Is it Wrong to Pray to Jesus Instead of the Father?

This is core Christianity, where answering your questions about the Christian life Monday through Friday. Your hosts are author and seminary professor Dr. Michael Horton and Pastor atrial Sanchez call right now with your question.

At 1833. The core that's 1-833-843-2673 and now here's atrial Sanchez loan welcome to another episode of Christianity were answering your questions about the Bible in the Christian life.

I'm with Prof. Michael Horton, I'm Pastor atrial Sanchez Mike we have a call here about the sacrament of communion and the word sacrament is awarded, we kind of throw around here on the program sometimes.

But how do you define that word for the person who's listening right now who maybe doesn't really understand what sacrament is, or why we even use that term yeah you know to a lot of us growing up.

It was what Roman Catholics get all right. It's actually it comes from a Latin word sacrament room, which is a translation of the Greek word that we find in the New Testament Moose durian mystery and so the apostle Paul said that he and the other apostles and the ministers who would come out after them are still words of the mysteries of God.

So it became a practice in the earliest churches that both the doctrines of the faith and baptism and the Lord's supper referred to as Moose durian is sacramental.

It is so wonderful because I think so many people today are looking for an experience with the Lord. But there looking around him and God is giving us these signs and seals of his his promises to us like baptism and like the Lord's supper were he's attached is word of these things. He said here's from working in your life, and there mysteries because just like the great doctrines of the faith. You know the Trinity. How can Christ be both God and man. How can we be responsible for our actions and at the same time, God be sovereign. The greatest crews in Scripture are mysteries and that's true with baptism and the Lord supper you know we don't have all the answers about how this relates to the out how physical things like water can be united to God's word to become a sacrament. How help bread and wine can be united to God's promise and be for us a means of God actually conveying his grace to us how that happens is a mystery that happens is clearly taught in Scripture, but how it happens, is a mystery as one great church leader year. Two centuries ago said I would rather adore the mystery than try to explain that's beautiful to look at the Christian's question about the sacrament of communion, solid. My question is can I take sacramental 10 why one day that sure think you Christian.

I think the first question we have to ask is what is a sacrament we are just talking about that in Scripture's it has to be instituted by God. So we can't just make up sacraments to be a sacrament has to be instituted by God and the purpose has to be an evangelical purpose. In other words, a gospel purpose.

The purpose of sacraments is to confirm God's promise to seal the deal. It's like wax on the king's decree and a ring on a married person's finger baptism and the Lord supper are the only two practices in the church that rise to both of those criteria is instituted by Christ, and it serves as a means of grace. Its purpose is to be a conduit through which God actually gives his ratification of his treaty to us right so you find that throughout the Scriptures you have material things like a meal. For instance, you think of Genesis 15 with the Melchizedek giving Abraham a meal of bread and wine to seal or ratify their relationship, their covenant and we know that Melchizedek was a forerunner of Christ and God is always condescending to our level to signify and sealed to us visibly. The promise that he has declared to us audibly. On the one hand, some churches believe that simply by going through the motions of the ritual.

Your saved. If you're baptized or born again if you take the Lord's supper you receive Christ's saving body and blood. Regardless of whether you have faith in Christ.

On the other hand, Christian. Some churches teach that sacraments are just symbols, basically like a an object lesson showing your commitment to follow Jesus, but the Scripture teaches either of these views. I don't believe it does in the Bible baptism and the Lord supper are the signs and seals of the covenant of grace. I will be your God and you will be my people. I am pledging to save you in the Old Testament. These signs and seals were circumcision and Passover. Now, on the one hand, they were never saving just by themselves. And yet, on the other hand, they were never just memorials or testimonies of the commitment of believers. They were from God, not from believers. They were God's ratification of his promise in circumcision believers and their children were included in God's promise of salvation and in Peter's Pentecost sermon Jesus tells those who believe, to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and they will receive the Holy Spirit. And then he goes on to say that that that promise is for them and for their children. Acts 238 and 39 then and Passover. The children were told to believe that just as the avenging angel had passed over the house of believers in previous generations the house of the believers today is under God's protection. Exodus 1225 to 27 you what what you to save your children when they ask you why are we doing this thing called Passover and so once again in both of those cases. All these cases, it's not our promise Christian but God's promise, but not everyone is baptized or partakes of holy Communion embraces that promise in faith numbers this the purpose of the sacrament isn't to effect salvation it is to promise salvation to us so that our faith can take hold of of the promise in a tangible, visible way. First Corinthians 10 verses 16 and 17, Paul tells us this bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ this cup that we bless is it not a coin, anemia, a participation in the blood of Christ, you know, Mike. That's one of the text that I often go to when people asked me know.

Isn't this just a you know, kind of an empty sign were just remember woman. What's the big deal with community it seems like Paul very clearly is saying there and that tax return things 1016 that this is more than just an empty symbol you actually are having communion with the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Somehow, as we we Artie said mysteriously, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's right exactly and in in exactly that same context. In first Corinthians 1011 you have Paul abrading the Corinthians for an individualistic view of the Lord supper. What he saying there's don't you realize first of all, vertically.

It's a means of grace, but that also horizontally it's uniting us together in the fellowship of Christ. So you you don't want to take communion by yourself. You're not saved by yourself. Our relationship with Christ is always personal but never private.

I can't say that I have a personal relationship with Jesus without also saying I therefore have a personal relationship with all of these brothers and sisters around me and so you can't take communion by yourself because it is a sacrament of not only a means of grace, but as the sacrament of the unity of the body of Christ. That's right, Tina Christian if I could just add to what what Mike was saying we don't want to view the Lord's supper in this superstitious way so as you viewed it as a magic or for units like this medicinal thing will then yeah you know how much can I get I got the more that I can have five times a day 10 times a day for writing something magical inside me.

But no, it's is as Mike said it's ratifying the promise of the gospel that you hear preached in your church and so we don't want to view it as you don't want to viewed as something like the more I take it, the more the more the. The magic is having outside of me know it's I'm clinging to the gospel. You know, if you just had a decree that said I king Edward if you don't declare that you are exonerated from the crime that was alleged of you or that you really committed and you're free to go. You're free to leave jail if it didn't have the seal on it. Then you could wonder if if it was actually real. If you could really cling to this promise.

So it came from the king regardless of whether it had the seal so your set free, but you need to see the seal to confirm your own confidence in that promise.

How will I really know that it's for me. I know I know he died for sinners, but how I know he died for me and it's when you see that seal as you eat that bread and you take of that cup, you receive it in faith, you are assured that that promise is for you Christian. Thank you for that question and if you want more information about what a sacrament is we have to have a wonderful article on our website. Core, Christianity.com called what is a sacrament. So go to Christianity.com and check that article out is an email government and she asked hi Michael and a drill I listen to core Christianity at 5:30 AM almost every day. Thank you so much for your faithful approach to the teachings of the Bible.

My question is, is it wrong to pray to Jesus I know what he taught us in the Lord's prayer admit that I feel closer to Jesus because of his suffering and death on the cross and I do to God the father sent him to just say thank you Jesus and wonder if that is wrong.

Thank you. Well, thank you for listening to the program and so early in the morning my at 530 in the morning a great question on me and it is a wonderful question.

I would say no.

It's not wrong to pray to Jesus. In fact, we see examples of prayer to Jesus in the New Testament and in the earliest days of the church in the New Testament at least two instances come to mind first in the gospel of John. During Jesus's upper room discourse. Remember, this was the speech that Jesus gave to his disciples right before his departure from Earth was and what he said to them, if you ask me anything in my name I will do it. John 1414 the writer Jesus makes it clear that his disciples will speak to him in prayer. Once he leaves in the second example I think of is Stephen Stevens dying words, if the end of acts chapter 7 when he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and Lord do not hold this sin against them. He's praying for the people that are killing them. So the New Testament we have at least a couple of examples of the disciples of Jesus praying to him and we have plenty of examples of this in the ancient church.

There is an ancient piece of graffiti near the Palatine Hill in Rome that dates to around 200 A.D. a depicts a young man worshiping a crucified person with the head of a donkey. It was a blasphemous image but it tells us something about the earliest Christians.

The earliest Christians prayed to and worship Jesus, the crucified Lord in the non-Christians around them knew this and mocked them for it. I want to speak to what I think is the heart of what you're asking here. You years ago. I also felt like I couldn't just pray to the father.

I could talk to Jesus, but the father seemed distant, yet less approachable, distant, and sometimes I think we can get in our heads that the father is the strict God of the Old Testament and Jesus is the easy-going Lord of the New Testament is not the case, Jesus and the father together with the Holy Spirit are one in essence that one will the father sent the son to be our Redeemer, and you can come boldly to the father through Jesus because you've been reconciled to God the father so loved the world that he gave his only begotten exactly how John chapter 3 verse 16 I think ordinarily we should pray to the father through the mediation of the son, Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit that's that's a sort of normal way in which were called to pray at one of the things that that highlights is that we can come to the father through Jesus because of Jesus's work so we can't go to the father in our own strength or in our own righteousness, but through Jesus can also pray to Jesus directly and you can pray the Holy Spirit directly.

We pray to the father through the son were affirming that all of our prayers can only be made because of the work of Jesus. And so you're listening to core Christianity and we are talking about the Christian faith want to hear your questions.

If you have a question you can give us a call at 1-833-843-2673. That's 1833 the core. You can also email us at questions at core, Christianity.com and we have a special opportunity that we want to let you know about today. You bet we do Angel would like to invite everybody to consider coming alongside us and showing your support for the program by joining the inner core before I tell you how to join. Let me just take a minute to thank all those inner core members listening when we started the going on stations. It was little person here person there and a lot of you have now come alongside us to say hey this is something we want to know here regularly and we want other people to hear you don't know how grateful we are for your generous gifts. New listeners discover core Christianity every day and your support helps us keep reaching people all around the world. Actually, with your monthly gift of $25 or more. You can be a part of the team, making it possible for us to answer these questions and share the corkscrews of the Christian faith. So head on over to core Christianity.com/inner core.

To learn more or just give us a call at 833, the court has read the number is 1-833-843-2673 and again thank you for your support, go to the next question in Grand Rapids Michigan. I was wondering about how to determine the appropriate betting the offering. The church members on questionable vision, but when they invest their money into our taking out debt for things like building things like that.

I'm not sure what yeah Boylan does.

Thank you for pulling me into a hornets nest there, you know, I really like I can't answer that without being part of your church and knowing the situation, but Andrew Monahan this hot potato over to you. How would you answer that yeah well you know II don't know that there's an easy answer, and I'm sure that different churches have different criteria for what goes into how they spend the money that they receive.

I think really we have to think about is how are we using resources to advance the gospel. The mission of the church was given to her by Jesus you know there at the great commission the end of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 28, 18, and following into the job of the church is to fulfill that great commission through the power of the Holy Spirit by the work of Jesus Christ. And so we want to put our resources what we think about is a church at least want to put our resources in places where there helping to carry out the mission of Jesus to preach the gospel to baptize and administer the sacraments that is in the Lord's supper and to teach them to observe everything I've commanded, so anything that has to do with preaching baptism, the Lord's supper or teaching and discipline that is what the church should be putting his money on certainly and you know you also just think about where you see the church putting resources even in places like the book of acts, you know they're caring for those who are in need for the widows for the orphans and so an example in the early church church caring for those who are in need. Hence the deacons has that yeah the deacons acts chapter 6 you see churches giving to people who were preaching and teaching the word of God and the apostle Paul talks about this when he writes to Timothy, no counting those who labor and teaching worthy of double honor. He talks about even paying them, giving them money so that they can devote themselves to this so I think these are all things that are in line with the mission of the church. When we move on to an email that we received from Steve. He asks, I heard Christian say that we should preach the gospel always and if necessary use words what you think that our lives relate to evangelism. Yes, I've heard this one before. While here's the think we are not the gospel that Jesus is the gospel. He lived a perfect life in her place.

He died the death that we deserve and he was raised for justification. Jesus is the gospel because he's the gospel.

It is totally inappropriate for us to talk about our living the gospel, much less our being that the gospel I hear those phrases a lot you can't live the gospel you live the law and we've blown that so we need the gospel in the gospel is Jesus, not me. People do not need me and my attempts at piety what they need is Jesus and his perfect satisfaction and fulfillment of all that God required think of Romans 1013 through 16 here for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard and how are they to hear without someone preaching and how are they to preach unless they are sent. As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.

Paul says faith comes by hearing the gospel and so you have to hear the gospel, you can be all kinds of things but good news has to be announced and that's why the form that it comes in is preaching, not our moral example I can turn people off to the gospel by my behavior by my life by my hypocrisy. I can be a stumbling block to people coming to hear the gospel, but it's the gospel.

The preaching of the gospel the announcement of the gospel announcement because it is good news about what someone else has already accomplished for us.

That is a saving report and that's what the Scriptures universally tell us is the means God uses to bring us to saving knowledge of him is a Facebook question we got what happened at Christ's transfiguration.

What did this event mean fascinating episode. Luke nine beginning at verse 28 now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray and as he was praying, the appearance of his face was changed and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with them, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with them and as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus master. It's good that we're here, let's make 3/10 one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said as he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my son, my chosen one listen to him and when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen what we have here is what biblical scholars call a pro� It's like pulling back the curtain for bit of a peak you want to preview it is at the beginning of the trail. Moses prefigures Jesus in all sorts of ways. He speaks for Mount Sinai to the people below. Jesus spoke from a mountain to his followers of Moses is an intercessor. Jesus is a greater mediator and the only mediator between God and man at the end of the trail.

Elijah is the spirit endowed prophet who raises the dead person and himself is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. He defeats the prophets of Baylon cleanses the land of its false preachers, but both figures as bookends of the Old Testament hand over their keys, as it were, to Jesus the one to whom they pointed, and when the episode is over. Luke tells us, and Jesus stood alone yeah it is really remarkable. If we if we had time. We could go into Exodus 34 were Moses comes down for Mount Sinai to tablets and we read Moses did not know the skin of his face shone because he had been with talking with God then in second Corinthians 3 pulses of Christ now.

If the ministry of death. That's the old covenant carved in letters on stone talking about this whole episode. Mount Sinai came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze that Moses face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end.

It would be brought to an end by the coming of Christ will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory. For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation. The ministry of righteousness must far exceeded glory. Indeed, in this case. What once had glory has come to have no glory at all because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory much more will what is permanent have glory to the trailer was cool but once the movie starts. You forget the trailer Teresa since we have such a hope. We are very bold. Not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so the Israelites might not gaze the outcome of what was being brought to an end, but their minds were hardened for to this day when they read the old covenant that same veil remains unlisted because only through Christ. Is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Now the Lord is the Holy Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from 1� of glory to another for this comes from the Lord who is the spirit to Moses glory fading white with the veil on our glory.

White 1� after another getting brighter and brighter and brighter without fail. Thanks for listening to core Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us@corechristianity.com and click on offers and the menu for or call us at 1-833-843-2673 that's a 33, the court 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