Is the Bible Written For Me or Its Original Audience?

Is the Bible written for me or for its original audience best is one of the questions will be answering on today's edition of core Christianity will hi there, I'm Bill Meyer along with Pastor Israel 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 questions at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 also post your question on our Facebook or Instagram account and you can email us your question at questions@corechristianity.com. Well Israel I know you were camping for a couple of days with your family. How is your camping trip Bill. It was awesome.

It was really nice to take a break together get up in the mountains were camping and in southern Utah about 10,000 feet elevation hunting squirrels.

The case had a great taxi met my son try to make a squirrel trap.

He was unsuccessful. But that's okay because I don't know what would've done with the squirrel kind of thing you had a little hail incident yet. The last night we were camping it hailed on us. It is great is the middle the summer and so as I was making dinner. I'm cooking these the stakes that we had picked up at a supermarket on the way to the campsite over a certificate. One of those gas what are these units skillets or whatever making the stakes and it starts to hail add so fortunately we had an umbrella in in the minivan, so he pulled that out and I was able to finish cooking the steaks under the umbrella as I was being pelted with, you know, hailstones, and then we ate the stakes inside our tent and it was kind of a mess, but they were good. They came out they came out well so yeah you are quite the rugged outdoorsmen. I must say yes actually I'm not a nice guy. I think if I was ever lost outdoors. I would be one of the first it to parish. II don't know what but we had a wonderful time and it was it was relaxing and rejuvenating and I'm I'm glad to be back. Good to have you back. Let's go to one of our listers who has a question. This is Mary in St. Louis Missouri called Mary what is your question for Pastor Israel on something family member has recently come out as gay and my Catholic faith teaches that homosexual acts are grace and I'm just struggling with supporting and accepting this family member, Lionel.

I do not accept this lifestyle. So my question is I just want to know what the Bible says about homosexual will Mary thank you for giving us a call in first Corinthians chapter 6, the apostle Paul, as he's warning the Corinthians about sinful behavior.

He says to them in verse nine, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor violators nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God in such were some of you but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God and so the Bible very clearly teaches that homosexuality that same-sex relationships and sex acts are sinful in the eyes of God.

Now there is this issue. I think in our and our broader culture today and it's this idea that if you're going to really love someone you just have to affirm everything about gift accept whatever it is that they've accepted for themselves. A lot of people think about, but I think homosexuality in this way, if you're really going to get a supportive family member or love them, you just have to affirm them in the decision that they've made, but the reality is that's not what love is and and if were being consistent. No one would really define love in that way. Love doesn't just tell someone hey whatever you want to do or whatever you want to believe is perfectly fine. That kind of thing. No, that's not love.

And that's not love. According to the Bible assume you're out so you can continue to love this family member, even without accepting or embracing their lifestyle. This is the right decision for them that that's a really important distinction that we have to make. I think that you continued continuing you ought to continue take an interest in this person's life have conversations talk to them about. You know that this decision what why this is come about.

I think it's really important that you continue to invest in the relationship and you can do that while also being honest about the Christian faith about what the Bible teaches. Jesus calls each and every one of us to follow him to lay down our lives to take up our crosses and to pursue him and and each and every one of us them in their there are sins that we have to lay aside things that we have to let go of it may be. Homosexuality, for some people for other people. Let me think of the list that Paul mentions there in first Corinthians 6 drunkards agreed know those kinds of things. All of us are called to turn from our sins and to follow Jesus, not the scary thing and it's not an easy thing, but it's what God calls us to in the wonderful thing is Jesus is the one who first laid down his life for us as a my encouragement to you. Mary would be to to continue to to pursue a friendship relationship with this family member to know that you can love them that you ought to love them. You're called to by Jesus himself, but loving them does not necessarily mean affirming them in in this in this decision and this homosexuality and so I think you have to distinguish between those two things, Mary. We also have a great core resource on this topic. It's called 10 things you should know about homosexuality.

You can find that@corechristianity.com/guides again. Core, Christianity.com/guides let's go to Georgia and St. Louis Missouri. George what your question for Pastor Adrian is planning to start a home church initially involving only his children and grandchildren, a rather large family. They live today very small community and the choices of churches are very small and he asked me what I thought about him doing that is not a pastor is not a elder anywhere but he wanted to know what it be permissible for him to baptize any of his his family that does accept Christ, and also, would it be acceptable for him to serve communion will which would be outside the church and he is not a clergy, I couldn't find any Scripture verses that speaks to that will really practical and in good question and just goes to show that we need to be planting more churches today because there are, as you mention places throughout the United States and certainly throughout the world where there are not good gospel preaching church is the job of the church is to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. Teaching them to observe that the word of the Lord Jesus Christ and Annette needs to continue to happen here as well and so I'm sorry to hear that your friend doesn't have it.

Seems like a church close by, and if you're in an area where there is no church. I think it is important for you to be in the word with your family.

Frankly, I would say that that's a good enough reason to move somewhere else if it's possible if if the Lord opens up the doors there's there's really I think nothing more important than being in a good church where you're going to be encouraged and built up in the word of God and their there are churches that are properly constituted. We might say.

And then there a lot of churches, frankly, that aren't.

We don't call ourselves into the ministry. I don't ordain myself into the pastorate or as a pastor and one of my concerns is that there a lot of people who just are to think out.

You know I do know I can do so.

To do this on my own.

I can go in and make myself a pastor but in Scripture that's not really what you see you have.

According to Paul in first Timothy three this the sense of internal calling an individual has this desired data. They aspire to the office of an overseer, but that internal calling also has to be confirmed by the calling of the church. The church that the people of God need to be able to say yes this person is called in insubordination. The pathway to the ministry to the pastorate happens in the context of the local church and one of the reasons why George this is so important is because there are many individuals who just sort of take up to themselves. The office of pastor. I meant to be a Bible teacher and maybe they're gifted maybe they can gather a great crowd around them, maybe they have charisma, but the question is are they qualified.

Do they have the character that that someone was called to the ministry is supposed to have. According to first Timothy three.

Are they competent in the Scriptures we can do. People can do a lot of harm by you know taking up the office of pastor claiming that their pastors and teaching the Bible, when in reality there twisting the Scriptures noticing this about your friend. I don't know you know what you're what your friends theology is what what his beliefs are about the word of God. What he what he wants to teach but I have seen it go south so many times and so I caution people against this kind of thing and I caution Christians against adjoining churches where the pastor just just decided himself that he was going to be a pastor. There's no real accountability and I as I said, I think it is something where if you are in a place where there are no good churches you feel like you're the only one who can be a pastor and and you have to go about it in that way I would say maybe consider praying about finding someone else to live friend lightly again III don't think that there is that this is an exaggeration that there is nothing more important than being in a solid church for us and for our families and and it can also extensors you mentioned, you know, you know, can this friend. Should this trend be baptizing and administering the Lord's supper. I think those those ordinances were sacraments as we sometimes call them go hand-in-hand with the ministry of the word, not everyone is called to be a teacher or a pastor. In fact, James says in James chapter 3 verse one let not many of you become teachers.

Knowing that will receive a stricter judgment. So there is this particular office in the church pastor, teacher, and those who are you to fill that office need to have been qualified according to first Timothy three and Titus chapter 1 and it's those individuals in particular were called to administer those ordinances.

Baptism and the Lord's supper word were told in first Corinthians chapter 4 verse one that we are stewards of the mysteries of God were guarding the deposit of faith and that's why it's so important that we have these processes that we go through in order to make sure that the doctrine is sound that what people are being taught is good and true, and in line with the spirit of God and so that would be that would be my suggestion again.

George, let me just say this last thing I know that there are extraordinary circumstances you maybe it it's the case that your friend has nowhere else to go. He can't move. He stuck there and I would say what be in the word with your family be studying the Scriptures get solid Bible teaching is much you can't look for an opportunity to be a part of a solid true biblical local church. Thank you for your call great counsel. Thanks a room this is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. We have an awesome new Bible study that we want to tell you about today. Yes, we have revised and uploaded our first Bible study bill core Christianity 101. This is a complete self-contained study on the Christian faith aimed at building a solid foundation in the basics, and oftentimes today you either see people in the church dividing over secondary or peripheral issues. The others who don't take things like Jesus's resurrection. The teaching of justification by faith alone.

Seriously, this is because biblical literacy is at an all time low. And many Christians have no idea what they believe or why they believe it core Christianity exists to help remedy that in the core 101 Bible studies a great one-stop shop for everyone to get to know us. Our mission and explains a courtroom is an essential doctrines of the Christian faith. And unlike our other Bible studies built which are for a donation of $20 or more.

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They are available in bulk quantities as well and would be great for you to consider as you plan through your fall Bible studies and Sunday school classes.

This is really an awesome Bible study.

It's a great way to learn more about the Christian faith and more about our mission here it core Christianity. You can get this 10 week Bible study for donation of any amount by going to core Christianity.com/studies look for core Christianity want to want to get its core, Christianity.com/studies. You can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673. That's 833, the court, and our phone lines. By the way, are still open. If you have a question for pastor. Israel call us here for the next 10 minutes or so will be taking calls live here in the studio at 833.

The core of total voicemail received from one of our callers named Stephen Bible and Daniel told our future and 500 years later I spent in the book of Revelation when they talked about the seven churches in Asia minor about the things that were far too thousand years later that's not far off in the future. Word on that page and original. Thank you.I love this question because one of my passions is to help people see that the Bible while well you know the these particular stories we have are orbital epistles we see in the New Testament may not have been written directly to you.

They certainly are for you.

It's really important that you understand that the whole Bible. All of Scripture, Old Testament, New Testament is for you and for your instruction and God will use it in your life to build you up in in the faith to bring you into a deeper relationship with him so absolutely important is actually one passage of Scripture that I think makes us absolutely clear in the book of first Corinthians in first Corinthians chapter 11 at chapter 10 excuse me, as Paul is warning the Corinthians about idolatry that took place in the Old Testament. He says to them beginning in verse six, these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality. Some of them did and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test to some of them did and were destroyed by serpents nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Paul is doing there. He said look, all of this will we have in in the stories and they were written down were given these examples, but that that therefore our instruction until the Lord Jesus comes back though the whole Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It's it's God breathed, Paul told Timothy so well you know it in the immediate context you have these letters or these prophecies or these prayers uttered by particular people in a particular place with with the with the context or that it's very important that we understand that context.

In order for us to be able to apply these text to ourselves faithfully, but we need also recognized that as we understand the text of Scripture in its original context also has meaning for us.

There are applications the things that were able to take for our own instruction and so even if you have a word that's given to a group, specifically like that that word that came from Daniel the prophet, or the word of Jesus in the early chapters of the book of Revelation to the seven churches in Asia minor does or does a specific exhortations to particular people in a particular place and yet there relevant to us and as we read them as we open up the Scriptures and and read them prayerfully, asking God to illuminate our hearts and minds he speaks to us now today through these passages written so long ago and so I just want to encourage you to dig into the Scriptures, and to know that even if it it does this particular text wasn't written with you in mind, it was written for you, and that the Spirit speaks through the word today. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez's. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life we'd love to hear from you. Our number is 833 the core and you can always leave us a voicemail on that number 24 hours a day, 833-843-2673 is the number let's go to a caller from Illinois. What's your question for pastor. Israel little ole question regarding my Christianity, like know what okay for claiming to be a way take away from my Christianity that wearing an eye wearing Jerry's well do you sister. No, I don't believe that it would take away from your Christianity wearing pants or wearing jewelry know sometimes in the church people can create the sort of extra biblical rules and impose those rules on the congregation and sometimes as rules look like you have to dress this particular way. You can't work pants on Sunday. You have to wear a dress or skirt or something like that.

With that, that's not anywhere in Scripture. The Bible doesn't teach that the Bible does say that we should be modest in our apparel that we should focus on on the internal person on the heart.

Paul talks about this in first Timothy chapter 2, but that doesn't mean that you can't wear jewelry or that you can't wear pants that kind of thing you know so often I tragically I think in Christian circles, we get caught up with these. With these these issues that really have nothing to do with you. The Bible doesn't say these things, but this becomes what the church is about and we can frankly add to the gospel and in some sense by by focusing on these things, and by imposing these kinds of rules on people if you tell someone you can't really be a Christian and less you dress this particular way or less to embrace this particular cultural practice what you're doing is you're adding to the gospel that actually sister was something was happening in in the ancient apostolic church.

There were Hebrew converts to Christianity that were telling Gentiles were joining the church. If you really want to be a Christian if you really want to be a part of the church are also you have to would adhere to all of our cultural laws as well. You're going to need to continue to embrace that the doctrine of circumcision that was important under the old covenant you have to eat like we eat you know that adhere to our particular dietary restrictions in the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians did he came against that. So strong he said look, your adding to the gospel you're making the gospel something you're corrupting the gospel. Essentially, this is not a gospel at all pulses at the very beginning of the book of Galatians. So we have to be careful that we don't have that we don't miss the, the, the forest for the trees. If you will that we we don't lose sight of what Christ has actually called us to has called us to purity to holiness to modesty those things are, though things are true, but it's not the job of the pastor to impose upon his congregants or some theologian to impose upon the people in the church that looks like you know you're not allowed to wear a necklace so you're not allowed to wear pants that kind of thing and so I would say you can be totally modest and and still wear pants or still wear jewelry and so it wouldn't take away from your Christianity. Thank you for your mystical and of course we should mention that there was that time that Israel wore a Hawaiian shirt to church so that was some mild little controversial yeah you your clerical robe over it.

So there you go yeah yeah yeah that it collided to the it's a very Southern California thing is you just have to be here to the underside of the desert.

This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. Here's an email question we received from Janet.

She says in Isaiah 65 when it speaks about the new heavens and the new earth, it seems to say that people still die there. But in Revelation 21 it says there will be no more death. Can you explain this. Yeah, you know, sometimes this is referred to as a sort of prophetic idiom into the way in which the prophets would speak and of course, Isaiah is himself a prophet, and he's given this this great vision of the future and and what look like. It looks like peace.

It looks like feasting. It looks like joy. It looks like rejoicing.

We have to be careful of is reading these prophecies that we don't data me. Well, it may be I guess of the new creation were just going to live really, you know to have nice old lives and then and then were going to die and who knows that and we know it's it's it's prophetic literature and so he's given this this image, the sort of picture of the perfect life of joy, a festivity of worship. And that's we have in Isaiah chapter 65 is no there's no reason to conclude from that that there's gonna be death in the new creation that kind of thing know it's it's this prophetic idiom if you will, the prophets speaking in a way that the people at that at that time would've understood and so thank you for your question received that email know that reminds me a drill is so critical for all of us to be considering the claims of Jesus Christ in our relationship with him because we don't know the day or the hour. We don't know when we might be taken, and therefore not prepared to squint his knocking work out so well for us. Yeah, you know Bill that something that we we do always want to bring up on this broadcast of the importance of you knowing Jesus, and having a personal relationship with him. They not just having said a prayer at one point in your life for you and I was baptized many years ago and I have been a church or don't know what I believe that kind of thing know Jesus calls you to follow him and you can because he loves you and he laid down his life for you.

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