How Should We Address Segregation in the Church Today?

How should we address segregation in the church today. That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity why 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. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites and you can always email us at questions at core, Christianity.com and Israel on this MLK day.

I thought it might be good to start with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and there are so many great ones, but this is one that I think applies to every follower of Christ.

Dr. King said life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others. Great question for all of us – just every day yeah you know God doesn't need our good works.

But our neighbors do I think this is Luther. He said that in and you know what were justified freely by the work of Christ, so that we might love our neighbors as God calls us to. And so I love I love that. Let's go to a question that came in earlier this week are actually last-minute last week.

This is from one of our listeners named Pam. You first chapter 16 Jesus and that is Mary and Joseph was married and is allergy Jesus to Mary instead of just because Joseph was married to Mary. He was very signed in God's son. This is yeah hey thanks for that question.

Pam and I think you know just pretty simply through marriage legally. We could say that Jesus was the son of Joseph, is what I want to think that having highlighted there in in Matthew, it really and in the entire Gospel of Matthew is Jesus is the Messiah of the one who is expected by the prophets over and over again in the book of Matthew you have this refrain you as as the prophet said and then Matthew will quote a prophecy from the book of Isaiah are from the minor prophets that one of the things it was central to the understanding of the coming Messiah was that he would be king rule effectively. Maybe even more than this idea of of a priestly Messiah with the with the people were looking forward to as they thought about a Messiah who was coming was a ruler, a king, and so Matthew is is letting his readers know right from the very beginning that Jesus is the one who comes in the lineage of King David. Remember you have that the Davidic covenant made in second Samuel chapter 7 written where God promised to always have someone on on David's throne. And so Jesus is coming in in that line he sees the son of David that the true king and that's what Matthew is highlighting any any true king I in part through that through that relation ship to Joseph as his as his father and so appreciate your question, it really is actually a need in terms of thinking through the Gospel of Matthew in understanding what Matthew is trying to communicate to those who read his gospel, Jesus the Messiah King and so thank you Pam again for that question. Thanks, Pam percent you being a listener to core Christianity. Our phone lines are open right now.

If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life will be taken calls for the next 20 minutes or so, so hop on the phone. Give us a call were also open to questions about doctrine or theology or maybe what's going on in our world today and how it applies to your Christian life how to live out the Christian faith. Here is the phone number you can call us at 833 the core that's 833-843-2673 well one of the things that we want to mention her at the beginning of a new year is that a lot of people start reading the Bible and they wonder you know how I do it how I really get into God's word and applied correctly to my life. We have a wonderful resource that will help you get started off on the right track. Yet if you started reading the Bible recently as a part of a Bible reading, playing a read through the Bible and your kind of a thing that this resource will really help you. It's called how to read the Bible.

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I just wanted to your thoughts a bit on just issues of racial injustice, how those things kind of unfolded in the last couple years in the church employee in our church wanted to kind of addressed some of these issues in early 2020 and as a result of that, there was a lot of fallout there is families who laugh that we organized the book club around the topic and people are not super happy that either an income resulted a lot of people leaving the church and also in the pastors denied being accused of being a part of some kind of leftist agenda kind of thing and so I just wanted to ask you, why do you think that these issues are so prevalent in the church today and we've heard similar stories from any other carnations and so what you think this is such a hot topic right now and what are some helpful ways we can address it money.

Hey Matt, well, God bless you in the ministry that you're doing as an assistant pastor and in wanting to address some of the. The controversy will not issues of today really according to the word of God. That's the most important thing in US and a wise is so contentious why is it such a such a thing. When a church says hey what we want to talk about racial injustice, or what now I think part of the problem is people are way too heavily shaped, not by Scripture, not by the word of God, but by their political affinities and so they hear certain things like the problem of racism and they think oh that's something that that liberals talk about, you know, and so if organ address these issues and then we must be veering in that direction when when the reality is less Scripture speaks to these things. There a lot of people who have questions were struggling through you know these these these topics and they're looking for answers and it's a shame. I think when instead of going to to the word of God because were afraid to go toward God were pretty talking about it in in being accused of, you know, being liberal or something like that that they that these topics are just avoided altogether and so I think I think having something like a like a book club or a study or a preaching series.

This is totally fine and I think I think that's a good thing. We've actually done stuff like this at the church that I pass directly some years ago we had kind of a discussion group on some of these issues and I think it was illuminating. You know in SOI. I want to encourage you in that one of the beautiful things about the church. The new covenant community is that through the preaching of the gospel, God is bringing together all different kinds of sinners we think about the Gentile inclusion in the New Testament in in in places like the book of Ephesians and in the book of Galatians. This was the huge controversy because you essentially had a non-integrated church. It was just it was just the Jews transformed into an integrated church is God was welcoming in the Gentile nations and there was a lot of there was a lot of arguing. There was a lot of fighting with one of the reasons why you had the Jerusalem Council in acts chapter 15, but it was it was an implication of the reality of what God had done in the gospel in in bringing the nations to himself the church is not just one group of people such as Jews, it's, it's all the people of the world gathering at the foot of the cross and I think about what the apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter 2.

These writing to a group of believers, many of whom were were not Jews.

Please remember that one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the on circumcision by what is called the circumcision which is made in the flesh by hands.

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world that's that's what used to be. Paul says to the Christians in Ephesus, but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought nearby the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace was made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace at me. Here he sees talking about the church being this this community of faith that consist of people from every tribe and tongue and nation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And so when our churches don't reflect that when our churches don't reflect the community that therein. I think it's fair to ask questions as an antenna and to challenge that on the basis of Scripture and disabled. Here's what the gospel does is with the community look like that the gospel creates and sometimes when you do that that you do ruffle feathers would much rather be comfortable not challenge the assumptions. I think that that are out of line with the implications of the gospel, but it's our job is pastors it's your job as a pastor to do just that on to help your people live in light of what God has done in Jesus Christ and part of that is this this beautiful picture of diversity within the church, reflecting the community through the preaching of the gospel and so may God bless you and be with you as you guys seek to do just that and thank you for for even us a call right counsel.

Thank you for that.

April you're listening to core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. We would love to hear from you. Our phone lines will be open for the next 10 minutes or so and here's the number to call. It's 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833 the court give us a call right now.

Let's go to Jacob who's calling in for Missouri Jacob what your question for atrial market: you are talking about operator and on which was the belief that the book of Revelation dating was incorrect and it already happened.

Now I heard articles saying from Paul that they address the issue in the letters to the churches and my question was, was he addressing the issue that the resurrection already happened in the second coming of Christ and all those things and I'll just want to get your opinion. I don't personally hold that that III think it hasn't happened that I cried coming, hasn't happened, but I think it's kind of you know I don't know. Jake thinks that question and you are right 100% right.

The second coming of Jesus Christ has not happened, the resurrection of the dead. The final resurrection. The consummation of all things that has not happened and so anybody who says and this was something that was addressed by the apostles in the New Testament, both in the book of first Corinthians, as well as Paul's letters to the Thessalonians because there were there were some who were suggesting that the resurrection had already taken place. Now there are there are different hazardous schools of thought here with regard to predators a minute that the full prioress view, we might say that the idea that all of those things have already taken place like a week we can rule that out the. The other sort of idea is that while many of these things were fulfilled.

Some of the prophecies that you see in places like Matthew chapter 24 were fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and I think that's I think that's it and view that can be held that and that there there some evidence there in the text of Scripture that's the case but anyone who says that the resurrection of Jesus.

The resurrection of the dead of believers has already taken place and that was maybe just a spiritual or something like that which is which is sort of where where this ends up going know that that would be a false view that we need to rule out from the get go. We are looking forward to the resurrection of the dead and life of the world to come. Christ rose physically bodily and because he rose from the dead. We know with certainty that all those who are in him are also going to raise from the dead, bodily. This is a part of Paul's argument in first Corinthians chapter 15, but that has not yet happened. That's gonna happen on the last day.

I think contemporaneous with the second coming with with the consummation of all things and so it's something we're looking forward to. And you're right on Jacob for not rejecting the idea that that the resurrection is Artie taken place. God bless Jacob thanks for your call and Nader. We actually have another call that deals with the end times. This one is from G in St. Louis G what your question for pastor. Israel I'm doing well how you doing good while they are you and you don't believe in the rapture of the church mean that the second coming thing. We are in it at a rapid second coming. You come back to earth, that in common. We go to meet him in the air so you can explain that David thing on it. Thank you AG thank you for that question.

Sounds like you been listening closely to the things that I've said so yes it will 01. The idea of the rapture comes from places like first Thessalonians chapter 4 and people will point to these texts and say well it seems like here. It's not talking about the second coming, but something different, something distinct, the coming of Jesus for his bride. If you will for her to be caught up in the air and then you have a period of tribulation and then you have the final second come. That's one view that Christians have held people who believe in the Bible and the authority of Scripture. It's not a view that was that was really popular throughout the history of the church. It's more of it of a new view G and I think it's important for people to know that because the even though it's widespread, especially in North America.

We sort of assumed what everybody believes in a rapture historically limit the rapture and in the sense that I described historically. That was not the case at all. Typically leave these passages like first Thessalonians 4 where were taken or understood as just referring to the second coming.

The final edit the final damages there's one second coming of Jesus is not a rapture in a secret coming of Jesus, we might say. And then he comes again at another point but one second coming of Jesus Christ in first Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 15, Paul wrote this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive and who are left until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep their Paul uses the Greek word produce eon is means you no appearing or coming oftentimes used in reference to the second coming and as he continues to sit it seems that this is what he saw him as he continues there in verse 17 he says. Then we who are alive, who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

That's what you're not referring to in that phrase caught up is the Greek word heart pod so and it's what what some people so that's that's where it's talking about the rapture but in the context here, both in verse 15 of chapter 4 and then as he continues in chapter 5 it's it's very clear that he's talking about the second coming of Jesus. The final judgment, the day of the Lord, the in in chapter 5, verse two says you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night and so it's my view. And again I think this was that the majority view throughout the history of the church that Paul is not talking about two different comings here rapture of the church and then a second coming, which is this the second coming, the one coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver his bride. At that point and to judge the whole world and actually you get this idea again beginning in second Thessalonians chapter 1 where it talks about the coming of the Lord Jesus. Second Thessalonians 1 a in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in its at that time that he brings relief if you will, to the saints on the earth who are experiencing persecution and so let me just close with this GM and you're picking up on on some distinctions here. I'm not saying that people that hold to this belief in the rapture.

They're not Christians that that's not a view that faithful believers in Jesus have have that can't embrace that can get a sad I don't think it most lines up with the teaching of the New Testament so appreciate your your calling in and asking for clarification and and pray the Lord blesses you as you continue to study his word here listening to core Christianity with pastor Gabriel Sanchez.

Just a reminder we have this great resource available to your future started reading the Bible for the first time it's called how to read the Bible. It's a 10 week study that can be used in personal devotions, small groups, or Sunday school class and you can get your don't yours for donation of $20 or more@corechristianity.com. Just go to our website.

Core, Christianity.com/Bible and take a look for that it will really help your own personal Bible reading personal devotions. Let's go to Bethany in Orlando, Florida Bethany what your question for pastor.

Israel to which old black cleaning clean and potentially have bodies God is talking to Moses was a ball of light to eat what is unclean. But then Jesus came and the enemy, but none so we were wondering and I left it on all on yes yeah Bethany, we are no longer as Christians under the new covenant balance to though those rules the ceremonial laws relating to food, clean and unclean foods in a couple of passages in the New Testament make this absolutely clear you have one.

Peter's vision in acts chapter 10 verses nine and following where he is told directly by the Lord in a vision in arise, Peter Killen. He sees this sort of blanket descending with all of these unclean animals on it and the Lord says go ahead, you know, Peter. Have added beer your 80s. He's concerned unite is no way got. I've never done this in and he has the response from God. The divine response what God is made clean.

Do not call common so you have this this shift in redemptive history. You also have that the testimony is you said of our Lord Jesus himself or he talked about what defiles a person in Mark chapter 7 verses 14 and follies is not what goes into the mouth that defiles you.

But what comes out of your heart.

That's the issue it's it's our sinful hearts that need cleansing here not to be purified by not eating pork you need a brand-new heart.

You need to be regenerated and Jesus says in in Matthew seven Mark seven verse 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled and then you have this comment here given by Mark. Thus he declared all foods clean and he said what comes out of a person is what defiles him.

And so while we do have those food laws part of the old covenant you describe in places like Leviticus very clear in the New Testament that we are no longer bound to those laws as the people of God. Now under the new covenant, that doesn't mean that we should just eat in unhealthy ways and gorge ourselves in and whatnot. It probably still a wise way to eat food.

In fact, and I know that there is but were not made unclean. If you will because we eat shellfish or are our porker.

That kind of the thing and and again. Those two passages. Acts 10 and marks Mark seven. Make that absolutely clear. Thanks thanks much for your question.

This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. Let's go to an email question we received from one of our listeners. This is from commodity and she says if I don't speak in tongues doesn't mean that I'm not saved. Is it really the only sign of salvation as preached by many pastors.

I here today. Yeah Kim on if if somebody is telling you that the sign of salvation. The sign that you truly belong to Jesus is that you speak in tongues. Well, they they don't sound like they don't know the first thing about interpreting the Bible. Paul makes it very clear in first Corinthians chapter 12 that not everyone is even in the first century spoke in tongues. Not everyone had that gift. The body of Christ is gifted in unique diverse ways and not every Christian has the same gift if if they did, the body would be quite unhealthy. Not everyone is a hander and I reflect, and so I would just say you don't have to worry about that were saved by faith in Jesus Christ united to him by the grace of the Holy Spirit by the work of God in our lives born again and the fruit of that salvation is is the fruit of the spirit. But the apostle Paul describes it in places like Galatians chapter 5, love, joy, peace, patients those are the signs of the spirit if if you will, that should be cultivated in us as believers and so may God bless you and be with you.

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