WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000
Let's talk about Diwali.

2
00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:18.000
Diwali. We're going to talk about Diwali. Uh, or Diwali. Um, obviously, I'm an English speaker, so I'm going to say it the way that makes sense to my brain, even if it's not entirely correct. That's what we do with English speaking.

3
00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:38.000
So, um, the issue I want to ask you guys about, or ask scripture about, is the question of is it okay to say Happy Diwali? That is the first question for today. My name is Mike Winger. I'm here to try to help you, uh, learn to think biblically about everything. Because that's my journey, is to learn to think biblically about everything. And we're doing it together.

4
00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:50.000
And, um, I'm sporting a new T shirt today as well. And I know it will be misinterpreted by some, but, uh, I like it.

5
00:00:50.000 --> 00:01:00.000
Okay, so, um, is this. Okay, I'm gonna put something on your screen real quick. Take a look. This is Donald Trump lighting the Diwali candle in the White House.

6
00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000
As a Christian, how am I supposed to think about this?

7
00:01:04.000 --> 00:02:08.000
Not, you know, and here I am, ironically, I just got this shirt, and I've just put it on. So some are gonna be like, why are you wearing the freedom shirt, the Charlie Kirk shirt? For a number of reasons. But, uh, you'll see that even though I want to help us as Christians, if we're going to live biblically, um, as we try to think biblically so we can live biblically, um, we should, I think, be pushing more into advocacy and things like this. I've been talking about it a little bit here and there. I'll talk a lot more about it next year, midway through the year. I'm going to go deep on this stuff. But, um, at the same time, we have to do this because it's an expression of our genuine Christian values and not because we're just picking sides or teams or something like that. Um, and so we have to speak truth as it is true. And this is actually evil, what we just saw on your screen. That's an actual moral evil, the thing that you just saw. And I know it seems innocent, you might think, well, Diwali is kind of like it's the Festival of Lights or something. It's kind of like Hanukkah, right? Isn't it kind of like Hanukkah? And Hanukkah is not that big of a deal. Which Hanukkah's fine. I think you could celebrate Hanukkah, no problem.

8
00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:14.000
That's going to trigger. There's so many things that will trigger people, but I actually think the majority understand exactly what I'm saying.

9
00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:46.000
So let's walk through it. Okay. What is Diwali and why is it that that is not something that's. Okay. Um, I'm going to show you guys some stuff. This is from Britannica, uh, um, where it's an article on Diwali and we're going to read a little bit of it here. It says the Puranas describe various versions of a lamp festival in autumn. Although the specifics of the holiday vary in these ancient texts, the general sense of the modern five day Diwali or Diwali festival and the different meanings of the day can be discerned from their accounts. For example, multiple Puranas.

10
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:56.000
I don't know how to pronounce that. Puranas, uh, probably Purana or something like that suggest, uh, that the lamps are lit in worship of Yama, the God of the dead.

11
00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:08.000
Wait, so this right here on your screen, this is to many people being done in worship of the God of the dead. Okay. It's not just lights.

12
00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:30.000
It's not just about lights. And you'll read online, people will post online, Diwali, uh, is about the victory of light over dark and good over evil. Um, you can wash it clean and clear of any of its actual religious significance by saying that. But that's not true. That's like saying the cross of Jesus is about the victory of grace over judgment or something.

13
00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:51.000
Uh, and even that would be not entirely accurate. But you could say that. But that's. No, no. The cross of Christ is the only way of salvation. It's about the only way in which you can be forgiven for your sins. To water it down to such a degree that it's like you don't even really believe the things you believe anymore. Let's be honest. What is Diwali? Diwali, it is that.

14
00:03:51.000 --> 00:04:04.000
Let's read on. Uh, at midnight, the women are said to drive out the goddess Al, uh, and propitiate Lakshmi fortune. So it's a prayer to Lakshmi, a deity.

15
00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.000
It's a prayer to a deity.

16
00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.000
This is pagan worship, this activity. Let's read more.

17
00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:36.000
Observances of Diwali differ depending on region and tradition. Among Hindus, the most widespread custom is the lighting of Diyas, small earthenware lamps filled with oil on the night of the new moon to invite the presence of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. In Bengal, the goddess Kali is worshipped. In northern India, the festival also celebrates the royal homecoming of Rama, along with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.

18
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.000
These are all false gods. They're all false gods.

19
00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:44.000
To the city of Ayodh Ayodhya. Ah.

20
00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:58.000
After defeating Ravana, the ten headed king of the demons, Thus connecting the festival with the holiday Dusera in southern India. The festival marks Krishna's defeat of the demon Asura Narakasura.

21
00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:13.000
Some celebrate Diwali as a commemoration of the marriage of Lakshmi and. And Vishnu, false gods, while others observe it as the birthday of Lakshmi. So Hinduism is varied. There's a lot of variety in Hinduism.

22
00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:26.000
It's basically a bunch of different religions that got smashed together and sort of became under the same umbrella. So the same festival is celebrated in different places. Um, it's also celebrated by Buddhists and other people as well. But it's all.

23
00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:35.000
It's steeped in paganism and worship and belief in false gods. Absolutely. Here's more information from the Britannica site.

24
00:05:35.000 --> 00:06:05.000
Um, did I already share this one with you guys? I don't think so. During the festival, the diyas, the lighting of the candles, they're lit and placed in rows along the parapets of temples and houses and set adrift on rivers and streams. It's beautiful. It looks beautiful. It's cosmetically attractive. Uh, Satan knows how to whitewash a sepulcher. Homes are decorated and floors inside and out are covered with rangolis consisting of elaborate designs made of colored rice, sand or flower petals. It is gorgeous. It is beautiful. That doesn't make it good.

25
00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:18.000
Satan's beautiful too. The doors and windows of houses are kept open in the hope that Lakshmi, this false God, will find her way inside and bless the residents with wealth and success.

26
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:39.000
And it goes on. The names and events of the individual days of Diwali are as follows. I'll just read to you guys. Three of them. Just three. The first day, known as, uh, Danteris, is dedicated to cleaning homes and purchasing small items of gold. Okay, that sounds innocuous. Clean your house and buy gold stuff. But let's read the rest of it. Lakshmi and Kubera are the focus of worship on that day.

27
00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:56.000
The second day, called Naraka Chhatradashi or Choti, Diwali commemorates Krishna's destruction of Narakasura. Prayers are also offered for the souls of ancestors.

28
00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:03.000
Do you see it now? This is what Diwali is. Diwali. This is what it is. On the third day. Lakshmi Puja.

29
00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:09.000
Um, that's the name of the day. Families seek blessings from Lakshmi to ensure their prosperity.

30
00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:32.000
This is, um, where they light all the candles and fireworks and visit temples and all this stuff. But it's very much pagan worship. Now, what does scripture actually say about this? Let's learn to think biblically about these things. And it's going to be rough because of the, uh, culture we're in. Culture doesn't want to be honest about these things. Doesn't want us to say anything out loud. It wants us to go, hey, Happy Diwali.

31
00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.000
M.

32
00:07:32.000 --> 00:08:04.000
But I actually think this is, like, a good little watershed issue where you could say, hey, if you can say happy Diwali, you're either unaware of what scripture says about this kind of thing, or you're unaware of what you're doing when you say it. And so my encouragement to you is not, I, uh, want to drag you over the coals. No, I want to just open your eyes and say, hey, let's look at truth. Let's see what's really going on here. And let's handle this as Christians who follow Jesus, who believe in God, who know that idol worship is actually a reason why the wrath of God comes on the world.

33
00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.000
Um, let's look at it right here.

34
00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:25.000
It says here that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. This is Romans 1:18 of Men who by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth. They suppress the truth, for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.

35
00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:36.000
For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made so that they are without excuse.

36
00:08:36.000 --> 00:09:01.000
And then this is directly about the idol worship and Hinduism. It's directly about it. And we don't, as Christians, we probably don't know enough about Hinduism. There's, uh, so many Hindus that need the gospel of Jesus Christ. We want them to be delivered from false gods. We don't want to attack them for being Hindu in some sort of, like, brash sense. We want them to be delivered from lies, belief in false gods, worship of false things that will bring judgment upon them in their future.

37
00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:10.000
This is what we desire. So we can't be, like, happy to Wally, because that would be a lie. That would be a happy little smiley lie.

38
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:34.000
Verse 21, it says, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible uh, excuse me, I'm reading in my brain. New King James. The glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and beads, uh, birds and animals and creeping things.

39
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:37.000
Therefore, God gave them up.

40
00:09:37.000 --> 00:10:05.000
He gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Because. And it goes on. Uh, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. And there's more things that talks about. They're all relevant today, all relevant in our lives right now. But there's another verse I want to mention, which is what's really happening when you light a candle to a false God? What is really happening when you perform a Hindu religious ritual?

41
00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:13.000
First Corinthians says, and it's sobering. It is so sobering. Uh, let me pull up the verse here just a second.

42
00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:18.000
I, um, need to organize my desktop just a little bit. Okay.

43
00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:26.000
Um, so First Corinthians, chapter 10 is going to get into this.

44
00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:31.000
I think I'll start in verse 19.

45
00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:42.000
What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? I don't think you're idol. I'm not scared of your idol. I'm worried about your idol. Your idol doesn't give me the heebie jeebies.

46
00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:54.000
I'm just aware of what it means. Right. So what Paul says is, no, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they offer to demons and not to God.

47
00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:57.000
I do not want you to be participants with demons.

48
00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:04.000
This is the nature of Diwali. This is the nature of Hindu religious things.

49
00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:13.000
And Hinduism is an incredibly important mission field. We need more Christians out there evangelizing, planting churches. We need especially probably.

50
00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:26.000
This is what my understanding of it is that we especially need natives, native Indians to be getting into or wherever the Hindu communities are, the people who are part of those communities to rise up and become evangelists, um, and to help empower them to do it.

51
00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:41.000
But, yeah, absolutely. Um, I can't say happy Diwali. I don't want you to have a happy time worshiping a demon. That's not something I can get into and be part of as a Christian. I could not ever. I mean, Trump's not a Christian.

52
00:11:41.000 --> 00:12:03.000
No, I mean, I think that he. His greatest moment. Maybe I'll do a video on this. But his greatest moment was most recently when he said he didn't think he'd make it to heaven. And I thought, well, he's the closest to the gospel he's ever been, because he understands that there's a standard he hasn't met. And the next thing he has to know is that Jesus has met that standard and can give him salvation. But, um, he has to humble himself.

53
00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:25.000
So even though I'm wearing a shirt, um, this is I. My understanding of how a Christian needs to engage in these issues is I have to actually be a Christian in every sphere and not be a chameleon who blends in. I'm going to be a Christian who pushes my worldview wherever I go, pushes my Christian agenda wherever I go, and is not ashamed of it. Um, I think that's what we need to do.

54
00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:32.000
So we're going to go to your guys questions. All right, so this will be question number two. Let me pull this up. Just a moment, y'. All.

55
00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:42.000
Just a moment.

56
00:12:42.000 --> 00:13:16.000
So the, uh, 10 questions videos, I do these every Friday. It's at 1:00pm Pacific Time. This is almost every Friday. Some days I'm not able to do it. I have commitments or other things come up. But most of the time we do a Friday show at 1:00pm and, um, I'll give you guys more updates at the end of this video about the things that I've been thinking about and working on and why I'm wearing this shirt, um, at the end of the video. So now we'll go to your guys questions and Scripture is king here. We are going to try to answer them with what the Bible says, at least as much as I'm capable of doing. And I know that you guys, it's not that you learn my answers and just repeat them.

57
00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:31.000
The real benefit of the 10 questions or the 20 questions videos is you learn the process of going to Scripture on your own and asking good questions and thinking about it and applying it well. And that's where the real value is. So feel free to disagree with me on something.

58
00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:44.000
Daniel Binkley says. Is there a distinction between God speaking words of comfort to someone and the gift of prophecy? I've understood that anytime God speaks, it is definitionally prophecy and subject to testing.

59
00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:50.000
Um, so nailing down exactly our definition of prophecy turns out to be pretty difficult.

60
00:13:50.000 --> 00:14:11.000
Um, there's a clear prophecy where someone says, thus says the Lord, and they say something. Right? That's clearly a prophetic thing. That's prophecy. Um, but when we get to, like, the list where it says someone can give, like, here, let me show it to you guys and we'll walk through and I'll show you why this can be A little bit hard, um, to nail down exactly what you call prophecy. There's a few different reasons.

61
00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:17.000
And, um, let me see here.

62
00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.000
This is in, uh, First Corinthians, chapter 12.

63
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:26.000
And it's talking about different gifts and empowerments from the Holy Spirit for us to, uh, bless each other with.

64
00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:34.000
And it says here, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good to one is given through the Spirit, the utterance of wisdom.

65
00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:44.000
So I speak wisdom, and that wisdom was actually given to me through the Holy Spirit. And I have words of wisdom that come from the Spirit. Here's the question. Is that prophecy?

66
00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:52.000
I mean, kinda, except you'll see down here, prophecy is down here as its own category.

67
00:14:52.000 --> 00:15:00.000
So where's the overlap there? To another, the utterance of knowledge according to the Spirit.

68
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:25.000
Um, so if I have a word of knowledge from God, this is how often this is interpreted. And I think that this can be a real application of that is, you're talking with someone and you simply know something because God has revealed it to you that you otherwise would not have known. And, uh, you use that information to minister to somebody, to help the situation somehow or even to confront something. And that was an utterance of knowledge. Is that prophecy?

69
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:32.000
I mean, it's prophetic in a very real sense. It kind of is.

70
00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:46.000
Now, if someone has an utterance of wisdom or an utterance of knowledge from the Spirit, um, but maybe they don't even say, the Lord gave me this, or they just, they just simply say, I think, blah, blah, blah. And it's a thing that was inspired by God.

71
00:15:46.000 --> 00:16:00.000
That's different than if someone says, the Lord has showed me this. Okay, so that elevate. They're elevating the authority of the statement they make. And so the more authority they're saying it with, the stronger the testing has to be. This is like a good rule in life.

72
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.000
Hey, I think that this is a bad idea.

73
00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:11.000
Is it different than, hey, God showed me that that's a bad idea. These are different statements. And the authority and the accountability both go up.

74
00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:22.000
Um, but if you read on, it can be a little challenging to another faith, by the same spirit, to another gifts, healing, by the one spirit, to another, the working of miracles, and to another prophecy.

75
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:28.000
And then he goes on distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.

76
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:38.000
So this list, Starting in verse 8, lists words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and then prophecy, which seem to be.

77
00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:44.000
At least it's one sentence, right? They seem to be listed as different things.

78
00:16:44.000 --> 00:17:01.000
Maybe it's the authority with which you utter if you have a word of wisdom, but you utter it as God. God showed me. Now we call it prophecy. Maybe someone has a word of wisdom the Lord revealed to them. They're not even fully conscious that God revealed it to them. So we would just, in hindsight, we go, wow, that was really the Lord. You know, you had that idea. That was great.

79
00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:20.000
I think God used that in a great way. Um, then we wouldn't maybe call that prophecy. You see how what we're doing is we're taking this information and we're. We're just sort of trying to figure out what to call it. In a sense, I think that prophecy has a narrow definition and a broad definition. And the narrow definition is God told me to say this.

80
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:28.000
Uh, but a more broad. Or told me to do. To do this thing that's a message for you. Like Ezekiel, he builds a.

81
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:39.000
He takes a little fake brick or whatever, this rock that's supposed to represent Jerusalem, and he builds like a siege around it. And that was prophecy. Even though it didn't necessarily require words, that part of it.

82
00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:49.000
Um, but then if you have this broad definition of, like, anytime you're speaking as led by the Lord, it's prophecy that feels too broad.

83
00:17:49.000 --> 00:18:05.000
So at some point you've got to narrow it down and be like, well, maybe it's just when you are declaring some truth and you're saying it's from God, maybe then it's prophecy. Here's the truth, and it's from God. Maybe we'll just call that prophecy because you're claiming that it's from God.

84
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:18.000
That would be my thought on that. And that would fit with what we see in Scripture, because there's all sorts of things that are prophetic. I mean, the entirety of the Bible is prophecy in the sense that it's speaking on behalf of God or it's God revealing things to us.

85
00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:32.000
But then we have a section in a very broad sense, right? We have a section called the prophets, and we have individuals who are prophets and who are not. And so it's just something that is a little hard to nail down.

86
00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:44.000
But your question wasn't just defining prophecy. It was also this other thing, and you asked, um, I've understood that anytime God speaks, it is definitionally prophecy and subject to testing.

87
00:18:44.000 --> 00:19:03.000
And I think that that is, uh, good wisdom. Okay, I would go with that, but I wouldn't argue with people. Well, technically, that wasn't prophecy. I would just be like, well, it should be tested, though, right? I just wouldn't spend all my time arguing about the definition, I just get to the nuts and bolts of having to actually test it. All right, let's go to question number three.

88
00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:20.000
This question comes in from Hotwax93. Who says, if we aren't required to keep the Old Covenant food laws, then why are the unclean animals described in Deuteronomy 14:3 with the same Hebrew word for homosexuality in Leviticus 18?

89
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000
That was. That's a. I'm so confused by this question.

90
00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:45.000
Maybe it's totally my fault, but let me read it again. Okay? The hypothesis is, hey, we're not required to keep the Old Covenant food laws. Okay? And then this observation you've made is supposed to be, like, maybe a challenge to that, hey, if that's the case, um, why are unclean animals Described in Deuteronomy 14:3 with the same Hebrew word for homosexuality in Leviticus 18?

91
00:19:45.000 --> 00:20:04.000
So the Hebrew word for homosexuality in Levitaus 18 cannot possibly be the same word? Not actually. Um, but there is probably a word abomination that you're thinking of. I have to guess here, because you didn't give me a verse. You gave me a chapter, uh, for Leviticus, but I'm assuming it's the word abomination.

92
00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:10.000
Um, but there's no way that animals are being discussed with the same terminologies.

93
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:17.000
You shall not lie, uh, with a man the way you lie with a woman. That kind of thing.

94
00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:24.000
So, um, but it has to be with the word abomination. Now, there's actually different words for abomination in the Old Testament.

95
00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:34.000
Um, and this is to get to the bottom of this. It requires a Hebrew me to look this up in Hebrew. Uh, and. Which honestly is difficult to do on a live stream.

96
00:20:34.000 --> 00:21:12.000
Let me just say this cursory stuff. In the past, I have looked into this. I've looked into the specific word abomination that's used in Leviticus to talk about homosexuality and some other things, and they're not. It's not the same word. Okay, this is years ago when I did this research, but it was not the same word at all. And the word abomination, translated in English, yes, the same. Not the same in the actual Hebrew. So I'm not sure that Deuteronomy 14:3 is the same word. Um, now, I'm going on a limb to say this, right, because I'm live. I don't have the chance to actually do that.

97
00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:19.000
Uh, but still, let's suppose, hypothetically, that I'm wrong. Let's say that the same word abomination is used.

98
00:21:19.000 --> 00:22:16.000
Would that Mean because the word abomination is used in homosexuality, Leviticus 18. That therefore the same word being used about animals means that no humans can eat those kinds of animals. It's a rule God has for all mankind for all time. And I would say no, uh, because the argument in Leviticus 18 is not merely based on the idea of the word abomination. It's based on a whole lot more than that. So Leviticus 18, a short version is this. In this passage, God tells them, uh, that they're not to do these practices of homosexuality. I should just. Let me just find the passage and I'll read it to you. Let's see, um, verse 22, I'll just read it to you. We should just read it. Follow right through the passage. You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. Okay, if that's all it said, you might be like, well, maybe this is just the law. Maybe like the dietary stuff, it's just for Jewish people. It's not something God has ever asked for Gentile nations to do.

99
00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:39.000
Um, but we have so much more than this. I could bring in Romans 1. I could bring in First Corinthians 6. I could show very clearly that God says that no believers are able to do this. I could then look at Romans 14 and look at Mark, was it 7:9, where Jesus and his apostles make it clear that we can actually eat different foods. And the dietary restrictions are not binding upon all Christians.

100
00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:47.000
Um, but if you keep reading on, then you'll find out it's bigger. Even in Leviticus. It's bigger than just, here's a rule for you.

101
00:22:47.000 --> 00:23:03.000
Um, he says, but you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you for the people of the land who were before you did all of these abominations so that land became unclean.

102
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:14.000
That's key, because this commentary, which is not to my knowledge, there's nowhere in the Old Testament where God says he judges gentile nations for eating non kosher foods.

103
00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:19.000
Although kosher is a more strict category than what you have in Scripture. But still, you get the point.

104
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:32.000
There's nowhere in the Old Testament where God judges non Jewish nations for the dietary laws. But he says straight up here in this list, which includes men lying with with men as if they were a woman.

105
00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:38.000
He says, I'm, I'm kicking them out of the land partly because of this. This is actually something I judge Gentiles for.

106
00:23:38.000 --> 00:24:05.000
So the argument in Leviticus 18 is not just about the word abomination, although I do think you can make an argument there. I have looked into it. I just, I don't have at my fingertips all that data. So there's some thoughts for you to check out. All right. Number four. Julia Larson says, I've heard believers say things like the Bible isn't the fourth member of the Trinity. Phrases like this can feel dismissive of the Bible. How should we take this from well meaning Christians?

107
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.000
I'm out of, I'm out of water.

108
00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:14.000
How should we take this from well meaning Christians? Um, I encourage patience.

109
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:24.000
Um, in most cases when I've heard things like this, it's a deeply ignorant and judgmental statement. But you want to take it with patience.

110
00:24:24.000 --> 00:25:01.000
Um, to say that the Bible is not a fourth member of the Trinity is very accusatory and judgmental. It's implication. It's clear implication. Now they're going to try to pretend that this is not the case almost every time they do this because it's gaslighting and manipulation, it's bad news. But when they say this, the implication is that you who are arguing we have to follow this Bible thing. Hey, the Bible doesn't agree with you here. Hey, the Bible doesn't set that up as truth. And you should be bound to what Scripture says. When you're saying things like that, they respond with the Bible's not the fourth member of the Trinity or you're worshiping the Bible.

111
00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:11.000
Um, they're accusing you of grievous and horrible sin, not just being mistaken about what you interpret the Bible to be.

112
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:49.000
They're accusing you of horrible, of actually deifying scripture and worshiping it, which would be to make an idol and worship that idol and offend God and anger God and be guilty of just grievous. Like you should be excommunicated from your church if you're worshiping the Bible. This is a big deal. If you, uh, try to elevate the Bible to be the fourth member of the Trinity, there should be like a council against you. There should be people publicly saying you need to repent. Repent, lest you face God in judgment. But they, they make this huge statement, but there's never anything backing it up. It's always just, they don't want to follow what scripture says. So they say this to put you on your back foot.

113
00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:50.000
Right.

114
00:25:50.000 --> 00:26:44.000
So what do you do? Well, first you want to have patience. Now if it's a leader doing it, I'm going to have Honestly, less patience with them. But if it is a person who, um, is maybe just caught up, they're repeating what they've heard. You know, they heard a Richard Rohr message. They don't realize how evil he is. And now they just sort of repeated something he said. Um, or they heard a pastor that they like who's really ministered to them, and he said it. And so now they're pulling it out of their pocket. Like, they just throw it out there. I would just do one of two things. You ignore it completely. And you go, no, no, no. Let's talk about what the Bible says. And you stay on topic. The thing that you were originally talking about. When they try to get you on your back foot by accusing you of worshiping the Bible or making a false idol out of Scripture, um, you just ignore it. You stick to the verses. What do they say, how to interpret them? Um, the other one is you actually push back. And you can push back with questions. So you could just simply say, um, what do you mean by that?

115
00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:49.000
And then just let them talk. Like, don't interrupt them. Just let them talk. What do you mean by that?

116
00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:55.000
Well, I just mean, you know, you can make too big of a deal about the Bible. Okay, Explain yourself.

117
00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:09.000
So first, clarity on what they mean by that. Second, ask more questions. Clarity on how you are guilty of that. What did I do that made you think I was deifying Scripture and worshiping it? Uh, which would be, of course, a huge offense to God.

118
00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.000
What did I do that made you think that I was doing that?

119
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.000
And let them talk.

120
00:27:14.000 --> 00:28:47.000
Um, they're probably not going to be happy with you afterwards. Okay. But people will sometimes casually throw out these horrible accusations, and then they feel no obligation for the words that come out of their own mouths. And it comes often because they're the kind of people who are. Often their theology is like, niceness is actually built into their actual theology, which is not healthy. Right. Goodness, kindness. Yep. Gentleness. Yep. But niceness is a compromise of truth in these types of situations. So there's my two cents on that. Um, you can also take them to Scripture. You can actually show them how when Jesus debated with the Pharisees and the Sadducees, how did he defeat their bad ideas? What did he do? Well, he quoted the Bible. You could show them this, right? He talks about marriage. He says, in the beginning, God created them male and female. And therefore, what God has joined together, man shall leave his Father and be joined to his wife. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. Jesus, he's using the Bible to solve religious debates of his time. And we see this over and over again in Scripture, over and over. You could go to the book of Jeremiah and where it talks about. Look at Jeremiah's words about Scripture. He's like, was not his word like fire? And I couldn't hold it back. And you read it and quote it to them and then say, is Jeremiah worshiping the Bible here? When he talks about how amazing and powerful God's word is and how he uses it to confront people, uh, is that worshiping the Bible? When he does that, read Psalm 119 to them and ask them, is this worshiping the Bible? Is the Bible worshiping the Bible here?

121
00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:59.000
Or are you just trying to get out from under the authority of Scripture with a horrible and grievous false accusation? And the answer is almost always the latter.

122
00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:05.000
Number two. Wait, what am I on? Five. Did I get that far?

123
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:27.000
Wow, I'm moving fast. All right, mild parent warning on this one. Uh, I haven't read the question yet, guys. I literally don't even know what it says yet. But mild parent warning. My assistant, Sarah Zimmerman, is on it, and she wants you to know this. Okay, anonymous question. This may sound like a silly question, but do you have any advice for someone scared of demonic or evil forces when going to sleep? It doesn't help that I often fall.

124
00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:32.000
Okay, there's definitely parent warning here. Um, that I often fall sexually at night, too.

125
00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.000
Uh, yeah. Uh, okay.

126
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:49.000
Talk to a pastor. Uh, or honestly, it doesn't have to be pastor. Anybody who's older than you, who's in the Lord. And I think it's really helpful if they're older than you. If you're young. I mean, if you're my age, just get someone at least my age.

127
00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:52.000
Uh, get someone who's, like, at least 40s.

128
00:29:52.000 --> 00:30:04.000
Um, and tell them what you've got going on and just be like, hey, can you pray for me? And if you feel like you don't want to share some of those details, at least start the conversation. Share some of it, but I would encourage you to share the other ones, too.

129
00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:21.000
Um, the bigger issue than your. To be honest with you here, as your brother in Christ, the bigger issue than your fear of demonic things or evil forces is the. I often fall sexually at night. That's the bigger issue that you want to address. That's the thing you should really target.

130
00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:32.000
Um, as far as a Christian who's worried about demonic things, um, demons are real. Yep. They can attack you. Yep. Crazy things can happen and do happen.

131
00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:43.000
Um, but here's the thing. I think real Christian courage and real Christian faith would be. I'm not afraid even in the midst of a real attack.

132
00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:54.000
This is the Psalm 22, right? Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff that comfort me.

133
00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:57.000
You anoint my head with oil.

134
00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:09.000
He lays a table for us in the presence of our enemies. In the presence of our enemies. This is Christian courage, is, I am not safe and I am not scared.

135
00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:19.000
That's the ultimate Christian courage right there. I'm not safe and I'm not scared. Because I know you're with me doesn't mean you won't let any bad thing happen to me. It means that anything that happens, it has to pass through you.

136
00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:26.000
Um, I would recommend Christians, at the same time, don't be arrogant about demons. Don't be like, oh, yeah, well, I don't care. Do what you want.

137
00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:29.000
I would not do that kind of stuff. That is not wise.

138
00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:34.000
Um, you cling to Jesus, you call on Jesus, you rely on Jesus.

139
00:31:34.000 --> 00:32:08.000
But I'm talking about actual demonic stuff, not just the fear of demons. If you're plagued with a constant fear of demonic or fear of things that is not even really happening to you, then that's like a different category, right? This is just sort of generalized fear or terror. Um, and part of that maybe just your guilty conscience because you have this sin issue that you're not currently dealing with, and you need to deal with it. You need to do new things to solve the problem. Don't do violent things to yourself, okay? But do new things to solve the problem. And think, if I was serious about this, what steps would I take? If I was really serious about fixing this problem?

140
00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:15.000
And, um, and then take those strong, healthy steps, then. Um.

141
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:17.000
Thank you.

142
00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:25.000
My lovely wife brought me a big glass of water. Let me drink some water first, then I'll finish this question.

143
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:30.000
Ah, water.

144
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:40.000
Um, we actually, we went to a restaurant the other day and they asked us, do you want, ah, uh, sparkling water or would you like flat water or would you like tap water?

145
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000
And we both were. We thought it was kind of funny that we felt like.

146
00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:48.000
Like it was like tap water. Do you want tap water?

147
00:32:48.000 --> 00:33:01.000
So we got tap water, but whatever. Um, uh, so, yeah, not a silly question at all. Um, you're not alone in that. You have three issues going on how you deal with real demonic things. You trust in the Lord with all your heart.

148
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:05.000
You trust in Him. And, you know, even if I was attacked, I trust the Lord.

149
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:35.000
Um, you also don't play games with it. You don't act arrogantly or act as if you're strong. It's his strength, not yours. Um, and obviously you pray you seek the Lord. And how do you deal with just fears, Fears that are not actually real, but they're just. I'm just scared of stuff in general. Well, you try to find the source of the fear. What is the thing that is driving this fear? And part of it, it seems, might be a guilty conscience. In which case you have the third thing you need to deal with the sin issue in your.

150
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:40.000
Don't just let it continue. You can overcome this. You really can. You really, really can.

151
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:50.000
So, uh, if you're a guy, there's a new book recently came out that I'll recommend for you to check out. Fight, um, Like a Man by Emil Ezzawain.

152
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:52.000
I'd recommend you check that out.

153
00:33:52.000 --> 00:34:02.000
Um, or even look, if you. If you do videos and not books. He's got interviews. I'll interview him eventually on this, but he's got interviews online. You can find him.

154
00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:13.000
Right? So that's his name right there. I said Emil Zwain. EZ W A Y N E. All right, let's go to the next question.

155
00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:16.000
Number six. Robbie Badgett has a question.

156
00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:51.000
In the plague, after the incident at peor, 24,000 people died. But in First Corinthians 10:8, Paul says 23,000. How can I hold to inerrancy? Thank you, Mike. You're a true blessing, brother. Thanks. Uh, Robbie. Um, so let's just pull these up and then we'll talk about it. Um, it's going to take me a second. Uh, is it numbers 25?

157
00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:56.000
I wonder if it's numbers 25.

158
00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:57.000
M.

159
00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:14.000
I don't want to be scanning through passages like this, so I'm just going to go to the first Corinthians one. Um, but, man, I wish I had that Old Testament verse where it talked about the 24,000.

160
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:19.000
I wonder, man, can I find it?

161
00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:32.000
I really want to find it. I think it'd be a better answer if we could actually find it here.

162
00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:41.000
I know this is not good for YouTube to just. Just be looking, but it would really help.

163
00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:58.000
Yeah, it is. It is numbers 20.

164
00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:01.000
Okay, so the numbers 25 verse, it's.

165
00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:26.000
Here's the process, right? For this sort of thing, um, those who died by the plague were 24,000. Okay, that's ESV NIV. Um, this is if you Guys, don't. You don't have the ability to look up the Hebrew or check the certain things. You look at this and you go, let me check a few translations to see if there's maybe differences of the way this is translated. 24,000 in the new King James. Niv also says 24,000.

166
00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:58.000
Uh, you know, there's a. Footnotes and numbers as well. Um, the RSV24000. So there's pretty good consistency. If you don't have any Hebrew resources. This is, of course, not, you know, foolproof, but it's always helpful. If you see this translated the same way in a bunch of different passages, then you go, okay, probably not a manuscript. Not a big manuscript debate. Maybe there's one manuscript that says 23, one says 24. Maybe they're trying to pick which one is right and they're not sure.

167
00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:07.000
Um, then You've got the First Corinthians passage. First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 8.

168
00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:13.000
Hold on. I just closed out a thing instead of clicking on a thing.

169
00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:17.000
I know what you guys are thinking. Mike, you need to get your act together.

170
00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:30.000
You really need to get your act together. And I'm like. I just want to say, you know, I haven't had my act together in years, and it hasn't really been a problem.

171
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:40.000
Okay, um, the other one is First Corinthians.

172
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:51.000
Okay? So here it says, we must not indulge in sexual immorality, as some of them did. And 23,000 fell in a single day. And it does, of course, reference those same spots.

173
00:37:51.000 --> 00:38:14.000
Now, what do you do when you come across this? Um, you know, I've had this happen so many times in my life. Uh, years ago in particular, I would come across something like this because I'm reading through 1 Corinthians, maybe I check the footnote, and I go. And I go, 23, 20, 24. And then suddenly I'm worried. I'm, like, nervous about what is the truth of this issue and can I trust in the inerrancy of scripture?

174
00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:23.000
This kind of thing comes up a lot. It impacts people heavily. And you look at this and you go, oh, no. What is the right answer?

175
00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:42.000
Let, um, me first say that we all should slow down a little. If your first thought is to go right to. Maybe the entire Bible is not trustworthy. If that's, like, your first thought here, that is, there's probably underlying other issues that maybe should be addressed that aren't about the 23, 24 question.

176
00:38:42.000 --> 00:39:28.000
Uh, maybe there's other issues. Maybe you're actually not sure evidentially that your faith is really grounded in reality and truth. And so a little thing comes up and it feels like a giant thing because there's some other bigger stuff that's sort of under the surface. And for me, I think part of my initial fear was that I didn't know there was such a good evidential grounding for Christianity as a whole. When I was younger and when I started to look up individually these types of things, I would look up one and I go, okay, well, okay, so I can understand how there's a reasonable explanation for this. Then I look up another one and go, oh, I can see there's a reasonable explanation for that. Then someone else would bring up another one and this would happen over and over again. And, um, what happens is I realized that my reaction was too strong every time.

177
00:39:28.000 --> 00:40:13.000
And so eventually I started asking better questions, um, more important questions, like, why do I believe Jesus really rose from the dead? Like, is there? I mean, I know some of the reasons why I've believed it. Okay, I do believe God's changed my life. I, um, do think that my life was literally changed. But I've met people who were just like, religiously weird and they believe all sorts of things. Um, uh, am I somehow delusional? Like, that kind of possibility didn't seem likely. But how could I ignore the possibility? This is kind of where I was at at the time. Um, so I asked that hard question, like, why do I. What evidence is there that Jesus actually rose from the dead?

178
00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:29.000
And then I started chasing down, like, a question where when I answered it, it would actually really matter with my faith, the resurrection of Jesus, I start asking questions like, how do I know that the Bible is the same now as it was when it was written?

179
00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:45.000
That was a question that actually really mattered. Because if it had been large scale changes, if I found out that one of the gospels was written 300 years after Jesus or something like that, and I would have been like, well, hold on, I thought Mark wrote it.

180
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.000
What? That would have disturbed me in a deeper level.

181
00:40:49.000 --> 00:41:25.000
What I'm saying is the question of 23 and 24,000 is small potatoes compared to the larger questions about our Christian faith. Just to help, uh, you with that, um, so the clues to how to resolve these kinds of questions. By the way, I've got videos on all this stuff. I got videos. Just type, Mike Winger, Resurrection of Jesus. Boom, it'll pop up. Or Mike Winger, Bible contradictions. Bunch of videos. I got a bunch of videos and all this kind of Stuff. So just Google it, you'll find it. Or whatever you use to search. Um, but oftentimes the solution is right in the passage. Now, there's. There's one thing you can punt to.

182
00:41:25.000 --> 00:42:07.000
Um, you could say, oh, um, there's maybe there's a textual error in the Masoretic text that we get our Hebrew from. Maybe it actually said, uh, 24, 23,000 initially, and it was, it was transcribed wrong. Hebrew numbers are tiny little marks and stuff, and it's actually very easy for there to be a mistake in the manuscripts. Now, would that affect inerrancy? Um, I'm not saying that's what happened. I'll just speak hypothetically. So let's think it through. Would it affect inerrancy if we, if we were to say some of the numbers that we have in the Old Testament in particular, because that's the Hebrew, where it's easier to make those kind of. Harder to make those kinds of things, uh, clear?

183
00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:30.000
Um, if we have that issue where there's some of the numbers, where you go, oh, we might actually be off by a number or two or more on these numbers. Uh, what does this impact? Well, it wouldn't impact the doctrine of inerrancy, which is that the Bible in its original form is inerrant without error.

184
00:42:30.000 --> 00:43:03.000
You transcribe it, you copy it, you translate it. There can be errors in a translation. We certainly have translations with many errors. Uh, the Passion Translation is chock full of errors and problems. And so that's true. But the doctrine of inerrancy is not every translation of the Bible, every manuscript of the Bible is perfect. That's not the idea. It's that it was, in its initial writing, it was absolutely perfect. Um, yeah, thank you. I just saw that text, Sarah. Thank you, um, so much.

185
00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:22.000
That would not, you know, it might bother you. It might irritate you and be like, wait a minute, are you seeing some of the numbers? Like, if I look at the number of, like, okay, the number of days in Genesis, there'd be no debate on this. But maybe like some of the numbering, when David counts the people and there's this many of this tribe, like, what if that number is wrong? This doesn't really affect much. Let's be honest. It doesn't actually affect much.

186
00:43:22.000 --> 00:43:29.000
It doesn't affect the doctrine of inerrancy. It doesn't affect my interpretation of the passage. It doesn't affect the doctrines of any Christian in the world.

187
00:43:29.000 --> 00:44:10.000
So it wouldn't be that big of a thing. Um, there's other things too though. So what Paul says here, that's a little different than the numbers passage is, um, 23,000 fell in a single day. Now the numbers passage says something a little different. Numbers, 25, nine, uh, those who died by the plague were 24,000. It doesn't say in a single day, does it? Not to my knowledge. Okay, so that's one possible issue. Uh, there is, there's a difference between the day, um, the day Mark that he gives versus the number of people who actually died. Um, other people think, uh, here's other solutions to this potentially.

188
00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:15.000
Um, one of them is that Paul's, uh, combining two different events.

189
00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:49.000
Um, some people think that Paul's rounding the number. Some people think that why would he round to that kind of number? I don't know. I don't have a well developed theory on this. I'm just letting you know some of the views that are held because I think that it can be helpful to be aware of them. So, yeah, 20, um, 3,000 instead of 24, maybe it's a different event. So basically we don't, we don't know for sure. I'm. At least I don't know for sure. Maybe if I did more work on this exact one, I would have more of an answer for you.

190
00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:53.000
The, um, the conclusion is the important part.

191
00:44:53.000 --> 00:45:28.000
Like, how can I defend inerrancy? Like. Well, to be honest, I don't think you defend inerrancy by proving every statement in Scripture is true. And I don't think you defend inerrancy by, uh, answering every possible contradiction. I don't think that's how you defend inerrancy. I think that those, those can be valuable things. One's impossible. You can't prove every statement true. There's just simply no evidence to prove everything. You can prove key things, important things, parts of things you just can't prove. It's not possible to prove everything true, um, individually. Like where you grab one thing. You. Now, where's the external evidence of this? Or where's the confirmation of that? It's not possible.

192
00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:34.000
But the doctrine of inerrancy is a theological doctrine.

193
00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:49.000
It is not one that is. This is true though. Now theology is a way of finding truth. Okay, Theology is a way of discovering truth. But it is a theological conclusion, not one that's based upon. I examined every possible error in the Bible and proved them all false.

194
00:45:49.000 --> 00:47:12.000
So the reason you hold inerrancy would be something like, I believe that the Bible is God's word, which I can really Demonstrate very well with fulfilled prophecy with internal consistency with the overall message of Christ throughout the testimony of Scripture. Um, I can show it in many different ways. Um, and I've got my evidence for the Bible series where I go through that. So, okay, it's God's word. God has revealed this to us. And then God, now that we've established it's God's word, we, we trust that God is speaking truth. God is revealing truth to us. It says that, you know, men moved by the Holy Spirit, like our doctrine. Now that, like I believe God, I believe the Bible is God's word. But when I read what the Bible says about the Bible, and this is where the skeptics can accuse me of circular reasoning, it's not, it's not, you don't understand circular reasoning very well. Um, to say this, it's not m. But the Bible's claims about the Bible, once you have established that it is from God, they're extremely relevant, right? Because when it says here that God's word is pure and true and just and God cannot lie and says that men were wrote as they were moved along by the Holy Spirit, that that's how Scripture comes about. That's the nature of what scripture is. When you get this there, uh, you go, okay, so then it's going to be reliable, then it's going to be inerrant. That's a theological conclusion. Someone says, but what about this part here? The worst case scenario, especially with something as simple as these numbers, you go, I don't know.

195
00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:24.000
But I didn't believe it was inerrant because I could answer the question about First Corinthians 8 and Numbers 25 or First Corinthians 10. I believe it was inerrant for other reasons that you have not defeated.

196
00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:26.000
So I can just say, I don't know.

197
00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:48.000
That's important for us to be able to do that and to be, to be honest about it. So I don't know. Uh, there's a couple immediate possibilities with how you resolve this contradiction. If I spent more time on it, maybe I'd have a great, perfect, yes, I've solved it kind of answer. But at least do some searching on your own as well and find out what others have said about it too, because lots of people have worked on this stuff in the past.

198
00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:51.000
All right, we're going to go to the next question.

199
00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:53.000
Number seven.

200
00:47:53.000 --> 00:48:05.000
Uh, anonymous question here says my mom is a baby Christian, two years, but she feels most comfortable in an orthodox church. She seems to be growing in her faith. There Should I intervene or just let her go where she feels led?

201
00:48:05.000 --> 00:49:07.000
Uh, I'll tell you a story, true story. I had a student, uh, part of my church for, I, uh, mean, not for like years and years and years, but she came for a season, like, and it was longer than a year, but it was for a good season. Part of the youth ministry there. This was years ago. I'm not doing youth ministry anymore. Um, I mean, this is my ministry, it's my full time thing. But, um, she became Orthodox. Um, she was always one who was prone to, like, first off, she studied scripture, she memorized it. She was like this, this girl was like, it was awesome, you know, sharp, uh, as far as knowing the word, uh, what it says. Often when you're very young and you're memorizing scripture, you know what it says, but you don't always know what it means. But that's the nature of memorization. You start to really get it later on, uh, for kids. But she's like, I don't know, 17, 16, probably 17. She becomes Orthodox.

202
00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:10.000
I, um, find out afterwards because she just disappears.

203
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:54.000
We never talked about it. We never had a conversation about it. She didn't ask me. So I don't even know all the reasons why she became Orthodox. I saw her in a coffee shop sometime after that and I was like, oh, I won't say her name. I'm only sharing this story because I think it will help you guys. And I don't know where she is today. Who knows where she is? She may be Orthodox, she might be Protestant, uh, she might be Catholic, she might be Buddhist. I don't know where she is today. Um, but I said, oh, it's good to see you, how are you doing? And she starts to tell me. She kind of meekishly was like, oh, well, yeah, I'm Orthodox now. And I was like, oh, okay. And I only knew a little bit about Orthodox stuff at the time. And so I just started asking her some questions about it. Oh, so what do you guys believe? What would you say has changed in your beliefs now that you're Orthodox?

204
00:49:54.000 --> 00:50:06.000
And she started explaining some things to me. And, uh, it just was before. She could have given the gospel in a heartbeat. This girl could have shared the gospel with anybody, easily, quickly, right? Simply, this is the gospel.

205
00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:24.000
But it came down to where I was asking her, what if I was dying and I didn't know Jesus? And you had like two minutes. I've got two minutes. I'm, uh, about to die and you come upon me and you can't save me. I've been stabbed, I'm bleeding, whatever. You can't save me, but you can tell me something about Jesus that might save my soul.

206
00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:35.000
What do you say? What do I need to know in that two minutes to get saved? And she could not answer the question anymore. She no longer knew the gospel. She was totally floating.

207
00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:44.000
Um, she says, I don't know, I would go get a priest. I would go get the priest. And I said, I got two minutes.

208
00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:49.000
And we talked for a while about this. And she just genuinely did not know the gospel.

209
00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:57.000
So why don't you ask your mom what the gospel is? Mom, if I had two minutes to live, what do I need to know to be saved?

210
00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:12.000
Um, a lot of people are drawn to, uh, not even the majority. I don't think of people. But a lot of people are drawn towards the sense of authority that you get from Orthodox or Roman Catholicism.

211
00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:17.000
And they're also drawn to the beauty of it and the sense of structure that it provides.

212
00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:29.000
The problem with some of those things, there's nothing wrong with the beauty of things. We could use more beautiful churches and stuff like that, and ugly churches, and they're all fine. Okay, I can't understand.

213
00:51:29.000 --> 00:51:41.000
This is literally a thing I see online. I see with people, not just online, but they're actually evaluating the truth of a, uh, religion based upon how beautiful the buildings are.

214
00:51:41.000 --> 00:51:48.000
It's the most inane reasoning in the world. It's crazy to think this way. You know who has beautiful, beautiful buildings? Mormons.

215
00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:58.000
Mormons. You know where there's some incredibly beautiful false idol temples you can visit in Japan. They're amazing. They're gorgeous. People go on trips just to see them.

216
00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:10.000
So this is not how you discover truth. Jesus himself had no form or comeliness that we should desire Him. He did not present himself as attractive as an evidence for him preaching or speaking truth.

217
00:52:10.000 --> 00:53:20.000
Um, he warned about the Pharisees being whitewashed sepulchers. So it was what was inside. It was the doctrines, it was the beliefs. It was the actual relationship with God that was the test, not the appearance. Okay, so that's one thing that people look at, but they just get in awe. We did a trip to Israel one time. Another quick story. And, uh, I remember my favorite thing was the Sea of Galilee. Uh, and was actually walking around there on this undeveloped land, around the Sea of Galilee, where you're just walking on hills and you're like, this could have been the hill where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, you know, or the Sermon on the Plain, or It could have been over here and just. It was those undeveloped areas that I actually thought was the coolest. And I actually, personally was not a big fan of planting churches everywhere and claiming this is where this happened and turning it into a tourist thing. Um, when they don't know. I mean, like, how many churches in Bethlehem are like, we're the one. We're the. Where Jesus was born. Right here, Come here. Here's some souvenirs you can buy. Um, but when we got to Jerusalem and we went into this one amazing, beautiful church, uh, there's this beautiful church there that's known. I don't remember the name of it, but it's known for having, like, these incredible acoustics. You know, I remember singing there and just. It was just.

218
00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:51.000
Just echoing, you know, billowing around. It was amazing. Um, beautiful. But one lady who was on a trip with us to Israel, I've been there twice, she gets into the building and all the stained glass, and she goes, now I feel like I'm in Israel. Now I feel like I'm in. Like, I feel God here. And I just thought, I know what she's saying. I just don't think it's true. I don't think you've walked in and felt God. I think you were deeply impressed by the prettiness in the architecture, but that didn't make it true.

219
00:53:51.000 --> 00:54:00.000
It just doesn't work that way, you know? So your mom probably drawn to some of those qualities, that structure as well.

220
00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:09.000
The main issue with the structure that you see in the Orthodox and the structure you see in the Catholic is that they're claiming it's from Jesus and the apostles, and it's not.

221
00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:16.000
That's the main issue that's there. There's a lot that's being said that they're just added on, add on, add on, add on for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

222
00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:41.000
Then tell everybody this is how it's always been. In which case you're usurping your authority over Christianity in a way that's not healthy. Um, but ask your mom the gospel. Ask your mom the gospel. Be gracious with her. You're not trying to cause division. Exactly. But you care about where she's at right now, and the decisions that she makes right now will impact her walk in the future. And if you.

223
00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:45.000
I would not encourage her to go to Orthodox church. I wouldn't want my mom going to one.

224
00:54:45.000 --> 00:55:17.000
But, um, if nothing else, try to keep her in scripture and try to keep conversations with her around Scripture, because that's going to Be the thing that helps her the most. I think there's been my counsel on that. Number eight, Yakonobuo. I don't know how to say that. Uh, thank you for your ministry, Michael. Thank you. Um, First Corinthians 13:13 says love is greater than faith. So then why do we treat faith as more important for grand things? Things like salvation? Ooh. I've got an answer for you, friend.

225
00:55:17.000 --> 00:55:20.000
First Corinthians 13:13.

226
00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:23.000
Let's look at this passage. All right?

227
00:55:23.000 --> 00:55:33.000
Um, we got to get a little bit of context, and then I'm going to answer why there's two different uses of the word faith. Okay? Two different uses.

228
00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:43.000
And when you understand those two different uses, you'll understand why. I would say in some cases, faith is more important than saying that somebody's loving, and in other cases, it's not.

229
00:55:43.000 --> 00:56:13.000
You'll see in a second. Okay, so love never ends. Right. Um, here, I'll back up even more. All right, we'll start here with love is patient. Now let's read the whole chapter. Okay? If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, right? So I'm not helping anyone. If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I'm nothing. This is faith in the sense of miracle working, Right.

230
00:56:13.000 --> 00:56:31.000
Uh, doing wonderful, powerful things. This is not the other kind of faith I'll discuss after reading the chapter. So this is specifically like miracle working but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have and I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

231
00:56:31.000 --> 00:56:35.000
That's powerful. All my ministry doesn't matter if I'm not doing it in love.

232
00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:37.000
Love is patient and kind.

233
00:56:37.000 --> 00:56:42.000
Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way.

234
00:56:42.000 --> 00:57:02.000
It might insist on God's way, but not. It's. I'm not going to do it my own way. That's not what it's about. It's not irritable or resentful. I know that's one I got to deal with more. It does not rejoice at, uh, wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

235
00:57:02.000 --> 00:57:25.000
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease. As for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child, reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. That should be the theme for the current generation.

236
00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:31.000
I mean, honestly, my generation, uh, the last several generations need to remember this.

237
00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:45.000
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now, faith, hope, and love. Abide these three. But the greatest of these is love.

238
00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:50.000
Okay, faith, as in miraculous things.

239
00:57:50.000 --> 00:58:12.000
If you have faith like a mustard seed, you can say, this mountain be cast down. That's the kind of faith we're talking about here. All right? There's a different kind of faith. There's a different kind of faith that you're not hearing or seeing discussed in 1 Corinthians 13. And it's something you'll see in Jude.

240
00:58:12.000 --> 00:58:30.000
Um, he says, beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I find it necessary to write appealing to you. Contend for the faith that was once for all, delivered to the saints.

241
00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:35.000
The term the faith. Most often you'll hear this because it doesn't.

242
00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:50.000
If you have faith by itself, like I have faith, or look at what a great man of faith. That's different than when you have the word faith and the word the, uh in front of it. Okay? That's the simplest way. It's not always true, but it's the simple way to see it. The faith is different than faith.

243
00:58:50.000 --> 00:59:12.000
Faith is my strong belief in something. The faith are the things I'm actually believing in. So I have strong belief in Jesus. But the faith is not my belief in Jesus. It's the fact that Jesus is God who came in the flesh, who died on the cross for my sins, who rose from the dead, who ascended into heaven, and who will return for his people and to judge the earth.

244
00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:19.000
That's the faith. The faith is doctrine. The faith is theology. The faith is biblical truth.

245
00:59:19.000 --> 00:59:37.000
That is not being compared to love, because that's not a thing you even do. I don't do the faith I trust. I believe the faith. I have faith in the faith. But this is why they're like separate categories. And I hope that that made sense. Let me look at your question again and make sure I got it.

246
00:59:37.000 --> 01:00:22.000
Number, um, eight. You said thank you for your ministry today. First Corinthians 13:13 says, love is greater than faith. So then why do we treat Faith as more important for grand things like salvation. Right. So when you. Um, you can have. Let me. Let me say, if we're going to bring in the concept of the faith into 1 Corinthians 13, it would spoil the passage, to be honest, to change subjects like that. But if we did that, logically, it would have to say something. And I'm not rewriting the Bible here. I'm just saying there's a logical, consistent view that we see in Scripture. So that if you put it together, it would be something like, yeah, so these three remain. Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. But if you want to talk about the faith, as in the doctrines that we believe, of course, you could have all the perceived love in the world, but you're going to hell because you don't have the faith.

247
01:00:22.000 --> 01:00:34.000
Um, but it spoils the passage, because true love loves God first and then loves others as yourself. And if I reject the faith, the doctrines of Christianity, I'm not actually loving God.

248
01:00:34.000 --> 01:00:52.000
So I can't put love against the faith. I can only separate love from belief, but not from the beliefs that I'm actually having. Because believing that God is good, that's part of loving him. Trusting in God is part of loving him.

249
01:00:52.000 --> 01:00:56.000
I hope that makes sense. Yeah. All right. Number nine.

250
01:00:56.000 --> 01:01:02.000
Isaac Kiesen says, my Muslim friend is willing to go through the Bible with me. Which books should I start with?

251
01:01:02.000 --> 01:01:11.000
Oh, wow. Uh, yeah. Someone who's done more on Islam would be better probably to ask than me. But, you know, you can always ask multiple people things, so I recommend you do that.

252
01:01:11.000 --> 01:01:31.000
I mean, the first book that came to my mind was Romans, but I wonder if you might want to start with one of the Gospels instead. So Muslims are taught that Jesus is a Muslim, that he was a Muslim. And I know to a Christian, that sounds wild, but they also teach that he is a prophet, a great prophet.

253
01:01:31.000 --> 01:01:35.000
And so I kind of.

254
01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:50.000
Man, there's so many places you could go. Um, you could start in Genesis, and you could show Abraham and then Isaac and Jacob and stuff. And that's going to be a problem for Muslims because they teach that it was Ishmael, not Isaac. So that's.

255
01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:55.000
But that's not going to get the heart of it, right? The heart of it is ultimately going to come to Jesus.

256
01:01:55.000 --> 01:02:09.000
I would recommend you go through the Gospel. Uh, which one? Well, Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels and probably the most offensive to Muslims. Um, Mark is quicker. Uh, but it's also. The ideas are so compact.

257
01:02:09.000 --> 01:02:16.000
It's Meant to be thoroughly studied and you just quickly read it like it's the short one. I'll read it quick. It's not the same. You need to study Mark.

258
01:02:16.000 --> 01:02:19.000
Um, Luke is easy to track with.

259
01:02:19.000 --> 01:02:24.000
John is so clear on the deity of Jesus and things like that from the very beginning.

260
01:02:24.000 --> 01:02:29.000
Um, take your pick, man, take your pick.

261
01:02:29.000 --> 01:02:33.000
I predict your Muslim friend is going to say the Bible's been corrupted.

262
01:02:33.000 --> 01:02:50.000
Because what's going to happen is he's going to see that even though he's been told Jesus was Muslim and the, uh, Trinity is wrong and all this stuff, he's going to see it in scripture. So the only recourse he can possibly have is to say he didn't always say that it's been corrupted.

263
01:02:50.000 --> 01:03:17.000
So you, on your own, um, should start researching and looking into why the Bible's not been corrupted and how to answer that question toward a Muslim. So prepare yourself for that. But I would pick one of the gospels and I kind of think I would start with, um, I don't know, maybe Luke.

264
01:03:17.000 --> 01:03:31.000
Just my two cents. Yeah. Share your guys opinions or advice, uh, in the comments as well. If you have some suggestions for the brother here or the sister, whoever. This is number nine. Wait. Yeah, that was number nine. So this is number ten.

265
01:03:31.000 --> 01:03:43.000
Last, um, question for today. Is it sinful for a Christian woman to wear makeup? Nothing too much, but makeup nonetheless. How about nail polish? I don't personally feel conviction, but I heard a Christian say she saw people in hell for it.

266
01:03:43.000 --> 01:04:16.000
Um, I would say I'm less worried about your makeup and more worried about someone who says they saw people in hell for wearing makeup. That is, that person is something's wrong with them, almost guaranteed. Um, so we have to be open about this stuff because in the online world, everybody who has trips to heaven and hell makes YouTube channels and videos and puts stuff out there. So you can't just ignore it. It's better if we actually develop some discernment and we go, okay, you don't have scripture to support this, right?

267
01:04:16.000 --> 01:04:49.000
You have a vision about who's in hell and why they were in hell. And I don't think that that Christian knows what she's talking about. And I would imagine she needs some pastoral help, but because she's telling other people these things, it has to be confronted. You know, um, there's some passages where it says, like, let women adorn themselves. Um, here, let's look at it. Um, so first Peter 3, verse 5. Okay.

268
01:04:49.000 --> 01:05:39.000
Um, uh, actually this is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, I'll Start with verse one. Wives. Um, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands. Um, and just a side note, I have a whole series of videos on women in ministry, and I talk about husbands and wives, and I go through all of these passages. And my encouragement for Western Christians especially is, even if you believe this right here, likewise, wives, be submissive to your own husbands. If you believe it, but you find it somehow unsettling, it's because there's something in your worldview that's a little bit off, and I'd encourage you to study it more deeply. Maybe go watch the series of videos I did on women in ministry, um, where I want women in ministry, but I want it to be with the biblical bounds and limitations that God has prescribed, because I'm not ashamed of what he's said.

269
01:05:39.000 --> 01:05:57.000
Even though we live in a very feminist culture that is totally backwards on this stuff. All right? It says that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives. Okay, so now he's going to talk about, like, what is a godly conduct for a wife when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.

270
01:05:57.000 --> 01:06:34.000
That's a healthy thing. Here, let me show you. Here's a different translation for you. Um, okay, I see what I did there. First Peter 3. This is ah, ESV. I accidentally jumped to the new King James, which is fine. It's a good translation as well. Um, when they see your respectful and pure conduct, do not. Then it says here, um, so you understand that fear is not a bad word in the Bible, but it's a bad word to us because we just get weird with words. Do not let your adorning be external. The braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear.

271
01:06:34.000 --> 01:06:57.000
Right, so this is not a complete prohibition on the things that are being listed here. Okay, how do I know? Because the last one on the list is the clothing you wear. And if the braiding of hair was completely wrong and the putting on of gold jewelry was just completely, as a blanket statement, wrong, then it would mean that women couldn't wear clothes either.

272
01:06:57.000 --> 01:07:03.000
Uh, so what is he saying? He's saying, don't let your adorning be external.

273
01:07:03.000 --> 01:07:51.000
One of the dangers of being a pretty girl, you guys have seen this before, right? Is that you become a vapid girl. Uh, a girl who lacks substance. Not all pretty girls are like this, but it does happen, right? And it's not just that they're pretty. It's that they're letting their adorning be external. The value I put in myself is in my external appearance. Let me put this in another way. Reverse it. One of the reasons why unattractive women are sometimes really upset about them not being very attractive is because they also are letting their adorning be external. And they care too much about this. And that's why it bothers them so much so that the pretty, uh, the ugly, the mediocre or whatever you want to call it, this is just. It's not that important. It's not that big of a deal. Physical attractiveness is nice, but it's not that big of a deal.

274
01:07:51.000 --> 01:08:08.000
It's like a guy who, um, is short and he knows it doesn't matter that much. It's not that big of a deal. That's a good attitude to have. Oh, sure, I'd like to be tall, but I'm not. And, um, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not going to obsess over it or get all insecure about it. Who cares?

275
01:08:08.000 --> 01:08:17.000
That's a healthier thing. So don't let your adorning be external. As in one translation, I think it might be new. King James says, m merely external. Yeah, merely outward. To try to help emphasize.

276
01:08:17.000 --> 01:08:39.000
So, yes, you can wear makeup, but just don't, like, go crazy with it because then you are putting too much emphasis on it. You can braid your hair, but the braiding of the hair then is like. They would do these really elaborate braids. They would weave gold into their hair at the time, um, historically speaking, and it was like a way of trying to get status over other women.

277
01:08:39.000 --> 01:08:44.000
That's unhealthy. The competitive nature of female fashion is an unhealthy thing.

278
01:08:44.000 --> 01:08:54.000
The obsessive nature. And really, at the core, God wants you to care about your internal character, not your external appearance as your primary value.

279
01:08:54.000 --> 01:09:10.000
What is my value is, uh, my character, not my M looks. Now, I, as a Christian, if I walk around all disheveled and I don't put any concern into my appearance at all, that can also reflect poorly upon me. So I think that there's a balance here, right? There's.

280
01:09:10.000 --> 01:09:35.000
There's something healthy about you get up and you shave. Like, well, I shave. I shave this, or else I'll have a second beard growing out of my neck. Um, uh, you get up, you shave, you do that, you, uh, get your hair cut. These are healthy things. They're not the biggest thing in the world. But you're not getting your value from them, I think, is the balance. Because there's something so much more valuable than my outward appearance. And that's the stuff I really care about.

281
01:09:35.000 --> 01:10:00.000
Our culture really, especially does this to women. I think, teaches them to make their adorning external. And your adorning needs to be internal. I will adorn myself with kindness, with truthfulness, with courage, with love, with compassion, with selflessness, with thoughtfulness towards others, with hosting and taking care of other people and their needs. These will be the things I really adorn myself with, not just my appearance.

282
01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:04.000
Get all dressed up and ready to go to the club. That's.

283
01:10:04.000 --> 01:10:15.000
There's. There's a great verse for this, um, in Proverbs, um, and it is.

284
01:10:15.000 --> 01:10:19.000
It talks about a pig.

285
01:10:19.000 --> 01:10:22.000
All right, all right, let's look at this first.

286
01:10:22.000 --> 01:10:23.000
Where can I find it?

287
01:10:23.000 --> 01:10:27.000
Like, uh, like a ring in a pig snout. So is like a.

288
01:10:27.000 --> 01:10:31.000
Hold on, hold on, hold on.

289
01:10:31.000 --> 01:10:35.000
I know, Mike, get your act together. Hold on.

290
01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:41.000
Let me find the verse for you real quick. Uh, 1122. Proverbs. 1122.

291
01:10:41.000 --> 01:10:54.000
And it says, like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

292
01:10:54.000 --> 01:11:08.000
We're in a culture where, um, the more pop culture side of things, like the celebrity women. Not all of them. Not all of them. Some of them are great, right? But the celebrity women and stuff, the lack of discretion is considered an attribute.

293
01:11:08.000 --> 01:11:34.000
But the Bible suggesting that your lack of discretion, your lack of knowing when to hold back or when to not do that or not say that or not put yourself out there in that particular way, that, that is better than your physical attractiveness. In fact, it's so much better that your physical attractiveness is like this gold ring, this really nice thing that's valuable. But you're a pig.

294
01:11:34.000 --> 01:11:39.000
You're metaphorically, you're a pig if you lack discretion.

295
01:11:39.000 --> 01:11:44.000
So if we try to internalize that, that will be helpful for all of us.

296
01:11:44.000 --> 01:11:47.000
Let your character be your adorning.

297
01:11:47.000 --> 01:12:05.000
And, um, for the single ladies that are out there, you will tend to attract the guy who is looking for the thing that you are actually putting out there. And so if you overemphasize your beauty, you're going to meet your match. The guy that. That's his value.

298
01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:27.000
If you emphasize your character, you're going to more likely meet a guy that's looking for that kind of character. Because I can't tell you how many girls I knew and when I was a younger and single who I thought, she's beautiful. And then she'd be like, uh, you know, just the character, the ungodliness, the Lack of moral depth. Just not interested. Not interested.

299
01:12:27.000 --> 01:12:45.000
Anyway, I'm rambling now. I should just be done. Learn to think biblically about this stuff. Yeah, makeup in moderation I think is the policy that's there. And, um, I know that goes against a lot of stuff we see today, but that's okay. That's okay. Scripture requires all of us to change quite a lot. Quite a lot.

300
01:12:45.000 --> 01:13:07.000
So, guys, here's a quick little update on the things I've been working on. I just did a, um, podcast with the Boli Pulpit. Um, I'm not super familiar with these guys, but we had a good recording of the episode. It'll go live soon. I don't know. I think it'll be this week, this coming week. I don't know, maybe whenever it goes live, I'll share it out on social media. But it was part of just.

301
01:13:07.000 --> 01:13:23.000
I'm sticking my toes in the water, dealing more openly with, and this is important that you understand this with the same values and principles I've already had, just being more open about them and not worried about offending people when it comes to things that are classically offensive.

302
01:13:23.000 --> 01:13:39.000
Now I'm talking about, like, I want to push more advocacy as, uh, Christians being advocates in public spaces on things like abortion, trans issues, who to vote for, policies, like political stuff.

303
01:13:39.000 --> 01:13:49.000
I want to do a lot more of that and I think that I should have done more in the past. But this has led to, uh, a number of people thinking I've never done it before.

304
01:13:49.000 --> 01:14:00.000
And Mike's new to this kind of thing. So I just want to clear the air on that real quick here at the end of my little rambling moment here at the end of this episode of the, uh, ten questions.

305
01:14:00.000 --> 01:14:19.000
Um, ten years ago I did a four part series on homosexuality. Um, in that series I did a secular case against homosexuality. I did a case that the American government should not make policies and laws that would encourage or support homosexual behaviors. Ten years ago, that was not new.

306
01:14:19.000 --> 01:15:04.000
Um, I've talked about when to rebel against government. When I was going through Romans, I discussed, at least to the best of my knowledge, principles on this is years ago on when to rebel against government. We've talked about trans issues, talked about, um, uh, I've mentioned some stuff with Biden and things like that. Um, who's obviously very bad. And I've talked about this stuff openly. Um, it was last year I posted online that I thought a Christian to be consistent. Now you can be a Christian and not do this, but I think the most consistent thing For a Christian to do would be to cast a vote for Donald Trump at potential risk to myself. I lose people to follow me, or people even right now thinking I'm out of here. Mike, why don't you just teach the Bible?

307
01:15:04.000 --> 01:15:25.000
Um, I believe that what I'm doing is I'm trying to apply scripture into these areas that are very volatile and very hostile. And, yep, there's dangers on the left and dangers on the right, politically speaking, they're on both sides. But the dangers on the left are the imminent ones and the worst ones, for the most part. And the ones on the right are an internal discussion of those kinds of dangers.

308
01:15:25.000 --> 01:15:32.000
Um, that's my current assessment of these things. And so what I want to do is I want to.

309
01:15:32.000 --> 01:16:04.000
I want to handle this well as I move forward into next year. Um, I already know, and I have teaching on this. Right. Those of you who follow me for a long time. You know, I've advocated for the death penalty as a Christian, because the Bible is very clear on this. Um, I. I've done this. This was years ago. I've been telling people the death penalty is biblical. We should push for it, even in our government. Okay. So I've said this for a long time. Um, that trans issues, homosexuality, uh, um, uh, religious freedom. There's things like that that I've discussed because they arise from my biblical commitments.

310
01:16:04.000 --> 01:16:38.000
What I want to do, that's a little different. And this is going to take me like, five or six months, probably, because I'll tell you what my plans are for the future here. I'll just tell you today. Um, it'll take five or six months because I have a lot going on right now. I'm still in the middle of these exposure videos, and they're important, and I'm gonna keep doing them until I'm done. I was hoping to be done by the end of December. That doesn't look likely. I hope I can be done by the end of January. There's too many other. Too many videos I have to make, still too many people to deal with. Then I'm set that issue aside, and I'm gonna move on to something else. I'm gonna take a break next year for probably two months, like a sabbatical so I can write a book.

311
01:16:38.000 --> 01:17:03.000
Okay. So I'm under contract. Um, I'm way behind the initial schedule. I need to just isolate myself and focus on that for a little bit. So I'm going to try to do that for about two months of just focused time doing that stuff. Um, then When I come back, I want to dive deep on all these other issues. Um, I'm going to start teaching through Hebrews. Of course, when I get back from the book writing stuff, I'm going to finish teaching through Hebrews. I already started.

312
01:17:03.000 --> 01:17:32.000
Um, but I'm also side project, going to be working hard on all the political stuff. Just like I grabbed Women in ministry and I did an extensive thing on it, or I've grabbed, you know, I did four part series on Catholicism or on homosexuality or on evidence for the Bible. I take these topics and do deep dives. I want to do a deep dive understanding for at least myself, however many videos I make on it. I don't know what is a thorough biblical view of government, what God requires of all governments, what God expects of Christians as citizens of governments.

313
01:17:32.000 --> 01:17:53.000
And a really interesting question, if Christians had the reins of any particular government, what would they be biblically required to try to do with that government? Like if you could change it and you could make your ideal, most biblical government, what would that look like? This is a question I don't actually know the answer to.

314
01:17:53.000 --> 01:18:20.000
And so I'm going to try and figure that out. Um, and then I'll share with you guys as we go. And I'm almost sure, almost certain there's going to be a lot more gray than there is black and white on this particular topic. Um, as far as like structure of government, the powers of the government, the limits of the government, some of these things there's just going to be probably, you know, Christianity is not meant to run governments. It's meant to be salt and light wherever we go.

315
01:18:20.000 --> 01:18:36.000
And so it's a mission thing. But, but I don't know, I don't know. You've got for instance, um, scriptures like when Jonah went to Nineveh, the king of Nineveh, he commands his people to repent towards the true God.

316
01:18:36.000 --> 01:18:45.000
Like he sends an edict out, you guys all repent to the true God. And it's like this is a political edict about repentance and fasting towards God.

317
01:18:45.000 --> 01:19:05.000
And it's seen as a good thing from the leader of the country, um, the city. And then you've got, um, Daniel. The book of Daniel has multiple examples of this edicts going out. I Nebuchadnezzar, declare everyone bow down to the God of Daniel. And this is seen as a positive thing.

318
01:19:05.000 --> 01:19:30.000
But then you've got the rebellion against government multiple many times in Scripture, um, where they follow conscience and they follow God over government 100%. You have the apostles like hey, well, you can do what you want to us, but we have to obey God, not man. Um, and you have then Jesus saying, my kingdom is not of this world, otherwise my servants would fight. And I have opinions about a lot of this stuff, but how to put it all together?

319
01:19:30.000 --> 01:20:10.000
Like how to answer questions like on specific policies or where we are in the moment? How should I vote as a Christian right now? I've got answers to those questions in a large part. But what I don't have is a thorough, solid, deep grounding understanding of what exactly is my theology of government in a more thorough fashion. Like, if I was to build it from scratch, which I'm not. Okay. But hypothetically, if I was to rebuild government from scratch as a Christian, would scripture give me guidance onto what that government is supposed to look like? Or would it just be topical? Do justice, terrorize the wicked, Right? Protect the oppressed?

320
01:20:10.000 --> 01:20:16.000
Would it just be that? And then, I don't know, a bunch of other stuff.

321
01:20:16.000 --> 01:20:22.000
Anyway, uh, I have a hundred thousand questions about this stuff, and I don't know all the answers, so I'm diving in.

322
01:20:22.000 --> 01:20:41.000
Um, but it's going to be months. It's going to be months. You'll be like, oh, yeah, you were doing that by the time I'm actually really able to give you guys conclusions on this stuff, at least my conclusions for you to think about and decide. If you accept, reject, approve, disapprove, that'll be up to you. I just present information. Um, I like that my audience thinks. Think for yourself.

323
01:20:41.000 --> 01:20:51.000
Pretty much all of you can think of something you disagree with me on, and I think that's healthy. I think that's a good thing. Maybe you disagree with me on this, but that's where I'm going. I'm not trying to sign up for anybody's club.

324
01:20:51.000 --> 01:20:59.000
I want to, uh, even like wearing this shirt. Um, you think, okay, so Mike agrees with whatever TPUSA does.

325
01:20:59.000 --> 01:21:01.000
If you know me, you wouldn't say that.

326
01:21:01.000 --> 01:21:34.000
Um, so we'll see where it goes from here. I'm just trying to think, uh, biblically about everything. And what I do in this ministry is we often pick one particular topic or issue, like women in ministry. It took two years doing that because it was so needful in the culture and in our communities. Churches needed it, people needed it. I did a deep dive on the topic of divorce and remarriage. That was topical, but it was a deep dive. Scholarship and everything, because people need it. And you know what? People need a real understanding of how to handle themselves. In government. And I don't just mean America. I mean, you're a Christian in Communist China.

327
01:21:34.000 --> 01:21:43.000
What are you supposed to do in interacting with your government? Let's suppose you're a Christian. Let's suppose the leader of North Korea gets saved.

328
01:21:43.000 --> 01:22:27.000
What is he supposed to do with his new power or his power he already has, but now that he's a Christian, how is he supposed to direct and change his government? I don't know all the answers. I know some. Right. Stop killing people for being Christians. That's one thing you could do. Um, but I wouldn't know how to answer those questions. And I'm sure others have probably answered this and answered it well. But I'm going to take time and ponder it for several months, and then I'll come back and try to give you guys more answers. In the meantime, I'm just going to stick my foot into different situations, trying to be more active out in public, like maybe go to a college campus and talk to students and maybe get some videos out of that to show you guys and, uh, make a difference in the world.

329
01:22:27.000 --> 01:22:56.000
Um, I'm going to do more. You'll see me being more active. But behind the scenes, I'm also going to be working on what is my theology of government exactly? Because everybody's debating this, whether you know it or not. Um, and the answer, the way we answer this question has really strong implications for the future of the United States and coalitions that might actually be Christian and have an impact or destructive impact. Because a lot of people are going up, going real wild right now.

330
01:22:56.000 --> 01:23:41.000
So, yeah, give me some time to think it through and I'll come back with more info. So that's it. Um, there's kind of an update. Let's, uh, let's pray. Father, we ask for wisdom for all of us. Lord, I'm not the, uh, ultimate answer for whatever's going on, but I pray that you'd help me get good answers and bring them to others. And we pray that other people, other, other men especially, would really rise up with be strong voices for, uh, what a thorough Christian view of government and our involvement should be. And it would be so clear and so right that it would be the kind of thing that a Christian could apply, whether they are in communist China, uh, or in Zimbabwe, or if they're in Nigeria being slaughtered by Muslims, Um, if they're in government, they're the leader of North Korea and they get saved. Like they would know how to apply all these things.

331
01:23:41.000 --> 01:23:51.000
Uh, may that become more clear and may the voices who do have wisdom on that get more loud. We pray that we would all be able to hear them better. In Jesus name, Amen.

332
01:23:51.000 --> 01:23:56.000
Amen.

333
01:23:56.000 --> 01:24:09.000
That's it. I'm done.

334
01:24:09.000 --> 01:24:30.000
Sa mhm.