If I was the Only Person on Earth, Would Christ Still Have Died for Me?

Does God hear everyone's prayers or only those who believe in Jesus. That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity well welcome. It is so great to have you with us. This is the place where we answer your questions about the Christian life every day. I'm Bill Meyer along with Pastor Israel Sanchez and you can call us right now with your questions at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 and Israel earlier this week, our good friend Dr. Michael Horton explained that he's not to be able to join us on the program on a regular basis, but he will be joining us periodically to weigh in on certain questions and you just share what Michael will be up to hello and I am really excited that he is to be joining us from time to time still to answer questions about the faith but I think you really can be focusing on his role as editor-in-chief of the we've grown so much over the last years. The core and and he still working to help get the word of the gospel on as I've said before, you know, the way I got to know Mike was as a professor.

He was one of my profs in seminary teaching doctrine of God. Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Things like that so he can continue to teach the next generation and train pastors.

One of the things I know that he loves to do and I'm excited for that. He teaches hundreds of seminary students every year and is just an awesome prophet had a chance to sit on one of his classes myself. So just appreciate him so much during this whole coronavirus crisis April 1 of the things that we want to do here on core Christianity is share some of the good news stories that have been happening around the country and here's one of those I just love this.

I think you will to Riley Anderson is 12 years old.

She lives in Madison, South Dakota, and because of the coronavirus. She is isolated at home and she's taking all of her classes online.

But for Riley, the algebra concept of graphing of function just didn't make any sense to her, so she emailed her teacher for help. Well soon. The doorbell rang and she saw her teacher, Mr. Chris Wada standing on her porch holding a whiteboard and a marker will allow us to live just right across the street so Mr. baba picked up his whiteboard headed over for a special one-on-one lesson one that complied with all the social distancing rules. He stood on Riley sport. You went through three math equations with her. She stood on the other side of your screen door, nodding her head following along and taking notes. How is that for great customer service. I think that that's the kind of math teacher that I needed because I still have a hard time with algebra bill so Riley.

I love it.

Well, let's jump right in to one of our listener questions for today and Amber connected with us on our Facebook page and she says if I don't produce enough fruit or loved people enough. Does that mean I won't be saved. I really do want to love others, though I know the mark of a true Christian is love, but I don't feel like I have enough of it. Now Israel. How would you respond Amber Amber thank you for that question.

You know the first thing I would say is no answer your question if you don't produce enough router love enough. Does that mean I'm not safe will love is the fulfillment of the law and on one occasion Jesus had religious teacher come to him. Matthew chapter 22 of the teacher asked him what is the greatest commandment in the law and remember what Jesus responded. Amber Jesus said to this religious teacher.

The greatest commandment is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind when you think about that right. Each one of us has to say I fall short of that, I think all of us are wanting to grow in our love for each other and for the Lord and certainly if I was saved by my perfect love by my perfect obedience. I would be in big trouble and so this is where the distinction that you probably heard on the program before through a frequent listener that sticks between the law in the gospel is so important. The law says here's what you need to do and in the law calls us ultimately to love, perfect love. Oh that's good. Love is a good thing but no one is saved by how well they love that ultimately that's not the good news of the Christian faith and was so troubling, Amber's a lot of people think that's the good news of Christianity.

I remember talking to someone a couple years back was visiting our church and and they had grown up sort of nominally Christian and I asked what is the gospel and they responded by saying well I think it's keep the 10 Commandments you want to be a good person. We should love each other right. Love is a good thing is that actually what you just told me this is what the law is. That's what God calls us to the gospel is the good news of how even though we fall short of that God is made a way for us to experience his grace is forgiveness. His love and it's his love, Amber. That saves you and so I think it's it's great that you have this longing to love.

I think what you need to do is rest in the fact that Jesus has loved you perfectly that love led him to the cross to bear all your sin so that you could be forgiven even when you don't love perfectly and justify right in God's sight. Your free to love is not in order to earn God's approval because you've already received it in Christ. While Israel what a great response and you know I am struck by how many of our listeners regularly email us or call us and they ask about something that they need to do to earn God's favor and really what the gospel is all about is not what we do, but what is been done for us by Jesus Christ, and it's isn't it sad that so many people seem to be just sorta stuck in this this place of shame and guilt and feel like I'm just not doing enough for God.

It really is sad and it just goes to show how easy it is for us to miss the gospel.

I mean it so natural for us to think that the gospel is about something that I'm doing to earn God's favor to earn God's love to slip into this is as followers of Jesus.

It's that sort of our default setting so we have to be reminded that it's more about God and what he's done than what were doing is not to say that what we do is not important. God doesn't call us to love and to obedience. He does with the love and obedience in light of what he's already done. Like John said we love because he first loved us. Okay, we have a related question from someone calling him and let's go to that call right now you spoke about.

You don't know the law better than the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. That ended with the new covenant. When Jesus died, and took over our sin or if we should be studying towards law. Thank you, Deborah, you think about that statement. Jesus made you referring to his statement in Matthew chapter 5 verse 20 were he's talking to the crowd. This is his sermon on the Mount and Jesus said, I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Now you see have to imagine how that must've sounded to the people. Jesus was preaching to on that day when they thought about the scribes and the Pharisees. They thought these people are the really faithful religious elite mean they love God. They they obey God's law there once were trying to emulate. So, for Jesus to say hey your righteousness has to exceed the errors that would've been shocking that Jesus know something about the scribes and the Pharisees, the crowd doesn't know the scribes and the Pharisees amuses that youth youth over and over again in the Gospels.

They are filled with religious hypocrisy actually in John chapter 5 when Jesus is talking to the religious leadership uses them search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life in these Scriptures that testify of me. And you're not willing to come to me that you may have life is over and over again. One of the things that we see in the Scriptures is this call is we are just saying to follow God and to love God perfectly.

That's the law. That's what people thought the Pharisees were doing what they weren't. They were hypocrites. Jesus is trying to do is try to do here in the sermon that he's trying to show us our inability our need of God's grace.

Why delete us to himself and so I don't think that this this sort of call ended. If you will with the new covenant. I think that it's the same call that we even here under the new covenant. The call of the law. It's the preaching of the law is meant to lead us to Christ, so that we might receive the blessings of the new covenant, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with what the new covenant as is described in places like Jeremiah in jolting the profits over and over. Talk to Beth about this new covenant that God was good to make with his people. He was going to forgive all of their sins and right is law on their hearts will that's what we experience now in Jesus Christ. While that is such a critical distinction Israel and I appreciate you so much for responding.

I again I think of for all of us to really get the depth of God's love for us and the truth of the fact that we are completely forgiven.

Apart from what we do is just something that all of us need to think appreciate on a daily basis, especially with Easter just having passed yeah you know realizing what God did for us. The gravity of that it's so significant you know and and I was just thinking Bill going back to that passage and and Jesus preaching before the crowd how shocked they must've been to hear him say that about the Pharisees know we have a tendency even as Christians to look at people to look at man and to put them on a pedestal. I remember years ago after church, talking to an older, wiser brother in the Lord and I was going on and on about this preacher that I just discovered that I really liked and you know how great of a preacher he was and how holy he was in and so on and so for those that the newer believer in this brother in the Lord.

He kinda looked at me was nodding his head, and after a while he just said atrial what you remember one thing.

There's one shepherd of the sheep was referring to it that all obviously she is and I wasn't say you know don't listen. The pastors are God doesn't use other sort of under shepherds. He was just think, you know, your eyes are on this guy your your your all focused on this pastor, but put your eyes on Jesus, and I think that's one of the things that Jesus is doing there in Matthew five verse 20 is is the people look at the Pharisees and the scribes they saw them as these examples of holiness. And Jesus knows actually there hypocrites. What you need to do is look to me and that's what we all need to do the same thing can happen to us in the modern day with the Christian celebrities right we can, hold them up.

Whether it's a Christian music artist or an actor or whoever it is in God does not want us to go idolize someone and you look away from him. Our focus is to be on Jesus Christ and what he's done for us. Absolutely let's go to a Facebook question that came in a drill Donna posted on Facebook.

How do I develop a love for reading my Bible you know that's a great question Donna. I you know I think that a lot of people when they open up the Scripture sometimes you know we do it we feel like I'm not really getting anything out of this.

I wish I loved reading the Bible more.

Let me just say it's okay to discipline yourself to read scripture even when you don't feel like reading the Bible fact, I think it's something that's really really important me. I use the example oftentimes if of going to the gym and a lot of people don't love going to the gym but they make a habit of it. Bill you were telling me just the other day. You know that you like to go on these 20 mile bike rides. The I'm sure that that's not always the most exciting thing or the thing that you want to do when you wake up in the morning, but you do it because you know it's good to have these benefits will die. That's what the Scriptures do for us even more so you know Paul told Timothy.

Exercise yourself in godliness that it lets us think about that passage for a minute.

It's as possible is writing to Timothy, his son in the faith in first Timothy chapter 4 verse seven what the apostle Paul said he said he said have nothing to do with the reference silly minutes, rather, train yourself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value godliness is of value in every way as it holds the promise for the present life but also for the life to come, and I think the more we realize the Scriptures, and in daily reading.

The Scriptures has that value it's helping to train us in godliness is the word of Christ dwells in us richly that we grow as followers of Jesus, we realize that, I think we begin to develop a love for the word know that doesn't always mean that you're gonna want to read it and we have a hard time with these things, but over time as you make a habit of it.

What you what you realizes you begin to see the fruit of the consistency of the discipline and I think that that's just such a wonderful thing and that's how I would want to encourage is is not necessarily look for you know this feeling of love and excitement every time you approach the Bible, but discipline yourself to doing what you find is as you do more and more. You'll love the Scriptures and Alameda Salcido talking to my wife last night and I was telling her I've been studying the Bible for cash. 15 years now and it's still just as exciting to me as it was the first day I began studying because I'm always learning new things and the more I study the Scriptures, the more I'm persuaded that this is the word of God it just such a beautiful revelation from God to us and I think that that's the other thing is, as you dig deeper. You can find more and more the richness of God's word and in Jesus. The revelation of Christ for you and I think you fall in love with it built what would you set me up. Are you in agreement there now without a doubt, you know, and I do think it it it requires discipline because there are those days were reset. You know I just don't necessarily feel like reading Leviticus, but the fact not feel like reading Leviticus, but the fact is that God does want us to be communing with him through the reading of his word on a regular basis and we do, the more we read, the more we develop a love for him and his word is truth, and so I think your response to hers is right on target, and no Donna, we do pray for you that you will develop that that love that just no burning within your soul to want to get to his word and to discover his his truth on a regular basis and your listing to core Christianity with Bill Meyer and Pastor Adm. Sanchez you can give us a call with your question at 1-833-843-2673 if you want to spell it out. It's 833. The court also centers the question on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts and I would love to hear from you with your questions. By the way, earlier on the program we mention the fact that the Dr. Michael Horton won't be on the program on a regular basis, but he will be joining us periodically and we actually have a special message from Dr. Horton that would like to share with you as we reflect on the difficulties families, churches, businesses, our nation and basically all people around the world right now are facing having a sure confidence in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection on our behalf is absolutely critical. We aim to answer the hard unsettling questions of our times with both skeptics and committed Christians in mind, we get answers that not only show why Christianity is true but also why it's good and beautiful. Your support alongside the work of our team is making a real difference in people's lives. A difference in helping others to live with hope, joy and confidence and that difference is eternal so please consider sending a gift right now to help us continue as a thank you gift for $20 or more will send you our brand-new core Christianity Bible study on Paul's letter to the Romans to make a gift and received the study on Paul's letter to the Romans, head on over to core Christianity.com.

This core, Christianity.com on behalf of the entire team that core radio. Thanks for your support. My thank you so much for that. We we really would appreciate your support as we continue to spread the good news of the Christian faith around the world are at it or let's get back to one of our questions and we have one from Danna who called them on here at anybody are only say nobody here cried out for salvation because you know what happened.

Another way but you are unsay angular frame people really hear the prayers thing. I would just love that answer. I appreciate it and I appreciate you.

I have let his. I live every day. Thank you so much and hey – thank you so much for your question. You know, initially as you are asking that my mind went to acts chapter 10 and the story of Cornelius so as you mention, here's a guy who's not a believer and yet were told. Acts chapter 10 is he's introduced to us that he was a devout man feared God with all his household gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God about the ninth hour of the day. He saw clearly envision an angel of God come in and say to him.

Cornelius and he stared at him in terror and said what is it, Lord, and he said to him, your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God and so there's an example of someone who is crying out to the Lord made this individual in the Cornelius didn't even know what he was praying for exactly. But the Lord sends Peter to him to preach the gospel to mortals. Later in that chapter that he received the Holy Spirit and was baptized after he heard the preaching of the gospel from Peter and so God hears all those who are calling upon him. But one thing that's really important that we need to understand, and I think it's it's important for all believers to get this is we can only approach God through his son Jesus.

So even in prayer. When we come before the Lord in prayer. The reason God hears us, isn't because were righteous. It's not because there something in us that causes God to embrace and accept is the fact that we come through his son Jesus, the other the Hebrew spells this out very clearly.

He says we can boldly approach the throne of grace to find help in our time of need. Why because we have a great high priest in Jesus Christ and Jesus is the high priest of the faithful. He is the high priest of of everybody in the same sense and so that's a really important distinction to make in one since of course the Lord hears everything he sees everything but in terms of hearing prayer, he hears us, because we approach him through his son Jesus Christ. And that's what's so important.

I think when we understand that it gives us confidence to approach the Lord because the reality is, a lot of times, believers in Jesus have a hard time coming before God because because were trying to come before the Lord in our own righteousness.

We think about God sucking to hear me right now because and I failed earlier today.

I haven't been as faithful in this area as I should be when in reality we can come before God at any time boldly before coming to him through Jesus. So that's how we approach the Lord in a thank you for your question, no Israel that brings to mind there are many voices in today's society that say that Jesus is a way to God and not the way to God and unfortunately there are even some in the Christian church who are buying in to that theology. I'm wondering if you could respond to that. Yeah, you know, I mean it's one of the things you hear over and over again. You know people say don't all religions basically teach the same thing just love God and love your neighbor make its back to the earlier question that we had about the law of God and about loving anyone since if that's what the gospel was the gospel was love your neighbor will then yeah, I guess all religions would kinda be the same. But that's not the gospel list and and what other religions don't have is the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the gospel that's what saves us, and that's what we need every single person. This is why you don't call when he talks about the resurrection that the the disciples when they talk about the resurrection of Jesus.

They point to that and they say look this is what God has done to show us that he's going to judge the whole world. We know this. We know that this is going to happen.

So I think it's so important for us to push back against that sort of idea and really took to be faithful to what the Scriptures say the Bible teaches very clearly in the book of acts we think about what Peter said in acts chapter 4 verse 12 there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved may so clear and so if were to be faithful to the Scriptures bill we have to say is you alluded to that text in John 14 verse six. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through him and really have time for one quick question before we wrap up today.

Chris emailed us this. He said sometimes. I've heard that if I was the only one on earth. Christ would still have died for me. Is that true yet at the pain I've heard that as well.

What what a beautiful fight. I mean it. It's reminding me of that text in the book of Galatians, Paul says in Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 it's a well-known verse is as I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, get this, who loved me and gave himself for me to do something so personal about what Jesus has done for his people is not just that Jesus loves the world anything about John chapter 3 verse 16 and it's easy for us to say right like God loves people.

I found that one of the things that many Christians struggle with this being able to say like Paul says here in Galatians chapter 220.

He loved me. He gave himself for me.

I want to say that the answer to that question in one since it will be dominant were just speculating here, but Paul is able to say Jesus loves me, he gave himself for me specifically.

And I think each of us should be able to say that a question I think for you for listening right now is can you say that.

Can you say beyond a shadow of a doubt. I know not just that Jesus loves people out there knows the gospel is preached that God is gracious to some people but can you say oh he's been gracious to me.

He's forgiven my sins that the gospel is all about is not just good news for other people. Good news for people out there it's good news for you.

It's that Jesus loves you and gave himself for you and were supposed to lay hold of that message by faith in their something so liberating about that bill. Yes, Jesus loves, he gave himself for me. Thanks for listening to core Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us@corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673 that's a 33 core when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this podcast and be sure to join us next time. As we explore the truth of God's word together