Episode 448 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. If Jesus is still embodied (albeit in a glorified body) does this mean that He is not omnipresent?  2. What is the sign of the coming of the Christ in Matthew?  3. In John 7, Jesus’s brothers ask Jesus to go to Judea. In verses 6 through 9 Jesus explains that He “is not going up to this festival.” Then in verse 10 Jesus does the opposite of what he told his brothers! After Jesus’s brothers left for the festival, then Jesus went privately “in secret”. Whatever Jesus’s reason was to go, Jesus lied to his brothers! I just am so disturbed by this passage because it seems like what we call a ” little white lie.”  4. Should we move to attend a specific pastor’s church?  Resources The God Who Gives: How the Trinity Shapes the Christian Story by Kelly M. Kapic Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God’s Story by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 447 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. It seems there are a lot of questions or theories about what happened with the end of the gospel of Mark. How does one explain what seems to be an abrupt ending of to a non-believer or someone questioning the faith especially when reading this gospel?  2. Thank the Lord, I am saved! But I know that I am a sinner. How do I overcome the bitterness about the people who are child molesters, mass murderers, serial killers, these horrible people who do horrible things? How do I overcome the bitterness toward them for the things they do, and will they go to heaven? Everyone says that if you believe in God and you are saved, you will go to heaven. I am so bitter, and I know it is wrong for me to do that.  3. Several times in the Bible it says to fear God. I’ve always heard that means like a respectful fear. Most of the time I find myself fearing God like I’m terrified of Him. I worry about His punishment, yet I mess up and sin all the time which makes me fear even more. I fear the end of time when we are judged. Is that type of fear biblical? How should my view of God be in respect to fear?  4. When we get angry at another person, for whatever reason, are we ultimately angry at God? I believe that anger comes from pride, and pride opposes God.  Resources Obeying God Out of Slavish Fear by Adriel Sanchez The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 446 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. Is it okay to pray in the morning instead of at night before you go to bed?  2. I am a Christian. I committed a sin that is hidden from everyone except God. This sin affected many people but they don’t know it. I have asked and begged God for forgiveness. I don’t feel like I’m forgiven. Is it because I have not confessed the sin to the people involved? Is that required?  3. I was raised Catholic, now go to Lutheran Church. My main driving force is, I don’t want to burn in hell. Is that a problem? 4. A lot of weight gets put on doctrinal unity and churches are parts of denominations for that purpose. However, is their biblical warrant to give weight to “geographical” unity even across denominational lines? Further, how would we properly balance doctrinal unity and geographical unity? Resources Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Obeying God Out of Slavish Fear by Adriel Sanchez Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 445 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. Hi can you guys please explain Matthew 3:15, what was the purpose of Jesus being baptized?  2. I just heard one of the other questions being asked about conspiracy theories, and it wasn’t really your answer that had me concerned, it was more so the way that, maybe Christians look down on conspiracy theorists? The reason that concerns me is that, through my research in the Bible, I do believe in the flat earth. And the reason I was studying that in the Bible is because I was trying to prove that it wasn’t a flat earth. Now I feel concerned with my belief, I guess, and I was wondering how you felt about that, or how God felt about that, or what else I can do? 3. We are told by Jesus to pray for our enemies, but what does that look like? I’m not sure how not to sound like a Pharisee when praying for someone who has hurt me. If I pray something like, “Please let them see the error of their ways…” then I am saying that I think I am right and they are wrong, but if that weren’t the case, then I probably wouldn’t be hurt. I’m confused about the practical way to pray for someone who has caused pain, especially if that person refuses to see their responsibility. I appreciate any help you can give.   4. In Zechariah 14:4, it speaks about the day when the Lord will fight against the nations, and his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus taught about his second coming and the place from which he literally ascended to heaven. In fact, moments after his ascension, angels told the disciples Jesus would return in the same manner they saw him leave. Could these texts together be teaching that the Mount of Olives will be the initial place to where Jesus returns to earth and will touch down?  5. Is it wrong for a Christian to be cremated? I’m trying to put my affairs in order and wondered about that.  6. I’m a christian convert from atheism. After my conversion and learning about the faith, something became clearly obvious. Easter is, or should be, a much bigger deal than Christmas. I understand that both his birth and resurrection are important events, but it seems to me that one is clearly above the other. I also understand why the world, even nonbelievers, celebrate Christmas, but why don’t Christians and churches put more emphasis on celebrating Easter with at least the same vigor (and budget) that they do around Christmas?  Resources The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between by Gregory Koukl Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 444 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. I’m having some trouble understanding how to read the book of Job, or how it bears witness to Christ. Is Job actually blameless or is he a sinner that deserves God’s judgment? Job seems to go back and forth between how he sees himself before God. Additionally, I’ve heard it said that Job’s friends are giving him bad advice. Are we not to read the passages of Job’s friends’ words about God’s character as true?  2. If you have a family that takes advantage of you financially in every which way, taking not only from me, but my mom and my sisters, what’s the break-off? We’re all Christians. My brother has just come to know the Lord, and the other day used the scriptures against me, saying give to the poor. He’s not well off, but he’s always lived off of other individuals. His need is tugging at my heart, and it’s not easy.  3. We are a young couple in our early twenties, and my wife is suffering from a terrible chronic illness, often known as the most painful diagnosis medically known, called CRPS, dubbed the “suicide disease”. Her entire body is in searing pain through her nerves and skin, and there is nothing that any doctors worldwide can do to alleviate the pain. She is bedridden and in agonizing pain every hour, day and night. I feel like I am going insane watching my bride burn up and call out in writhing pain. Through this, our faith feels like it’s in a very barren, lonely desert.  Why would God not extend his mercy to give even a small degree of relief, never mind healing? And how do we glorify God in our life when she literally feels like she is dying?  4. How do you know which is the true day of worship? You have some claiming it to be Sunday, and some claiming it to be Saturday. What does the bible say about this?  Resources A Place for Weakness: Preparing Yourself for Suffering by Michael Horton Putting Amazing Back into Grace: Embracing The Heart Of The Gospel by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 443 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. Based on Isaiah 54:5, I’ve heard people say, we are “married to Christ” or that Jesus is my “husband.” Is this accurate to say? We, the church, are the bride of Christ, but am I also married to Christ?  2. I had a question about just how many apostles there are. It seems clear, in passages like revelation 21 that there are 12 apostles, but in sections such as Acts 14, verse 14, we hear Paul and Barnabas are apostles too, but they’re not counted among the 12. So I was wondering how we reconcile those two different sets of numbers.  3. Recently, I have been learning a lot about doctrines, like election, that I wasn’t aware of before, and I’m having difficulty understanding. I hear a lot of people talk about how there are professing Christians who aren’t true Christians, and how they are self-deceived. If so many people are self-deceived, how can anyone ever be certain of salvation? If a person can go years in the faith and then fall away, how do I know I will persevere? What am I missing that the confident Christian possesses? I am really uncertain of my salvation and feeling hopeless.  Resources The Future of Everything: Essential Truths About the End Times by William Boekestein The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 442 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1.  I got saved at the age of 19 and immediately had a heart for evangelism and helping Christians grow in their faith. When I came to faith I recognized the incredible love of the Lord that He would choose me to be his child through the perfect sacrifice of his son. However, here I am almost 3 years later and I still do not weep over my sin. I am angry at my sin but not always. This scares me that since I still do not understand the depth of my sin, I probably do not understand the gospel fully. I feel if I did understand the value of Christ and the unity he has with the Father and that my sin has separated that unity, I should be on my face before God daily. I guess my question is, if I sometimes feel numb to my sin, am I saved? And how do I understand the severity of my sin more?  2. I heard that God does not ratify acts of false prophets with miracles. And I’m trying to figure out how to interpret the story of Moses where he throws down his staff that becomes a serpent, and Pharaoh’s priests throw down three staffs that become three serpents. Of course Moses prevails, but I’m trying to figure out by what power Pharaoh’s priests were able to accomplish that apparent miracle? 3. What will heaven be like?  4. My 14-year old’s father is a member of a “Christian” church that believes in strict adherence to Old Testament laws and I believe, discounts the gospel and the work that Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. I find myself often times listening to your show or studying scripture with the goal of gaining an understanding of how my son’s fathers’ church has it all wrong (and perhaps blasphemously) in order to know how to respond to my son when he is conflicted by the two very different teachings of our church and his father’s. Is this wrong of me to do?   Resources Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God’s Story by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 441 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. What is the best interpretation of “all will know me” in the Jer. 31:34 prophecy of the New Covenant?  2. There are people that wear crosses, and they are convinced that they got a close walk with God. But they don’t do anything that’s correct. You’ve got, for example, mothers that put their daughters down. You’ve got husbands or wives that put their spouses down. You’ve got people hurting people just to make themselves feel better because they have psychological problems. Now, would those people be saved? Are they going to enter heaven even though they didn’t follow through with anything, because there’s no fruit there? I don’t know. I don’t see any fruit.  3. In Mark 1:2–3 it says, “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare yourself way, the voice of the one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” Then it goes on to say this was John the Baptist. My question is how is Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist connected?  4. What does it mean only 144,000 people will go to heaven?  5. In light of 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, is it true then that there is really no such thing as what’s commonly referred to as a backslider?  Resources Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God’s Story by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 440 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. How do I refute a friend who consistently refers to the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath and the God of the New Testament as a merciful God?  2. I’ve gone back and forth on the doctrine of annihilationism. And I know it’s controversial. But the more I read the Bible, I see more support for it in both the Old and the New Testaments, all these questions, all these references to sin as being destroyed, destroy. John 3:16, “that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But what does perish mean that needs to be destroyed? I fully accept that those who don’t accept Jesus and aren’t saved won’t make it into the kingdom of God. But I’m going back and forth on the eternal torment question, because another argument is, Jesus uses the word Gehenna in the New Testament, which refers to an actual place. So I know that’s controversial, but I’m just trying to sort it out.  3. My 18 month old toddler sometimes wakes up at night crying and won’t stop for about 30 minutes to multiple hours. My step parent mentioned spiritual warfare? But I have prayed over my home a while ago. Can you give me some thoughts or insight that can help me?  4. How do we determine what commands were meant for the apostles alone and which are meant for all Christians? I believe the extremes of “apostles only” or “all Christians always” is incorrect. So how do we arrive at a solid “middle” when necessary and either or when necessary and not be guilty of misappropriating Scripture out of context or inserting ourselves into the text?  Resources The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Episode 439 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1.  Should Christians circumcise their boys? My wife and I decided not to circumcise our two boys but most of our friends with boys did circumcise, mainly because their parents had, and they wanted their sons to look the same. That wasn’t a good enough reason for me. I know that circumcision is no longer required under the new covenant, but why do so many Christians, at least in America, still do it when there aren’t really any medical or hygienic reasons to do it? How should we think about this?   2. What proof is there that Jesus rose from the dead beyond the testimony of his disciples? 3. 1 Corinthians 5:11 tells us not to eat with those living in sin. How should we treat someone who has fallen from the faith and is living in sin, adultery for example? 4. I have been talking to other Christians. They keep on saying, if God created everything, then who created God? I keep telling them that God was always there. How can I get through to these Christians? 5. If the Exodus really happened, why haven’t writings been found for the enslavement and exodus of millions of Hebrews within the Egyptian archaeological record? 6. Does God give different preachers different emphases in their ministries?  Resources Knowing God by J. I. Packer  Exodus: Myth or History?: An Interview with David Rohl by Shane Rosenthal  Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.