Core Christianity

How Do I Regain a Passion to Study the Bible?

Episode 405 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. I’m a new believer. Jesus came from heaven to come down to be on earth did he know he was going to be resurrected and go back to heaven or did he come down only thinking he was going to die? 2. What should I do when my joy and passion to read the Bible has faded? 3. This week I was reading the Bible looking for answers. I have been struggling with ongoing sin. I struggle with lust. I came across a passage that gave me some hope of victory but I’m not sure how to apply it. Colossians 1:29, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” How can I see God work powerfully within me in this area of my life? 4. On several episodes you have talked about the difference between the law and the gospel. I’m a bit confused. If we are forgiven does that mean that the law no longer applies to us? 5. How do you understand the great commission? Does the call to go apply to everyone; and what does Jesus mean when he says that he will be with us? 6. I’m Jewish but I’m a believer in Jesus the Messiah. I have always struggled with how Jews were saved before Jesus came. And is there salvation for Jews without Jesus? And I know in revelation it says that he does save a remnant of Israel. Thanks.  Resources The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World by Michael Horton 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.

Will Christians Ever See God the Father Face to Face?

Episode 404 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. How do we look forward to the coming of Christ without falling into extremes like predicting his coming or looking at every current event as a fulfilled prophecy and worrying about how bad things are in the world? 2. It’s popular to say that God’s love is unconditional but all through the Old Testament it seems like God’s love is completely conditional on the obedience of the people which is why God is often so angry in the Old Testament. Am I missing something? 3. What does blasphemy of the Holy Spirit mean or entail? I often hear discussions about how all can be saved. What about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? What can a person do? 4. In heaven, will we see God the Father face-to-face? 5. Is it possible to be a Christian and addicted to alcohol?  Resources The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times by William Boekestein  Knowing God by J. I. Packer Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Do Prophets and Apostles Exist in the Church Today?

Episode 403 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. In Genesis 1:26 says that Adam was to “have dominion over creation.” How does this relate to stewardship of creation? Does this verse give us reason to be concerned about things like pollution and the possibility of climate change? 2. My dad became a Jehovah witness what is the best way to deal with this? 3. Why do many Christian people today not believe in prophets and apostles when Ephesians 4 seems to teach that these things will remain until the unity of the faith? And this hasn’t happened today with all the doctrinal division in the church. 4. I’m looking for a Bible based church and I noticed that they each use a different translation. Which is the best? And is there a denomination that teaches the Bible verse by verse? 5. Hi Mike and Adriel I have a question about Mark 4:12 where Jesus seems to suggest that he was teaching in parables so that people would not understand. I thought Jesus taught in parables because parables made it easier to understand his point. Thanks.  Resources Conversations with Jehovah’s Witnesses: A Friendly Approach to Sharing the Truth about God and the Bible by Ron Rhodes 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.

How Can I Know that God Loves Me?

Episode 402 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. How do you know if God loves you? I believe that God loves people, but I really struggle with a sense that God loves me and I’m not sure what to do. 2. Hi Mike and Adriel. I have been loving the show and a while back you talked about doing family devotions. Recently my wife and I started reading a chapter of the Bible and having a short prayer with our three kids. They are 9, 7, and 5. My question is, should I be explaining the passage and how can I make it relevant to them? 3. There is no doubt in my mind that God is real. God is showing me thing, I know in my heart that it’s God, he is showing me stuff about people around me and I have been praying for assurance. I have never experienced something like this. It’s scary to know that so many people are lost. I see a lot of my brothers and sisters struggling to have faith. And here I’m fasting and trying to trust God, but you know it’s like you always have this sense of doubt. I know what God has shown me is true but how do you know for sure? I need prayer. 4. If you sensed, as a pastor, a lack of zeal for the lost in your church, how would you recommend promoting evangelism? 5. How do you know if you are a gentile or a Jew? Is it because you were born in Jerusalem or is it that your heritage is Jewish? Or how did you become a gentile?  Resources Christianity Explored DVD by Rico Tice Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Are the Elements of Communion the Literal Body and Blood of Christ?

Episode 401 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. What does 1 Peter 4 mean when it describes Christians as suffering in the flesh? 2. Hebrews 6:4–6 seems to say that anyone who backslides from the faith has no hope of returning to it. Can you clarify these verses and if there is any, can you give hope to a backslider like me? 3. I’m confused about John 6:56, where Jesus said, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” I have some Catholic friends who told me that this is talking about Communion or the Eucharist. I have never heard this before, is it true? 4. In Mark 9:1 Jesus says to his disciples that some standing here will not die before they see the kingdom of God arrive in great power. I don’t understand what this means. Can you clarify this for me?  Resources Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Introducing Covenant Theology by Michael Horton Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

How Should Christians Deal with Church Scandal?

Episode 400 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. How can I be more intentional with sharing my faith? Do you also know of any good resources that can help me better share my faith? 2. How do I trust God and not my feelings or false thoughts? 3. I have a question about speaking in tongues. I have been to churches where people are speaking in tongues all at the same time, but Paul says that everything is supposed to be done decently and in order. So, should I look at what is happening in this church as a move of the Spirit? 4. How should we deal with church scandal? When leaders fall and churches cover up abuse, there are people hurt by these things, but at the same time I know that these things happen and it doesn’t mean that we should abandon church, but I’m wondering how I can talk to a friend who is really upset because one of our elders left the church after it was discovered that he was having an ongoing affair for several years.  Resources A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship by Michael Horton The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption by Dennis Johnson Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

How Will Christians Be Like Jesus When He Returns?

Episode 399 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. How do you understand Ecclesiastes 5:19–20? “For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart”?  2. I have a friend and he is convinced that religion is just a tool to control people, and I have to admit that sometimes religion, especially false teaching, has been used to control people. How do we talk to people about this in a way that shows them that even though Christianity has been abused it’s still true? 3. Is there Scripture to back up the fact that someone cannot lose their salvation? This seems to be something that I hear a lot. I don’t think we can lose our salvation after we had a heart experience with Jesus. Also, I am dealing with a person who thinks that we are God’s puppets. Can you touch on these two things? 4. 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” How do you understand this? How will we be like Jesus when he appears? 5. Jesus said that the world would be able to recognize us as his disciples by our love. I don’t see much of this today. Can you explain why that might be? What are we failing to do as the church to attain to what Jesus thinks is supposed to be a basic mark of a true Christian?  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.

Do Other Religions Worship the Same God?

Episode 398 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. If Jesus is the only way to salvation, how should we understand other religions? Are they just distortions of the truth in your view? Do they worship an entirely different God; or do they worship the true God in the wrong way with false ideas? 2. If you are saved, why does the person that is saved have to go through a judgment? I thought being saved by the Lord’s grace and blood that you would be saved and live be with him. Thanks.  3. Can you discuss Noah’s curse of Canaan in Genesis 9? I overheard a brother talking about how it was a very important event, but when I searched about it online, I found that it may have been used to justify the enslavement of Africans in the past. What significance does Noah’s curse here have in the larger story of the Bible and in humanity?   4. When someone dies we know that they are absent in the body and present with the Lord. But does eternity begin in that moment? In other words, is that loved one who has gone before me racing ahead by millennia and time is no more; or does time remain a factor even after we die or immediately after we die? 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 Dennis Johnson Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Does God Use Suffering to Make Us Holy?

Episode 397 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. I have been listening to the show for several months and I have heard you guys talk about Romans 8, where Paul says that God works everything together for good. From your understanding does this mean that God uses suffering and trials to make us holy and more patient? 2. If we come into the world sinful at birth what then happens to children who die before they come to the age of understanding? 3. Do you believe that the Scripture can be interpreted symbolically? 4. Who is who in the verse that says, “the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make my enemies my footstool”?  Resources A Place for Weakness: Preparing Yourself for Suffering by Michael Horton Walking with Jesus Through His Word: Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures by Dennis Johnson Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Should Race Cease to Exist in the Body of Christ?

Episode 396 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. What is implied by calling the church the body of Christ given that Christ’s physical body has ascended into heaven? 2. Thank you so much for his show. I have a question about Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 11:29. When Paul tells his readers they need to discern the body when they take the Lord’s supper, I’ve heard some say this means before I can take communion, I first have to be able to understand the nature of Christ’s presence in the bread and wine. But it doesn’t seem like Paul is talking about that much in this chapter. His primary concern seems to be how we discern the community of the Church as his unified body. He’s upset about divisiveness in the church fueled by selfishness, and because the Corinthians are failing to do this as they sit at the Lord’s Table, they are eating and drinking judgement on themselves. What do you think it means to discern the body?  3. Where are Heaven and hell in your understanding? Because of science we know that hell isn’t under our feet and heaven above our heads, so I’m not sure how to understand Heaven and hell in the Bible. 4. In 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession…” does this mean our own race and nationalities are now erased in a sense? Resources A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship by Michael Horton Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God’s Story by Dennis Johnson

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