Truth, Part 2

[0:00] Father, we are truly grateful for the blessing that so many were able to enjoy yesterday in person and through the medium of electronics to witness the wedding that took place between Jesse and Anna.

[0:15] We are so thankful for the families that begot these young people and for the values that they built into them, maturing them and nurturing them and bringing them to this position where they were able to, in matrimony, become united with another also in the body of Christ.

[0:35] We are so grateful for what we witnessed yesterday and we pray for this young couple as they begin their new life as wherever they are now enjoying the blessings of the honeymoon experience.

[0:47] We ask your richest blessing upon them, your protection and safety over them. Thank you so much for the testimony that they have borne and shared with us yesterday and for that of the families as well.

[0:58] For those who are grieving over the loss of loved ones, how thankful we are that even though we sorrow, it is not as others who have no hope because our hope is in Christ, rooted and anchored firmly and deeply in him.

[1:15] And because of that, we can rejoice in the midst of our tears and our losses, knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So we pray especially your comforting ministry for the Hashberger family.

[1:29] We know they will be gathering and reflecting memories and recalling events that they enjoyed with their precious father and husband. And we just ask that the spirit of God will be there in their midst, encourage them, uplift them and call upon them to call to mind the things that they already know and remind themselves of the truths that have already been built into their lives.

[1:53] And that were reflected in the life of their father and husband. For the Rabbi Zacharias family, we know that this will be a worldwide time of bereavement.

[2:04] And we simply ask that as the message goes forth, that we'll honor this man and his ministry, that Jesus Christ, whom he loved and served, will be honored and exalted in the minds and hearts of all who were able to witness the ceremony.

[2:20] Thank you most of all for the assurance that we have in Christ and for the sure knowledge that one day, one day, perhaps sooner than we know, there will be a grand gathering and a reunion.

[2:36] From which there'll be no more goodbyes. And we would say even so, come Lord Jesus in his name. Amen. Now I do have a brief announcement as well for all of the men who have been meeting with us.

[2:58] Since Collier's Restaurant has closed, we are of course not able to meet there because their closing has been permanent, not only due to the pandemic, but they will not be reopening at all.

[3:13] So that means we've got to find another place to meet. And we are reluctant. In fact, we're just flat out unwilling to discontinue this Bible class because it began meeting in 1965.

[3:29] And we certainly want to continue it, even though it'll be in a different venue. Consequently, all men, not just those from the Bible class, but all men are invited to gather at Grace Bible Church a week from this Thursday, which will be June 4.

[3:49] That will be the first Thursday after the first Sunday that the church is opened. We will not have a Bible class per se, but we will enjoy continental breakfast and we will engage an organizational, I guess we'd call it a reorganizational meeting.

[4:07] And I'm not sure that that's a good title because so far as organizations are concerned, we've never had an office. We've never had officers. We've never had dues.

[4:17] We've never had anything. Anything, we just, just a bunch of guys that get together and we go through the scriptures together. And that's what we do. So what we're going to have to reorganize is a meeting place.

[4:31] And while we're at it, we need to keep in mind that we can pool our ideas and try to come up with not only a new meeting place that serves breakfast, but one that can supply us with a separate private room.

[4:48] And that's where the difficulty comes in. A lot of places where a group of men can get breakfast, but the private room is another issue. So we could, of course, we could meet at Grace and we may have to do so if another restaurant cannot be secured.

[5:05] There are men from five or six different churches who have been in attendance for years with us. And while we could meet at Grace, a more neutral place like a restaurant is preferred.

[5:19] So when we gather together on June 4, we will also discuss whether we wish to continue on Thursday or whether another day would be better.

[5:30] Because the chemistry and the dynamics of men and their responsibilities and opportunities, etc. changes from time to time. And we probably shouldn't just assume that Thursday is the best time for everyone.

[5:44] In fact, there may be some fellows who are not attending now because it is on Thursday. So this is something we need to take into consideration. And in addition, we'll be talking about the time we meet at 715 in the morning.

[5:58] Is that something that we want to change? Because we can. And any changes we wish to make should best be made now. So if you have not been attending but are considering it, please feel free to join us Thursday, June 4, 9 a.m.

[6:14] And we will meet with a group of men that enjoy a great time together over the word of God with free and open discussion. And I can assure you that you would be most warmly welcome.

[6:25] Well, one other thing I do want to say by way of warning for any new men who might want to attend. And that is about half of these men are golfers.

[6:38] And the other half are fishermen. And some of them golf and fish. So you need to be advised that sometimes it can get pretty deep in there in our class.

[6:53] But we have a great time of camaraderie. So you would be more than welcome to join us. Every year, in commemoration of Memorial Day, all Christians should engage in an annual re-up.

[7:13] Now, you civilians are wondering, what is that re-up? But anybody with a military background knows full well what it means to re-up.

[7:24] I can well remember being in the barracks at Fort Richardson in Alaska when someone would come up to me and say, Hey, Wiseman, I'm a short-timer, 10 days, and I'm out of here.

[7:38] Well, what that means, of course, short-timer means didn't have long to serve on that tour of duty and he is going home. And then they would ask me sarcastically, hey, Wiseman, are you going to re-up?

[7:54] They're just kind of like sticking the knife in, you know. For a guy that's just 10 days away from going home, they'd like to rub it in sometimes. And they'd ask you, are you planning to re-up?

[8:05] Which means, are you going to sign up for another enlistment period? That's what the word re-up meant. And, of course, my answer was, no way, Jose.

[8:17] I'm looking forward to returning to normal civilian life and I can't wait to get out of this place. So I wasn't interested in re-upping. But the re-upping we're talking about now is an entirely different re-upping.

[8:33] While re-up means to re-sign or re-sign up, as in a new signing up to continue what you've been doing, Memorial Day ought to be an annual reminder of the obligation Americans have to show our appreciation for the supreme sacrifice made by so many in all of America's conflicts, from that of the 1770s that birthed our freedom, to the present international conflict with terrorism.

[9:09] All of these conflicts have been in the name of freedom, which each of the foes we fought would have taken from us.

[9:20] I have often thought it would be a great thing if every generation of Americans could live under a dictatorial, totalitarian government like communism or Nazism.

[9:35] For 30 days. Just for 30 days. And they would quickly develop a new love and resolve for truth and freedom.

[9:47] Their gratitude toward those who died to preserve it would be immeasurably increased. But as precious as our freedom is, it was noted in our previous message that freedom is not in itself the most noble cause for which to contend, to fight and die for.

[10:10] The most noble cause of all is truth. Because truth is the parent of freedom. Freedom is the product or the outgrowth of truth.

[10:24] No one ever said it better than our Lord Jesus Christ when he uttered those words in John's Gospel, chapter 8, verse 32, when he said, And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

[10:41] It all boils down to a pursuit and acquiring of truth that will automatically result in the realization of freedom. Jesus said so.

[10:53] So I'm proposing that on Memorial Day, each of us should re-up. Re-up to our pursuit of truth, our appreciation of truth, our insistence upon truth, and our explanation of truth.

[11:08] This is the best way that we can urge one another to consider the discovery and trafficking in truth to be our greatest objective. And of course, this ought not to be something that we do just on Memorial Day.

[11:24] It needs to be done all year long. And each time we're ready to utter anything, we need to make sure that what we are speaking will be the truth, considering the discovery and the trafficking of truth to be our greatest objective.

[11:43] In our previous message, we discovered the priority placed upon truth in the Old Testament. Nearly all the prophets emphasized the need for truth and the perils of abandoning it.

[11:56] The New Testament reinforces that concept. And we insisted that there is no institution among us that should be so deeply committed to the concept of truth as that of the local church.

[12:14] In every neighborhood of America, there ought to be one place for certain that any visitor could enter and be assured they would be told the truth.

[12:26] And truth that matters. But is this so? All too often, it is not. Too many have abandoned the only reliable source we have for truth, the word of God.

[12:43] And it is often replaced with all kinds of poor substitutes. It's a sad reality. Little wonder the church has suffered decline and lack of interest on the part of so many.

[12:58] This book, and this book alone, is the depository of truth, the repository of truth, from which we are to provide the exposition of truth, or the telling out of what is deposed or reposed therein.

[13:14] Let a church, above all else, be a citadel of truth, seeker after truth, lover of truth, revealer of truth, affirmer of truth, expounder and expositor of truth.

[13:28] After all, it is in knowing the truth that we not only are set free, but we are kept free. And it is only because of truth that we are.

[13:40] I have a question for you to ponder. What is it that has been the most outstanding virtue of those who have surrendered themselves to martyrdom from the deaths of our Lord Jesus Christ and the myriads of prophets before them?

[13:58] What was it? What was that one abiding thing that ushered them into martyrdom more than anything else? It is simply this. They were all persons of truth.

[14:13] And for the proclamation of truth, they were persecuted and murdered only because they spoke the truth.

[14:26] My friends, there is nothing better to die for than the truth. And there is nothing more worthwhile to live for than the truth.

[14:40] We do owe all who died for truth an enormous debt. How can we better pay on that debt than by being people of truth?

[14:52] From the home in the neighborhood to the halls of Congress, truth must and deserves to stand tall. Be assured.

[15:05] Be assured there will be and always has been opposition to face because everywhere truth would appear, the lie is always lurking nearby.

[15:19] And in no sphere is this currently so evident as in the present political scene. What else is fake news but the absence of truth?

[15:32] Not merely of a lie lurking about but fake news today is not lurking. It is a bold-faced front and center lie.

[15:45] Would to God all in our halls of government and the churches and all the media should literally be held to the Pinocchio principle.

[15:58] Are you familiar with that? It is a special award that some publication in Washington, I don't know which one it is or I would identify it, but they survey what all of the politicians in Washington are saying.

[16:14] and they examine the demands that they make and the statements that they make in the light of what is really true.

[16:26] And if someone in Congress or in the halls of government speaks a lie, just tells a flat-out lie and has discovered to be so, that publication awards them what they call a Pinocchio.

[16:43] Well, what in the world is that? Well, I'm well familiar with Pinocchios because that was one of the favorite stories that our little daughter enjoyed.

[16:56] Many of you know, remember Dawn, Dawn Elizabeth? Dawn was a delightful child and she was a but her mind never matured.

[17:08] She was mentally retarded. She was at the age intellectually of about a four or five-year-old. Consequently, some of her most favorite things were fairy tales and stories and Snow White and Bambi and all the rest of it.

[17:24] And her mom and I at times would spend an hour or so with her going over one of the stories that she'd seen for the umpteenth time and she always enjoyed it. And one of her favorites was Pinocchio.

[17:36] And Pinocchio was an imaginary toy, was a toy that had been built by Geppetto. Geppetto was a toy maker and he was lonely and he had always longed for a son or a companion but he didn't have one.

[17:56] And he made a wooden puppet and he called the puppet Pinocchio and he put a wooden nose on him. And one night um Pinocchio went to sleep as I recall the story that's been years ago since I've seen it.

[18:12] Pinocchio went to sleep and he had been praying and wishing for a real live boy and lo and behold um this little wooden puppet that he had made became a real live boy.

[18:25] and Geppetto of course was absolutely overwhelmed with joy. Long story short eventually Pinocchio fell in with some bad company as boys sometimes are wont to do and he got mixed up with the wrong crowd and part of the vices that he engaged in was lying and it seemed like every time Pinocchio told a lie his nose would grow about an inch and it wasn't long until he was walking around with about a six or eight inch long nose.

[19:00] That's the basis upon which they say that they award Pinocchios to people in government when they tell a lie they award them with so and so got three Pinocchios this week in other words there were three whoppers that we caught him in and I've often wondered wouldn't it be a wonderful scene if everyone in Washington in all of the channels of government in Washington and why stop there why not Columbus Ohio and all the other capital and maybe we could reduce it to the cities as well every time somebody told a lie their nose grows gets longer wouldn't that be interesting we'd know after a while we'd certainly know who we could trust and who we couldn't and I think that some people would have a nose the likes of which they could use it as a pole vault that would enable them to vault over the fence that surrounds the White House brethren these things ought not so to be but you know something lying untruth has become common fare in our country it really is no big deal anymore and do you know what the answer is given on behalf of it hey it's politics they all do that it just goes with the territory accept it they all lie

[20:26] Republicans Democrats liberals conservatives they all lie it's just part of the game so what folks this is part of the problem that this country is facing now and it is a very very big part because truth and error has to do with the very basic necessities that we are dealing with by way of issues and events and programs and all the rest of it on an everyday basis and if we do not have truth in these areas that matter most what's this nation coming to I'll tell you what it's coming to it's coming to where we are right now and it's a pretty sad scene and I'm not talking about the pandemic either I'm talking about the political moral spiritual climate of this nation and it has absolutely nothing to do with whether you are a

[21:32] Democrat or a Republican or an Independent it's across the board it is a shame it is a travesty we have so depreciated truth that it just doesn't matter that much anymore and when these investigations are held to look into the background of this and that and whatever and whether there was a crime there and the FBI and all of the rest of it it's become so commonplace that we just kind of shrug our shoulders and say well you know that's just the way it is that's just the way it is and that attitude is that which enables us to content ourselves with it as if that's the way it has to be but it doesn't and I'm no Pollyanna and I have no visions of turning this nation overnight into a into the epitome of truth I know and understand human nature as well as you and I know it leaves a lot to be desired but I also know that in the hearts and minds of those who consider themselves true Americans there is a deep longing a deep desire for truthfulness and honesty to prevail and I am not prepared to say that it can't happen think of the kind of rebirth that this nation could have morally and spiritually and honestly if people would commit themselves to simply telling the truth and I'm not going to pursue it now but what I thought would be a two-part message with this being a second part has grown into a three-part message and we'll have to pursue this in our next week but what we want to do is examine the anatomy of a lie and the motivations for it because they are quite simple and quite few but it is important that we understand them and understand them thoroughly scripture says something to the effect that let God be true and every man a liar and what precisely does that mean it just means this it just means it's a whole lot more likely that every man is a liar than it is that God could possibly be untrue and well said the apostle uttered those words

[23:58] I think in Romans chapter 3 so what I would appreciate right now is for you to turn if you would please to John's Gospel chapter 8 and we will look at today's expression of truth from the New Testament as it involves our Lord Jesus and his encounter with those who did not appreciate the truth you know fake news has always been around fake news started in Genesis chapter 3 in the Old Testament and here it is perpetuated as well in the New Testament and we do have to omit some of this so we will just jump in if we may with verse 31 of John's Gospel chapter 8 our Lord Jesus is confronting a hostile crowd there are those who do not appreciate the truth and when Jesus speaks the truth as he always does it immediately creates conflict right from the get go the audience is mixed some of those to whom Jesus is speaking are his own disciples and some are the Pharisees and the scribes the outliers who are walking around criticizing nitpicking looking for something to be critical about looking trying hoping that they can catch Jesus in some kind of an untruth some way that they can make him look bad by the way the efforts to make someone really look bad no matter what he's with us today isn't it isn't it amazing the extremes to which some people will go to make another person look bad verse 31 says

[25:59] Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed him now they obviously are believers and he told them if you abide in my word then you are truly disciples of mine in other words that's a kind of way of qualifying his followers because people of popularity and ability can attract all kinds of followers but for different motives for different reasons some just because they like the current action they like the reputation they like the excitement that's going on or what and Jesus is qualifying his audience here he's saying he's saying as much as I know a lot of you people are following me and you're eager and you're excited about who I am and what I'm saying and all the rest of it and I appreciate that but I'm also able to understand that some of you may be following me for wrong motives and I just want you to know that those of you who are following me for the right reasons if you abide in my word if you live by what I say then you are true disciples of mine then you are the real deal if you joined on for any other reason the implication is you're not and then he says in verse 32 that classic verse and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free they answered him we are

[27:40] Abraham's offspring and have never yet been enslaved to anyone how is it that you say you shall become free now I think we need to qualify something here because it's a little confusing based on what they say and I don't think that they are saying at all what they seem to be saying what they seem to be saying is what the text says quite literally we've never been slaves of anyone well have you ever heard of Egypt have you ever heard of Babylon have you ever heard of Assyria of course they've been slaves to all of those countries in fact there wasn't hardly any nation in the Middle East that Israel had not been in servitude to at one time or another so it's quite apparent that they were not talking about that they were talking about spiritual slavery or moral slavery they were talking about the kind of slavery that even though an enemy may oppress you and confine you they cannot enslave you on the inside

[28:42] I have heard men who are incarcerated and some of them have been in prison for years and I well remember one telling me Pastor Wiseman no two ways about it I'm in jail I'm in prison I'm confined I'm not a free man but thank God I'm free on the inside I think that's what these Jews were talking about they'd never been enslaved and you know what they link that to they link that to being descendants of Abraham that was the key that's what they're appealing to we are Abraham's offspring and have never been enslaved to anyone that is spiritually or morally how is it that you say you shall become free Jesus answered them truly truly I say to you everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin or in servitude to sin and the slave does not remain in the house forever the son does remain forever if therefore the son shall make you free you shall be free indeed

[29:52] I know I know that you were Abraham's offspring yet you seek to kill me now he's not talking about those who are his disciples earlier this just brings out the fact that the audience he is addressing is a mixed audience and they are mixed all the way from people being devotees and disciples of Jesus to those who are blatantly opposing to Jesus and that will come out later let's let's follow on verse 38 I speak I speak the things which I have seen with my father and of course he is referring to his pre-incarnate experience before he ever left heaven and then he says therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father well now we've got two different fathers we've got the father of our Lord Jesus Christ and we've got the father of these people to whom Jesus is speaking and they answered and said to him Abraham is our father father Jesus said to them really you know if you are Abraham's children do the deeds of

[30:59] Abraham hey is that so hard is that so difficult is that puzzling what he's saying is listen Abraham has children and then he has children but those who are truly Abraham's children are like Abraham they do the deeds of Abraham this is the same thing that Jesus or that Paul the apostle is talking about in the book of Romans when he says they are not all Israel that are Israel what does he mean he means there are those who are true Israelites and there are those who are just biological Israelites they are genetic Israelites but not spiritual Israelites at all contrary if you are Abraham's children do the deeds of Abraham but as it is you are seeking to kill me a man and look at this a man who has told you the truth which I heard from

[32:07] God this Abraham did not do I want to stop here and inject something that is absolutely critical what Jesus is saying what he is revealing is there are people who have different world views they are coming from a different position there are those who are linked with the God of heaven his standards his demands his provisions his truth everything about him that is their world view they are in lockstep with the divine world view and they speak out of that and then there are those who are from the opposite they have another world view and it is not the world view of those connected with God I am a man who has told you the truth which I heard from

[33:13] God this Abraham did not do you are doing the deeds of your father why because you are acting out of the basic values and principles of your world view you are doing exactly what comes natural to you they said to him we were not born of fornication we have one father even God now here's a little more fake news and Jesus said if God were your father you would love me now the question I want to ask you as our present audience is this is that applicable today think about that in light of all the variation and differences that we have in our world today think of that if

[34:18] God were your father you would love me for I proceeded forth and have come from God for I have not even come on my own initiative but he sent me Jesus is saying I'm here under orders why do you not understand what I am saying I'll tell you why it is because you cannot hear my word now folks there was nothing wrong with their hearing I'm sure it was probably better than mine it wasn't a problem audibly of hearing it was a problem of an unwillingness to abide by or appropriate what they heard what Jesus is saying here is you are coming from a different world view you are operating on a different wavelength all together

[35:26] I'll tell you what it's like if you've got a radio that plays AM and FM just turn your radio onto AM and try to pick up an FM station with it it's just not going to work why not well they're two entirely different wavelengths you can't get there from here with that you've got to flip the dial you've got to change the knob you've got to turn the knob and turn on the it's kind of like the difference between day and night and it can be compared to regeneration as opposed to a lack of regeneration it is becoming a new person and when you become a new person in Christ you automatically and you don't even have to work at this you automatically become a different person with different motives different potential different interests and it makes you a new creation and if you're not coming from that you're still locked in the old creation that was the problem with these people they had religion up to their eyeballs they knew the law of

[36:49] Moses backwards and forwards they could cross every T and dot every I and Jesus said this people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me that's the crowd he's dealing with if God were your father you would love me for I proceeded forth and have come from God for I have not even come on my own initiative but he sent me why do you not understand what I am saying it's because you cannot hear my word you cannot plug into this because you are coming from a completely different frame of reference that will not allow you to do that you are of your father the devil now I use this as one of the stellar arguments and proofs that our Lord Jesus was not interested in political correctness he told it like it was told it as it is and I wonder

[37:56] I wonder what would happen if those who are our elected officials in every situation from township trustee to the president of the United States would just speak the truth and tell it like it is and you know something I am confident that you can count on the truth to justify you even if it means you lose the job or you lose the election because you told the truth in the final analysis you can count on the truth to justify you because God is the citadel the center of truth you cannot hear my word you cannot entertain it you cannot receive it you cannot abide by it all you can do is oppose it because that's the worldview you're coming from you are in a posture of opposition and

[39:10] I want you to realize this because this is very important between the Old Testament and the New and what was happening when our Lord Jesus came on the scene and was introduced by John the Baptist he was off to a bad start because John the Baptist had already been rejected by the intelligentsia by the leading establishment of Israel the shakers and movers of Judaism had already rejected John probably because he just didn't dance to their tunes if ever there was a rugged individualist it was John the Baptist and this man well what did he do he lost his head for what same old same old for telling the truth he called out King Herod for shacking up with his brother's wife and it cost him his life this

[40:14] I think is what Paul is talking about when he says have nothing to do with the unfruitful deeds of darkness but rather expose them call them out oh by the way be prepared to pay the price when you do because those who are fighting for the lies they propagate will not go down easily and what they will try to do is destroy you they will try to make an example of you so that you never cross them again do we see anything like that going on in the political scene these people before Jesus and John the Baptist ever came on the scene these people this religious intelligentsia shakers and movers this is the leadership of Judaism they were already on the outs with God they were already the objects of criticism and and and judgment by the prophets

[41:18] Isaiah Jeremiah Amos Ezekiel Daniel all of them thundered their directives against the leadership of Israel and they were the ones that were leading the pack and idolatry and leading the people astray and everything else so when Jesus arrived on the scene John the Baptist arrived on the scene the leadership of Israel was already arrived with God they were already out of sorts with God they'd already rejected him that is the meaning of these people honor me with their lips they had the religion they had the ritual they had all of the offerings they had everything in place everything was just copacetic the way it was supposed to be all all all all all the t's crossed everything proper but deader than a mackerel no life in them because they were already in a negative posture with God and when John the Baptist came on the scene that's why they rejected him they were already in a mode of rejection and it was automatic that they reject

[42:21] John and when John introduced Jesus and he came on the scene he was speaking the truth immediately you've got a collision a contest because they are already positioned on the other side of the truth and when Christ came on the scene preaching as he did conflict was automatic and it's going to extend so they already are in a rejection mode with the father when Jesus came on the scene they continued their rejection mode and the person of Jesus and when Jesus was crucified risen from the dead gone back to heaven they continued their rejection mode with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 7 at the stoning of Stephen Stephen says you do always resist the spirit of God and Stephen spoke the truth and the text tells us that they could not resist the wisdom with which

[43:30] Stephen spoke and they could not answer his arguments regarding Jesus and the resurrection and Israel having crucified him and he was the Messiah they could not answer the man's arguments the only solution was do away with the man which is precisely what they did we've got a rejection mode across the board for the whole state of Israel and it began with the rejection of the father and the prophets in the Old Testament read them out they continued with the rejection of the son when he came on the scene and he denounced them for that and they continued with the rejection and they were eventually consigned to the sideline Israel had been removed from the plan and program of God and they will not return until what Jesus said comes true you will not see me again until you say blessed is he that comes in the name of the

[44:39] Lord and the Jews who will be saying that will be seeing their Messiah and when they do they will weep and they will mourn as one mourns for his only son that will be revelation 14 12 and when that time comes to pass father son and holy spirit will all be vindicated with a new kind of belief that Israel never had before and then so all Israel shall be saved Jesus said and here's what I want you to close on this and I want to leave you with this to think about continue it next week verse 47 he says he who is of God hears the words of God for this reason you do not hear them because you are not of God hmm he who is of

[45:40] God hears the words of God is that applicable today to anyone no I would say it isn't applicable to anyone I would say it is applicable to everyone I care not who you are from president to king to prime minister to whomever you may be however high or however low your estate if you will not hear the words of God you are not of God and where are you going to find the words of God no place else but in this book and when people ridicule and reject and deride the Bible and dismiss the Bible and discount the Bible and contradict the Bible they are simply indicating where they are coming from they are not of God and you know what we need the courage to tell them that you owe it to them to tell them that that's part of our responsibility and let me tell you this don't be surprised if they tried to figure out a way to make you pay a price for telling them because that goes with the territory living for

[47:00] Jesus Christ can be hazardous to your health and even to your reputation because there are smear jobs out there that know how to go about it they have demonstrated time and again that they know how to ruin somebody to bankrupt somebody to sideline somebody to destroy somebody once they get it in for you and nothing will cause them to get it in for you more than simply telling the truth but you need to keep this in the mind in the midst of all of it people like that need our pity because they themselves are deceived and that does not make them the enemy but it makes them the captive of the enemy and we need to keep that perspective in mind same is true of these people and you just wonder if there were Pharisees besides Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea who wrestled with the truth and finally embraced the truth maybe there'll be more of those in heaven than we know but they will have to have undergone a complete regeneration whereby their frame of reference and their worldview is radically changed and that's what the gospel does it changes people from the inside out well we didn't finish

[48:23] John chapter 8 but that's going to be no surprise to you we seldom finish anything that we start in the scriptures and where are we with the time Terry do do we do we you do we do we do we I'm fine with time if people have questions they can ask a question in the chat while they're thinking about that on Friday May the 29th at 11 a.m.

[48:48] eastern time Ravi Zacharias international ministry will be streaming a memorial service to honor the late apologist Ravi Zacharias on Facebook and on YouTube. Oh thank you, thank you Terry so much. Friday upcoming, Friday at 11 o'clock. I really urge you to put down, maybe maybe you've got a better memory than me, but I have to write it down and then I have to remember look at it. So write it down 11 o'clock Friday and I can promise you it'll be a very uplifting and very impressive service. The service is for Ravi Zacharias, 11 o'clock Friday. And by the way, speaking of time, let me put it this way.

[49:37] Well let me, I had a lot of announcements to make folks. So anyway, what we will do is this, we'll have a Q&A and I've got a question here that was submitted as an email. So I'll deal with that first because they were kind enough to send me that question. But I just want to say this, anybody that wants to leave, just click off and you're gone. You know, if you've got something else to do or something you want to do or you don't want to be a part of the Q&A, feel free to bail out and frankly, we won't even miss you. We won't even know you're gone.

[50:10] Just peel off and do whatever, go wherever you want, get that other coffee or whatever. And question, first question I want to deal with came from our song later, Nathan. And he says, God gave grace to the Gentiles because of the fall of the Jews to make them jealous. Does this mean that if the Jews had not have fallen, God would not have provided salvation by grace through faith alone? That is a very insightful question and it has to come from a thinking mind who's been meditating about these things. And let me just try to put this question in a kind of perspective that to me makes all the difference in the world. The rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah by the nation of Israel was in actuality a done deal. And what I what I mean by that is it was prophesied that that rejection would occur. But here is where a really, really important distinction needs to be made.

[51:24] Because I've heard people say this and I even remember thinking along this line myself once as an earlier Christian. What would have happened? What would have happened if Israel had accepted Jesus as their Messiah and rather than crucify him?

[51:43] They put him on the throne of David and made him a king. What would have happened as regards salvation? What would have happened as the substitutionary death of Christ for the sins of the world?

[51:56] How you're going to account for that? And that is a that is a very good and a penetrating question. And the only answer that I can give you is this. The fact that it was prophesied indicates not only that the event was going to happen, but that God who knows the beginning from the end had revealed that in the future. But here is the very important distinction that must be made.

[52:29] And that is there is a huge difference between what God prophesies and what God has the prophets predict as opposed to what God causes or brings to pass.

[52:47] And probably the best illustration that I can give is the betrayal of our Lord by Judas Iscariot. That too is prophesied in one of the songs that he who is my friend who is in my household is lifted up as healed against me and become his betrayer. And it was prophesied that Jesus would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot.

[53:13] But here's the difference. And this is critical. For something to be prophesied by God is not the same as God making it come to pass.

[53:26] It is prophesied because God knew that it was going to come to pass. And that's the basis on which it was related as prophecy. But to suggest that God had a hand in making it come to pass.

[53:41] And I know that there are some who are extreme in their theology and they believe this. They believe that Judas was predetermined and pre-set up so that he had no choice in the matter.

[53:55] He had to betray Jesus because he was programmed to do so. And that's what the prophecy is all about. No, it isn't. No, it isn't. To say that God knows what is going to happen in advance is an entirely different thing from saying God is going to make it happen and see to it that it comes to pass.

[54:14] The difference is amazing. The difference is between night and day. So in connection with this question, does this mean that if the Jews had not fallen, God would not have provided salvation by grace through faith alone?

[54:29] Well, the fact that the Jews were going to reject Jesus as their Messiah was a fait accompli. It was already done because God knew exactly what their answer would be.

[54:40] And on that basis, it was prophesied. So the huge difference exists between what God prophesies that will happen as opposed to what God makes happen.

[54:51] Israel is responsible. Judas is responsible. And all God did was reveal the decision they were going to make well in advance.

[55:02] I hope that's somewhat clarifying. If you want to pursue that with another question or another comment, Nathan, you're more than welcome to do so. We have another question.

[55:14] Okay. Pilate asked, what is truth? You have given a definition in the past using the word fidelis or fidelity. Can you repeat that definition?

[55:26] Well, probably the best and the shortest definition that can be given regarding the subject of truth is that truth is that which corresponds to reality.

[55:41] Truth is that which is real. Truth. Truth isn't made. Truth isn't made up. Truth isn't manufactured. Truth just occurs.

[55:54] Truth happens. Truth is. In contrast to an untruth, which is a lie, a lie has to be manufactured. Somebody has to make up a lie because a lie isn't just normally there.

[56:10] What is normally there is the truth. But a lie is contrived. It's made up. It's manufactured. It has no basis in reality.

[56:22] A lie is make-believe. Truth is. someone has said no one has a perfect enough memory nobody nobody has a good enough memory to be a perfect liar and I think there's a lot of truth to that and the beauty of the truth is folks you can just tell the truth about whatever the issue is and forget it you don't worry about it because it'll never change and whenever it comes up again it's the same but a lie that is manufactured or contrived has to be remembered because it isn't real the lie isn't real this is why revelation talks about as it closes out those who are going to be cast out and those who make or manufacture a lie now these are going to be excluded from the eternal scene along with the whoremongers and the liars and the drug pushers and all the rest of it but maybe that poses another problem because aren't some of us some of those things well all of us have been some of those things at one time or another including liars is there anyone that's never told a lie started with the cookie jar thing with your mom back when you were three years old of course we've all lied but the text means and infers those whose lifestyle is characterized by that that's the proverbial liar those who continually manufacture lies and and even for those even for those there is salvation if there is repentance and forsaking of their sin and of believing in christ forgiveness is extended even to those kind of people but for those who have not been forgiven they are among those who manufacture a lie so best definition i can give is that the truth is that which corresponds to reality it is made up of that which is so it is the opposite of fiction it is fact is there another question i've got a comment here if anybody has i have another question in the chat you can go with your comment yeah now go ahead with your comment well no it's it's a little longer i'd rather deal with questions somebody's asked i do not have any questions in the chat oh okay okay then let me just let me just add this something that i've jotted down fallen humanity is prone to the truth to the truth to the truth to the truth and the truth to the truth and the truth is the truth is the greatest obstacle facing humanity it has been so from genesis 3 the lie of satan that deceived eve began the downward spiral each succeeding generation takes it further than the last genesis 1 7 says their eyes were open i'm sorry it's 4 7 it says that when they ate of the forbidden fruit their eyes were open what does that mean we've no reason to believe that they were blind before but when they ate of that fruit something dynamic that we do not understand took place in the psyche of adam and eve their inner countenance was somehow modified there was the introduction of a new element into their being that god did not put there and i don't know what else to call that but the sin principle

[60:27] is that they were not able to believe that they were blind before the sin principle and it said about beginning the dying process one of which was immediate in that they spiritually were separated from god the other would be realized gradually as the seeds of death would mature and grow until it would finally take their life so when it says their eyes were opened it means that they had a different perspective and what they had before call it if you will a world view way of seeing things it certainly can't have anything to do with physical sight it is much more important than that it has to do with spiritual sight understanding and appreciation that made them connected with god that's part of what was broken and that produced fear and guilt was guilt was part of the package and because they felt guilt they were afraid and they hid themselves because they did not want to be seen and by the way that brings us up and i'd like to pursue this with you sometime and that is the theology of nakedness i think one of the greatest evidences for creation as opposed to evolution is that if evolution were true we shouldn't have any problem running around buck naked just like all of the animals do but we do don't we and it started even with adam and eve when they said to god we hid because we were naked because we were naked wasn't that something think of that just think of that the theology of nakedness this is a powerful concept evolution has no explanation for that we should be just as willing to go buck naked buck naked as a deer or an antelope or a dog or a cat and not think a thing about it but we can't do that we clothe our body and what is it that we clothe well we cover our elbows no we don't we don't cover our ears we don't cover our feet we cover our sexual organs well what's that all about that's all about the perpetuation of the sin issue it's done with those sex organs and of course that leads someone to say oh that's the forbid for god doesn't want sex is dirty god doesn't want you to have sex oh that's nonsense he'd already told them multiply and fill the earth well how are you going to do that with your elbows no you know how that's done and that's a perfectly legitimate thing but it comes with a cloud and the cloud is every time man and woman come together and procreate after their own species into a new generation they are passing on that sin element and only creation not evolution can account for that that's the guilt and the fear and the nakedness and the whole nine yards fascinating fascinating study anyway let me go on here just quickly uh in genesis here's here's another very early life we've already seen the lie of satan in genesis 3 and in genesis 4 when cain slew his brother abel god came to cain and said where is abel your brother i don't know beats me am i my brother's keeper am i responsible to look out for him i don't know where he is big fat lie and is there any way that he could be successful with that of course not because

[64:32] the lord who knows all knows that it was a lie and why did cain lie well that's what we'll take up next time as we look at the anatomy of a lie because there are very good reasons well they aren't good reasons but but they're i guess they're expected reasons um understandable reasons why people lie and some of them are quite fascinating and you will know some of the people that we will be talking about because some of them you grew up with and you'll become they will come to your mind as we think about them is there another question if there isn't well we'll say okay it is said love the sinner hate the sinner can it also be said that without the sinner there is no sin the apple didn't eat itself yeah well that is a very penetrating question and uh it's a lot easier it's a lot easier to repeat the concept than it is to see it lived out after all when a man goes before a judge and is accused of passing bad checks and he's got these checks all over town and they've got his signature on and he wrote these bad checks and he comes before the judge and he throws himself on the mercy of the court and he says your honor uh i would like to think that this court is one that separates the sin from the center so my request is that you allow me to go free and you just put the checks in jail well it's not going to fly is that is that what is meant by separating the sin from the center after all the sin was in the checks but you can't really separate the sin from the center and this is why this is why sinners are going to be consigned to a place that is the extreme opposite of what heaven is and we are commanded and we are called upon to love the center and hate his sin and god's remedy for that is to pay a penalty for sin which he did through his son the lord jesus christ and if someone will accept the penalty that was made on his behalf god will separate his sin from him and he will not perish but will have eternal life and that's the only way i can see it but there are there are philosophical questions regarding that be glad to discuss any of them with you if you want is there anything else that you'd like to to ask or any other comment that you'd like to make how do we know it was an apple we don't in fact the bible never says it was an apple it just says fruit doesn't identify it some are of the opinion well there's no point in speculating because speculation is all it would be i i suppose that there were just all kinds of fruit matter of fact i think that's one of the things that made the sin so grievous is that there were all manner of fruits and i'm sure i'm sure that each and every one of them was absolutely scrumptious but for some reason it was the forbidden fruit that seemed to have all the appeal and that was the way they went so we know the rest of course is history but the bible never calls it a dample that's just something that people have tabbed onto it because it seems to be easily understood anything else maybe animals don't realize they're naked before they disobeyed god adam and eve didn't realize they were naked they yeah free will probably true and saw things differently yeah yeah animals animals do not have a sensation of guilt

[68:37] uh they can be taught they can be taught to exhibit guilt as someone can train a dog to respond in a certain way to a certain stimuli that makes him look as though he experiences guilt but animals have instinct and humans have intuition and there is a huge difference so animals animals have a kind of of innocence about them that humans know not of and like i've often said before um when when a lion when a lion kills an animal in the wild and sits down to eat it he never prays and asks for forgiveness for killing the animal he's just doing what his instinct does he's doing what comes natural to him so he doesn't have any accountability or any sense of accountability or wrong or right he's just engaging in animal behavior which is instinctive to his survival and humans have a conscience and that's radically different it is able to experience guilt and the pain and the emotional pain that comes from guilt and that's partly what was involved with adam and eve okay anything else i don't see any more questions well thank you for your kind attention and i really appreciate your being with us electronically and our thanks again to uh terry for making this available uh you are engineer extraordinaire we do appreciate it the lord bless you we'll see you uh wednesday if you can make it at seven o'clock and if you are inclined to meet the church for uh for our uh modified opening we'll be delighted to see you there and i'm sure you will look so good thank you all god bless you