When Does Our Liberty to Drink Become a Stumbling Block?

When does our Christian liberty become a stumbling block for others. Best is one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity either.

This is 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. We would love to hear from you, and you can call us right now at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts. You can watch us on YouTube and messages that way course you can always email us your question at questions at core, Christianity.com will be taking your calls for the next 25 minutes or so, so hop on the phone right now at 833. The core let's go to Dan in Wichita, Kansas.

Dan what your question for Pastor Israel McCall.

My question is a two-part question here. First, what is the dispensational professionalism movement. I guess what would be the opposite of that teaching come across the term whenever I was reading about the rapture the church. Obviously it topic of debate among Christians as some believing that the rapture the church came about during the dispensational of movement and others think that you know I just don't know what that is and how that teaching came about is one element more about it.

Hey Dan, thank you for that question. These questions that you have a probably questions a lot of people have especially when they hear those those terms of theological terms, dispensationalism and dispensationalism is really a system of Bible interpretation way of understanding or unpacking the whole of Scripture it's characterized by a few different things and I I get these from one prominent dispensation was easy since died. His name was Charles Ry read.

He was a professor for many years. He says really that that the primary characteristics of dispensationalism are that one has this particular hermeneutic that is way of reading the Bible. Often times it's referred to as a historical literal grammatical way of reading the Scriptures so they would point to that another another thing that's very characteristic of dispensationalism is this this very sharp distinction between the church as God's covenant people and the nation of Israel. See you sometimes have this sort of sense that there are two peoples of God to God has these two plans for these two distinct groups in redemptive history and I think Ry would also say in a dispensationalism focuses on the glory of God and and so it's assertive overarching system of viewing the Bible way of viewing the Bible of interpreting Scripture and there are other systems out there, one of the. The contrasting systems. It is the one that I tend to identify with more is the sort of covenantal view of reading Scripture throughout the Bible, you have the language of covenant from the very beginning of the Bible to the very end, and this is that you know the way in which God enters into relationship with his people in these different systems amid the end of the day what we want to do this is state how does the Bible ask to be read if you will.

Now what is the proper way of interpreting the these Scriptures and in the sense that I get when I read the scriptures. One covenant is the central theme, but at the center of the Bible that this is something that we cannot miss Dan at the center of the Bible is Jesus Christ and God's plan of redemption. Melissa's this to say that. Let's let's take a step back from all of the unit of the different systems. If you will, let's look at what would Jesus himself said in a place like Luke 24 ways what walking on the road with his disciples and he says that all of the Scriptures testify of him. The things were written in the law of of Moses and the prophets in the writings of Psalms, all of it is about him. Jesus, when he was talking to the. The religious leaders in John chapter 5, he said you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and these are the very Scriptures that testify of me. If you would've if you really believe Moses, Jesus said you would believe in me, so it is worth thinking about how to properly understand and interpret the Bible I think fundamentally we have to we have to realize the centrality of Christ in Scripture and God's plan of redemption in this this sort of overarching theme of the fact that God is going to redeem his people through the blood of the Lamb. As I bring all that up because it's a part of this discussion, we think about these different ways of viewing Scripture of properly interpreting the Bible. We do want to interpret the Bible, according to its context. According to the historical background all the things in that sense and want one of the things I appreciate about dispensationalism is there.

There is this high view of Scripture. There's a sense in which recite we really want to take the Bible seriously. I think that's good. Even though I might I might disagree and in some areas, but certainly were where brothers and sisters in Christ. And it's not something that that we needed you to question someone's salvation about you brought up another thing that the rapture and this is this is really getting into the view of the end times we sometimes call this eschatology, and there are many dispensational's who believe in this idea that there could be a rapture of the church that is prior to a great tribulation, a time of tribulation described in the book of Revelation that God is going to wrap sure he's in a snatch up the that the faithful God's children on earth. And then the rest of the world is in a be left. You know, to experience the wrath of the antichrist and add to have this this great time of true religion that to is is oftentimes a part of dispensationalism, but there are other ways of understanding eschatology the way I think it's best to read the New Testament is to see the second coming of Jesus. The resurrection of the dead.

The final judgment as all being contemporaneous events and in the books to look at. Here are books like first and second Thessalonians, Paul discussion in first Corinthians 15 talks with the reign of Christ, the present reign of Christ, but there there really is so much in your two questions with that. That hopefully is a good start for you. Of course, just that the desire to read the scriptures according to their context and and to get to the heart of Scripture which is Jesus Christ is the main thing. So Dan, thank you for giving us a call. Then we have a greater core question on this topic as well. If you go to our website at core, Christianity.com/questions. It's called what are the main views of the end times.

You can learn a little bit more about what Israel's been talking about. Again, our core question. What are the main views of the end times will we get a lot of voicemails here at core, Christianity, and you can call us 24 hours a day and leave us a voicemail at 833. The core is when we received from Danielle in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My sons and I started going to church.

We absolutely love it. Within a few times and the teaching of sounds that worship is Christ centered. However a share not have a community group called beer and Bible was kind of trouble to my spirit about it. Just because a few things cleaned out seem to go together. I had gone to the pastor any kind made excuses as to why it was okay said one of the guys in the congregation owns a brewery and the apostle Paul talks about eating meat because my brother stumble and I will not eat meat. So I think this could be a stumbling block for a lot of people and so someone that may have an issue with alcohol. They may see this anime.

It could possibly cause them to stumble now that they have to join that community group because I am conflicted. It is this the Holy Spirit telling me that we should leave or is it something that you and I can overlook because everything else is so solid and sound. Thank you so much and I really appreciate your ministry and I'm really blessed.

I think you hey Danielle, thank you so much for your question.

Love to hear that you and your family are getting plugged into a church in and of course there are all sorts of questions that we ask ourselves, and were thinking about a good church and it sounds to me like a lot of the main things are there in oftentimes one of the things we see on this broadcast is this a true church is characterized by the faithful preaching of God's word. The proclamation of the gospel of the right administration of the ordinances that Jesus left of the church baptism and the Lord's supper discipline that is there's fellowship community there those of the things we really ought to look for when were looking for a church, a place to call home. Too often we know what I think we focus on on things that aren't necessarily the main thing some of the style of music which, again, that's also important. That's not you know not important, but that the main thing is is the word of God being faithfully tied.

It sounds to me like like it is now the other question related to this Bible study group. This community group beers and Bible and whether or not that's that's why you not. I think I think that that's a fair question to ask.

There is all sorts of discussions in the New Testament about not wanting to cause a brother or sister to stumble that is doing something that would cause offense. That would give offense. Now here I think it's it's important to make a distinction and I learned this disc distinction many years ago from a professor that I had in seminary.

There's a difference between taking offense in a sometimes people just just take offense at something that may be a believer does and actually giving offense. So for example Jesus was criticized at one point by the religious leaders for eating and drinking alcohol with tax collectors and sinners. They took offense at Jesus. They called him a glutton and a wind River. Now, of course, none of those things were actually true. Jesus was temperate. He was godly he was sinless, and yet the religious leaders you know that the legalistic hypocritical religious leaders. They took offense at him and in that situation would Jesus do. Jesus didn't stop spending time with tax collectors and sinners and so there are some some instances I think were individuals in the church might take offense, even though offenses and truly given and that can lead to all sorts of problems, but there are also issues with with believers with Christians genuinely giving offense. I think sometimes you know with believers who embrace their Christian liberties. You know they recognize that the Bible doesn't teach that alcohol is inherently evil that there's nothing wrong with having a glass of wine at dinner that kind of a thing. The Simpson Christian Gina like to wear that on their sleeve and make that a big thing.

While our churches should not be known.

First and foremost as the beer drinking churches or the churches that abstain from drinking beer. We should be known as churches that faithfully proclaim the word of God.

We should be known as Jesus, churches, and so the question is, you know, I would say with regard to let's say the culture of this church.

If this is just something where is some some guys getting together and enjoying fellowship and and and opening up the Scriptures and may be enjoying a drink. I don't know that that I know that that should be something that needs to keep you from joining the church. But if it's something that is being pushed on people, people who struggle with. This may be people who have history with alcoholism and and for them.

You know that this would be helpful to go to that kind of it.

They will then will then I think that's another question. We have to be wise we really want to be charitable with one another within the churches as gracious with one another, as you say no poet quoting the apostle Paul, if with what I'm doing is causing someone to stumble from. If I'm trying to get someone to drink, for whom you know alcohol is a real issue. What will pulses. What in the what you doing your your hurting your brother or sister know you should just choose to abstain for their sake. And so and so again this is this is not necessarily a black-and-white thing. It's something that requires wisdom, but I would say and I just that I say this is a pastor finding a good church where the word of God is faithfully proclaimed where you have elders or any care for you and Shepherd you and there's a community that minutes that's hard enough. It's of the main things are there.

Maybe, maybe working through some of the other stuff and having conversations with the pastor and with the rest the leadership there could be a helpful way forward. Appreciate your your question may the Lord bless you and have a wonderful day.

Thanks much for your question.

We appreciate you asking and being a regular listener to core Christianity by the way, today we are offering a great new Bible study and it's one that a drill wrote just for us is on the book of Galatians and Egle tells a bit about the theme of the book of Galatians. Yeah lobbying Galatians was written to a group of Christians who were really struggling because false teachers that come in from the outside agitators as they're called by the apostle Paul and they were corrupting the gospel and the reality is, is this kind of thing happens all over the place today with some of the some of the big themes in the book of Galatians is a proper understanding of the law of proper understanding of the gospel, how it is that God works by his spirit in our lives today.

Having a lot of a lot of stuff that's so relevant for the church today for our churches today and so was my privilege really to to be able to work on this 10 week Bible study through the book of Galatians. I think it'll it'll bless you individually. If it if you're looking to go deeper in the book of Galatians will also bless you if you're the leader of a of a community group or Bible study group and and you want to study this particular epistle of the apostle Paul get a hold of our new resource on the book of Galatians.

It can be yours for a donation of $20 or more.

By the way, we have these available in bulk quantities as well. If you're involved in a Sunday school program or small group ministry at your church and you want to get some of these again is a great Bible study on the book of Galatians. You can learn more@corechristianity.com/studies again. Core, Christianity.com/studies just look for the new Bible study on the book of Galatians.

You can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833 the core that's a 33 843-2673 let's go to Selah and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. See the what your question for pastor atrial, I really appreciated. My question was heard something about like I knew that that the devil is not a mission like God is, he can't hear her thoughts nor heart like God can't make my mortal brain. How did he tempt or how he come and do all the attacking and interfering in things like that with with with human being like it send me on the Bible to dinner for all. Tempt us and commit to that the intervener does he influence our thoughts, or how happen that you know was there. Selah. I've studied on this broadcast before the devil is not omniscient. He's a created being.

He's finite he he is under the control of a sovereign God, the devil is God's devil as I it's been said before. And so the question is, well, if you can't, you know be everywhere. Everywhere at one time.

How is it that he tempt us will remember that there are there are a great number of fallen angels who are at work in the world today. Demonic forces working in the world today and they do try to tempt the people of God, they do hold this way, that this world in their sway. John talks about that the spirit of the antichrist and in the book of first John really that the ultimate goal of the devil is to take our minds off of Jesus Christ. I love the way CS Lewis, put it in his little book. The Screwtape Screwtape letters you want to get a good resource on spiritual warfare read that he says you know that it's not so much what the devil puts into our minds that that causes them to be effective. It's what he tries to keep out of our minds and that is the truth of God's word. The truth of who Jesus is and does he let me just just say one other thing I think a lot of times we think that any temptation we experience is spiritual warfare it's demonic. It's the evil one coming against us. But remember what James said in James chapter 1 let no one say when he is tempted I am being tempted by God for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one but each person is tempted, he is lured away and enticed by his own desire, then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown brings forth death.

So often, your temptation comes from is not from the outside from our own hearts from from our own sinful heart and that's what we desperately need the gospel because the problem is is that is a heart condition. We need the forgiveness of sins we need God to renew us and to transform us and to work in us and so I just want to say that because I think a lot of us when we think of temptation, the devil you know what we see it all is external when in reality the problem so often is internal. We need grace for our own sins, and so Selah thank you for your question.

Good to hear from you.

May the Lord bless you that help her think of what Jeremiah says about the heart being desperately wicked who can know it. You have my light up when I was your first bill, but so is this a lot. I just feel like I can say amen to that one with absolute certainty so that we all man this is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. Let's go to Daniel in orange county California Daniel, what's your question for pastor.

Israel wanted to get your take on how you respond to someone who would claim that the law gospel in Scripture is not actually devil on Scripture to make that distinction, but it shows the Reformation reading of the hey Daniel, thanks for that question, giving us opportunity to talk about the law gospel distinction and just for for you.

Listening right now. Maybe that's a distinction that you never heard of it. It really is one that we think is quite vital and important here at core Christianity and and one as I said that we like to talk about it. It's really sort of a breakdown of of Scripture. In one sense in terms of viewing God's word as having these these laws. These commands these imperatives that are given to us that call us to obey God. Ultimately, the law summarized in the reality of the fact that we need to oh obey God love God with all of our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves uses. That's the fulfillment of the law, but that law is not the gospel, and this is where the distinction comes in because the fact of the matter is, as all of us.

As Paul says in the book of Romans have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God is a were not saved by our obedience to the law or by works of law. That's a phrase you sometimes hear in Paul in the book of Romans. In the book of Galatians we are saved solely by the basis of God's grace what God is deny what we do but what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. So that's the law gospel distinction, and having received the grace of God in Christ, we are then called to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law, Paul talks about this in Romans chapter 8 by the spirit, not so that we can be justified. We can be justified by the law, I'd say.

And that's what Paul makes very clear in the book of Galatians, which we just plug in our our new Bible study you can't be justified by the law. So when it comes to justification. There is this this sharp distinction.

The law is not of faith, Paul says, again in Galatians and so were justified solely by faith. Now I think what one way that people sort of misunderstand this distinction is that they will will then you just think of the law of God is a bad thing.

It's just purely negative well know, there are different uses of the law of God. Yes, the law of God reveals our sin drives us to our knees so that we might embrace the gospel but having embraced the gospel no longer being under the law. We get to follow the Lord that out of a heart of gratitude out of a heart of love we could to conform our lives.

God conforms our lives by his Spirit to his righteous and holy law of liberty, as I think it again. This is a distinction that that is very biblical, especially his wrist were thinking about the doctrine of justification in another text, I would go to is Hebrews chapter 12, sort of a passage that often times people don't go to in this discussion but I want you to listen to what the author the Hebrews said to a group of Christians who by the way, were struggling with the aid of this idea of going back under the law. Under the old covenant and he says to them. Verse 18, Hebrews 12 for you have not come to what may be touched. Blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest in the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers back that no further message be spoken to them, for they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear he's talking about the giving of the law, the old covenant, you haven't come to Mount Sinai.

The author, the Hebrew says what when you as new covenant believers are gathering for worship, you're not. Gathering at the at the base of Mount Sinai where it was fear and dread and doom the giving of the law, but you have come to the church today to Mount Zion to the city of the living God to the heavenly Jerusalem, the innumerable angels in festal gathering into the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven into God, the judge of all into the spirits of the righteous made perfect into Jesus the mediator of the new covenant is the new covenant out the old covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel right there you have the sort of distinction even embedded in this picture of the church's worship were not going back to Mount Sinai to receive the line too often in churches today. That's what's happening people go to church and they're just burdened by a bunch of new laws, new commitments do this that and the other, and they don't hear the voice of God ringing from Mount Zion saying your sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ. They don't hear the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. The author, the Hebrews, there is is alluding to the Old Testament. Note you know at Cain and Abel. Abel's blood cried out from the ground that God would judge vindicate him, ultimately led to the condemnation of Cain. The blood of Jesus does not cry out father condemn it cries out father forgive. That's the gospel and that's where we go.

That's what we need as believers under the new covenant we need you need that gospel and so when people bring up this law gospel distinction is that I don't know if it's if is there I would just go to all of these different passages that go to the book of Galatians I go to the book of Hebrews I go to the book of Romans and just sort of tease out the relationship between the law and faith. Grace and works so important that we understand this, too many believers are living their lives as though there still under the law, brothers and sisters by Christ through Christ, you are free to love and serve God and your neighbor. Thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer.

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