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March 10, 2022 1:30 pm
Episode 920 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions.
Questions in this Episode
1. If Jesus is God, was his crucifixion a form of self-murder or suicide?
2. I am wondering how do I honor my parents when I have strong disagreements with my parents about their beliefs in conspiracy theories about the vaccine, political views that are more estreeme, as well as prosperity gospel-type beliefs. How do I honor them while disagreeing very strongly on these issues?
3. If God is all powerful, why does he allow evil and suffering?
4. Mary seems to put her faith in Jesus. Don’t Catholics put their faith in Mary? The basis of Christianity is to put our faith in Jesus, and during Jesus’s first miracle it seemed that she put her faith in her son as well. I don’t understand how Catholics can call themselves Christians if they put their faith in her. Can you explain that?
5. Could you please explain Jesus's statement, “I never knew you,” in the parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 7?
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Core Question - How Can Christianity Be True if God Allows Evil and Suffering?
Why honor my parents when they have terrible theology that's just one of the questions will be answering on today's edition of core Christianity will hi there. Welcome to the program on Bill Meyer along with pastor Gabriel Sanchez. This is the shower we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day and we would love to hear from you. There's our phone number it's 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673, as always, you can post your question on one of our social media sites you can join us on our YouTube channel and you can always email us your question at questions at core, Christianity.com first up today Israel. Here's a question we received from one of our YouTube listeners.
If God is Jesus then was his crucifixion. Self murder or self suicide. Well, Jesus is God, the second person of the holy Trinity was his crucifixion.
Self murder or self suicide if the answer to that is no Jesus was laying down his life to save others. It was a sacrificial act not not a selfish active.
It was a sacrificial act. It was him saying no greater love hath no man than this, and that he lay down his life for his friends. This is what we read in the Gospel of John.
In John chapter 15 verse 13 and Jesus nobody nobody takes my life from how I'm laying down willingly and so it's really important that we understand that there are there.
There's a lot of confusion really about the atonement there.
Some he was a will. Well you know the father sent his son into the world to be to be murdered and Jesus basically had to just had to just take it easy, like a punching bag that kind of a thing know this was the greatest act of love in the history of humanity. It's the father sending his cell his son in love this son offering himself up freely in love for us, for sinners and so that's that's the answer to the question.
I mean this is divine love on display big time time you grasp okay yeah around that such a great answer. Thank you for that Israel. This is core Christianity and we would love to hear from you.
If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, theology, Christian doctrine. One of the ways you can do that is by leaving us a voicemail. Our voicemail is open 24 hours a day.
We try to review our questions each day.
Here's the number is 833 the core and here's a voicemail that we received earlier this week. My question is regarding Exodus 2012 about honoring your father and mother just wondering how to do that. Best if you have strong disagreements with your parents about their belief in conspiracy theories about the vaccine or the pandemic or even political views that are more extreme, and I find really challenging as well as prosperity gospel type beliefs as well as I'm just really struggling with how to honor them while I still disagree with some really really significant issues. Thank you very much. Hey, thanks for that.
For that question. I know you're not alone.
There's a lot of boys coming though the last couple of years have really highlighted some of the divisions that exist in our culture in the church and even in our own families where there are strong disagreements about a number of these things and so when you have that kind of a disagreement with your parents and you know you're commanded being in the 10 commandment to honor your father and your mother. The fifth commandment.
How do I do that when I think that their views on a particular subject are all wrong or when I think that they are. I know that they have theological views that are in error.
A couple of passages of Scripture that I think we could go to one is what Timothy set up Paul tells Timothy in first Timothy chapter 5 this is an encouragement to two young Timothy says do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father younger men as brothers older women as mothers, younger women as sisters and all purity so I don't think it's our place to to rebuke our parents to see if you crazy you know your visitors. Well now he's saying there's there's a tenderness of love and affection that we have with each other. That's why he's even making this analogy within the church here. I'm basing it. You know you would want to encourage your parents you want to to honor them.
Even in the disagreement that you have that's I think that's one passage of Scripture. You can look at and you say okay I'm I really probably the best approach is not to come out swinging to to rebuke them, and to say got your your views are so crazy. How could you believe these things, know we we reason with each other. We have encouraging conversations, we open ourselves up. Also, you know, humbly saying, look, help me also to understand that you know maybe where where can I be off. I imagine that there are situations where it's it's the opposite right where there are that you know sons and daughters whose theology maybe is out there and the parents were trying to to say hey you you need to get this in line more in line with the Scriptures and edit the ability to be encouraging, not, not justice, to simply rebuke is really important. I also think about what Jesus said in the Gospels because he he used this as an example of honor your parents is an example of something that that the religious leaders in his day weren't doing and he says to them in Mark chapter 7 verse eight you leave the commandment of God and hold to the traditions of men and he said to them, you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish a tradition for Moses said.
Honor your father and your mother, and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. What you say. If a man tells his father his mother whatever you would've gained from me is Corbin that is given to God, then you no longer permit them to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down in many such things.
You do what the religious leaders are doing is essentially they were there they were caring for their parents. They were abandoning them. There is a look. I'm so devoted to service to God that I just I got nothing for you. And Jesus said actually what you've done is you've twisted the word and you trusted in your own traditions that are allowing you, helping you to invalidate God's word.
That's a problem and so part of, I think, rightly honoring our parents is caring for them and loving them and taking care of them XOXO that's in, but another thing that we see here in in the New Testament, but I would just encourage you when this is a tension that many people are feeling right now whether it's with their parents or with other people in the church are just friends, you know, other family members that kind of a thing as followers of Jesus Christ let's let's be gracious in our speech.
Let's be humble willing to listen, slow to speak, right let's basically do the opposite that everyone in our culture is doing right now and set the proper example that the that the Lord I think would have us to set in terms of how we communicate with each other, encouraging one another in building one another up with our words even when there's a disagreement that doesn't mean we we can't disagree and have sharp disagreements. Even discussions about that but the way in which we disagree should be different from how everyone else in the world us.
You said, slow to speak, I think you would also probably say slow to post before you hit that enter button yeah I say yeah Bill. Boy I think were all convicted now that you said that this is absent me. Yeah, we just think about all of our car communications that we that we have and what what they say about assuming Jesus said from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
And so a lot of the anger that you see a lot of the rhetoric in a words that come from come from the heart, places of fear. Often a lack of trust and so yeah we we really need to be careful you're listening to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. We have a YouTube channel. By the way, and you can join a drill every day at 11:30 AM Pacific time. Check out the broadcast on YouTube live, you can assume messages that way as well.
And here's the YouTube question we received bedroom.
This is a question you hear a lot, particularly from people who are maybe agnostics or atheists. And it's a it's a question it's difficult for a lot of Christians to answer. If God is all-powerful, why does he allow evil and misery. Yeah it's it sometimes. You know, called the question of theodicy, right if we say that God is all-powerful, but there's evil in the world and he must not be good because he could stop it. And he doesn't. But if we say that he's all-powerful or we could say he's not all-powerful and and then there's evil he can still be good but he's just not all-powerful and collect that kind of tension that we see. And of course we confess as Christians that God is not the author of evil, but that he has allowed it for his sovereign purposes, and we don't always know what those what those purposes are one thing we can say is that God has decreed from eternity past, how to solve the problems that we've created due to our sin. In other words, he doesn't allow anything that he hasn't already determined to to to restore to fix and ultimately in a week. We have a sign of that in the work of Jesus Christ himself. I mean here is if you will, the most heinous crime that has ever been committed on the on the face of the planet.
The murder of God the son, the second person of the holy Trinity had a mentioning of Jesus offering himself up freely, but there was neither guilty people who crucified him, put them to death. And yet we read in the early chapters of the book of acts that all of this happened, according to the predetermined plan of God. Another would somehow God was using all of these things were taking place for the good of humanity for the restoration of humanity for that.
The in breaking of the new creation to conquer death and and then rise again from the grave so we don't always understand God's mysterious purposes. What we have is what the Scripture teaches us, and it does teach us that God is all-powerful, that is omnipotent, that he knows all things that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked that you know God doesn't delight in in sin, he doesn't tempt us to do evil.
That's what God reveals to us and yet we know that he has permitted.
You know these things to take place. You note with within his decree, and so there there we say Lord I don't understand why, but that doesn't mean that you don't have reasons and that doesn't mean that that there isn't a good answers music I might in my finite understanding don't know those reasons none out maybe when were in the presence of the Lord. I think that we will have a fuller understanding before part part. Now we look to the Lord and say God we we trust you, and at times we lament, we cry out because of the suffering, not understanding why it is that the Lord has allowed a certain thing to take place in the world, or even in our own lives and and that's okay those those prayers are honest, prayers, and the Lord wants those prayers we see them throughout the book of Psalms, but we we still continue to trust in with the word of God says that he is able somehow to cause all things to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose Romans chapter 8 and so were clinging to the Scriptures here into and to how God has revealed himself in Scripture. And that's that's were called to do right now we don't have all the answers. This side of heaven, but I think will will understand fuller when were in the presence of the Lord. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez if you're a regular listener to this program and you find it helpful. You believe in what we do here want to let you know that we have a special group of people that you can join that support this program on a regular basis are called our inner core You've been encouraged by core Christianity are blessed by the work that were doing. Would you consider joining the inner core it it's really you know team of people to help to support us with the monthly gift of $25 or more.
It's one of the ways you can partner with us. Partner with us and in the work that were doing, which we believe this is really important helping helping people to understand the core truths of the Christian faith growing in their confidence in God's word and their ability to defend the faith to have conversations with other people about Jesus and and so if you been blessed by this broadcast. Consider joining the inner core and as a a thank you. Will send you a copy of the book core Christianity, written by Dr. Michael Horton and I know that you want to get a copy of that and so thank you for your support. So encouraging for us and as a member of the inner core. We send you some special resources in advance of all the other listeners, which is really a neat benefit of being part of the inner core. You can find out more by going to core Christianity.com/inner core. Would love to have you join that group of people who really believe and support this program on a regular basis. There's our phone number if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. It's 833 the core and this is a question we received from Jasmine Gen. Scripture that followed. Mary and her faith and G and commanded Janet by the Catholic religion.
They put their faith in Mary. But when the water was turned in the wind and they ran out of wine. She told him about it and he pretty much.
I have not my problem, unencumbered, and she felt both the grout.
Whatever he said do it. Go back there. She made it plain that she put her faith and am so I don't understand how Catholics believe themselves to be Christian is like the basis of Christianity is believing in Jesus, not Mary.
Please clarify that for me please and thank you Jasmine thank you for that question. Now you know there's a lot that I disagree with in an Catholic Roman Catholic theology. I think it's really important whenever we have a disagreement with someone. Another theological school of thought, or at the church tradition that we represent them as best we can, and I think Roman Catholics would want to say no. We we were putting our trust in Jesus and Mary is a mid sometimes I can the language of of which what I've heard some Catholics talk or say is Jesus is a sort of co-mediator with with Jesus week we can go to her to mediate for us before Jesus himself is old. There is I think a real issue here a real problem, but but I think what they would try to say is no way for us it's it's mainly Jesus, but you should have this. This also. This openness to her as this co-mediator or assist having this primary role in our own even sanctification salvation. You see that in in Roman Catholic piety in their prayers which are absolutely right that Mary put her trust in Jesus, she was saved by grace through faith through the gospel. I think of that song that that she sang often often referred to as the Magnificat. It's in the gospel of Luke in Luke chapter 1 verse 46 Mary said my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, who is who does Mary want us to fix our eyes on on Jesus on God our Savior on his redemptive work and so, insofar as as she bears witness to that reality.
I think I think great, but if were losing sight of Jesus and of the gospel and were focusing on the saints if you will, and they become you know are are our primary mediators before God. I think that there's a significant problem you think of what the apostle Paul said in first Timothy chapter 2.
This is something that this is absolutely clear. First Timothy chapter 2 verse five. There is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time now. Jesus is our mediator is the one who gives us direct access to the father. That's all we can go to God in prayer freely, openly because of the work that Jesus Christ is done for us and and that's key. You don't need other mediators to give you access to God. Jesus is the mediator who gives you access to the father. He's your advocate in heaven who ever lives to make intercession for you that is that mean that we we just sort of you know we we have a negative view of the Virgin Mary know we should have a negative view of the Virgin Mary and have a biblical view of the Virgin Mary and I think the biblical view is not to put our trust in her.
But to put our trust in the one who she praised and worshiped God, her Savior and so you know this is this is a significant issue and I think when you're when you're talking to your friends who are who are Roman Catholics and you're having conversations about the think focusing on the gospel focusing on Jesus on the fact that he is the sole mediator between God and man is is key and a proper understanding of that. So thank you Jasmine for that question. Good explanation. Thanks for that Israel. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez, one of the ways that you can ask a question about the Bible or the Christian life theology or doctrine is by emailing us.
Here's our email address. It's questions at core, Christianity.com to stored questions at core, Christianity.com, and Lawrence asks this question a drill. Could you please explain.
I never knew you. In the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew chapter 7 okay so yeah I be happy to. So you go to them the gospel of Matthew Matthew chapter 7 is exit text of Scripture that a lot of people I meet it it for. For some, you know that this is the most terrifying verse in in the Bible. I am a start in Matthew chapter 7 verse 15 Jesus said, beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.
Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. Healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a disease tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits.
Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
But the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
In other words, these people are going to stand before Jesus on the day of judgment, confident in what they had done did night did not cast out demons and prophesy into all these great works. Jesus in your name and Jesus's responses.
I never knew you. I don't know who you are now a note number. Note this, he doesn't say hey I used to know you yet. We had a relationship and you trusted me and then you fell away from your salvation. That kind of thing. Now he saying we've never been in relationship before in the scary thing is these people thought that they were now specifically I think he's he's really this is a dig at the religious leaders earlier. You know that II started where he says, beware of false prophets out outwardly.
They look good. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are like dogs there like wolves, ravenous wolves who were looking to prey on the sheep. And that's precisely what many in the priesthood of Israel at that time that the scribes and the Pharisees were doing and so I think this is a rebuke to them and I never knew you the meat we we have to understand that in Scripture that were to know is a lot deeper than than it is in our English language and you think in the Old Testament. It speaks of a kind of intimacy. God says of his people you you only of all the people of the earth have I know it's not I it I was only cognitively aware of you. It's his personal relationship to know to be in fellowship and communion.
This there's this intimacy there and these people, these false prophets never had that intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ by faith. And so the question isn't it interesting thing is there point of their works. Aren't they nursing. Did we do all these things that the question is not can you do religious things. Can you go through the motions. Do you look good on the outside know that's not the question. The question is do you know Jesus does he know you do have a personal relationship with him by faith these people had never repented of their sins turn from the meanies as they say, Lord, Lord, but they don't do what I say that they really don't care about what I say they don't know me I don't I don't know them and so we know this is like Ike I said passage of Scripture that gives people a lot of fear because like that. I don't want that to be the case. Obviously, Rado wanted.
I don't want to die and stand before the Lord and him say I never I never knew you and and so that's you know, a rebuke to these religious hypocrites.
But there are people today who they go through the motions of religion and there's a lot of religious hypocrisy and yet they don't they don't believe they don't trust in Jesus Christ by faith. They haven't received him for the forgiveness of their sins and so wheat we emphasize this on on the broadcast all the time. There's nothing more important than knowing Jesus than understanding who he is and receiving him by faith for the forgiveness of your sins, you can go through the motions of religion maybe maybe you said a prayer in of the sinners prayer.
Years ago, but really didn't mean anything to you or maybe felt like it meant something to you in that moment and and you say, Lord, Lord, but you really don't care at all about the Lord there's there's there's nothing in your life that would indicate that that you do that, I would think flee to him go to him and say Lord, honestly, have mercy on me, I need your grace. I need your mercy, I need your forgiveness because I'm a sinner and we do that we go to Jesus, confessing our sin, he doesn't cast us out. He receives us and that's what the religious leaders didn't do.
They didn't trust in him by faith. Thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer.
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