Does God Reveal Himself in Other Religions?

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At 1833. The core that's 1-833-843-2673 and now here's atrial Sanchez, what joy it is to be back together again answering your questions about the faith and with Prof. Michael Horton, I'm Pastor atrial Sanchez and this is core Christianity like one of the main things I hear from friends outside of the church.

When I talk to them about Christianity is something like this.

All religions basically teach the same thing that I try to be really gracious and patient but those statements can sometimes be frustrating. You know, especially as a pastor for you is as a theologian is a trained theologian, have you had much contact with other religious leaders or teachers to talk about similarities and differences yeah I have I church those opportunities someone's neighbors and sometimes it's more more in the academic sphere. We sit down across the table with people, and here's what I've I've noticed a lot more commonality than I ever imagined before or after actually talking to people. It is absolutely true. If you sit down you talk about how all we need is love and the danger of hitching religions of violence and you talk about the need to really think about people, especially in the developing world who don't have safe drinking water. You do talk about what a world this would be if we just followed whatever we call it the law Torah.

The 10 fold path all religions called something different karma, but it's really the same, the same thing. The moral law. What you give outcomes back to what you reap you so you those ideas are in all the world's religions. So if you're saying that religion is law, then they're all basically the same.

They seem like they really seem like similarities.

For example, the code of Hammurabi. This comes from 1700 years before Christ, and it predates even the Torah, the giving of law at Mount Sinai and it's almost identical has 282 decrees of the Old Testament has 613 but many of these decrees you find in the Old Testament there was that all about well is because again God created all of humanity in his image and likeness.

We felt, but we still retain this knowledge of right and wrong.

That's what Paul argues in Romans one even Gentiles who don't have the written Torah. No right from wrong in their consciences like that so interesting. I really set the stage for a question that we received from analyst listening to her call and their health and or did he only revere himself to a Christian. Yeah, great question Anna. So we have to distinguish between general and special revelation, the heavens are telling the glory of God.

For example, best general revelation. You can go to the Grand Canyon or look wonderful sunset and say someone with creativity and artistry in design and purpose made all of this, unbelievers can know this as well. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans one that everybody knows by their own conscience just simply because there created in the image of God. Everybody knows right from wrong. You don't have to have the Bible in order to know right from wrong and so that's general revelation, but special revelation is first of all, God telling us the diagnosis what's wrong with us but also more importantly, even giving us the remedy announcing to us what we could never know from a beautiful sunset or the Grand Canyon, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's trespasses against them is the difference really between law and gospel. You can have lots of religions agreeing on the law.

What we should do. We should love each other more. We should be kinder but not agreeing on the gospel so most people on the street think that religion is all about law being better people being kinder working together to create kinder, gentler world, and so forth. The heart of Christianity though is not law which it shares with other religions, the heart of Christianity which distinguishes it from all religions. What Christian is really all about is the announcement God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

John 316. Of course, and that has to be announced and that's why Paul says in Romans 10 we we don't have to go up into heaven to try to find Jesus, we have to dig down into the depths as if to bring them back up from the dead.

He is alive and he is as near as the word of the gospel that's being preached and so faith comes by hearing the gospel and if that's the case, Paul says, then how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach unless they are sent over to the whole logic here that you don't need preachers you don't need imams you don't need rabbis you don't need sages in order to tell people how to be better husbands and wives and fathers and mothers and how to keep people from stealing each other's wives and speedboats. You don't need a gospel for that. You don't need special revelation for that people already know that in their conscience because were all made in the image of God.

But what we don't know and can't know unless a Harold brings the news from the battlefield, is that the war is over and that is the gospel only in the gospel. Do we find really what distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. The announcement that God has become flesh has dwelt with us has fulfilled the law in our place has died for our sins so that his righteousness is credited to us and our sins are credited to him and that he rose again on the third day for our justification and is the beginning of the resurrection from the dead, and that we are being sanctified day by day and one day will be glorified. That is something that has to be announced and taught weekend and week out. It's not natural to us what's natural to us is the law. The gospel is foreign to us we had. That's what we have to have it preached every week to us.

It still seems strange. Isn't that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell will naturally God justifies the wicked. That just doesn't sound right. We got to hear this message over and over and over in order to embrace that no religion teaches that it Anna.

Not one religion other than Christianity teaches what sounds like such a counterintuitive and audacious claim that God justifies the wicked that while we were enemies. God made us his friends in Christ at the cross.

That is a message, you will only here in Christianity. I've done this in academic situations and also in my neighborhood. You sit down with non-Christians is down with Muslims and agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, and you have conversations about while what a great place this would be if we all followed the Golden rule for fivefold path or whatever whatever it's called it's basically the same, and that's why people think will all religions are the same. We just call things by different names. Yeah, I mean, when about the law is just called different things in different religions, but the gospel is not taught anywhere but in Christianity, and I thank you for your question. Here is an email from Devin. Thank you Dr. and Pastor Sanchez for your work to answer core questions about the faith. I'm so thankful for your response to more difficult or sensitive questions of praying in the Magnificat.

Mary praises God and says all generations will call me blessed are we to think about this and I just preached on this text.

Not long ago, and it really is a wonderful passage. The Magnificat is the song of praise that Mary saying to the Lord after she had been visited by the angel and and spent some time with her relative Elizabeth. It's so cool about the whole thing is that Mary is probably only a teenager when she sang it to the Lord.

They don't ever underestimate your kids and how they might be used by the Lord, even at a very young age.

Actually, just before her song when she goes to Elizabeth. Elizabeth says that the baby in her womb, John the Baptist leapt for joy when Mary greeted Elizabeth.

So the Holy Spirit was already working in John while he was in the womb. It's never too early for him to start working in your children's is something I'm put it aside because one of the neat things I think in that passage, what we make of Mary's words all generations will call me blessed.

Quite simply, I think that they mean that Mary has dishonored place in the history of redemption. She was blessed because she was chosen by God to be the God bearer, the eternal son of God, of the word.

As John called them at the beginning of his gospel took flesh from Mary's womb, and was born for her salvation and for your salvation. That's why Mary begins her Magnificat by saying my soul magnifies the Lord in my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. That last part. There is is really important because it highlights that like you and me. Mary needed a Savior. So we don't attribute to Mary semi divine characteristics and she was a humble young woman used by God mightily, and you know we should honor her, together with all of those who God uses to exalt the name of Jesus, you know, we honor people like that. We listen to their testimony about Jesus and that's what Mary's Magnificat does it a whole thing. If focuses our attention on God's deliverance of his people. Mary was not looking for glory for herself. She didn't say I'm a co-deliver yet exactly.

I sometimes hear people talk like that.

She's looking for glory for her son, Jesus, and the most blessed people in the history of the world are people who didn't try to make themselves great, but who humbly look to the Lord and experienced his mercy and his deliverance. That's what it means to be blessed and that's what Mary teaches us and so when we call her blessed in it's not worshiping her or venerating her whenever you want it, which is saying how God used her mightily.

Praise God, and she has a place in the church that is utterly unique yeah will that's truly damaged her position in the history of humanity is utterly unique. Yeah, we can call her the mother of God, because the one she bore is God in the flesh. Yeah, there is no human being in the history of redemption who had that privilege. And as you say is say all generations will call me a blessing as all generations. From now on will call me blessed and we do we look to her and say oh my goodness. Is there anyone any sinner in the whole history of the world who has been blessed like Mary was blessed. Let's call her blessed and let's celebrate really that great honor that she had, but everything in the Magnificat. As you say is even the Magnificat taken from the Latin, I magnify the Lord. The whole thing is about. I magnifying the Lord. I am on the receiving end of his salvation, not the giving end. Thank you for that question you're listening to court Christianity were answering your questions about the faith. Give us a call with your question at 1-833-843-2673.

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My name is Bobby Maryland. My question is simply why is it that you think we don't see many miracles in the church today is a really great question, Bob is frankly it's a question that a lot of people have one thing I think it's helpful for us to remember is we got a distinguish between how God works.

Ordinarily and extraordinarily miracles by definition are part of the second category, so we should expect them as a normal part of the Christian life and when I realized this I started to see God's work all around me in a way that I had before with the really exit was liberating even in the Bible.

Miraculous phenomena were clustered around groundbreaking events in the story of God he think of the exit is the giving of the law, the incarnation, the ministry of Christ hitting up Jesus's walking through Galilee, even the people in Jesus's day. Confess that no one had ever done miracles like he had these miracles that Jesus was doing.

We see throughout the book of acts helped to confirm the preaching of the early church and establish the Jesus movement throughout the world. I think this is actually what the Scriptures teach look for example at Hebrews chapter 2 verses three and four.

Listen what it says there it the gospel proclamation was declared first by the Lord and it was attested to us by those who heard while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will is a Bobby fear discouraged because you don't see miraculous things in your life.

Recognize that this doesn't mean Jesus isn't working.

He is through the word preached through baptism through the Lord's supper the means of grace. God is more active in our lives and we can ever comprehend, and there may be miraculous moments, but their moments and so we should really expect those as the normal course of the Christian life. Jan, the greatest miracles. The new birth.

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The core of your theology professor Dr. Michael Horton memory can also send us an email at questions at court, Christianity.com I care for an email we got from Marie. I know some Christians who think introspection is good and they do this regularly is a spiritual discipline and others who think that too much self-examination is bad when you think the balances yeah the great question Bree because the others a place for introspection, even regular introspection, but often times were not the best judge of ourselves. So our judgment can't be final.

Either we can be conceited and deceive ourselves of the problems we have, or forget the.

The gospel has released us from condemnation the best judge of ourselves is the law of God as it is proclaimed from the lips of another sinner and in the Holy Spirit brings us to conviction of our guilt. Through that I think of the scales at my doctor's office Bree.

I hate them intensely. I love weighing myself on my scales at home because for some reason I am 5 to 7 pounds lighter than when I go into the doctor's office in I take my keys out of my pocket site you know practically get down to my underwear on that scale just to try to get to where it is at home, not the image you want to picture I sorry about that. We need just scales and the law tells us the truth about ourselves we don't tell ourselves the truth about herself that there certainly a place for self-examination. In fact, Paul instructs the Corinthians to examine themselves before they partake of holy Communion and first Corinthian's 1127 to 29 but I think the overuse that is a call to morbid introspection. The actually keeps us from the Lord's table pulse rebuking the Corinthian church, therefore tolerating all sorts of sin, sexual immorality, chaotic worship and especially abuse of the Lord's table. Don't you realize you're participating in Christ's body and blood. He asks them, and then he adds whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. So the warning is very context specific to a church that is immature and disordered and doesn't really appreciate the seriousness of what the Lord's supper really is pulse process stop and soberly remember what it's all about and how serious this is. And then again in second Corinthians 13 verse five Paul says examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves know you not your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you be reprobates, proper self-examination, especially when we hear God's login will lead us to despair of ever being holy enough to stand before a holy God. But it should never stop there from the law, we turn to the gospel and we hear another word from God. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 81. So when self-examination leads you to despair, flee to Christ, he is our righteousness. My short answer. I guess Bree is this place yourself under the faithful public preaching of the word, both the law and the gospel look outside of yourself to Christ, not within for certainty of your salvation.

Yup, there's a time for introspection, but ultimately your assurance comes from outside of you. As you hear the gospel proclaimed, and then look around at all the other forgiven sinners with incomplete sanctification and embrace them in loving fellowship. Self-examination has its place, but not primarily by ourselves alone through spiritual disciplines, but rather in the public assembly as we confess our sins together and we flee to Christ together as his body, you know. As far as the balance is concerned, I think it's just really important for us that were putting our eyes on Jesus more than were looking inside, because if all you're doing every day is looking within will find all kinds of logout of Yule get depressed you'll be discouraged. This is why the continual word in Scripture is to look to Christ. The author and perfecter of our faith.

That's right. And so the balance has to be more focused. Our eyes are fixed on Jesus and as her eyes are fixed on Jesus. Yet, we are examining ourselves at times were hope is in Christ. Now here's a Facebook question we got from Lori when I read Psalm eight it speaks of man in such high terms made a little lower than the angels.

How does that fit with human sinfulness. Yet when I look at your heavens does this almost the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the Son of Man that you care for them. Beautiful is not of this almost is not talking here about human nature as fallen, but as created by the hand of God the image of God singles human beings out above all other creatures. The Angels aren't even made in the image of God but God has placed us beneath the Angels, but above the animals.

Even though he ranks a little below the Angels and he seems like a little speck of dust in a vast and beautiful cosmos.

God focuses his special concern for an interest in man. Isn't that amazing, and that's really what this Psalm is basking in an Lori in order to incorporate sinfulness is is you bring up their what we make of this in the light of human sinfulness, we have to go to other passages so not every passage on who are human beings is going to tell us that we are sinners. In fact, it's really important not to start with that truth that sad, tragic reality that were sinners go back before that to creation and the fact that it's not just a glass vase that tumbled off of the shelf and fell and broke but a precious unique one-of-a-kind meeting base. God created us with dignity. God made us humanity alone. His image bearer that measures the tragedy of the fall will likely take another call now pending in John 17 when he says that eternal life. It's now 10 and the father thinks I think you, Cindy will here's the passage John 17 verses one through five, when Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said father, the hour has come.

Glorify your son that the son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him, and this is eternal life that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed just an amazing passage, our chief and is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever to enjoy him not just glorify him, but to enjoy him as the great Church Father Augustine set our hearts are restless until they find rest, and you will Lord. He made us for himself. So there is nothing greater than the promise that one day will be transformed. Even glorified so that we cannot only stand in God's presence but no him face-to-face in Jesus Christ.

That is salvation brought to its ultimate destination. The great goal of our salvation is to be with God face-to-face.

And in this marvelous prayer, Jesus anticipates that joyful day when not only he will be raised and exalted to enjoy the presence of his father face-to-face.

But when all of his redeemed people join him in that everlasting fellowship. Jesus says just as we have enjoyed this fellowship may they enjoy it also. Thanks for listening to core Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer.

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