The Narrow Path 8/27

Good afternoon and welcome to the narrow path radio broadcast modernist is Greg and were live for an hour each weekday afternoon, taking your calls of your questions about the Bible that you would like us to be there or about the Christian faith or you have a different viewpoint hosted like to talk about. Feel free to give me a call. The number is 844-484-5737 that's 844-484-5737 our first color today is Darrell calling from Sacramento and the Darrell. Welcome to the narrow passage for calling the book of Matthew chapter 5 and six and then chapter 28 to something totally opposite.

We talked about the Col. hand book and I eyeballed support Billings Jones, might you like you help me with that. Yeah, I mean first of all, Jesus doesn't really want anyone to poke other eyes were cut off your hands for me and I think anyone who takes him literally in those statements would be in danger, a danger to themselves. I think I have known people who have taken literally what Jesus is saying when he says that if if your hand causes you to sin, or your eye because you said it's better to be rid of that and then to enter into Gehenna retaining Gehenna is usually translated hell. So he saying it's better to be saved and have only one eye or one hand because you eliminated that which was hindering you from being saved then to keep it all and end up thrown into the fires of Gehenna. So that's simply a statement that it's going to yet.

You need to prioritize.

If you're to be a disciple of Jesus are going to have to be rid of whatever in your life is preventing you from being a disciple of sensory saying. If there's if it's if you've got some relationship or some possessions or some position or you know anything that maybe you know you'd be unpopular to be a follower of Christ. If any of that stuff we keep you from falling.

Christ, you'd be better off getting rid of it and he uses the I in the hand as examples, not because your eye your hand would ever really prevent you from becoming a follower of Christ, or even cause you to sin your hands to commit sins inside your eyes but at your heart and your inner person but causes the sensor getting rid of her hand. Her heart heart and I actually would not be helpful if it if it has stopped sinning, getting rid of her hand or I wouldn't help. So he's obviously using a hyperbole saying that even if what you would have to give up is as valuable to you as an Ira hand. Even if it's something you would be so loathed to part with as and I are hand you should still do it and you still consider yourself damaged when Jesus later in chapter 11 said my my yoke is easy and my burden is light. What he means is he's is unlike the Pharisees, he said, are coming to me all you who labor and are heavy laden over Matthew 23 Jesus blamed the Pharisees for loading heavy burdens on people but not been willing to let them off with even so much of one fingers. The idea is that the Pharisees had loaded heavy legalistic burdens on people, the Jews.

They were laboring under an idea that God is easily displeased that you have to keep all these rules are God's going to be angry to a heavy burden to lift and she said no you coming I give you rest. My burden is easy. It's not like there's now what is his burden, his burden is useless to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. That really is an easy thing. If you've determined to do so, and if you've received his spirit, which enables you to do so is he. Some people don't want to love God or they don't want to love their neighbor. They want to hold a grudge very angry. Don't forgive and if that's the case then of course they would find it intolerably heavy burden to follow Christ because he requires them to do those things.

However, those who have come to Christ are not those who are trying to avoid loving God or avoid living people there people who want to love God may want to let people in. Because it's in your heart to do so and you become a follower of Christ who gives you spirit and loving people is what comes naturally, such as a light burden and away so that's what I believe the same. I don't think there's a contradiction there naked. All right, thank you for your call Daniel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Welcome to the narrow path. Thanks for calling records which I went to seminary 50 years ago, long testimony in that time I did not want-year-old from the steel mill mesothelioma going pronounce it correctly seminary in the Orthodox Church and Yugoslavian words from an you probably know from your precise studying stuff and you go to church father torched Orthodox Church are big and never teach them and I heard today a guy on the radio preacher and of course you get into it but talking about in no the whole story and were it says the Lord regretted making the people you're on board. That's probably an people I know of company you probably come to you will.

If God knows the end from the beginning you regret defeating know the people were going to be like that so evil and I didn't know in your torched church. I didn't have that thought to even think about it, then that's not I was born again. I was watching Rex on board years ago on TV and the only way I knew to serve God was to go to seminar and stuff. So what is your answer to that because I know several years ago a bunch of well-known people pre-church and I think even Tony Campolo got into that thing will God does not know the end from the beginning.

So if you can elaborate on that greatly appreciated on sign & my Mike was down for some is I think my my mistake. There is a theological camp called openness.

Theology and that they do teach that God does not necessarily know the choices that people make in the future.

They don't think he's ignorant of all the future. They believe that he has plans and he knows what his plan to do and some those plans cannot be thwarted because they don't involve human free will and therefore God has complete control over the situations and knows what is to do so. Whatever things in the future lie in those categories. He knows but what he does not know they would say is what people are going to choose before they choose it now.

I don't agree with this view but it's it's a good view that is becoming much more respectable and evangelical circles. Some people I think. How could that be a respectable view at it. There compromises God's omniscience well they would say they don't compromise God's omniscience say they believe God knows everything, but that the future isn't a thing the future doesn't exist.

There's nothing there to know the future hasn't happened yet and therefore there's no information content of it until it happens. That's their their position. Now what Christians have usually said is that God lives outside of time and that the past present future are all visible to him to be viewed and therefore he knows the future things by viewing them just like he can view the present of the past.

This statement not God living outside time is not found in Scripture, it's not a not a scriptural teaching, it's a philosophical teaching. It could be true but the Bible doesn't affirm it or deny it, and so before we go, arguing that God knows past present future we might go looking for some Scripture to tell us that before we therefore reaffirm it. And there is no Scripture that affirms that, but the Bible does say that God knows all things. Now the question is are future things. Things are there is not something that can be known. There's nothing there yet until it happens.

It is argued, and when things happen, God knows about them and he knows all he knows all about them. He knows everything that's that he does not yet know. Except for the things he plans to do what what people plan to do before they do and they say that if God knew what I was gonna plan to do tomorrow then I don't have free will to do anything other than what he knows I'm gonna do because he knows I'm a do it than, and not if he just thinks I'm going to so this is a this is a view that's basically what it is. It's not a different view of omniscience much as it's a different view of time. All Christians believe that God knows everything. The question is, is the future in a category of things that exist to be known or not we would all say that God doesn't know any babies that way thousand pounds and the reason he doesn't is because they don't exist. If something does exist. God's not knowing it would not make him less omniscient because there's nothing there to know so they would say God doesn't know what mantra do and therefore they take a passage like when you're using and say well God didn't know the world would turn out this bad and therefore he regretted that he made man when I I take a little differently than that I think God does know the future I think God I don't know how he knows it but I believe there is evidence that he knows the future, and many of the prophecies he gives in the Bible that involve human choices, and so for that to happen so on.

I'm not here to debate the openness theology view biologist Terry. My assumption is very orthodox that God does know all the future before it happens, though I don't profess to know how. So why does it talk this way, why does it talk as if he didn't know. Now there are a number of places like this in the Bible in Genesis.

There's quite a few and there not only passages that suggest that God acts like he doesn't know the future but sometimes actually he doesn't know the present. For example, in Adam and Eve sinned, and he can God came walking in the garden, he said, and where are you and Adam said well I'm I'm in the bushes. I was naked I was a shame. So I hit here and guess it will.

How did you know your naked.

You didn't eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil that you and you know God acts like he doesn't know.

But God certainly knows in in the following chapter in Genesis 4 he says the able army to Canaan after Keynes killed Abel a.

Where is Abel your brother, and came says how should I know I'm not my brother's keeper in my gut says while Taylor is his blood cried out to me from the ground which received from you from your hand in hers God before he asked the question certainly knew the answer, but he sometimes acts in order to interact with us and perhaps to relate to us because he is so infinitely above us that he and we couldn't really relate with him in the seat, lowered himself a little bit to us to reveal himself and through logically answer apology or anthropomorphic think I should say anthropomorphism's are times when God or something else. That's not a man is compared with the man when the Bible talks of the trees shall clap their hands. While the trees are not don't have handsets and anthropomorphic image.

The trees are spoken of as if they are human, but they're not. God is sometimes spoken of as if these human but is not also. And so when he's talking to Abraham in Genesis 18 he's on his way down to Sodom and Gomorrah. He tells Abraham I've heard things are very bad and Sodom and Gomorrah.

I'm going down there to see if it's true and and if it is true.

I'll know not God specifically asked what he doesn't know something that he's going to know in a little while and yet he knew what was going on down the road. He knows going on or around the world and across the universe. How could he not know what's going on in Sodom so he's talking to Abraham in the way that he sometimes does communicate with us as if he's a man like ourselves.

He's not trying to make a statement about his omniscience either to deny it or to affirm when Abraham raised the knife to sacrifice Isaac on the altar and God stopped and God said, now I know that you fear me.

Okay, so some people users and God didn't know if Abrams could do this by garden same. Now I know that you can do this. He said now I know that you fear me, but didn't God know if Abram feared him before that time. It's like God talks.

In many cases in anthropomorphic ways. So it says that God will you know regretted that he made man he he was very sources it grieved in his heart. I believe God really does feel grief, but I'd I don't think it's telling us that God didn't know turn out this way.

I think what he saying he's sorry it did turn out this way and it makes in the fact that he has created man is now a matter of grief to him. But it's it tells it in more than anthropomorphic waiver. God is compared with human as is often the case in the stories, but the Bible elsewhere tells us of course, God is not a man that he doesn't have these limitations so I don't feel that we have to take these narrations and derive from them existential ideas about what God can and cannot do. I think we have to recognize the Bible is written as intent for God to relate with human beings and he often relates with him as if he's one of them and speaks with those kinds of limitation is like a quick question through a big monkeywrench into the whole works of creating man like you said, with Calvinism and the elect and all that well I mean it. It definitely it doesn't have to. You know you but I know what you mean that if God God regretted that he made man, how, how could he have elected all things that happen how to be predestinated everything and I agree that God did not predestinated everything I think your positions out to the Eastern Orthodox don't believe in Augustinian is and Solomon you not agree that God doesn't predestinated her happens and we could take a something like this. I look God was sorry this turned out this way. Well, if he determined it come out there's ready predestinated him up as a how can you be sorry about me that's I think you're making and and and yet the same argument can be made against against Calvinism. Every time God complains about any complaints or lot.

He complains and the prophets a lot about the things Israel started to discriminate.

If the Calvinists were true that God actually pretty ordained for those things to happen.

Then his dad went with them. Doesn't make a lot of sense. That is why I have said in an Calvinism printer upset with me for saying this but I've said you can't really read the Bible and be a Calvinist unless someone is teaching you from MacCallum's point of view, because reading the Bible, you never get the idea that God made everything happen because he complains that some things do happen and that's that's a primary theme throughout the Bible you you have anything I own my cousin stole my computer moving back. Do you have anything on your website, a library, but on about that about what Calvin is not what were talking about Genesis 6 which which is the whole you know tomorrow for stuff of God, not knowing, supposedly beforehand I talk about all these things in my lectures in Genesis 1 something if you listen election. Genesis 6. In all likelihood, in all likelihood I make these points.

Okay okay from because I am not driving because my you have a phone number to call to donate through the phone at this point we don't this party don't know we don't have any office staff.

We don't have office 00 million of any organization to travel light. We do yeah I can take this wholesale in my backpack when I travel I got it from a car so I mean if if you want to donate Chris appreciate that, but probably just getting a check in the mail. Do as well as anything you spell.

I mean, I've been to California several times from. But how do you spell the name of that thundering to macula its TEM you know, TEM, e.g., see you in LA are not looking at just accept. I need to hang. I think it's supposed to be. I've got a lot of calls when I can't keep right on so I thank you so much.

All right.

Thank you thank you guys okay to talk to Donnie from Michigan Donnie, welcome to the narrow path. Thanks for calling I Donnie, there is not a case else I hear some noise but it doesn't is not a voice online okay done and get to hang up and I feel a call back.

Feel free to call back. You know the numbers 844-484-5737 Michael from Fort Worth, Texas.

Welcome to the narrow path. Thanks for coming. Quick question about Luke 311 when Johnny Depp reclined to the crowd who cannot and I'm wondering if the ethic that he is proposing this verse is valid for Christians today and in your opinion and also if so, it seems like he's calling us to something much more radical than Christians are exhibiting says whoever has two tunics is to share with him the last nine and looked at this word tunics and in mean thing every day. Garment and that's true.

I mean, I certainly have more than two everyday garments, and so would decline me to share any surplus that I had them, wondering also may be talking figuratively as well as literally. And you have to violently if you have to have something and you give one of them to somebody who doesn't have one that is loving your neighbor as you love yourself right. It's putting your neighbor's needs on the same level as your own, which is of course the law from Leviticus which Jesus also reaffirmed as being one of the great two great commandments. So John is simply trying to put that law into practical terms, you love your neighbor as you love yourself well.

Do you know so doesn't the government give one of yours. If you got more than one now.

I would say that probably most of us don't know anyone who doesn't have a government to government even even homeless people. Have clothing and they might have more than one pair one set. I don't know. In biblical times the typical peasant only had one set of clothes they didn't have a change of clothes into bathing their clothes because clothing was expensive and person had multiple garments.

Sometimes wealth was measured in governments sometimes payments on large purchases were made in numbers of garments, and so forth that were passed because garments were expensive and and we given to us the people we think of is poor in America.

Even homeless people have more things than the average person in Israel had in those days or in any part of the world. There was no middle class and all. There was the dirt poor and then there were the wealthy and there really weren't people who were kind of poor and kind of wealthy, you know, that was that was just me that's most of us are, and I would say that even the poor people among us are kind of wealthy, let him have cell phones. Most my life I can afford a cell phone wasn't homeless. They have things and and therefore I think what John is saying is you know people who are so poor that they were there wearing. If anything, just a tattered garment that's about to go they need to garment and you got more than one. Help them now.

The principal certainly is. If there are people that need, and you've got surplus definitely you should counted as something God expects of you to help them now do we have to bring our standard of living all the way down to third world levels so that we can obey this command literally in helping Third World people has rectified very many people in America who don't have a garment or don't even have more than one government saw they would have to look overseas, mostly to find somebody who's that poor and there are plenty of and we should be helping them but I don't know that I mean basically he's basically arguing that people in the Third World, where they were and the whole world was Third World.

Then, and who are poor, they should live much more even Lee more equally. Now it's kind of impossible to even make a living in America. If you only on one set of clothes because you never able to wash them. You just would be able hold a job in others. There are standards in just the lowest of the standard living in America is much higher than it is in many parts of the world and so I think we should be helping with food and garments and such things. People in Third World countries and is part of organizations that do that. I think we should give generously to them. I think well a few years ago I got to the point where I could give 50% of my income to the poor, and I felt good because I was thinking of this very command of John the Baptist done that is if you have two give one to some who doesn't have well okay I'll give half of what I have two poor and and by the grace of God been able to manage that I have to keep my own lifestyle.

Lobe is not as low as people's lifestyle was in times so you just can't really take that as an absolute literal thing that you just across the board practice here in America the same way, but I do think that almost all Christians should be challenged by that and should say Willis I get a lot.

I have a lot more things than I need, or will ever need, and I make a lot more money than I need to live on. I mean yeah I don't any of our live at the standard living.

My neighbors have I got to spend most of all I have to do that. I myself but I don't have to live the standard. I don't need to drive a new car need to have all my kids have smart phones. I don't need to have a TV in every room or something. I don't have I don't need all that stuff everyone else sensitive saving and investing.

Well, that's it.

That's a stewardship question. My recent book has a whole chapter on that addressing those very points my book is not out yet but it will be before the end of year logrolling and I also have lectures on stewardship which would deal with that very thing. If you go to my website. The narrow path.com look hundred topical lectures find the series called for let a radically Christian counterculture, and then listen to the lectures there about money because I do target these very questions asked by 90 take a break. I do appreciate your call. All right you listen to the narrow path radio broadcast. We have another half-hour coming up we take a break.

At this point to let you know that the ministry here is listener supported. I mentioned we have no offices with no overhead, but we do pay for radio time you like to help us keep doing that you can write to the narrow path, PO Box 1730 to macula CA 92593 or go to our website. The narrow path.com copyright as you know the narrow path radio show is behind the radio that has nothing to send everything to do the right thing and share with your family and friends tell them to tune into the narrow town on this radio station narrow path.com when they will find topical audio teachings blog articles and diverse teachings and the radio shows you know listener supported Nero, Steve Greg share which you now back to the narrow path Steve Greg and we are live for another half-hour taking. Also, if you have questions like call and ask about the Bible of the Christian faith, feel free to call me the number is 844-484-5737 if you're listener in Southern California, you may be interested to know that this Saturday day after tomorrow I'll be speaking on the book of Daniel in Orange County and in Bonaparte in Buena Park. That's a little church in Winter Park that we speak that from time to time, and it's in our website.

Announcements you find that I'm I'm going to be talking about the book of Daniel will be given an introduction and overview of the book and that's this Saturday night at six so if you're interested. Of course it's free to join us there. Go to our website. The narrow path.com look under announcements. Scroll down to Saturday's date and that you'll find all the information you need to join us if you'd like to do so would love to see you okay Alan from Arlington, Washington.

Welcome to the narrow path. Thanks for going all all in verse 23 you mentioned how all mankind.

Without God talks about how valuable those in verse 24 speak to where the bodies were piled up with the worm will not fired not quench people know that with talking about value and yet with the verbiage in the verse prior to that talks about not day all memo about modern day idea of modern times. You could clarify your thoughts on okay I will first of all, it doesn't say all men will bow before God does have a similar phrase it says at the University all flesh shall come and worship before me, says the Lord. Now all flesh courses something means all men but I'd like to remind you of some other versus integral flesh like Joel chapter 2 verse 28 or thereabouts from where God says in the last days.

I pour out my Spirit on all flesh in your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and so forth. And Peter said with this is fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

Now in Isaiah chapter 9 it says that all flesh shall see the salvation of the Lord the glory of the Lord and this is quoted in eyes. In Matthew chapter 4 I believe this and it says" that verse has been fulfilled when Jesus was doing his ministry in Galilee that it says all flesh shall see the salvation of God out. Jesus wasn't seen by all people around the world and when the Holy Spirit put on Pentecost, it wasn't on the whole world is on all the people who were there and you know could involve more because Peter said the promises to you and your children as many as the virtual call, but the point is, passages that say that something will happen to all flesh.

We have at least some of them that the New Testament identifies as having been fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus. I think this is one of them. I think what he saying is that unlike the time of Isaiah were only Israel worship God that the the worship of God become an international matter. It'll be something where people from all nations will come and worship God, and they do, that's what would happen.

Especially Paul began to preach the Gentiles ever since two so I think some of the new covenant era that God's new covenant doesn't only include the nation of Israel, but includes all flesh all all nations of the Gentiles as well. Now as far as the worm that does not die and the fight is not quench Jesus obviously quoted this in Mark chapter 9 and heat.

He said this was a reference to Gahanna and Gahanna in the Greek means the valley of him so he's describing apparently the valley of him where the corpses it says corpses.

It doesn't say Debbie living people walking around in Gahanna is the their corpses will be there and I believe that the passage is describing the coming of the new covenant which which reaches out to all flesh, all nations and brings them into become part of the worshiping community in Christ. On the one hand, and the destruction of the old order, which happened in A.D. 70, when the judgment came upon Israel for the rejection of Christ and the result was they were slaughtered by the Romans in huge numbers and their bodies were heaped up in the valleys outside Jerusalem like Gahanna so I think that's what it's talking about now. I'll say will give you another reason for thinking so and that is it.

Chapter 60 through 66 which is of course the last seven chapters of Isaiah are quoted many times in the New Testament is either six or eight times the New Testament writers quote from this section of Isaiah and each time they do so in order to point out that this is been fulfilled at the time to their writing. So in the in the first generation of Christians. They identified these chapters as have been fulfilled in their time and believers thinkers eight.

There might be only six but there are several quite a few quotations from this block of Isaiah and they always apply it to their own time.

So I believe that would also support the idea that this is target the coming of the new covenant in its outreach to the Gentiles, coupled with the destruction of the old order, which occurred visibly in 70 A.D. okay follow-up regarding that was fulfilled the day of the show.

Not like the option for like a partial fulfillment like the verbiage a bit stronger than what actually well I mean it's it's a partial fulfillment in the sense that it began something that's been going on for 2000 years since that and so and so is and so is the Isaiah 66 verse 23 all flesh come to worship before God. This bringing in of the Gentiles as worshipers of God in Christ is something that began in the first century, but the new covenant continues right to the end of the world's and likewise the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God poured out his spirit at the beginning of this era that he's continued to party spirit on those who become his disciples, so that's you know II do if you mean that it can happen twice that it happened once in Peter's day ends can happen again. Let's say 2000 years after Peter's day and not in between that I wouldn't see it that way.

I would say the prophecies speak of something that's inaugurated with the new covenant. When Jesus came rose again. You know, and is seated at the right hand of God raining and put out a spirit that was the inauguration of the fulfillment of all these prophecies and they are, they continue to be fulfilled because it inaugurated an ongoing reality which is the new covenant.

All okay hey thanks your call good targeted okay Donnie for mission. We try to get Donny on earlier and didn't get a good connection is try to get Donnie welcome to the narrow path. Thanks for coming back. Let's see, God bless and my question I want to understand the essence of the and I know I have to lie I have a spiritual life that like I can go to Breckenridge to satisfy all and I am not satisfied in my eye was all wrong comes from keeping his commandments and I laid around. Well, Jesus did say if you love me, keep my commandments or that could be taken not as imperative but as it as an indicative if you love me you will keep my commands and retaken my way to so that will keeping Christ commandments is definitely one evidence preps a major evidence of loving him.

Love is itself simply putting another person above yourself. Their interests their happiness, their well-being above yourself and Jesus put it this way. He said, greater love has no man than this, Betty lay down his life for his friends so love is a sacrificial decision out of honoring and respecting the rights of the and the needs of others that you surrender your your needs and your rights. For them that's what love looks like.

And of course keeping God's Christ commandments is not really different than that because what Christ taught us to do is those were is that very thing is to live that way to put others ahead of ourselves. So that would be my understanding of what love is not your right.

The dictionary has a lot of different definitions of love and an English-language reuse. We use it in a lot of different contexts I like. I love chocolate ice cream for you and I love my kids. I love my wife or let my parents or I love my enemies had all of these are very different phenomena. I mean that's all love.

Although some of its merely having has tooth good taste of ice cream okay so that's that's that's taste. It's not really sacrificial. There's lots of different types and degrees of love, but the love that the Bible says would have is called agape love and it is a sacrificial love, that places the interests and needs of others above one's own is what Jesus did and that's what he said this is my command of you love one another that is agape when another, even as I love you question limits and that's precisely what I said all right, so I appreciate appreciate your call and I hope I may have helped you haven't, let's talk to Barbara from Roseville, Michigan.

My Barbara.

Welcome to the narrow path. Thanks for calling and and and that question about treatment that was agreed to meet Mandy on the collar and cannot know everything because of that statement is that thing, when God made it and he needed to reject tenant except me quickly and in most people would have agreed then this is nothing new. I could tell the single women when you have children their concrete view and stopped them from having children, so I add The God of the claimant on my way and everything that he know I agree. I sometimes get this illustration. There are movies that I have seen that I will watch again now if I watch it soon enough. After the first time I will actually remember how it's going to end it might be very appointment will be.

Might be a move that brings me to tears.

It might be movie whose end greatly disappoints me, but it's for whatever reason worth watching. And after I seen it once I know how it can end but I want to begin to feel the same emotions as I see it playing out in front. You know I mean whatever it is that disappointment, whatever it is so sad. It's really sad every time I watched it doesn't mean that because I'm sad I didn't know this is can happen. I saw the movie before I knew was going happen but still affects me when it's happening before my eyes. And so that would be you know, perhaps another illustration appreciate your place and quickly set up as a good one to think he was expecting to make mistakes and it hurts when people mention, I believe that he he I don't believe he made us imperfect.

So that would make mistakes he made us innocent with the capability of being obedient or disobedience, and you're not right we don't have his perfection were not omnipresent and omniscient, omnipotent, have the perfections of God, but he didn't make us, in my opinion. He did make us flawed. He made us more complete than he made the animals and that the animals don't make any decisions. I don't have volition. They act on instinct, but he meant he made us like he made the animals, but he gave us more were much more perfect than the animals, but not as perfect as he is certainly because we know what we possess. The animals do not, God possesses in greater amounts but I don't think that are sinning and I and you may not be saying this, but you think that God made us programmed to center flawed in that sense I think probably what you're saying is, he knew we were flawed as he knew were finitely newer week and that we could sin and therefore, although he didn't really want us to didn't shock him when it happened disappointed in her sleep.

I need to take on the cards and really run out of time, but I think we've agreed all regulation okay.

Let's talk to Luther from Los Angeles, California with her.

Welcome to the narrow path simply live animals and the racially church and am giving them only to organizations that rescue abandoned homes for them was accused of sinning because I still giving money to the church doing wrong.

Well, your priorities may not be what I would recommend but I don't think it's wrong to give to groups that help animals. The Bible says that the righteous man is compassionate towards his pants or tortoise livestock subject to have her tender heart toward animals, I think, is to is to have the type of emotions that we should have.

But when we have a limited amount that we can give to any cause and were going to get one cause or another or not to both then I think we need to consider what's the most important cause to God, because as much as I think that God loves animals and I do too. By the way, I don't believe that God values animals as much as he values people. For example, he had nothing against people eating animals, but have something its people killing people, and in fact even allowed animals to be sacrificed, but he would not allow human sacrifice. There's me, there's a distinction Jesus said you know that the birds are important to God. Not a single bird falls to the ground without God's knowledge and God's concern, but he said, but you're worth more than many birds so God values the animals, but he values people much more were worth more than many animals and that's because he made us in his image.

Now when you give your money your giving money to support some particular value that you have and to help animals doing wrong with helping animals, but I do believe that we have to understand if I get either give to a cause that will bring Christ to people or because it's going to bring animals out of shelters into homes. I can see how in some cases we might have worse sympathy for the animals but that's not God's value system. God wants people is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The truth is I don't say this with any hardness of heart at all toward animals because I'm a great animal lover, but animals are going to die and when they do, it won't make an awful lot of difference because nothing happens to them after they die.

Everyone dies. People die to but it makes a difference because something happens to us after we die so while I will. I would not have in my heart killing animals my own handwriting) or to be cruel to an animal, I have to be realistic. I had a friend who who hunted, I don't hunt. I've never hunted. I'm not against.

I just don't have a stomach for it to tenderhearted toward animals, but I was asking him I said how can you bring yourself to shoot a deer got a message wrong. I just couldn't bring myself to do it unless Maynard started, and even then, I'd be hard. They said my deceit is harvesting and I thought about that.

I guess that makes sense because the animal that I would've killed if I don't kill it. It's really killed by some of the printer. That's what animals are for animals. They are born to be part of the food chain.

Now I know people who who humanize animals more than the Bible does more than I do, would maybe see that as a demeaning event such as the facts. There's reasons why God made animals to meet because they feed other animals. If you made it out of stone. Then we have to assume the guy didn't want them to be in midair as we made them out of meat the same stuff the predators are made out of an so I think you know we have to realize that the if it's going to be me eating venison or a wolf pack or a cougar eating venison.

I think I think God values people more than he values animals as much as he loves animals. They are temporal or not eternal and so the animal you save it. Might you probably feel good about having done so, and I think I think there's every reason to feel good about having dental but that animal is within a few years anyway going to die and nothing will have changed because it lived, but when people die. Everything is changed because they have lived.

They either are going to face the horrors of judgment or they are going to live forever with God bringing glory to him. And so, like I personally think if I've got a little bit of money to give. I can't support more than one cause I'm good deftly pick it because it's going to have something to do with promoting God's desire for people to know him and even to feed them when they're hungry because that's God's desire for them to five extra after done that.

I don't mind helping animals to assist. Not that it's not my idea of a specifically Christian value. It's more about this morbid natural sympathy that we often have. I appreciate your call. Kevin from locking out a California welcome to the neuropathic for calling time certain father draws that's right. And then Jesus father.

The father draws you son Licia right from glory to glory of the Son of Man meeting. That's the fallible, and then the word said that if we keep his commandments, and that the father and the sun will come and make Nero bold with right so the question I handed hunted them out of the person go from son of God.

The progression from son of God to branch broken off from the dying tree extent that's a different question that you're setting up okay but person how does a person who is born-again and is a child of God. So far so good.

Okay you think how do they come to be what Jesus describes as a branch that did not abide yeah or or is possible to a branch broken off the olive tree so you can be.

Jesus said, you can be become dis-attaching the vine and you wither and die or Paul said, you can be broken off of the olive tree. If you don't continue in God's goodness.

So how does it go from there. It's the first well-being of a branch on the vine or altar is obviously a metaphor not so much the idea being a child of God being touted as rather literal peers written born of God and adopted his children and so forth.

So that's more literal to to compare our life in Christ with that of a branch in a plant like a vine or all of tree is metaphorical, but the idea is that the branch is drawing upon the life in the organism in the vine or the tree and if it becomes this attached.

It becomes this attached. Now if it loses its life that it is rather like a child who has died or committed suicide. I heard somebody ask years ago that I think I ask this because I know I was raised believing in once saved always saved as a Baptist.

And remember, challenging someone on this and say will.

How can a person born again become unborn and the person that Blake and I sit and commit suicide and that's true they have become unborn, but they have ceased to be a living child, a person can take their life and that's precisely what Jesus is saying a branch does a person who's a branch in him. If they don't remain in him.

They've cut them off from life.

It's like if you lock yourself in a box where there's no food or air or water to sustain life well you can't live without that connection to those things you have to have access to them. If you put yourself in a plastic bag and seal it up. You're gonna die because you're no longer taking in the sources that sustain your life, air, water, drink likewise reverse it for branches and attached to the vine. It's not taking in life that it was taken before it can withdraw and darts can choke out so when we point it said being led by the spirit.

These are the sons of God, not there is someone that's on that olive tree that isn't being led by the spirit. Then there not a son of God.

While he said as many as 11 is not a thing.

But here's it's not that somebody breaks them off. They break themselves. They don't abide in him. They don't remain in him the if I'm being led by the Spirit today.

It doesn't mean I'll be led by Sir tomorrow. It's up to me in I can relate on the flesh. The fact that a child of God and led by the spirit because I have that privilege is a child of God doesn't mean that I always live up to my privileges I have I have the privilege of because I have a Bible reading the Bible all day long to meditate or did not have the privilege but doesn't do it privileges can be neglected and we have the privilege of being in Christ, and being filled with the spirit and be led by the spirit of those privileges but those are privileges that some people deftly neglect.

I mean, I would say everyone listening to me right now who is a Christian falls in that category of somebody who is has known being led by the spirit because that's what he says as many as are letters for the Church of God but everyone who's ever lived in spirit.

I think knows the phenomenon of sometimes not being spirit sometimes going after something in the flesh momentarily and so if a person ceases to walk in the spirit. Well, there it's not me.

Continuing to walk in Christ. I believe, and therefore there will be doubly disconnected. They disconnect themselves by walking away, so a brother that faultless is a well known that immunity and a toddler who is falls away necessary mean he's broken off her deadening well I can't tell you I contend is hardest but I tell you that it is possible to be broken off by falling away, calling falling away if ongoing means that he tripped and fell and he committed a sin, but shortly thereafter to be an organization again. I don't call that falling away.

I can't falling not falling away on the other hand, if somebody says I was a Christian for a while.

Been there done that followed Jesus.

They go another way that is fine. They are branch listening to the narrow path Steve Greg and we are like Monday through Friday at the same time, and you can listen daily. If you want to. You can also catch the show later in the day or in the evening anytime you want to enter website. The narrowcast.com we are listener supported.

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