Participants:
Series Code: TDYQA
Program Code: TDYQA210040A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain Lord, 00:34 Let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:01 Mending broken people 01:14 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Bible Q and A. 01:18 My name is John Dinzey. 01:19 It's a privilege for me to be with you during this hour. 01:21 We have an hour full of information. 01:24 It's going to be fun-packed 01:26 we say because we have a panel of Bible students 01:30 that are going to be sharing information from God's Word 01:33 that it is our prayer will draw you close to Jesus. 01:36 We have your questions. 01:37 We have questions that have come from California, 01:39 Michigan and as far away as Uganda. 01:42 Praise the Lord. 01:44 And we are answering your questions. 01:46 You can participate in this program. 01:47 Let me tell you how you can 01:49 because this is the way 01:52 you can get your questions answered from the Bible. 01:55 We have the email, 01:58 you can email to BibleQA@3abn.tv 02:10 We also have a phone number that you can use 02:13 to text your questions in. 02:14 Some people are very fast with those texts. 02:17 And you can text at 618-228-3975. 02:23 618-228-3975. 02:25 One more time, 618-228-3975. 02:28 And for those of you that prefer Instagram, 02:30 we have one also for you 3abn_official 02:35 very simple, 3abn_official 02:39 That's for Instagram users and we have some questions 02:42 that have come in through Instagram. 02:44 And we are going to be presenting them. 02:47 Let me tell you the name of our family members 02:51 that are here for the questions. 02:53 We have Pastor Ryan Day. 02:55 How are you today? I'm fantastic. 02:57 I'm excited and locked and loaded and ready to go. 03:01 Praise the Lord. 03:02 Pastor John Lomacang, are you locked and loaded ready to go? 03:05 I'll borrow that term. I think it sounds pretty good. 03:08 Praise the Lord. 03:09 We also have Pastor James Rafferty 03:10 that is with us. 03:12 And how about you? Are you locked and ready to go? 03:14 I love that term. 03:15 I'm locked and loaded and ready to go. 03:18 Oh, praise the Lord, 03:19 Sounds like the military about to happen. 03:22 Well, we believe this program is a program 03:25 that will minister to you. 03:27 And it gives you an opportunity to hear some answers 03:30 to questions that maybe you've had for a long time. 03:33 And we encourage you to send them in. 03:35 And I remember one lady that wrote in, she said, 03:38 I don't care if you might think it's silly. 03:41 I'm sending the question in any way 03:42 because I want to know the truth. 03:45 So we encourage you to send in your questions 03:47 whether you're young or old. 03:48 There may be some people that for a long time 03:51 have been wondering about something. 03:53 And this is your opportunity to get your question in. 03:56 Before we begin, 03:57 we are going to the Lord in prayer 03:58 and I like to ask Pastor John Lomacang 04:00 if you please take us to the Lord in prayer. 04:02 Sure. Let's pray. 04:04 Gracious Father, loving Lord, as we open Your Word, 04:06 open our hearts, open our minds, 04:09 open our ears, as you said, 04:11 He who has an ear to hear let him hear 04:14 what the Spirit says to the churches. 04:16 We pray that we could respond to these questions humbly, 04:20 but scripturally so that those who are listening 04:22 will know that these are not opinions, 04:25 but they're supported by God's Word. 04:27 We pray that when the program is done, 04:28 someone's heart will be moved to not only know You 04:31 but to commit themselves to You 04:33 and to follow Your Word as it is in Jesus. 04:37 We pray this in Your precious and holy name. 04:39 Amen. Amen. 04:41 Amen. Praise the Lord. 04:42 For those of you joining us, 04:45 I like to let you in on some information 04:48 that you may wonder what has happened here 04:51 because we're trying to get as many questions 04:53 answered as possible. 04:55 So we're basically sticking 04:57 to about a two-minute time frame for questions. 05:00 So, watch carefully as you hear the first question, 05:04 and this one is coming to Pastor James Rafferty, 05:08 and the question is, 05:09 "How do you respond to someone 05:11 who thinks Jesus as the Son of God 05:14 was created by God and not God Himself 05:17 or is equal to God?" 05:19 This is from Carla, from Michigan. 05:20 Good question, Karla from Michigan. 05:22 There are a number of people who feel this way 05:24 but there's one denomination specifically 05:26 I've studied with them before. 05:27 Jehovah's Witnesses 05:29 who believe that Jesus was a created being 05:31 and He's not one or equal with God. 05:33 So there are a number of Bible references. 05:34 And, of course, we always want to go to the Bible. 05:36 Hebrews 1 is one area 05:39 where you can go to establish that Jesus Christ 05:42 is indeed equal with God. 05:44 In 1:3, it says, 05:47 "Of Jesus, who being the brightness of His glory 05:49 and the express image of His person, 05:51 upholding all things by the word of His power, 05:54 when He had by Himself purged our sins, 05:55 sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." 05:59 Verse 6 says, "And again, 06:01 when he brings the first begotten 06:03 into the world that is Jesus Christ, 06:05 He saith unto him, that all the angels 06:07 of God worship Him." 06:08 So Jesus Christ is worshiped, only God is to be worshiped. 06:12 Now, it says here, 06:14 He brings the first begotten into the world. 06:16 Just turn over now 06:17 to Philippians 2:5-7 06:22 because it brings some clarification 06:24 to what has been talked here in Hebrews Chapter 1. 06:27 Philippians 2:5, says, 06:30 "Let this mind be in you, 06:32 which was also in Christ Jesus: 06:33 Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery 06:36 to be equal with God: 06:37 But made himself of no reputation, 06:40 took upon himself the form of the servant, 06:42 and it was made in the likeness of men." 06:43 A lot of times we get confused 06:45 because Jesus became a human being, 06:47 we think that He wasn't God, 06:49 that He was human and therefore couldn't have been God, 06:51 but He was divine and He was human. 06:53 We find this truth also established for us. 06:56 In the Old Testament, Isaiah 9:6 talking about Jesus, 06:59 says, "For unto us a child is born, 07:01 unto us a son is given: 07:02 and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 07:04 and his name shall be called Wonderful, 07:06 Counselor, The Mighty God, 07:07 The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 07:11 So it is challenging at sometimes. 07:12 I studied with Jehovah's Witnesses for many months. 07:14 I went to John Chapter 1, the Word was with God, 07:16 the Word was God, the Word became flesh 07:18 and dwelt among us. 07:20 They have a New World Translation, 07:21 their own Bible translation, 07:22 they take out the capital G for God, 07:25 and they say he was a god and not God. 07:27 So you're going to have some challenges there. 07:29 But if you stick to the Word of God, 07:30 you're going to be fine. 07:32 Thank you, Pastor Rafferty. 07:33 Very good. Thank you. 07:34 Well, we now go to Pastor John Lomacang 07:37 and your first question is, "Pastor Lomacang, do SDA's," 07:43 for those of you that don't know what that is, 07:44 it's Seventh-day Adventists, "go to war and carry weapons? 07:48 I'm about to give Bible studies to a Jehovah's Witness." 07:51 Interesting, that has come up again. 07:53 "Who is open to me discussing the Bible with her, 07:57 which is unusual to me. 07:59 What should I be careful about apart from praying up first?" 08:03 It says from Pauline from California. 08:05 Thank you, Pauline. 08:06 Now, there are two questions in that continual question. 08:09 One is, do SDA's go to war and carry weapons. 08:12 Right off the bat, some SDA's or some Seventh-day Adventists 08:15 do go to war and do carry weapons. 08:18 In that particular context, 08:20 it is a choice and not a doctrinal firm position 08:23 that you said, 08:24 if you're member of our church you can't carry weapons, 08:26 because when you begin to understand the broadness 08:28 of our church, there are many Adventists who own weapons. 08:32 So when you think of an owner 08:33 or a person who owns a weapon, 08:35 and the person who is in the military 08:36 carrying a weapon, 08:38 there's not a whole lot of difference, 08:39 except one is an appointment by your country 08:41 to defend your country 08:42 and the other one is a personal possession 08:44 to possibly defend your own home 08:45 and your property. 08:47 So it's not a doctrinal position, 08:48 someone list as non-combatants, 08:50 and they have other functions 08:52 that they can do in the military. 08:54 Once again, that's a preference. 08:56 But when you begin a Bible study with anyone, 08:58 the first thing you should do is always begin with a topic 09:01 that both of you can agree on. 09:03 When you find common ground, it makes it easier 09:05 to become accustomed and familiar 09:08 with the person to see 09:09 how they would react or respond in a Bible study situation. 09:12 Also, if you don't agree that the Bible is going 09:15 to be the foundation of your study, 09:17 as Pastor Rafferty just pointed out, 09:19 the New World Translation 09:20 is not like the King James Version Bible 09:22 or the New King James Version. 09:23 It is exclusively a Jehovah's Witness Bible, 09:26 altered and doctored by them to fit into what they believe. 09:29 So be careful that if you don't agree 09:31 that the Bible itself is going to be the foundation, 09:33 it's going to be very difficult. 09:35 Also, be careful not to argue about beliefs 09:38 that cannot be answered by the Bible. 09:40 The other one, avoid changing the topic in the middle 09:43 of a question because sometimes people do that 09:46 to avoid answering the question. 09:48 Also, it is better to say the Bible teaches rather 09:51 than to say, this is what I believe. 09:53 This way you give authority to the Bible, 09:55 rather than searching the Bible to give authority 09:58 to what you believe. 09:59 Put the Bible as the supreme authority 10:01 and avoid saying, I believe, I believe, I believe. 10:04 Say, this is what God's Word says. 10:07 Amen. Amen. Thank you. 10:09 We are reading the question as you send them to us. 10:13 So this is the way the question was sent. 10:15 That's the way we presented it. 10:17 We now go to Pastor Ryan Day. 10:19 And this is from Carol from London, 10:22 a very honest and sincere question. 10:25 She's quoting Hebrews 11:6 10:27 and she says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 10:31 How do I get faith?" All right. 10:35 To me, that's a simple answer and I believe the Bible 10:37 is absolutely clear on this. 10:39 As soon as I read this question, 10:41 immediately Romans 10:17 came to my mind, 10:45 because the Bible makes it clear in Romans 10:17, 10:47 it says, "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing 10:51 by the Word of God." 10:53 How do we get faith? 10:54 We get faith by placing our trust in the Word of God. 10:58 Abraham was saved by grace through faith just as we are, 11:02 but it was by his faith and his trust in God's word. 11:05 Abraham didn't have a written word. 11:08 He didn't have the Bible all laid out in words, 11:11 he had to trust in God's word, as God told him, 11:14 and God spoke to him. 11:15 He trusted in God's word in that relationship 11:18 between himself and the Lord and believing 11:20 and trusting in God's word, built his faith in God 11:23 as God acted upon His promises. 11:26 Another text that comes to mind, 11:27 Jesus Himself said in Matthew 4:4, 11:29 "And He answered and said to him, 11:31 speaking to the devil, he said, 'It is written, 11:33 Man shall not live by bread alone, 11:35 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 11:39 It is our duty to live according to the Word of God. 11:42 And if we are saved by grace, through faith, 11:44 our trust in God, 11:46 then we must trust in His Word. 11:48 John 17:17, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, 11:51 as, you know, as he's there... 11:54 And He's struggling with the sin pressing upon Him, 11:56 and He's praying to the Father prior 11:57 to becoming arrested and going to the cross. 12:00 It says there in John 17:17, he says, sanctify them, 12:03 speaking of His people, 12:04 His disciples speaking of us, "Sanctify them by your truth, 12:08 your word is truth." 12:11 And right there in that same chapter, 12:12 just a few verses above, in verse 3, he says, 12:15 "This is eternal life, that they may know you 12:16 the only true God, 12:18 and Jesus Christ whom thou has send." 12:19 It is our duty to know God, as we spend time in His Word, 12:23 our faith builds in Him, we begin to trust in His Word 12:26 because God acts upon His promises. 12:28 The Bible says God cannot lie. 12:30 And as we see that God comes through for us, 12:32 and He's there for us, and we learn of Him 12:35 and we get to know Him through His Word, 12:37 then we build our faith in Him, and therefore, 12:40 we experience the grace of God. 12:42 Thank you. Praise the Lord. 12:44 Well, I like to say something to our folks that are with us, 12:47 because I see this question has no name 12:49 and no place where it came from. 12:51 And it's fine if you don't want to mention your name 12:53 or the place you came from, 12:54 maybe this one came in by email. 12:56 I know some emails are kind of camouflaged 12:58 that's who they came from, 13:00 but do us a favor and send your, 13:02 at least your first name and where you're writing from. 13:05 This one, we don't know who it's from. 13:06 But it says in the book... 13:08 This is for Pastor Rafferty, by the way. 13:09 Pastor Rafferty, 13:11 "In the Book of Numbers 22:20-22, 13:14 God allowed Balaam to go. 13:18 So Balaam went. 13:20 And it says in verse 21, it says, 13:21 "God's anger aroused because Balaam went." 13:24 Verse 22. 13:25 Why did God change His mind so quickly? 13:28 Why did God tell him to go? 13:30 Then get angry when he went?" That is a great question. 13:34 Just open up to Numbers Chapter 20, 13:36 starting in verse 20, 13:37 "And God said unto Balaam at night..." 13:40 "God came unto Balaam at night, 13:41 and said unto him, 'If the men come to call thee, 13:44 rise up and go with them, but yet the word 13:47 which I shall say unto thee, thou shalt do. 13:49 And Balaam rose up in the morning 13:51 and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. 13:54 And God's anger was kindled because he went, 13:56 and the angel of the Lord stood in the way 13:57 for an adversary against him. 13:59 But now he was riding upon his ass, 14:01 and his two servants were with him." 14:04 So when we look more closely at these verses, 14:08 it becomes pretty clear, 14:09 we discovered that God did not allow Balaam 14:12 to go with the princes of Moab. 14:14 That's not what God says. 14:16 God actually says, 14:17 "If the men come to call upon you, 14:20 rise up and go with them." 14:21 Okay? 14:22 So apparently, the men didn't come and call upon Balaam. 14:25 Apparently, he was so inclined 14:27 to the wages of unrighteousness, 14:29 that when he rose up, 14:31 he went with them of his own accord. 14:32 Said, where are those guys? I need to find those guys. 14:35 And so I think God was putting up kind of a wall 14:37 or a hedge of protection for Balaam. 14:39 He does that to us 14:41 when we are inclined to go in a direction 14:43 that's not in harmony with His perfect will. 14:46 So He has an allowance that He gives to us many times. 14:50 It isn't in harmony with His perfect will, 14:52 it's His imperfect will we could say 14:53 where He overrules. 14:55 And I think this is what happened with Balaam 14:57 and the reason I think this happened with Balaam 14:58 is because secondly, as he's on his way, 15:02 God talks to the donkey. 15:03 Okay, if you're not gonna listen to me, 15:05 I'm gonna talk to the donkey, 15:08 I'm not gonna use the other word, 15:09 and maybe he'll listen and he did. 15:11 And he stopped. 15:12 And so, God, first of all, tried to put a roadblock 15:15 to Balaam by not impressing the princess to go 15:17 and fetch him in the morning. 15:19 BalaamA anticipating it, he goes anyway, 15:21 so God puts a roadblock with the donkey. 15:23 Finally, he gets upset with a donkey. 15:25 So God actually performs a miracle says, 15:27 I'm going to make this donkey speak, 15:28 he's going to talk to you, and he's going to try 15:30 to talk some sense into you. 15:31 And again, now Balaam is so set on going 15:34 that he's willing to go even though God says, 15:36 okay, I'm going to let you go. 15:38 All right, it's not my perfect will, 15:39 I'm gonna let you go but you can only speak 15:40 the things that I say that you can speak. 15:43 So I think that in the context of this, 15:45 that is really what's taking place here. 15:47 God is allowing Balaam to do something 15:49 that He really didn't want him to do, 15:50 trying to stop him from doing it. 15:52 But as we are many times we do, 15:54 we're inclined to do things our own way 15:56 and not trust and follow what God wants us to do. 15:58 Amen. Thank you. Thank you very much. 16:00 Very good. 16:02 Well, we now come to Pastor Lomacang 16:04 and this is a long question. 16:06 And again, we don't have who it's from, 16:09 but we thank you for sending in your question anyway. 16:11 It says, "Pastor Lomacang regarding trinity doctrine, 16:15 God says He alone at one point had immortality. 16:20 1 Timothy 6:16, Seventh-day Adventists 16:23 believe in three Godheads, all are separate God, 16:28 the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, 16:31 and they are three persons separate, 16:33 like in a government arrangement 16:35 according to your church. 16:37 My question to you is which one of the Godheads 16:41 had immortality? 16:43 Because 1 Timothy 6:16 says, 16:46 only one person has it unless all three are the same person 16:50 like the Catholic Church says." 16:53 Wow, long question. 16:56 I'm gonna take my time on this one, 16:57 let me just make something very clear at the very outset, 17:00 I'll go directly to the point. 17:01 Seventh-day Adventists don't believe in three Godheads 17:04 that is nowhere in the creed of our faith at all. 17:08 We believe in one God. 17:11 And we find in Deuteronomy 6:4, 17:14 the Bible says, "Hear, O Israel: 17:16 The Lord our God, the Lord is one." 17:19 That's what we believe. 17:20 Now, when you look at in context of that, 17:23 you have to understand in the very beginning. 17:26 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 17:29 And as we continue to unfold that 17:31 which I'm going to do that right now, 17:33 you'll begin to see what the word Godhead 17:35 is all about. 17:38 If only one in the Godhead had immortality, 17:41 then there'll be two reliant on one, 17:44 but Jesus will say, well, I need the Father 17:47 to exist permanently. 17:48 And the Holy Spirit will say, well, I need God 17:50 or the Father or the Son to exist permanently. 17:53 That's not what the Bible teaches. 17:54 All three are not the same person, 17:57 they are distinct. 17:58 Let's look at the representation 18:00 of the three spoken of. 18:01 And by the way, that God is one but the Godhead consists 18:05 of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 18:07 Let's go and break that down. 18:09 Matthew 3:16-17, at the baptism of Jesus, 18:13 "When He had been baptized, let's see first, 18:15 now Jesus came up immediately out of the water, 18:18 and behold, the heavens were open to Him. 18:20 And He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove 18:24 and alighting upon Him. 18:26 And suddenly a voice came from heaven." 18:28 Let's look at that. 18:29 Jesus getting baptized, 18:31 Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, 18:32 and a voice coming from heaven. 18:34 That's simply talking about not one person, 18:35 not Jesus being a ventriloquist but the Father saying, 18:39 "This is My beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased." 18:43 Then we go to John 1:1-4, 18:45 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 18:47 and the Word was God. 18:49 He was in the beginning with God. 18:50 All things were made through Him, 18:52 and without Him nothing was made that was made. 18:54 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." 18:57 When you study the Greek, 19:00 it is in essence saying in Him was life unborrowed, underived. 19:03 He didn't get life from someplace else, 19:05 because in the beginning was the Word, 19:07 the Word was with God, the Word was God. 19:10 John Chapter 1 goes farther back than Genesis Chapter 1, 19:13 and Hebrews Chapter 1 goes farther back than 19:15 both of them when the worlds were created 19:18 through Jesus Christ. 19:19 Let's keep going. 19:21 Let's talk about His incarnation. 19:22 When Jesus took on human flesh, 19:25 He put His eternal existence at risk, 19:28 because had He failed in His mission 19:31 and become subject to Satan's temptation, 19:33 He would have lost His eternal existence. 19:36 Let's look at this in 2 Corinthians 5:21, 19:39 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, 19:42 that we might become the righteousness 19:44 of God in Him." 19:45 Galatians 4:4 says, 19:46 "When the fullness of time had come, 19:48 God sent forth His Son born of a woman, 19:51 born under the law." 19:52 That's called the incarnation, or the condescension of Christ. 19:55 But speaking of the eternal nature of Jesus, 19:57 Hebrews 1:8 says, "But to the son, He says this," 20:01 the Father speaking to the Son, "'Your throne, 20:03 O God, is forever and ever.'" 20:06 Well, then who is that referring to? 20:07 Let's look at Psalms 45:6, "Your throne, O God, 20:11 is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness 20:14 is the scepter of Your kingdom." 20:16 Well, wait a minute your throne is forever. 20:18 David the Psalmist said that about Him. 20:20 And we see in Hebrews 1, 20:21 that's what the Father said about the son. 20:23 Habakkuk 1:12, 20:26 "Are you not from everlasting O Lord my God, my Holy One? 20:30 We shall not die. 20:32 O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment." 20:34 Now He calls Him, "O Rock, 20:35 You have marked them for correction." 20:37 Who is the rock? 20:39 1 Corinthians 10:4, 20:41 "They drank of that spiritual Rock that follow them 20:44 and that rock was Christ." 20:45 Christ is called the Rock 20:47 before His earthly ministry began. 20:51 That's what Habakkuk calls Him 20:53 and then in His earthly ministry, 20:55 Paul looks back and says, 20:56 "They drank from that Rock that followed them." 20:58 Well, the Rock that followed them was in the Old Testament. 21:01 Look at the creation of man. 21:03 This is the word Elohim, the plurality of the Godhead. 21:07 Genesis 1:26, 21:09 then God the word Elohim, plural said, 21:11 "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, 21:15 let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 21:17 the birds of the air." 21:18 The rest of that you can read later on. 21:20 Then Genesis 3:22, "Then God said, 21:23 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, 21:27 knowing good and evil." 21:28 Then you go to the Tower of Babel. 21:30 Genesis 11:7, 21:32 "Come let us go down 21:33 and there confuse their languages, 21:36 that they may not understand one speech over another." 21:39 And then Isaiah, 21:40 when the commission came to Him, 21:42 the Lord says, "Whom shall I send, 21:45 and who will go for Us?" 21:47 So in a very large nutshell, 21:50 the Godhead consists of three co-eternal persons, 21:53 not three Godheads, and all three are one. 21:58 Wow! Thank you very much. 22:00 A lot said in a short time. Thank you. 22:03 Well, Pastor Ryan Day, 22:05 are you still locked and loaded? 22:07 I'm ready. 22:09 Now your question is from Jenny and she says, 22:11 "Please, explain Matthew 6:5-8?" Absolutely. 22:16 So the best way to explain this is to go 22:17 right to the text, and just read through it 22:20 and pick it apart. 22:21 So we're going to start with Matthew 6:5 22:24 so Jesus is giving some instruction, 22:26 and He says to them, "And when you pray, 22:28 you shall not be like the hypocrites. 22:30 For they love to pray standing in the synagogues 22:33 and on the corners of the streets, 22:34 that they may be seen by men." 22:36 And He goes on to say, "Assuredly, I say to you, 22:38 they have their reward." 22:40 So right here, He's highlighting the fact 22:41 that He is actually talking about these Pharisees 22:43 that lived in His day, 22:45 and He's instructing His followers, 22:46 His disciples, His people 22:48 who are hearing His instruction. 22:49 He's saying, "Look, don't be like these guys 22:51 because these guys think they're holy. 22:53 They think that they have a relationship with God, 22:55 but yet they very selfishly 22:57 and with a certain agenda stand openly in front of people 23:00 so that they may be seen by men for their own glory." 23:04 And so Christ is saying, "Don't do that." 23:06 And He goes on to continue to say in verse 6, 23:08 He says, "But when you pray, go into your room, 23:11 and when you have shut your door, 23:13 pray to your Father who is in the secret place, 23:15 and your Father who sees you in secret 23:17 will reward you openly." 23:19 And so just pausing right there again, 23:21 just to highlight the fact that when we pray, 23:23 we aren't to just go out. 23:25 You know, I don't run around 3ABN going, oh, 23:27 Heavenly Father, you know, 23:28 saying my prayers out openly around everyone. 23:31 Some people do this. 23:33 Some people want to be seen by men 23:35 because they want other men to think 23:37 that they are somehow some extra pious 23:38 or extra holy individuals, 23:40 that somehow they have an extra special relationship with God. 23:43 We must follow the instruction 23:45 even given right there in the first angel's message, 23:49 "Fear God and give glory to Him." 23:51 God deserves the glory, not us, even John the Baptist, 23:54 if he could speak to these guys, he would say, 23:56 "He must increase and I must decrease." 23:58 So what God is saying is go and pray in private, 24:01 I will bless you openly, but don't be like these guys 24:04 who are doing it for personal gain, 24:05 so that they may have their own glory be seen 24:07 by men and received the praise of men. 24:10 And then He continues on to say, 24:11 "And when you pray, do not pray with 24:12 vain repetitions as the heathen do, 24:15 for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 24:17 Therefore do not be like them, 24:19 for your Father knows the things that you have need 24:21 of before you ask Him." 24:22 There are many even Christians today 24:24 that practice these praying in vain repetitions, 24:27 you know, Hail Marys, and our Fathers. 24:29 I've even, people I've seen in some 24:31 of the previous churches I attended in the past 24:33 they would just say over and over the same phrases, 24:35 you know, praise God, praise God, praise God, 24:37 bless God, bless God, forgive me, 24:38 forgive me, forgive me. 24:39 As if somehow saying this in a vain repetitious fashion 24:42 is going to somehow get the ear of God. 24:44 God says I heard you the first time. 24:46 Okay, go and pray in private and know that God knows 24:49 what you need before you ask it. 24:51 Also, Romans 8:26. 24:52 Sometimes when we don't know what to say, 24:54 the Holy Spirit is there to intercede for us 24:56 to take our prayers to the Father. 24:58 So don't be like that. 25:00 Be like Jesus humble always. Amen. 25:04 Thank you very much. 25:05 Well, perhaps you have just tuned in 25:08 and you're wondering what's going on, 25:10 what are all these questions? 25:11 Where are they coming from? 25:12 Well, you're watching 3ABN Today, Bible Q and A, 25:15 questions and answers, and you can participate 25:18 just as many people have. 25:20 And that's why we have these questions. 25:21 They've come from all over the world. 25:24 And I want to tell you how you can participate. 25:27 You can send an email by sending it 25:29 to BibleQA@3abn.tv 25:33 BibleQA@3abn.tv 25:38 You may also text in your question, 25:40 618-228-3975 25:43 is the number, 618-228-3975. 25:48 Instagram. 25:49 Some people love to use Instagram. 25:51 And if you do, you can send that to 3abn_official 25:59 So we are now ready for the next question. 26:02 And the next one comes to Pastor James Rafferty, 26:05 and you ready? Yes, locked and loaded. 26:08 Locked and loaded. All right. 26:10 Here we go. 26:11 "If according to Bible scripture, 26:14 such as John 3:16, 26:16 and many others that state when a person accepts Christ 26:19 as the Savior, 26:21 and is baptized and receives Jesus' blood 26:24 that cleanses them from sin. 26:26 Why is a person under probation? 26:30 If the individual lives in Christ 26:32 from that point forward, 26:38 the blood of Christ is continuous throughout 26:41 the duration of one's life. 26:43 Has probation been misapplied, or not explained correctly?" 26:49 Great question. 26:51 John 5:24, says this, 26:54 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, 26:56 He that hears my word, 26:58 and believes on him that sent me, 27:00 has everlasting life, 27:02 and shall not come into condemnation, 27:05 but has passed from death unto life." 27:08 I believe that is what the questioner is saying. 27:10 That's what you're saying. 27:11 That's the point you're making and it's a very valid point. 27:14 It's all through the scriptures. 27:16 So when we think about probation, 27:19 in a temporal sense, in a civil sense, 27:21 in our world today, we think about a time 27:23 that is allotted to a person that's charged 27:26 with a criminal act, and under God, 27:29 the human race is on probation. 27:32 We have been charged with a criminal act of sin 27:34 of crucifying the Son of God, 27:36 and we've been released on probation 27:39 by the grace of God 27:41 and our choices during this probationary time. 27:46 Our choices, whether they're for God 27:49 or against God during this probationary time 27:51 don't end that probationary time. 27:53 The probationary time continues just like a criminal. 27:55 If he's put on probation, that probationary time continues, 27:58 regardless of his good choices or bad choices, 28:00 except if he's making bad choices, 28:03 there comes a time when the criminal justice 28:05 system will hold him accountable 28:06 for those bad choices and perhaps put him back 28:08 into prison or back into jail. 28:10 God is working in the same way with the human race, 28:13 we're under probationary time. 28:15 If during that probationary time we click all the boxes, 28:18 we're like, I believe in Jesus, He's my Savior, I accept Him. 28:20 We're not going to come into condemnation. 28:22 The probationary time stays the same. 28:24 It ends at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ 28:26 or just before the Second Coming 28:27 of Jesus Christ probation closes. 28:29 That probationary time is the same, 28:31 but we're not going to come under condemnation 28:33 because we are ticking all the boxes, 28:35 we are accepting Christ as our Savior. 28:38 We are working out our salvation. 28:41 By the grace of God, 28:42 we are believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior. 28:45 So yes, if we've accepted Christ, 28:47 the Bible says clearly 28:49 that we have passed from death to life. 28:50 We don't come under condemnation. 28:52 Whoever believes in Him has eternal life. 28:54 John 3:17 tells us that, yet probation continues 28:58 until according to Revelation Chapter 22. 29:00 God can look out on the whole world 29:01 and He can say you know what? 29:03 If I kept probationary time open for another month 29:06 or another year or another day or another hour 29:08 or another minute, 29:10 it wouldn't make any difference. 29:11 He that is holy is going to be holy still, 29:12 he who is righteous is going to be righteous still, 29:14 he who is filthy is gonna be filthy still, 29:15 he that is unrighteous is going to be unrighteous still. 29:17 Behold, I come quickly, 29:19 My reward is with me to give to every man 29:20 according to his work. 29:22 So, definitely, we do not need to worry about probation 29:27 if we've accepted Christ as our Savior. 29:29 Probationary time however continues on until Jesus Christ 29:33 as it says in 2 Peter 3:9, one of my favorite verses, 29:35 "God is long suffering toward us, 29:37 not wanting any that should perish 29:39 but that all should come to repentance." 29:40 When Jesus Christ looks on this earth 29:42 and says there's no one else is going to repent. 29:43 There's no one else that's going to change. 29:45 Let's wrap this up. 29:46 And let's get down there and get my people out. 29:49 Praise the Lord. 29:51 Thank you. 29:52 Well, Pastor Lomacang. 29:54 Are you ready? Sure. 29:55 We now have a question for you. 29:57 This one is coming from Timothy in Uganda. 30:00 And it says, "Pastor Lomacang, can you please explain to us." 30:05 Apparently there are several in the home watching. 30:08 "Can you please explain to us the relationship 30:11 between Ephesians 4:30, 30:14 and the seal of God versus the mark of the beast?" 30:17 Sure. Ephesians 4:30. 30:19 Let's begin right there. 30:21 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 30:24 by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." 30:28 Paul was saying this to the church at Ephesus. 30:31 So if Paul was saying this to the church at Ephesus, 30:34 he was talking about a present sealing. 30:37 Those who are listening to Paul's message 30:39 don't grieve the Holy Spirit. 30:41 He's the one by which you are sealed. 30:43 The sealing work done by the Holy Spirit in the lives 30:45 of those that have served God and live according to His will 30:49 is a general sealing. 30:51 That is when your record closes. 30:54 If people that died in 10 AD or 50 AD or 100 AD or 1700 AD, 31:00 and they close their lives in Christ, 31:01 it is appointed unto man once to die 31:03 and after that the judgment. 31:04 They're sealed, whatever their case was, it sealed that way. 31:08 That's why 2 Timothy 2:19, says, "Nevertheless, 31:12 the solid foundation of God stands having this sealed. 31:16 The Lord knows those who are His." 31:18 So that seal simply marks, he's mine, 31:21 he's mine, she's mine, she's mine, they're mine, 31:23 that seal when your life is over. 31:25 But the seal of God in Revelation, 31:27 in contrast to the mark of the beast is a sealing 31:30 and a mark that takes place toward the close 31:32 of human history down towards the latter part 31:35 of the great controversy. 31:36 We find in Revelation 7:2-3. 31:39 "And I saw other angels ascending from the east 31:41 having the seal of the living God 31:43 and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, 31:45 to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 31:48 saying, 'Do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees 31:51 till we have sealed the servants 31:52 of our God in their foreheads.'" 31:54 Now, by the way, many don't know this, 31:55 but this picture in Revelation 7 31:58 is a condensed version 31:59 of the broader picture in Ezekiel 9. 32:02 Where does the angel go and whom is being sealed? 32:06 Ezekiel 9:4, "And the Lord said to him," 32:09 that's the angel that came by the way of the higher gate, 32:12 "Go through the midst of the city, 32:14 through the midst of Jerusalem, 32:15 a symbol of the church, 32:17 and put a mark on the foreheads of the men 32:19 who sigh and cry over all the abomination 32:22 that are done within it." 32:23 In a nutshell, the seal of God 32:25 as Revelation speaks about it in the mark of the beast 32:28 is an end time seal and end time mark, 32:31 but the general seal that spoke about Ephesians 4:30, 32:34 is a seal for all Christians throughout all time. 32:38 Very good. Thank you very much. 32:40 Wonderful. Now we come to Pastor Ryan Day. 32:43 And the question is, 32:44 we don't have a name for this one. 32:46 But it says, "If a person 32:47 who was walking with Christ for years, 32:50 and was in ministry, and ends up leaving Him 32:53 and goes back to his old life, and overdoses, 32:58 is that person lost?" 33:00 You know, this is a very sensitive question 33:02 to be able to answer because essentially, 33:04 for me to be able to declare a person lost or not lost, 33:07 obviously, I'm not the judge. 33:09 No human being can play the role of God as judge. 33:12 God is the judge. 33:13 I just want to make that very clear. 33:15 Now, there are some biblical principles 33:16 that we can know, 33:18 that we should make ourselves aware of, 33:20 not to place judgment upon someone else, 33:22 but for us to just be aware of, 33:24 in the case of something like this. 33:26 First of all, it depends on the outcome of that overdose. 33:28 I mean, did the overdose kill him? 33:32 Did it not? I don't know. 33:33 I assume that this person who's writing this is, 33:36 you know, overdosing in the sense that this person 33:38 is now dead and they're asking is he lost? 33:41 Well, a few Bible verses that come to mind here. 33:44 First of all, we have to keep in mind 33:45 the promise of 1 John 1:9, 33:48 in the case of someone who has not died, 33:50 but they may have fallen out of that lifestyle. 33:53 Obviously, we have the beautiful promise 33:56 from God that says, "If we confess our sins, 33:58 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 34:01 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 34:04 As I'm reading this question, 34:06 I thought of the prodigal son situation, the lost son. 34:09 I mean, this brother was in the father's house, 34:11 he was in the father's will, 34:12 he was eating of the father's goods, 34:14 he was under the father's care, but yet he walked away, 34:17 it was his choice to walk away from the father 34:20 and to go out into the world. 34:21 I'm sure he nearly died and was lying in the mire, 34:25 in the filth of the world but yet he came to his senses, 34:27 and he came back, 34:29 and he was granted forgiveness, 34:30 and the father brought him back under his care. 34:32 So in the case that someone may go out of that lifestyle, 34:35 it's not obviously finished for them. 34:36 Let's also be very clear about this, 34:40 again, not placing ourselves as judge, 34:42 but the Bible also makes it clear 34:43 that he that knows to do good, and does it not to him, 34:46 it is sin, that's James 4:17. 34:49 I'll say that one more time, 34:50 "Therefore to him who knows to do good 34:52 and doesn't not to him, it is sin." 34:53 If a person goes into a situation 34:55 making a decision that they know is not right, 34:57 and not in harmony with God's will, 34:59 then you know, that person, you know, 35:01 has a fearful looking forward to judgment 35:03 if they did not make their case right with the Lord, 35:05 before their time expires on this planet. 35:08 But all in all, at the end of the day, 35:10 to answer this question, I would say it is up to God. 35:13 God knows the heart. 35:15 God understands where this person was 35:16 and what they've dealt with and we need to leave it to Him 35:18 to make that decision. 35:20 Amen. That's right. 35:21 Thank you very much. 35:22 Well, Pastor Rafferty, we now come 35:24 to question number four for you. 35:27 We don't have a name also. 35:28 And we want to encourage you again, 35:30 if you didn't hear the first time 35:31 I mentioned this. 35:33 When you send in your question, please send in your name 35:35 and at least your first name, and also the place 35:39 where you are writing from? 35:42 "Well, Revelation 3:18, has always been a verse 35:46 that has interested me, he says, or she says 35:49 when it says the Lamb slain from the foundation 35:52 of the world, what is meant? 35:56 Was it meant to be taken in a literal sense?" 35:59 So Revelation, I think that's Revelation 13:8, 36:03 I know there was a typo in there, 36:04 I'm thinking. 36:06 Let's just read the verse, it says in Revelation 13:8, 36:09 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him 36:12 whose names are not written in the Book of Life 36:15 of the Lamb slain 36:17 from the foundation of the world." 36:19 And I just want to jump into something 36:20 a little different here as we answer the question, 36:22 that is, I love the fact 36:24 that this verse is in this chapter 36:26 of this book. 36:27 Okay, Revelation Chapter 13, 666, 36:30 mark of the beast, all of that stuff 36:31 and here you have right in the center of this crisis, 36:35 you have a directive to the Lamb of God slain 36:38 from the foundation of the world. 36:40 So great question. Here's the answer. 36:42 It's taken from 1 Peter Chapter 1 36:45 and we'll start in verse 18. 36:47 This is what the Bible says, 1 Peter 1:18 it says, 36:50 "For as much as we know that we were not redeemed 36:52 from corruptible things, silver and gold 36:55 from our vain conversation received by tradition 36:57 from our fathers, 36:59 but with the precious blood of Christ 37:01 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 37:04 So there's the same terminology again 37:06 that we see in Revelation 13:8, the lamb. 37:08 And then it goes on to say, and redemption, 37:10 then goes on to say in verse 20, 37:11 "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation 37:15 of the world, but was manifest 37:17 in these last times for you." 37:18 So I think that's a pretty clear answer right there. 37:21 Jesus Christ was foreordained or predestined. 37:25 We are predestined to be saved. 37:27 He was predestined to die from the foundation of the world. 37:30 So no, He didn't literally die. 37:33 He's been manifesting these last times for us, 37:35 but He was foreordained or predestined to die. 37:38 And in a sense, if you think about that, 37:40 if you think about that destiny 37:42 that weighed on his heart 37:43 and weighed on God's heart for all of those years, 37:46 knowing what was coming, 37:47 they did bear it in a sense, 37:49 just like if we're anticipating something ahead of time 37:52 that isn't necessarily the best or the nicest knowing ahead 37:57 of time we anticipate it. 37:58 It weighs on us right now. 37:59 So definitely this weighed on the heart of God, 38:01 this weighed on the heart of Christ, 38:03 but the actual sacrifice was made, 38:05 of course, on Calvary 2000 years ago. 38:08 Amen. Thank you so much. 38:09 Very good. 38:11 Pastor Lomacang, we have another one for you. 38:14 Okay. 38:15 And it says, "I don't know 38:17 when it is appropriate to fast and pray, 38:20 as I repent of my sins and pray for the repentance 38:23 of the sins of others. 38:25 Is there a way I can know 38:27 that something requires fasting and prayer?" 38:30 Very good question. Thank you for that. 38:31 Fasting and prayer is not something 38:33 that people do all the time, 38:35 but it's good to study the Bible to see 38:36 how fasting and prayer is talked about. 38:38 The Old Testament talks about it, 38:39 Jesus talks about it, 38:41 He talks about the positive and the negative side 38:43 of fasting and prayer. 38:44 And I think Ryan alluded to that a moment ago. 38:47 But I'll go ahead and remind us of that. 38:49 Fasting and prayer is often spoken 38:51 of as an approach that some take 38:53 when they are interested in putting their earnest 38:57 into a situation that they are confronted by. 38:59 In some cases, 39:01 people are very ill or they want 39:03 to be an intermediary for someone. 39:05 They say, you know, this person is very sick, 39:07 let's fast and pray for their deliverance, 39:09 or let's fast and pray that they may be healed. 39:11 And I have seen some amazing turnarounds in lives of people. 39:16 When the church got together, 39:18 or a group of members got together 39:19 or the family got together and prayed and fasted. 39:22 But the thing that fasting does not do, 39:24 and I want to make this very clear, 39:26 fasting doesn't change God. 39:28 Because the Bible says, Hebrews 13:8, 39:30 He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 39:33 It doesn't change God, it's intended to change us, 39:36 our attitude towards God. 39:38 That's why a couple of things I say about fasting. 39:40 Fasting temporarily suspends the distractions 39:43 that are between us and God. 39:45 Somebody might say, well, I have a very limited diet. 39:48 So I'm not going to fast from food 39:50 but I'm gonna stop watching TV all week. 39:53 I'm going to turn off the radio, 39:55 or I'm going to spend more time in prayer and study, 39:57 I'm going to drink water, I'm going to drink juice 39:59 to maintain my blood sugar, 40:01 various ways they decide to fast, 40:03 but they remove the things that distract them in those moments. 40:06 Fasting also puts us in a place where we are in earnest 40:09 of searching our hearts, and literally waiting on God. 40:12 Some people fast for their own needs 40:14 for deliverance and healing, 40:16 others fast in solidarity for others. 40:18 But then other times we fast because the hold on us 40:21 is so strong by the enemy, that we want that to be broken. 40:24 That's why the Lord said to His disciples, 40:27 and they saw a person demon-possessed 40:29 and Jesus says, Matthew 17: 21, 40:33 this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting, 40:37 so examine why you want to fast and when you do it, 40:39 don't tell others about it. 40:42 Don't say I'm fasting. Look at me. 40:44 Give all the glory to God. Amen. 40:46 Praise God. Thank you. 40:48 Okay, we're ready for the next question. 40:49 And this one comes to Pastor Ryan Day. 40:52 And it says here, "I have never heard an explanation 40:55 of Isaiah 66:24. 40:59 How does that verse support the theory 41:02 of all sinners being destroyed by fire and finished 41:06 and not suffering or being remembered forever?" 41:09 Okay, so there's a little bit 41:11 of some symbolic allegorical language 41:13 that's used here that is repeated 41:14 by Christ over in Mark 9, 41:17 which we're going to read in just a moment. 41:18 But I first want to go read that text in Isaiah 66:24, 41:22 notice what the Bible says here. 41:24 It says in here,speaking of, 41:25 "The righteous shall go forth 41:27 and look upon the corpses of the men 41:28 who have transgressed against me, notice, 41:31 for their worm does not die, 41:32 and their fire is not quenched. 41:34 They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." 41:37 Obviously, this is in the aftermath of God 41:39 destroying all of the wicked by hellfire 41:42 as we read there in Revelation Chapter 20. 41:44 Which fire comes down from God out of heaven 41:46 and it devours them. Malachi 41:48 Chapter 4 says, it brings them to ashes. 41:51 But where we find this specific reference 41:52 also in the New Testament, is over in Mark Chapter 9, 41:55 Jesus uses these exact same words, 41:57 He quotes this exact same text three times 42:00 in the same passage, 42:01 and I'm going to start reading in Mark 9:43. 42:04 And so notice what he says here. 42:05 He says, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, 42:08 it is better for you to enter into life maimed 42:10 rather than having two hands." 42:12 And then He goes, "To go to hell into the fire 42:15 that shall not be quenched." 42:17 And then he quotes Isaiah 66 here, 42:20 "The worm that does not die in the fire is not quenched." 42:22 And, of course, he continues these three different times. 42:24 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off, 42:27 it is better for you to enter life maimed 42:29 rather than to have two feet and be cast into hell 42:31 into the fire that shall not be quenched." 42:33 And then he repeats it again, the worm that shall not die, 42:35 or the worm that does not die in the fire 42:36 that is not quenched. 42:38 And he repeats that again a third time. 42:39 It's interesting here 42:40 that the word hell in the original language 42:42 that is used is the word Gehenna. 42:45 Now the people of Christ's day as He's telling this to them, 42:49 they would have understood that language because Gehenna 42:52 was the local city dump. 42:54 Okay? 42:55 So now it makes sense as why Christ would 42:57 use in reference this text also from Isaiah 66, 43:00 speaking of the worm that does not die 43:02 and the fire is not quenched. 43:04 Because this was the city dump that Christ likened 43:07 unto the destruction and, of course, 43:09 the result of the destruction of sin at the end of time. 43:13 In this case, obviously, the worm that does not die 43:16 and the fire is not quenched is referring to the aftermath 43:19 of God destroying sin. 43:21 Now this fire not being quenched. 43:22 A lot of people really emphasize this and say, 43:24 well, it must be a fire that shall never be put out 43:27 if it cannot be quenched. 43:28 It means no human being or no one 43:30 other than God Himself can put it out. 43:32 But we have to also be accurate, 43:34 and making sure that we don't just cherry-pick 43:36 the text here and pick what we want 43:38 and isolate and, you know, exegetically insert 43:40 what it is we want it to say, 43:41 we also have to harmonize with the rest of Scripture. 43:44 And we know according as I said earlier 43:45 to Malachi Chapter 4, 43:47 and various other texts that when God ignites hellfire, 43:50 He allows hellfire to exist for the purpose 43:53 of destroying sin. 43:54 Nobody's going to be able to put that fire except God 43:57 but once it has served its purpose, 44:00 what Isaiah 66 is highlighting here in verse 24, 44:03 is that the aftermath of this, 44:04 the result of the fire 44:06 is that they will be remembered no more, 44:08 they will be as though they had not been. 44:10 And very, very clearly here, 44:12 this fire it will not be quenched 44:13 until it has served its purpose to eradicate sin 44:16 and to do away with the wicked. 44:19 So in this case, yes, 44:20 the righteous will behold this, 44:22 they will see it but, of course, afterwards, 44:24 after all of these acts are finished, 44:26 then God recreates the heaven and the earth new, 44:28 and of course, He wipes it all away, 44:30 and we will forever live in the harmony 44:32 of Christ without sin and no more. 44:35 Praise God. Thank you very much. 44:37 Pastor Rafferty, we come to you. 44:39 This is a question about John 1:29. 44:43 From Julia, North Dakota, she says, it says, 44:46 "Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, 44:50 what does take away the sin of the world mean? 44:53 Does it mean all our sins were laid on Him at the cross 44:57 or does this mean He will cleanse us from sin 45:01 so that we are no longer sinning on this earth?" 45:04 Yes. Good question, Julie, in North Dakota. 45:07 That was, as Ryan Day, 45:09 would say, that was the simple answer. 45:11 Isaiah 53:6 says, 45:13 "All we like sheep have gone astray, 45:15 we've turned, every one, to his own way, 45:16 and the Lord has laid on Him, Jesus Christ, 45:19 the iniquity of us all." 45:20 No one's been left out of that one-time sacrifice. 45:23 Hebrews Chapter 7, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, 45:25 emphasize one-time sacrifice for all. 45:29 So Jesus Christ has taken away the sin of the entire world. 45:34 Now, the second part of that question was, 45:36 or does that mean that you know He takes sin out of our lives? 45:39 Well, absolutely, because sin is miserable. 45:41 Sin is evil, sin brings guilt, sin brings shame, 45:45 and God wants to remove all of that from us. 45:46 All the shame, all the guilt, all the misery everything 45:49 that sin brings, God wants to remove from us. 45:51 That's why Jesus is named Jesus. 45:54 Matthew 1:21, 45:56 "Thou shall call His name Jesus, 45:57 for He will save His people from their sins." 46:00 And, of course, we're told in 1 John, 46:02 and this is the triple-Decker sandwich. 46:04 1 John Chapter 1, 46:06 we're going to start with verse 7. 46:08 We're going to read verses 7, 8, 9, and 10 46:10 because what happens sometimes 46:11 when we start emphasizing the fact that God 46:13 not only died for our sins, 46:15 but wants to cleanse us from sin, 46:16 we start leaning toward, you know, self-righteousness, 46:19 and perfectionism and all of these kinds of things. 46:22 And so 1 John 1:7-10 46:25 give us this triple-Decker sandwich that helps us 46:28 to maintain the balance between these two ideas. 46:30 We'll start reading here in verse 7, 46:33 "But if we walk in the light as He is in light, 46:35 we have fellowship one with another, 46:37 and the blood of Jesus Christ 46:38 His Son cleanses us from all sin." 46:40 There's the answer to the second part of your question. 46:41 Now if we say we have no sin, okay? 46:45 We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 46:47 So even though God is cleansing us from all sin, 46:49 we're not going to come to the place where we say oh, 46:50 we don't have any sin anymore. 46:52 But if we confess our sins, verse 9, 46:54 He's faithful and just to forgive us 46:55 of our sins and to do what? 46:57 Cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 46:59 Yes, we can be perfect, we can overcome. 47:00 Wait, wait, wait, but if we say we have not sinned, 47:03 we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 47:06 Now, just going to add a little side of potatoes 47:09 to this triple-Decker sandwich in 2:1-2, 47:12 "My little children, these things I write unto you, 47:15 you sin not. 47:16 And if any man sin, 47:18 he have an advocate with the Father, 47:19 Jesus Christ, the righteous. 47:21 He is the propitiation for our sins, 47:22 and not for ours only, 47:24 but also for the sins of the whole world." 47:27 Amen. Thank you very much. 47:29 Well, we're now moving into a second phase 47:33 of our Bible Q and A program for today and that is, 47:36 I'm going to ask a question and this is like a freebie. 47:39 I mean, whoever wants to answer it. 47:41 Okay? 47:42 All right, let's begin now. 47:47 This is the first one from Denison? 47:49 "What is the Book of Jasher mentioned in Joshua 10:12-13? 47:54 And why is it not included in the canonical books 47:58 of the Bible?" 48:01 Well, I can state that I have actually owned a copy 48:04 of the Book of Jasher, or what they say 48:06 is the official Book of Jasher. 48:08 There is a mention of the Book of Jasher. 48:10 But the question would be, how do we confirm 48:12 that this book that's just floating around out there 48:14 that they're calling the Book of Jasher? 48:15 How can we determine that it was legitimately written 48:17 by Jasher? 48:19 Also, I would say the overwhelming reason 48:21 why it was not added into the canon of scriptures, 48:24 the 66 books of the Bible, 48:26 is you will find some very strong inconsistencies. 48:29 And that's not in harmony with the rest of the Bible. 48:34 These scholars and these scribes 48:35 that went through and studied these books, 48:38 as they were preparing to compile these books 48:41 that would be known as the Holy Bible, 48:44 Jasher didn't make it in because it wasn't consistent. 48:46 And a lot of these books, you'll find that very similar 48:50 to each other Jasher, the Book of Enoch 48:53 and the Maccabees and all these other books 48:54 that we look at, 48:56 and we find that some people consider 48:58 should have been put in there, 48:59 they have been put through the scrutiny of tests 49:01 and found there'sA narcissist flooded withA narcissism 49:04 and many other spiritualistic practices 49:08 and texts that are not in harmony 49:10 with the rest of Scripture. 49:11 So based on that, 49:13 in my personal I've read a little bit, 49:14 not all of the Book of Jasher 49:15 but I personally found some inconsistencies, 49:17 and I can see 100% 49:18 why it did not make it into the Bible. 49:20 All right. Anyone else likes to say something? 49:23 That was clear. I don't know if you'd answer it better. 49:24 That was great. 49:26 We call it the Apocrypha 49:27 and they are those books are in certain Bible, 49:29 specifically, the Catholic Church 49:31 has those books included. 49:32 I was raised Catholic, so I know that but, yeah. 49:35 One last thing now that you bring that up, 49:36 like the Book of Enoch was not written by Enoch. 49:39 And some writers have wrote those books, 49:41 they use the names of Bible characters to add legitimacy 49:44 to those who may read it, 49:46 but that's one of the other reasons why it was not added 49:48 to the canon of scriptures. 49:49 If you see the book of James, was written by James. 49:51 Okay, very good. 49:53 Well, we have two minutes, so let's see 49:54 if we can try this one. 49:55 This one is from Mercy in Zimbabwe. 49:58 "Is it okay for Christians to get blood transfusions?" 50:04 Sure. 50:05 The difference is one 50:07 when Deuteronomy talks about blood and fat, 50:11 there was an injunction given in the Bible 50:12 that you should not eat blood or fat 50:15 because life is in the blood. 50:18 So if there's a disease in the body, 50:21 the body has a purifying factor, 50:23 you know, you have kidneys 50:24 that purify any impurities in the blood. 50:27 But now you're killing an animal 50:29 and you're medium rare, rare, you're eating that blood, 50:34 you're now transmitting the diseases 50:36 that animal could possibly have into your digestive system. 50:41 So you have a system of veins and arteries, 50:44 that travels, it cleans up the body. 50:47 But now when you put that in the actual flesh itself 50:49 and start ingesting that into your intestines, 50:51 this now starts to proliferate all those diseases 50:54 through your circulatory system. 50:56 That's why the Bible didn't just say about blood, 50:58 it said don't eat blood or fat. 51:00 So but as far as transfusion, the Bible says, 51:03 the life is in the blood, 51:06 for the purpose of sustaining a person's life, 51:08 it's okay to take blood transfusions, 51:10 but I doubt if you're going to go get a cup of blood 51:12 and drink it. 51:13 Just to be gross and obvious. Anyone? 51:15 Pastor, James anything? Yeah, I agree. 51:17 I mean, there is some risk there too. 51:19 There have been blood transfusions 51:20 where you've received disease from another person 51:22 I think of a famous tennis player 51:24 that went through that, 51:26 but that saves lives and there's always going 51:28 to be a risk in medical operations, 51:31 but we believe that it's okay to do that to save a life. 51:33 Okay, very good. Thank you, gentlemen. 51:35 We are now going to go to a short break 51:38 and we will be right back 51:40 to continue and finish this program. 51:42 We'll see you in a moment. 51:45 If you're enjoying our 3ABN Bible Q and A, 51:48 then tell your friends, 51:50 each Monday we'll bring you a fresh program, 51:53 answering the Bible questions you send us, 51:55 using God's Holy Word to shed light on those texts 51:58 that seem difficult to understand. 52:00 To have your questions answered on a future program, 52:03 just email them to us at BibleQA@3abn.tv 52:08 That's BibleQA@3abn.tv 52:12 You may also text your questions 52:14 to 618-228-3975. 52:18 That's 618-228-3975. 52:22 Be sure to include your name and where you live, 52:24 and then watch 3ABN Bible Q and A |
Revised 2024-09-16