American Family Radio's Exploring the Word takes your Bible questions

>> 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.

>> Alex McFarland: And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men also who will be able to teach. That's 2 Timothy 2, 2. And with that verse, we welcome you to today's edition of Exploring the Word. My name is Alex McFarland. With me in the studio is Bert Harper, my fellow friend, and Bible teacher on the show. Bert, it is really good to be in house here at the American Family Radio Network.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, it's always good to be with you. I think this verse will help us to give a little bit of history. We're going to look at what the Bible is all about.

>> Bert Harper: But I think it might take a minute or two to tell a little bit about our journey here because what Paul is saying here to Timothy, what you've heard of me, you need to take in. You need to share it with faithful men and then they're going to share it with others. That's four steps in it. And that's kind of what we desire to do here on Exploring the Word. We take the word of God, the source, you and I discuss it as best we can and we try to dispense it to the people who are living their lives. But many of those people are going to the jails and they have a jail ministry. They're teaching their Sunday school class, their youth group, and God brought us to this place. I received a letter this week saying how much they enjoy you and I working together. Alex and I enjoy one another. We love the word of God. We love Jesus Christ with all of our heart, our soul and mind. We have a high regard for scripture and that you take it as it is given and it means what it says and we believe that and it's good for all people. Alex, his background, he's been a pastor, but his background, he's been a seminary professor, he teaches in seminaries, he is an apologist, he's a debater. And so he has a greater academic idea, but he brings it in a common way. God's gifted me. I, pastored for nearly 40 years dealing with issues. I majored in math for the first two years. You know what you do in math? Guess what you do when you're A pastor solve problems, you solve problems. So I bring that experience and that commonality to it. We do enjoy playing. And when I use the word playoff, responding in other words would be better. And that's why the conversation. Both of us love to preach. And every once in a while we'll both go off on a tangent. But that's good because they get to hear our heart and our passion. But, I thought it would be good for folks to hear that because that's kind of what Paul was saying to Timothy. Timothy, you've heard it from me. You traveled with me, and once you heard of me, I want you to teach others.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Bert Harper: And that was his heart, and that's our heart, what he was teaching. The word of God.

>> Alex McFarland: The word of God, the Bible.

>> Bert Harper: Something about it being settled in heaven forever.

>> Alex McFarland: O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. And we're going to come back to 2 Timothy 2. 2. we get a question.

A lot people say they'll write, how can I understand the Bible

A lot people say they'll write, and in one way or another they'll say, how can I understand the Bible? Or I know I need to read the Bible, and how can I really understand what it means? So what we're going to do in this show, we're going to unpack what are the themes of Scripture. And there are really nine, overarching themes or topics, mega themes, and we're going to give you what those are, and we want you to be able to get a good handle on the Bible. I do want to say this, both of us, I know in my own life, and I know in Bert's life too, we are who we are and we're where we are and, and we're doing what we do because there was a point in each of our lives when the Bible just became the rock, the focal point, the cornerstone. Bert, I grew up in a church that was pretty, although I didn't know it at the time. They just didn't have a, ah, view of scripture like you and I would have. It was a fairly liberal dead church that I grew up in at the time. And I remember at 21 when I got saved, I remember I was sitting in my car one time outside of Macedonia Baptist Church, and I was just sitting in the car and, and I was really kind of thinking about the decision I was making not to go in the ministry, but was I really going to become a Christian? Was I going to do. And I remember I looked down at the Bible and I was looking, and I just thought, if I'm going to do this thing, I'M going to do it. And I kind of understood that I was going to commit myself to Christ, but to the Bible, too. And I remember, I thought, I'm not going to do this halfway. Whatever it means to be a Christian, I want the full dose. And I gave my life to Jesus. And I understood that a part of that was going to be to. To live the Bible. Now, years later, I remember reading a story about Billy Graham where he was on fire for Christ, but he heard some liberal teachers and he had a faith crisis. And he went out one night under the stars, and he was wrestling. You know, the Bible is God's true word, but yet all these PhDs are saying that it's got errors in it. And he made a decision. He said, lord, I'm going to trust your word. That is the key, isn't it? The critics come and the critics go. The word of God still stands.

>> Bert Harper: One of my favorite stories is Frank Pollard. he was a pastor at First Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi. A great church.

>> Alex McFarland: I've heard his name.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah. He was also seminary professor at a seminary. It used to be Golden Gate Seminary. He was there for a while, but he was on a talk show, a local talk show, and they were having he and someone else there to give advice concerning relationships. The host asked the professional counselor about everything. And that person, it was a lady spouting off all the things she had learned in the education realm. And then they asked Dr. Pollard a question. He said, well, the Bible says. As soon as he said the Bible says the other person, not the host, but the other guest, they said, why would you go to the Bible? And Dr. Pollard turns around and says, where did you get your information? The best information that you can get is the Bible. So when we look at the Bible and what it's all about, how can you understand it? I want to say you're getting not only the redemption story, Alex, but you're getting the wealth of the ages in wisdom and knowledge. The Bible has nothing to compare to it on earth.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly. I mean, you got two choices. The opinion of man or the mind of God. And friends, we could go on and on. Trust the Bible. Trust the Bible. Now we're going to talk about how to understand the Bible.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 2 commit to others who may teach

But, back to this two Timothy. I love what Paul says here. What you have heard from me, commit to others who may teach. Heard. Commit. Teach. The word heard is a Greek word, ekusos, from which we get the word acoustic. You know, we know about, sound and sound waves and the acoustics. Of a room. But it really means to properly listen. And we hope, you're sitting under a good preacher. I hope you're part of a Sunday school class. Maybe you teach Sunday school, or maybe you attend Sunday school, or maybe you're part of a small group. But we are, according to Paul, to properly listen and hear those words. Paul says what you've heard from me, commit. And the word there is to set something close besides to be committed. Set the word of God close to your whole life.

>> Bert Harper: roll over on it. It's so close that you can roll over and trust it. The idea of trust and commit have parallel with one. They're two different words, but they go beside one another. You can trust the word of God and you can commit yourself to that word of God and it will stand. That's the whole idea.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, do you know when it says, in 2 Timothy 2 about study to show your a worker that doesn't need to be ashamed? It goes on and it says, prepared for every good work, friend. Whether it's, what to do with life or what career path to pursue or whom to marry. But I would say also things about, like the cultural and political issues of our day. We've said it many times on this show, and I'll say it again. I know where I stand because I know where the Bible stands. And oftentimes, you know, people in the news, they'll make fun of, you know, religious people or conservatives. There is a reason, you know, whether it's marriage, whether it's morality, abortion, immigration, taxation, foreign policy, the nation of Israel, strong national defense. There is a reason that we have the positions we have because we know where God's word stands on truth, m and character and ethics and morality.

>> Bert Harper: So you're going to use all the foolishness of man or the mind of God, and, that's the whole idea.

>> Alex McFarland: And teach others, teach others.

>> Bert Harper: You hear it. You commit, you teach others. It's more than just imparting knowledge. In that day, you know, Jesus turned everything upside down. You know, he asked these fishermen, the tax collectors. I think there may have been a carpenter or two in there because Jesus was as well, a zealot, someone that wanted to overthrow the Roman government, became a follower of Christ. Most of the time, the student would identify with the teacher and ask the teacher, can I come and learn under you? I choose you. Now the teacher had to say, yes. But Jesus, showing the power of God, he asserted himself and said to Peter and John and Andrew and James, Bartholomew, all of Those guys, Thomas, he said, how about you guys following me, and I'll make you fishers of men. Jesus was practicing this, Alex. And so what Paul is doing is just repeating what Jesus had already done.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, exactly. Exactly. And let me say this. In the ancient world, to be under, an esteemed rabbi was a real honor. I mean, seriously, that was no small matter. If he would take you on. Have you ever been? I remember when Angie and I first got married and we moved to Lynchburg, and I, needed to find a dentist. And I went to a couple, and they said, we're not accepting any new patients, because I guess they were full up. And, you know, wow, you need a doctor, you need a cpa. you need things. And to have a rabbi to say, you know, I'm not accepting any new students, but I'll take you on. That was an honor. Well, think about Jesus. God incarnate said, come and be my disciple.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Alex, that's amazing when you say that.

>> Alex McFarland: In our culture, we don't really realize what an honor that is. I know you were a math major in college. Imagine Albert Einstein saying, if you'd like, I'll tutor you. I mean, wouldn't that be.

>> Bert Harper: And that's what Jesus did. I mean, here it is, Jesus going out, and you remember, they were unlearned and ignorant. That's what they call them, because there was nothing in them. Jesus has chosen the weak things, the foolish things. And even in selecting the 12, there's no doubt. Everybody said, why would he choose them?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. You know, I love history, and I've mentioned people like Mortimer Adler of Encyclopedia Britannica and Will Durant. Could you imagine if Will Durant said, hey, I'll be your history tutor? Could you imagine a political science major in George Washington? The father of our country says, how about if I teach, you political leadership? The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the name above all names. Jesus, the Son of God, who is holy, wise, omniscient, knows everything altogether lovely. The most moral teacher. Matthew 5:7, Sermon on the Mount. Everything you might ever aspire to is found in Jesus. And he says, come, if you'd like, you can be my disciple. I'll teach you. And that's what we get in his word.

>> Bert Harper: And he's calling today, isn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: He is.

>> Bert Harper: It wasn't just when he was physically on the earth.

Stay tuned for more on how you can understand God's word

He said, I go away, but I'm sending the Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit is drawing you today. Would you say yes to him now.

>> Alex McFarland: When we Come back. We're going to talk about what are the big themes of scripture and how you can understand God's word. So stay tuned after this. Exploring the word. We'll be back.

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>> Jeff Chamblee: This is exploring the word on American family radio.

>> Bert Harper: Anybody here looking for revival in our.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Own hearts and across man, Anybody looking for a revival, lift up your voice and say amen.

This is exploring the Bible, the themes of the Bible

>> Bert Harper: This is exploring the word Alex and Bert with you today. And this is a pre record that means Alex or both of us are gone and unable to be in the studio. And so you're. We won't be taking phone calls at the last segment, so we thought we'd let you know. But we hope you'll enjoy this. We're looking about understanding the Bible, the themes of the Bible, what it's all about, kind of looking at it from a point of view of dropping in and letting you see all the different themes that's in the Bible. And yes, the big one is redemption. That is the truth. Redemption is the big key. But in the redemption story, he lets us know who it is that is redeeming us, what he is about, what concerns him and, and what humans can learn from that. So in the Bible, Alex, you not only have all these themes, but you have different styles, different types of literature. You know, they call it the wisdom literature. but when you read the proverbs and you see the couplets that are there, you see the psalms and see the songs that are sung, you see, even stories like the story of Jonah. And it's a true story, but. But it's a story told concerning a prophet. And then the other prophets just has their sermons. So you have all of these different styles of genres of literature in the Bible. Prophecy, poetry, proverbs, parables. All of these are a part of it, and they reveal, something about God. But is it important to know what kind of literature? In other words, if you are reading the book Proverbs, that's different than reading the book of Isaiah. I mean, they're both the word of God. But your approach is saying, what can I get out of it? But knowing the kind of literature it is really helps you to see what the themes are.

>> Alex McFarland: Sure, sure. And it's God's word and it's God's message. And the Bible, it's been said that the Bible is God's love letter to humanity. and just as Jesus was fully God, yet fully man, deity in humanity. I mean, really, you might say it that way. The Bible is a book of God, but a book of man. God wrote through human writers. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, you've got the story of the nation of Israel, the call of Abraham. God promises through Abraham, he's going to send the Savior. Israel follows God, falls away from God, gets in a tight spot, cries out to God, comes back to God. I mean, the Old Testament, a lot of the vicissitudes of the Jewish people, I think, in some ways are pictorial of the hills and valleys of the Christian life.

>> Bert Harper: Paul said it was examples for us.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Bert Harper: So those folks say, oh, what you doing in the Old Testament? We're doing what Paul said to do and doing what Jesus did. Jesus continually was bringing up the Old Testament, wasn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly. He was. And, you know, let me just parenthetically say we love good, study Bibles. There's some, It's an oldie, Goldie. It is a classic. My dear friend. You ought to buy this. Haley's Bible Handbook.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Published by Zondervan. It's a little bitty book. Ange is funny. Angie had one and I had one. We got married. I said, you've got that book. She said, oh, yeah, I've got that book, too. Haley's Bible Handbook. And there's Wilmington's, Guide to the Bible, what the Bible is all about by Henrietta Meares. But in all of these, you're going to see that there's prophecy, there's poetry, there's history, there's a lot of genres. Now sometimes people get nervous and they'll say, no, there aren't genres or types of. Of literature. It's all the word of God. Yes, it is. The word of God in your Bible is what God, the Holy Spirit, decreed would be in there. But you read Amos, and that's different than the voice of Paul. You read Luke, and that's a little bit different than the voice of Peter. And it's all what God intended. Ah, but just as the incarnation of Christ. Fully God, but fully man.

The Bible has kind of a dual nature too, doesn't it

The Bible has kind of a dual nature too, doesn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It does, and it's dynamic. I remember taking this at, Blue Mountain College. Dr. James Travis, my professor, and he said it wasn't dictated. In other words, they weren't in a trance. And, okay, I'm writing and not knowing what I'm writing. It wasn't Paul and Peter taking a pen in hand and giving their opinion. There was this dynamic combination of man's humanity and God's power being demonstrated in the word of God. And I believe that, yes, you see the individual personalities of Paul coming out. And like Luke, Luke spent. He was a physician. Guess what you find in Luke. You find a lot of physical descriptions concerning ailments that you don't find. Guess what you find in Matthew. He was a tax collector dealing with finances and money. Guess what? Matthew has a little bit more in there. He has a little bit more about the money and the numbers, and it comes. And that brings the Bible alive, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly. And you know, it's funny how God works within the person and skill and background of the individual writers. for instance, I mean, there's a lot of things that God's allowed me to speak about and write about, but if you ever see a math paper with my name on it, you'll know that wasn't me, because I don't know anything about math. I really don't. That was just the hardest thing for me. But you're right. Luke the physician, heavy on details, very specific, very intricate. You know, Paul the philosopher, theologian. if Paul wrote Hebrews, and I think he at least was involved in it, that is a theological book, probably one of the meatiest, heaviest, most complex books.

>> Bert Harper: Old Testament galore examples. He had to be an expert in the Old Testament.

>> Alex McFarland: And so here's part of the beauty of it, the miracle of it, frankly, the mystery of it, that God did not overrule. Like you said, they weren't In a trance, like automatic writing or something. The spirit of God. You read two Peter, talks about the perfect revelation of God. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved, carried along by the Holy Spirit. And it's exactly what God wanted it to be.

Every major theme in the Bible is introduced in the book of Genesis

Now I want to talk about nine, areas and I'll just tell you. Creation, fall, redemption, civility, spiritual warfare, God's providence, judgment, restitution and eternity. But I'm going to unpack those a little more.

>> Bert Harper: There it is.

>> Alex McFarland: The number one theme is this, that God is the creator of this world and he reigns over his universe. The fundamental starting point, either a creator or not, either God or evolution. I believe that the fundamental thing that we've got to accept is Genesis 1:1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

>> Bert Harper: That's what you get. Genesis. Every major theme in the Bible is introduced in the book of Genesis.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Bert Harper: And you find that and you're talking about the beginning. The more science, true science, discovers about the human body, the universe, the more evidence there is for, for creation, Alex. Not Darwinian evolution. And so I praise the Lord for that. The recent issue about the barcodes that's come out about the DNA, 226 animals and according to their looking, they all began close to the same time, not in different intervals and different sediments. So anyway, God is the creator of this world and the reason people fight against that, if he's the creator and designer, that means accountability.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Bert Harper: It has nothing to do with science. It's a philosophy and they don't want accountability.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, miss on God and creation and you're probably going to be skewed, if not wrong, on just about everything else.

>> Bert Harper: About everything else?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. Whether it's politics, marriage, morality, abortion, so many of the things that are, frankly I believe, falsehoods, if not disastrous in the life of people due to the fact that you come to the table presupposing against God the creator. Because I mean, think about how the beginning dovetails with the end. If God is not the creator in our past, he's not going to be the judge in our future. I mean, we're not going to ever give an account. I mean, if God is not part of our origin, God is not part of our destiny. So one of the fundamental beginning themes of the Bible is that God is the creator of the world and he reigns over the universe. Secondly, now listen very carefully. Humans, though fallen, are valuable to God. So much so that he sent his son, Jesus Christ to offer salvation and eternal life.

>> Bert Harper: Better a way someone has Said it, we're not worthy of salvation, but we're worth the salvation. Wow, that is powerful. There's nothing in us. Paul said, in me dwelleth no good thing. Jesus even said to those men, why do you call me good? There's none good but God. And he wasn't denying his God. He was saying, you don't see me as God, so why would you call me good? So mankind is fallen. The fallenness of man is so important to understand governing. That's why self government is so important with people who have a moral compass. John Adams said that this Constitution and this form of government is totally inadequate except for religious and moral people.

>> Alex McFarland: That's right.

>> Bert Harper: And again, who was it, Edmund Burke that was talking about either Ten Commandments or, thousands of them? How did he say that?

>> Alex McFarland: G.K. chesterton. Okay, and by the way, you read the Founding Fathers, and they talk so much about the capacity for self government. The Founding Fathers, Jefferson and Washington will say that, in a moral context before God, man has the capacity for self government. Now, in other words, we control ourselves because there's this knowledge that we'll answer to God one day. You know, the Founders also used the phrase appealing to God for the rectitude of our intentions. Now, the legitimacy or illegitimacy of an action to do good, tell the truth, work hard, live right, or to be selfish, you know, violent, stealing, unlawful. I mean, why did we do what we do? The Founders understood that man will answer to God and we are sinners, but God loves us and we're valuable to God. See, here's the difference. You know, we could divvy up the world in one of two ways. We could say either you believe in God or you don't. Either you accept creation or you reject it. I'm not being political, but folks, hear me out. Conservatives and liberals differ, at least in this regard. Liberals believe that man is fundamentally good. Conservatives recognize that man is fundamentally bad.

>> Bert Harper: We're flawed.

>> Alex McFarland: We're flawed. And listen, Alex McFarlane here, you're listening to a, fallen, selfish sinner. Now, I'm a saved, forgiven sinner. And with God's help, I'm trying to be more like Jesus every day. But see, we say, look, the bad news is we've sinned. But the good news, in fact, it's really the great news is God loves us and he's willing to fix us.

>> Bert Harper: You know, you talked about self government. One of the biggest things that we have is the Mayflower Compact. Yes, here's these men and women before they, stood on the shores up there at the colony Plymouth, they drew up the Mayflower Compact about self government. Yes, that was entirely, completely different motivation to not have a king over them. And so that started this whole cycle in America of trusting God. And it was there, it was in the founding fathers, we need it today as well.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, if you can't govern yourself, you're going to have to be governed if you can't police yourself.

The third mega theme in the Bible is that life has purpose

So humans, though fallen, are valuable to God. So much so that he sent Jesus. The third mega theme, if you understand the Bible, is this, that life has purpose. And even in this fallen world, there's hope. Now, into every life a little rain must fall. All right? And there, you know, you can be a good hardworking person and you can be a good churchgoing family. And cancer still happens, and car wrecks still happen and tragedies happen. And sadly we live in a world where there is violence and there are layoffs and there's too much month at the end of the money or all kinds of things. But listen to this. Life has a purpose. we look at the world one of two ways. Atheists would say, okay, X happened, therefore there's no such thing as God. And some philosophies say, well, evil is a necessary thing because good and evil are forever entwined in some cosmic yin yang dance. Christianity says, no, look, evil is a bad thing, it's a real thing. It's not the way things ought to be. But the good news is we have hope and purpose because not only has God made a way for salvation, God is going to usher in righteousness. But along the way I can grow and mature and be conformed to the image of Christ. And I can be saved and become the best me that God intended. Even out of the midst of a broken world, God can bring forth lives that have been restored and redeemed.

>> Bert Harper: Nothing else has purpose and hope. I know, that's the whole idea. Purpose and hope. With purpose, there comes hope. Hope comes out of purpose.

God set up three wonderful dynamic living organisms: family, church and righteous government

And so let's introduce number four before we go on, because we've got to go through this God.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, to bring order out of an otherwise broken world, God set up three wonderful dynamic living organisms. The family, the church, and righteous government. Civil government. Friend, the longer I live, the more I realize the precious, immeasurably wonderful gift called family.

>> Bert Harper: And that was the first one. Yeah. You know, the first issue in the Bible. Aloneness.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Bert Harper: It wasn't sin, it was aloneness. And God says It's not good that man should be alone. Not that God wasn't there, but he needed someone with skin on. And so from his side, he made and formed. I love the Word. The Hebrew word has the idea of fashioned. Yes, he fashioned woman to compliment that man, didn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: He really did.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: And he works with us and in our lives out of love. This is Exploring the Word. You're listening to a pre recorded edition with Bert and Alex. We're talking about what the Bible is all about and how we can understand it. Stay tuned because after this brief break we'll come back with more of God's Word.

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>> Jeff Chamblee: Connect with Alex and Burt on the Exploring the Word Facebook page. Facebook.com exploringtheword.

>> Bert Harper: Your words give us life that's never ending life. Your words bring us love that never fails. Everything else will fade away, but what will remain? Oh, Yahoo. That song is really the introduction of what we're talking about today, about the word of God and what it's all about.

You gave nine mega themes in scripture. But there's others, aren't there

And let's, read the scripture that we started off with. 2 Timothy 2:2. And what you have heard from me and in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others. Also what you hear, what you commit, you trust, and then you teach it to others. And that's what we've been doing. And you gave nine mega themes in scripture. God is the creator. Humans are fallen. Life has purpose, and it brings hope. And God gave us three institutions or three organizations. Three, the home, the church and government. And those are the themes in the Bible. But there's others, aren't there?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, there are. There are. And this is a theme that throughout history and to the present day, evil governments run by evil men have opposed God and his church. whether it was in the Old Testament, God calling forth Israel to, ultimately bring forth Jesus. I mean there have been from Pharaohs to Assyrians to Haman, and Mordecai. And Haman built a gallows and was going to, kill off the Jewish people. Here's the deal. Satan could not kill God, so he's tried to harm the ones made in God's image. And that's the human race Now God is the restorer, God is the redeemer. And so, friend, the best thing you can do, we admit the world, this is a place of sometimes pain and tears and sorrow.

>> Bert Harper: And the Bible says that. Yeah, the Bible doesn't sugarcoat it. Yeah, he doesn't talk about a utopia right now. He talks about one day everything is going to be set right. But until then, there's going to be evil people in the world. Bad things happen to good people and evil people sometimes looks like they got it and they are making it. But the story is not finished, is it?

>> Alex McFarland: No, it isn't. The good news point number six. Ultimately, those who hate God, his followers, and Jesus and hate truth in general, will not prevail.

>> Bert Harper: I jumped ahead, but that's true.

>> Alex McFarland: Now, let me say this. If you try to find heaven here on earth, you run the risk of missing earth and heaven. Now, don't get me wrong. This is a fallen world. It's a sinful world. But it's a world of great joys. And there are wonderful things. And Christianity not only affirms personhood, but it affirms good, virtuous, beautiful things. Down here, if you read like Francis Schaeffer, who was a Christian thinker of times past, he talked about the good, the true, the beautiful. God is good. He proclaims truth, but he makes things beautiful. That's why in the Middle Ages, I mean, the churches, the architecture was beautiful, the art was beautiful. The stained glass is beautiful. Let me say this, my dear friend, and I know our home is in heaven, but there's nothing necessarily pious about doing things that are just plain vanilla ugly. you know, sometimes, if you have on clean clothes and, you know, your hair combed, people almost fault you, like you're trying to be ostentatious or something like that. There's a balance, and only you know where it is in your heart. But look, Christianity is all about what is good, Godly. And when we do things well and with excellence and beauty, it points to the one who is the ultimate standard of goodness, truth and beauty. The Lord.

>> Bert Harper: As you were saying that, Alex, I could not help but think about the Asbury Revival that took place was in the 50s and 60s. maybe in the main, just part of the 60s, but it's a seminary and a college up in, Kentucky. Great place, great place. And they went to chapel one day, just a regular thing. And all of a sudden, the spirit of God just broke out and they quit going to class, and everybody started coming to the chapel. And they continued and they stayed there and they stayed there and it was just people getting their hearts right with the Lord, people getting saved, people from the community coming on in. But guess what they did when they left?

>> Alex McFarland: What's that?

>> Bert Harper: They went and started cleaning up the streets of that town. You know, really isn't that simple. There's this thing of you get your heart right on the inside and then you make things more beautiful on the outside.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, exactly.

>> Bert Harper: I saw this happen. The first church I served was, a mission. And in that mission it was on a dead end street. Janet and I went there. We were the, the mission pastor there. And just about every family there had alcohol or someone incarcerated. And we started working with them. But we saw God do so many things when they would get right on the inside. It's amazing how their homes and their yards and everything else began to develop and be cleaned up on the outside.

>> Alex McFarland: Wow. Yeah.

>> Bert Harper: So Lyndon Johnson, when he started this great society and war on poverty in the 60s, which is a worthy thing, he said, oh, if we can just take people out of the slums and out of the Appalachian mountains where they're just in shacks and shanties and collapsed buildings and put them in better buildings, guess what happened. If the inside doesn't change, guess what is going to happen to those better buildings?

>> Alex McFarland: They're going to be dilapidated.

>> Bert Harper: That's exactly right. So that's the whole idea that you're talking about here, that, that yes, God intervenes in our lives and he.

>> Alex McFarland: Does make all things beautiful in his time. One of the themes, of scripture is that God judges unbelievers. Now we know ultimately at the end of time, God judges unbelievers in time and in eternity. There was a story in the news this week, oddly enough, a person in New York drove a car onto a ball field and was running over children. And a man, dove out of, rescued some kids, but the car hit him. And so this 68 year old man saved some children, but he himself was run over. Interestingly, they were looking through the police files. Did you see this story?

>> Bert Harper: No, I have not.

>> Alex McFarland: 50 years ago he hit and run and killed a child and covered it up and escaped justice. So the man who in 1968 ran over a child 50 years later died. He himself got run over. Now, secularists would call that karma. I disagree. There is no such thing as karma.

Bert Harper: Jesus will be your advocate against God's judgment

But there is a holy righteous God who does. See? And the Bible says every idle word we speak. We'll give an account of that's why we would implore you to turn to Jesus. Because, my dear friend, ain't none of us capable to stand before God and be our own defense attorney.

>> Bert Harper: No way.

>> Alex McFarland: We're sinners. But I'll tell you who will be your advocate better than any lawyer, better than any, alibi. Jesus will be your advocate. And if you'll turn to Jesus, he'll. He will look at the Father and say, I paid his sin debt. He is saved. He's redeemed. He is cleared of all guilt because it was put on me. And, friend, Jesus will judge, but you can be saved. And so know this. There's payment for sin in this life, but there's ultimate condemnation if you die in sin in the next life.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. When you hear God's judgment. And he is a just God, but his desire is compassion.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Bert Harper: that's his desire. That's the reason Jesus went to the cross. That's why when Jesus. In the gospels, all four of the gospels, it says Jesus would look on the people as sheep, having no shepherd, and he had compassion on them. God's first response is not judgment and getting what you deserve. God's first response is, come unto me, all you who are weak and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. His first response is compassion. Isn't that good news? If God did not have compassion, Bert Harper would be in hell today. And that is the truth. God's mercy and God's grace kept me out of hell and has given me eternal life and given me a home in glory. And that's all because of God's compassion toward humanity.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

Bert says the Bible has nine big themes that define Christianity

Well, a big theme of the Bible is God's love and compassion through his son, Jesus Christ. Another big theme is that Satan, the one that is the tempter, the father of lies. So many of the tears of humanity have been shed because of Satan. but Satan and the fallen angels will be judged and eternally damned. That's one of the reasons that we don't have to go after, getting even or restitution. The Bible says that vengeance is in God's hands, not ours.

>> Bert Harper: You believe there's a real Satan, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: Absolutely. The devil is real. He is real.

>> Bert Harper: I remember being in some classes. I won't talk about them, but in their opinion, this professor didn't believe that Satan was real. It was just evil that was in the world. But when you see the scriptures, and that's what we're talking about, we're talking about themes that are in the Bible you don't just get evil, which is in the Bible, but you also get the father of lies, the evil one, the chief evil one. And it is Satan. And what was the first thing that he revealed himself in? Pride. I want to be like the most high. And so when you think of Satan and you think about him being judged, the first sin was pride. I want to do it my way. Now, don't do it your way. Do it God's way. That's the theme. Because Satan and his angels will be what? Judged. and so don't do it that way.

>> Alex McFarland: Talk about the malicious heart of Satan. to know, all right, our soul exists forever. It's really properly our spirit, pneuma. friend, either in heaven or hell, you will live forever. Somewhere you might not want to.

>> Bert Harper: But that's why eternal life is not just a length of time. It's a quality of life.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly, exactly. But think about how malicious, how evil the devil knows that your soul is going to exist eternally and to not only watch you die unprepared, but to lure and tempt you to a, Christless eternity that is just cruel, evil, unspeakably so. And many illustrations we could give about this. Friend, one of the reasons that you ought to want to run to Jesus. And as D.L. moody said, he said, I'll fight Satan as long as I live. I'll hit him if I've got a fist. I'll bite him if I've got a tooth, and I'll gum him when my teeth are gone. But we need to fight Satan because he's so malicious, he's going to be eternally damned. 9. God rewards believers who will live joyfully with him in his kingdom forever.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Now, friend, here we go. Everything in the Bible will fall under one of these. Creation, the fall, redemption, civility, spiritual warfare, God's providence, God's judgment, restitution of all things, and eternity. I mean, if you want to understand the Bible, look for Jesus and redemption. I mean, I know we've said it in so many ways, but these big nine themes. The creation, the fall, salvation, order, civility, God's restoring order. And I would put it this way, Bert. When Angie and I first got married, none, of us had any money.

>> Bert Harper: And.

>> Alex McFarland: And one Christmas, my sister, gave us a beautiful flower pot. It was a flower pot, probably paid a dollar for it, but she painted some pictures on it. It was really pretty. Well, it fell off and it broke, but the base was there, so I glued it all back together and it took a While, but once I finished, it was just about good as new. But the base, I started with that round base and I built the pieces back and the pretty image was restored. Now, here's the thing with the home and the church, and I believe also God ordained good civil government order. God is building the pieces back and not only will the picture be restored and preserved, it'll be made brand new now, you might say, well, I wish it was all finished right now. Yeah, well, join, the club. But this universe is rolling out on God's timetable, not mine. In John 6, Jesus asked the disciples, are you going to go away? And Peter said, lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life. I want to say this, I want to throw to you, Bert. We get ahead of ourselves, we get impatient, we agonize, we fret, we wring our hands, we beat ourselves up over the past. But look, Jesus says, trust me, the tomb is empty. I got this. Walk with me. I'm, making all things brand new, Bert. Running to Jesus. Not only is that the best option, that's the only option.

>> Bert Harper: It's the only one. Only one. And the good part about he says, come unto me. We talked about how Jesus was the teacher and he pursued the learners and all the other learners, they would pursue the teacher. But Jesus turned the world upside down in every way, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, he did.

>> Bert Harper: I mean, he did. And he wants to turn your world upside down. That's the neat part for good. Listen, Jesus said that he came into the world to save sinners, and he did. Paul said he came in to save sinners and I'm the greatest of these. You know, when Paul first started out, he was called the least of the apostles by himself. When he finished up, he says, I'm the chiefest of sinners.

>> Alex McFarland: Isn't that something?

>> Bert Harper: This is what you do. The more you grow in Christ, the closer you get to him, the greater capacity that you see that you need him. I knew I needed him as a 12 year old boy. And Jesus changed my life. Even as a 12 year old boy, Alex, he turned my world upside down.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

Tell everybody about Jesus, tell everybody about the Bible. Without the Bible being very prominent in your life

>> Bert Harper: I was no longer fearful, you know, I had so many things, issues going on in my life. But God came in and he invaded my life. Changed it all. And we've got people today, they're listening and their world is in chaos. Jesus Christ came that he would redeem your life. He's going to redeem creation completely one day. He's going to redeem all that he's made. One day. But right now, the good news is he can redeem your life. Now, the Bible says today's the day of salvation, isn't.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, right. Robert Weber was a great leader. He's with the Lord now. He wrote a book about evangelism. He said the church is to call people to a saving knowledge of Jesus and to a life of obedient discipleship under his reign. Now that's something worth living for, isn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It is purpose and hope only in Christ. Haven't and friend, you'll never do it.

>> Alex McFarland: Without the Bible being very prominent in your life.

>> Bert Harper: We've looked at the Bible. It's kind of a, I'd say a bird's eye view of the different themes in the, Bible. But the overriding theme is his redemption. He redeemed that which is lost. Alex, it's been good to be with you, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: Been good to be with you for it, folks. Tell somebody about exploring the Word, but most importantly, tell everybody about Jesus.

>> Bert Harper: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

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