Listening Carefully to God’s Word, and Q&A

0:00Finding great candidates to hire can be like, well, trying to find a needle in a haystack. Sure, you can post your job to some job board, but then all you can do is hope the right person comes along. Which is why you should try Zippercrooter for free. At zippercrooter.com slash zip. Zippercrooter doesn't depend on candidates finding you. It finds them for you. It's powerful technology identifies people with the right experience and actively invites them to apply to your job. You get qualified candidates fast. So while other companies might deliver a lot of, hey, Zippercrooter finds you what you're looking for. The needle in the haystack. See why four out of five employers who post a job on Zippercrooter get a quality candidate within the first day. Zippercrooter, the smartest way to hire. And right now, you can try Zippercrooter for free. That's right. Free. At zippercrooter.com slash zip. From the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, you're listening

1:10to the Bible Answerman broadcast with Hank Hanagraff. We're on the air because life and truth matter. The mission of the Christian Research Institute is to equip believers to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asked you to give the reason for the hope that you have with gentleness and respect. For more information, resources or to donate to CRI call 888-7000-CRI or go online to equip.org. The following program was pre-recorded. And now here's Bible Answerman host, Hank Hanagraff. Thank you very much, Randy. We do what we do because truth matters and, of course, the word of God is truth and in order for us to apply God's directions to our everyday lives, we must learn to listen carefully as God speaks to us through His Word. He does speak to us directly through His Word. My sheep listen to my voice.

2:12I know them, said Jesus and they follow me. One of the most amazing aspects of the Bible is that it is alive and active. It's not dead and dull. God still speaks to us today through the mystery of His Word. The Holy Spirit illuminates our minds to what is revealed in Scripture. The Holy Spirit makes us as it were wise up to what is written but never beyond what is written. So while we listen, we must also test the spirits as the Apostle John put it, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits. See whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

3:16Satan's foremost strategy is to disguise himself as an angel of light. It is slick as slogan is feel, don't think. But we are called to test all things in light Scripture, hold fast to that which is good. I was thinking about that very thing as I was watching John Edward, the notorious Roman Catholic psychic who supposedly can give grieving people messages from their departed loved ones. And he sits as it were as a vulture in a tree praying upon the broken, the weak, and the hurting. And I was absolutely amazed as I watched the interview treat this absolute spiritual crook as though he was some kind of an esteemed scientist or some kind of person who had credibility.

4:26And if you are not girded with truth, you are going to fall for these kinds of con artists, your spiritual con artist, I'm going to call it like it is, I'm not going to soft pedal it for you. Edward, doing his cold reading stick, sold cumulatively millions of books. He's made a virtual cottage industry out of deceiving the gullible. And Christians buy into this as well. Christians who are not grounded in the word of God who do not listen as God speaks to them through his word, do not test all things in light of Scripture, hold fast to that which is good. Do not test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God.

5:31Anywhere of false prophets, they come to you said Jesus in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Now I cannot judge the motives of anyone. I can guess, but I can't ultimately judge the motives. And we are called to judge, we are called to test all things, hold fast to that which is good. The final court of arbitration is the word of God, and that's why I can say without any reservation that John Edward is a spiritual con artist. If you're not careful, you will fall for that kind of spiritual con if you're not prepared to test in light of Scripture, and that of course presupposes that you know the word of God. A lot of you hanging on, we'll go right to the phone lines, first up is Peter listening

6:32on the web. He's in West Palm Beach, Florida, hi Peter. Hey Hank, how you doing? Good, how are you? Good. My question is in regards to the Trinity, mainly a Christology, I'm wondering if you believe that for someone to believe in the eternal nature of Christ, completely equal with the Father, is that the sensual for salvation? Well I think the operative question is the question that Jesus Christ asked, who do you say that I am? I think it's the mother of all questions. So ultimately we have to recognize that Jesus Christ is not as the Aryans would have you believe someone who becomes a junior partner in creation, but he's the one who spoke in the universe, leapt into existence. Now I've often said this on the Bible Answer Man broadcast, and I think it's worth noting it's not the absence of truth that dams, it's the despising of truth that dams. And so if you're at Jehovah's Witness and you're into the Aryan Heresy, I think it's

7:32crucial to recognize that as you continue to read the Bible, as you learn what the Bible actually says, you can't continue to hold on to false teachings. If you're here on the Bible Answer Man broadcast, the very clear teaching that Jesus Christ is divine, he's the one who spoke in the universe, leapt into existence. And when you test that out in light of Scripture, find out it's true, but continue to hold on to the Aryan Heresy, then you're despising truth. And if you're despising the mother of all truths in terms of the nature of God and the deed of Jesus Christ, then I would say that you are believing a different gospel, a gospel that does not have the power to save. Okay. So in light of John 824, when he says, unless you believe that I am here, you will die in your sins. What exactly is the context there of I am here? Is that just I am the Son of God? I am the Christ or I am the eternal begotten Son of the Father there?

8:33He is the I am. And I think in context, you have to believe that I am He, which is to say, I am demonstrating through my works that I am in fact God. You can see by my miracles that I am God. In other words, the miracles of Jesus Christ attest to the fact that He is in fact divine. And He ultimately points us to the quintessential miracle, which is the miracle of His resurrection. Through the resurrection, Jesus Christ demonstrates that He is the power to lay down His life and to take it up again, thus proving, in essence, that He is God, destroy this temple. I will raise it again in three days in the temple that He spoke of was the temple of His body, although He alluded to the temple because those who did not believe the genuine temple in their midst would also see the destruction of the marble temple that had become the

9:38con for all their beliefs, which is to say the temple pointed to Jesus, but once you did not recognize the substance that the shadow points to, the shadow becomes something that leads you away from true belief in God as opposed to true belief in God. Okay. So before canonization, before the council and I see it, if someone were to sincerely fall into modalism or subordinationism, you think that would be worthy of perishing? Well, remember that I think it is a mistake to relate this to 325 AD in the council of Nicaea and say, this is when the idea of the divinity of Jesus Christ comes into play. The deity of Jesus Christ was not established at the council of Nicaea, it was established in New Testament times. In other words, Jesus Christ comes and demonstrates to the Pharisees that He is God, therefore

10:40they are culpable to the truth. They know that He is the one who walks through the doorway of Old Testament prophecies and yet they deny Messiah in their midst. So they are already culpable in the first century, they didn't have to wait four centuries until the council of Nicaea codifies the truth which is already communicated in the word of God. But what do we have communicated in the word of God? We have, there's only one God. We have communicated clearly in the word of God that Jesus is God, that the Father is God, that the Holy Spirit is God. We also have clearly communicated that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternally distinct. So the word of God is already communicating that to us. Now certainly there's a time in which the word of God or the canon is established and before that time there's got to be a lot of grace for those who may be confused. And that's why I say it's not the absence of truth that dams is the despising of truth

11:45that dams. We'll be right back in just a few moments with more of the Bible Answerman broadcast. Resources that I talk about on the broadcast can be accessed on the web at equip.org. So check it out, order information online pertaining to your questions, we'll be right back. The famous British apologist, G.K. Chesterton, once noted, the true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. Because at C.R.I. we love what is behind us, our faith, our families, and our freedoms. We will never retreat quietly from the growing assaults on life and truth. Even when the costs are great, we will stand. To join like-minded friends and making a difference at home and around the globe and to equip fellow believers to stand their ground courageously, become a member of C.R.I. support team. Simply call 888-7000-CRI. That's 888-7000-CRI, or visit our website at equip.org.

12:49Stay with us. And can a graph will return in a few moments. Has God spoken? Are the words of Scripture merely human and origin? Or are they in fact the very words of God Himself? Three years in the making and based on two decades of research and reflection. Only can a graph's monumental book has God spoken, answers what is surely the most important question facing our world. And has God spoken? Memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration, Hank counters the contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly shows that belief in the Holy Scriptures is not a guess or wishful thinking. It is the only logical conclusion after an honest examination of overwhelming evidence. Peter has God spoken from the Christian Research Institute by calling 888-7000-CRI,

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16:06Once again, here is Han Canagraph, back to the phone lunch Troy in Missouri, hi Troy. Hi, I have a question I wonder about for several years. We had our missionary at home meeting one time a few years ago, he had been in Morocco and had converted to Muslim, and the Muslim had accepted Jesus as his Savior and become a Christian, and he probably guessed where this is going. He had two wives, and he said that he should keep his two wives because that was his culture and the way he came to Christ, and what would you do, but I can't understand you how you could have a spiritual one-flash union with two wives. But I was just wondering, in 1 Timothy 3.2, an elder has to be the husband of one wife if there were in the New Testament times there were people who had two wives or his polygamy

17:08strictly forbidden in the New Testament. Well, polygamy is strictly forbidden period. If you look at Deuteronomy 17 and 17 in the Old Testament, you must not multiply wives, and you see those that did multiply wives, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines and his wives led him away from the God of Israel, and as a result, he began to build altars to pagan gods, and he took his eye off the God who put him in the positions that he was in in the first place. So what you have in Scripture is the difference between what is descriptive, such as the polygamy that the patriarchs were involved in, and what is prescriptive. What is prescriptive is that a man leaves his father and mother. As united to his wife, not wives, and the two, not three or more, become one flesh. And Jesus even refers to Genesis in making the point.

18:11In fact, Jesus says anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness and marries another woman, commits adultery. And Paul picks up on the theme saying, each man should have his own wife, not wives, and each woman, her own husband, not husbands. So I think it's very clear that polygamy is not prescribed by Scripture. It is described in Scripture, but with it are the pitfalls that come with polygamy. Now I think that given all of this, the thing that you want to do is not involve yourself in polygamy. But if you are someone that comes to faith in Christ and you're already married to two wives, and in that culture, I think you still have a responsibility to care for those women, to nurture them even more so now as a Christian, because you are now in the position of living out the Christian life as a witness to your wives.

19:11And you do that not only through the testimony of your lips saying, I'm now a Christian, but through the testimony of your love and the testimony of your life. Well, thank you. And I really appreciate you and your program. Thank you. Appreciate your call. Back to the phone lines. Let's talk next to Andrew listening in Lawrence, Kansas. Hi, Andrew. Hey, how's it going? Good, how are you? I'm doing excellent. I love the program, and I was listening to it, and it helps me out in the community with people around me to be able to talk to people. That's great. Well, thank you. Anyway, as my question, obviously I know that the earth is spending in space. I mean, we all know that, but here in Scripture, ancient civilizations and cultures, some believe that the earth was held up upon pillars. And Job, chapter 9 and 6, which shake at the earth out of our place, and the pillars there of Trimble. And then also in Psalms 75, 3, it says, the earth and all the inhabitants there have

20:14are dissolved. I bear up the pillars of it. And then there are some other references that Psalms that mentioned the pillars of the earth. And I just didn't know why that was being used in the Scriptures when, obviously, in Job it says that the earth hangeth upon nothing. Right. Well, we know that the sun does not rise in the east and set in the west, and yet we use that kind of language, sophisticated weather gurus, use that kind of language, recognizing that it's phenomenological. And the Bible uses that same kind of language. It uses metaphors, it uses similes, it uses figures of speech, it uses prophetic hyperbole, it uses apocalyptic language, and it certainly uses phenomenological language. Many times you have within the Scriptures also a heavenly condescension, which is to say that God is speaking about heavenly things and things beyond our can in ways in which we

21:16can relate to. And I think that's what's going on. This is just pure old phenomenological language. Okay. I just didn't know why they were choosing, you know, that metaphor, I know that was a popular belief, like I said, among certain cultures and religions. Well, you got to be careful with that, though, because there is this prevailing notion in our culture that a long time ago people thought the earth was flat. And so we're told that Christopher Columbus almost experienced mutiny by his sailors because they thought they were going to sail over the edge of a flat earth. This, of course, is pure mythology, it's useful mythology, but it's mythology, nonetheless, that's been concocted by people who want to suggest that during medieval times people thought that the earth was flat. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Starting before Christopher Columbus, the Greeks knew about the sphericity of the earth. So there's a lot of historical revisionism that goes on in a lot of circles.

22:20And then it's applied to the Bible as though the Bible teaches a flat earth. Again, nothing could be farther from the truth. This is phenomenological language. And what's going on here with the pillars of the earth, throughout the Old Testament, the earth is pictured as having foundations, having pillars. So the metaphorical language draws upon the structure of temples because temples played a central role in social life. They were thought to be something of a microcosm of the created world. And so it's useful metaphor, the kind of metaphor with sharp teeth that people could relate to. Sure. Okay. Great. Well, that would be it then. I appreciate it. Hey, you got it. Thank you so much for your call. Want to go back to the phone lines? We'll talk next to Sam. He's listing in a redding Pennsylvania. Hi, Sam. Hello, Mr. Hanna Graff. How are you today? I'm well. Thank you. All right. I have a two-part question here. Excusions 4 verse 11.

23:22It makes mention of how Christ gave some to the Apostles, some to the prophets, the evangelist, pastors, and teachers. And when, in light of that, I look at 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, and I see that we not all ought to have such offices. But I guess the first part of my question is this, is prophecy still for today? Well, I think there are a couple of things that you want to do when you talk about prophecy. The first is define your terms, because prophecy could be used in the sense of being able to foretell the future. So a prophet says, you know, I can tell you what's going to happen in the future. And so you have these false prophets today on television and radio who are telling you when Jesus Christ is going to return, they're able to tell the future.

24:25I don't think those kinds of prophets exist. There are prophets in the sense of 1 Corinthians chapter 14, and they're not foretelling the future, but fourth telling the future. In other words, prophecy in the sense of strengthening, encouraging, comforting, the flock. And what that means, in essence, is prophesying becomes a way of communicating the Word of God, or elaborating on the Word of God such that we can be strengthened, encourage and built up in the faith. In that sense, yes, there are prophets. Okay. All right. So definitely prophets as in fourth telling, and not so much foretelling. Okay. Yeah. And God is not giving us new information about the future. In fact, exactly the opposite happens to be the case. God veils the future from us, and why does he do that? Because if we knew what was going to happen in the future, we wouldn't be able to face

25:27the future. God gives us the grace we need when we need it, as opposed to a long time ahead of time. He gives us the grace we need day by day. He doesn't blaze a flood light down the path of life. He gives us enough light to step into some more light. All right. Okay. So I guess it'd go right on to my next question, then. We're going to the next part to the question. I'm going to go on to a church that denominationally is many nights, but the thing is, they being part of a regional transformation network here in the city of Reading, are seemingly spying more into some of the things that are being brought forth by the members of the New Apostolic Reformation, and in the worshiping, they're going more along the lines of Mike

26:29Bickle and the International House of Prayer and things like that. All of them. Yeah. And I think that's a really dangerous thing to be involved. And we wrote an article in the Christian Research Journal in this regard, which I think is very, very helpful, Mike Bickle and the International House of Prayer. But listen, and these people think that they're super apostles and the present age and that they're going to do things that the apostles in Biblical times couldn't dream of doing. And therefore, the Biblical apostles are going to stand in line as it were and get their autograph because they are the greater and the Biblical apostles are the lesser. Very dangerous theology, very dangerous movement, again, I think characterized best by the skin of the truth, stuffed with a great big lie, so long for now. Thank you for joining us for the Bible Answer Man broadcast. If you'd like more information about the Christian Research Institute or to order resources, just call 888-7000-CRI. That's 888-7274. Or visit equip.org where you can listen live or download archived broadcast.

27:33Again, that's equip.org. You can also write to us at post office box 8500 Charlotte, North Carolina, zip code 28271. The Bible Answer Man broadcast is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air because life and truth matter. Has God spoken? Are the words of Scripture merely human and origin or are they in fact the very words of God Himself? Three years in the making and based on two decades of research and reflection, Hank Hanna Graves' monumental book, Has God Spoken, answers what is surely the most important question facing our world. In Has God Spoken, memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration, Hank counters the contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly shows that belief in the Holy Scriptures

28:37is not a guess or wishful thinking. It is the only logical conclusion after an honest examination of overwhelming evidence. Order Has God Spoken from the Christian Research Institute by calling 888-7000-CRI or gone line to equip.org, equip.org. Warning, the following zip recruiter radio spot you are about to hear is going to be filled with F words. When you are hiring, we at Zip Recruiter know you can feel frustrated. For Lauren even, like your efforts are futile and you can spend a fortune trying to find fabulous people, only to get flooded with candidates who are just fine. Fortunately, Zip Recruiter figured out how to fix all that. And right now, you can try Zip Recruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com slash zip. With Zip Recruiter, you can forget your frustrations, because we find the right people for your roles fast, which is our absolute favorite effort. In fact, four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within

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