Should Pastors Call Out Government Leaders?

Pastors call out government leaders. This is 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. Here's our phone number 8833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also feel free to leave us a voicemail that number.

If you can't get through. And you can post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts anytime and email us a question at questions at core, Christianity.com first up today let's go to Michael calling in from Kansas. Michael what your question for Pastor Israel hey Michael about God being the light. Things were not created what God himself, and dark light was created great.

So how can God be the light light was rated after God's. I think the question a couple of things when you're looking at chapter 1 of the book of Genesis. One thing that a lot of scholars, especially scholars of the ancient near East will say is you have the sort of polemic there an argument against the creation stories that were floating around in that day. At that time. It's God setting himself up against and over and above these these other stories were out there and typically what you had in those stories was creation out of conflict, dualism, light versus darkness this great cosmic battle this war out of which came creation humanity, the world really some of those some of those ancient near Eastern creation. It's quite interesting when you think about why the gods created humanity.

Genesis is totally different in Genesis in Genesis chapters 1 and following you don't have creation out of conflict, but you don't have dualism, light versus darkness you have.

Instead, God, the great sovereign and creator king making all things from nothing for his own glory totally different than anything that was you know around at that time.

This is just absolutely unique and quite wonderful when when you look at it. You see there in Genesis chapter 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, let there be light and there was light and of the picture that we have here of the creationist is the sort of uninhabited wasteland. This darkness, this void and God makes he creates another. There's actually an in the Old Testament book of Isaiah kind of a neat parallel to this is seen in Isaiah chapter 45 where you get the language of of inhabiting get what what's being stated there. Genesis 1 is a God is making the world he's making it a place where creatures can live where creatures can dwell. Isaiah chapter 45 verse 18 for thus says the Lord, who created the heavens. He is God who formed the earth and made it, he established it. He did not created empty, he formed it to be inhabited.

I am the Lord, and there is no other note was this is the true God, the creator God actually made all things and to whom we owe our allegiance in a little bit earlier in Isaiah 45 and I think this speaks directly to your question, Michael sort of interesting. The languages used there. Isaiah 45 verse seven God speaks and he says I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things now there in the context of Isaiah 45 you have a prophecy about Cyrus. This king that was going to come and help restore the people in the temple but but what's very clear is that God is alone. If you will, in the creation scene and he's making all things, not because he's coerced is not out of conflict teeth acting as this free sovereign who created the universe the whole world. Everything in it for his own glory. That's what the biblical text says Michael appreciate that question. God bless your listening to core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez. Let's go to Joseph who is calling and from Benedict Kansas hi Joseph how are you sure I want to thank you again for the question he entered concerning who is the day on on this whole thing that was explained I am a messianic Jewish pastor. I am a go thong I am from hello mold you would call Solomon, who is from David you would call David and I can walk that back to Abraham which you probably don't have time for. So I just want to thank you again.

I pastor a church in a town that unfortunately when I came here with predominantly KKK neo-Nazi tried everything in their power to push us out. They shoot the windows at our antique drawn ground church. The right thing one thing and another, we held on we held on in the God came through. They moved out to do and move so they moved so people are getting saved in our little town and now people are moving in by the München we we started out at 67 people were over 200 right now I Joseph one.

Thank you for your encouragement to May the Lord bless you as you seek to be faithful to him and to share the love of Jesus and the message of Jesus with others. Sounds like you guys of experience some some persecution there. May the Lord keep you guys try, let me just a quick prayer for you, Joseph, and the work that you're doing. Father, thank you for her.

Joseph, thank you for the work that you've given them to do there in that small town that is and I pray that you would bless him that you would draw him close to you that you would help him Lord God to share the love that you have with his neighbors that people would be called to repentance and faith and that they would experience the life changing power of the gospel through my brothers ministry and so would you be with him. Would you bless him and would you use it mightily there in that town. In Jesus name, amen and amen your listening to core Christianity and if you're one of our regular listeners. We appreciate that so much.

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Let's go back to the phones.

This is a voicemail received from one of our listeners named Viola ministry got everyone out.

Congratulations on your new dish and a daughter of a question on the subject of politics. Recently I heard a pass to speak out about the present US ministration and found it did to me. I don't recall I but Jesus spoke out about see that the Roman government is cool. A place of politics.

Thank you yellow thank you for your encouragement.

Thank you for listening and appreciate you sister what what a good question. What an important question, especially when we do seems like over the last few years with contentious election and a number of other things. Certainly with with the pandemic right like this is been a time where were more politically divided. It seems than ever and that has certainly bled into the church and there are pastors who will take very strong political stands, even encouraging people to vote a certain way or saying that if you don't vote this way you're not a Christian binding people's consciences so on and so forth and so I think that this is a timely question that you are asking.

First I'll say this, the church does have a prophetic voice in the world today, meaning there are number think of things that happen around us in society that we are called according to Scripture due to addressed to apply the truth of God's word.

The truth of God's law to the world around us and this is up. I think part of being a Christian, a part of being a pastor is having that that prophetic voice not I would say that that's different than you know politics in the pulpit.

I think that just being faithful to preach God's word. Well, I get nervous and uncomfortable when you have pastors who are sort of steering away from faithfully teaching the text of Scripture, and they become ambassadors for a particular political party know where ambassadors mean of the apostle Paul says of Jesus Christ and his kingdom, but it's that kingdom that we represent. We are not called to be representatives of another earthly kingdom. First and foremost an investment were called to preach. We are called to pray for civil ruler civil leaders at something that we are commanded to do.

First Timothy chapter 2 Paul said. First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth know is what what what Paul is doing there right now in in and let me just say that that the leaders of the government leaders in his day, they were not very favorable toward our kind toward Christianity and yet he's not writing to the church is singing a winded wing to stage a rebellion we need to revolt know he's trying to advance a different kind of kingdom. The kingdom that grows to the proclamation of the gospel in the hearts that are transformed by the grace of God he says is we do that, pray for the civil leaders who are who are over you, that we might continue to live lives that are bitter, peaceful that we can serve the Lord and honor the Lord in all that we do. But it doesn't seem like the apostle Paul is trying to take over the government per se know that that's not what's happening here. He's establishing through the preaching of the gospel, a different kind of government, if you will honor the kingdom of God which is manifested first and foremost in the local church and so it's the job of pastors to be ambassadors of that kingdom, preaching the word addressing the problems of today. Calling out sin where their sin and sometimes are going to be persecuted because that you think of John the Baptist rebuking Harriet for his his sinful affairs. What what did that lead to for John the Baptist as he spoke the truth to the leaders in his day will lead to his persecution to his being killed sometimes being faithful to the word of God calling out the sin in society is going to lead to persecution. We have to be careful that we don't confuse the kingdoms of this world with the kingdom of God and and I'm afraid that that happens sometimes. Today in churches that the people are not able to differentiate those those two things and so we need to be faithful to the text of Scripture preaching the Bible and applying the word of God to the issues of today and end really seeking first as Jesus said the kingdom of God. His righteousness to the proclamation of the gospel. Thank you again Viola for for that question. May the Lord bless you. May Lord bless your church or listening to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez and if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. You can always send us an email.

Here's our email address its questions at core, Christianity.com and were open to questions about doctrine or theology or how your your Christian walk intersects with today's culture. Again its questions at core, Christianity.com Pamela wrote us or to us and she says this.

Have you ever been told that the stories in the Bible are just fables to teach us morals or do you believe stories such as the woman at the well and the good Samaritan really took place. Yeah, I mean this is something that people say of course, rather than just a bunch of stories is a just a bunch of fables and I would some of the questions what what are you talking about.

First and foremost, you know what what is a you talking about the parable of the sower you know some these parables are you are you saying you know that that that wasn't a historical event that took place what it was. Sure, Jesus is telling a parable, but for talking about the woman at the well and in John chapter 4. Some of the other passages for yeah I think that these things did actually happen as they were recorded by the disciples of our Lord for us to read about Dan and with regard to the other things you like the miracles that you see in Scripture.

Yes, because things actually happen were talking with the God who made all things out of nothing. Nothing is too hard for this God is this what he says and what what we tell Abraham and and Sarah when he promises them a child, even though there there advanced in age, they haven't been able to conceive these is anything too hard for the Lord. The problem is we just we don't believe we just lack but we don't will believe that God is who he says he is and that he does what he says he does or did what he said he did nothing.

Would we approach the Texas which was a look. This is what God is revealed to us in his word as events that took place and so we receive that by faith in the. The neat thing is is a lot of historical evidence to corroborate the things that we see in Scripture. I think even things like the resurrection of Jesus Christ and again and again, especially when were talking about the miracles as we know it in the 20th century there was this big push to serve do away with all of the miraculous in the Bible. The modern man is not can accept miracles, we need to go back to the essence of religion, which is really is not the miracles it's it's love each other.

Be nice people you know that God is the father of all people and and we are just a sort of universal brotherhood of mankind. That's how working to save Christianity because the modern man can accept things like the resurrection from the dead, and in the parting of the Red Sea and so we need we need to go back to the essence of Christian the problem was with the people who made this case are and were arguing this way as they were actually doing away with the essence of Christianity. The Col. of Christianity essence of Christianity is not be a good person. It's not love your neighbor and do nice things that God calls us to.

It's his law, but the essence of Christianity is the gospel what God has accomplished for us to forgive our sins to redeem us so that we might have a relationship with the creator with the true and the living God. And that happened through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is why Paul in first Corinthians chapter 15 says look if Jesus didn't actually rise from the dead were in our sin still where work where I mean, it might as well just quit preaching.

Why am I suffering like I'm suffering. Paul says in first Corinthians 15 why am I experiencing the persecutions the famine the nakedness. All these things that I've experienced. Why am I going through it if it's just a fairytale. If Jesus didn't really rise from the dead brothers and sisters, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. You only live once. Stop wasting your life no Jesus Christ really did rise from the dead and because of that we have hope.

We have hope for ourselves for our sins that they'll be forgiven that we can stand before God, justified, and right in his sight that we can have a relationship of peace with him and we have hope for this world.

The created world that we live in that is struggling where we see wars and in all these other things. Famine just this people hurting each other sinning against it. We have hope for this world and for this creation because of what Christ has done in paying for our sins and rising from the dead and so yeah, I feel strongly about this because I think that when we try to minimize what the Scripture teaches. We say the miracles aren't that big of a deal to really just we should love each other were doing away with the very heartbeat. The very essence of the Christian faith were doing away with core Christianity and it turns the gospel into not good news at all. It turns it into good advice. You know be a good person that's not what what the Gospels about the gospel is about your sins through Jesus are forgiven you have hope and that's that's what we need to proclaim a man preacher brother Sanchez yeah so well said. I just appreciate that so much. So thank you that's what the gospel is all about.

We can we can never forget that this is core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez's one of the ways you can ask a question is by leaving us a voicemail and our voicemail operates 24 hours a day. We try to review our voicemails each day. Here's the number to call if you'd like to leave a question it's 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673.

There's a voicemail that came in yesterday. Why I learned that the a lot a lot we don't day wondering why. Overall, it down.or light in general but I know there is more behind yeah super good question, and of course Jesus when he summarize the law isolate the love God is the 10 Commandments are fulfilled in this love God perfectly and love your neighbor as yourself. Is this something we are called to in the 10 commitments are basically a summary of what we sometimes referred to as the moral law, the 10 commitment to the ducklings is what God calls us to. In one sense that this is written on on our hearts. This is sort of call to worship God. We know that he is the creator Romans chapter 1 says this, we often suppress that knowledge sinfully again. That's what the possible says in Romans chapter 1. The call also to love our neighbor not to steal, not to murder not to lose them a visit. Things you see universally across cultures and so this the sort of natural law.

This moral law, something we see all over the place summarized again in the 10 Commandments and is something that were called to end and summarize even more simply by Jesus in the, the commandment to love God and to love our neighbor and there are a number of laws though is as you bring up in the Old Testament that we don't follow today. Sometimes there is there is what we refer to as the threefold division of the law will talk about this so you have the civil law that was for Israel as a political body under the Old Testament. Speaking about the little law specifically that governed them as a nation as a body politic.

Well that that's, you know, not in place today, God's God's kingdom isn't the then made a political nation of Israel on earth today. It's the church to the proclamation of the gospel, so we don't we don't have the civil law in place that would obey those laws as they did in Israel and the old covenant. You also have the ceremonial law. Laws were associated with their worship with the cult and by cold I mean that the sort of temple. The system of worship that they had with the sacrifices in the incense and all of those types and shadows is things. It sort of pointed forward to a greater reality that was fulfilled in Jesus. John the Baptist said of Jesus, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

In other words, that the temple system with tooth with its ceremonies, its religious ceremonies pointed us forward to Jesus and the new covenant added to the time that were in right now and so we don't we don't do those things. I see you have you have the that the civil on the ceremonial law that have been abrogated today because of where we are in redemptive history. But you also have again the moral law summarized in the 10 Commandments, and we do still that we do still believe in those we do still a you know abide by the use that I can come to to abolish the law but to fulfill it, so he's fulfilled in our place were no longer under the laws of sort of works covenant you are trying to obey the law for that God will love us know we've been justified freely by the grace of God in Jesus Christ to the perfect work of Jesus that he offered for us and and the forgiveness of our sins and now were free by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the righteous requirements of the laws Paul says in Romans chapter 8. Now we don't do that perfectly. No one keeps the law of God perfectly. We we we don't were not justified by obedience to the law were justified by Jesus is perfect obedience and the forgiveness that we have and so as Christians, you know, we continued it to seek the Lord to love God, to the best of our ability in the spirit of God is working in us. To that end, but we don't we don't know seek to reestablish the civil law are the ceremonial law of Israel. We are led by the law of liberty, if you will, as Paul refers to it in the New Testament appreciate that question and that may God bless you seek to honor him and as you seek to love him and to love your neighbor as yourself. You know Israel I'm just I'm struck by the fact that there are some pastors today, even some well-known pastors that say really. We shouldn't be talking about the Old Testament that we shouldn't be preaching from the Old Testament because the new covenant has completely replace that. I'm wondering how you would respond that essay minutes crazy currently preaching to the book of Genesis.

Other books I've read through the Old Testament preached to the book of Daniel. I preach to the book of Leviticus, which I know you think a boy that must've been a boring sermon series, but it wasn't. It was exciting. It was good. We need to be in in the Scriptures. All Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It's for us for our edification for our growth and so we need the Old Testament and the New Testament to understand who God is. So we need.

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