radio.org. Scroll down until you see the link that 0:39:06.680 --> 0:39:10.040 says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on 0:39:10.080 --> 0:39:12.160 that and you'll be taken to a page where you 0:39:12.160 --> 0:39:14.680 can sign up for your very own free copy of 0:39:14.840 --> 0:39:19.480 Israel's Glorious Future. Also, I did want to mention that 0:39:19.480 --> 0:39:23.080 even though it's summertime now, heat wave, heat wave, uh, 0:39:23.239 --> 0:39:26.319 here in the Midwest, I guess all over the country. 0:39:26.480 --> 0:39:29.279 We can start planning now for a winter vacation. I'm 0:39:29.280 --> 0:39:32.240 going to be doing something really special and people are interested. 0:39:32.400 --> 0:39:35.160 You might want to know about this. Uh, going to 0:39:35.200 --> 0:39:38.360 be on a tall ship, a Bible conference on a boat, 0:39:38.360 --> 0:39:41.680 so to speak. Tall ship in the Caribbean next December 0:39:41.680 --> 0:39:44.520 6th through 13th. Uh, if you're interested in studying the 0:39:44.520 --> 0:39:46.879 book of Daniel with me and enjoying the Caribbean in 0:39:46.880 --> 0:39:49.359 the cold weather, uh, here in the Midwest, we can 0:39:49.360 --> 0:39:51.600 go down or anywhere you are in the country, go 0:39:51.600 --> 0:39:56.240 down to the Caribbean, to the Bahamas, and then sail 0:39:56.280 --> 0:39:58.920 for for a week. Uh, all you have to do 0:39:59.120 --> 0:40:02.350 is As as we study together, worship together, and then 0:40:02.430 --> 0:40:06.109 enjoy the warm weather together back in the future. Uh, 0:40:06.110 --> 0:40:09.589 when we need it, you can check it out. Go 0:40:09.590 --> 0:40:12.830 to Open Line radio.org and scroll down till you click 0:40:12.830 --> 0:40:16.670 on the link that says Michael Wright Personal website. Uh, 0:40:16.670 --> 0:40:19.590 if you want to check that out, that's where it'll be. Uh, 0:40:20.070 --> 0:40:24.750 and we're going to talk to Jim outside of Cleveland 0:40:24.750 --> 0:40:28.069 listening on CRF. Welcome to Open Line. Jim. How can 0:40:28.070 --> 0:40:28.950 I help you today? 0:40:30.230 --> 0:40:35.590 Oh, thank you, doctor Ray. Um, it says in Luke 0:40:36.350 --> 0:40:43.870 1040 to 42, but Martha was distracted in much serving, 0:40:43.870 --> 0:40:47.029 and she approached him and said, Lord, do you not 0:40:47.030 --> 0:40:49.830 care that my sister has helped me to serve alone? 0:40:50.270 --> 0:40:54.189 Therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and 0:40:54.190 --> 0:40:57.430 said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled 0:40:57.430 --> 0:41:00.890 about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary 0:41:00.930 --> 0:41:05.050 has chosen that good part which will not be taken 0:41:05.050 --> 0:41:08.009 away from her. I just wanted to make sure that 0:41:08.010 --> 0:41:14.450 wasn't like, um, the Lord diminishing service of um, to him, 0:41:14.610 --> 0:41:18.330 except just the fact that she was worried and distressed. 0:41:19.410 --> 0:41:22.610 Well, I think this has to do with priorities that 0:41:22.610 --> 0:41:26.890 so often, uh, what we do in our lives is 0:41:26.890 --> 0:41:31.450 we get very busy with work and responsibilities and family 0:41:31.930 --> 0:41:35.050 duties and so many things that we need to do. 0:41:35.450 --> 0:41:39.890 It may be even making sure that everything is done 0:41:39.930 --> 0:41:42.290 on the house or in the garage is cleaned out 0:41:42.330 --> 0:41:47.370 and all these different things that we prioritize that because 0:41:47.370 --> 0:41:52.570 we want to run our households well and we neglect 0:41:52.730 --> 0:41:55.810 that which is most important, which is spending time with 0:41:55.810 --> 0:41:59.190 the Lord Jesus. It's not saying. 0:41:59.190 --> 0:41:59.470 That. 0:42:00.390 --> 0:42:04.150 Wait wait, wait, Jim, it's not saying that service is wrong. 0:42:05.950 --> 0:42:09.109 It's not even saying that we shouldn't do those things. 0:42:09.750 --> 0:42:15.790 It's just saying that what Mary has done is prioritize 0:42:15.790 --> 0:42:20.549 her time with the Lord. And that's all it's saying. Uh, 0:42:20.550 --> 0:42:24.550 and what? Martha, Martha was kind of consumed with her tasks, 0:42:24.750 --> 0:42:31.670 and as a result, uh, she wanted help. But sometimes, 0:42:31.710 --> 0:42:35.150 you know, I often tell moms it's okay not to 0:42:35.190 --> 0:42:37.989 sweep the floor every minute. Uh, if it means that 0:42:37.989 --> 0:42:39.870 you're not going to have time with the Lord Jesus, 0:42:39.870 --> 0:42:42.310 I tell guys, you don't have to make sure the 0:42:42.310 --> 0:42:44.710 garage looks perfect. What you have to do is make 0:42:44.750 --> 0:42:49.629 sure that every day that we, we, uh, spend time 0:42:49.630 --> 0:42:53.550 with the Lord and give that some priority. Does that help, Jim? 0:42:54.770 --> 0:42:58.730 Yeah, yeah. That did, um, I heard a sermon one time, 0:42:58.730 --> 0:43:04.049 and they were saying how Martha was really, uh, good. 0:43:04.090 --> 0:43:08.330 And they went on to say, you know, her service 0:43:08.370 --> 0:43:11.569 to the Lord was was right, but they didn't balance 0:43:11.570 --> 0:43:16.330 it with what Jesus said about Mary, which is really 0:43:16.770 --> 0:43:17.250 the point. 0:43:17.250 --> 0:43:21.250 Of, well, this is really about priorities, Jim. That's that's 0:43:21.250 --> 0:43:24.689 what it is. And our first priority every day is 0:43:24.690 --> 0:43:26.770 to spend some time at the feet of our Lord. 0:43:26.770 --> 0:43:29.089 That's what we need to be doing. So hey, thanks 0:43:29.090 --> 0:43:31.009 for your call. I really appreciate it. Jim. We're going 0:43:31.090 --> 0:43:36.050 to talk to Ron in Elmwood Park, Illinois, listening on W-m-b-d. 0:43:36.410 --> 0:43:39.370 Welcome to Open Line, Ron. Good morning. 0:43:39.410 --> 0:43:40.050 How are you? 0:43:40.489 --> 0:43:41.450 Good. How are you? 0:43:41.810 --> 0:43:44.290 I'm well, thank you. I have a very mundane question. 0:43:44.570 --> 0:43:50.010 I believe in Joshua, uh, and specifically Joshua ten. They 0:43:50.010 --> 0:43:53.790 speak about the sun standing still and near the end 0:43:53.790 --> 0:43:57.710 of the, um, that chapter, I think it says that 0:43:57.710 --> 0:44:03.750 the Israelites were invading Gibeah. And while they were doing this, 0:44:03.790 --> 0:44:07.750 the stunts played out for a day and a half 0:44:08.270 --> 0:44:12.230 over Gibeah. Now, some thinks that thoughts were that, well, 0:44:12.270 --> 0:44:17.270 maybe Israel needed more time. So that's why the sun 0:44:17.310 --> 0:44:20.069 stood still. But in the Bible we're reading and in 0:44:20.070 --> 0:44:23.350 the footnotes try to explain that if people had a 0:44:23.350 --> 0:44:29.190 couple thoughts that no, God made the world stand still 0:44:29.790 --> 0:44:35.350 and or he had, um, reflective devices which reflected the 0:44:35.350 --> 0:44:38.750 sun for this day and a half. Any comments or thoughts? 0:44:40.350 --> 0:44:43.069 Well, first of all, it says on the day the 0:44:43.070 --> 0:44:46.229 Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke 0:44:46.230 --> 0:44:49.070 to the Lord in the presence of Israel. Sun, stand 0:44:49.110 --> 0:44:52.860 still over Gibeon and moon over the valley of Ayalon. 0:44:52.900 --> 0:44:56.580 Ayalon and the sun stood still, and the moon stopped 0:44:56.580 --> 0:44:59.859 until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn't this 0:44:59.860 --> 0:45:02.420 written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stopped 0:45:02.420 --> 0:45:04.860 in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting 0:45:05.100 --> 0:45:07.979 almost a full day. There is been no day like 0:45:07.980 --> 0:45:11.300 it before, since when the Lord listened to the voice 0:45:11.300 --> 0:45:15.020 of a man, because the Lord, the Lord fought for Israel. 0:45:15.860 --> 0:45:19.379 Here's that's those are the verses you're talking about. I 0:45:19.380 --> 0:45:21.540 think the simplest way is say, this is a miracle 0:45:21.540 --> 0:45:27.259 that I can't explain. Uh, if the sun and moon, 0:45:27.300 --> 0:45:31.260 if the if the day really stopped that it didn't 0:45:31.260 --> 0:45:35.100 proceed as it should have. You know, the sun we 0:45:35.100 --> 0:45:37.580 revolve around the sun. The sun doesn't revolve around us. 0:45:37.580 --> 0:45:41.860 But it looked like the sun stopped. I don't know 0:45:41.860 --> 0:45:44.500 how that happens, because that that has to do with 0:45:44.500 --> 0:45:48.220 the regulation of time and the world. I don't know 0:45:48.219 --> 0:45:50.580 how we would have stopped or the sun would have 0:45:50.760 --> 0:45:54.080 stopped and I can't understand it. There are people who 0:45:54.080 --> 0:45:59.439 propose scientific explanations, but frankly, I, you know, I just 0:45:59.440 --> 0:46:02.120 live with it, that it was a miracle. God understands 0:46:02.120 --> 0:46:05.040 how it worked. I don't need to, and I'm okay 0:46:05.040 --> 0:46:08.560 with that. So I hope you are too. That's. That's 0:46:08.560 --> 0:46:12.560 how I live with it. Uh, Ronald, thanks for your call. Uh, 0:46:12.600 --> 0:46:15.520 thanks for listening, everyone. That's the program for the week. 0:46:15.520 --> 0:46:19.280 I can't believe that's two hours of of my life 0:46:19.280 --> 0:46:22.000 I think of every week. Is being here with you? 0:46:22.040 --> 0:46:25.480 Thanks to the Open Line team, uh, for being here 0:46:25.480 --> 0:46:28.160 with us for all that you do. I really appreciate it. 0:46:28.280 --> 0:46:30.440 And remember, keep in touch with Open Line during the 0:46:30.440 --> 0:46:33.399 week by going to our website, Open Line radio.org. It's 0:46:33.400 --> 0:46:35.480 got all the links that you're looking for. It'll be 0:46:35.480 --> 0:46:38.359 right there. Keep reading the Bible. We'll talk about it 0:46:38.360 --> 0:46:41.560 next week. Open line with Doctor Michael Ray is a 0:46:41.560 --> 0:46:46.279 production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. 0:46:46.840 --> 0:46:47.800 See you next week.