Episode 118 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. Why is it important to believe in justification by faith and have assurance? Doesn’t a lack of having assurance help us to sate motivated to do good works? 2. In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” But in Matthew 10:34 Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” How do these two fit together? 3. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says that we should love our enemies. I don’t know how to do this. Does Jesus really want us to love people who hate us? How is this even possible?

Episode 117 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. How can I prevent my personal Christian growth from becoming stagnant? 2. Can a person make Jesus their personal savior without making him Lord? 3. Why does the God of the Old Testament seem so different then the God of love in the New Testament? I understand that God is unchanging and that the Old Testament God had to be loving but why didn’t the Old Testament reveal God as a God of love? 4. I’m a Religious Studies major at Texas A&M, and I recently became a Christian. I’m taking a class on Islam for my major. Is it okay for Christians to read other holy books? 5. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” I know that this is true but my life doesn’t seem to be blessed. Maybe I don’t have enough faith. How should I understand God’s plan for my life? 6. Since Jesus hung out with sinners, does that mean we should too? Where do we draw the line?

Episode 116 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. In the book of Philippians Paul says that he came to consider everything as a loss for the sake of Christ. How can we come to that same conclusion? 2. Can a Christian in this life have assurance of salvation and can he have full assurance of salvation in this life? 3. Is it possible to be saved by following our conscience or the light that is within us, that God has given to each one of us in knowing right from wrong? Are there other religious paths to salvation or do we need to become Christians to be saved? 4. In Ephesians 4:29 it says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” What does this mean? 5. Dr. Horton, I have a question about how grace alone salvation squares away with passages about discipleship? I’m thinking of passages like Matt. 10:38; Rev. 3:5; Rev 21:7-8; Eph. 5:5.  6. If we are saved by grace, why does Matthew 24 indicate that our salvation is based on works of mercy that we did in our lifetime?

Episode 115 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. What do you think is one of the big challenges facing the church? 2. I was a biker and have a pretty bad background. I know that when I became a Christian that I was forgiven but I still can’t help thinking about the past. How can I stop thinking about the past and letting it bother me? 3. I haven’t always been the best Christian. It’s been a while since I’ve been to church. How do I know if I’ve committed the unpardonable sin? 4. How do we communicate the real gospel to Mormons in a loving and understanding way? 5. The prodigal Son a Christian who lost his way or is this a story about a person who becomes a Christian? 6. What does Hebrews 11:3 mean when it says, “By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible”?

Episode 114 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. Jessica writes, “I have heard people talk about salvation as having a past, present, and future aspects so that we could say that a person has been saved in the past, is being saved in the moment, and will be saved in the future. I feel like I don’t really have a grasp on what this means. Can you explain it?” 2. What would Jesus think of the Multisite church model? In our area it seems like there is a growing number of churches that are expanding and planting new churches and in doing so they maintain one teaching pastor and meet at multi-sites that meet across the city. I wonder if there are any downsides to this. What are the perks to that and what are some of the downsides to that could come with that kind of model? 3. Is original sin biblical? 4. How and when was it decided which books ended up in the Bible?

Episode 113 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. What does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 1:18 when he says that the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing? 2. My husband and I just found out we are pregnant (praise God!). There are other young mothers in the office where I work that continue to work while raising a family. In our church, however, there are very few, if any, working mothers. My husband and I have decided that I will not continue with my outside job once the baby comes, but because it is not the “social norm” in my office, I already know my boss will not be understanding when I break the news. Could you provide some Biblical references on what God says should be the right reaction to this decision and how to have that tough conversation with my employer (a devout Catholic) when the time comes? 3. I have been through two church splits over doctrine. John 17 seems to make unity really important. What do you think about this? 4. Can you explain the parable of the 10 virgins? I have heard it taught as the difference being works or love or Holy Spirit. 5. If all humans are born with original sin, and Jesus was fully human, then wouldn’t he also have original sin? 6. Is it possible to focus on the gospel too much and leave out the importance of obedience or worship?

Episode 112 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. In Matthew 28:18–20, the passage on the Great Commission, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” I have heard a lot about how Jesus commands us to go into all the world but I haven’t heard much taught about what it means that Jesus is with us until the end of the age. What does this mean? 2. Why does Jesus call himself the Son of Man? Is it just a weird way of saying he is human? If so why don’t the Bible translators translate it as just ‘man’ or ‘human’? 3. Why does God punish children for the sins of their fathers in the Old Testament, even though he says he won’t in Ezekiel 18:4? 4. Every year, there are predictions of the end of the world, and so far they turned out to be false, but shouldn’t we be reading the signs of the times? Jesus could come back at any moment. How should we prepare?  5. Do backslidden Christians go to the white throne of judgment?

Episode 111 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. In the parable of the wheat and the tares are the tares the same as the seed of the serpent? 2. Throughout the Bible, we are told to fear God. I’m thinking of Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” What does it mean to fear God? And how does that fit with the command to love God? 3. What do you think Christians should really know about God? 4. I have heard you talk about how preaching the gospel is essential to a faithful church? Is this different from a pastor just preaching the word of God? How do I know if a pastor is preaching the gospel? 5. What is the key difference between a job and a calling? How does a Christian know if they are living out their calling?

Episode 110 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today’s show: 1. The Bible seems to talk about unbelievers as if they don’t do anything good, I’m thinking of Romans 3 for example. But I know people who are not Christians who are good people. They are good neighbors and seem to be overall kind people. How do you explain this? 2. How should the Gospel influence the way I treat my children? I’m worried that if I show too much grace they won’t learn discipline and self-control. Where is the balance? 3. Were people in the Old Testament saved by works? Or were they saved by grace too? Is this what the Bible means in the Gospel of John where it says, “The law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”? 4. I have heard it said that the holier you are the more you will feel like you fall short. If this is true how do you avoid falling into despair over sin? 5. When the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts, what changed in history? How is this different from the Spirit coming upon Old Testament judges?

Episode 109 | 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 you are called to ministry? 2. Do you believe that Christians can be filled with the Spirit? If so, what does that look like? 3. What are the signs of a person who is demon possessed? If we come across a person who is demon possessed, what do you think we should do about it? 4. Does God use suffering to make us holy? 5. When Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 says that he will show them a more excellent way, is he talking about love? How does this relate to spiritual gifts?