Jeff Chamblee M the Bible. The Bible. It's the word of God, living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. It contains all we need for life and godliness. And it reveals to us the mysteries of God. Join us for the next hour as we study the Bible and take your Bible questions. This is Exploring the Word on American Family Radio.
Bert Harper Welcome to Exploring the word. Alex McFarland, Bert Harper with you. And uh, we are doing a little bit different. We're not necessarily doing a Bible study, although we're using the Bible, but we're answering questions that people have put into us from wordfr.net or our Facebook page. And uh, it's hard to answer them on an ongoing basis with our regular programming. So we take special time when we're pre recording programs to go after those questions and we're doing our best to group them together. Uh, some of the questions may be very, uh, very similar. So we group them together to give one answer. So that's what we're trying to do and we pray that it will be a blessing to you. Alex. I know you get questions at Word, but also you get [email protected] sometimes too as well, don't you?
Alex McFarland We do, and we've posted a number of answers online on my own website and we try to answer them on the air. And you and I are working on a book right now and uh, we appreciate the questions and, and do you know there are a lot of things that we might want to know, but I'm so glad the Lord has told us what we need to know. Um, I'll quote Mark Twain and Mark Twain, as far as we know, was never a believer, sadly. But um, he said it's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that worry me. M But it's the parts I do understand. Now, the one thing that we know unequivocally, uh, absolutely with rock solid certainty, we know that Christ gave his life on the cross, rose from the dead, we put our faith in Christ, we are forgiven. And we do rejoice in that.
Bert Harper We do. And again, part of what we do is answer questions, but more importantly is to equip you so you can answer those questions. And I take that seriously. So what you do, as best you can, you take clear answers that are given in the Word to answer those that are not as clear. You start from that which is sure to go to that which is a little bit less sure. And so you don't start with the unsure and speculate. And so if you can't answer all the questions that you have. Guess what? Learn to live with your questions.
Alex McFarland Exactly. And you know, this is as good a time as any to bring up the subject of hermeneutics, uh, biblical hermeneutics. Now don't let the 85 cent words scare you there, but the word hermeneutics refers to accurately, uh, getting the meaning out of the text. We don't want to impose a meaning on the text, we want to draw out the meaning. Now, when one single verse can be a bit obscure, one of the things that's a good hermeneutical principle is to keep in mind the larger context of scripture or the backdrop or kind of the.
Bert Harper Well, let's stop there. Where it was written, is it Old Testament, NewSong Testament, is it law or poetry, or is it prophets? Is it the gospels or is it a letter written? Or is it the history of, uh, the church in the book of Acts? All those play on the question that you just asked.
Alex McFarland Exactly. And so, um, there's an old saying, and I used to hear this and I thought, what in the world does this mean? But they would say a verse out of context is a pretext. And they would say if you don't look at the context, you might be conned by the text. Okay, context is the larger backdrop and the text is every specific verse. Well, a pretext is if we presume something that's not true. Always remember this, the theme of the Bible is Jesus the Savior and how you can know him. I love what Gary Habermas, who's kind of the world expert on the resurrection, kind of. He actually really is PhD from Michigan State, longtime professor at Liberty, and he speaks at our, uh, Truth for NewSong Generation conferences. Gary Habermas is just a jewel. I mean he is a treasure, brilliant scholar and uh, dear friend and minister of the gospel. Uh, we were at a debate once and some of the unbelievers in the audience were being very hostile. Here's a brilliant, world renowned intellect Habermas is. And yet he was being so kind and so tender to try to lead to Christ. Some people that were just being brutally hostile. But Habermas says the theme of the Bible is the kingdom of God and how to get in the Savior and how you can know him. So anytime you've got a single verse that might imply something different, you've got to remember the context. And if we only had one scripture here and there, we might not be able to find out what the answer is. But when you look at the context now for A minute, and we're going to get to your questions. Let's just very briefly, let's talk about the Old and NewSong Testaments. You've got to remember the Old Testament is this. Well, there's the creation story, obviously, but then God raises up the nation of Israel through whom to send the Savior? I mean that's. And they.
Bert Harper Whether he first with creation is humankind, which the Savior would come through. And then he narrows it down to Abraham. A nation, right?
Alex McFarland Yeah. And then not only a nation, but a, ah, very city and a couple.
Bert Harper A tribe of Judah.
Alex McFarland Exactly. I mean, very, very specific. Josh McDowell, does this thing about Jesus address that he would be born at a specific time, at a specific place, to a specific couple, from within a specific tribe, from within a very specific nation, at a very specific milieu, a time period? Josh McDowell says, Look, the statistical odds that it could have been anybody else. Josh has this famous slide he does in PowerPoint. You've probably seen it, but it's tens of millions to one that Jesus wasn't the man. Okay? Josh said, cover the state of Texas in silver dollars like three feet deep and paint one red, toss it in the pile randomly. You got one chance to extract the right colored disc. In other words, it's one out of infinitesimally high odds, trillions and trillions quad. In other words, the odds that Jesus wasn't the man, God's promised redeemer, that you can personally know, uh, it's just impossible.
Bert Harper That's the Old Testament leading up to that. Think of it this way. An hourglass. You start up here, all of mankind, and it goes down to a people, to a tribe, to a place, to a couple. And here's Jesus born at that point of the narrowest point, uh, at the hourglass. And then guess what? It spreads. The NewSong Testament is that part of it spreading from there and the Gospel going to all peoples of the earth till you get to Revelation where in heaven it's going to be. Every tribe, every tongue, every people you catch. So think of an hourglass, Alex. Here's the message. The Old Testament coming on down to his story. Jesus being born, living and dying, and then that message going out to all the world. That's the bottom part of the hourglass to me, that just visualize what you have, and you put everything in the scriptures into the context with Jesus Christ and his redemptive message and his redemptive act, and you put it into that and you'll see it. That's what we try to do on exploring the Word.
Alex McFarland We do. Well, you know, the gospel is universal and it's personal. Jon 3:16. For God so loved the world that whosoever. I like these W's. There's the world, and there's the whosoever. Jesus gave his life for the human race, but then there's you and there's me. That whosoever believes in him. Friend, we hope that you understand you are a whosoever. In other words, Jesus looked through history and saw you. CS Lewis very poetically said that out of the centuries of history, the nations of the world and hundreds of people, um, it all comes down to, as Lewis said, a Jewish girl at her prayers. And the angel appears and says, mary, you're highly favored. The power of the highest will overshadow you, and you will give birth to a son. His name will be called Immanuel. God with us. And that's the gospel story.
Bert Harper Amen.
Alex McFarland Yeah. And so understand, uh, in the Old Testament, they looked in faith to the Savior that would come that one time.
Bert Harper One time, one person. Isn't that amazing?
Alex McFarland And we look back in faith to the Savior that did come that one time.
Bert Harper That one person, same Savior, same savior.
Alex McFarland Just. We live on two different sides of the coil.
Bert Harper Exactly. And that's what the Bible. So you interpret all of that, looking at it. Uh, like my professor said, open the Bible, make a beeline for Jesus. You'll never go wrong with that.
Alex McFarland Right on.
Bert Harper And you try to do it. Let's get to the questions. I know you're, uh, the first time we did. We're doing several of these Q and A pre records, and I asked the questions the last time. Guess what? It's your turn, Alex.
Alex McFarland Folks, I wish you could see us. Um, we got papers laid out everywhere, which means that a lot of, uh, people contact us, and we love it. And you can email [email protected] okay. Um, we'll, uh, begin here. This is a listener from Michigan who says, if God knows the harvest is ready and there's the harvest, then why did Jesus ask us to pray that he would send forth laborers? Um, God doesn't need motivation or reminders. So why is Jesus asking us to pray? Pray for the harvest and the laborers. Well, there's a lot of things we could say, but let's, for just a moment, talk about prayer. Um, it's been said prayer is not what changes God. Prayers, uh, change us. Don't they, really? Um, I do think, uh, that it's exciting that we can be engaged in the Great Commission. So one thing as we pray for the lost. It does cultivate within us a heart of compassion, doesn't it?
Bert Harper It does. Let me share this with you. And I think this speaks to it. Alex, you can disagree or agree. Jesus becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Him becoming human lets us know our part of the story. God sent his son to be born of the virgin that you just got through talking a moment ago. What CS Lewis said. He became human. And his responsibility as a human was not to do his will, but the will of his Father. Could God. I don't know. You know, Jesus said, father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. I think the Father's answer was no. My holiness and my love cannot be compatible except through you on the cross and you becoming sin because of his involvement of coming human. We're a part of the harvest, Alex. You know, the humanity part of that. And Jesus said, I'm going to go away, but I'm going to send to you the spirit, the paraclete, the comforter. And you are going to do what? Greater things than I. Yeah. And that's where God lets us in on what he's doing.
Alex McFarland And.
Bert Harper And the harvest is great. And part of that is praying, part of that is giving, part of that is going. And all of it is speaking, in speaking. And all of it is glorifying Him. I'm not sure we could glorify him as much as we do had he not let us in on what he's doing. That brings all glory to himself.
Alex McFarland Well, exactly. And you know what? As we pray, you know the Bible says, pray, therefore the Lord of the that he'll send forth laborers as we pray. Uh, it might occur to us that one of those laborers to be sent forth is ourselves.
Bert Harper It usually is, isn't it?
Alex McFarland Isn't that something? Uh, and by the way, I hope you do pray for the lost and for the unsaved. Now, let's talk about this for a second. Um, there will be rewards in heaven for faithful service, obedience. There will be lack of rewards for disobedience. I mentioned Gary Habermas, incredible theologian, and Habermas says this. As we serve the Lord and we grow and we invest and we obey, and we just lay down our life for Jesus. We're determining our capacity to enjoy heaven.
Bert Harper I agree with you.
Alex McFarland You're sending your rewards on ahead by your Christian obedience.
Bert Harper Amen. I think that's what it's talking about in heaven too. Much whom much is given, much is required. And when we make much of what God's Done. The capacity to understand is going to be great. This is Exploring the Word on the American Family Radio Network. We're answering your questions, so don't go away. We'll be right back after this break. We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she'll choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound250 and say the keyword baby or visit preborn.com exploring the
Jeff Chamblee word on American Family Radio. Connect with Alex and Bert on the Exploring the Word Facebook page. Facebook.com exploring the word or email [email protected] Word is alive.
Alex McFarland And the word and its glories will fade, but it's true, it will not pass away. It remains yesterday and forever the same. The Word is alive.
Bert Harper And because the Word is alive, we explore it.
Alex McFarland And.
Bert Harper And that's exactly what we do here on this program. This is Bert Harper along with Dr. Alex McFarland. M. And we're answering questions that have been sent to us through wordfr.net or through our Facebook page. Uh, so we're taking time out to try to answer those, and we hope we get to your questions again. Let me explain that we try to group as many of them as we can together and give one answer for several. Some of them cannot be done that way. They are so specific. But if we can group them together, you will get more answers that way. Well, Alex, you ready for a question that has come in to us?
Alex McFarland Um, I am. And we've got at least, um, two I'd like to get to in this segment, but, um, a listener writes in and says, huge question. I'm an avid listener. Um, please, uh, how can I be assured that God is speaking to me? And this listener lists several, um, scriptures, Old and NewSong Testament. Um, one of which is this. Uh, Jeremiah 1:5. Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Uh, before you were born, I set you apart, anointed you to be a prophet to the nations. How do I know God is speaking to me and not to just the disciples or just to the Israelites? Um, this relates to the will of God. And, you know, I know a lot of people will be quick to say, um, if you pull out a scripture of the Old Testament, like Jeremiah 29, 11, 13, I know the thoughts I think towards you. Um, I know there are a lot of Christians, and sometimes they're almost like a killjoy. And they're like, well, that's not talking about God's will for your life. In Proverbs 3, 5, 6, in all your ways, acknowledge him and he'll make straight your path. A lot of people try to say you can't apply that to your. You know, Philippians 4, 13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I actually had a Christian say, well, now that's Paul and that's the early church. That's not us today. Okay, I want to say two things. I understand there are a lot of scriptures that are relevant to Israel, uh, in their possessing the land of the Old Testament. I know there are some scriptures that are relevant to the early church, but the promises and the prohibitions and the warnings. There are a lot of promises in Scripture. Repent and God will forgive you and trust in Christ and He can save you. And there are prohibitions, um, flee immorality, put away childish things. And there are warnings, if you don't repent, you'll perish. Um, but I do believe that we can take the word of God and assuming the context is not specific only to Israel, um, that is the key. Let me just say God is never going to call you to go fight the Babylonians. Okay? You don't need to worry about that. But to become more conformed to the image of Christ, to more deeply trust God and more copiously try to obey. Now, that is for all of us, isn't it?
Bert Harper It is. Take Philippians for a moment. I can do all things through Christ. Uh, what was he talking about in the verses before? Were you talking about the context? I believe, uh, anytime you get to the context of what it's saying, it'll help you, not hinder you. And he's talking to these Philippians who have helped him in all kinds of situations. And before that, he said, I know what it is to have no money. I know what it is to be in jail. I know what it is to abound. I know what it is to have everything set, uh, in a house. And then he talks about that and he goes on and says a few other things. And he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can. When God brings it on to me in his power, I can, through his power stand. I can abound, I can be abased. I can do all those things, these things that he's been talking to me. That doesn't hurt the context? Um, I heard someone say just the other day, and I'm in a full agreement. I can't sing a lick, Alex. I can't carry a tune in a bucket. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Don't ask me to do a solo on this program. Everybody would want to turn the radio off. Okay, I can't do that. But what it is, I can Christ live in me anytime, anywhere. Keep it in the context and it will bless you. Just like just talking about, uh, the plans I have for you are good. That was true for them. But guess what? The principle has not changed. He says, I'm going to send you and you're going to go into a land and I'm going to bring you back out of the land. And my plans are good for you. You put that in the whole context of the scriptures. God's plans for Alex McFarlane are good.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper And they're good. You can dwell on it. It is a principled promise, and that's what you're looking at. It's not necessarily a specific promise for one time in history, but it is a principled promise based upon what God did in their life and what he can do in our life. If you look at it that way, I don't think you'll make a mistake if you can put it in that context.
Alex McFarland Exactly. Okay. A verse that has generated a lot of discussion, or a passage rather, is 2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their sin, I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Bert Harper Amen.
Alex McFarland Okay, I have preached on that and I've done Fourth of July programs around that. Well, there are some Christians and, oh, ah, boy, they just get in a high dander and they'll say, that wasn't written to America. You know, the United States of America is not Israel. I know that, but I also know this. If you humble yourself before God, you cry out, you repent of sin, and you say, oh, God, please forgive us and help us. I know the context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 was written to ancient Israel, but if you repent, God is going to receive you.
Bert Harper Use another principle. There was, uh, the Ninevites, God's people.
Alex McFarland Uh, not in the same sense as
Bert Harper the Jewish people, but guess what happened to them when something similar happened to that and Jonah went to them and preached. They turned in sackcloth and ashes, they turned away, repented, and they did some of the things, if not all of the things, that he talks about there in 2 Chronicles. And guess what? They.
Alex McFarland They were spared.
Bert Harper They were, I guess, spared for a while.
Alex McFarland You know, archeologists have excavated Nineveh. Uh, they found, um, like, statues and religious paraphernalia burned up. And it's documented that Nineveh had a radical religious conversion, and they were spared. So let me just say this, and I know we probably need to move on.
Bert Harper This may be why we don't answer so many questions.
Alex McFarland Yeah, exactly, exactly. Um, you don't want to presumptuously use scripture in the wrong way, but there are promises, there are prohibitions, there are warnings. And, um, like Gary Friesen says in his very excellent book, Decision Making and the Will of God, the primary, um, call of Scripture is to be saved and then to increasingly grow in conformity to the image of God.
Bert Harper Sounds like the Great Commission.
Alex McFarland Exactly. Honestly, God's will for your life that you know Christ and that you grow in Christ.
Bert Harper Read the scriptures. And we were talking about this during the break. Read it missionally. When you read it missionally, it will really put the Bible into context. Yes, it tells how we should live. But why should we live this way, Alex? So others can see Christ in me. The hope of glory. So everything we do is missional with a purpose of bringing others to Christ and glorifying God. That is the bottom line. If it were not the bottom line, guess when we would go to heaven. The moment after we got saved.
Alex McFarland That's right.
Bert Harper But he's left us here to serve him so others can see Jesus in us. And, brother, that's. Listen, make much of Jesus. That's the whole bit. Got another question.
Alex McFarland Well, somebody writes in. This is a listener in Tennessee, and it says, um, do you ever wonder why God allowed evil and sin to exist at all? Why did he create angels and Lucifer be given a free will, knowing that Lucifer would rebel? And, uh, one more thing. Why weren't angels without sin. Why weren't all the angels without sin nature to prevent evil from entering heaven in the first place? Okay, so let's talk a little bit
Bert Harper about that is a question that is asked in similar terms many times.
Alex McFarland Exactly. Um, this does refer to, uh, what we call the problem m of evil and suffering. And if God knew that man would fall, why did he create man? If God knew that Lucifer would rebel, why create angels? As a corollary, people often say, okay, well, why didn't God create but make it impossible for us to sin? There's a lot we could say, but it boils down to relationships. God, the Almighty created angels and humans to have relationship fellowship with Him. Now, it wasn't because he was lonely, because lonely implies some lack or some need. It wasn't. God needed somebody or he just wanted somebody to talk to.
Bert Harper But God made a difference in that. In sharing it, though.
Alex McFarland Exactly.
Bert Harper There's joy in sharing, Alex, you know, And God, no, he didn't need us, but he shared with us the joy of his image. We're made in the image of God. Isn't that awesome? We are made to be able to worship Him.
Alex McFarland Exactly.
Bert Harper And notice what the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit does. Uh, I don't be mistaken on this. Notice what the Father makes much of His Son. Yes, Jesus made much of the Father and the Spirit. He said, unless the Spirit comes and the Spirit makes much of Jesus. Do you see how, how that is? And they freely do that. They do that freely in the image of God made it possible for us to freely worship Him.
Alex McFarland I know. Isn't it?
Bert Harper And if we were not given that, you know, uh, it was just, it would be routine. But no, it's not routine. It's an adventure that cannot be described adequately.
Alex McFarland Well, let me say this, friend. We have been given free will and free choice because God is a relational God, and God is a God of love. Why did God create? Because to show his love. And here's the thing. Even in calling us, uh, to worship Him, God is showing love. And I'll tell you why. Because the wisest thing you'll ever do is to turn to God. In calling us to worship Him, God was showing us love. Because, uh, the farther we get from God, the less life we have. The wages of sin is death, says Romans 6:23. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Listen, sin is death, non being. The closer you are to God, the more alive you are. So, um, God is a relational God. Robots, you can't have a relationship with a puppet. Uh, if God just was, um, creating hard drive computers that are programmed, and we couldn't have chosen to love and experience Him. That's not a relationship.
Bert Harper Well, Alex, does this mean that the angels, at one point in time, after they were created, had the opportunity to choose to follow God or not follow him and follow the fallen angel, Lucifer. Seems like we have been given many times praise the Lord for that. I did not get saved the first time God demonstrated His love toward me and I knew he was calling me. It took about a year and a half for God to break down a barrier that I wasn't good Enough. My whole thing was I thought I had to clean my act up before I come to Christ. And I think I didn't understand just as I am. But the angels had that one opportunity, and a third of them chose to not serve him. Right.
Alex McFarland Now, think about this. In the whole universe, there's four classifications of life. Plant life, animal life, human life, angelic life, four categories of life. Angels and humans have the ability to make moral choices. We have free will. Animals have free will, at least in the sense they could, um, eat the food or run through the yard, but they can't make moral choices. The choices of an animal don't have moral implications. Scholars, um, call it volition. God endued with angels and humans. Volition, the ability to make moral choices. All right. Why. Why didn't God not do that? Because, um, he wouldn't have been the creator that he is.
Bert Harper Well, let me ask this. We serve God. Humans, angels serve God. Animals serve humans. You catch what I'm. And it's a whole different level of life that does away with the very thought of Darwinian evolution. We don't want to get on that. I'm just making that statement.
Alex McFarland Yeah, I got you.
Bert Harper But the angels, they are servants of the Lord. Angels, ministering spirit. The idea is ministering spirits. We are to serve the Lord. Matter of fact, it says we are to serve him with gladness as born
Alex McFarland again believers enter his presence with singing.
Bert Harper This service to God is a moral choice. Whereas the animals that they're serving. Humankind. Different level.
Alex McFarland Exactly. And by the way, it has always been Satan's, um, game plan to harm humans because we're made in God's image. Satan could not kill off God, so he's tried to harm the ones made in God's image. And by the way, when a human is given over to sin, a human rejects God, becomes an atheist. Eat, drink, be merry, get intoxicated, live immorally. They have been dehumanized. Listen to. Throw off all restraints and just live for the flesh. You're not free. You're in bondage.
Bert Harper In bondage.
Alex McFarland So let me say this. Um, it is a privilege to have been created and to know God. Uh, the catechism, what is the chief end of man? The. The teleos, the design, the purpose of man, to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Now, I've had people say to me, uh, well, I didn't ask to be born. Well, be careful. And look, I was there. We, um, had, you know, all at once, back before I was on this show. This was about 07. I had, um, a daddy in intensive care dying. My parents were bankrupt. Uh, we were going to lose the farm that we had had for 88 years. Um, I was president of a school. And we had a whole lot going on. And for a little brief moment, I thought, I wish I hadn't been born. And then I said, God, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Because to have been given life and the chance to know the Savior is a great, great blessing.
Bert Harper You and Job have something in common.
Alex McFarland I had my job moment.
Bert Harper Amen. We're going to answer more questions in a moment. When we come back for more of Exploring the Word on American Family Radio Network. We'd like to thank PreBorn. PreBorn has rescued over 200,000 babies from abortion. And every day their network clinics rescue 200 babies. Will you join PreBorn in loving and supporting young moms in crisis? Save a life today. Go to preborn.com now back to the
Jeff Chamblee Bible study with Alex and Bert. You're listening to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio. American Family Radio.
Bert Harper American Family.
Alex McFarland Let the power of your words dwell
Bert Harper here, richly changing the ways that
Alex McFarland fill
Bert Harper me with otherly wisdom. Plant me deep like a tree by the stream. Welcome back to Exploring the Word. This is a pre recorded program, so we will not be taking questions in this last segment, but we hope you'll listen. But we are going to be answering questions that's come through [email protected] or on our Facebook page of it, Exploring the Word. So we want to get right to them as quickly as we can. Alex, you're asking the questions today. Go ahead, brother.
Alex McFarland Well, you know, some questions are theological and some questions are relational. And so we've been heavy into theology and some deep concepts. Here's one that really does talk about our heart, our life, our relationships. Um, and listen, if you're one of our listeners and you hear one of your own questions, uh, thank you. And know that we are praying for you. But a person writes in and says, I'm really struggling because I'm having difficulty seeing God's care for my son and my grandson. I've been praying for them for 20 years to truly surrender to Jesus. I know he loves, but this is so stressful. This is the first time I've had to lay my hands on my son since he was in middle school. I'm assuming there was some kind of struggle or altercation. But the bottom line, this listener says, I've been praying for 20 years to truly surrender to Jesus. When am I going to see Fruit for these prayers. And I hear friend in your words. This is so stressful, Bert. Um, there are some things in life that aren't about theology, philosophy or data, but they're about relationships. And sometimes those can be the hardest.
Bert Harper Can they? I believe they are. And again, I'm quoting some people and observing. Uh, One is Josh McDowell. This really changed my life concerning a lot of things. Rules without relationship leads to rebellion. Now, there can be rebellion without that. Don't get me wrong. Rebellion. In the book of Proverbs, you find out that God just talked about wayward children. Ah, he didn't say about, you know, neglectful parents. Uh, we see examples of David being a neglectful parent. Alex and some, uh, of his sons demonstrated what that happens. So you give everything you can. You make your lifestyle as close to the Lord as you can. You know, try. Try to demonstrate godliness in your life.
Alex McFarland That's right.
Bert Harper Uh, do that. The example of who you are is louder than your words when it comes to your children, teenagers, especially your children, they see things that even the spouse may not even see. And they, uh, are observing. So make your life as straight toward Christ as you can.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper Be strong. Don't enable them to go wrong, but do your best to keep relationship. Don't ever say, if you do that, don't you ever come here again. Avoid that at you. Remember, tie a yellow ribbon. If they're gone, tie a yellow ribbon around the ole oak tree. Let them know we want you to come home. You can't come home and live here and live the way you are. But you can come here and visit and we can talk. But make your home available.
Alex McFarland Well, and m. Let me say this, folks, and that's a good word. Um, this is going to be hard. This is not going to be easy. But when you're talking with a family member because, you know, we get emotionally charged because we're so invested. I mean, this is somebody we love, a family member. But you're going to try to have to be, um, dispassionate. And by that I mean don't fly off the handle. And don't use these always or never statements.
Bert Harper Bad communication skills.
Alex McFarland You always let me down. You never. No, just calmly with the Holy Spirit going say, son, I love you. Nothing will ever change. You're my son. I would stand down a locomotive for you. However, we both know this is wrong. So my door is always open. You're my son, and that will never change. Now, I can't let you do this because, number one, I answer to God. So be rational, be calm, let the Spirit guide you. But also, let me just say two things, and I know we've got to move on. Um, your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58. If you've prayed for your Son for 20 years and you don't think you see visible fruit yet, just keep on praying. Because listen carefully. As much as you love your son, God loves them infinitely more. You can't love your son more than God loves him. I think about George Mueller, very famous leader years ago, and he was a prayer warrior. And he, um, prayed in the food every day for the orphanages that he ran. And he ran like a dozen or so. Maybe more than that. Well, he had a friend that was unsaved, was an infidel, didn't believe in God. Mueller prayed for that guy for like 20 years. And at Mueller's funeral, preacher gave an altar call and the friend got saved at Mueller's funeral. And now George Mueller had prayed for this friend for years. In his lifetime this side of heaven, he didn't even see the fruit. But be assured your prayers, your prayers are landing and sticking more than you might imagine.
Bert Harper Stay on your knees in prayer. Amen. That's good advice.
Alex McFarland Don't give up.
Bert Harper Don't give up. Hang in there.
Alex McFarland All right, we've got another question here. And I guess this is more emotional and relational than cognitive and theological, too, but it says, um, Bert and Alex, how do you know if you're saved or not? How do you know if you're deceiving yourself? I've doubted my salvation my whole life. Where was the Holy Spirit when Jesus had the sins of the whole world laid on him and the cross? Okay, so it's really kind of a two part question, uh, having assurance of your salvation, getting off of that treadmill of worry, second guessing, not really sure that's really important. I'm going to say this and I want to throw to you. You can have, as Jon R. Rice said, a no. So salvation, can't you, Bert?
Bert Harper You can. The Bible makes it plain. If you're doubting your salvation. I would spend a lot of time in the book of First Jon, he writes these and he says these things. Have I written that you may know that you have eternal life? And he gives five different places there in the book of First Jon. And I'm not going to make it easy for you. What you want to do is go through it for yourself when others make it easy for you. Most of the time it doesn't stick. Have you noticed that? But when I find it, and God reveals it to me after someone has suggested it becomes mine. When I was senior, um, year in high school and three or four years in college, I memorized 99 verses of scripture every year.
Alex McFarland Wow.
Bert Harper And I come across them this day. And I don't have your memory, Alex, and I understand that, uh, just your tremendous memory. But I come across those verses today. And I may not can say them, um, now, because you got to keep on repeating them and saying them. But guess what? They're mine.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper Now, I don't mean that in a selfish way, but they're mine. Because what did I do? I committed them to myself, to my memory. If you'll go through the book of First Jon, if you're doubting your salvation, make sure you are saved. Make sure there's been a time in your life when you turned away from your sin. That's called repentance. You turn to Christ in acceptance. That's called surrender. And you ask him to be Lord of your life, now and forever. It's not just a moment. It's not a fleeting moment. It's something that. Yes, I'm starting and I'm staking and I'm staying.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper Uh, yes. And then go through the book of First Jon. These things have written. And look at the words that you may know, that you may know, that you may know. And it will become yours. If you are just basing it on what Mama said, what brother Alex said, what brother Bert said. Listen, um, that's not sufficient. It needs to be what God says. And let God speak to you.
Alex McFarland And by the way, just because I know some are kind of new to the Bible. There's the Gospel of Jon, and we're not saying, read Jon, chapter one. Okay, look, you'll see there's Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jon. But then you go to the very back of the Bible, near the book of Revelation, you're going to see three smaller books. First, Second, and Third Jon.
Bert Harper Same author. Yeah, exactly, but different books.
Alex McFarland So, first Jon, which won't take you long to read at all.
Bert Harper Uh, five chapters Now, Ah.
Alex McFarland I'm going to give you one more assignment. But I'm not going to recite the verse, so you've got to look it up yourself.
Bert Harper We're doing tough today, aren't we?
Alex McFarland Find Jon 6, verse 40. Find Jon 6:40 and read that and see if you don't get some assurance for your salvation. Somebody asked Charles Spurgeon, one of the great leaders. They said, what if you die and you stand before God and it turns out all this was false and, um, you weren't sincere enough and God is going to turn you away to hell. You think you're saved, but what if you're not? And Spurgeon said, well, first of all, I'm not trusting my emotions anyway because m. My status with God is not based on my feelings and listener. My heart goes out to you. You say you've doubted your salvation. Spurgeon said, I will simply point to God and to his word and say, but, Lord, your word promised me that if I would turn to Christ, I would be saved. And he quoted some verses. He said, my salvation is not contingent with. On emotions, but on the fact of God's word that never changes.
Bert Harper Amen. I want to share this personal thought with our listeners. Um, I was in college at Blue Mountain. I'd been called to preach. I had a night class, and I was driving home. I don't know what came over me, but I had a severe doubt of my salvation. Something similar had happened to me earlier in that am I really saved? Am I really saved? Here's what happened. And it wasn't because someone said it to me. I think it was of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Uh, uh, fear was the problem. It was not the word. It was fear of, you know, who am I? Uh, what have I done? And I came to this point, I said, lord, if I go to hell, the fear of hell, I'm going to go to hell trusting Jesus. And I heard, I even in my car, I said that even out loud, Alex, because I was in the car by myself. And all of a sudden, the word of God became so real. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him and he'll direct your paths. When you do all that, guess where those paths lead. The ultimate, eternal path leads to be with Jesus. And I want to tell you that happened, uh, back when I was 20. That's close to 40 years ago that that occurred. I haven't severely doubted my salvation for a split moment since that time. Ah, you don't go to hell trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. After you've said, lord, I can't make it on my own. I'm dependent completely upon you. You've got a place. Your name is written in the book. Book of life.
Alex McFarland Yeah. Trusting Jesus and Jesus alone.
Bert Harper Only him, only way.
Alex McFarland Amen. Amen.
Bert Harper If you haven't ever done that, man, we want them to don't we, Alex?
Alex McFarland And there's a number you can call if you need spiritual help. Even right now.
Bert Harper Triple eight need him. There's people there that are ready. We run their, uh, advertisements on our network. Uh, Triple eight need him.
Alex McFarland The, uh, writer says, where was the Holy Spirit when Jesus had the sins of the world laid on him and God the Father turned his back? Okay, let's, um, talk about this for a minute. Um, God is unchanging. He never, um, changes. God is not becoming something. God just is. And sometimes, um, they talk about the, uh, immutability of God, immutable. In other words, God doesn't change. Now, they also talk about the impeccability of Christ, that Christ was not sinful. Uh, in fact, Jesus in his state as deity, could not sin. However, in the incarnation, when God left heaven, came to earth, took on a human body, the Son of God. But God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, um, in his human nature, he was fully human, but not fallen human. He was nailed on the cross and the sins of the world were put on him. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us. Now, again, this is an ocean of truth that our finite little minds are trying to take in. Okay. When Jesus quotes Psalm 22, 1, Eli, Eli Lama, Sabachthani, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me and the Father? For the first and only time in eternity in all of history, the Father turned His back on the Son. Here's what was not happening. There was not an unraveling of the Godhead. There was not a separation within the nature of God. Um, but what was happening was that for the satisfaction of our sins, the atonement, the wrath, the guilt, the judgment on fallen humanity was placed on Jesus. And we don't understand this. I, um, don't understand it. But for the Father, for that moment to turn away from the Son, that was truly tangible, legitimately painful for Jesus, wasn't it?
Bert Harper It was. Let me ask, from the Father's point of view, was it? He could not look on what was taking place. In other words, a Father's emotion, it had to take place. He knew it had to take place, but he could not look upon it. You know, he could not look upon sin. I've understood that too. But he could not look upon what sin was, you know, His Son. And he not turning his back on saying, I have nothing to do with you. Uh, no. But turning his back so he would not look upon him. In such a state. You know, I think there's a mixture of that, Alex. Now, I. May you catch what I'm saying? Because God is. He is. He has emotions. The Spirit of God can be grieved. The Spirit of God can be quenched. Uh, Jesus would weep. God would have emotion. And he did not look upon his Son. He could not look upon sin. I understand that. But at the same time, he did not look upon him. What sin? His son becoming sin.
Alex McFarland Well. And the listener asked, you know, where was the Holy Spirit? Well, by definition, the Holy Spirit. According to Psalm 139, 7, the Holy Spirit is everywhere omnipresent. So where was the Spirit? The same place the Spirit always is, which is everywhere but the Trinity, the Incarnation and the atonement. How all of my guilt, the appropriate measure of God's wrath that I deserved, was poured on Jesus.
Bert Harper We.
Alex McFarland We know he did that because he loves us.
Bert Harper The Holy Spirit manifests himself at his baptism.
Alex McFarland You know, he now is calling men everywhere to repent.
Bert Harper Repent. And that's what he's doing now. If he's calling you to repent, I pray you would. I pray you'd come to Christ, uh, turn away from sin. Turn to Christ. Surrender your life to him. Um, let him come in and take over. It's the greatest decision you'll ever make. Thank you for. Thanks for listening to Exploring the Word here on the American Family Radio Network. And, Alex, it's been good to be with you.
Alex McFarland Been good to be with you, my friend.
Bert Harper And we want you to tell someone about exploring the Word, but tell everyone about Jesus.
Alex McFarland The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Jeff Chamblee M the Bible. The Bible. It's the word of God, living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. It contains all we need for life and godliness. And it reveals to us the mysteries of God. Join us for the next hour as we study the Bible and take your Bible questions. This is Exploring the Word on American Family Radio.
Bert Harper Welcome to Exploring the word. Alex McFarland, Bert Harper with you. And uh, we are doing a little bit different. We're not necessarily doing a Bible study, although we're using the Bible, but we're answering questions that people have put into us from wordfr.net or our Facebook page. And uh, it's hard to answer them on an ongoing basis with our regular programming. So we take special time when we're pre recording programs to go after those questions and we're doing our best to group them together. Uh, some of the questions may be very, uh, very similar. So we group them together to give one answer. So that's what we're trying to do and we pray that it will be a blessing to you. Alex. I know you get questions at Word, but also you get [email protected] sometimes too as well, don't you?
Alex McFarland We do, and we've posted a number of answers online on my own website and we try to answer them on the air. And you and I are working on a book right now and uh, we appreciate the questions and, and do you know there are a lot of things that we might want to know, but I'm so glad the Lord has told us what we need to know. Um, I'll quote Mark Twain and Mark Twain, as far as we know, was never a believer, sadly. But um, he said it's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that worry me. M But it's the parts I do understand. Now, the one thing that we know unequivocally, uh, absolutely with rock solid certainty, we know that Christ gave his life on the cross, rose from the dead, we put our faith in Christ, we are forgiven. And we do rejoice in that.
Bert Harper We do. And again, part of what we do is answer questions, but more importantly is to equip you so you can answer those questions. And I take that seriously. So what you do, as best you can, you take clear answers that are given in the Word to answer those that are not as clear. You start from that which is sure to go to that which is a little bit less sure. And so you don't start with the unsure and speculate. And so if you can't answer all the questions that you have. Guess what? Learn to live with your questions.
Alex McFarland Exactly. And you know, this is as good a time as any to bring up the subject of hermeneutics, uh, biblical hermeneutics. Now don't let the 85 cent words scare you there, but the word hermeneutics refers to accurately, uh, getting the meaning out of the text. We don't want to impose a meaning on the text, we want to draw out the meaning. Now, when one single verse can be a bit obscure, one of the things that's a good hermeneutical principle is to keep in mind the larger context of scripture or the backdrop or kind of the.
Bert Harper Well, let's stop there. Where it was written, is it Old Testament, NewSong Testament, is it law or poetry, or is it prophets? Is it the gospels or is it a letter written? Or is it the history of, uh, the church in the book of Acts? All those play on the question that you just asked.
Alex McFarland Exactly. And so, um, there's an old saying, and I used to hear this and I thought, what in the world does this mean? But they would say a verse out of context is a pretext. And they would say if you don't look at the context, you might be conned by the text. Okay, context is the larger backdrop and the text is every specific verse. Well, a pretext is if we presume something that's not true. Always remember this, the theme of the Bible is Jesus the Savior and how you can know him. I love what Gary Habermas, who's kind of the world expert on the resurrection, kind of. He actually really is PhD from Michigan State, longtime professor at Liberty, and he speaks at our, uh, Truth for NewSong Generation conferences. Gary Habermas is just a jewel. I mean he is a treasure, brilliant scholar and uh, dear friend and minister of the gospel. Uh, we were at a debate once and some of the unbelievers in the audience were being very hostile. Here's a brilliant, world renowned intellect Habermas is. And yet he was being so kind and so tender to try to lead to Christ. Some people that were just being brutally hostile. But Habermas says the theme of the Bible is the kingdom of God and how to get in the Savior and how you can know him. So anytime you've got a single verse that might imply something different, you've got to remember the context. And if we only had one scripture here and there, we might not be able to find out what the answer is. But when you look at the context now for A minute, and we're going to get to your questions. Let's just very briefly, let's talk about the Old and NewSong Testaments. You've got to remember the Old Testament is this. Well, there's the creation story, obviously, but then God raises up the nation of Israel through whom to send the Savior? I mean that's. And they.
Bert Harper Whether he first with creation is humankind, which the Savior would come through. And then he narrows it down to Abraham. A nation, right?
Alex McFarland Yeah. And then not only a nation, but a, ah, very city and a couple.
Bert Harper A tribe of Judah.
Alex McFarland Exactly. I mean, very, very specific. Josh McDowell, does this thing about Jesus address that he would be born at a specific time, at a specific place, to a specific couple, from within a specific tribe, from within a very specific nation, at a very specific milieu, a time period? Josh McDowell says, Look, the statistical odds that it could have been anybody else. Josh has this famous slide he does in PowerPoint. You've probably seen it, but it's tens of millions to one that Jesus wasn't the man. Okay? Josh said, cover the state of Texas in silver dollars like three feet deep and paint one red, toss it in the pile randomly. You got one chance to extract the right colored disc. In other words, it's one out of infinitesimally high odds, trillions and trillions quad. In other words, the odds that Jesus wasn't the man, God's promised redeemer, that you can personally know, uh, it's just impossible.
Bert Harper That's the Old Testament leading up to that. Think of it this way. An hourglass. You start up here, all of mankind, and it goes down to a people, to a tribe, to a place, to a couple. And here's Jesus born at that point of the narrowest point, uh, at the hourglass. And then guess what? It spreads. The NewSong Testament is that part of it spreading from there and the Gospel going to all peoples of the earth till you get to Revelation where in heaven it's going to be. Every tribe, every tongue, every people you catch. So think of an hourglass, Alex. Here's the message. The Old Testament coming on down to his story. Jesus being born, living and dying, and then that message going out to all the world. That's the bottom part of the hourglass to me, that just visualize what you have, and you put everything in the scriptures into the context with Jesus Christ and his redemptive message and his redemptive act, and you put it into that and you'll see it. That's what we try to do on exploring the Word.
Alex McFarland We do. Well, you know, the gospel is universal and it's personal. Jon 3:16. For God so loved the world that whosoever. I like these W's. There's the world, and there's the whosoever. Jesus gave his life for the human race, but then there's you and there's me. That whosoever believes in him. Friend, we hope that you understand you are a whosoever. In other words, Jesus looked through history and saw you. CS Lewis very poetically said that out of the centuries of history, the nations of the world and hundreds of people, um, it all comes down to, as Lewis said, a Jewish girl at her prayers. And the angel appears and says, mary, you're highly favored. The power of the highest will overshadow you, and you will give birth to a son. His name will be called Immanuel. God with us. And that's the gospel story.
Bert Harper Amen.
Alex McFarland Yeah. And so understand, uh, in the Old Testament, they looked in faith to the Savior that would come that one time.
Bert Harper One time, one person. Isn't that amazing?
Alex McFarland And we look back in faith to the Savior that did come that one time.
Bert Harper That one person, same Savior, same savior.
Alex McFarland Just. We live on two different sides of the coil.
Bert Harper Exactly. And that's what the Bible. So you interpret all of that, looking at it. Uh, like my professor said, open the Bible, make a beeline for Jesus. You'll never go wrong with that.
Alex McFarland Right on.
Bert Harper And you try to do it. Let's get to the questions. I know you're, uh, the first time we did. We're doing several of these Q and A pre records, and I asked the questions the last time. Guess what? It's your turn, Alex.
Alex McFarland Folks, I wish you could see us. Um, we got papers laid out everywhere, which means that a lot of, uh, people contact us, and we love it. And you can email [email protected] okay. Um, we'll, uh, begin here. This is a listener from Michigan who says, if God knows the harvest is ready and there's the harvest, then why did Jesus ask us to pray that he would send forth laborers? Um, God doesn't need motivation or reminders. So why is Jesus asking us to pray? Pray for the harvest and the laborers. Well, there's a lot of things we could say, but let's, for just a moment, talk about prayer. Um, it's been said prayer is not what changes God. Prayers, uh, change us. Don't they, really? Um, I do think, uh, that it's exciting that we can be engaged in the Great Commission. So one thing as we pray for the lost. It does cultivate within us a heart of compassion, doesn't it?
Bert Harper It does. Let me share this with you. And I think this speaks to it. Alex, you can disagree or agree. Jesus becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Him becoming human lets us know our part of the story. God sent his son to be born of the virgin that you just got through talking a moment ago. What CS Lewis said. He became human. And his responsibility as a human was not to do his will, but the will of his Father. Could God. I don't know. You know, Jesus said, father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. I think the Father's answer was no. My holiness and my love cannot be compatible except through you on the cross and you becoming sin because of his involvement of coming human. We're a part of the harvest, Alex. You know, the humanity part of that. And Jesus said, I'm going to go away, but I'm going to send to you the spirit, the paraclete, the comforter. And you are going to do what? Greater things than I. Yeah. And that's where God lets us in on what he's doing.
Alex McFarland And.
Bert Harper And the harvest is great. And part of that is praying, part of that is giving, part of that is going. And all of it is speaking, in speaking. And all of it is glorifying Him. I'm not sure we could glorify him as much as we do had he not let us in on what he's doing. That brings all glory to himself.
Alex McFarland Well, exactly. And you know what? As we pray, you know the Bible says, pray, therefore the Lord of the that he'll send forth laborers as we pray. Uh, it might occur to us that one of those laborers to be sent forth is ourselves.
Bert Harper It usually is, isn't it?
Alex McFarland Isn't that something? Uh, and by the way, I hope you do pray for the lost and for the unsaved. Now, let's talk about this for a second. Um, there will be rewards in heaven for faithful service, obedience. There will be lack of rewards for disobedience. I mentioned Gary Habermas, incredible theologian, and Habermas says this. As we serve the Lord and we grow and we invest and we obey, and we just lay down our life for Jesus. We're determining our capacity to enjoy heaven.
Bert Harper I agree with you.
Alex McFarland You're sending your rewards on ahead by your Christian obedience.
Bert Harper Amen. I think that's what it's talking about in heaven too. Much whom much is given, much is required. And when we make much of what God's Done. The capacity to understand is going to be great. This is Exploring the Word on the American Family Radio Network. We're answering your questions, so don't go away. We'll be right back after this break. We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she'll choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound250 and say the keyword baby or visit preborn.com exploring the
Jeff Chamblee word on American Family Radio. Connect with Alex and Bert on the Exploring the Word Facebook page. Facebook.com exploring the word or email [email protected] Word is alive.
Alex McFarland And the word and its glories will fade, but it's true, it will not pass away. It remains yesterday and forever the same. The Word is alive.
Bert Harper And because the Word is alive, we explore it.
Alex McFarland And.
Bert Harper And that's exactly what we do here on this program. This is Bert Harper along with Dr. Alex McFarland. M. And we're answering questions that have been sent to us through wordfr.net or through our Facebook page. Uh, so we're taking time out to try to answer those, and we hope we get to your questions again. Let me explain that we try to group as many of them as we can together and give one answer for several. Some of them cannot be done that way. They are so specific. But if we can group them together, you will get more answers that way. Well, Alex, you ready for a question that has come in to us?
Alex McFarland Um, I am. And we've got at least, um, two I'd like to get to in this segment, but, um, a listener writes in and says, huge question. I'm an avid listener. Um, please, uh, how can I be assured that God is speaking to me? And this listener lists several, um, scriptures, Old and NewSong Testament. Um, one of which is this. Uh, Jeremiah 1:5. Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Uh, before you were born, I set you apart, anointed you to be a prophet to the nations. How do I know God is speaking to me and not to just the disciples or just to the Israelites? Um, this relates to the will of God. And, you know, I know a lot of people will be quick to say, um, if you pull out a scripture of the Old Testament, like Jeremiah 29, 11, 13, I know the thoughts I think towards you. Um, I know there are a lot of Christians, and sometimes they're almost like a killjoy. And they're like, well, that's not talking about God's will for your life. In Proverbs 3, 5, 6, in all your ways, acknowledge him and he'll make straight your path. A lot of people try to say you can't apply that to your. You know, Philippians 4, 13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I actually had a Christian say, well, now that's Paul and that's the early church. That's not us today. Okay, I want to say two things. I understand there are a lot of scriptures that are relevant to Israel, uh, in their possessing the land of the Old Testament. I know there are some scriptures that are relevant to the early church, but the promises and the prohibitions and the warnings. There are a lot of promises in Scripture. Repent and God will forgive you and trust in Christ and He can save you. And there are prohibitions, um, flee immorality, put away childish things. And there are warnings, if you don't repent, you'll perish. Um, but I do believe that we can take the word of God and assuming the context is not specific only to Israel, um, that is the key. Let me just say God is never going to call you to go fight the Babylonians. Okay? You don't need to worry about that. But to become more conformed to the image of Christ, to more deeply trust God and more copiously try to obey. Now, that is for all of us, isn't it?
Bert Harper It is. Take Philippians for a moment. I can do all things through Christ. Uh, what was he talking about in the verses before? Were you talking about the context? I believe, uh, anytime you get to the context of what it's saying, it'll help you, not hinder you. And he's talking to these Philippians who have helped him in all kinds of situations. And before that, he said, I know what it is to have no money. I know what it is to be in jail. I know what it is to abound. I know what it is to have everything set, uh, in a house. And then he talks about that and he goes on and says a few other things. And he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can. When God brings it on to me in his power, I can, through his power stand. I can abound, I can be abased. I can do all those things, these things that he's been talking to me. That doesn't hurt the context? Um, I heard someone say just the other day, and I'm in a full agreement. I can't sing a lick, Alex. I can't carry a tune in a bucket. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Don't ask me to do a solo on this program. Everybody would want to turn the radio off. Okay, I can't do that. But what it is, I can Christ live in me anytime, anywhere. Keep it in the context and it will bless you. Just like just talking about, uh, the plans I have for you are good. That was true for them. But guess what? The principle has not changed. He says, I'm going to send you and you're going to go into a land and I'm going to bring you back out of the land. And my plans are good for you. You put that in the whole context of the scriptures. God's plans for Alex McFarlane are good.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper And they're good. You can dwell on it. It is a principled promise, and that's what you're looking at. It's not necessarily a specific promise for one time in history, but it is a principled promise based upon what God did in their life and what he can do in our life. If you look at it that way, I don't think you'll make a mistake if you can put it in that context.
Alex McFarland Exactly. Okay. A verse that has generated a lot of discussion, or a passage rather, is 2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their sin, I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Bert Harper Amen.
Alex McFarland Okay, I have preached on that and I've done Fourth of July programs around that. Well, there are some Christians and, oh, ah, boy, they just get in a high dander and they'll say, that wasn't written to America. You know, the United States of America is not Israel. I know that, but I also know this. If you humble yourself before God, you cry out, you repent of sin, and you say, oh, God, please forgive us and help us. I know the context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 was written to ancient Israel, but if you repent, God is going to receive you.
Bert Harper Use another principle. There was, uh, the Ninevites, God's people.
Alex McFarland Uh, not in the same sense as
Bert Harper the Jewish people, but guess what happened to them when something similar happened to that and Jonah went to them and preached. They turned in sackcloth and ashes, they turned away, repented, and they did some of the things, if not all of the things, that he talks about there in 2 Chronicles. And guess what? They.
Alex McFarland They were spared.
Bert Harper They were, I guess, spared for a while.
Alex McFarland You know, archeologists have excavated Nineveh. Uh, they found, um, like, statues and religious paraphernalia burned up. And it's documented that Nineveh had a radical religious conversion, and they were spared. So let me just say this, and I know we probably need to move on.
Bert Harper This may be why we don't answer so many questions.
Alex McFarland Yeah, exactly, exactly. Um, you don't want to presumptuously use scripture in the wrong way, but there are promises, there are prohibitions, there are warnings. And, um, like Gary Friesen says in his very excellent book, Decision Making and the Will of God, the primary, um, call of Scripture is to be saved and then to increasingly grow in conformity to the image of God.
Bert Harper Sounds like the Great Commission.
Alex McFarland Exactly. Honestly, God's will for your life that you know Christ and that you grow in Christ.
Bert Harper Read the scriptures. And we were talking about this during the break. Read it missionally. When you read it missionally, it will really put the Bible into context. Yes, it tells how we should live. But why should we live this way, Alex? So others can see Christ in me. The hope of glory. So everything we do is missional with a purpose of bringing others to Christ and glorifying God. That is the bottom line. If it were not the bottom line, guess when we would go to heaven. The moment after we got saved.
Alex McFarland That's right.
Bert Harper But he's left us here to serve him so others can see Jesus in us. And, brother, that's. Listen, make much of Jesus. That's the whole bit. Got another question.
Alex McFarland Well, somebody writes in. This is a listener in Tennessee, and it says, um, do you ever wonder why God allowed evil and sin to exist at all? Why did he create angels and Lucifer be given a free will, knowing that Lucifer would rebel? And, uh, one more thing. Why weren't angels without sin. Why weren't all the angels without sin nature to prevent evil from entering heaven in the first place? Okay, so let's talk a little bit
Bert Harper about that is a question that is asked in similar terms many times.
Alex McFarland Exactly. Um, this does refer to, uh, what we call the problem m of evil and suffering. And if God knew that man would fall, why did he create man? If God knew that Lucifer would rebel, why create angels? As a corollary, people often say, okay, well, why didn't God create but make it impossible for us to sin? There's a lot we could say, but it boils down to relationships. God, the Almighty created angels and humans to have relationship fellowship with Him. Now, it wasn't because he was lonely, because lonely implies some lack or some need. It wasn't. God needed somebody or he just wanted somebody to talk to.
Bert Harper But God made a difference in that. In sharing it, though.
Alex McFarland Exactly.
Bert Harper There's joy in sharing, Alex, you know, And God, no, he didn't need us, but he shared with us the joy of his image. We're made in the image of God. Isn't that awesome? We are made to be able to worship Him.
Alex McFarland Exactly.
Bert Harper And notice what the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit does. Uh, I don't be mistaken on this. Notice what the Father makes much of His Son. Yes, Jesus made much of the Father and the Spirit. He said, unless the Spirit comes and the Spirit makes much of Jesus. Do you see how, how that is? And they freely do that. They do that freely in the image of God made it possible for us to freely worship Him.
Alex McFarland I know. Isn't it?
Bert Harper And if we were not given that, you know, uh, it was just, it would be routine. But no, it's not routine. It's an adventure that cannot be described adequately.
Alex McFarland Well, let me say this, friend. We have been given free will and free choice because God is a relational God, and God is a God of love. Why did God create? Because to show his love. And here's the thing. Even in calling us, uh, to worship Him, God is showing love. And I'll tell you why. Because the wisest thing you'll ever do is to turn to God. In calling us to worship Him, God was showing us love. Because, uh, the farther we get from God, the less life we have. The wages of sin is death, says Romans 6:23. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Listen, sin is death, non being. The closer you are to God, the more alive you are. So, um, God is a relational God. Robots, you can't have a relationship with a puppet. Uh, if God just was, um, creating hard drive computers that are programmed, and we couldn't have chosen to love and experience Him. That's not a relationship.
Bert Harper Well, Alex, does this mean that the angels, at one point in time, after they were created, had the opportunity to choose to follow God or not follow him and follow the fallen angel, Lucifer. Seems like we have been given many times praise the Lord for that. I did not get saved the first time God demonstrated His love toward me and I knew he was calling me. It took about a year and a half for God to break down a barrier that I wasn't good Enough. My whole thing was I thought I had to clean my act up before I come to Christ. And I think I didn't understand just as I am. But the angels had that one opportunity, and a third of them chose to not serve him. Right.
Alex McFarland Now, think about this. In the whole universe, there's four classifications of life. Plant life, animal life, human life, angelic life, four categories of life. Angels and humans have the ability to make moral choices. We have free will. Animals have free will, at least in the sense they could, um, eat the food or run through the yard, but they can't make moral choices. The choices of an animal don't have moral implications. Scholars, um, call it volition. God endued with angels and humans. Volition, the ability to make moral choices. All right. Why. Why didn't God not do that? Because, um, he wouldn't have been the creator that he is.
Bert Harper Well, let me ask this. We serve God. Humans, angels serve God. Animals serve humans. You catch what I'm. And it's a whole different level of life that does away with the very thought of Darwinian evolution. We don't want to get on that. I'm just making that statement.
Alex McFarland Yeah, I got you.
Bert Harper But the angels, they are servants of the Lord. Angels, ministering spirit. The idea is ministering spirits. We are to serve the Lord. Matter of fact, it says we are to serve him with gladness as born
Alex McFarland again believers enter his presence with singing.
Bert Harper This service to God is a moral choice. Whereas the animals that they're serving. Humankind. Different level.
Alex McFarland Exactly. And by the way, it has always been Satan's, um, game plan to harm humans because we're made in God's image. Satan could not kill off God, so he's tried to harm the ones made in God's image. And by the way, when a human is given over to sin, a human rejects God, becomes an atheist. Eat, drink, be merry, get intoxicated, live immorally. They have been dehumanized. Listen to. Throw off all restraints and just live for the flesh. You're not free. You're in bondage.
Bert Harper In bondage.
Alex McFarland So let me say this. Um, it is a privilege to have been created and to know God. Uh, the catechism, what is the chief end of man? The. The teleos, the design, the purpose of man, to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Now, I've had people say to me, uh, well, I didn't ask to be born. Well, be careful. And look, I was there. We, um, had, you know, all at once, back before I was on this show. This was about 07. I had, um, a daddy in intensive care dying. My parents were bankrupt. Uh, we were going to lose the farm that we had had for 88 years. Um, I was president of a school. And we had a whole lot going on. And for a little brief moment, I thought, I wish I hadn't been born. And then I said, God, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Because to have been given life and the chance to know the Savior is a great, great blessing.
Bert Harper You and Job have something in common.
Alex McFarland I had my job moment.
Bert Harper Amen. We're going to answer more questions in a moment. When we come back for more of Exploring the Word on American Family Radio Network. We'd like to thank PreBorn. PreBorn has rescued over 200,000 babies from abortion. And every day their network clinics rescue 200 babies. Will you join PreBorn in loving and supporting young moms in crisis? Save a life today. Go to preborn.com now back to the
Jeff Chamblee Bible study with Alex and Bert. You're listening to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio. American Family Radio.
Bert Harper American Family.
Alex McFarland Let the power of your words dwell
Bert Harper here, richly changing the ways that
Alex McFarland fill
Bert Harper me with otherly wisdom. Plant me deep like a tree by the stream. Welcome back to Exploring the Word. This is a pre recorded program, so we will not be taking questions in this last segment, but we hope you'll listen. But we are going to be answering questions that's come through [email protected] or on our Facebook page of it, Exploring the Word. So we want to get right to them as quickly as we can. Alex, you're asking the questions today. Go ahead, brother.
Alex McFarland Well, you know, some questions are theological and some questions are relational. And so we've been heavy into theology and some deep concepts. Here's one that really does talk about our heart, our life, our relationships. Um, and listen, if you're one of our listeners and you hear one of your own questions, uh, thank you. And know that we are praying for you. But a person writes in and says, I'm really struggling because I'm having difficulty seeing God's care for my son and my grandson. I've been praying for them for 20 years to truly surrender to Jesus. I know he loves, but this is so stressful. This is the first time I've had to lay my hands on my son since he was in middle school. I'm assuming there was some kind of struggle or altercation. But the bottom line, this listener says, I've been praying for 20 years to truly surrender to Jesus. When am I going to see Fruit for these prayers. And I hear friend in your words. This is so stressful, Bert. Um, there are some things in life that aren't about theology, philosophy or data, but they're about relationships. And sometimes those can be the hardest.
Bert Harper Can they? I believe they are. And again, I'm quoting some people and observing. Uh, One is Josh McDowell. This really changed my life concerning a lot of things. Rules without relationship leads to rebellion. Now, there can be rebellion without that. Don't get me wrong. Rebellion. In the book of Proverbs, you find out that God just talked about wayward children. Ah, he didn't say about, you know, neglectful parents. Uh, we see examples of David being a neglectful parent. Alex and some, uh, of his sons demonstrated what that happens. So you give everything you can. You make your lifestyle as close to the Lord as you can. You know, try. Try to demonstrate godliness in your life.
Alex McFarland That's right.
Bert Harper Uh, do that. The example of who you are is louder than your words when it comes to your children, teenagers, especially your children, they see things that even the spouse may not even see. And they, uh, are observing. So make your life as straight toward Christ as you can.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper Be strong. Don't enable them to go wrong, but do your best to keep relationship. Don't ever say, if you do that, don't you ever come here again. Avoid that at you. Remember, tie a yellow ribbon. If they're gone, tie a yellow ribbon around the ole oak tree. Let them know we want you to come home. You can't come home and live here and live the way you are. But you can come here and visit and we can talk. But make your home available.
Alex McFarland Well, and m. Let me say this, folks, and that's a good word. Um, this is going to be hard. This is not going to be easy. But when you're talking with a family member because, you know, we get emotionally charged because we're so invested. I mean, this is somebody we love, a family member. But you're going to try to have to be, um, dispassionate. And by that I mean don't fly off the handle. And don't use these always or never statements.
Bert Harper Bad communication skills.
Alex McFarland You always let me down. You never. No, just calmly with the Holy Spirit going say, son, I love you. Nothing will ever change. You're my son. I would stand down a locomotive for you. However, we both know this is wrong. So my door is always open. You're my son, and that will never change. Now, I can't let you do this because, number one, I answer to God. So be rational, be calm, let the Spirit guide you. But also, let me just say two things, and I know we've got to move on. Um, your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58. If you've prayed for your Son for 20 years and you don't think you see visible fruit yet, just keep on praying. Because listen carefully. As much as you love your son, God loves them infinitely more. You can't love your son more than God loves him. I think about George Mueller, very famous leader years ago, and he was a prayer warrior. And he, um, prayed in the food every day for the orphanages that he ran. And he ran like a dozen or so. Maybe more than that. Well, he had a friend that was unsaved, was an infidel, didn't believe in God. Mueller prayed for that guy for like 20 years. And at Mueller's funeral, preacher gave an altar call and the friend got saved at Mueller's funeral. And now George Mueller had prayed for this friend for years. In his lifetime this side of heaven, he didn't even see the fruit. But be assured your prayers, your prayers are landing and sticking more than you might imagine.
Bert Harper Stay on your knees in prayer. Amen. That's good advice.
Alex McFarland Don't give up.
Bert Harper Don't give up. Hang in there.
Alex McFarland All right, we've got another question here. And I guess this is more emotional and relational than cognitive and theological, too, but it says, um, Bert and Alex, how do you know if you're saved or not? How do you know if you're deceiving yourself? I've doubted my salvation my whole life. Where was the Holy Spirit when Jesus had the sins of the whole world laid on him and the cross? Okay, so it's really kind of a two part question, uh, having assurance of your salvation, getting off of that treadmill of worry, second guessing, not really sure that's really important. I'm going to say this and I want to throw to you. You can have, as Jon R. Rice said, a no. So salvation, can't you, Bert?
Bert Harper You can. The Bible makes it plain. If you're doubting your salvation. I would spend a lot of time in the book of First Jon, he writes these and he says these things. Have I written that you may know that you have eternal life? And he gives five different places there in the book of First Jon. And I'm not going to make it easy for you. What you want to do is go through it for yourself when others make it easy for you. Most of the time it doesn't stick. Have you noticed that? But when I find it, and God reveals it to me after someone has suggested it becomes mine. When I was senior, um, year in high school and three or four years in college, I memorized 99 verses of scripture every year.
Alex McFarland Wow.
Bert Harper And I come across them this day. And I don't have your memory, Alex, and I understand that, uh, just your tremendous memory. But I come across those verses today. And I may not can say them, um, now, because you got to keep on repeating them and saying them. But guess what? They're mine.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper Now, I don't mean that in a selfish way, but they're mine. Because what did I do? I committed them to myself, to my memory. If you'll go through the book of First Jon, if you're doubting your salvation, make sure you are saved. Make sure there's been a time in your life when you turned away from your sin. That's called repentance. You turn to Christ in acceptance. That's called surrender. And you ask him to be Lord of your life, now and forever. It's not just a moment. It's not a fleeting moment. It's something that. Yes, I'm starting and I'm staking and I'm staying.
Alex McFarland Amen.
Bert Harper Uh, yes. And then go through the book of First Jon. These things have written. And look at the words that you may know, that you may know, that you may know. And it will become yours. If you are just basing it on what Mama said, what brother Alex said, what brother Bert said. Listen, um, that's not sufficient. It needs to be what God says. And let God speak to you.
Alex McFarland And by the way, just because I know some are kind of new to the Bible. There's the Gospel of Jon, and we're not saying, read Jon, chapter one. Okay, look, you'll see there's Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jon. But then you go to the very back of the Bible, near the book of Revelation, you're going to see three smaller books. First, Second, and Third Jon.
Bert Harper Same author. Yeah, exactly, but different books.
Alex McFarland So, first Jon, which won't take you long to read at all.
Bert Harper Uh, five chapters Now, Ah.
Alex McFarland I'm going to give you one more assignment. But I'm not going to recite the verse, so you've got to look it up yourself.
Bert Harper We're doing tough today, aren't we?
Alex McFarland Find Jon 6, verse 40. Find Jon 6:40 and read that and see if you don't get some assurance for your salvation. Somebody asked Charles Spurgeon, one of the great leaders. They said, what if you die and you stand before God and it turns out all this was false and, um, you weren't sincere enough and God is going to turn you away to hell. You think you're saved, but what if you're not? And Spurgeon said, well, first of all, I'm not trusting my emotions anyway because m. My status with God is not based on my feelings and listener. My heart goes out to you. You say you've doubted your salvation. Spurgeon said, I will simply point to God and to his word and say, but, Lord, your word promised me that if I would turn to Christ, I would be saved. And he quoted some verses. He said, my salvation is not contingent with. On emotions, but on the fact of God's word that never changes.
Bert Harper Amen. I want to share this personal thought with our listeners. Um, I was in college at Blue Mountain. I'd been called to preach. I had a night class, and I was driving home. I don't know what came over me, but I had a severe doubt of my salvation. Something similar had happened to me earlier in that am I really saved? Am I really saved? Here's what happened. And it wasn't because someone said it to me. I think it was of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Uh, uh, fear was the problem. It was not the word. It was fear of, you know, who am I? Uh, what have I done? And I came to this point, I said, lord, if I go to hell, the fear of hell, I'm going to go to hell trusting Jesus. And I heard, I even in my car, I said that even out loud, Alex, because I was in the car by myself. And all of a sudden, the word of God became so real. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him and he'll direct your paths. When you do all that, guess where those paths lead. The ultimate, eternal path leads to be with Jesus. And I want to tell you that happened, uh, back when I was 20. That's close to 40 years ago that that occurred. I haven't severely doubted my salvation for a split moment since that time. Ah, you don't go to hell trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. After you've said, lord, I can't make it on my own. I'm dependent completely upon you. You've got a place. Your name is written in the book. Book of life.
Alex McFarland Yeah. Trusting Jesus and Jesus alone.
Bert Harper Only him, only way.
Alex McFarland Amen. Amen.
Bert Harper If you haven't ever done that, man, we want them to don't we, Alex?
Alex McFarland And there's a number you can call if you need spiritual help. Even right now.
Bert Harper Triple eight need him. There's people there that are ready. We run their, uh, advertisements on our network. Uh, Triple eight need him.
Alex McFarland The, uh, writer says, where was the Holy Spirit when Jesus had the sins of the world laid on him and God the Father turned his back? Okay, let's, um, talk about this for a minute. Um, God is unchanging. He never, um, changes. God is not becoming something. God just is. And sometimes, um, they talk about the, uh, immutability of God, immutable. In other words, God doesn't change. Now, they also talk about the impeccability of Christ, that Christ was not sinful. Uh, in fact, Jesus in his state as deity, could not sin. However, in the incarnation, when God left heaven, came to earth, took on a human body, the Son of God. But God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, um, in his human nature, he was fully human, but not fallen human. He was nailed on the cross and the sins of the world were put on him. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us. Now, again, this is an ocean of truth that our finite little minds are trying to take in. Okay. When Jesus quotes Psalm 22, 1, Eli, Eli Lama, Sabachthani, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me and the Father? For the first and only time in eternity in all of history, the Father turned His back on the Son. Here's what was not happening. There was not an unraveling of the Godhead. There was not a separation within the nature of God. Um, but what was happening was that for the satisfaction of our sins, the atonement, the wrath, the guilt, the judgment on fallen humanity was placed on Jesus. And we don't understand this. I, um, don't understand it. But for the Father, for that moment to turn away from the Son, that was truly tangible, legitimately painful for Jesus, wasn't it?
Bert Harper It was. Let me ask, from the Father's point of view, was it? He could not look on what was taking place. In other words, a Father's emotion, it had to take place. He knew it had to take place, but he could not look upon it. You know, he could not look upon sin. I've understood that too. But he could not look upon what sin was, you know, His Son. And he not turning his back on saying, I have nothing to do with you. Uh, no. But turning his back so he would not look upon him. In such a state. You know, I think there's a mixture of that, Alex. Now, I. May you catch what I'm saying? Because God is. He is. He has emotions. The Spirit of God can be grieved. The Spirit of God can be quenched. Uh, Jesus would weep. God would have emotion. And he did not look upon his Son. He could not look upon sin. I understand that. But at the same time, he did not look upon him. What sin? His son becoming sin.
Alex McFarland Well. And the listener asked, you know, where was the Holy Spirit? Well, by definition, the Holy Spirit. According to Psalm 139, 7, the Holy Spirit is everywhere omnipresent. So where was the Spirit? The same place the Spirit always is, which is everywhere but the Trinity, the Incarnation and the atonement. How all of my guilt, the appropriate measure of God's wrath that I deserved, was poured on Jesus.
Bert Harper We.
Alex McFarland We know he did that because he loves us.
Bert Harper The Holy Spirit manifests himself at his baptism.
Alex McFarland You know, he now is calling men everywhere to repent.
Bert Harper Repent. And that's what he's doing now. If he's calling you to repent, I pray you would. I pray you'd come to Christ, uh, turn away from sin. Turn to Christ. Surrender your life to him. Um, let him come in and take over. It's the greatest decision you'll ever make. Thank you for. Thanks for listening to Exploring the Word here on the American Family Radio Network. And, Alex, it's been good to be with you.
Alex McFarland Been good to be with you, my friend.
Bert Harper And we want you to tell someone about exploring the Word, but tell everyone about Jesus.
Alex McFarland The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
In this enlightening episode, Alex McFarland and Bert Harper dive into the profound depths of biblical interpretation and the importance of understanding scripture in context. They tackle listener questions, addressing topics like prayer, God's will, and the nature of salvation, while emphasizing the significance of Jesus Christ at the center of the biblical narrative. Discover how to navigate your faith questions and deepen your understanding of God's Word in this engaging discussion!
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