Should We Sing to the Holy Spirit in Worship?

Should we sing to the Holy Spirit in worship. That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity by Bill Meyer along with pastor Adm. Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question. At 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com first step today a drill. Do you want to buy a house for a block. Yes please. Okay well there's a catch though the houses in Italy and it needs a lot of work. Sounds good to me is the story of Italian village that bills itself as COBIT free is attempting to attract new residents by selling homes for a dollar but the new owners must promise to renovate those houses. The town is called single from day it's in the southern region of Calabria. It bills itself as the COBIT free village as there haven't been any coronavirus cases reported there in that region of Italy actually has one of the lowest levels of reported cases in that country will Mayor Michelle Connie says the program called operation. Beauty is designed to attract new residents willing to renovate abandoned homes that have fallen into disrepair. The program offers the houses for you guessed it, only one dollar, but the purchasers must pay an annual insurance policy fee of $280 in total renovations on the homes are complete so they drill you and your wife want to plan the whole trip to Italy and take all your renovation stuff with you.

Well, I mean it's the problem that I have. Bill is I am the last person you want renovating as I would probably make the house worse than try to do and I think so.

So there wouldn't be a house by the time I was nine and my wife could attest to that fact as well so it is not. They cannot they get for me but if you got those kinds of skills you should check that out. Very beautiful opportunity will look at our first question of the day. This is a call that came in from Melody in Buffalo, New York.

All I'm trying to come home with my garden. I don't wondered why God created Eve's ethical evil one or her income from oil that comes from a great question Melody, thank you for that and hopefully this will clear things up for you. We have to distinguish between God, allowing Eve to sin. Adam and Eve to sin and God creating sin in them so we wouldn't want to say that sin was inherent in even in the sense that God had created her with sin in her something like that. Me, that would what that would do as it would God's creation was flawed and we don't think that God made man he said this is very good and all of God's creation is good, God created the world good, upright, beautiful. This is one of the things that we just have to understand now. He gave Adam and Eve, freedom of choice and they chose to sin. They were deceived by the evil one. So let me know. There, there was an element of deception there as well but they had the choice to sin or the choice not to sin. Now, after the fall. All of us are born in Adam, we've inherited what what theologians call Original Sin from Adam that the corruption and the guilt of Adam sin has affected all of us and that's why we we continue to sit. We have Adams Original Sin we have the actual sins that we commit every day and thought, word, and indeed, and Jesus said now in our fallen condition, sin comes from our hearts. Know this this discussion, it had in the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew chapter 15 verse 10 says he called the people to him and said to them, hear and understand it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person. But what comes out of the mouth that defiles the person the disciples came and said to Jesus, you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard the saying Jesus answered every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind guides, and if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit. But Peter said to Jesus, explain the parable to us and Jesus said, are you also still without understanding do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is expelled. But what comes out of the mouth, proceeds from the heart in this defiles a person out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, these are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. So Melody week we have to distinguish between the condition that Adam and Eve were in prior to the fall in the condition that you and I are in post fall in Adam's sin comes from our hearts.

And I think this is a really important lesson for people to learn today so easy for so many to think that the problem is outside of them. The problem with society. The problem with the world.

The problem in my family we we always want to point the finger to someone else you want to lay the blame at someone else's feet and yet Jesus says no sin, so often the problem comes from our very own hearts. And that's what we need to go to Jesus. That's what we need the gospel because our hearts need to be changed, cleansed, washed, transformed so that we might have communion with God and communion and fellowship with each other and appreciate your question. Thank you for calling your listening. The core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez and it really is a question that came in via email at questions at core, Christianity.com it's from Jaden. He says in church government does the congregation give authority to the elders. In other words, are the elders in charge or is it technically the congregation who selected the elders based on biblical qualifications and prayer.

In choosing them yeah will you get all sorts of different answers on this question because there are different views related to how the church of Jesus Christ, ought to be governed in the Congregational view the cognition of your church government. The authority really does rest with the congregation typically Congregational churches are autonomous fully autonomous. This means there is no outside authority that has any binding power over the the local church in the congregation. The people of the church have the ultimate authority. We also have a system of government known as Episcopal church government from Episcopal hostas. The Greek word that means Bishop or overseer.

This is to be more of a hierarchical system that believes it.

Jesus Christ gave and gives authority primarily to the bishops who they understand to be successors to the apostles of the Roman Catholic Church exit goes a step further and argues that they don't just have successors to the apostles, but a successor to St. Peter himself. The Pope I think the most biblical form of government is Presbyterianism is from the Greek word press Butte Ross, which means elder. The church is in the New Testament were governed by called competent men of character ordained. According to the standard that Paul said in first Timothy chapter 3 and Titus chapter 1, when the apostles planted churches. They appointed elders in those churches and those elders went on to teach in, and to preach and then to plant more churches and that's how the church of Jesus Christ grew Jesus is the head of the church, so he has the ultimate authority. Pastors have what we call a ministerial authority. Only God's word binds us and ministers are ministers of that word. So all of our authority is derived from holy Scripture. Now right there. As I said different views on this and I have brothers who I love who I know love Jesus to hold to the Episcopal form of church government others who are more Congregational in their understanding of church government. So this is something that we can still have fellowship with each other over me with.

It does not one of those issues that we we have to really get all worked up about. But let me tell you just personally practically why I've appreciated the elder rule form of church government that I think you see reflected in the New Testament. It provides us with church accountability that I think other models don't give at least not not to the same degree. Now, when I was first thinking about planting a church and in San Diego, one of my big concerns as I'd seen a lot of young guys like me go off the plant churches and sort of reinvent the wheel.

You know, trying to figure out how to do everything how we can organize worship. What's our statement of faith going to be and feeling like there were a lot of people that were going off on their own without any real ecclesiastical church accountability support reinventing the wheel, figuring it all out from from scratch and I just thought you know in the New Testament that doesn't seem to be the model you seems like you have the churches working together coming together at times even to talk about these larger church issues.

An example is in acts chapter 15, you have the Jerusalem Council with the church through representatives through elders comes together and they talk about issues that are that are pressing at any they give this binding document, a document that helps to give guidance to the body as a whole we need church leaders need accountability just as much is anyone else in the church. We need accountability and we need to make sure that the word of God is being guarded and faithfully taught pastors, individual pastors were not the head of the church. As I said Jesus is the head of the church and were all first and foremost accountable to him, but he helps us to be accountable to each other as well for our own safety for the good of the sheep for the good of the body of Christ, so that's one of the things that I've appreciated about the form of government that I embrace Presbyterianism's. I feel like there's some really helpful and healthy biblical accountability that it offers so just read it to make it practical there because it is a very practical question how is the church to be governed.

God bless you, thank you for that question in earlier elder boards on line 5, you know they're not there. You know that I'm doing this a great elder board though don't saw there were wonderful so supportive and boy I mean first Timothy three Titus one to see the qualifications for elders a minute, it's a it's a high calling and good elders just so important to the life of the church shepherding the flock of God.

You know it's it's such an important thing, and at the church needs needs called competent qualified men of character who are going to serve her well in the way that Jesus calls them to and so I'm I'm blessed your listing to core Christianity.

We would love to hear from you if you got a question 1-833-843-2673 and later were excited about an offer that we have for our listeners today. Yeah, you know. So as a pastor. People always asked me what are the books that every Christian should read and I know for myself. It really doesn't get a lot better than CS Lewis's classic mere Christianity. I think this is one of those books that every Christian.

At one point in their life should pick up and even probably multiple times throughout their life because there's so many rich nuggets of truth in Lewis's classic work and so for a limited time and while supplies last. Were offering a copy of mere Christianity for a donation of any amount that you manage this offer had a record Christianity.com/offers to get your copy of CS Lewis's classic mere Christianity of course you can always call us at 833-843-2673 for help in getting any of our offers again is 833 the core and on behalf of the entire team here core Christianity.

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Let's go to another question. This one came in from Eric and Eric says I've been told that we shouldn't personally address the Holy Spirit in prayer or song because we don't see that anywhere in Scripture, but the Nicene Creed states that the Holy Spirit with the father and the son is worshiped and glorified. Is there any conflict here. I know from John's gospel that the spirits role is to glorify the sun and lead us in all truth, but can the Holy Spirit be the direct object of our worship. Eric I'm I'm really glad that you asked this question, you know, one of the most ancient writings on the Holy Spirit came from the church fathers was written in response to this very question. It was written by a guy who goes by the name Basil the great, which I just think is is a great thing to be called a catalyst to the work that he wrote on the Holy Spirit.

This trees on the Holy Spirit was a question about this short doxology doxology is to song of praise that was addressed to the Trinity that said glory to the father with the sun and with the Holy Spirit and there were people in the church way back then who took issue with that because they didn't like the idea of the Holy Spirit being worship.

They were saying the very thing that that you been told actually what we should sing to the Holy Spirit. You see, from the very beginning.

Actually, the church worship the holy Trinity, father, son and Holy Spirit. This formula father son and Holy Spirit is taken from Jesus, the language of the institution of baptism we baptized in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.

While if the son and the Spirit aren't worthy of worship. If they are creatures created by God.

Why in the world are we being baptized into them.

This is true and that's part of the argument that was made against those who denied the deity of the Holy Spirit and that we should sing and pray to the spirit to everything hinges Eric on whether or not the Holy Spirit is God. If the Bible teaches that he is God that he must be worshiped together with the father and the son sites want to give you two passages of Scripture that I think make it absolutely clear that the Holy Spirit is God. The first one is in the book of acts in acts chapter 5 this is I think one of the probably the main text that people will go to wind proving the deity of the Holy Spirit. There are so many we could go to Best Buy go to this when acts chapter 5 will be given verse one. A man named Ananias, with his wife's if Ira sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself. Some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles feet.

But Peter said Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself. Part of the proceeds of the land while it remained unsold that it not remain your own and after it was sold, was it not at your disposal. Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart and then listen what Peter said you have not lied to man, but to God that look. I just think that's absolutely clear. He says to Ananias why have you lied to the Holy Spirit. You have not lied to man, but to God the Holy Spirit is God Eric.

We ought to say, glory to the father into the sun until the Holy Spirit there equal equal in power and glory, and so they are deserving of our worship. Another text that I would go to and this one is is one people don't go to is often to prove the deity of the Holy Spirit, but it's Paul's words in first Corinthians chapter 6 what the apostle Paul said there he says in verse 19, or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, you are not your own. You were bought with the price.

So glorify God in your body. You see that there now the temple in the Old Testament was what it was the house of God, who lived in the temple. The Lord the Sovereign King of Paul says here in first Corinthians 6 and what a beautiful thing.

This is for each of us to grasp as Christians, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and if the Holy Spirit lives in the temple, who lives in the temple, but the one who lives in the temple is the Lord God, and that's why Paul says so glorify God in your body parodies again and I think actually the point Paul is making. There is very explicitly we ought to worship the Lord in and with our bodies why because our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. So if you've been told Eric that we shouldn't personally address the Holy Spirit in prayer or song because we don't see that anywhere in Scripture. I would just say no. Actually we do.

First Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 are acts chapter 5 is very clearly referred to as God. And because he is God, we should worship him great explanation of Israel. Thank you so much for that you are listening to core Christianity and would love to hear from you. Here's our phone number 833 the core that's 833-843-2673. By the way, you can also record your question on our website. If you go to core Christianity.com/radio will see a little microphone icon on the right-hand side of the pages.

Click on that and you can record your question right there on Marshall Green will remember lots of explain that how it relates to where we are. Remember lots wife you okay S of the detector referring to is in the Gospel of Luke Luke chapter 17.

Well I want to read the context.

There are one of read the past we can get the context beginning in verse 20 being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed nor will they say, look, here it is or there for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you, and he said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it and they will save you look fair or look here. Do not go out or follow them for as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day, but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation, just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot. They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rain from heaven and destroyed them all.

So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day. Let the one who is on the house top with his goods in the house not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember lots wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it the context here. Marshall is Jesus speaking about the judgment that is coming and there are a couple of different ways to take this text right and there are some who are going to take it as referring to the destruction that was coming very immediately on Jerusalem and actually would. What I think you you look at Jesus the statements elsewhere related to the judgment coming on Jerusalem and the temple.

What took place. Ultimately, in 70 A.D. with the Romans destroying the temple and their Jesus uses the language of you know, don't don't go back in your house just fully, but those are in Jerusalem flee to the mountains. Why because of this great destruction that's happening. I would type more to that another small subordinate units tied to the final judgment.

I think that there might be a relation there as well. But the focus is don't cling to your life the loop. There's a warning here for the people that were there in the first century. During the destruction of Jerusalem, not to turn back.

Remember lots wife. You remember what happened when lots wife turned back and tarried instead of fleeing the city that was under destruction. Will she perished. That's the point that he's making, and in particular, I think it would have been relevant for him, especially for those believers in the first century, not for us think that there's also a broader application, we might say in. That's just the importance of being ready. The importance of being watchful. Knowing the fact that the judgment is coming in and people all around us might not recognize that people were eating and drinking you you think of the days leading up to the flood of knowing there's a there's a correlation here Jesus is between those things that were happening in, and the final coming of the Lord Jesus everybody being okay laid-back eating and drinking, getting married and giving in marriage, and yet, out of nowhere the Lord comes as a thief in the night and so we are called to be. As Christians, vigilant, watchful in a Marshall question that I received in recent days as the pastor, especially with everything going on in light of the coronavirus and and the tension that were sitting around us in in society is, are we living in the end times is this it is the final judgment here will look the reality is this throughout the history of the world. There have been some pretty dark times and times even darker than the ones that were living and I think it's really easy for people to think my days these days that were living in are the worst of all time. There've been some pretty dark. It's in the history of humanity. Could this be the end of I don't know but I do know this were always called as believers to be ready and watchful and how are we ready by trusting in Jesus by knowing him by being filled with the Holy Spirit being grounded in the word of God. If you're worried that were living in the end times right now that that the judgment is right around the corner is what you do, don't focus on the news and all that the crazy things that are happening around us focus on the Lord of all creation his mercy, his goodness, his gospel.

Fix your eyes upon Jesus. That's the comfort we had, even in the midst of all the crazy things that are happening around us being able to say the Lord is in control.

He still saw Frank.

He's good he's righteous. Jesus holds on.

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