Should I Attend My Gay Son’s Wedding? with Special Guest Dr. Michael Horton

My son knows I don't believe gay marriage is really marriage, but he still wants me to be at his ceremony. Should I go that's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity this is Bill Meyer along with pastor Pedro Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day and you can call us right now with your question. At 833, the court, that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com and we are happy to have our good friend Dr. Michael Horton joining us today for our listeners who are new to the program. Dr. Horton is on the senior leadership team at core Christianity and he's a professor at Westminster theological seminary in Escondido California and welcome back Mike Bell. It's always good to be back with you in a drill. Yes, good to have you, Mike.

I don't know if you know this, but he was my professor for some time as well and I was in seminary so that's pretty cool how to do in the grades there, Mike, how did Andrew, are you asking me it was great.

You're one of the one of the reasons we all thought that he was such a great pick for this because he so thoughtful and engages the Scriptures at a very deep level, knows the Scriptures very well and is able to answer people's questions use as a pastor's heart, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to to be one of his prosper while very nice endorsement from you by the way drill you had a the first service yet we did a driving service if you could only see me Mike you think lab look at how far my students have gone you know is a I was preaching on top of the Jeep.

I mean it was pretty crazy. That sounds like you actually just a first step.

Today, guys, we have an encouraging story that I wanted to share with our listeners. As you know, coping 19 is impacting grocery store supply chains around the country, both in big cities and some smaller rural communities across America but for the town of Chris Davis which is a tiny seaside village seven hours from Juneau, Alaska.

Their grocery disruption is actually a lot more serious. So in late April, Joshua Parker, the town's one grocer set off on a small barge en route to the world's most remote Cosco location after seven hours Tauscher reached Juneau, where he loaded pallets containing $20,000 worth of eggs flower meat canned goods produced in yes you guessed it, toilet paper for the loan grocer was required to run his small stores called ice straight wholesale it keeps his 446 neighbors in the town of Bruce Davis said and by the way the customers now fondly referred to Tauscher was store as Cosco you know people like that is just take the bull by the horns and say let's get this done. This is what people need. I love it when when people respond to challenging times.

That way you can find a photo of him on his barge. If you just googled this Davis Alaska and Cosco. You'll find them. So let's get to our first question of the day here on core Christianity and a drill.

This one's for you. Paul emailed us and he said does the Holy Spirit dwell within the believer physically like a P in a pod or is it relational, more like in John 1411, where Jesus says believe me when I say that I am in the father and the father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. I read in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit came into and onto people I don't know if that gives guidance to my New Testament understanding whether right or wrong on this should affect my understanding of the baptizing, filling or works of the Holy Spirit. This is all really a mystery to me. Yeah I what I what a wonderful thing that we as believers are filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is this beautiful line in the confessions of St. Augustine where he sprang to the Lord, and he says I'm paraphrasing, but he says you know when when you are poured out on us.

You are not brought down. Rather, we are uplifted crazy to think that we we can contain God and, in any sense of the first thing I want to say is that the Holy Spirit is nothing but a person he's a spirit he doesn't have parts and I think the P in a pod analogy could kinda get confusing, but Scripture says that the spirit lives within us and the verse that immediately comes to my mind at least, is Paul's words to the Corinthians in first Corinthians 619 or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, you are not your own. In one of the most glorious buildings in all of the ancient world was the temple in Jerusalem. Josephus that the historian he talked about how when the sun hit it just right. It looked like it was glowing because it was covered in silver and gold, white stones used in its construction almost made it look like it was covered in snow from a distance. You can also think of you know, the instructions were given to Solomon all the beauty the intricacy the craftsmanship that went into the temple and the thing was, was one of those buildings them.

Just because your jaw to drop as you saw it. What a wonder that God do the work of Christ would choose to fill me and you with his spirit that he would make us his temple. I don't know about you, Paul, but sometimes I look in the mirror and I think yikes.

And yet God has made us his temple. Our bodies his temple.

If our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit that we should use our bodies for holy things, and that's one of the things that Paul is getting at their in first Corinthians. Don't use your body anymore for sin or idolatry.

Use it for the worship of the Lord, and I actually like the word that you use their them and this is relational, it's the spirit. In fact, through whom we have union with Jesus Christ and so maybe you know that the P in the pod analogy is not so good but understanding the fact that we have this personal relationship with God by the power of the Holy Spirit that he lives in us and that this is maybe a good time also plug Mike your book on the Holy Spirit which you wrote not too long ago right right rediscovering the Holy Spirit. I like Paul's point. There is about being a relational. I think that is the language since use is the best way. How on earth you're saying April. How do you describe the indescribable, the gift of the Holy Spirit as the third person equally sovereign to the father and the son equally omniscient, omnipotent, equally righteous and holy with the father and the son.

He's a gift that we actually have this gift and yet he spirit and so it's not like a P in a pod.

As I think Paul's onto something their bikes saying that it's relational. It's a way of describing the indescribable ball. Thank you so much for your question and Mike in April. Thank you for for really flushing that out for us.

Your listening to core Christianity Bill Meyer here with pastor Adm. Sanchez and Dr. Michael Horton and Mike here's a question for you from a listener named Paula. She says, could you please explain open theism to me. I don't understand how I can trust God if it's true. How can God not know the future if he is waiting for us and reacting to our choices. How can we trust in his promises. Can you give me some Bible verses to stand on. It will first off all your right on target to say this is about trusting God. We want to get God right in our thinking not so we can score an a on a theological exam so we can trust in the right God the right way is he's revealed himself in Scripture, not some other dog just sort of made up many of you might not have ever heard of open theism. It's basically this teaching that God doesn't know the future God is like a great tennis player or a good chess player.

He can anticipate moves, but he doesn't know in advance what you're going to do. Otherwise we wouldn't really have free will. It's against not only the Augustinian view, but the Arminian view. Let me just really briefly net that out. Basically, the Augustinian view that is from the great Church Father Augustine all the way to Protestant reformers and down to the present. God knows the future exhaustively because he's planted all he doesn't allow any suffering or sin in the world or in our lives that he hasn't already determined how to work together for his glory and our good night. The Arminian view is that God knows the future.

Everything including our free decisions, but he doesn't predestined everything.

So now the open theist comes back and says well if he knows that you're going to say except Christ, then it can't happen any other way, then God knows it or God would be wrong.

The future is absolutely certain so we don't actually believe says the open theist that God knows the future when it comes to the free actions of creatures so God doesn't know what you are to choose what to do. He is anticipating the moves that will make but he's just a lot smarter than we are now. This is a real problem because what it basically comes down to is God is not qualitatively different from us, but only quantitatively. In other words, he smarter than we are. But he doesn't transcend smartness in all Christianity has taught from the very beginning that God transcends change in time.

He completely transcends this world. God knows the future because he's plan the future. That's what Scripture teaches all over the place. Think of Isaiah 46 verses 9 to 11 for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose calling a bird of prey from the East. The man of counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed, and I will do it. Now that's in the context of the contrast between God and the idols. The idols don't know the future, but God knows the future exhaustively because he's planned for all eternity. Now what about our sin while yet even that is not that God causes us to stand rather God has determined to allow us to go our own way. In some circumstances, but never without his permission. He, in other words, has only allowed into our lives. Those choices sinful choices that he's already anticipated how he will overcome the wonderful, wonderful thing God works all things together for the good of his people. Romans 828 so this doesn't divest of personal responsibility. Paula wheat we still do what we want to do and responsible for that you think of a Joseph's brothers coming to them during the famine, and they didn't know that he was the Prime Minister of Egypt. Yet they treated him so horribly left them for dead and what is he say when he reveals himself as the brother they treated that way. Now is the Prime Minister. He says you meant it for evil but God meant it for good to save many people this day and the same and asked to you with your wicked hands.

Peter preached a Pentecost have crucified the Lord of glory. And yet he was delivered up according to God's predestined plan know how those two things can be true.

We can't explain. But the danger is if you don't want to say because I can't explain it. I'm in a fall into this error. That error because I want nice and tidy know we have to affirm what Scripture affirms in Scripture affirms both that God has planned everything that comes to pass from the falling of a bird of the rising of an empire and we are responsible creatures who do what we genuinely want to do and Mike was so striking about this question, you hear those words, open theism, and just think, oh boy, now working to get into the deep philosophy, but as Paula said Ms. you say. I mean, it really is so practical often were thinking about the sovereignty of God. The question that comes up in people's minds as well. How can people still be responsible. We often don't see when we think about God's sovereignty of God is not sovereign. If he doesn't know all things, then what hope do we have in the midst of suffering and an tragedy. If God is not on the throne will then who knows what future holds and so is pastorally especially for people that are experiencing pain.

I'm even thick about the current circumstances right now.

With everything going on in our nation still being able to say God is on his throne is so important yet it's so important to get beyond thinking of the relationship between God and humans as something like the old-fashioned scale pans or arrests. He saw as one goes up, the other goes down, the more sovereign God is the last free. I am the more free I am blessed sovereign God is. It's not like that at all.

God is not a member of the human race. God is God and we are creatures, God is not competing with us and were not competing with him for a share of the pie of freedom.

Rather, our freedom comes from God's freedom, he freely gives us creep surely liberty to do what we really want to do, but he still God along the way. Michael Nader will thank you so much for your great response to the question, it's helpful to all of us because it's a very confusing issue. You're listening to core Christianity and we mentioned what the country is going through right now.

And maybe you're going through very difficult times yourself. Maybe you're out of work that you have a friend or relative who has existing health conditions and you're concerned about the coronavirus. So right now having a sure confidence in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf is so so critical. And that's why her core Christianity.

We are doing our best to answer the hard unsettling questions of our times with both skeptics and with committed Christians in mind, we want to give answers that not only show why Christianity is true but also why it's good and beautiful and your support of this program is making a huge difference. A difference in helping others to live with hope and with joy and with confidence and that difference is eternal, so would you please consider sending a gift to help us continue in this ministry as a thank you for a gift of $20 or more, we will send you our new core Christianity Bible study on Paul's letter to the Romans. This is just an incredible study that will help you grow in your faith could be used in a small group setting and to make a donation and receive the study on Romans just head over to core Christianity.com. You can call us for that as well. Here's the number it's 833-843-2673 833-843-2673 and on behalf of the entire team. Her core radio. Thank you so much for your support. We are really blessed to have Dr. Michael Horton with us on the program today and let's go to our first call of the day and this one comes from Sherry calling about an issue that occurred about 10 years ago seven professed Christians in the village were murdered very brutally to limit will write father with the 12-year-old son luscious and he was given a chance to stop that.

All he had to do was renounce Christ.

Same thing for the 12-year-old little boy, neither one of them renounce cry they crucified that the man and the little boy and on this time. They continually cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus, a marvelous time that we demand to do something, like he did with the sending me a lightning anticonsumer altar when the prophet was calling you now to show his God more powerful than veil and I'm not trying. Just thinking. Yes, God is not what I'm trying to align Matt with how I can trust God to be a merciful loving God and all the verses in the Bible the Psalms in the Proverbs HLS that he is airing he will protect us and obviously is not what happened. Please help me with that think it's sure I remember hearing that story as well.

And what a heartbreaking devastating story. We've just been talking on today's program about how God is sovereign, how he knows all things. How is on the throne is the high we make sense of something like this will look we don't know why God allows certain things, but I can confidently tell you that those martyrs were welcomed into the arms of Jesus by faith. The story reminds me of what happened in acts chapter 7 if you remember, Stephen had just preached the gospel powerfully and that he was murdered by a group of Jews.

Acts chapter 7. Beginning in verse 54 says when they heard these things, they were enraged they ground their teeth at him, but he full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, he said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, but they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed together at him and they cast them out of the city, and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul and as they were stoning Stephen he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice more, do not hold this sin against them.

When you said this, he fell asleep in the sky. Stephen was a godly man.

He followed Jesus faithfully were told in the previous chapter of the book of acts that Stephen was a man of good repute, full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. This could devastated the infant church and upset the faith of many people. Am sure it did. At that time they were asking.

Probably why God will two things happen because of Stephen's death, one at the beginning of acts chapter 8 were told that a great persecution arose in the church, scattering the believers, but the believers were scattered without preaching the word. That is Stephen's death led to the continued expansion of the gospel to Stephen while he's dying. Praise for the forgiveness of those were killing him and you know who's there Saul of Tarsus when it ended up happening to him. He he gets knocked off his horse. A few chapters later, he becomes one of the greatest apologists of the Christian faith to ever live Paul the apostle. All that to say we don't always know the reasons God allows horrible things to happen to his children why the faithful and godly die like the people you describe the error in in that horrible story.

This was Christian martyrs. We can trust the Lord and know that even when it looks like everything is a complete loss.

He still working and as we said earlier on this program he's able to bring all things together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.

And that's where we place our hope in that God who is good, even in our suffering. Amen.

Thank you Sherry for the question. What a difficult situation.

Just terrible what some of these persecutions that we've seen in the in the Middle East. Let's go to an email question that came in like this one's for you, Jim Road and he said I'm trying to figure out whether or not to attend my son's gay wedding ceremony. He knows I don't believe that gay marriage is truly marriage, but he still wants me to be at the ceremony. A friend recommended that I attend the ceremony but not the reception is there will be same-sex dancing and kissing and celebrating their I would appreciate your thoughts. First of all Jim_pray for you right now this is a tough thing. Lord, please give Jim wisdom and counsel on this. I know he loves the son and his son loves him. I'm sure this is such an obstacle in their relationship. I pray that you would soften Jim Somes's heart and help them to understand the truth of your word. We pray in Jesus name marriage. As you know Jim, it is grounded in God's purpose and creation. For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh.

Genesis 24 also quoted by Jesus and by Paul.

So yes, people who are in same-sex ceremonies are not really married in God's eyes. The state has decided it can create a new institution that doesn't actually exist.

It's not that your son is marrying a guy the bigger issue here is that your son has determined he's exempt from God's commands and that means that he needs to hear God's law, but also of course the gospel he needs to know that there is no sin that God doesn't forgive. If we agree with him that it is sin and we turn from it and embrace Christ alone. So my concern here is you expressing your question that we give the impression were going along with the decision to declare independence from God and being there as a witness kind of were giving our blessing. Man, I feel your conflict Jim. He's your son for peace say he wanted to be happy, but he can't be happy he can't find ultimate peace and fulfillment in the past that he's choosing here I have a friend was a wonderful pastor and he agonized over this with his own son and he finally concluded he could be a better witness to his son by saying, but I can't do it because I love you instead of pretending to go along with it. He didn't go to the so-called wedding but he and his quote unquote husband have come to Thanksgiving celebrations, family meals and so forth and are are treated warmly is just the wedding I think that you will show incredible confidence in God.

Jim confidence in God to do the work that he alone can do. You can't, he can just tell your son I love you I'm not making a stand. I'm just not able to support you in a move that I'm convinced is contrary to the way God made you in the world. You have a better home laid out for you in the gospel so 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 bar 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