Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210042A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:03 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:14 Hello, friends, 01:16 and welcome to another edition of 3ABN Today. 01:19 My name is Ryan Day and it's a privilege 01:21 and an honor for you to be with us. 01:23 We're always happy to have you 01:25 wherever you are around the world. 01:26 We thank you for tuning in, 01:28 because the Three Angels Broadcasting Network 01:30 would not exist if it weren't for your love, 01:32 and continual prayers and support. 01:34 So thank you so much for all that you do 01:36 for this powerful ministry. 01:37 Again, like I said, this is a 3ABN Today program. 01:40 This is kind of one of our flagship programs 01:42 in which we get to take on many different types 01:45 of programming within this particular program. 01:49 I keep saying that a lot but you know what? 01:50 It is a program of multiple types of programs. 01:53 We have 3ABN Today Cooking programs. 01:56 We have 3ABN, the newest 3ABN Today, 01:59 Bible Question and Answer program 02:00 that airs every Monday. 02:02 We also have bring in people and do interviews 02:04 where we talk about outreach and mission and, 02:07 and ways that you can connect 02:08 and become involved in the mission of the church 02:10 and the commission gospel of Jesus Christ. 02:13 Also we have 3ABN Today Music programs 02:15 and are one of my favorites 02:17 is the 3ABN Family Worship Time, 02:20 which happens on Friday evenings 02:22 as the Sabbath is entering in. 02:24 And, but today we're having a 3ABN Bible topic, okay? 02:28 This is 3ABN Today Bible topic, 02:31 we're gonna be taking on a special Bible topic 02:34 in which myself 02:35 and my good guest here today, which is not a stranger to me. 02:38 We're gonna be breaking down 02:40 for you and going a little deeper 02:41 into scripture to discuss 02:43 a very important biblical topic that is, 02:46 I believe, very applicable and important for us 02:48 to comprehend and understand for these last days. 02:51 So before we go any further, 02:53 I want to introduce my guest here. 02:54 And as I said, he's not really a stranger to me because 02:57 it happens to be my little brother Dakota Day 03:00 and, of course, he's not little anymore. 03:02 But, Dakota, it's a blessing to have you. 03:03 It's a blessing to be here. 03:05 Thank you for inviting me, brother. 03:06 Amen. 03:07 And, Dakota, you are a full time evangelist 03:10 for Amazing Facts ministry. 03:12 And you're also the personal, 03:15 was it personal ministries... 03:17 Evangelism. 03:18 Personal evangelism teacher 03:20 at the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, 03:22 which is an evangelist... 03:24 Tell us a little bit about the evangelism school? 03:25 Yeah. 03:26 So the evangelism school that we do is called AFCOE, right? 03:29 And so it's the Amazing Fact Center of Evangelism, 03:31 where we train and equip people from all ages, 03:33 from all walks of life, 03:35 how to be a winsome witness for Jesus. 03:37 And so if anybody would like to come, 03:39 we would certainly love to have you guys in our program. 03:41 Amen. 03:42 And I understand you guys do that every, 03:43 in the fall of every year. 03:45 At least you try to do that. And it's a blessing. 03:47 I know I went through AFCOE many years ago. 03:49 Dakota went through AFCOE along with me, 03:51 and it was such a blessing and, 03:52 and now Dakota gets to participate in that work. 03:54 That's right. And so, it's a blessing. 03:56 And you're a full time evangelist with Amazing Facts. 03:58 You travel and do evangelistic series year round. 04:01 So if you need an evangelist and are interested in holding 04:03 an evangelistic series, Dakota's your man, 04:06 I can personally vouch for him. 04:07 But, Dakota, we've come to talk about a very, 04:10 very important Bible topic today. 04:12 Today we're gonna be talking about 04:13 what it means to be a balanced Christian 04:15 and the title of our topic is Balanced Christianity. 04:20 Balanced Christianity. 04:22 We certainly don't want to find ourselves 04:24 in one extreme or the other as many people 04:27 often do in their walk in their experience with Jesus. 04:30 We want to be balanced 04:32 gospel Christians of Jesus Christ, 04:34 followers of Jesus. 04:36 And before we get right into our topic, Dakota, 04:37 I'm gonna ask you to pray for us as we begin our study. 04:39 All right, let's pray. 04:41 Our Father in heaven, 04:42 we are so thankful for Your love. 04:43 We pray that Your Holy Spirit would lead and guide us 04:46 into all truth now as we study Your Word. 04:48 Help us, Lord, have eyes to see and ears to hear, 04:50 Lord, and a heart to receive, Lord, 04:53 and apply to our lives with everything 04:55 that You've given us. 04:57 And as we dive into this now, Lord, 04:58 we pray that this message in this study will bless 05:01 someone's life and help them to really know You personally. 05:04 We pray in Jesus' name. 05:05 Amen. 05:06 Amen. Amen. 05:08 Thank you so much. 05:09 I'd like to go ahead and try to set this up, 05:10 so it makes sense as to the approach 05:12 that we're taking in this. 05:13 There's gonna be three major sections 05:15 that we're gonna be looking at in our study today. 05:17 We're gonna be looking at what it means to be again, 05:19 a balanced Christian. 05:21 What is, what does it mean to be 05:22 involved in balanced Christianity? 05:25 And, you know, 05:26 we live in a world where it seems like 05:28 there's so much division, 05:29 and, you know, again, it's, 05:31 you know, North, South, East West, 05:33 you know, left and right, you're gonna hear those terms, 05:36 maybe a few times a day, the left and the right, 05:38 you might, hey, you know, Republican, Democrat, 05:40 we're not talking about politics today, 05:42 I'm just making an illustration. 05:44 Again, the left, the right, Republican, Democrat, 05:46 you have conservative, liberal. 05:48 You know, it just seems like 05:50 that's the world that we live in. 05:51 And this is not something that's new, it's been, 05:53 it existed for some time, 05:54 it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, 05:56 where Jesus is having the conversation 05:58 with the serpent, and He tells him, you know, 06:00 I'm gonna put enmity between your seed and her seed, 06:03 the woman seed, you have, you know, 06:04 the true seed and the wicked seed 06:06 and in this same kind of divisional aspect 06:10 of the experience of God. 06:13 The experience of this gospel plan 06:16 of salvation seems to always experience, 06:18 not because God wants it to be this way. 06:21 But there happens to be division, 06:23 there's no unity. 06:24 And we want to make sure that we don't find ourselves 06:26 in one extreme or the other, as many people often do. 06:30 But, we want to make sure 06:31 that we are balanced Christians, 06:33 that we are experiencing a balanced relationship 06:35 with Jesus, I was doing a little bit of research. 06:38 And it's interesting that if you do 06:40 some research in history, 06:42 and find out where this 06:43 whole conversation of left and right, 06:45 you know, conservative and liberal, you know, 06:47 many people categorize themselves 06:49 or others under those categories. 06:51 And you're gonna hear us talk about that today. 06:53 Just because even within the context of Christianity, 06:57 not all but most people are categorized 07:00 in one of those two categories. 07:02 "That person has some very liberal views," 07:04 you might hear someone say, 07:05 "Or that person is very conservative 07:07 or ultra conservative," 07:09 in their views almost to the point 07:10 of being dogmatic or legalistic, or pharisaical. 07:13 We're gonna be talking about today 07:15 of how we can make sure we don't find ourselves 07:18 in one or two of these opposite extremes, 07:20 but that we find a balance, 07:22 the balanced Christ, like approach. 07:25 All this thing, this whole idea of left and right conservative 07:28 and liberal goes all the way back, 07:30 it's interesting, to the French Revolution in 1789. 07:34 Of course, the French Revolution lasted 07:36 for about 10 years from 1789 to 1799. 07:40 But this concept of, you know, people who have these ultra, 07:44 you know, extreme liberal views and ultra conservative views. 07:47 And you know, it's it kind of started 07:49 the divisional political divides 07:51 that we even see today in government. 07:53 And make no mistake about it, 07:54 my friends, it's definitely in the church. 07:57 And we're gonna not be talking about politics today. 07:59 We're not here to talk about politics. 08:01 We're here to talk about how we can make sure 08:04 that within God's Church, within the body of Christ, 08:06 that we are finding ourselves 08:08 in a balanced approach to Christianity. 08:11 Dakota, I want to take us to Matthew Chapter 12. 08:14 And we're gonna read verses 22-26 08:17 and also verse 30. 08:18 Jesus is, He's been approached by these Pharisees, 08:21 Jesus often had a run in with these, 08:23 what we might call these ultra conservative, 08:25 extra legalist Pharisees. 08:28 And, of course, they're challenging Him, 08:30 because He's just healed someone. 08:32 And take us to Matthew 12:22-26, 08:35 and also verse 30. 08:37 And read that for us now. Notice the words of Jesus. 08:40 All right, Matthew Chapter 12, beginning in verse 22, it says, 08:43 "Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, 08:46 blind and mute. 08:47 And He healed him, 08:49 so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 08:52 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, 08:54 'Could this be the Son of David?' 08:56 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, 08:58 'This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, 09:01 the ruler of the demons.' 09:03 But Jesus knew their thoughts, 09:04 and said to them: 09:06 'Every kingdom divided against 09:07 itself is brought to desolation, 09:10 and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 09:14 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. 09:18 Now then will his kingdom stand? 09:20 Or how then will his kingdom stand? 09:22 He who is not with Me is against Me, 09:25 and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.''' 09:27 Of course, that's verse 30. 09:29 Mm-hmm. Absolutely. 09:30 And we want to make sure 09:32 we are standing with Jesus Christ, 09:33 but I love what Jesus says here. 09:34 He's making a clear foundation here 09:36 for what we're talking about. 09:38 And He says, "Look, a kingdom, a house, a unit, 09:41 a group, an organization, it doesn't matter, 09:43 if they are divided against itself, 09:45 if there's division there, it cannot and will not stand." 09:49 Of course, in this case, you know, 09:51 He uses Satan as an example. 09:53 And it's interesting as we're gonna talk 09:54 in just a few moments and bring it out. 09:56 You know, the devil is all about division. 09:58 In fact, he's perfectly fine with working both sides. 10:02 If he can divide and conquer and cause division, 10:05 he's perfectly fine with instead 10:07 of choosing one side against the other, 10:09 he'll do all he can to work out a difference between 10:12 both sides and work and manipulate both sides. 10:15 In fact, that's why he alludes to the idea that Satan himself 10:19 would be divided against himself. 10:21 And that's exactly the very essence, 10:24 the very concept of Satan's work 10:25 is that he is a divisional person. 10:27 He wants to cause as much division as possible, 10:30 because division brings about confusion. 10:32 If you have division, you have confusion. 10:35 And we happen to live in a day and age where everyone 10:38 has their own opinion. 10:39 And everyone has their own ideology, 10:41 especially within the Christian Church. 10:43 And, of course, the scripture that comes to mind as I'm, 10:45 as I'm thinking about launching us 10:47 into the study at the moment. 10:48 Proverbs 14:12, which says, 10:51 "There is a way which seems right unto a man, 10:54 but the end thereof are the ways of death." 10:57 We live in a world where everyone seems, 11:00 they think they believe within their hard mind, 11:02 what they believe and how they think 11:04 and how they see things, that that's the correct way. 11:07 But yet we also live in a world 11:08 as the Bible brings out many, many times, 11:11 that deception is one of the main issues 11:12 in the last days of Christianity, 11:14 and in the world, 11:15 that the devil is on a total onslaught 11:17 to try to deceive as many people as possible. 11:20 And so there is a way which may seem right to man 11:24 and the end thereof of those ways 11:25 and those ideologies within our own heart and mind, 11:28 of course, brings about destruction. 11:30 It brings about death. 11:31 But we want to make sure that that we are in, 11:33 we are in Jesus way, we're in the way of Christ. 11:35 And, Dakota, I know you're an evangelist, 11:37 you're out there preaching and you're experiencing 11:39 on the road as you travel from city to city, 11:41 state to state. 11:42 You know, talk a little bit about maybe just 11:44 some of your experiences and how you, 11:45 you meet people all the time that come 11:47 and they hear what you have to say and to preach 11:49 and teach from the Word of God. 11:51 But sometimes ideas don't match up. 11:53 It's a little strange. That's true. 11:55 And, Ryan, you've traveled just as much as I have 11:58 in the sense that you've done meetings, 11:59 and you always run across people 12:01 who have the mindset of, well, 12:02 I know that's what the Bible says, 12:04 but I feel or I think or I believe, 12:08 and they want to go back to the three 12:09 Is making it all about themselves. 12:11 You know, the middle letter in the word sin is I. 12:12 Right. 12:14 Middle letter in the word pride, is I. 12:15 Right. 12:17 If we're starting off sentences 12:18 with, "Well, I," well, we've already gone wrong. 12:19 Right. 12:21 It's not about what we think or what I think, 12:22 it's about what does God think. 12:24 And as Christians, we want to make sure 12:26 that we are making sure our lives 12:28 are in accordance with His revealed will. 12:31 And if what we think is usurping what God says, 12:36 then we're really not following Christ. 12:38 That's right. 12:39 We need to make sure we're following Him. 12:40 And so yeah, there is many people 12:42 I've ran into. 12:43 And they come to my meetings, and they say, 12:45 "Well, you know, 12:46 I know that what you shared is in the Bible, but I think." 12:49 Right. 12:51 And, and you know, 12:52 a lot of people based these off feelings 12:54 and emotions more than off the Word of God. 12:56 We have to be careful that we don't do that, 12:58 in our own personal walk with the Lord, 13:01 not just in a argumentative way, 13:03 but even in our own walk with God. That's right. 13:05 His Word says something, as you always say, Ryan, 13:07 we need to adopt two words in our vocabulary. 13:09 "Yes, Lord." That's right. 13:10 We need to follow God. That's right. 13:12 And that should be our response. 13:13 "Yes, Lord." And as we're talking about this division, 13:16 you know, division is certainly nothing new. 13:19 Since there has been an enemy and sin has been introduced 13:22 into the Christian world, into the world in general, 13:25 there's always been division. 13:27 But if you could, you could always go 13:28 through all the way back to the beginning of Scripture, 13:30 and trace it through just to throw out a few examples, 13:33 obviously, right there as I said earlier, 13:35 you know, the woman seed, the serpent seed, 13:37 there's a division there. 13:39 God never wanted it to be that, it wasn't His plan. 13:41 But it just happened to be that way. 13:43 You have Cain and Abel, 13:44 you're gonna talk about Cain and Abel, 13:46 in just a few moments. 13:47 You have, you know, you get to the time of Noah. 13:51 You have the sons of God and the daughters of men. 13:54 A little bit past that you have those building, 13:56 the Tower of Babel, those who weren't. 13:58 You have, you know, Isaac and Ishmael. 14:01 You have, you know, Jacob and Esau. 14:03 And, you know, 14:05 there's always seems to be this, this division, 14:07 also so much that by the time you get 14:09 to the nation of Israel, you get to, 14:11 you get to the point to where even 14:13 the very nation that God calls, you know, 14:15 to be His special royal nation, 14:17 we find that they reach a point in their history 14:20 where they become divided into a one a kingdom 14:23 of the North and the kingdom of the South. 14:25 The Northern kingdom, 14:26 the 10 tribes of the North known as Israel, or Ephraim, 14:29 some might call it, 14:31 and then you have the two tribes 14:32 of the South known as Judah. 14:33 But you think that was ever God's plan? 14:35 It wasn't God's plan. 14:36 Who do you think was behind that division? 14:37 Well, you know, there's, there's a, 14:40 there's visionaries. 14:41 Right. And then there's divisionaries. 14:42 Oh, okay. 14:45 And the devil is a divisionary. 14:46 He's always looking about how he might tear 14:48 apart what something good that God had started. 14:51 Right. 14:52 You think of this country, right? 14:53 Going back to 1776 in its beginnings. 14:56 There was a lot of good happening there. 14:58 But no sooner than the good was happening, 15:00 wherever something good is happening, 15:01 you better believe the divisionary has a plan. 15:02 There you go. 15:04 And he started create slavery, 15:06 and then this whole idea of the North 15:08 and the South became involved. 15:09 So what we see in the Bible that you just mentioned, 15:11 what happened with Israel, this North and South divide. 15:14 It is not peculiar among the, you know, 15:17 framework of our people today. 15:19 We are very familiar with that. 15:21 North, South, liberal, conservative, left, right. 15:23 Sure. 15:25 This is definitely a dominant mindset 15:27 within our society today. 15:28 Sure. 15:30 And it happens to be to what seems 15:31 to be two very powerful driving forces, 15:33 in almost every organization, every political organization, 15:37 every even within this, we're gonna talk in a moment, 15:39 even the Church of God, 15:40 and you know, back to Israel here, 15:42 who is behind that? 15:43 Of course, it's none other than the devil. 15:45 And what's interesting about that, 15:46 is that both kingdoms, 15:48 the North and the South, they end up both falling, 15:50 because the devil was working both sides 15:52 to manipulate both sides. 15:53 That's right. 15:54 You know, even trace it further than that, 15:56 even to the days of Jesus, 15:58 even coming out of that 70 years 15:59 of Babylonian captivity. 16:01 You know, they get this idea, 16:02 this ultra conservative mentality, 16:04 this ultra extreme legalistic mentality that, you know, 16:08 we're not gonna fall back into that again. 16:09 So then what happens ultimately, 16:12 is you have two groups 16:13 that are very prominent and dominant in Christ day, 16:16 you have the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 16:19 And, of course, what's interesting, also, 16:21 common among all these groups that I'm mentioning here, 16:24 is that there's a third group, and that's the Remnant. 16:26 There's the third group, 16:27 those who don't get caught up in all of the divisional left, 16:30 right, you know, conservative, liberalism. 16:32 There's those who are balanced, those who are in Christ. 16:35 Daniel and his friends, 16:36 they weren't ultra conservative. 16:37 They weren't, you know, extreme liberal, 16:39 they weren't left or right. 16:41 They weren't, they weren't finding themselves 16:42 in this divisional battle, 16:43 they were following the Lord and we saw them 16:45 a part of that remnant in his day. 16:47 And then what's interesting, 16:48 even all the way down to the end of time, 16:49 it's prophesied that this 16:51 is still gonna be very prominent, 16:52 because when you study Daniel Chapter 11, 16:54 which again, is a whole another study in and of itself, 16:56 you have the king of the North and the king of the South. 17:00 And it's interesting, because obviously, 17:02 those represent we believe the, you know, 17:03 the papal system, and this, you know, 17:06 this atheistic spiritual mentality 17:08 that's dominating during the time, 17:10 the king of the North overcomes the king of the South. 17:12 But if again, when you read about the king of the North, 17:14 there's nothing positive 17:15 to be said about that King of the North, 17:17 even though he overcomes the spirit of atheism, 17:19 you will see that the devil is working both sides. 17:22 He's perfectly fine to manipulate both sides 17:25 as long as there is division. 17:26 And so what ends up happening is even in these last days, 17:30 and this is where we're gonna kind of, you know, 17:32 go into our study and bringing 17:33 this into the church and how it applies to us, 17:36 is many people today, 17:37 even within God's Church, have been almost, 17:40 they've almost been subdued 17:43 by this spirit of the North and the South, 17:45 the spirit of the left and the right, 17:47 that, are you a part of this group or that group? 17:50 Are you a part of this camp of thought, 17:51 or that camp of thought? 17:53 And I'm certainly not in any way saying that we, 17:56 you know, we can't hold conservative values 17:58 or anything like that. 17:59 I believe most people would probably say, 18:01 Ryan Day is a conservative Christian. 18:03 In my values, I do have conservative Christian values. 18:07 But I don't categorize myself 18:09 as being conservative or liberal. 18:11 I want to be a balanced Christian. 18:13 I want to make sure that I have a balanced 18:14 approach to Christianity. 18:16 So, Dakota, let's launch ourselves 18:17 into this study here. 18:18 We've kind of already launched ourselves into the study. 18:21 But let's set it up a little more. 18:22 Let's bring about the body of this. 18:24 And let's talk about what what's the problem 18:26 with someone who might take the one, 18:28 maybe what they might call the far right, 18:31 you know, ultra conservative pharisaical, 18:34 extreme legalistic mentality, which many people have this, 18:38 this idea almost of a works approach to salvation, 18:41 because you got to make sure 18:43 you're doing everything right to, you know, 18:45 win God's love or to bring about God's favor. 18:48 Let's talk about that. Let's do it. 18:49 So I remember growing up in Christianity, Ryan, 18:52 you and I are brothers, we grew up together. 18:54 We had very similar experiences. 18:56 And when I first started learning, 18:58 all of the things that I didn't know 18:59 in the Bible, right, 19:01 that I wasn't learning from a lot of the other churches 19:02 that I had attended. 19:04 There was a, there was a, okay, 19:05 so I crawled by the grace of God out of one ditch, right, 19:08 because there's two ditches left and right. 19:10 And notice the ditches on the left and the right. 19:12 Right. Right? 19:14 There's two ditches, and there's one way, okay. 19:16 And Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way." 19:20 That's right. There's only one way, right? 19:21 There's not many ways. 19:23 And so in understanding that I had grew up, 19:26 you and I were raised in one ditch. 19:28 We were raised in one specific ditch. 19:30 And when we crawled out of that ditch of error, 19:35 we were so happy to be out of that ditch, 19:37 we backed up so far, 19:38 so fast that we fell into the other ditch. 19:41 At least that's been my... 19:42 I can't speak for you. 19:44 But I think you would probably agree, though, 19:45 that sometimes we come out of an idea that, you know, 19:49 we don't have to, you know, 19:51 really obey God because if we profess 19:53 His name that He loves us and everything's okay, 19:56 that we backed up from that ditch so far 19:58 that we fell into the other ditch 19:59 and works approach to salvation. 20:01 Now we've learned all these things 20:03 that we need to do 20:04 and get our lives in line with God's Word. 20:05 But then we make it about us and our work rather than about 20:09 God's work in us and focusing on Him. 20:12 And so, yeah, I do want to talk about that. 20:13 Let's break it down. Yeah. 20:14 So in the Bible, you see the story between the story 20:16 of the Pharisees and the publican. 20:19 Let's read that. It's in Luke Chapter 18. 20:21 Sure. 20:22 And this is a story that really, 20:24 it's very paramount to understand, 20:26 especially for every Christian today, 20:29 with this left and right really becoming, you know, 20:32 liberal versus conservative, 20:33 really becoming more problematic. 20:34 It's in Luke Chapter 18, 20:36 and I'm gonna pick it up in verse 9. 20:37 Sure. 20:38 Notice what the Word of God says. 20:40 It says, "And He speak this parable 20:41 on unto certain which trusted," in who? 20:44 "In themselves," the Bible says, 20:45 "that they were righteous and despised others." 20:48 Okay. 20:50 So he's speaking to those people 20:51 who are trusting in themselves. 20:52 Right. 20:54 And now he's about to tell the story 20:55 of two guys that go to church. 20:57 Right? Okay. All right. 20:58 So these are two Christians, right? 20:59 Two professed Christians. Right. 21:01 But he puts them in two camps that everybody can relate to. 21:02 He says, "Two men went up into the temple to pray. 21:05 The one a Pharisee and the other a publican." 21:08 One of these men were considered, 21:09 you know, holy, 21:10 and the other men were considered, 21:12 you know, a beyond, you know, the dirt. 21:13 Yeah, dirt, yeah. Dirt, right? 21:15 And so a Pharisee and a publican, right? 21:17 You can't get any more dichotomous than that. 21:19 And verse 11, it says, 21:20 "The Pharisees stood and prayed thus within himself. 21:22 And notice when he prayed, "God, 21:24 I think thee that I am not as other men are." 21:28 So notice, he eventually starts talking about himself. 21:29 Right. 21:31 It's not focused on Jesus, 21:32 not on His love, but on himself. 21:33 He says, "Extortionist and unjust adulterers and, 21:36 or even as this publican." 21:38 Oh, pointing fingers now. 21:40 It's tax collector, right? 21:41 Imagine this publican 21:42 is sitting next to him in prayer. 21:44 And this Pharisee comes in with his head caught high, 21:47 you know, thinking, he's, he's got it all down path. 21:49 He's been a Christian his whole life. 21:51 You ever met someone like that? 21:52 Oh, of course. You try to witness to them. 21:53 And they say, I've been born again. 21:55 Fourth, fifth generation. 21:57 Yeah. Yeah. 21:58 I don't need you telling me about Jesus. 22:00 Right. I've been in the church too long. 22:02 Yeah, yeah. 22:03 I've come too far for you to tell me, right? 22:04 And so he starts pointing to this publican, it says here. 22:09 I think he goes on to talk about he says, 22:12 "Or even as this publican, I fast twice in the week." 22:15 Right. Again, "What does he do? 22:16 I fast twice in a week. 22:18 And I give all the tithes of all that I possess." 22:21 And then so while he's focused on himself 22:23 and talking about his works, what he's done. 22:25 Right. Notice the other dichotomy here. 22:28 "The publican, standing far off, 22:31 would not lift up so much as his eyes under heaven, 22:34 but smoke his breast saying, 22:36 "God be merciful to me, a sinner." 22:39 Right. 22:40 "And then Jesus says, I tell you, this man, 22:42 speaking of the publican, 22:44 went down to his house justified 22:46 rather than the other, 22:48 for everyone that exalted themselves 22:50 shall be abased. 22:51 And he that humbled himself shall be exalted." 22:54 So you know, Paul in his conversion. 22:56 I just want to throw this out there. 22:58 I wasn't planning on saying this but it came to me. 23:00 Paul in his conversion, when he started out, he said, " 23:03 I'm up there, I'm the least of the apostles. 23:06 I'm up there with them. 23:08 I'm just the least of the apostles." Right. 23:09 And then he came midway through his ministry, and he says, 23:12 "I'm the least of all the saints." 23:13 Right. 23:15 So now, he says, "I'm the least of all God's people." 23:16 Yeah. 23:17 And then he gets to the very end of his ministry, 23:19 to his writing to Timothy. 23:21 And he says, "I am the chief of sinners." 23:23 Right. 23:25 So you can't say Paul was drawing further away from God, 23:28 he was drawn closer to God. 23:29 And just like this publican, 23:31 he saw himself as the chiefest of sinners, 23:34 not the holier than thou. 23:36 Right. 23:37 And I think this is very important 23:38 for us to understand as Christians 23:40 that we don't place ourselves in a mindset 23:43 is if we're holier than someone else, 23:44 just because we do 23:45 something else different than someone. 23:47 Well, because we believe something. 23:48 Exactly. 23:49 Other oftentimes, you know, 23:51 that seems to be the mentality is, 23:52 because I believe these certain, you know, 23:54 theological tenants or I believe 23:55 these certain principles, and, and I and I uphold them, 23:57 and I keep them and I teach them 23:59 and I preach them that you know, 24:00 these other groups of people 24:02 or these other people are not right with God, 24:03 and therefore, 24:04 you know, God has put me here to straighten them out. 24:06 And, you know, often that mentality comes up 24:08 of kind of an oppressive, 24:10 a spiritual, oppressive attitude towards others. 24:11 That's right. 24:13 Because you're here and they're here. 24:14 And that's exactly what Christ is addressing here, 24:16 He's saying, "No, no, no, 24:18 that's not the case all the time." 24:19 I remember when we first came into this truth 24:22 that we know today. 24:25 We became so focused on what we do, 24:28 and what we don't do. 24:29 Right. The gospel itself. 24:31 The good news was not about what Jesus did. 24:33 It was about what do we do? Yeah. 24:35 You know, and we've prided ourselves in that, you know, 24:37 we've changed our diets and the way we eat. 24:40 And we prided ourselves in the fact 24:42 that we know what day is the Sabbath day. 24:44 We know what day to keep holy and all of these things. 24:47 And as I look back on that, I just frown upon myself now. 24:52 And it's not that those things are bad, right? 24:53 I mean, we still believe in its true Sabbath day. 24:56 We still believe, you know, 24:57 in upholding the proper biblical diet, 24:59 but there's a mentality shift, right? 25:01 That's right. 25:02 The motivation and the reason for these things 25:05 is not that they earn us anything or make us 25:07 more holier than someone else. 25:09 Paul never considered himself holier than someone else, 25:11 because he got beat, you know, 25:13 multiple times for preaching the gospel, 25:15 or he got stoned to death, you know, 25:17 or he was shipwrecked for many days at sea. 25:19 I mean, he never considered himself 25:20 better than anybody for those reasons. 25:23 But in our society today, 25:24 it's kind of a natural tendency, 25:26 I think when we come to know something 25:28 that most people don't, haven't yet learned. 25:30 Sure. 25:31 We tend to think we're better than them. 25:33 And we create this judgmental attitude, 25:36 where we start judging others and putting ourselves up 25:38 on a pedestal and others down here like they're lower. 25:40 Right. 25:41 You know, it's interesting, because this is, 25:43 you know, not anything new. 25:44 This is an age old situation when it goes all the way back 25:47 to the Garden of Eden. 25:48 You know, just simply talking about Adam and Eve, 25:50 and Cain and Abel. 25:52 I mean, there's some examples there, 25:53 where we see the difference between 25:55 a works approach to salvation. 25:57 Again, this, what one might consider a far right, 26:01 ultra conservative perspective versus an extreme liberal, 26:05 you know, relaxed, you know, anything goes perspective. 26:08 We see that even in Adam and Eve, 26:10 and Cain and Abel in the very beginning... 26:11 Talk a little bit about that for our viewers? 26:13 You know, what's happening in the garden there 26:15 with Adam and Eve and their garments? 26:16 And then with Cain and Abel and their offerings? 26:18 You clearly illustrate this. 26:19 It's very beautiful to, you know, Cain and Abel... 26:22 I'll talk about Adam and Eve first. 26:24 Let's do it chronologically. Sure. 26:25 So Adam and Eve, 26:26 the very first thing the Bible says that they ever created. 26:29 You read Genesis 3:7, it says that, "Mankind, 26:32 Adam and Eve have made 26:34 themselves coverings or aprons." 26:36 Right. Right? 26:37 Now, why did they do that? It's because they sinned. 26:39 And now the result of sin was that they're naked and ashamed. 26:42 They're guilty, right? And they feel that shame. 26:45 And so our natural response is to cover that up, 26:48 to try to fix it ourselves. 26:50 How many times if you sin and you say, 26:52 "I'm gonna do better this time, I'm gonna do better, you know." 26:55 Gonna white-knuckle my way into this. 26:57 And that's the idea of a works approach to salvation, right? 26:59 I'm gonna do myself, I'm gonna do this myself, 27:02 and I'm gonna accomplish this. 27:04 And that's just the wrong concept to think out. Sure. 27:06 And so, they, the first thing mankind ever made 27:10 was that apron to cover. 27:12 And then get check this out. 27:14 Genesis 3:21, the first thing God made after creation, 27:18 first thing mankind ever made after creation 27:20 was that apron to cover their sins, 27:22 but it can't, yeah. 27:24 The first thing God ever made after creation 27:27 was a covering for their sins. 27:28 And this was a lambskin the Bible says, 27:31 "To cover their nakedness by the lamb's skin." 27:35 Not theirs. Not their work. 27:37 Their work wasn't good enough. 27:38 It wasn't good enough. Right? 27:40 Right. What does Isaiah say? 27:41 "Our righteousness is as filthy rags." 27:43 Yeah. Right. 27:44 And so Jesus come and He covered that, 27:47 and He helped them to see that nothing that you can do 27:50 can ever fix what you've done. 27:52 Right. Right? 27:53 Okay. And I just want to say this. 27:55 This is a powerful truth that I've come 27:57 to really love more and more. 27:58 I don't even know who said this. 28:00 This is just a saying that I've adopted myself 28:02 when I share evangelistically. 28:05 "There's nothing that you can do 28:06 to cause God to love you more. 28:09 And there's nothing you can do to cause God to love you less. 28:12 God's love is the same." 28:14 That's right. Right? 28:15 When we look at His love, 28:17 that's what is really going to inspire 28:19 the right concept and the right motive... 28:21 And the balanced approach. The balanced approach. 28:23 Absolutely. 28:24 The notion behind it. Exactly. 28:26 I love Philippians 1:6, it's one of my favorite, 28:29 I'd say it's probably my favorite verse, 28:30 "I will hold on to that promise, 28:32 you know, that we can be confident in this very thing 28:34 that He who has begun a good work in us, 28:37 He will complete it into the day of Jesus Christ." 28:39 Who completes it? 28:40 He completes it. He does the work. 28:41 He completes it. 28:43 We just have to simply surrender our will to Him. 28:45 I just want to mention one more thing. 28:46 Yeah, go ahead. Because this is powerful. 28:48 So the rich young ruler, you remember the story? 28:50 He come to Jesus and he said, 28:51 "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" 28:54 Right. That was his question to Jesus. 28:55 And then Jesus lays it out for him. 28:57 And then he walks away sorrowful. 28:58 Because what was his focus on? His works. 29:00 What I need to do to get eternal life. 29:03 As if eternal life comes by 29:04 our works or by something we do. 29:07 He's a rich young ruler, right? 29:09 He walks away sorrowful and the disciples are like, 29:11 "Oh, who can be saved then?" 29:13 You know, like, I mean, if he can't be saved. 29:15 And he's rich, I mean, 29:16 because the Jews highly esteemed, 29:18 they esteemed the rich 29:19 as high, regard as righteous. 29:20 They're doing something right. 29:22 Yeah, that's why they're blessed, right? 29:23 And the very next chapter in Chapter 19, 29:25 Jesus meets this young man named Zacchaeus. 29:27 Yeah, very next chapter. 29:28 I love that. Right. 29:30 And then, and it says, "For he was very rich." 29:32 Right. Right? 29:33 There's so much in that story I can share, 29:35 but I'll just share the main point 29:36 in connection with this. 29:37 The Bible says and it's, it's in Luke Chapter 19. 29:41 And notice its verse, 29:44 verse 3, I believe. 29:47 Yeah, verse 3, it says, "And he sought to see Jesus, 29:51 who He was." 29:53 Notice the two dichotomy here, 29:55 you have the rich young ruler rich man seeking Jesus, 29:58 what can I do to get heaven. 30:00 That's right. 30:01 Zacchaeus comes with the right concept. 30:03 And he says, 30:04 "I just want to see Jesus to see if this guy's 30:06 really who they say He is." 30:08 Right. Okay. 30:09 Wow, that's, that's awesome. 30:11 It's not about what you do. 30:12 It's who you know, 30:14 and who you know changes what you do. 30:15 That's right. I love that. I love that. 30:17 I found this powerful quote that kind of goes along with 30:19 what we're talking about here. 30:20 This comes from Desire of Ages, page 309. 30:23 It's a lengthy quote, 30:24 but I want you to listen very carefully 30:26 to this, my friends, 30:27 because there's so much truth packed into this one quote, 30:29 again, this is Desire of Ages, page 309. 30:32 Notice what it's talking about here, 30:34 again, this ultra conservative pharisaical mentality 30:37 that we're discussing at the moment, 30:38 and then we're gonna go 30:40 to the other side in just a moment. 30:41 But listen to this quote. 30:42 It says, "The greatest deception of the human mind 30:45 in Christ's day was that a mere ascent 30:48 to the truth constitutes righteousness. 30:50 In all human experience, 30:52 a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved 30:55 to be insufficient for the saving of the soul." 30:58 So again, she's saying, you know, 31:00 she's expressing the idea that, you know what? 31:01 "Because I believe this, 31:03 and because I ascribe to certain rules 31:05 and ideas in a certain organization, 31:07 well, then I must be saved or I must be 31:09 in good favor with God." 31:10 But she goes on to saying, 31:11 "It does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness. 31:14 A jealous regard for what is termed theological truth 31:18 often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth 31:21 as made manifest in life." 31:24 It says, "The darkest chapters of history are burdened 31:27 with the record of crimes 31:28 committed by bigoted religionist. 31:31 The Pharisees claimed to be children of Abraham, 31:34 and boasted of their possessions 31:35 of the oracles of God. 31:37 Yet these advantages did not preserve them from selfishness, 31:42 malignity, greed for gain, and the basest hypocrisy. 31:47 They sought themselves the greatest religionists 31:49 of the world, 31:50 but their so called orthodoxy led them 31:53 to crucify the Lord of Glory." 31:56 And then this last part gets me here. 31:58 She says, "The same dangers still exists today. 32:03 Many take it for granted that they are Christians simply 32:06 because they subscribe to certain theological tenants, 32:09 but they have not brought the truth into practical life. 32:13 They have not believed and loved it. 32:15 Therefore, they have not received the power and grace 32:18 that comes through sanctification of the truth. 32:22 Men may profess faith in the truth, 32:24 but it does not make them sincere, kind, patient, 32:29 forbearing, heavenly minded. 32:32 It is a curse to its possessors. 32:35 And through their influence, it is a curse to the world." 32:38 Oh, God have mercy. Yes. 32:40 I do not want to have that mentality. 32:41 You know, this is why Gandhi said I love your Christ, 32:44 but hate your Christian. 32:46 Oh, wow. 32:47 This is exactly what the author 32:49 here is talking about Desire of Ages. 32:50 It's so powerful because we see that so much today. 32:53 You know, the world's wanting to flush Christianity down 32:56 the toilet because of this very thing. 32:57 We might speak great thoughts, 32:59 but we don't live consistent lives. 33:00 Right. Right. 33:02 And, and this is exactly the point. 33:03 We have to come to know Jesus not just know the information 33:07 about Jesus, not just. 33:08 We got to come to know Jesus not just know a lot about Him. 33:10 Right. 33:11 You can know a lot about somebody 33:12 and not yet really know them. 33:14 Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. 33:15 So let's go to the other side now. 33:17 Okay. 33:18 Because I know there's someone watching this says, 33:19 "Man, I love what these guys are saying, boy, 33:21 they're really putting 33:22 those ultra conservative Christians in their place." 33:24 You know, "Praise the Lord, 33:26 that we're not saved by the works of the law. 33:29 We're not saved by what we do. 33:31 But we're saved by the grace of Jesus Christ." 33:33 And so the idea is, if works doesn't save us, 33:37 then, you know, 33:38 how does this play into the conversation 33:40 of what we're talking about? 33:41 So let's flip to the other side, 33:42 because there's people 33:44 from the conservative standpoint that says, 33:45 "Oh, those people have, you know, 33:47 extreme liberal views, you know, 33:49 they believe that they're saved, you know, 33:50 and there's nothing they can do 33:52 that that's gonna separate them from God." 33:54 That mentality from the Book of Romans 33:57 that we're gonna talk about in just a moment. 33:58 But let's talk about this idea, this. 34:00 I don't want to really dub it, "Once saved, always saved," 34:04 even though that kind of seems to be 34:05 the foundation in some people's mind. 34:07 But the idea that, "You know what, no matter what I do, 34:10 I'm still saved because I profess Jesus, 34:13 and He's my Lord and Savior, 34:14 and I've accepted His sacrifice, 34:16 and therefore, the law has no place in my life, 34:18 works have no place in my life, 34:20 because I'm a safe Christian." 34:22 Let's talk about that for a moment. 34:23 I think we need to understand grace. 34:25 I mean, because we are saved by grace. 34:27 And let's read the scriptures. 34:28 Ephesians 2:8, and we're gonna read a couple more verses here. 34:31 Ryan, why don't you read Ephesians 2:8-10? 34:34 And then let's talk about it? Absolutely. 34:35 These are the famous verses that most obviously, 34:39 this is kind of the capstone verses, 34:40 cornerstone verses. 34:42 When we're talking about being saved by grace through faith, 34:44 this is what we get at Ephesians 2, 34:46 and we're gonna read 8-10. 34:48 But most people only read verses 8-9. 34:51 They don't read verse 10, when they read this. 34:53 But we're gonna tack on verse 10, 34:54 because it's a complete, 34:56 it's a complete package deal here. 34:58 So Ephesians 2:8-10. 35:01 And the Bible says, and this is Paul writing. 35:02 He says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 35:05 and that not of yourselves, 35:07 it is the gift of God, not of works, 35:10 lest anyone should boast." 35:12 Now that's verses 8-9. 35:13 So many people stop right there and they say, 35:14 "Praise the Lord. 35:16 I'm saved by grace through faith, 35:17 not of myself, not of works. 35:20 I'm saved just by grace." 35:22 Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, 35:23 as much and they now manipulate Romans 5. 35:26 In Romans 5:20-21, 35:28 "Just as much as I sin, you know, 35:30 grace has so much more bounded over my sin." 35:32 As much as I sin, 35:34 God just keeps pouring on more grace. 35:35 But then notice verse 10 here, 35:37 because Paul puts it in his proper perspective 35:39 of how works fit in. 35:41 Uh-huh. Verse 10. 35:42 He says, "For we are His workmanship," I love this, 35:47 "created in Christ Jesus for good works." 35:50 That's right. 35:52 "Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 35:55 We should walk in them. That's right. 35:56 That's right. That's right. 35:58 We got to be walking what we're talking. 36:01 And so one of the key points 36:03 here I wanted to bring out from verse 8. 36:05 Ephesians 2:8, it says, 36:06 "For by grace, are you saved," but notice, 36:10 "through something." 36:11 I love that, yeah. Through what? 36:12 Through faith. Through faith. 36:14 That's right. Through faith. 36:15 So we have to understand faith's role in salvation. 36:18 And it's that if you have real faith, 36:20 I've gave the illustration many times, Ryan. 36:21 We have people these days that are gunman, 36:24 they walk into normal places, you know, 36:25 normal places that we convenient, 36:27 everyday, grocery stores, or whatever, 36:28 and they just go in with guns start shooting. 36:30 Let's imagine for a moment, 36:32 we're in a scenario 36:33 we're in a grocery store shopping, 36:34 and we see a guy walk in with a gun, 36:36 God forbid, but we see it happen. 36:37 And we see this guy take his clip 36:39 and put it in the gun and you know, 36:42 cog a bullet in the chamber, 36:43 what's everyone in that buildings reaction 36:45 gonna be if they saw that? 36:47 They believe the gun is loaded. 36:48 And because they get this "believe." 36:51 It sparks something. They act like it. 36:53 It sparks a response. That's right. 36:55 That's right, because they believe they act like it. 36:56 And so they're gonna hit the floor, 36:58 they're gonna scream, they're gonna run. 36:59 I mean, they're gonna respond. Right. 37:01 So in other words, if we believe heaven 37:02 is loaded with a real God, 37:05 we should have fruit showing that we actually believe that. 37:08 That we act like it. 37:09 And I think that's what we have to understand faith's response 37:11 if you really believe, there should be a response. 37:15 Amen. Praise the Lord. 37:16 I love Romans 1:5 as well. 37:18 I mean, this is obviously I believe, 37:20 it's Paul's Manifesto. 37:22 Romans is one of my favorite books. 37:23 But Romans 1:5. 37:26 Let's read that there. 37:27 In Romans 1:5 says, 37:29 "Through Him, speaking of Christ, 37:31 through Him, we have received grace 37:33 and apostleship for obedience." 37:36 That's right. Okay, so catch that. 37:39 "Through Him, through Christ, 37:40 we have received grace and apostleship, 37:44 for obedience to the faith among all nations 37:48 for His name." 37:49 So the natural response to being saved by 37:52 grace is what? 37:54 Lord, what can I do? 37:55 You know what it should be? 37:56 Yes, Lord. Yeah, that's right. 37:58 Obedience. 37:59 Our response should be, "Yes, Lord." That's right. 38:01 Jesus said in John 14:15, 38:02 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 38:04 We don't keep them because it saves us. 38:06 We keep them because we love Him. 38:08 And we love Him because He saved us by our grace, 38:10 or by His grace. 38:12 And, of course, we are saved by grace through faith. 38:14 And it's not just any faith. 38:15 This is where I want to bring up 38:17 the third angel's message here, 38:18 Romans chapter, excuse me, Revelation 14:12, 38:21 "Here is the patience of the saints, 38:23 here are they that keep the commandments of God, 38:26 and here it is, and the faith of Jesus." 38:30 There's a difference between faith 38:31 in Jesus and the faith of Jesus. 38:33 Of course, we all want to express 38:35 and have faith in Jesus. 38:36 But we ultimately want to exercise the faith of Jesus 38:41 and we have the faith of Jesus. 38:43 And the Bible says, "Through that faith, 38:46 God is gonna save us by His grace." 38:48 Can a saved person be lost? 38:50 Because there's probably someone 38:51 in home right now that says, "You know what, 38:52 I've been saved since 1978, right? 38:56 I remember at that crusade, I walked down as just as I am, 38:59 was playing in the background. 39:00 And I gave my... 39:01 I said that prayer, I repeated that prayer. 39:03 And I've been saved since 1984." 39:05 Whatever the year, 39:06 it is that they got saved, got saved. 39:08 Can I say person be lost? 39:09 Because the idea behind this from some people's perspectives 39:12 is that once you're saved, that's it. 39:14 You're always saved. 39:16 You can't be plucked from the hands of God. 39:18 Talk to us a little bit about that? 39:20 You know, let's go to Luke. 39:21 Okay. Luke Chapter 8. 39:23 Man, this scripture, 39:24 Jesus is talking about the Parable 39:25 of the Sower in this passage, Luke 8, and it's verse 13. 39:30 Notice what He says here, 39:31 He's speaking of the rocky ground, right? 39:33 Okay. Right. 39:34 And he says here, 39:36 "They on the rock 39:37 are they which when they hear receive the word with joy." 39:41 This is a response, they receive it with joy. 39:44 "And these have no root, 39:46 which for a while," what's that word? 39:48 "Belief." That's right. 39:50 They believe. They believe. 39:52 Now if Jesus said they believe, then they believe. 39:55 Right. For a while they believe. 39:58 People that say, "Once saved, always saved." 39:59 They tend to say, but no, no, 40:02 you really wasn't really saved if you fell away. 40:04 Ok. 40:05 You really didn't believe if you ever fell away. 40:07 Well, that's not true. Not according to Jesus. 40:09 He says for a while they believe, 40:11 and in time of temptation, they fall away, right? 40:15 I think we see this with Balaam the Prophet. 40:16 Right. 40:18 I mean, this man was a prophet of God, right? 40:19 He had the gift of prophecy. 40:21 God was using him as a mouthpiece 40:23 to speak to His people, 40:24 but Balaam exercised his own freewill to go away 40:27 from the presence of God 40:28 and to start falsely prophesying. 40:30 I love, another example that comes to my mind 40:33 is a couple of the parables that Jesus told 40:34 to liken it unto the kingdom of God 40:36 and how it functions, 40:37 thinking of the parable of the unforgiving servant. 40:39 Remember the servant comes to the master 40:41 and, of course, the master in this case would be God. 40:43 And he comes to the master and says, 40:45 "Oh, you know, I owe you 40:46 all this money and please Lord forgive me, 40:48 I can't pay it back." 40:49 Well God forgives him. 40:50 Forgives his debt, wipes it clean 40:52 and says don't worry about it. 40:53 You're forgiven. 40:54 In that moment was the man justified? 40:56 He was justified. Was he forgiven? 40:57 He was forgiven. 40:59 Was he in a saving relationship at that moment? 41:01 He was in good favor with the master. 41:03 He's in good favor with God. 41:04 But what does that man go out and do? 41:05 Wait a second, he saved though, right? 41:07 There's nothing he can do to bring about, 41:08 but yet he goes out and he treats another man 41:11 who owes him money, not with mercy, 41:14 not with grace and of course, the master, God, 41:17 in this case God finds out about it, 41:18 and of course this man ends up losing his soul. 41:20 Again he was in favor with the Lord, 41:22 but then he end up losing his soul. 41:24 I also, think of the Parable of the Talents, right? 41:26 God gives the talents and, of course, in that situation, 41:30 he was that person was in favor with the Lord, 41:32 but when he returns, 41:33 he did not used those talents properly, 41:35 and therefore he was cast into outer darkness. 41:37 I think even the Book of Revelation, 41:39 I believe it's Chapter 2 or 3, I believe it's Chapter 3, 41:42 where Jesus talks about 41:43 how your name can be blotted out 41:44 of the Lamb's Book of Life. 41:46 That's right. 41:47 If it can be blotted out, 41:48 that means that once was in there, 41:50 and if it's blotted out, 41:51 that means it was in there and it's blotted out, right? 41:53 So I think we have to understand, 41:54 my friends, that in this conversation 41:57 of what it means to be a balanced Christian, 42:00 that's what we're shooting for. 42:01 Yes. Balanced Christianity. 42:02 What does it mean to be a balanced Christian? 42:05 You know, to be able to find that happy medium between 42:08 the tension of the two extremes. 42:10 Because we have one group that says, 42:12 "Oh, this is the right way." 42:14 Yet they're, you know, 42:15 they're legalistic and they're pharisaical 42:17 and it's a works approach, always is what they do, 42:21 what they do because they got to win God's favor. 42:22 That is not the gospel, 42:24 and then you have another group over here on the far left, 42:26 that says, "Hey you know what? 42:28 I, there's nothing that I could do 42:29 to pluck me from the hands of God because 42:31 I'm saved back here in 19 whatever and... 42:33 Misunderstanding the grace of God. 42:35 It really is. Absolutely. 42:36 I wanted to read just with that. 42:38 This is probably one of the most significant 42:39 scriptures to me about the grace of God, right? 42:42 We're saved by the grace of God. 42:44 So if He, I'm sorry, it's Titus 2:11-12, 42:46 notice what it says about the grace of God. 42:49 It's says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation 42:52 hath appeared to all men." 42:54 Right. Right? 42:55 So the choice is there. 42:57 "Teaching us." So hold on. 42:58 What's teaching us? 43:00 You go to the context 43:01 of this sentence in this passage. 43:02 It's the grace of God is teaching us. 43:04 So God's grace is teaching us that as His children 43:07 that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, 43:10 we should live soberly, righteously, 43:12 godly in this present world. 43:13 So if you really understand the grace of God, 43:15 it's going to teach you to live soberly, 43:18 to deny ungodliness. 43:20 I love that. Yeah. 43:21 And so I think when we really grasp that. 43:24 That helps us not to fall into the ditch, 43:26 that God's grace gives you a license to sin. 43:28 Absolutely. 43:30 In fact, you know, 43:31 it's interesting because Jesus spoke about this prophetically, 43:33 about a group in the Book of Revelation 43:35 and many people aren't aware of. 43:37 They're mentioned a couple of times 43:39 in the Book of Revelation, 43:40 but it's a group called the Nicolaitans, 43:41 the Nicolaitans. 43:43 And when you do a little bit of research 43:44 on who the Nicolaitans are, 43:46 God uses some very strong language, 43:47 "He says their deeds in which I hate." 43:50 In fact, let me read this to you. 43:51 This is Revelation 2:6. 43:53 This is God speaking to Ephesus. 43:55 Ephesus had lost their first love, 43:57 but they were doing something right in the sense 43:59 that they rejected the doctrine of the Nicolaitans 44:01 and this is what God says to Ephesus, 44:03 the Church of Ephesus. 44:04 In Revelation 2:6, He says, "But this you have, 44:07 that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, 44:09 which I also hate." 44:11 So he's commending and he's saying, 44:12 Oh, thank God that you're not like the Nicolaitans 44:14 and you reject that false ideology, 44:16 that false doctrine, 44:18 but by the time you get 44:19 to a couple of church ages later, 44:20 to the Church of Pergamos, 44:22 this is what the Bible dubs as the "Compromising Church." 44:24 Again, the Compromising Church. 44:26 We don't want compromise. 44:28 We want to make sure we're walking 44:29 in the ways of the Lord. 44:30 And notice what He says here, 44:32 to the Church of Pergamos in Revelation 2:12-16. 44:37 It says here, "And to the angel of the Church of Pergamos, 44:39 right, I have a few things against you because you have 44:42 there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam 44:44 who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before 44:46 the children of Israel to eat things, 44:48 sacrificed to idols, 44:50 and to commit sexual immorality." 44:52 And in verse 15, 44:54 "Thus you also have those who hold up 44:56 the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, 44:59 which thing I hate." 45:00 I mean for the creator of the universe, 45:02 the God of grace and mercy to say, "I hate this." 45:06 That's strong language. 45:07 But God's saying, "Look, we don't want any part of it. 45:09 " And then He says in verse 16, 45:11 "Repent or else I will come to you quickly, 45:13 and we'll fight against them with the sword of my mouth." 45:16 Who are these Nicolaitans and what in the world 45:18 do they believe in that, you know, 45:20 God was so strongly to say, I hate this? 45:23 The Nicolaitans, 45:24 and so you know if you're thinking 45:26 of Hippolytus and Irenaeus, 45:28 these are two famous church philosophers and theologians. 45:33 They tell us that the Nicolaitans 45:35 were heretical followers 45:37 of Nicolas and if they're correct. 45:39 You know, Nicholas was one 45:41 of the seven deacons mentioned in Acts 6:5, 45:45 and of course Nicolas would have potentially 45:47 apostatized from the faith. 45:49 So that's where the Nicolaitans come from, 45:51 from this apostasy brought about 45:53 by one of the deacons known as Nicolas, 45:54 who apostatized. 45:56 But here's the thing, here's what they believe, 45:57 get this, "The Nicolaitans were a group 46:00 who taught a radical dualism, between the body and the soul." 46:04 Again, two different things, right? 46:05 Does that sound familiar? 46:07 Spiritualism at its height. That's right. 46:08 A dualism between the body and the soul. 46:10 They believe that what is done within the body 46:13 cannot in any way defile the soul. 46:16 This is where it's important to know the truth about 46:17 the state of the dead, 46:19 because we don't have an immortal soul. 46:20 Our soul is who we are, you know, body and spirit, 46:23 we are a living soul when we're alive, right? 46:25 God didn't put a ghostly apparition. 46:27 No, He didn't put no ghosts or no, 46:28 you know, no spiritual translucent, 46:31 you know, invisible substance in there 46:33 with some intelligence, you know we are a living soul. 46:35 So here it is. 46:36 They believe that what was done 46:38 in the body cannot in any way defile the soul, 46:40 therefore they taught that believers are, 46:42 get this, freed from the law, and they can do as they please. 46:47 It's dangerous. 46:49 And this is a mentality among many Christians today 46:51 and I would even say, my friends, 46:52 even among many Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 46:55 this idea that again we're saved by grace, 46:57 we need to just receive the grace of God 46:59 that there's nothing that can pluck us from the hands of God. 47:01 You know there's no man that can pluck you 47:03 from the hands of God. 47:05 And there's nothing that can separate you, my friends, 47:06 from the love of God. 47:08 But you and your decisions and your lifestyle can indeed, 47:11 if not kept in check, if not kept examine, 47:14 if not in the way of Jesus Christ, 47:16 can indeed make yourself fall into this, 47:19 into this camp of the Nicolaitans, 47:22 these extreme liberal, you know, 47:24 just anything ghost mentality. 47:27 We want to make sure, 47:28 the time's ticking away here, 47:30 we want to make sure 47:32 that we are in a balanced state. 47:34 We want to find ourselves in between. 47:37 And we want to find ourselves having a balanced approach 47:39 to Christianity in the way of Jesus Christ. 47:42 And so, Dakota, 47:43 in the closing four or five minutes we have here, 47:46 let's talk about what it means to be a balanced Christian. 47:49 How can we make sure that we're experiencing 47:51 balanced Christianity? 47:52 I think the most important thing 47:54 with experiencing a balanced Christianity is going to be, 47:58 to understand how to repent. 48:00 You know, Jesus' counsel to the church or Pergamos, 48:03 the compromising church, that believe in the, 48:05 you know, what they taught in Nicolaite, and so on. 48:08 It was the concept of that, they again, 48:12 they thought to themselves 48:13 that it doesn't matter what I do. 48:15 And on the other side, 48:16 we've talked about you have people who believe 48:18 that their salvation was based on what they do. 48:20 Right. 48:21 And so both of those concepts Jesus doesn't like. 48:24 He wants us to understand His work. 48:25 So in order to do that, 48:27 we have to understand that the beautiful message 48:29 of Romans 2:4. 48:30 Read it for us. I love this. 48:32 Notice what it says, "Or do you despise 48:33 the riches of His goodness, 48:36 and forbearance, and longsuffering, 48:38 not knowing that the goodness 48:40 of God leads you to repentance?" 48:43 That's right. That's right. 48:44 And the work repentance 48:46 is just a big word there for change, 48:47 to lead you to change, to be different. 48:49 To get off that broad path that leads to destruction 48:52 to get on the narrow path which leads into life. 48:54 Forsake the old man. 48:55 The only way we will have a motivation to do such 48:58 is to behold the goodness of God. 49:01 That's right. The love of God. 49:03 If the love of God is not our motivator, 49:06 then everything else will be filthy rags in the end. 49:10 That's amazing. 49:11 If the love of God is not why you do what you do. 49:13 That's right. 49:14 Love's got to be the motivation. 49:15 What does Paul say? 49:17 Even though back then they were lighting up 49:18 those Christians like crazy. 49:19 Right. That's true. 49:21 I mean, they were, they were, 49:22 that's why you get the idea of Roman candles. 49:24 Oh, yeah. Right? Right. 49:25 If the 4th of July comes around, 49:26 we often times think of that, Roman candles, 49:28 because but they were lighting Christians on fire, 49:29 burning them. 49:30 When you think of that, the only way, Paul said, 49:34 you can truly be a true Christian 49:35 is to everything be done in charity and love. 49:37 He says, "If I, 49:39 though I give my body to be burn 49:41 and I have not love, I have nothing." 49:42 Oh, I love that. That's true. 49:44 It's got to be motivated by love. Amen. 49:46 I serve God, because I love Him. 49:48 I serve Him because... 49:49 He first, the Bible says that, 49:50 "We love Him because He first love us." 49:52 That's right. 49:54 It's got to be foundation in love. 49:55 John 14:5. That's why... 49:56 Yeah, that's right, John 14:15, "If you love Me, 49:59 you will keep My commandments not because 50:00 you have to but because you want to, 50:03 because He loved you and you love Him." 50:05 I love that. 50:06 I just have to read this because it's powerful. 50:08 Revelation 3:9. 50:09 This is to the Church of Philadelphia, 50:12 the second to last church age. 50:13 And it's interesting that He says these words 50:15 to the Church of Philadelphia. 50:17 He says, "Indeed, 50:18 I'll make those of the synagogue of Satan, 50:22 who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. 50:28 Indeed, I will make them come and worship 50:30 before your feet and to know, that I have loved you. 50:33 It's interesting that he says they say they are Jews, 50:36 but they are not. 50:37 My friends, we're living in a time in which the spirit 50:40 of the North and the South, 50:42 this divisional spirit is compromising many hearts 50:46 and minds within even the Christian Church. 50:48 You look at the political world around us 50:50 and you expect you know the left and the right and, 50:53 you know, Republican and Democrats and, 50:55 you know, conservative and liberals, 50:57 you expect all of these things in the world. 50:59 But, my friends, when you get inside the Church of God, 51:01 God's people, the body of Christ, 51:03 and you see this mentality starting 51:06 to divide and to conquer. 51:07 We have never been more divided than we are today. 51:09 That's right. 51:10 But you know what God has a people. 51:12 God has a remnant people. 51:13 They know they are Jews, 51:15 it's not that they say they're Jews 51:17 and they're lying because again there's a large group 51:18 of people that say, 51:20 I'm of Christ because we're talking about 51:21 spiritual Jews here. 51:23 Remember, if you are of Christ, Galatians 3:29, 51:25 "If you are Christ, 51:26 then you are seeds of Abraham 51:28 and heirs according to the promise." 51:29 And so you can bank on the fact that if you 51:31 are in Jesus Christ, you are His. 51:34 And so if you're saying, I am Christ, 51:36 I'm a spiritual Jew. 51:37 And I claim the blood of Jesus 51:39 but yet you really are not Jesus says, 51:41 you are a liar and I will bring those people 51:43 to worship before the true remnant, 51:45 those who really know, those who really worship, 51:48 and those who serve God with all their heart, mind and soul. 51:52 My friends, this has been a powerful study. 51:54 We are coming down 51:56 to the last couple of minutes of this program. 51:58 We're gonna take a news break 51:59 and we're gonna come back and finish up. 52:01 Dakota, I'm gonna have you to read this quote 52:03 in closing from Steps to Christ, 52:04 page 59 as we're closing here today. 52:06 Powerful quote. 52:08 You're not gonna want to miss it, 52:09 as we're talking about Balanced Christianity. 52:11 We'll see you here in just a moment. |
Revised 2021-09-28