How Will Church Leaders Who Sexually Abuse Children Be Judged?

This new episode of core Christianity was recorded on how will abusive priests or pastors be judged by God special is one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity hi 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. You can call us right now with your question. At 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 always leave us a voicemail at the number two of you kick it through and you can post your question on her Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts. You can also email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com. Today let's go to slide in Edmond, Oklahoma slide what your question for Pastor Israel� Talk about my favorite topics have alright sly what your question two part question. Isaiah chapter 65 verse 17 behold, I will create new heavens and a new or former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind and I hear a lot of speculation. I read a book about heaven.

Part of it and I couldn't make it that I had a cut down because it was depressing to me. I hear pastors talking about over were going to work in heaven and were going to do this and that and they talk about how no you remember all your passable this verse says were not going to remember. And there are many things in my life that I don't want to remember, have a higher image of heaven, and I want to get your thoughts on not okay well first I think we have to understand we have in Isaiah chapter 65 is that the picture of of the new heavens and the new earth, and in particular, what is Isaiah getting at when he says in the former things are not going to come to mind.

I don't know that did you know the idea here is that you have like a blank memory. Once we enter into the presence of the Lord, and you know were knocking to be able to recall our families here on earth or that kind of the thing, it's that the glory of heaven and being in the presence of the triune God is going to cause all of our suffering. All of the sin that we experienced that we committed all of that to be drowned out if you will, and I think I think will know that it was there, but lately there's this overwhelming weight of glory if you will that were going to experience and it's it's gonna transform you know everything I and so I don't I don't. It's not that you know were to be up there in boy. I just don't remember. You know how we got here for kind of a thing know it's the sorrow, the pain is can it be wiped when you think that promise lighted beat we see throughout the Bible in places like the book of Isaiah and also in places like the book of Revelation, where God says I am going to wipe away every tear from your eyes. Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. That's the former things that are being referred to. I think there in Isaiah chapter 65 verse 17 and then in terms of work. This idea of vocation.

What we can to be doing in heaven.

Well we know were to be worshiping God. We note, we know were to be fellowship and with each other. We know also that work was not a part of the fall toilsome work was a part of the fall, but prior to the fall of Adam and Eve were were commanded to to tend the garden to work it into keep it and this was a part of their their worship. This was a part of their their service to the Lord as I think in the new creation. We are to be doing things that wonderful things and it's not to be toilsome.

It's gonna be that the best work imaginable to be full of joy and it's can it be an act of worship. Now, of course, how is this all gonna look in. Oh boy. We can only we can only imagine right now we have these pictures that are given to us in God's revelation in the Scriptures, but II think we can say is that you know are our minds right now can't can't fully comprehend how great how glorious it's going to be to be in the presence of the Lord there in the new creation with the people of God and so passages like this. Just give us a taste taste. The new heavens and the new earth of what we get to look forward to. Thanks for your call. Thanks much for your call. We persist like this is core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible and the Christian life. You can leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day at this number it's 833. The core 1-833-843-2673. There's a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners named Scott question what is God or priests and ministers like to know that not maybe there boy such a heartbreaking thing and not just heartbreaking for for the victims, but there is I think a deep anger that many of us feel not to feel when when Jesus rode into Jerusalem deal we refer to it as the triumphal entry yet. He's flipping over tables because the worship of God was being corrupted because people were being taken advantage of. He said zeal for your house has consumed me. Jesus is angry about the abuse of God's sheep and I think we should be as well. Now, does that mean that that that you know a person who has sinned in this way is beyond forgiveness. Well I wouldn't say to me I think I think maybe in the sense that maybe they've they've just so turned away and seared their conscious their acting in these was that that yes there there reserved for judgment, but I know that the grace of the gospel is big. Certainly, you know, the church needs to deal with these kinds of situations and remove people from positions of power and authority and get authorities involved communal police and and whatnot me this is just a terrible thing but one passage of Scripture that I would bring up in this discussion, and it's one that you know I think a lot of us have just sort of overlooked. It's in second Peter as Peter is talking about false teachers in the church today who, among other things secretly bring in destructive heresies, they have eyes full of adultery. They cannot cease from sinning. They take advantage of people. Listen to what he says. He says about them. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. These are very sobering words, God is saying here you know for some of these people I am reserving them under punishment until the day of judgment. They're not going to come to repentance. They have a judgment that is coming and that's actually what what Peter talks about in second Peter, I think for people who have been hurt it in. In some ways you don't hearing about God's righteous judgment here can be a comfort God takes this very seriously and so we in the church must take it seriously as well and I mentioned you this idea that God reserves them for judgment.

These false teachers who have taken advantage of the sheep abused them in ways that are horrific. It reminds me of what we see in the Old Testament in in first Samuel chapter 2, you had these priests half me and Phineas who were sinning against the people of God taking advantage of them sleeping around those kinds of things with with the with the people of God and in their rebuked but were told that they would not repent. First Samuel chapter 2 verse 25 because God willed to kill them. This, that's just terrifying sobering. God takes this very seriously and for some of these people.

God's judgment is is is coming and it's a week we cry out for healing for mercy especially on on victims obviously hold out the hope of the gospel always but for those who are who are persistent in this these false teachers will Peter is yes very strong words there in second Peter and and and I would I would point you there and I would say it just read second Peter because it's so clear.

There may the Lord bless you and bring healing to you and in whatever situations you are aware of and and maybe you've experienced in the yes my Lord be with you. Thanks for calling us this is core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez know and rely it will you and I have often spoken about the importance of churches having safety systems in their children's programs_programs I know your church does of my church does if so critical in this day and age that we are all aware that this is an actual problem that we need to be on guard and protect against 100% bill. Our church brought in an organization called grace. Grace stands for godly response to abuse in a Christian environment some years ago and they did a churchwide training for us and that was super helpful.

I recommend I recommended to I mean everybody if if you're part of the church and you guys haven't thought through this check out grace. I think their website is net grace.org and just really really helpful information there and you have to have accountability there has to be an awareness about the dangers that are very, very real unawareness about false teachers and wolves and people who creep into the church seeking to take advantage means what Paul told the Ephesian elders in acts chapter 20 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in, not sparing the flock look at the apostles were na�ve about this. We can't be na�ve about this, we have to take this very seriously and so needs to be a conversation or having in our churches and we have to make sure that were taking care of the sheep that God is entrusted to our care. I meant this core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez. We want to say thank you to a very special group of people who regularly support this program.

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This is from one of our listeners named Tina and she will thank you, thank God, or whatever, and I draw� I I now know I'm in the attic in the evening and in the Holy Spirit addressed that there is you know anything about, and now That warship Mary dating pray to her ally that I would like nature and date on Nick at Dallas is on understanding and Mary even scriptural thank you is a big question here really related Tina to write warship that I think sometimes and in non-Catholic circles non-Roman Catholic circles and Protestant circles. We can have kind of a very negative view of the Virgin Mary and I think that that's not helpful at all. I think when we look at Scripture and when she had this prominent role as the quote unquote mother of God. Now II use that phrase, and I know that that sounds probably shocking. As I say that we only mother of God in the sense that that the eternal son of God received his essence from Mary or began to be in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

No, not at all, but this is actually something was debated about in the ancient church in the ancient churches was wrestling with how we understand not, primarily who Mary was, but who Jesus is in the incarnation into what they said is that the eternal son of God in word of the father took flesh from the womb of the Virgin Mary and in that sense we can refer to Mary as the mother of God, the God bearer if you will, as a way not glorifying her, but of glorifying Jesus as I think you know it, we we ought to have them the right view of Mary and Mary in the Gospels points us to Christ, her son and if I think our focus is the focus of our piety of our prayers of our worship. It needs to be Jesus. It needs to be the holy Trinity. That's who we need to be devoted to air, and so I would say commit 33 days that commit 365 days to that because that's what we need now that doesn't mean we we want to be disrespectful or or rude.

You know, we have these kinds of discussions with friends were Roman Catholic but but the other.

The other issue here is, again, like I mentioned right worship is a God doesn't just care about the fact that he is worshiped, so many people think with a long as I'm sincere. I can do whatever I want and worship right like that.

That's all that God cares about me being sincere will know it's not just sincerity.

It's that were worshiping the Lord the way in which God calls us to worship him. Look at Leviticus chapter 10 you have these these two characters Nate Avina by who they approach the Lord the wrong way and God struck them down. God cares about how he's worship you thinking about the second commandment were God commanded you to his people not to make any images any idols. This is how the pagan world worships God.

Don't be like them, don't do that and so really fundamentally here Tina is that the question is how does God want to be worshiped. How does God want us to approach him.

Is it through the Virgin Mary. Well, I don't see that so much. In Scripture, even though she has this great position know were called to approach God the father through the son and in the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is our great advocate and mediator before the father so that we go to God and that's who we devote ourselves to and I think I think that Christ centered focus in worship is a good thing. It is something frankly that Mary would have wanted and so did I appreciate you asking this question in May.

May the Lord bless you and may the Lord bless your friendship with with this with this particular person is you guys continue to have these conversations and we pray that that's helpful has you or talk to your friend about this particular issue. This is core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez. Let's go to Viola in St. Louis, Missouri Viola, what's your question for Israel.

Thank you so much for your ministry.

Someone posted question to me and I thought about that, asked why what Adam included in the Hall of Fame.

You know� About it later not only lead in shelf life. One thing though you think that's a great question. So the next have never thought about why wasn't Adam included there in Hebrews chapter 11, where you have this great hall of faith that's given is that an indication that maybe Adam wasn't saved that he didn't end up having faithful. No I don't think so. You do see. After he sinned grievously there in the garden God clothing him and in God giving Adam and Eve. These promises yes there was curse associated with their sin, but God was still going to be with them used to call them to be fruitful and multiply, and to serve him and so that's I think that we can we can say that about Adam in. In particular, you do have in the hall of faith of Hebrews chapter 11 some discussion about Cain and Abel. So you have some of the early characters there in Genesis described in Hebrews chapter 11, but not Adam and and and frankly, I would just say you now chalk it up to the fact that the author, the Hebrews is focusing on a number of very specific stories accounts that he believes actually would have been really encouraging to the people he's writing to.

In particular, you do have Viola and an emphasis on Abraham on Abram on his sojourning's on the persecuted. The people of God were persecuted throughout history that leading of the patriarchs and and after them and part of that was important because the audience to the Hebrews they were experiencing persecution and difficulty for their faith in Jesus and so I think he's choosing the specific examples because they would they would have been particularly helpful to the Hebrew Christians that he was writing to not not as a way of the note, excluding Adam from you know heaven, if you will, by not including it here in the hall of faith and so you'll God bless you, thank you for for that question. Hope that was helpful in one of the things I love about the hall of faith is that it also includes some very flawed people, people who are not necessarily perfect and had sinless lives of their people that made mistakes and yet they're still the hall of faith. Yet every single person was messed up will all if people in the whole for Tubby II when I read the story of Samson and I'm just like blown away like how how dumb can you be, frankly. Read the story of Samson that they feel and then you realize this guy is in the hall of faith. Praise the Lord I because that just means there's hope for all of us right there's hope for me and so that that is I think one of the things really encouraging about that passage of Scripture. In particular, you're listening to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez, one of the ways you can ask a quick question is by emailing us here is our email address.

My want.

Make note of this and you can email us anytime and we try to go to war emails at least once a day to check out to some of the questions, you can write to us at questions at core, Christianity.com just the word questions at core, Christianity.com here's a question from Gretchen.

She says the Scripture says in second Peter 311 to 12 that we are to hasten the day of the Lord. Another translation says to speed its coming. How are we to do this. Yeah, this is this is in an excellent question. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved Peter said what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved in the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn, but according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. We been talking about already on on this program broadcast in particular that the new heavens and the new earth.

The new creation and the spending sometime earlier in second Peter this is this is really coming in the context of referring to the coming of the day of the Lord and being ready and living lives of godliness of righteousness holding this world loosely right instead of instead of clinging to this world and its treasures as if this world war word. The main thing was was our final home in in the sense of you of this present evil age him and Peter saying no no no no no no, since all please things are to be dissolved To live lives of holiness fixing our eyes on Jesus, serving him waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord. Now how do we hasten the coming of the day of the Lord.

I think the only possible explanation here at least that that I'm aware of is just this idea that the gospel is advancing in the world today. Jesus talked about the day of the Lord coming after the gospel had been preached throughout the whole world versus this is sort of call to get the gospel out to the ends of the earth, and that came from that came from the lips of our Lord Jesus. I think that that's something that Peter is probably picking up on here. He's talking about right is in the context of living godly lives serving the Lord and thinking about that which is most important. Well, what is more important than the advancement of the gospel in the world today than people coming into a right understanding of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us and so Peter is encouraging that, as is he's talking about the coming of the Lord, and he says and I don't don't don't overlook this God is not slow to fulfill his promise.

But he's not willing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance and we pray that for you. You would reach repentance knowing Jesus and the grace he has for.

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